Last Game You Finished and Your Rating

Carto (Game Pass)

A thoroughly decent, novel, puzzle game. Lovely art and music; it all felt very charming. A sweet little story runs through it, but its nothing ground breaking.

The puzzles were a decent challenge (after the first couple of chapters which were very easy), and i found one of them an absolute bastard to navigate. Its amazing how often i tried to stitch together a number of tiles to reach a destiantion, only to then remember i could often just move myself and my tile to the required area.....

I had had enough of it by the end (it took me about 8 hours i think, which seems to be longer than most), and i had to look up solutions for 2 or 3 puzzles as i was getting frustrated. Overall, worth a go.

7.

Phantasy Star 2 - 6/10

Would've been seven but my enjoyment went down a bit in second half, I don't really like dungeon design and it was annoying to look up each time what tech does and what.

It's good game, but compared to other RPGs at its time it's least impressive.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Carto (Game Pass)

I really like the look of this, it looks almost like a singleplayer puzzle version of carcassonne.

OrangeRKN wrote:
kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Carto (Game Pass)

I really like the look of this, it looks almost like a singleplayer puzzle version of carcassonne.

Apparently so. I have heard that board game name mentoned several times in respect to its similarity with the tile placing rules.

Lotus wrote:Little Nightmares - 8/10

+ Atmospheric environments
+ Nice, stylised visuals
+ Good level of challenge (not difficult, but some bits that require thought)
+ Creepy vibe

- Controls can be clunky and a bit awkward

Liked this a lot. Some good moments, always felt intrigued about what was next, the lack of combat made it quite relaxing to play, and I loved the creepy/weird feeling. It's a short game, but perfect for what it is. I completely missed the ability to break those dolls or hug those little creature things, but I can't be arsed to replay the game to do any of that. Not sure I'll bother with the DLC either, it's more expensive than the main game. Hoping the upcoming sequel is just as good, if not better.

I still have absolutely no idea what this game was about. It wasn't bad. Very memorable.

Silent Hill 2 9/10

My first ever playthrough, using the PC Director's Edition and the community created Enhanced mod.

First off, it looks and sounds lovely. Apparently the original unmodded PC version is hot trash so whatever magic the modders have done is just that...magic. I actually think its age works for it these days: the muddy textures and blocky shapes on the environments and monsters really sell a sense of confusion and abstract horror. And the music...even though I knew it was hyped to hell before going in, it really is astonishing how moody and oppressive the soundscapes are.

The gameplay has aged somewhat: especially the bonkers puzzles that are completely illogical or pure trial and error, but again the wonky combat really sells the feeling of being completely out of your depth.

It didn't disappoint, and is definitely one of my favourite horror game experiences.

Full Throttle Remastered (Game Pass).

Very dissapointing, this is the first Lucas Arts games i have not loved. In truth i barely liked it.

None of the trademark humour or 4th wall breaks, which would be fine if the story was interesting or compelling, but it was just a completely predicatble cliched affair.

Mark Hamill was great as Ripburger, and thankfully it was only about 6 or 7 hours long.

5

Alien Isolation

Probably a 9 out of 10. Maybe an 8. It's ever so slightly too long and after the second or third time dying in one area, all the tension is replaced with frustration (I probably should've tried an easier difficulty). But apart from that it's so bloody good. The atmosphere and art design is astounding and everything feels so polished. I can't believe it's 6 years old already.

Is it worth doing the Crew Expendable stuff?

Assassin's Creed Odyssey (6)

Finally finished this. Started way back in July and it's the only thing I've been playing since then. Strange game in the sense that there are aspects that are ok: the story, for an AC game was alright and made a reasonable use of the Ancient Greek setting, the combat (while miles away from something like Batman Arkham Asylum) at least has the scope to be varied, Kassandra was quite charismatic (although the actor that played Alexis? Wtf).

The reason why I've come away pretty disappointed with it is that the size of the game makes no sense in the context of what's on offer. You could conceivably see all this game has to give (aside from some vaguely interesting quests involving mythical beasts in the run-up to the final quest) in 10 hours or so. Yet I finished this in just under 100 hours. Yes I spent a fair chunk of time unveiling the map before turning my hand to the main quests but I genuinely thought they'd be more of a pay off than what we got. This has some pretty good reviews but I feel like they must have been playing a different game. I've rarely played a game that has such a poor respect for the player's time. What's the point in filling a map with identikit camps, caves.and temples to fill a play space that serves no purpose at all?

Like many games this gen, the developers seem to be happy to have the players engaged, logging hours and appearing on friends' lists playing their product, by providing breadth but no depth. It felt like a game solely devised to keep you doing rather than being entertained which is a real shame as, if the fat was trimmed and it was more focussed, the game could have been a tiny bit better even if the game beneath all of the dross is only just an alright one. Unlike some of the games it's trying to ape, it rarely does things with any flare, care or individual expression. It is a game that is largely devoid of fun and creativity (aside from some of the things I've listed above).

I know I should have learned my lesson by now: I've enjoyed a few AC games but have been frustrated by them in equal parts. Some systems just don't seemed joined up at all; they are games created by committee and focus groups, and end up being woefully unrefined (e.g. horse traversal being slower than on foot in towns - why?).

