Arcesius' Pursuit of Completion

[Baker]

To relieve some stress from SMBF I know a fun coop game you could play: Dragon’s Crown.

 

A great looter RPG with amazing characters. Just a random example:

 

 

(page 34 ??)

 

Edit: Don’t open page 34 in public. 

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Baker

[Iker_01]

To be fair, while Code Vein is definitely a mediocre game (and probably in the top five of the worst games of my list), Dragon's Crown is a very fun game. Wish I played it in co-op, it would've been even better. 100% recommended.

[Shrooba]

I'm a bit late to the party, but well done with your 100th platinum! I've yet to play Hyper Light Drifter, but it's great to see that studio coming out with another new game! It reminds me a ton of the Sonic Adventure games with the emphasis on fluidity and maintaining a constant pace; that idea of pushing your momentum is a great part that adds to the fun of the game!
But seriously though, 100 plats is no small feat; there's plenty of ways to get to that number quick with certain games, but your list is filled with only great games that really take a lot of time to dig into, so reaching that mighty number 100 is an awesome thing to accomplish! ? You started with GoW III, and made it here!
 

On 11/12/2021 at 0:33 AM, KindaSabbath said:

The Worst

I was debating whether this really belongs into this section, but it is something that certainly made me uncomfortable at times, so I guess the answer is yes… Let’s see if you can tell what these three pre-designed characters have in common:

Yeah, I see what you mean... They all dyed their hair, pretty cool stuff! And definitely nothing else whatsoever! ?

[Arcesius]

Sit down guys, you can also keep wearing your comfy trainers and sweatpants, this is NOT a 2021 ceremony! ? I might put one together, but this is not the day. I don't know how interesting it would be anyways, given that I've "only" completed 27 or so games.

Instead, I want to give a very brief update on my games, and also present my next review (I have two pending, can you believe it?). 

 

 

 - Badland 

I'm done! ?

 

Well, not quite... Badland is a game with two parts... There are 100 levels with 3 missions each in single player... And then you have the same, though slighly modified levels in couch-coop. However, I am 100% done with the single player part of the game! Damn, the game turned out to be much more complex than anticipated, and had a couple of really tough levels and missions... 

 

I will now slowly play the multiplayer part on my own (you can clear ~150 / 300 missions on your own without too much trouble), attempt a few of the easier missions with Ms. Arc (once we finished It Takes Two), and then grind the remaining, tough as balls missions with @Mori, additionally handicapped by having to use laggy Shareplay. My goal: Get 100% during 2022! 

 

 

 - Darksiders Genesis

After finishing Warhammer: Chaosbane, @Mori and I decided to "quickly" play this 2-player coop game before tackling the next bigger 4-player project. We are playing blind and exploring everything, have cleared 6 chapters so far, and while the game could probably get a bit boring eventually (if it drags on for too long), the couple of hours we've played so far were fun! While the game was not developed by the same guys that take care of the main franchise, the characters (Samael, Vulgrim, etc...) are all portrayed as they always have been, and it is nice to get to know Strife as the one Horsmen that we didn't get to see thus far. He is... definitely the funny one ? 

 

 

 - Dead Cells

If you have been around in the last couple of days, you might have noticed that the "new DLC" section was taken by assault by MotionTwin, as they decided to attach trophies to every single DLC they released in the last couple of years and one that's going to release December 6th, and drop them all at once... They increased the number of trophies in Dead Cells from 54 to 100 ?

 

I... don't mind this at all! I am never going to complain about DLCs, I think it is a wonderful thing that developers still support their games years after release. In this case, I'm even happy about the DLC, since Dead Cells is truly a fantastic game that has changed a LOT since I last played it, as I already noticed on my first run with the new content included. 

 

I bought both paid DLCs (a third one was free), and started playing. And man, it just feels awesome!  The only unfortunate thing is... There are three bugged trophies on consoles ? I assume that they will get patched (they did on Steam, and the devs are very active with this game), but it always kinda dampens the otherwise great surprise. 

 

I will get back to this game and tackle the 5BC run (highest difficulty that was not yet available when I got the plat back in 2018) once I'm back at home after the holidays  

 

 

As for the review... It's Solar Ash. I'm currently out of town and thus cannot capture pretty pictures, so I will be stealing them from my very own Trophy Guide for this game ?

 

Solar Ash

 

 

The Pitch

Take on the role of Voidrunner Rei and journey through the Ultravoid in this movement- and speed-focused, gorgeous and colorful action platformer, where only the enormous Remnants stand between you and the harsh truth...
 

 

 

 

The Best

"Good things come to those who wait" - Heinz Ketchup.

 

Usually not a proverb I live by, at least not when it's up to me and I can be proactive. When it comes to videogame releases, there is nothing you can do but wait and hope for the best. As you know, I am also not one to purchase games on release, but there are exceptions.

 

Solar Ash is one of those exceptions. It was a game that I couldn't get out of my head ever since it made its first appearence, one that I knew that I was going to play on release. Why? Because it was developed by Heart Machine, a studio led by Alx Preston (no, I didn't miss an 'e' there), creator of Hyper Light Drifter. If you have been around, or looked at my Discord pic, or my Banner here on the PSNP Forums, then I guess you might know that I adore HLD... And so my hope that Solar Ash would be something exceptional was of course incontrollable. That's usually not good in general, and it definitely wasn't good in this case. Alx mentioned in multiple interviews prior to the release of the game that Solar Ash would be vastly different from HLD, focusing more on traversal and speed, and less so on combat (the main focus of HLD). He mentioned that there would probably be people that loved HLD and would not like Solar Ash, and I was hoping that I would not be one of those people. I guess my "enjoyment-challenge-o-meter" above gives away that I definitely am not. 

 

Fast forward a bit... Solar Ash was supposed to release in October 2021, and was then pushed back to December. Both a good, and a bad sign. A bad one because that meant that the game was not yet bug-free and optimized. A good one because the dev team didn't just release the game in it's state to meet deadlines.   

 

The release date came, I downloaded the game and started playing. And I was immediately put at ease by the game's gorgeous aesthetics and, more importantly, the butter-smooth controls. I knew there and then that I would have a blast with this game for however long it would go on. 

 

But hey, we are not here to read about my expectations, about my anticipation or about the studio. This section is supposed to be about the best aspects of this game. And there are two that stand out: 

 

First, and this is pretty much the only thing that HLD and Solar Ash have in common, is the color palette. The choice of colors has an enormous impact on how a player perceives what is being presented. In Solar Ash, eveything is about making the player feel desoriented and small. But not in a "try playing Trackmania in VR and not vomit" type of desoriented.. desoriented in a good way, as the world around you often defies any sense of physical meaning, but is still locally consistent in terms of physical interactions and phenomenons (which is absolutely necessary for a game focusing on movement, such as this one). 

 

    

 

 

And while I can imagine that how this game looks does not appeal to everyone, I adore the aesthetics. I really do. Every single world looks different, too, which kept me always in anticipation of what would still come. 

 

Now, the more important aspect... Gameplay! I guess this game could be described as a 3D platformer... But it differs vastly from something like, say, Yoka-Leylee. Everything in this game is about fast, smooth movement. Rei is equipped with skating shoes that allow her to glide graceously over the clouds covering most of the space in each world, as well as move elegantly on harder surfaces, or skate along rails that, again, oftentimes defy all laws of physics (which isn't a problem whatsoever since while you are riding those, you don't need to do any kind of platforming). 

