What Games Have You Completed? (2023 EDITION!)

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

Super Mario 3D Land

What an absolute joy this game was and I can't believe it's taken me this long to sit down and really play it.

3D Land takes a more linear approach to the 3D mario template than the more exploration based contemporaries. In a way it closely patterns itself after Super Mario Bros 3 with it's bitesized levels. It makes no secret of this with there being numerous references to mario 3 which extends to the inclusion of that games iconic Racoon and Tanooki suits. It makes it a perfect fit for the handheld platform. The diorama camera alleviates the necessity for camera controls on a system without the right analogue stick. It's a game perfectly tailored for the handheld experience.

It's a rather generous game in terms of content. There's a huge amount of stages and each one has been designed with the usual Nintendo quality you just don't find in another other competitors platformers. Each stage also has 3 coins to collect, some of which are quite fiendishly placed. These are used to unlock progress through the game but the requirements are quite generous in that regard. Finishing the game opens up the special world which effectively doubles the content of the base game. While I found the initial set of levels a bit too easy the special stages ramp up the challenge. These stages are a mix of brand new stages or previous stages with the stages and objectives switched up to add more challenge. It's also a requirement to collect all of the 3 hidden coins on each stage to unlock the final levels of the special world.

The game is wrapped up in Nintendo's high level of polish. The music is excellent. Visually it's one of the best looking games on the system. Stages are full of flourishes and call backs to mario's history that will bring a smile to your face. It's one of the all time great handheld games.

Gamer Bhoy 89

Resident Evil 4 (2023) || PlayStation 5

Posted my comment on this in the wrong thread 😂 Didn't notice until 3 weeks later.

But anyway; what's to say? It's Resi 4. As good as the original, if not better. Capcom have been nailing these remakes (and yes, I'm a fan of RE3 remake. I loved it).

Little Nightmares || PlayStation 5

Hadn't played this one in a few years - completely forgot how short it was.

Brilliant little horror-platformer. Great art style. Stellar soundtrack and sound design in general. Doesn't get nearly the recognition it deserves.

So happy the devs have announced a third instalment. I'm gonna jump into Little Nightmares 2 now

Gamer Bhoy 89

Little Nightmares II || PlayStation 5

This one exceeds the first game by a country mile. It also has one of the coolest endings to any (at least indie) game I've seen in recent years.

Really can't wait for Little Nightmares III

White Shadows || PlayStation 5

Saw this one for sale after I beat Little Nightmares 2 so I decided to grab it and give it a go.

Cinematic platformers are among my favourite genres, but this one, honestly; a bit of a let down.

I mean, it was fine. There was little to no challenge to it (few trial and error moments but those were down to my lack of awareness). I think the developer's focus here was the story more than anything, before gameplay.

Visually it's nice, but technically it's a bit of a mess. I wouldn't recommend it on console; at least PS5. Frame rate drops all over the place. If it runs better on PC (and I'd assume it does), get it there.

Personally though, I found it a bit boring.

Gamer Bhoy 89

Flashback || PlayStation 5

My favourite game of all time. Practically comfort food at this stage.

Final two levels are a massive pain in the hole though. Massive spike in difficulty.

Nothing much I can say. It's one of the best cinematic platformers ever made. If not THE best.

da gamer

Call of duty modern warfare II - PS4

Lego the Incredibles - PS4

A plague tale requim - Xbox series s

High on life - Xbox series s

Prodeus - Xbox series s

Goldeneye - Xbox series s

The last of us - PS4

TMNT shredder revenge-Xbox series s

Shadow warrior 3 - Xbox series s

Mafia 2 - PS4

Halo infinite - Xbox series s

The walking dead TFS - Xbox series s

Double dragon 2 - Nes

Terminator resistance - PS4

Dusk - Switch

Evil west - PS5

Fifa 23 - PS4

Quake 2 64 - Xbox series s

TinCanMan

The Last Guardian [PS5] - A game that I both loved and hated. The story and the world that it plays out in are amazing with the sense of scale when outside and traversing upwards providing some exhilarating moments. The bond between the two main characters is a joy to experience and grows throughout the game. Now for the bad. The controls and camera are beyond frustrating at times and can lead to some truly rage inducing moments. In addition some of the puzzles have little logic to them and can be difficult to figure out. That aside the game was a beautiful experience and well worth playing.

Assassins Creed Black Flag [PS5] - What a joy this game is to play. It’s definitely one of the best Assassins Creed games to date and for a game almost 10 years old it still looks beautiful. The story is well written and the protagonist likeable. The ship battles add greatly to the game with some epic battles ensuing but this game is more than just that. I found the player control to be well polished as well. Overall I would thoroughly recommend this game.

Stray [PS5] - This game is visually stunning in a unique setting where you play as a cat with the ultimate aim to escape the world that you are forced into. Along the way you will encounter various puzzles and enemies. Whilst not overly challenging they do add to this unique environment. It’s a beautiful experience, especially if you are looking for something a bit different at a more relaxing pace. 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons [PS5] - I can’t recommend this game enough. It really hits you in the feels. The game itself looks beautiful and has a unique playstyle as you need to control the two brothers simultaneously with the left and right analog sticks. There are various puzzles and enemies to tackle on your adventures. Whilst the game isn’t overly long it’s definitely one that everyone should experience. 

Omno [PS5] - If you need a game to relax to then this is for you. It’s a delightful indie puzzle platformer that reminds me in some ways of the playstation classic Journey. It’s never too challenging but the beautiful world and almost zen-like gameplay is ideal for someone looking for a less stressful game to play. 

Dishonored 2 [PS5] - If you’ve played the first then this is a huge step up both graphically and in terms of gameplay. You get a choice of playing as the main character from the first game or his daughter, both of whom have different skill sets and strengths. You can be guns blazing or super stealthy, the choice is really up to you. I played this stealthily and had a blast causing mayhem from the shadows. For those that haven’t played dishonored 1 or 2 I’d highly recommend giving them a try.

Mafia: Definitive Edition [PS5] - A remake of the first Mafia game. You play as Tommy Angelo, a taxi driver who through chance ends up joining the Salieri crime family and the game follows his rise in the organisation. It's a chapter driven game with varying missions from driving, shooting, assassinations and robbery. It's beautifully played out with real depth to the characters and an engaging story. 

Metro 2033 Redux [PS5] - a moody, atmospheric first person shooter set in the post apocalyptic metro tunnels of Moscow. Not the longest of games and very linear but I highly recommend it. Really enjoyed my playthrough.

Gone Home [PS5] - I played this as I had it free on PS Plus and it was recommended as a hidden gem. It’s basically a walking simulator where you uncover the story of the main character as you explore her home. It’s ok but if I’m honest nothing special.

ABZU [PS5] - I would describe this as more of an experience than a game. Set in a beautiful underwater environment you dive into the depths exploring and solving some light puzzles on the way. It’s a beautiful meditative experience where you can chill for a few hours.

The Artful Escape [PS5] - An audio and visual feast, both psychedelic and mesmerising in parts. A very enjoyable experience. 

Judgement [PS5] - What an amazing game. If you’ve played a Yakuza game then you’ll know what to expect. It’s got all the usual things you’d find in a Yakuza game but this time you play as a detective (ex lawyer) rather than a Yakuza with the task of solving several gruesome murders and the conspiracies behind them. It looks and performs beautifully on the PS5. Would thoroughly recommend this especially if you have enjoyed previous Yakuza games.

Alan Wake [PS5] - A game I’ve been wanting to play since the Xbox 360 version but never got that chance. A horror/thriller where you play the part of a writer whose wife goes missing in mysterious circumstances whilst on vacation with sinister forces at play when darkness descends. I really loved this and whilst initially spooky it’s more fun than scary after a few chapters. Thoroughly recommended. 