Like I said, I've enjoyed a few AC games - including ones that aren't considered to be the better ones like ACIII and Unity. The ones I have enjoyed have been less bogged down in providing unnecessary bumph and milking time and / or money out of their player base than this one is. There's always an undeniable thrill in exploring their worlds for the first time but this thrill often gives way to frustrated boredom when you realise that the environments make for good screenshots and trailers but are pretty vapid play spaces to spend any extended time in. And is there anything more offensive than selling 'time saver' dlc to circumvent the unneccesary grind in these single player games?.Or hiding interesting armour behind paywalls despite the fact that the Gold editions can cost nearly £100 when first released?

Long story short: could have been a better game if it were only a fifth of the length.

Hopefully lessons will be learned for Valhalla.

Reading that I'm thinking "why did you keep playing it?" :lol:

OrangeRKN wrote:Reading that I'm thinking "why did you keep playing it?"

Don't get me wrong - it was morish. But rather like eating nothing but McDonalds or Pringles, it's filling but not particularly satisfying. I think the point I was trying to make was it could have been so much better with an editor. It's size impacted on the enjoyment but, when you're 30 or 40 hours in, you start thinking 'im too far in to stop now'.

I may think more fondly of it a little later but now I'm just thinking what else I could have done with 100 hours.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 - 9/10

Finished THPS2 this week (and THPS1 last month); well, when I say finished, I mean the main tour with all the stat points and logos. Its going to be a while before I'm actually finished! It's a fantastic game, I'm not sure I can find fault with it tbh. It'll be in my gaming rotation for a long time.

It's excellent. I'm still playing it now and don't think it's possible to get bored of it. Definitely a runner up for GOTY (it's been an insane year for good games).

Remember Me - 5/10

+ Nice environments and visual design
+ Traversing the levels is enjoyable
+ Combat system and designing your own combos is a good idea...

- ...but frustrating in its execution
- Loads of bad design choices that really suck the fun out of the game
- Plot is a load of crap
- Drags on a bit too long

Blurgh...I really wanted to like and enjoy this, but it goes out of its way to annoy you. The plot is awful, and all this 'remembrane', 'errorist', and everyone saying 'remember you soon' to each other smacks of trying too hard and ends up just being naff. The ability to build your own combos is a nice idea, but combat is so frustrating without any kind of lock-on, and you're often so overwhelmed by enemies that you never get chance to complete the longer combos because you're always being interrupted by being attacked every couple of seconds or having to dodge out of the way. Some of the boss fights are rage-inducing because you need to pull off the long combos, but you don't get a moment's rest from being attacked and it's just one long exercise in frustration. Frustration really is the key word here, because there are a lot of good ideas, but they've either been over-complicated, or they've shoe-horned in too many mechanics, or they've just messed them up in some other way. Some sections I just can't believe that someone played through it and thought "yeah this is good". It's a shame as there was a lot of potential here, but they strawberry floated it up for sure.

To be honest I don't remember the plot (lol) but I did really like the characters and world building. The art direction lends a lot to the world building too. I had some of the concept art as my phone screen for a long while. There's some really good looking stuff.

I don't think they "strawberry floated it up", I think everything is servicable, but it's definitely unrefined due to the variety of gameplay. The create-your-own combos is a great example because you don't really need to engage with it much (although it's certainly better than the similar system in White Knight Chronicles, if that comparison means anything to anyone :lol:

)

What did you think of the dream investigation sections? Other than being too few and far between I think they are a highlight of the game.

OrangeRKN wrote:To be honest I don't remember the plot (lol) but I did really like the characters and world building. The art direction lends a lot to the world building too. I had some of the concept art as my phone screen for a long while. There's some really good looking stuff.

Yeah I think the art and the level/environment design is probably the standout feature of the game. Looks lovely in places.

OrangeRKN wrote:I don't think they "strawberry floated it up", I think everything is servicable, but it's definitely unrefined due to the variety of gameplay.

I just think they wasted lots of good ideas by trying to put too much into them, do too much with them, or messed them up in some other way. So no it's not all terrible and unplayable, but they messed up in several areas I'd say, and avoiding that could've made the game a lot better.

You mention the dream investigation sections, which is a great example. Starts out good and is an interesting idea, but used too little, some of the scenes are too long and tedious going through all permutations, and others are too basic (i.e. one thing to change). So it was a nice idea, but they messed it up. Loads of examples like that. I think they just got carried away and tried to cram too much in, which is a shame, as they were close to it being quite good.

twitter.com/jawafour/status/1328496881253511168

Abzu (Nintendo Switch)

I am blown away at the sheer style and atmosphere of this game; it looks absolutely lovely and feels good, too. The gameplay is light but the experience deep. It's an adventure through the water and to say any more would spoil it for others.

I'm slightly embarrassed that I only paid £1.49 for it in the current eShop sale; at that price, it's absolutely essential for anyone who feels they could enjoy a brief, chilled and memorable aquatic journey.

[8]

I finished Abzu today as well and I'd agree with everything you said, jawa - lovely little game :wub:

8/10.

Renewed Abzu love is great to see :wub:

I'm maybe only a quarter through on Switch but it's my third time playing it. Weirdly it's one of the few games I think is missing out by not having trophies because they helped direct a fair amount of my exploration on PS4 knowing the categories of things to find.

Maid of Sker. A properly tense ordeal. It felt rough as hell on XB1S, but it was transformed on Series X, with an uncapped framerate, slightly reduced FOV and massively reduced loading times. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who likes creepy horror with a LOT of stealth (no combat). Some of the achievements were downright evil, though (complete without getting hit, complete only saving once).

Rating: Worth a look.

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