Ok, but what are you doing in this game, besides moving elegantly through the world? Well, the main goal in each of the six areas is to destroy a certain number of anomalies and, once they are all gone, a gigantic Remnant that awakens. These bosses are truly enormous, and the best asset the game has in order to make you feel tiny and insignificant. Shadow of the Colossus is nothing in comparison, in terms of scale. 

 

 

 

Now, the "fights" are, once more, centered around movement and traversal. The anomalies are fixed "puzzles" with attack points that need to be hit in succession, and a timer counting down between two attack points. If you are too slow, the anomaly resets and you need to start from the beginning. This concept is then extended to the fights with the Remnants. You have to destroy attack points in succession, while skating atop the giant beasts. These creatures move around while you are attacking them though, in contrast to the static anomalies. This adds quite a bit of excitement to the fight. 

In short... even the fight sequences in Solar Ash resemble more a timed parkour course. The devs knew that their main weapon here would be the smooth movement, and made sure that EVERYTHING is centered around that mechanic. 

 

 

The Worst

But of course, even game that resonates with one can have flaws. And Solar Ash has one that HLD did not. It's lack of replay value. 

 

You see, on one hand, nothing in Solar Ash is missable. When you beat the game and the credits roll, you will be put back into the game on the latest checkpoint. There is no NG+, so you can clean up whatever you might have missed. 

The problem is, that there is almost nothing that could have been missable in the first place. There are only three NPC quests that are all relatively short. The first interaction with each of these NPCs is automatic, and if you take your time and explore the world thoroughly, you will also find the locations that you need to visit in order to complete these quests without many issues. 

Collectibles can also be easily spotted and collected, and especially Voidrunner Stashes (which unlock different costumes) can be cleaned up without much trouble since by unlocking a specific suit, you will be able to see all uncollected stashes and just go pick them up. 

 

There are no additional game modes (yet), and the game is relatively short. I spent ~15 hours with this game, and that was without using a guide (on the contrary... that was because I was the one creating a guide!). In that time, I played once through the game and achieved 100% on my first save file (~9h), followed with a Hardcore playthrough (~3.5h), and finally a sub-3h speedrun (~2h). And even forgetting the trophy list for a second... There really isn't anything else to do in this game. 

 

A second aspect that maybe doesn't hit the high standards reached by other elements in this game is the storytelling. It's... pretty mediocre. Especially given that HLD managed to convey a deep and meaningful story without a single written or spoken word. Here, there is quite a bit of dialogue, but it's nothing exceptional. 

 

 

The Challenge

In terms of challenge, Solar Ash is on the lower side of the spectrum, at least if you are a regular gamer and don't have issues controlling a free camera in a 3D space. Someone that is not used to this and hasn't developed the skill to do so without thinking twice will have a bit of trouble here.  

 

The biggest challenge this game throws at you is beating the game on Hardcore mode. There are a couple of changes that come with this level of difficulty, but the most significant one is that the timer is extremely tight between attack points. You cannot afford to make any mistakes and need pretty much a flawless run both to destroy the anomalies, and during each of the Remnant's three phases. 

 

Just so that you have an idea, this is the fight against the fourth Remnant, in Eternal Garden. There is a bar filling up in the bottom of the screen... That's the timer. You will see that it almost always manages to fill up before I barely destroy the next attack point! It really is tight AF: 

 

 

 

However... You have no other restrictions to this difficulty. You don't have limited lives, you don't have any time-limit that you need to hit... So even if you need to retry specific sections multiple times, you only need to keep at it until you succeed (which should be sooner than later). 

 

And this also needs to be said.. Once you have managed to beat Hardcore, all other difficulties will seem like childs play ? 

 

 

__________________________________________________________

Alright guys... I have one more review to write (Warhammer: Chaosbane). I am also debating whether I should have my own 2021 awards or not... Depends on how much time I will have available... 

 

In any case, for the time being I just hope that you all have fantastic holidays filled with tons of good food, and that you get to relax a bit   

Edited December 23, 2021 by Arcesius

[Platinum_Vice]

1 minute ago, Arcesius said:

However, I am 100% done with the single player part of the game!

 

?

 

Huge. Congrats.

 

How many hours so far?

 

6 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Solar Ash

Dude you are making it hard on us who are yet to bring home a PS5! For now, I just have to lock my excitement away to stop it from stealing my wallet and getting me into trouble.

[Mori]

I dont want to pressure you into more work, but I'd love to read your 2021 awards.  

 

Have a good one, talk to you soon. ✌️

[Arcesius]

17 minutes ago, GonzoWARgasm said:

 

Huge. Congrats.

 

How many hours so far?

 

My in-game stats say roughly 30 hours, but that's effective fly-time I believe? But yeah, around that   

 

17 minutes ago, GonzoWARgasm said:

Dude you are making it hard on us who are yet to bring home a PS5! For now, I just have to lock my excitement away to stop it from stealing my wallet and getting me into trouble.

 

Haha the game is also available for PS4! ? Though I would probably wait for a PS5, the game is not going anywhere and I can imagine that it just feels so much better to play!

 

14 minutes ago, Mori said:

I dont want to pressure you into more work, but I'd love to read your 2021 awards.  

 

Have a good one, talk to you soon. 

 

Fiiiiiine... ? Na, appreciate the feedback  

 

Thanks, and you enjoy your time as well! 

[rjkclarke]

22 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

Solar Ash

 

 

Wow Arc!

 

Awesome read obviously.

 

and Congrats on all the other progress you've been making elsewhere with other games - I'm a little on fence about Darksiders: Genesis, does it overlap with the other games like the core three seem too? I wasn't sure whether to play Darksiders III first before Genesis, as I've not started that one yet.

 

What an eye opener - this game was kind of on my radar of interest anyway, but damn, I love how tight the time windows seem to be on Hardcore mode. I'm pretty fond of speedrun-esque type trophies, or times when games require really tight or precise timing, and that looks so satisfying when everything comes together like you showed in the video you put in. 

 

That aesthetic is gorgeous too - looks like I've found another reason to really lust after a PS5 I suppose. Shame about the length of the game, and the re-playability though, that's a bit of a shame that it doesn't have a whole lot there to draw you back to it - but I guess it is possible it might do at some point in the future though right.

 

You've also got me wanting to take a look at Hyper Light Drifter as well - which I have a feeling I own too, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.

 

32 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

I am also debating whether I should have my own 2021 awards or not.

 

You totally should! If you have time of course.

 

I'm planning to do one myself  - so I expect you to be there, bright eyed and bushy tailed - and in a sweet tux, because I think one of your favourite games might be getting a few awards thrown it's way.

[DrBloodmoney]

5 hours ago, Arcesius said:

 

Solar Ash

 

 

Fabulous write up mate (which I've now read 3 times, as I kept coming back to check if had recovered a rep-point to give, only to be drawn back into re-reading it by the screenshots ?)

 

 

 

This only cements the game on my wish-list further... really, the only thing keeping me from having bought and started this already (aside from my backlog being now so large it would make the Milky Way puke) is that... I'm being sneaky ...

...I want to use this one as my "A game recommended by another PSNP User" entry in the 2022 Bingo Event ?