 

da gamer

Call of duty modern warfare II - PS4

Lego the Incredibles - PS4

A plague tale requim - Xbox series s

High on life - Xbox series s

Prodeus - Xbox series s

Goldeneye - Xbox series s

The last of us - PS4

TMNT shredder revenge-Xbox series s

Shadow warrior 3 - Xbox series s

Mafia 2 - PS4

Halo infinite - Xbox series s

The walking dead TFS - Xbox series s

Double dragon 2 - Nes

Terminator resistance - PS4

Dusk - Switch

Evil west - PS5

Fifa 23 - PS4

Quake 2 64 - Xbox series s

God of war ragnarok - PS5

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)

Astroboy: Omega Factor

I'm amazed it took me so long to playing this game considering who the developer is and how well regarded it is but I'm glad I finally gave it a go.

Sega decided to release two games to coincide with the 50th anniversary of astroboy and the release of a new cartoon series, a 3D PS2 game and a GBA game. Mostly licensed GBA games were the absolute dregs but strangely the PS2 game has been largely forgotten due to its mediocrity and the GBA title was a real standout, probably due to who Sega got on board as developer.

Sega's internal team Hitmaker was in charge for the project and their lead as a big fan of Gunstar Heroes brought in Treasure to develop the title. Treasure put in charge who set up a team with Gunstar Heroes lead designer and programmer, Mitsuru Yaida, in the same role.

While Treasure are one of my all time favourite videogame developers they are a bit like Platinum in that their own IP is usually very well crafted but their licensed games are hit and miss, mostly miss. Their GBA output was also quite disappointing, Gunstar Heroes is a top 10 greatest game of all time for me but the GBA sequel Super Gunstar Heroes was a massive disappointment. I think there was a lot of love for the Astroboy licensed with this game and a decent budget as it really feels like a passion project and while there's a lot of Treasure's DNA in here, particularly Gunstar and Alien Soldier, it's very much a unique experience with the complex systems that Treasure is known for.

Omega Factor is a typical platform beat'em up with a not very typical control system. Astroboy has pretty much all his many available abilities to him and they have somehow all been mapped to the four buttons of the GBA. Along with a standard punch astro can kick enemies which sends they careening across the screen and can hit other enemies to create satisfying combo attacks. Astro can also use his finger tip lasers for a long range attack. Astro has a simple jump but can engage his booster jets to travel across the screen and give him i-frames. Finally he has three special moves that can be activated when the ex bar is full. This is filled by attacking enemies. There's his screen clearing button machine guns that also give i-frames and a very powerful super laser that does huge amounts and cancels enemy bullets but leaves astro in place and vulnerable. His final attack has astro using his jets and careening into enemies but I found this attack in consistent as you press both A and B at the same time and the timing is very strict.

Despite the amount of options the player has the control scheme is quite intuitive. Each stage of the game is split into smaller action segments. These can be unique action segments or, in Treasure tradition boss, massive boss battles. The difficulty of the game initially isn't too hard and I found myself bumbling through a lot of these fights and most people should be able to as well.

I say initially here as that all changes in new game plus. Omega Factor has a very interesting take on new game plus. The first time through is a linear journey to the end leading to a strangely dark and depressing ending. New game plus opens up a stage select and a time paradox story line as astro travels through time to avert disaster. New stages open up and new challenges while enemies and boss now hot much harder and challenge you on your knowledge and executing of astroboys unique move set.

While astroboy is one of the best action games on the GBA I haven't really touched on how it's not just a love letter to Astroboy but to his creator, the late Tetsu Osama. The story of Omega Factor mixes up the Astroboy story with characters and stories from all of Osama's works. This feeds back into the game as meeting characters and understanding them allows Astro to upgrade his abilities as well as filling out his 'omega factor', a representation of astro understanding human emotion that also serves as an encyclopaedia for Osama's work.

Astroboy Omega Factor is an absolute gem of an action game and we'll worth playing despite a few difficulty spikes and frustrations.

Mr.Fantastic

1. God of war: Ragnarok -PS5
2. Signalis -Xbox Series X
3. The Callisto Protocol - PS5
4. FF7 Crisis core reunion -PS5
5. Fire Emblem: Engage - Switch
6. Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
7. Resident evil 4: Remake -PS5
8. Star Wars : Jedi Survivor-PS5
9. Chained Echoes -Steam Deck
10. Dredge - Steam Deck
11. Midnight Fight Club - Xbox Series X
12. Final Fantasy XV -PS5
13. Mortal Kombat 11 - Xbox Series X

Mortal Kombat 11

Dusted this off on gamepass enjoyable, I have the DLC also but was mindless fun for a few hours.

ShaneU

1. God of War: Ragnarok
2. Hitman World of Assassination
3. Ni No Kuni 2
4. Tunic
5. Dredge
6. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
7. Final Fantasy XVI
8. Diablo IV
9. Starfield

Some cool moments in this but the engine is feeling very dated now. Other than Barrett I didn't really find any of the characters endearing. The main quest is based around going to identical temples and doing an identical mini-game to get powers over and over. Who thought that was a good idea? I was fed up the third time. The faction quests are MUCH better. Ship combat is great. They've actually managed to make stealth worse than Skyrim, all the enemies have spidey senses and can spot you from half a mile away! I alerted an enemy by walking past them on the other side of the wall in a different room! I didn't bother with the base building as it seems rather pointless and I could spot the AI generated rubbish a mile off, avoided that. Once again, Bethesda UI is dreadful, no information on what you want to pick up at all. Also the navigation for a game set in space is poor. I really hope Elder Scrolls VI doesn't use this same engine but it probably will.

10 Coccoon

Brilliant puzzle game by the maker of Limbo and Inside. Lots of "there's no way they expect me to do that...oh wait they do!" moments. It's on gamepass.

da gamer

Call of duty modern warfare II - PS4

Lego the Incredibles - PS4

A plague tale requim - Xbox series s

High on life - Xbox series s

Prodeus - Xbox series s

Goldeneye - Xbox series s

The last of us - PS4

TMNT shredder revenge-Xbox series s

Shadow warrior 3 - Xbox series s

Mafia 2 - PS4

Halo infinite - Xbox series s

The walking dead TFS - Xbox series s

Double dragon 2 - Nes

Terminator resistance - PS4

Dusk - Switch

Evil west - PS5

Fifa 23 - PS4

Quake 2 64 - Xbox series s

God of war ragnarok - PS5

Ghost of Tsushima - PS4

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)

Resident Evil 4 Remake

I expected a lot from this game considering how big an impression the incredible original left on me and this didn't disappoint. I initially bounced off it as I was having a hard time playing it until I realised that Professional difficulty turns off aim assist on a controller and makes it impossible to play. I switched to keyboard and mouse and it was so much better.

The combat is still excellent with some nice additions like the knife parry. I prefer how it works in Resi 4 but this is still great. It was loads of fun seeing how Capcom remade areas and boss encounters. Despite some areas being cut there's plenty of new areas and it's a very generous game in terms of run time.

I'll probably return to this with the Separate Ways DLC which I hear is excellent.

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)

Knightmare

I have to admit I kind of didn't beat this one. I got to the end screen but I had to use a 25 loves code and some save state. I could make it up to stage 6 but after that the game just gets brutal a d I don't think I have the ability to make it through to the end.

Knightmare is a vertical scrolling shoot'em up with a Greek mythology theme created by Konami for the lowly MSX hardware. Considering how underpowered the hardware is this is a truly remarkable game. This is a system that can only render sprites in a single colour and can only scroll in tile chunks leading to the 'ratchet scrolling' seen in this and many other msx games. It's a fantastic shooter once you can look past the technical limitations and one that is still hugely enjoyable in this day and age.

Of course Konami at the time were one of the best videogame developers and put out most of the msx platformers best games but knightmare could well be their best. Each of the eight stages are excellently designed and start tough and become absolutely brutal very quickly. The enemy design is excellent and the game gets quite inventive with its enemy waves, making the most of the limited roster of enemy types.

The game manages to give the player a lot of variety and is loaded with secrets. There's a real sense of risk/reward. Helpful items appear as tiles on the ground that must be shot multiple times to reveal their contents. These range from points bonuses to rarer extra lives. They will block shots before the item is revealed which adds quite a bit of tactical depth. P icons will occasionally enter the play area from the top of the screen. Shooting this icon will change its effect ranging from extra speed, a useful bullet blocking shield, to invincibility. You can also gain a variety of weapons from a second type of glowing icon.

Knightmare is quite a simple game but there's a huge amount of depth. The game comes down to juggling power ups, should you go for invincibility or maybe chance it and power up your speed or shield. If there's one flaw it's that you lose all power ups on death and it can be a real struggle to recover and power your character back to a level where you have a chance against the waves of enemies, although this is a common complaint against Konami shooters of the game like Gradius. Every stage ends in a boss battle, all of which are challenging and unique. The game will also open hidden warp tiles once you beat a stage and continue from the start. There's only a few music tracks in the game but Konamis excellent sound team have crafted some really excellent ear worms here. A later disk version of the game even supports Konamis SCC cartridge for even better sound quality. (I'd also recommend this version as the stage 2 boss has emulation issues in the original cartridge version which makes his projectiles invisible).

Knightmare is just a wonderful game and a testament to what can be achieved on primitive hardware. Who needs fancy high res textures and ray tracing when you have gameplay thats this much fun.

Penn

1. Neon White (PS5)
2. Dead Cells (PS5)
3. Superliminal (PS5)
4. Dead Space (Remake) (PS5)
5. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe (PS5)
6. Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy (PS5)
7. Like A Dragon: Ishin (PS5)
8. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS5)
9. Horizon Forbidden West - Burning Shores DLC (PS5)
10. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5)
11. Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (Switch)
12. Humanity (PS5)

Baldurs Gate 3 (PS5)

Absolutely incredible game, one which completely took me by surprise and has become one of my favourite games of all time. Just so much fun, and really respects and rewards the time and effort you put into it. The combat itself can be extremely challenging, particularly as you never know what enemies/bosses might throw at you, but taking the time and effort to really think about your character builds can really get you off to a great start.

The story is fun and engaging and has a surprising amount of depth to it. The design throughout is impeccable. Inventory management can be a bit cumbersome, particularly on PS5, but it was never that much of an issue either.

Just an absolute gem of a game throughout. Put over 100 hours into it and would easily enjoy putting 100 more because I know there's a lot of stuff I probably missed due to my decisions or just not finding things.

Mortal Kombat 1 (PS5)

The story mode was okay, not really up to par with the last few, but still enjoyable. That said, the main bulk of the single player content in the game is the new Invasions mode, which combines elements of the Towers and Krypt from the last game, and it just plain sucks. It's boring, repetitive, and just poorly designed. I struggled to get even maybe a quarter of the way through.

The fighting itself is okay, but feels sluggish compared to the last few games. The Kameo system is an interesting idea, and they did clearly go to efforts to make each Kameo as different as possible, but again it makes everything feel sluggish, like when you call in your Kameo, most times you can't move until the animation is done, so it's not really that different from just being able to do more moves yourself, like with the variations you could chose from in past games.

A bit of a miss unfortunately. Just hasn't really held my interest at all. I enjoyed the throwbacks to the PS2 era, including some returning characters/Kameos, but overall I can't see myself returning to it too often. I can't even see how they could change up Invasions mode to make it worthwhile as the problems with it are so baked into the very core idea of it.

Lies Of P (PS5)

As close to a Souls game as it gets without being made by FromSoftware. The feel of the combat, the levelling system, dying to bosses etc. All straight from Soulsborne games. It does have some of its own ideas though. Repeated perfect parrying can break the enemy's weapon. You can assemble your own weapon from combining different handles and blades (though this does become a bit redundant when you can use boss souls for special weapons which can't be disassembled). The combat is mostly Souls, but with the rallying mechanic from Bloodborne, bolstered by the parrying mechanic from Sekiro.

Minor criticisms would be that a lot of the time (particularly against bosses), even a perfect parry tends to knock you back just out of range of a quick counterattack. In fact a lot of the time you can only afford to get one or two swings in (depending on your weapon) before you get quickly slammed. That works well in Sekiro, but can be frustrating here.

Boss design is generally terrific though, as well as general enemy and mini-boss design. In fact most of the design elements of the game are great, including being less obtuse than Souls games (like icons on the fast travel screen showing you if there's an NPC you should talk to).

Something it's missing from that classic FromSoftware design though is side areas off the main path. There's very little to explore or investigate, or secrets like "if you use this item here it unlocks this big secret thing". The kind of obscure stuff that really sets the design of FromSoftware games apart from nearly everything else, and makes you want to explore.

Then again, it does have that other bit of classic FromSoftware design of having consumables/throwables be rare enough that for the most part, they're not worth using, because particularly when it comes to boss fights there's a good chance you'll die so often that you'll use them all up, and still might not beat the boss.

Overall though, a really fun, challenging, well-designed game. Feels less like someone just trying to copy the Soulsborne formula, and more like someone trying to build their own thing off that formula. Well worth playing if you're a Souls fan. It doesn't hit quite the same heights, but there's a lot of enjoyment to be had from it.

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)

Echo Night

Echo Night is a fairly obscure horror game created by From Software for the PS1. Unlike the usual Resident Evil imitators that were ten a penny on the PS1, Echo Night plays out in first person in 3D rendered environments and feels more like a PC adventure game since there's less focus on action.

Echo Night starts with the protagonist Richard being called by the police to investigate his fathers house. On examining some of the objects in the House Richard is transported to various locations including the ocean liner Orpheus where the majority of the game takes place. The Orpheus is filled with the ghosts of everyone that dies on the ship. Richard can progress the story by aiding these ghosts in reaching the afterlife and while most are helpful or benign, some of the ghosts are far more malicious.

Echo Night has you mostly wandering from room to room in first person solving puzzles to progress to new areas. The game uses the Kings Field 3 engine and as a late PS1 game it's quite good looking with each room feeling lived in are well detailed. Most of the puzzles are easy enough although there's a few difficulty spikes. Two of the most egregious of these involve transcribing a melody from a music box to a pipe organ (good luck if you are tone deaf) and another has you send a morse code message (good luck if you don't know morse code). They're not too bad in this day and age due to the proliferation of walkthroughs and FAQs.

The game creates an excellent eerie atmosphere. The visuals really help sell it but there's lots of strange occurrences like being transported to strange places by interacting with objects, to the strange ghosts that inhabit the ship. The stars of the show are the more violent ghosts that will chase you in certain situations. You have no weapons to defend yourself with however they won't persist if there is light. It creates this great dynamic where you are panicking while searching for the light switch in the room and the absolute worst thing that can happen is if the power is out.

Echo Night is a unique horror game that's well worth playing and won't waste your time, coming in at about 6-8 hours. It succeeds in creating some genuine scares and tense moments. There's also a neat mystery story going on that for a PS1 horror game is surprisingly well localised, except for the voice acting which in typical PS1 horror game fashion completely sucks.

Mr.Fantastic

1. God of war: Ragnarok -PS5
2. Signalis -Xbox Series X
3. The Callisto Protocol - PS5
4. FF7 Crisis core reunion -PS5
5. Fire Emblem: Engage - Switch
6. Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
7. Resident evil 4: Remake -PS5
8. Star Wars : Jedi Survivor-PS5
9. Chained Echoes -Steam Deck
10. Dredge - Steam Deck
11. Midnight Fight Club - Xbox Series X
12. Final Fantasy XV -PS5
13. Mortal Kombat 11 - Xbox Series X
14. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Steam Deck

Tactics Ogre: Reborn

Finished this with the Chaos route. The difficulty spike of the last dungeon and last boss was insane. Nearly gave up if anything stage 2 was so cheap.

Good game wouldn't have it as high as FF tactics, felt it was a bit too hard near the end. Might go back and spin up the Law route as I heard its quite good too.

Halfway through Phantom liberty DLC and I am enjoying it. Have Alan Wake 2 next week then, should really find time to finish diablo 4 but I was on act three and I got bored.