[Shrooba]

Firstly, well done with your current progress on Badland! I know you're more than capable of doing it, but some words of encouragement nonetheless; so long as a plat is obtainable, you have all the time in the world to do it, so no stress mate! ? I know there's co-op trophies to do in that one specifically, but if you've made it this far then you're in good hands; your own hands, and the hands of whom you're playing with! ? Needless to say, you'll have another fine platinum to your collection in due time!
Personally I've lacked confidence in my games up until recently where I've decided to just say "screw it" and dive into harder content, but I figure similar to how Baker approaches games, you've got all the time you need; just keep at it and you'll eventually get it, even if there may be frustration along the way (and for any game in general).

As for Solar Ash, whew this looks beautiful! Artistically it reminds me a ton of Furi with it's somewhat minimalist texturing to really make you appreciate all the 'pop' of the nature of the world... if that makes sense! ? And on a gameplay perspective, it reminds me a ton of the Sonic Adventure games which is great because those are some glorious games. In a world where investors push Rockstar and CD Projekt Red to release rushed content, it's endearing to see smaller devs put their hearts out. This is quite an issue I see in modern gaming; publishers release games for short-term economic gains without thinking of the assets they have to product real art; It's why I love games like GoW 4 so much; the devs pushed to not just make a game, but an experience... as cringe as that sounds but you get what I mean! ? So it's good to see that passion in some AAA companies, alongside the devs behind Solar Ash! No matter the budget to a game, what matters is that there's real care put into it. It's great to see the same with Solar Ash!

 

 

[Arcesius]

Welcome, everyone! Don't mind that it's already 2022... It’s time to have a quick look at how 2021 has been in terms of gaming, point out the real stars and throw the big disappointments straight into the moshpit to be trampled over.

 

First of all, I have S-ranked 28 games this year (and finished the third Nioh 2 DLC on January 1^st, but that obviously doesn’t count since I played the game for 200+ h in 2020 and about 1 hour in 2021 )… Let’s welcome the candidates!
 

      

 

      

 

      

 

      

 

Alright, alright… That’s a quite diverse set of games I’d say! That was also my feeling before even checking what games I have played this year… Cooperative gaming had to take a backseat (even though there was some sort of coop on 8/28 games!), but I tried out new genres, approached my hardest 100% completion to date and had some great surprises thrown my way.

 

Enough foreplay… Without further ado, let’s get this ceremony rolling!

 

It will work as follows... For each category, there are three games that I nominated. The winner is then marked in red, and is the one I will briefly talk about to keep things more or less short ?

 

 

(N++ / Trials of the Blood Dragon / Code Vein)

 

You know, not having realistic graphics doesn’t mean having bad graphics. Hell, doing pixel art right is hella difficult, and probably one of my favorite aesthetic styles in video games.

 

However, N++ is a game that looks like it was made in paint. Its simple looks work for what it is trying to do, and the game is great and full of depth. But while the original N, a browser game released in 2005, was simple in its design but fitting for its time, the design of N++ probably only resonates with fans of the older entries, players that fell in love with the game at a time where these silly browser games were simple but fun.

 

Playing N++ on a current gen console feels rather odd, and I never managed to truly embrace N++’s design choices. Not my style. The music doesn't help, either (sorry @Mori, I know that's your jam! ) 

 

 

(Final Fantasy VII: Remake / Solar Ash / Rise & Shine)

 

All three nominated games have something special in this department. Art, to me, includes graphics, music, voice acting, … And it’s the latter that is responsible for FF7R taking the crown!

 

As I have mentioned previously (in many places around here), this remake managed to turn characters I didn’t necessarily care for previously (in the OG) into some of my favorite characters. John Eric Bentley, who voiced Barret, did an absolutely incredible job, and is single-handedly responsible for a large part of my enjoyment with this game.

But it’s not only the voice acting itself. It’s also the dialogue. It’s just… realistic, raw, and not what I expected to see in this game. Simply superb job in that department!

 

Secondly, the music… I mean, this was already iconic in the original game, and hearing the known tunes rearranged and played with such amount of detail and finesse, and oftentimes elevated to epic heights was simply astonishing. From an artistic perspective, FF7R was the best experience I've had all year. 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

(Trine 3 / Trine 4 / Code Vein)

 

There is no real competition here. Either of the Trines I’ve played in 2021 are among the easiest games on my profile, and they both qualify for the easiest 100% I’ve earned this year. The gap to the third place (Code Vein) is also relatively large.

 

Both Trine 3 and 4, in contrast to the previous entries, have no additional game modes or difficulties that need to be completed. Simply beating the game and getting all collectibles is enough to S-rank them, and the games themselves are very easy to complete, with the puzzles being easy to solve, and equally easy to simply cheese when playing in coop. 

 

Not much more to say here.

 

 

(Pier Solar and the Great Architects / Warhammer: Vermintide 2 / Splasher)

 

Looking back over my list, it seems like I haven’t completed a lot of truly difficult games this year. Still, Splasher only wins over V2 by a small margin!

 

Often regarded as “the hardest platformer on PSN with a platinum”, Splasher is a game that focuses more on speedrunning, and less on precision platforming. The game itself is incredibly fun from start to finish, IF you are one to enjoy incredibly tight time-attack type challenges.

 

Every single individual level has a very strict time limit that you need to beat to earn its hidden platinum medal, and there are three full-game speedruns as well that don’t allow many mistakes if you want to earn their respective highest medals. This is a game that needs to be played with focus and a cool head, and choking close to the end of a 50-75 minute speedrun is not a rarity.

 

For me personally, this game was really difficult to complete. I don't really have much time to spend practicing "long" challenges, and so often needed to put my console in sleep-mode in the middle of a full-game speedrun, only to resume it on the next day or a couple of hours later. What did this often lead to? Of course, an early mistake due to not being warmed up, and nullifying my entire progress. 

 

This is probably not only the hardest 100% I’ve finished in 2021, this is the hardest S-rank on my profile. But it was also a game with which I had a veeeery good time.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

(RAD / Neon Abyss / Final Fantasy VII: Remake)

 

Don’t even ask why FF7R is nominated, it didn’t win, so let it go, ok?  

 

Neon Abyss is a game that, on paper, has everything that could make it a great game. Neon-style, gorgeous aesthetics, a rogue-lite gameplay loop, stacking upgrades similar to The Binding of Isaac potentially leading to fun and unique item combinations, …

 

Yet, it manages to screw up pretty much everything, and is instead a relatively boring, repetitive game.

Every single stage looks pretty much the same, and every single run will have you be very OP quite early on. This leads to the following: Enter room, clear room without having to move, repeat. It didn't hook me. 

 

The icing on the cake? The trophy list… But we’ll get back to this…

 

 

(Sine Mora EX / Wuppo / Warhammer: Vermintide 2)

 

It is not necessarily rare that a game manages to surprise you in a positive way. But when a game you didn’t have much interest in suddenly becomes a game you can’t stop thinking about, one that you become obsessed over, one that you can say “this is the best game I’ve played in recent memory” without thinking twice… Yeah, those are the games you hope to come across every now and then. Those are the games that make this hobby fun, exciting and varied.

 

To me, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is that game. I almost didn’t join the 4-player coop fun, but I am so glad I did. What I found in this game were 200+ hours of skill- and team-based gameplay, and an experience that was vastly different from what I had imagined it would be watching simple gameplay footage beforehand.