TinCanMan

The Last Guardian [PS5] - A game that I both loved and hated. The story and the world that it plays out in are amazing with the sense of scale when outside and traversing upwards providing some exhilarating moments. The bond between the two main characters is a joy to experience and grows throughout the game. Now for the bad. The controls and camera are beyond frustrating at times and can lead to some truly rage inducing moments. In addition some of the puzzles have little logic to them and can be difficult to figure out. That aside the game was a beautiful experience and well worth playing.

Assassins Creed Black Flag [PS5] - What a joy this game is to play. It’s definitely one of the best Assassins Creed games to date and for a game almost 10 years old it still looks beautiful. The story is well written and the protagonist likeable. The ship battles add greatly to the game with some epic battles ensuing but this game is more than just that. I found the player control to be well polished as well. Overall I would thoroughly recommend this game.

Stray [PS5] - This game is visually stunning in a unique setting where you play as a cat with the ultimate aim to escape the world that you are forced into. Along the way you will encounter various puzzles and enemies. Whilst not overly challenging they do add to this unique environment. It’s a beautiful experience, especially if you are looking for something a bit different at a more relaxing pace. 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons [PS5] - I can’t recommend this game enough. It really hits you in the feels. The game itself looks beautiful and has a unique playstyle as you need to control the two brothers simultaneously with the left and right analog sticks. There are various puzzles and enemies to tackle on your adventures. Whilst the game isn’t overly long it’s definitely one that everyone should experience. 

Omno [PS5] - If you need a game to relax to then this is for you. It’s a delightful indie puzzle platformer that reminds me in some ways of the playstation classic Journey. It’s never too challenging but the beautiful world and almost zen-like gameplay is ideal for someone looking for a less stressful game to play. 

Dishonored 2 [PS5] - If you’ve played the first then this is a huge step up both graphically and in terms of gameplay. You get a choice of playing as the main character from the first game or his daughter, both of whom have different skill sets and strengths. You can be guns blazing or super stealthy, the choice is really up to you. I played this stealthily and had a blast causing mayhem from the shadows. For those that haven’t played dishonored 1 or 2 I’d highly recommend giving them a try.

Mafia: Definitive Edition [PS5] - A remake of the first Mafia game. You play as Tommy Angelo, a taxi driver who through chance ends up joining the Salieri crime family and the game follows his rise in the organisation. It's a chapter driven game with varying missions from driving, shooting, assassinations and robbery. It's beautifully played out with real depth to the characters and an engaging story. 

Metro 2033 Redux [PS5] - a moody, atmospheric first person shooter set in the post apocalyptic metro tunnels of Moscow. Not the longest of games and very linear but I highly recommend it. Really enjoyed my playthrough.

Gone Home [PS5] - I played this as I had it free on PS Plus and it was recommended as a hidden gem. It’s basically a walking simulator where you uncover the story of the main character as you explore her home. It’s ok but if I’m honest nothing special.

ABZU [PS5] - I would describe this as more of an experience than a game. Set in a beautiful underwater environment you dive into the depths exploring and solving some light puzzles on the way. It’s a beautiful meditative experience where you can chill for a few hours.

The Artful Escape [PS5] - An audio and visual feast, both psychedelic and mesmerising in parts. A very enjoyable experience. 

Judgement [PS5] - What an amazing game. If you’ve played a Yakuza game then you’ll know what to expect. It’s got all the usual things you’d find in a Yakuza game but this time you play as a detective (ex lawyer) rather than a Yakuza with the task of solving several gruesome murders and the conspiracies behind them. It looks and performs beautifully on the PS5. Would thoroughly recommend this especially if you have enjoyed previous Yakuza games.

Alan Wake [PS5] - A game I’ve been wanting to play since the Xbox 360 version but never got that chance. A horror/thriller where you play the part of a writer whose wife goes missing in mysterious circumstances whilst on vacation with sinister forces at play when darkness descends. I really loved this and whilst initially spooky it’s more fun than scary after a few chapters. Thoroughly recommended. 

Resident Evil 3 Remake [PS5] - My first ever resident evil game and boy did this game look beautiful with ray tracing and 60 FPS on the PS5. Having never played a resident evil game I was always on edge and there were a few stressful moments but the game was really enjoyable and very much action focused. The main enemy Nemesis can be terrifying at times but mostly in the early game when you’re not used to facing him. It’s not the longest of games but that suits me as I tend to search everywhere and take my time. I would thoroughly recommend this even if you are not a resident evil fan and it’s frequently on sale. 

 

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121273271#Comment_121273271

If RE3 Remake was your first RE game, you should definitely check out the RE2 Remake. Highly recommended.

da gamer

Call of duty modern warfare II - PS4

Lego the Incredibles - PS4

A plague tale requim - Xbox series s

High on life - Xbox series s

Prodeus - Xbox series s

Goldeneye - Xbox series s

The last of us - PS4

TMNT shredder revenge-Xbox series s

Shadow warrior 3 - Xbox series s

Mafia 2 - PS4

Halo infinite - Xbox series s

The walking dead TFS - Xbox series s

Double dragon 2 - Nes

Terminator resistance - PS4

Dusk - Switch

Evil west - PS5

Fifa 23 - PS4

Quake 2 64 - Xbox series s

God of war ragnarok - PS5

Ghost of Tsushima - PS4

Vampyr - PS4

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)
29. Pushmo/Pullblox (3DS)

Pushmo / Pullblox

I've given this one a double name as I played Pushmo as I have a US 3DS but most people will know it as Pullblox in Europe

Pushmo is a rather simple puzzle game for the 3DS. You play as mallo and have to guide him to the end flag of over 250 'pushmo' puzzles. Each Pushmo is a series on shapes making up a 2D image or other abstract shapes. each shape can be pulled out of the wall by Mallo to 3 different levels and can be used to climb to the exit flag. While the puzzle mechanics in the game are simple, there's an insane amount of depth present here. Puzzles start off simple but become fiendish later on. Once your brain tunes into the mechanics you'll be considering making a platform that is only one level out is risky as you can't pull any other blocks from it, or else staging on the top of a giant pushmo thinking you just need that last shape pushed out one more level to reach that flag and looking for that opportunity that also makes is safe for you to climb back up. It's quite abstract so I've included an image which explains it better. Later stages add complications like warp pipes and buttons that control all shapes of the same colour.

I can safely say Pushmo is a superb puzzle game. Something I've experienced solidified this. Tetris Effect. I got really bad Tetris Effect playing this game. It got so bad it got into my dreams were I'd wake up having dreamt an argument in work which I was trying to solve via pushmo rules and physics. If there's one complaint I have about pushmo is that it gets a bit too hard near the end which could be a bit much for some players. However Nintendo have a Nintendo way around it allowing you to skip to the next puzzle once a certain amount of time has been reached on each puzzle. I quite enjoyed the pixel art puzzles where the team made some gorgeous pixel artowork or just straight up used old NES sprites as levels.

So pushmo is wonderful, so wonderful it distracted me from play beyond the labyrinth for quite a few days. It's also one of the few games that makes use fo the 3DS's 3D feature.

Gamer Bhoy 89

Control || PlayStation 5

I wooshed hard on this game's story lol

Other than that, very satisfying gameplay and stunning visuals.

Penn

1. Neon White (PS5)
2. Dead Cells (PS5)
3. Superliminal (PS5)
4. Dead Space (Remake) (PS5)
5. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe (PS5)
6. Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy (PS5)
7. Like A Dragon: Ishin (PS5)
8. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS5)
9. Horizon Forbidden West - Burning Shores DLC (PS5)
10. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5)
11. Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (Switch)
12. Humanity (PS5)
13. Baldur's Gate 3 (PS5)
14. Mortal Kombat 1 (PS5)
15. Lies of P (PS5)

Spider-Man 2 (PS5)

Probably not a huge amount to say on this, as anyone who played the first or Miles Morales knows exactly what to expect. It does what it can to improve on the mechanics of the previous games. As great as the swinging/traversal was in previous games, they've expanded on it with new ways to move about even faster, and in new areas which don't have high buildings to swing on. The combat is as fast as fun as previous but new enemy types don't allow you to just stay in the air and fight one by one, you're going to have to get down and dirty a lot. New combat abilities and gadgets are also easier to use rather than using a weapon wheel to select.

The boss fights are a lot better, but usually rely on using the new parry system, which can be pretty awful, the timing for it can be horrendously short or far too long. The side content is less of a slog and usually a lot more engaging than the previous game, with better puzzles or combat situations rather than just collecting backpacks. Feels like less of it too, and you don't need to do a bunch of the random crimes to get enough upgrade material, though it helps.

The story is decent and well paced, performances are great. That side of things is pretty solid throughout.

There are still non-Spiderman bits you have to play, which although they help shake up the variety a bit, they also feel tacked on and can be an annoyance.

So yeah, it's a great sequel to a great game. None of the improvements really blew me away, but they pretty much all work well.

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)
29. Pushmo/Pullblox (3DS)
30. Armored Core 6 (PC)

Armored Core 6

Finished this up after NG++ and got all three endings.

From Software has managed to deliver again. From had a very diverse portfolio of games until demons souls took over their whole production line. Sekiro was as experimental as From got but even that didn't deviate from the Soulsborne formula much. Armored Core 6 sees From Software return to one of its more beloved classic franchises and offer a game that is far removed from their Soulsborne titles.

Armored Core 6 is closer to something like Ace Combat and is more a pure action title. There's some minor cross over, the game adds a stagger system for the first time that is similar to Sekiro while similarities in control scheme come down to demons souls copying the Armored core control scheme, but this is an Armored core game through and through. Missions are short, topping out at 15 minutes at most. Success is not only down to your skill as a pilots but also your load out. You'll spend a lot of time tinkering in the hangar with mech builds. I never found the game as hard as most Soulsborne games. The first boss at the end of chapter 1 is a big skill check however and will take a lot of repeats to beat. It's a bit of a jump in difficulty as previous missions are pretty easy. After chapter 1 bosses come thick and fast but that first boss teaches you how to play the game and I was never troubled too badly.

What sets AC6 apart is how well it plays. Controlling your AC feels fantastic. There's so much attention to detail gone into visual and aural feedback. Thrusters flare and crack with each change in direction. Weapons feel fantastic and watching an enemy boss or AC explode in slow motion sending sparks everywhere never grows old. It's a good looking game as well, not the most technically accomplished but the scale of your AC is really sold by how small everything seems.

There's quite a lot of content here, it's much shorter than a Soulsborne game, about 25 hours with a new game being a bit less at 6-8. It's worth playing to get all the endings as the two new game plus loops add new missions and variations on existing missions. The story isn't too complex but it sets up bleak the world is with rival corporations warring over precious resources and stepping all over a small resistance force of locals, hyper end game capitalist stuff. The dull utilitarian colour scheme sells the bleakness while still retaining that best in class art direction From is known for. I'm surprised how much From made me care about characters whose faces you never see. I have to mention the soundtrack as well which is incredible.

Armored Core 6 is the best action game I've played since Ace Combat 7 and a strong contender for game of the year in a very strong year for games.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121306123#Comment_121306123

I really should get back to this. I beat Balteus but then wanted to jump onto Baldurs Gate 3, then a few different games took over.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121306721#Comment_121306721

Definitely worth playing through although it's tough keeping up with so much good stuff this year.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121308565#Comment_121308565

Yeah I had my calendar pretty well planned out because Baldurs Gate 3 wasn't even on my radar, and then it ended up shoving its way in and sucking up about 110 hours of my time.

Will probably have to replay some of the already unlocked missions to get back in the groove before proceeding with Chapter 2.

Mr.Fantastic

1. God of war: Ragnarok -PS5
2. Signalis -Xbox Series X
3. The Callisto Protocol - PS5
4. FF7 Crisis core reunion -PS5
5. Fire Emblem: Engage - Switch
6. Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
7. Resident evil 4: Remake -PS5
8. Star Wars : Jedi Survivor-PS5
9. Chained Echoes -Steam Deck
10. Dredge - Steam Deck
11. Midnight Fight Club - Xbox Series X
12. Final Fantasy XV -PS5
13. Mortal Kombat 11 - Xbox Series X
14. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Steam Deck
15. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC - PS5

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC

Not really a full game but a good old jaunt

Spoiler Warning

Got the king of pentacles ending and for me I think it was the most depressing and realistic ending how V has to become a normal guy after getting the relic removed but also effecting his cyberware.

Onto Alan wake 2 now looking forward to it

ShaneU

1. God of War: Ragnarok
2. Hitman World of Assassination
3. Ni No Kuni 2
4. Tunic
5. Dredge
6. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
7. Final Fantasy XVI
8. Diablo IV
9. Starfield 
10. Coccoon

11. Street Fighter 6.

Beat the world tour mode. A fantastic game but unfortunately I'm just so spoiled for choice for games these days that I can't dedicate the time to get particularly good at it or learn the characters.

12. Jusant

You climb up a giant rock and some crazy stuff happens near the top. The story is told through left behind notes from the people who used to live on the rock and of course it's the kind of things people would never write down. Short enough, it's on gamepass.

This content has been removed.

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)
29. Pushmo/Pullblox (3DS)
30. Armored Core 6 (PC)
31. Starfox (SNES)

Starfox

I really wasn't expecting Starfox to give me as much trouble as it did. The easy route is quite pedestrian while the medium route through the game was challenging enough but I managed to complete it. What I didn't expect going into the hard route was quite how brutal the game is. I got stuck immediately on the second stage. I managed to beat it today after trying on and off the last number of months.

Starfox was a very important game for Nintendo. Having enjoyed much success with the NES they faced a stern challenge from the Megadrive. Sega's console was ahead of the SNES in America and Europe. On top of that a new generation of consoles was about to release at the end of 1993 with the Atari Jaguar and the 3DO. The SNES looked positively archaic in comparison and it didn't help that Sega's advertising going after the apparent lack of power of the SNES was working quite effectively. They really needed something to combat Sega's advertising as well as the next generation of consoles. Starfox was the perfect game for Nintendo. While 3D polygons weren't a new thing, there were many PC 3D games and Virtua Racing was wowing arcade goers, fast 3D graphics were new to most console owners. Starfox succeeded in delivering a decently smooth 3D experience that looked similar to cutting edge arcade games like Virtua Racing on a lowly SNES. It also looked very similar to upcoming next gen games on the 3DO and Jaguar. Why would you need a next gen console when the SNES capable of games that looked like Starfox? Sega wouldn't be able to match Starfox until a year later with their (excellent) port of virtua racing to the megadrive. This was a game that released early 1993 and beat the Jaguar, 3DO and even Doom to market. It was jaw dropping.

In 2023 though the game doesn't look so hot. I quite like the bare polygon look and find it quite stylish. However it's hard to ignore the framerate which hovers mostly around the 15 FPS mark and can sometimes tank lower. However it's a testament to Nintendo and the guys at Argonaut that despite the framerate issues there's still a really fun game here. Controlling the arwing feels great and the level design is excellent. There's some wonderfully inventive stages and boss battles. Presentation is excellent, the banter from your wing...men... animals? adds a layer of atmosphere as does the driving soundtrack. I'd say Starfox was the closest anyone got to making a playable Star Wars game but the Atari arcade game is excellent and Starfox was released around the same time as X-Wing.

Starfox really kickstarted Nintendo's counterattack against Sega and the new consoles. Mario All stars released later that year followed by Donkey Kong Country finally helped Nintendo pull ahead in America while becoming a close second in Europe. It's not just a historical footnote, it's a great game that manages to work around it's technical shortcomings.

warrior00

The only Starfox game I played was on the Gamecube. Starfox Adventure. It was a decent game for the time I thought though it was completely different than a normal Starfox game and the parts of the game I hated were parts that are normal to Starfox games, as in flying the spaceship.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121329331#Comment_121329331

Yeah that game was fairly rubbish. It was made around multiplayer it seemed with the multiplayer maps being used for single player stages with brainless AI enemies. There's three traditional Starfox stages and despite the internet saying they are great, I found them very poor.