 

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is not only my biggest surprise of 2021… It is the biggest positive surprise I’ve ever experienced in gaming.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

(Broforce / RAD / Neon Abyss)

 

Ah, I knew we would see this game again.

 

When it comes to rogue-like / lite games, there are two types of trophy lists that you often encounter. You can have one that encourages the player to take on some of the game’s most difficult challenges, or you can force the player to grind (or both). And when it comes to grindy lists, there are different options: 

 

RAD, one of the other two nominees, is extremely grindy. But what it wants you to do is get 100% in-game. Experience all mutations, pick up all items, do all quests, etc… In the case of Neon Abyss, the grind is of a different nature. The game will have you play 999 games, jump 9999 times, play specific minigames a multitude of times, die 99 times, … You get the point. It could have been a very challenging trophy list, but it is a boring, grindy, repetitive one instead that doesn't really encourage the player to play in specific ways. A missed opportunity. 

 

 

(Solar Ash / Slain: Back from Hell / Descenders)

 

If I had to ask myself: what do I enjoy in a trophy list?, I would say that I enjoy when a list pushes the player to go beyond a regular playthrough, when a player is encouraged to explore, to play the game in different (fitting – for the game) ways, to explore (whenever applicable), to experience a game fully.

 

With Solar Ash, it was clear that the trophy list would be all of that before the game even released. In order to S-rank this game, you will have to attain 100% completion on a save file, which means getting all collectibles (which are meaningful and not just filler), complete the three available NPC quests and see the game’s true ending.

 

You are done with that? Alright, now play through the game on the highest difficulty, which you just unlocked. Show me, that you have mastered the game to the point where you can approach the fights flawlessly. 

 

You are done? Ok cool, now what about a little speedrun? The game was developed with speedrunning in mind, so show me how fast you can be!

 

That’s the trophy list for Solar Ash in a nutshell. Really fitting for the game, encouraging players to do everything there is to do. It is a list that I enjoyed completing from beginning to end.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

(RAD / Trials of the Blood Dragon / Neon Abyss)

 

Who didn’t see this coming?  

 

I have already said what I wanted to say about this game. But to repeat… This is not the “biggest bummer” because I knew that the game was going to be shit… I had been warned, repeatedly… but with this entry being a spin-off of one of my favorite franchises on Playstation, Trials, I simply had to play through it.

 

What I was told in advance was not exaggerated. This game resembles a Trials game only in its name. What made the true Trials games the incredible experiences they are – tight controls, realistic physics-based gameplay, high skill-ceiling – is nowhere to be found in this spin-off. On the contrary! The platforming sections feel awful to play, and much of the bike-based gameplay is often interrupted by grappling-hook sections, on-foot sections or, the worst of them all, jet-pack sections that are inconsistent and not fun at all.

 

The abysmal gameplay is then accompained by a bad, cliché-filled narrative that does nothing but make you cringe.

 

The worst game I’ve played in 2021, and the worst game on my profile.

 

 

(Solar Ash / Sine Mora EX / Demon's Souls)

 

You didn’t see this one coming, did you? In all honesty, I didin’t either. Until I went over the games I’ve played this year, that is.

 

Sine Mora EX is the first game in its genre that I’ve played, and one that managed to surprise me (as you can see by its nomination in that category further up). I went into this game expecting nothing, and found a game with stellar and challenging gameplay that requires memorization and execution rather than reflexes and quick reactions, and a convoluted, yet fascinating narrative that I would not have expected to find in a game like this one.

 

I had an absolute blast playing through this game's different modes, completing specific challenges that were required to attain the game's different in-game ranks (tied to the trophies). It was also one of those games where improvement was really noticeable, and being able to tackle the hardest challenges felt really good. 

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

(Trine 3 / Trine 4 / Warhammer: Chaosbane)

 

It’s no secret that I really didn’t like the Trine games. The best part is that they can be played in online coop. Wait…

 

Ah, you are right! Trine 3 can’t… ?

 

As the only full 3D entry in the series, the game is filled with physical inconsistencies, bad platforming sections and puzzles that, given the nature of the game, can more often than not be solved by means that will have you say afterwars “I’m sure that’s not how the proper solution looks like”, which in turns leads to a lack of satisfaction.

 

Why is this still my worst multiplayer game? Because I played it in couch-coop after finding out that online coop is not available WHILE trying to set up an online session. So it qualifies. And it deserves to win. 

 

 

(Broforce / Risk of Rain 2 / Warhammer: Vermintide 2)

 

There was no close competition here. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is the best multiplayer game I’ve ever played. One that managed to grab me immediately, that made me obsessed with it, and only let go once my 4-player team decided to stop playing after 200+ hours of demanding yet satisfying gameplay.

 

There are very few games that make me feel like V2. Games that I will keep thinking about when I’m not playing, that will have me study player-made ressources offline in order to improve my gameplay when I get back with the team. And there are no other multiplayer games I’ve played (besides the first Warhammer Vermintide, which I played after V2) that put as much emphasis on team-play as this one does. A fantastic game that I can recommend to anyone with a dedicated and committed 4-player squad ready to slay hordes of enemies and have a fantastic time doing so.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

OVERALL GAME OF THE YEAR 2021

 

 

Warhammer: Vermintide 2

 

It couldn’t be any other game. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is my game of the year, the best multiplayer game I’ve played, and one of my favorite games overall. It is one of those games that anyone can pick up easily, where the lower difficulties allow for mistakes and experimentation with builds and weapons while still being a ton of fun. And a game that will ask a lot of you if you truly want to master it.

 

But it’s also one of those games that can make you obsessed with it. A game extremely well balanced (and constantly updated to make sure that’s indeed the case), and one where builds come down to player preference, of course, but also cold mathematics. You wouldn’t believe the ressources the player base has created, calculating damage breakpoints for the higher difficulties, among other things. For many, that might sound off-putting… For me… I spent countless hours reading up on the “theory” behind this game, watching videos explaining each and every weapon attack, its properties and damage numbers, trying to optimize my build but enjoying playing with my weapons of choice at the same time.

 

Lastly, it is also one of the few multiplayer games I’ve played where the individual cannot do much on his own. This is not a game where a bunch of noobs can get carried through the highest difficulties or game modes. This is a game, where everyone on the team needs to be their best, and be constantly communicating. I had not experienced a game with such a heavy emphasis on this “team-play” aspect, and I fell in love with the game partially because of it.

 

That also explains why I eventually stopped playing the game. While still fun for quick play, without a regular team to play past the 100%, I eventually moved on.

 

 

 

 

Alright guys, that's it! Make sure not to leave anything behind on your way out... 

 

 

Seriously though. I'm not going to start tagging you guys. You are here, are you not? And for that, I am truly grateful. During this past year, I have played a couple of times with the though of closing my checklist. Not because I don't enjoy writing here anymore, but due to lack of time to properly maintain it up to date. But I didn't and that is thanks to you all that came here to talk with me about games and other things. It was your inputs, the discussions I've had with you all, noticing that you do indeed care about what I write, and your encouragement to keep this going that always pushed my decision towards keeping the checklist open. 

 

Thank you all for caring, thank you all for even taking some of your precious time and spending it reading what I write, or engaging in any discussion with me and other people here. Thank you for your constant words of encouragement, both to all that engage with me here, in any other checklist or on PSN. I can ensure you that much of the motivation I have to finish some of the stuff I start comes from all the encouraging words I get from you all. 

 

This is to 2022 being an awesome year, here is to spending it together talking about what makes us happy  

 

Take care everyone, and have a wonderful start into this new year! 

 

 

 

 

[Shrooba]

Well done @Arcesius. Simply well done mate!

Splasher, from how you've worded it, seems to be a marvel of video game difficulty, where it demands absolute perfection in the quickest time possible. It's funny; I love playing racing games, and the way you've described Splasher matches the heart and soul of racing as a whole; giving it your 100% effort and going for the fastest times possible, with errors are slowly erased through each run to achieve victory. I can tell from that alone why Splasher would be a game you're extremely proud of, and you should be! ???

FF7R also does have beautiful visuals, absolutely stunning. I haven't played it yet, but they've truly reimagined the PS1 classic into a modern experience where every environment pops and blows you away with it's visuals. Typically for me, the gameplay is most important, such as Furi which absolutely blew me away with how fun it was which went hand in hand with it's intentionally simplistic art style, but it doesn't hurt for a game now and then to blow you away in the graphics department! ? Even if it ended as a nominee in the Biggest Bummer category, at least it has some positive rep nonetheless! ? Music respectively is another important part of a game. When I beat a game and don't go back to it in a while, the music is always what stays. I've heard the battle theme for FF7R and it kicks ass, it's fricking awesome stuff!!!

Solar Ash is a game I look forward to playing this year, and seeing you praise it's trophies is something I'm eager to dive into!!! ? Funnily enough, it's art style reminds me a ton of Furi, so it already feels like home for me! I can't wait to dive into it, and hearing your words on it just motivates me more! Great job on getting that done man, awesome completion!

And overall, it's been a great 2021 for you man! Lots of great games were beaten!!! Here's to a spectacular 2022 dude, you'll get some more killer games done! You got this! ?

Edited January 1, 2022 by Shrooba

[DrBloodmoney]

Stellar Awards my friend!

 

I can only imagine what the trophies for Neon Abyss must be like, knowing it beat RAD for Worst Trophy List, given what I know you thought of RAD's list!

 

I was sad to see Trine games in worst multiplayer, (well, Trine 4 really, 3 is a bummer in a lot of ways!).... but totally understandable given the bizarre lack of online co-op! TBH, I didn't even know that was an issue, as I buy those game exclusively for couch co-op with MsBloodmoney (she'd have my head on a platter if I tried to play them with someone else! ?) but I can totally understand your frustration with those - it's the exact inverse of my experience with Alienation (before they patched in couch co-op!)

 

Loads of games I don't know in here, but a lot of stuff to research and look at - you remain a source for all things tricky... long may it continue!

 

Happy New Year mate! ??

 

 

[Platinum_Vice]

Congratulations on your achievements this year, Arc. You've really got my appetite going for some of these games with your reviews even prior to this end of year wrap-up (Solar Ash and Slain in particular).

 

However, I have to side with @Mori about N++'s art design and sense of style. I think it's classy.

 

Best of luck with your endeavours in 2022! ? 

[Mori]

Thanks for the review Arcesius, I know time is a precious resource for you.  Also thanks for everything during 2021, turned out way different than expected. I am glad to have you as a friend.

[KindaSabbath]

Hey man!! First of all Happy New Year to you and your family! I hope 2022 is everything you want and deserve it to be! ?

 

Secondly, great Awards write-up dude! Very well written, well structured and in general just awesome to read! You got yourself some nice completions in 2021! You also did more than your fair share of helping others get some nice completions in 2021! Something I have no doubt you will do all over again in 2022! 

 

I’m very happy to read that you’ve decided to keep this checklist going. I know how you feel when it comes to having a lot on and time to balance things properly can be tricky. I don’t see you as the sort of dude who would half ass it, so it makes sense to me that if you felt you couldn’t upkeep this thread properly, you’d consider closing it. Definitely don’t do that though! This thread has 100% inspired many others that have popped up over this last year alone and you can include mine to that list, too! Just keep doing your thing man, when you have the time to that is. We’ll keep reading when the updates from you roll out. It doesn’t matter how frequent they are when the quality is so high!

 

Its good to see that Trials of the Blood Dragon made the awards. Let’s just not talk about why the game made the awards until after I’ve finished it ?

 

Sine Mora getting some love though! That’s dope as I’m really feeling something like that currently. Definitely a few on your list that I’m excited to go after in the near future. I’m very excited for Solar Ash in particular and apologies that I haven’t said so already, but, thank you for the amazing write-up for SA and thank you for the well written guide. I’m gonna pick that one up as a birthday present to myself this month ??

[Eqill5]

Hey Arc, I remember seeing that you’re also interested in playing Super Rude Bear Resurrection. I started it yesterday and all I have to say is, wow, this game is brutal  It’s certainly a lot of fun though, fast paced and is going to require some extreme precision for the no death runs, I’m looking forward to your thoughts if you start it. My only complaint so far? The music, man that was muted pronto.. It’s going to be a tough as hell platinum for sure!

[Shorah-]

On 01/01/2022 at 6:39 AM, Arcesius said:

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is not only my biggest surprise of 2021… It is the biggest positive surprise I’ve ever experienced in gaming.

 

My Man !

I completely support every single word you wrote on Vermintide 2. 

I would also consider V2, the best gaming experience i've had this year. It's incredible how a game with just a few inputs can be that challenging and hard to master.

I'm really hyped for Deep Rock Galactic that kinda look the same co-op wise. Will be UR plat aswell.

[Joe Dubz]

Sweet, loved the awards ceremony my man! There were def a few games on there I was not surprised to see, after following along with your checklist here for the better part of the year... Namely Solar Ash and Pier Solar! Same with V2, as I know you were raving about that one previously and you're making me want to play it!

 

At any rate, it has been a pleasure following along with your progress here and your reviews are such a joy to read!! You really have a way with words and it's been fun to check in on your progress here ?

 

Looking forward to seeing you tackle more challenges here in the coming year!

[Arcesius]

On 1/1/2022 at 0:54 PM, Shrooba said:

Splasher, from how you've worded it, seems to be a marvel of video game difficulty, where it demands absolute perfection in the quickest time possible. It's funny; I love playing racing games, and the way you've described Splasher matches the heart and soul of racing as a whole; giving it your 100% effort and going for the fastest times possible, with errors are slowly erased through each run to achieve victory. 

 

Yeah that's without a doubt the case. There is one level for example where I beat it's individual time attack by 1 hundredth of a second ? Those individual time attacks are the ones that are super tight for the most part. The full-game speedruns are more lenient, but they are long, and even if you are allowed to make 1-2 minutes of mistakes, over the span of a 73 minute speedrun that leeway doesn't amount to a ton of mistakes being possible! 

 

 

On 1/1/2022 at 0:54 PM, Shrooba said:

And overall, it's been a great 2021 for you man! Lots of great games were beaten!!! Here's to a spectacular 2022 dude, you'll get some more killer games done! You got this!

 

Thanks! Yeah looking back over my games, I feel like most of the stuff I played was really enjoyable! That's also my main goal when it comes to choosing my games. I don't test games on alt accounts, so there is the occasional "bad apple" here and there, so I'm definitely happy to look back and notice that those bad apples were fairly rare this year  

 

 

On 1/1/2022 at 1:18 PM, DrBloodmoney said:

I was sad to see Trine games in worst multiplayer, (well, Trine 4 really, 3 is a bummer in a lot of ways!).... but totally understandable given the bizarre lack of online co-op! TBH, I didn't even know that was an issue, as I buy those game exclusively for couch co-op with MsBloodmoney (she'd have my head on a platter if I tried to play them with someone else! ) but I can totally understand your frustration with those. 