It's a strange series. The only real follow up that sticks to the original format is Starfox 64 which is one of the best rail shooters of all time. Ive read miyamoto doesn't want to keep doing the same thing with the series so they've never really gone back to that formula, although Starfox zero was quite close but had that weird control scheme. Even the cancelled and released recently Starfox 2 is a weird mish mash of rail shooter, strategy game and rogue like.

da gamer

Call of duty modern warfare II - PS4

Lego the Incredibles - PS4

A plague tale requim - Xbox series s

High on life - Xbox series s

Prodeus - Xbox series s

Goldeneye - Xbox series s

The last of us - PS4

TMNT shredder revenge-Xbox series s

Shadow warrior 3 - Xbox series s

Mafia 2 - PS4

Halo infinite - Xbox series s

The walking dead TFS - Xbox series s

Double dragon 2 - Nes

Terminator resistance - PS4

Dusk - Switch

Evil west - PS5

Fifa 23 - PS4

Quake 2 64 - Xbox series s

God of war ragnarok - PS5

Ghost of Tsushima - PS4

Vampyr - PS4

The devil in me - PS5

TinCanMan

The Last Guardian [PS5] - A game that I both loved and hated. The story and the world that it plays out in are amazing with the sense of scale when outside and traversing upwards providing some exhilarating moments. The bond between the two main characters is a joy to experience and grows throughout the game. Now for the bad. The controls and camera are beyond frustrating at times and can lead to some truly rage inducing moments. In addition some of the puzzles have little logic to them and can be difficult to figure out. That aside the game was a beautiful experience and well worth playing.

Assassins Creed Black Flag [PS5] - What a joy this game is to play. It’s definitely one of the best Assassins Creed games to date and for a game almost 10 years old it still looks beautiful. The story is well written and the protagonist likeable. The ship battles add greatly to the game with some epic battles ensuing but this game is more than just that. I found the player control to be well polished as well. Overall I would thoroughly recommend this game.

Stray [PS5] - This game is visually stunning in a unique setting where you play as a cat with the ultimate aim to escape the world that you are forced into. Along the way you will encounter various puzzles and enemies. Whilst not overly challenging they do add to this unique environment. It’s a beautiful experience, especially if you are looking for something a bit different at a more relaxing pace. 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons [PS5] - I can’t recommend this game enough. It really hits you in the feels. The game itself looks beautiful and has a unique playstyle as you need to control the two brothers simultaneously with the left and right analog sticks. There are various puzzles and enemies to tackle on your adventures. Whilst the game isn’t overly long it’s definitely one that everyone should experience. 

Omno [PS5] - If you need a game to relax to then this is for you. It’s a delightful indie puzzle platformer that reminds me in some ways of the playstation classic Journey. It’s never too challenging but the beautiful world and almost zen-like gameplay is ideal for someone looking for a less stressful game to play. 

Dishonored 2 [PS5] - If you’ve played the first then this is a huge step up both graphically and in terms of gameplay. You get a choice of playing as the main character from the first game or his daughter, both of whom have different skill sets and strengths. You can be guns blazing or super stealthy, the choice is really up to you. I played this stealthily and had a blast causing mayhem from the shadows. For those that haven’t played dishonored 1 or 2 I’d highly recommend giving them a try.

Mafia: Definitive Edition [PS5] - A remake of the first Mafia game. You play as Tommy Angelo, a taxi driver who through chance ends up joining the Salieri crime family and the game follows his rise in the organisation. It's a chapter driven game with varying missions from driving, shooting, assassinations and robbery. It's beautifully played out with real depth to the characters and an engaging story. 

Metro 2033 Redux [PS5] - a moody, atmospheric first person shooter set in the post apocalyptic metro tunnels of Moscow. Not the longest of games and very linear but I highly recommend it. Really enjoyed my playthrough.

Gone Home [PS5] - I played this as I had it free on PS Plus and it was recommended as a hidden gem. It’s basically a walking simulator where you uncover the story of the main character as you explore her home. It’s ok but if I’m honest nothing special.

ABZU [PS5] - I would describe this as more of an experience than a game. Set in a beautiful underwater environment you dive into the depths exploring and solving some light puzzles on the way. It’s a beautiful meditative experience where you can chill for a few hours.

The Artful Escape [PS5] - An audio and visual feast, both psychedelic and mesmerising in parts. A very enjoyable experience. 

Judgement [PS5] - What an amazing game. If you’ve played a Yakuza game then you’ll know what to expect. It’s got all the usual things you’d find in a Yakuza game but this time you play as a detective (ex lawyer) rather than a Yakuza with the task of solving several gruesome murders and the conspiracies behind them. It looks and performs beautifully on the PS5. Would thoroughly recommend this especially if you have enjoyed previous Yakuza games.

Alan Wake [PS5] - A game I’ve been wanting to play since the Xbox 360 version but never got that chance. A horror/thriller where you play the part of a writer whose wife goes missing in mysterious circumstances whilst on vacation with sinister forces at play when darkness descends. I really loved this and whilst initially spooky it’s more fun than scary after a few chapters. Thoroughly recommended. 

Resident Evil 3 Remake [PS5] - My first ever resident evil game and boy did this game look beautiful with ray tracing and 60 FPS on the PS5. Having never played a resident evil game I was always on edge and there were a few stressful moments but the game was really enjoyable and very much action focused. The main enemy Nemesis can be terrifying at times but mostly in the early game when you’re not used to facing him. It’s not the longest of games but that suits me as I tend to search everywhere and take my time. I would thoroughly recommend this even if you are not a resident evil fan and it’s frequently on sale. 

Little Nightmares [PS5] - a 2D/3D puzzle adventure game where you play as a character called Six trying to escape the Maw, a huge ship full of hideous creatures who want to devour you. The game looks incredible and the gameplay is intriguing and fun. I can't recommend this enough.

TinCanMan

The Last Guardian [PS5] - A game that I both loved and hated. The story and the world that it plays out in are amazing with the sense of scale when outside and traversing upwards providing some exhilarating moments. The bond between the two main characters is a joy to experience and grows throughout the game. Now for the bad. The controls and camera are beyond frustrating at times and can lead to some truly rage inducing moments. In addition some of the puzzles have little logic to them and can be difficult to figure out. That aside the game was a beautiful experience and well worth playing.

Assassins Creed Black Flag [PS5] - What a joy this game is to play. It’s definitely one of the best Assassins Creed games to date and for a game almost 10 years old it still looks beautiful. The story is well written and the protagonist likeable. The ship battles add greatly to the game with some epic battles ensuing but this game is more than just that. I found the player control to be well polished as well. Overall I would thoroughly recommend this game.

Stray [PS5] - This game is visually stunning in a unique setting where you play as a cat with the ultimate aim to escape the world that you are forced into. Along the way you will encounter various puzzles and enemies. Whilst not overly challenging they do add to this unique environment. It’s a beautiful experience, especially if you are looking for something a bit different at a more relaxing pace. 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons [PS5] - I can’t recommend this game enough. It really hits you in the feels. The game itself looks beautiful and has a unique playstyle as you need to control the two brothers simultaneously with the left and right analog sticks. There are various puzzles and enemies to tackle on your adventures. Whilst the game isn’t overly long it’s definitely one that everyone should experience. 

Omno [PS5] - If you need a game to relax to then this is for you. It’s a delightful indie puzzle platformer that reminds me in some ways of the playstation classic Journey. It’s never too challenging but the beautiful world and almost zen-like gameplay is ideal for someone looking for a less stressful game to play. 

Dishonored 2 [PS5] - If you’ve played the first then this is a huge step up both graphically and in terms of gameplay. You get a choice of playing as the main character from the first game or his daughter, both of whom have different skill sets and strengths. You can be guns blazing or super stealthy, the choice is really up to you. I played this stealthily and had a blast causing mayhem from the shadows. For those that haven’t played dishonored 1 or 2 I’d highly recommend giving them a try.