 

To be fair, there are only 8 games on my 2021 list that had some sort of coop, so being last place doesn't mean quite the same as placing, for example, in the bottom third of your list of scientifically rated games... ? I played through Trine 3 with Ms. Arc and she actually enjoyed the game quite a bit, so not everything was lost. We had fun together, but I think that the game still finds its place at the end of the line, as all other coop games were far superior in my opinion. 

 

 

On 1/1/2022 at 4:02 PM, GonzoWARgasm said:

Congratulations on your achievements this year, Arc. You've really got my appetite going for some of these games with your reviews even prior to this end of year wrap-up (Solar Ash and Slain in particular).

 

Happy to hear that you are considering playing some of these games! Slain was a fantastic game as well, but I'm lucky to be able to say that it was outclassed by other games... Even if it didn't win anything though, I can still highly recommend it! I have Valfaris installed, and will probably give it a go after I'm done with Bleed, which I'm currently playing  

 

 

On 1/1/2022 at 6:02 PM, Mori said:

Thanks for the review Arcesius, I know time is a precious resource for you.  

 

On 1/3/2022 at 8:55 AM, KindaSabbath said:

I’m very happy to read that you’ve decided to keep this checklist going. I know how you feel when it comes to having a lot on and time to balance things properly can be tricky. I don’t see you as the sort of dude who would half ass it, so it makes sense to me that if you felt you couldn’t upkeep this thread properly, you’d consider closing it.

 

I'm quoting these statements together since they are what make my problem worse than it needs to be ? So, yes... time is precious, and most of the time for PSNP I actually find while at work, when my code is compiling, or I'm waiting for some computations to finish... 

 

But "not half-assing it" is the other part of the problem. I could simply have written "here are the best games I've played, and here is why"... But noooooooo... I had to design custom banners instead ??

 

In any case, if you guys enjoyed reading through the stuff I put out, then it was worth it And also for me personally! I enjoy when I find some of my old reviews or posts and I "like" what I see (aesthetically speaking). It is what it is ?

 

 

On 1/1/2022 at 6:02 PM, Mori said:

Also thanks for everything during 2021, turned out way different than expected. I am glad to have you as a friend.

 

Hey, don't mention it... And you know it, but... anytime! I'm not going anywhere. 

Take 2021 for what the year was, and here is to hoping 2022 will be better  

 

 

On 1/3/2022 at 8:55 AM, KindaSabbath said:

Hey man!! First of all Happy New Year to you and your family! I hope 2022 is everything you want and deserve it to be! 

 

Secondly, great Awards write-up dude! Very well written, well structured and in general just awesome to read! You got yourself some nice completions in 2021! You also did more than your fair share of helping others get some nice completions in 2021! Something I have no doubt you will do all over again in 2022! 

 

Thank you, thank you! And all the same to you as well!  This year will be what we make of it... Let's have it be awesome! 

 

Also, thanks a ton for the kind words... I'm not sure how helpful I've been this past year, but to me that's part of why I got hooked by this very site in the first place. Guides aside, besides all the constant drama, there are many helpful people here eager to help other members looking for help or advice, and quite the abundance of threads for specific games giving tons of great advice to those looking for it.

 

I want to be one of those members, though I don't think I always succeed. One can only try!   

 

 

On 1/3/2022 at 8:55 AM, KindaSabbath said:

Sine Mora getting some love though! That’s dope as I’m really feeling something like that currently. Definitely a few on your list that I’m excited to go after in the near future. I’m very excited for Solar Ash in particular and apologies that I haven’t said so already, but, thank you for the amazing write-up for SA and thank you for the well written guide. I’m gonna pick that one up as a birthday present to myself this month ?

 

Man, that writing-process was so stressful though! ? I'm usually slow AF with my games, so I knew that chances were that someone would write a guide and publish it before I was done with mine... Luckily that wasn't the case, and I still had a lot of fun playing the game and capturing things at the same time  

 

I hope it proves useful once you go for the game, and more importantly, I hope you enjoy the game as much as I did! 

 

 

19 hours ago, Eqill5 said:

Hey Arc, I remember seeing that you’re also interested in playing Super Rude Bear Resurrection. I started it yesterday and all I have to say is, wow, this game is brutal  It’s certainly a lot of fun though, fast paced and is going to require some extreme precision for the no death runs, I’m looking forward to your thoughts if you start it. My only complaint so far? The music, man that was muted pronto.. It’s going to be a tough as hell platinum for sure!

 

Hell yes, I am! I feel like completing more platformers this year... Super Rude Bear Resurrection is one of them, but I also have A Pixel Story, Chariot, Leo's Fortune, and Slime-San in my mind. But I'm already happy to read that the game is fun! I am expecting it to be quite the challenge, even though there are no full-world no-death runs ?

 

Keep us posted! Looking forward to reading about your experience with this one  

 

(Music is bad? no problem... I have plenty of motivating riffs ready to go, and the mute button close!  ) 

 

 

18 hours ago, Shorah- said:

I would also consider V2, the best gaming experience i've had this year. It's incredible how a game with just a few inputs can be that challenging and hard to master.

I'm really hyped for Deep Rock Galactic that kinda look the same co-op wise. Will be UR plat aswell.

 

Hell yeah! Congrats again on your own 100%, that's no small feat! And also on being the first 100% achiever... We were hoping to be the first group to finish, but you took that title home ?

 

Now, I didn't know anything about Deep Rock Galactic... But if you are hyped, you definitely got me hyped! My group is already talking about it, though we are still undecided if we are going to go for it... We'll see! If you do start it, let me know how it is... Hearing about this game from someone that I know enjoyed V2 as much as I did would be very welcome! 

 

And definitely look forward to Darktide, once it releases for Playstation  

 

 

14 hours ago, Joe Dubz said:

Sweet, loved the awards ceremony my man! There were def a few games on there I was not surprised to see, after following along with your checklist here for the better part of the year... Namely Solar Ash and Pier Solar! Same with V2, as I know you were raving about that one previously and you're making me want to play it!

 

Hahaha yeah, objectively speaking Pier Solar should not even be nominated for that category, but for me personally it is the one game that required the most mental fortitude to finish... Damn, it still feels great to this day!   

 

Now if only I would find that mental state again for SMBF... ?

 

 

 

Thanks everyone for the nice words and your encouragement... It really means a lot! 

Next on the list: Get that Warhammer: Chaosbane review out! 

[Destructor-8]

On 01/01/2022 at 11:39 AM, Arcesius said:

Welcome, everyone! Don't mind that it's already 2022... It’s time to have a quick look at how 2021 has been in terms of gaming, point out the real stars and throw the big disappointments straight into the moshpit to be trampled over.

 

Thank you all for caring, thank you all for even taking some of your precious time and spending it reading what I write, or engaging in any discussion with me and other people here. Thank you for your constant words of encouragement, both to all that engage with me here, in any other checklist or on PSN. I can ensure you that much of the motivation I have to finish some of the stuff I start comes from all the encouraging words I get from you all. 