Mafia: Definitive Edition [PS5] - A remake of the first Mafia game. You play as Tommy Angelo, a taxi driver who through chance ends up joining the Salieri crime family and the game follows his rise in the organisation. It's a chapter driven game with varying missions from driving, shooting, assassinations and robbery. It's beautifully played out with real depth to the characters and an engaging story. 

Metro 2033 Redux [PS5] - a moody, atmospheric first person shooter set in the post apocalyptic metro tunnels of Moscow. Not the longest of games and very linear but I highly recommend it. Really enjoyed my playthrough.

Gone Home [PS5] - I played this as I had it free on PS Plus and it was recommended as a hidden gem. It’s basically a walking simulator where you uncover the story of the main character as you explore her home. It’s ok but if I’m honest nothing special.

ABZU [PS5] - I would describe this as more of an experience than a game. Set in a beautiful underwater environment you dive into the depths exploring and solving some light puzzles on the way. It’s a beautiful meditative experience where you can chill for a few hours.

The Artful Escape [PS5] - An audio and visual feast, both psychedelic and mesmerising in parts. A very enjoyable experience. 

Judgement [PS5] - What an amazing game. If you’ve played a Yakuza game then you’ll know what to expect. It’s got all the usual things you’d find in a Yakuza game but this time you play as a detective (ex lawyer) rather than a Yakuza with the task of solving several gruesome murders and the conspiracies behind them. It looks and performs beautifully on the PS5. Would thoroughly recommend this especially if you have enjoyed previous Yakuza games.

Alan Wake [PS5] - A game I’ve been wanting to play since the Xbox 360 version but never got that chance. A horror/thriller where you play the part of a writer whose wife goes missing in mysterious circumstances whilst on vacation with sinister forces at play when darkness descends. I really loved this and whilst initially spooky it’s more fun than scary after a few chapters. Thoroughly recommended. 

Resident Evil 3 Remake [PS5] - My first ever resident evil game and boy did this game look beautiful with ray tracing and 60 FPS on the PS5. Having never played a resident evil game I was always on edge and there were a few stressful moments but the game was really enjoyable and very much action focused. The main enemy Nemesis can be terrifying at times but mostly in the early game when you’re not used to facing him. It’s not the longest of games but that suits me as I tend to search everywhere and take my time. I would thoroughly recommend this even if you are not a resident evil fan and it’s frequently on sale. 

Little Nightmares [PS5] - a 2D/3D puzzle adventure game where you play as a character called Six trying to escape the Maw, a huge ship full of hideous creatures who want to devour you. The game looks incredible and the gameplay is intriguing and fun. I can't recommend this enough.

Far Cry Primal [PS5] - Far Cry but set in the Stone Age where you fight other tribes and creatures such as giant mammoths and sabretooth tigers. A game I was loving to a point and then got so bored that I had to put it down and couldn't finish it until 3 months later when I realised that I was 90% through so decided to force myself to complete it. It was enjoyable but by the end it became extremely repetitive and was a grind to finish.

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)
29. Pushmo/Pullblox (3DS)
30. Armored Core 6 (PC)
31. Starfox (SNES)
32. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2)

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly

Have to say I'm really enjoying having my PS2 out of storage again as there's some much weird and wonderful stuff on it.

I finished Fatal Frame 2 (Project Zero 2 is Europe) with the Normal mode difficulty. The ending was very bleak so I played through the unlocked hard mode for the second ending, which wasn't much better in terms of how bleak it is!

In Fatal Frame 2 two twin sisters decide to visit a forest they used to play in as children before a dam is built that will flood the area. They get lost and end up in the 'Lost Village', a village that has been spoken about in myth and had been lost during bizarre events. Turns out it's haunted by vengeful ghosts and has a dark history of rituals involving twins.

Fatal Frame 2 doesn't deviate too much from the previous game. You explore haunted areas with the tradition survival horror tank controls and have to go into first person with your 'Camera Obscura' to fend off ghosts. The excellent risk/reward combat the series is known for is still present. You barely damage ghosts unless they are right up close and at the end of their attack animations. There's much better variety in the enemy types than in the previous game with some really interesting attack patterns (bullshit touch of death final boss aside). The Lost Village is well designed with some nice almost metroidvania interconnected areas to discover.

What sets Fatal Frame apart from the other survival horror games is that it's genuinely creepy and scary with some very effective jump scares. The japanese horror aesthetic is nailed so I hope you don't have a phobia for creepy girls with long black hair covering their faces. The game is not only stunning for a PS2 game but really holds up. Tecmo where top of their game on the PS2 and XBox. The film grain and darkness hides the flaws of the low res textures. The game drips atmosphere. It's often times hard to distinguish between real time and CGI cutscenes due to how good the game looks.

Fatal Frame 2 might not push the series forward creatively but it brings a lot of improvements over the already great first game. It's one of the top tier survival horror games and it's a shame the genre has lost favour, I quite enjoyed playing a game that didn't venture too far over an 8 hour playthrough.

da gamer

Call of duty modern warfare II - PS4

Lego the Incredibles - PS4

A plague tale requim - Xbox series s

High on life - Xbox series s

Prodeus - Xbox series s

Goldeneye - Xbox series s

The last of us - PS4

TMNT shredder revenge-Xbox series s

Shadow warrior 3 - Xbox series s

Mafia 2 - PS4

Halo infinite - Xbox series s

The walking dead TFS - Xbox series s

Double dragon 2 - Nes

Terminator resistance - PS4

Dusk - Switch

Evil west - PS5

Fifa 23 - PS4

Quake 2 64 - Xbox series s

God of war ragnarok - PS5

Ghost of Tsushima - PS4

Vampyr - PS4

The devil in me - PS5

Just Cause 4 - PS4

Penn

1. Neon White (PS5)
2. Dead Cells (PS5)
3. Superliminal (PS5)
4. Dead Space (Remake) (PS5)
5. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe (PS5)
6. Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy (PS5)
7. Like A Dragon: Ishin (PS5)
8. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS5)
9. Horizon Forbidden West - Burning Shores DLC (PS5)
10. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5)
11. Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (Switch)
12. Humanity (PS5)
13. Baldur's Gate 3 (PS5)
14. Mortal Kombat 1 (PS5)
15. Lies of P (PS5)
16. Spider-Man 2 (PS5)

Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

The first 3D Mario game I've ever played (only played Mario 1-3 and one of the 2D Mario Bros games on DS).

It was great. Finished the story stuff with about 280 moons, generally did anything I could find and explored a good bit as I went. My main issue is just controls when using the Switch. Trying to use right thumb to control camera, jump and attack could be really awkward at times, and it didn't help that the camera wasn't always that great and Mario himself could be a floaty f*ck when running.

Loved the general design of the game and maps though. A lot of the side puzzles were great, as were the abilities when controlling different enemies. It was a lot of fun, but I also have no real urge to try go for completion of all the moons (especially since the amount of them near enough double once you've completed the story). I played a bit more after the story, but think I'm going to drop it.

TinCanMan

The Last Guardian [PS5] - A game that I both loved and hated. The story and the world that it plays out in are amazing with the sense of scale when outside and traversing upwards providing some exhilarating moments. The bond between the two main characters is a joy to experience and grows throughout the game. Now for the bad. The controls and camera are beyond frustrating at times and can lead to some truly rage inducing moments. In addition some of the puzzles have little logic to them and can be difficult to figure out. That aside the game was a beautiful experience and well worth playing.

Assassins Creed Black Flag [PS5] - What a joy this game is to play. It’s definitely one of the best Assassins Creed games to date and for a game almost 10 years old it still looks beautiful. The story is well written and the protagonist likeable. The ship battles add greatly to the game with some epic battles ensuing but this game is more than just that. I found the player control to be well polished as well. Overall I would thoroughly recommend this game.

Stray [PS5] - This game is visually stunning in a unique setting where you play as a cat with the ultimate aim to escape the world that you are forced into. Along the way you will encounter various puzzles and enemies. Whilst not overly challenging they do add to this unique environment. It’s a beautiful experience, especially if you are looking for something a bit different at a more relaxing pace. 