 

That was a great read as always dude! The games to you finished are very impressive & I saw the games that you will be doing for a few of the events so looking forward to how you find those. There are a lot of good games that you play & it's always interesting to read every review that you do. I'm looking forward to the games that you will be doing & I'm sure each review will be great as well. The events will be a lot of fun to take part of so nice going on making those great!

[Arcesius]

First of all… thanks guys… Thanks for the support over at the "Guide of the Year Voting Thread”… It’s still baffling to me that two of my guides were nominated for anything out of the almost 500 guides that were published during 2021, and while I have no hopes of making it into any of the top 3 spots and didn't want to tell anyone to go vote, I truly appreciate every single one of you that took your time to write there and voted for my guide(s) and in general… Thank you guys, you are awesome!!  (And I don't tag you here because you know that you voted ? but I noticed, and I really, really appreciate it). 

 

 

Now, the next review is the one for the last game I completed in 2021... Warhammer: Chaosbane. As you can see from the rating, the game didn't really have a lasting impact on me, and it doesn't really deserve any more of my time, so I will keep the review short. Shout-out to my coop partners @Mori, @Koro249 and @Exhuman1988!  

 

Warhammer: Chaosbane

 

 

The Pitch

Pick your favorite of the available classes and crawl your way through dungeons set in the Warhammer universe, melting Chaos Spawns and Chaos Warriors while trying to discover the person behind an attempted murder...

 

 

 

The Best

I have been staring at this empty paragraph for too long now... I can't really find anything that this game does noticeably well ? I guess I need to look for things outside of the gameplay... I played this in 4-player coop which made for good moments as always, and you can cheese the trophy for finishing the game with all characters after finishing it with only one. That is actually the best part about this game, as playing through this thing five times would have been torture. 

 

 

The Worst

There are many, many dungeon crawlers out there. They are also called Diablo-clones... But what I don't understand is why they always copy the inferior Diablo III, and not the superior, fantastic, truly addicting game that is Diablo II. That is, in my opinion, the first mistake many of these games make. 

 

But sure, you could, theoretically, take the best parts of Diablo III and make a great game! Sadly, Warhammer: Chaosbane does not. It also does not offer post-game content to the extent that Diablo III does, which is, arguably, what actually saves Diablo III from being a forgettable, boring game, and so the entire experience is pretty shallow. Builds can be changed on the fly and so your choices when picking skills don't really matter, equipment doesn't really matter for the majority of the game (and they definitely don't for anything required for the plat)... The fascinating Warhammer universe is reduced to similar-looking hordes of enemies with some elite enemies standing out, every single level within each of the different Acts looks exactly the same, and don't even ask me anything about the plot... I couldn't tell you anything about it (I needed to google what the hell your goal is in this game for the pitch I wrote above... I didn't really get anything out of this game's story while playing myself). 

 

Besides those gameplay and narrative elements, the game runs like shit. All of us were playing the PS4 version on a PS5, and experienced soft-locks, lag, stuttering, enemy freezes, progress not saving for some of us, ... truly embarrasing, especially since the game sells for 60 fucking bucks. 

 

 

The Challenge

Dungeon Crawlers in general are often on the easy side. There are exceptions, but from my experience, these games are not always very well balanced. In the case of Warhammer: Chaosbane... this is probably the easiest of them all. Seriously. We cranked up the difficulty as high as we could (Chaos 1-5 was locked until we finished the story for the first time), reaching Very Hard while still in the first Act, and could always just melt through the levels without having to worry about anything. This was partially what led to the experience feeling pretty numb. 

 

There is no need to try and avoid attacks, be it from mobs or any of the bosses. There is no need to strategize, to stay together, to optimize your build with skills or gear. Just put on the stuff with the biggest numbers and go slay stuff. This was already bad in Diablo III, but it's even worse here. 

 

 

 

Warhammer: Chaosbane is an extremely overpriced, very forgettable game. The game sells for 60€, and while there is a PS5 version available, there is no upgrade path from the PS4 version. You are required to purchase the entire game again. Ah, the greeeeeeed. ??

 

Do NOT pay 60€ for this game. It’s not worth it. If you are desperately looking for yet another Diablo clone, wait until you can get it for like 10 bucks or less. Or better... don't get it at all and play Diablo II instead, the best game in the genre. 

 

 

__________________________________

 

So, I have meanwhile also finished It Takes Two with Ms. Arc, and am working on Darksiders Genesis with @Mori and should be done soon. Otherwise, I also earned all but the three glitched trophies in the released Dead Cells DLCs, and revisiting that game was a ton of fun (but damn the game is haaaard... without save-states, this 100% list would be extremely difficult). 

 

I am also missing three more Arcade clears in Bleed, though I'm not exactly sure how much practice they will still require. Once I'm done tidying up my profile, I will decide what game to start next.. I'm thinking Valfaris... or Returnal...or Dirt Rally 2.0 as a preparation for tackling Flatout together with some of you guys... or A Pixel Story... So many (hopefully awesome) games to play! ?

Edited January 12, 2022 by Arcesius

[Arcesius]

Well, hello there! Has been a while... I'm doing horribly with keeping up with my own checklist, and with all the other ones, honestly ? But here I am, not with a review, but with an update and short communiqué... 

 

Ms. Arc and myself bought a new apartment some time ago, and constructions are meanwhile finished... we will be moving there in March, which is very, very soon!  We are going to have much more space and, what I'm of course excited about, I'm going to have my own office / gaming room. That means that I'm going to be retiring my 65" TV in favor of a UHD gaming monitor (that I already bought because I'm an inpatient man when it comes to such things ?). 

 

In all honesty, while it is really incredible to play games such as GoW 2018, or HZD, or any other such story-driven game on a big ass TV, most of the games I play would actually be easier to play on a smaller screen, sitting closer to it, too. I am very much looking forward to designing my own room, and cannot wait to finally move in! 

 

Now, that change in my gaming setup also brings extra motivation, so let me quickly give a short update on the two games I've finished but not yet reviewed, but let me also write a word or two about each of the games on my profile that are not S-ranked, why they are not yet completed, and where we are going from here: 

 

 

1. Completed Games

 

 

Two coop-games are done! I had already finished It Takes Two on my last update, but with my son having been sick all of last week, he couldn't go to daycare, and Ms. Arc and myself had to work / take care of our son, which left me with almost no time to write anything. And so, my review queue grows once more ?

 

The second completed game, Darksiders Genesis, was quite fun on our first playthrough, but the second one on Apocalyptic difficulty was very unnecessary. I completed this game with @Mori, and I think we were both sick of the game by the time we were done with it ? The Endless Arena was also soooo muuuuuch fuuuuuuuun.... ?

 

Still, the game is decent, and having played all other Darksiders games (the first two on XBox if you are wondering why I don't have them on my profile), I'm happy to have done this one as well. 

 

 

2. Incomplete Games

 

 

Ah, the more interesting screenshot... As you can see, I have currently six open games, although technically you cannot count Dead Cells, since I have only three trophies left to earn which are currently glitched... So all I can do is wait for a patch. That makes it five games... Let's get to them, from the bottom to the top! 

 

 

Crypt of the NecroDancer

I think 2022 will be the year I return to this game. Why? Well, I think the move actually makes it feasible. Having my own room for gaming makes it so that interruptions won't be an issue (one of the problems I had when practicing Aria with a baby at home... Well, my son is no baby no more! ). Also, since I will be both working and gaming on the same desk, I will have a keyboard out at all times (yes, I also bought a new keyboard), making it easy to set up my Xim to play CotND with a keyboard, without having multiple cables in the middle of the living room and needing 10 minutes to set everything up... 

 

I will probably start by practicing Cadence again, maybe trying to get the 10 deathless runs in a row, before returning to Aria. 

 

 

Super Meat Boy Forever

So, I wanted to try something out... I took out my old, loud PS4 from its box, and hooked it onto a monitor instead of my 65" TV. I had a go at the game and noticed that it is just much easier to play this game that way... It doesn't make the game easy, not at all... but I went from a PB of 5 deaths in the first Dark World, to 1 death after just a bit of practice. 

Thus, I declare my return to SMBF once the move is over! I am actually looking forward to making more progress in this game, I think the break I took was a good idea.  

 

However, I'm still undecided about something... You see, I am NOT having as much fun with this game as I hoped I would. And so, while it would be cool to play on my own seed and figure out the levels myself, I am on the fence about starting a new save file and playing on a known seed... maybe the one from the guide that @Joe Dubz used. It wouldn't make the game significantly easier, as I would still need to execute everything flawlessly... But it would get rid of the "trial and error" and "trying to figure out how to beat the chunks in each level", a process which can take hours upon hours. 

 

And so, while this would result in me not having unique runs and videos to show, I would probably save many hours of playing a game I'm not enjoying as much. We'll see... ? Then of course, who knows which seed would be the best one to copy ?

 

 

Dead Cells

Not much to say here. As mentioned above, I have three "easy" (they can be earned in 0BC) trophies left to earn, but they are glitched. Nothing I can do. 

 

 

Bleed

Another game I took a break from. Don't get me wrong, the game is fun, but difficulty-related trophies do not stack... So far, I have played through story mode 4 times (one for each difficulty), and meanwhile completed 2/4 Arcade runs. The game was getting old, so I though I break might be a good idea. 

 

And I think it was. I feel like returning to this game soon. I still have to complete an Arcade run on Hard and Very Hard, which will probably require a fair deal of practice, so I might not do them back-to-back. But I will start practicing Arcade on Hard this week  

 

 

Deep Rock Galactic

Welp... I took the plunge ? DRG is one of the games offered with PS+ in January... It is a 4-player coop FPS with dwarves, beer and mining... There are four dwarf classes to choose from, many different mission types and procedually generated dungeons. You descend into the cave, attempt to complete your primary / secondary objective, and then try to leave the cave. 

 

I have been playing this with @Mori, @HusKy and @Exhuman1988, but there is also some solo-play required (i.e. complete 100 solo missions), and the game is a ton of fun. So far I have not yet felt highs similar to what Vermintide 2 has to offer in terms of coop gameplay, but we have yet to unlock more character abilities and play on higher difficulties, so who knows what the game will bring still  

 

This game is not going anywhere anytime soon though... It is a 300-400 hour 100%, but we are looking at it as a nice coop-project for 2022   

 

 

Badland 

After finishing everything in single player, I am now almost done with coop as well. I have completed 85/100 missions in coop (mostly solo with 2 controllers) without caring too much about completing the respective missions. I am also done with the miscellaneous trophies. 

Why am I doing this, you might ask? Well, because when you play a mission for the first time, you cannot see what the three related missions are... but you do when selecting a mission you have already completed. 

 

Once I've completed all 100 missions, I will have three trophies left to earn (besides the plat): Save 2000 clones in coop, complete 120 missions in coop and complete 300 missions in coop. Having insight into the missions will allow me to pick those that can still be done with one player alone and complete them, play from time to time with Ms. Arc and complete some of the easier missions that indeed do require a second player (she already helped with a couple), and then do everything else with @Mori. 

 

We will start with shareplay once I have moved to our new place, since I will also upgrade our internet connection, which should hopefully reduce the lag, at least when I'm hosting  

 

 

 

And that's it for now! I will write the review for It Takes Two and hopefully post it at some point this week! 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Arcesius

[DrBloodmoney]

Dude - I cannot wait to read you're It Takes Two review... and I think you know why!

Someone... SOMEONE has to be a revolted by that game's ending as I was!

I know that person exists somewhere... will it be you? ?

 

Seriously though - congrats on the apartment, that's gotta be getting exciting now!

Also, good to hear you're wee fella is feeling better - it's rough when the younglings get sick!

[KindaSabbath]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

Ms. Arc and myself bought a new apartment some time ago, and constructions are meanwhile finished... we will be moving there in March, which is very, very soon!

Nice!!! I’m excited for you dude! Especially…

 

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

I'm going to have my own office / gaming room.

… Life goals right there! I just need some of mine to fly the nest and this dream can be a reality for me too! ?

 

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

That means that I'm going to be retiring my 65" TV in favor of a UHD gaming monitor

Oh - good move man. This is something I’m toying with the idea of too! In preparation for my PS5, I went out and bought a massive fucking Oled thingy… It looks awesome and I assume that big cinematic games pop on the bad boy… I say ASSUME because I don’t play any of them ?. So really when you think about it, I paid quite a lot of dosh for latency. Yes Sabbath, you’re a dickhead ??

 

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

Now, that change in my gaming setup also brings extra motivation

Fresh setup, fresh vibes man! Let’s get it man!! ?

 

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

1. Completed Games

 

 

Two coop-games are done!

As always - congrats on your recent completions! Looking forward to your take on It Takes Two. Me and the wife still need to play Peggle 2 but more options would be awesome. Recently she has genuinely enjoyed watching me do the Time Trials in CTR, which is cool but I definitely want to play more games with her this year!

 

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

Crypt of the NecroDancer

I don’t know too much about this one but I know that the thought of trying to complete it scares the shit outa me ?… You will crush it now that life seems to be more permitting. Exciting stuff!!

 

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

Super Meat Boy Forever

So, I wanted to try something out... I took out my old, loud PS4 from its box, and hooked it onto a monitor instead of my 65" TV. I had a go at the game and noticed that it is just much easier to play this game that way... It doesn't make the game easy, not at all... but I went from a PB of 5 deaths in the first Dark World, to 1 death after just a bit of practice. 

Thus, I declare my return to SMBF once the move is over! I am actually looking forward to making more progress in this game, I think the break I took was a good idea.

Firstly, it’s good to see you in a place where you’re ready to go back and finish this one off. Secondly a low latency monitor will be a game changer. Anything that requires quick reactions is much harder on a laggy big screen. For example, I would not even consider playing anything competitive FPS wise on anything other than a low latency monitor. It’s a straight up no for me. Trust me, this change in your setup is going to be huge mate! The monitor is a great investment. 
 

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

However, I'm still undecided about something... You see, I am NOT having as much fun with this game as I hoped I would. And so, while it would be cool to play on my own seed and figure out the levels myself, I am on the fence about starting a new save file and playing on a known seed... maybe the one from the guide that @Joe Dubz used. It wouldn't make the game significantly easier, as I would still need to execute everything flawlessly... But it would get rid of the "trial and error" and "trying to figure outhow to beat the chunks in each level", a process which can take hours upon hours

If you’re not having fun dude, don’t make it any more stressful than it needs to be. I’d just take the least stressful route and be done with it. It’s a shame that the game didn’t hit for you like I know you hoped it would, but I’d just wrap it up and move on ?

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by KindaSabbath