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons [PS5] - I can’t recommend this game enough. It really hits you in the feels. The game itself looks beautiful and has a unique playstyle as you need to control the two brothers simultaneously with the left and right analog sticks. There are various puzzles and enemies to tackle on your adventures. Whilst the game isn’t overly long it’s definitely one that everyone should experience. 

Omno [PS5] - If you need a game to relax to then this is for you. It’s a delightful indie puzzle platformer that reminds me in some ways of the playstation classic Journey. It’s never too challenging but the beautiful world and almost zen-like gameplay is ideal for someone looking for a less stressful game to play. 

Dishonored 2 [PS5] - If you’ve played the first then this is a huge step up both graphically and in terms of gameplay. You get a choice of playing as the main character from the first game or his daughter, both of whom have different skill sets and strengths. You can be guns blazing or super stealthy, the choice is really up to you. I played this stealthily and had a blast causing mayhem from the shadows. For those that haven’t played dishonored 1 or 2 I’d highly recommend giving them a try.

Mafia: Definitive Edition [PS5] - A remake of the first Mafia game. You play as Tommy Angelo, a taxi driver who through chance ends up joining the Salieri crime family and the game follows his rise in the organisation. It's a chapter driven game with varying missions from driving, shooting, assassinations and robbery. It's beautifully played out with real depth to the characters and an engaging story. 

Metro 2033 Redux [PS5] - a moody, atmospheric first person shooter set in the post apocalyptic metro tunnels of Moscow. Not the longest of games and very linear but I highly recommend it. Really enjoyed my playthrough.

Gone Home [PS5] - I played this as I had it free on PS Plus and it was recommended as a hidden gem. It’s basically a walking simulator where you uncover the story of the main character as you explore her home. It’s ok but if I’m honest nothing special.

ABZU [PS5] - I would describe this as more of an experience than a game. Set in a beautiful underwater environment you dive into the depths exploring and solving some light puzzles on the way. It’s a beautiful meditative experience where you can chill for a few hours.

The Artful Escape [PS5] - An audio and visual feast, both psychedelic and mesmerising in parts. A very enjoyable experience. 

Judgement [PS5] - What an amazing game. If you’ve played a Yakuza game then you’ll know what to expect. It’s got all the usual things you’d find in a Yakuza game but this time you play as a detective (ex lawyer) rather than a Yakuza with the task of solving several gruesome murders and the conspiracies behind them. It looks and performs beautifully on the PS5. Would thoroughly recommend this especially if you have enjoyed previous Yakuza games.

Alan Wake [PS5] - A game I’ve been wanting to play since the Xbox 360 version but never got that chance. A horror/thriller where you play the part of a writer whose wife goes missing in mysterious circumstances whilst on vacation with sinister forces at play when darkness descends. I really loved this and whilst initially spooky it’s more fun than scary after a few chapters. Thoroughly recommended. 

Resident Evil 3 Remake [PS5] - My first ever resident evil game and boy did this game look beautiful with ray tracing and 60 FPS on the PS5. Having never played a resident evil game I was always on edge and there were a few stressful moments but the game was really enjoyable and very much action focused. The main enemy Nemesis can be terrifying at times but mostly in the early game when you’re not used to facing him. It’s not the longest of games but that suits me as I tend to search everywhere and take my time. I would thoroughly recommend this even if you are not a resident evil fan and it’s frequently on sale. 

Little Nightmares [PS5] - a 2D/3D puzzle adventure game where you play as a character called Six trying to escape the Maw, a huge ship full of hideous creatures who want to devour you. The game looks incredible and the gameplay is intriguing and fun. I can't recommend this enough.

Far Cry Primal [PS5] - Far Cry but set in the Stone Age where you fight other tribes and creatures such as giant mammoths and sabretooth tigers. A game I was loving to a point and then got so bored that I had to put it down and couldn't finish it until 3 months later when I realised that I was 90% through so decided to force myself to complete it. It was enjoyable but by the end it became extremely repetitive and was a grind to finish.

Little Nightmares II [PS5] - I can’t sing the praises of this game enough. I thought that the first one was amazing but this is simply a masterpiece. It upped the ante with horror, with some excellent puzzle elements and story. If you liked the first you will absolutely love this. Can’t wait for the third game to come out. As with the first it's not a long game but wow does it pack a punch.

Sephiroth_dude

LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN: THE MAN WHO ERASED HIS NAME- ps5, fantastic game, the ending hit me right in the feels as well 😭, sets up Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth perfectly.

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)
29. Pushmo/Pullblox (3DS)
30. Armored Core 6 (PC)
31. Starfox (SNES)
32. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2)
33. Bugs vs Tanks (3DS)

Bugs vs. Tanks

Well this was a bit of a let down. This game was part of the 'Guild' initiative by Japanese publisher Level 5. Basically they released two compilations, Guild 01 and 02, each with three smaller games by famous japanese developers. I've not played all the games in this series but the ones I had were excellent, they've been very unique games that used the smaller budget to do a lot of experimental things. Matsuno's Crimson Shroud was the standout.

Bugs vs. Tanks however is the weakest game. The concept for the game comes from Keiji Inafune and his company Comcept with development handled by Natsume. During WW2 a German tank division is shrunk down to the size of insects by some unexplained phenomenon. Instead of fighting the Allies they now have to deal with huge Ants, Spiders, Termites and other creepy crawlies that now tower above them.

What this amounts to is quite a simple top down shooter based in small arenas. Each mission has objectives that add variety but they often repeat, most being a variation of destroy everything, a target or a rescue mission. You control the tank with the circle pad and move the turret. The turret will fire automatically at the ants.

It's not the most exciting game and while not bad it's disappointingly plain compared to the other guild games. There's some humour to be had from how straight faced the game plays the ridiculous scenario but it's never laugh out loud.

I suppose I should have expected disappointment from post Capcom Keiji Inafune.

Gamer Bhoy 89

Halo: Combat Evolved || Xbox Series X

Suddenly got an urge to play through the MCC. Halo CE is good but my god is it ever repetitive. The level design in my books is horrible (looking at you, Library).

Happy to delve into Halo 2 again, the one I've probably put the least time into when compared to CE, 3 and Reach

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121428748#Comment_121428748

If you thought the level design in halo 1 was repetitive and bad it's worse in halo 2 after a great opening.

da gamer

Call of duty modern warfare II - PS4

Lego the Incredibles - PS4

A plague tale requim - Xbox series s

High on life - Xbox series s

Prodeus - Xbox series s

Goldeneye - Xbox series s

The last of us - PS4

TMNT shredder revenge-Xbox series s

Shadow warrior 3 - Xbox series s

Mafia 2 - PS4

Halo infinite - Xbox series s

The walking dead TFS - Xbox series s

Double dragon 2 - Nes

Terminator resistance - PS4

Dusk - Switch

Evil west - PS5

Fifa 23 - PS4

Quake 2 64 - Xbox series s

God of war ragnarok - PS5

Ghost of Tsushima - PS4

Vampyr - PS4

The devil in me - PS5

Just Cause 4 - PS4

Stray - PS5

Mr.Fantastic

1. God of war: Ragnarok -PS5
2. Signalis -Xbox Series X
3. The Callisto Protocol - PS5
4. FF7 Crisis core reunion -PS5
5. Fire Emblem: Engage - Switch
6. Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
7. Resident evil 4: Remake -PS5
8. Star Wars : Jedi Survivor-PS5
9. Chained Echoes -Steam Deck
10. Dredge - Steam Deck
11. Midnight Fight Club - Xbox Series X
12. Final Fantasy XV -PS5
13. Mortal Kombat 11 - Xbox Series X
14. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Steam Deck
15. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC - PS5
16. Alan Wake 2 -PS5

Alan Wake 2

One word, fantastic such a melding of genres a truly multimedia of experience don't usually platinum games but I did for this one.

Can't wait for any DLC and even control 2.

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)
29. Pushmo/Pullblox (3DS)
30. Armored Core 6 (PC)
31. Starfox (SNES)
32. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2)
33. Bugs vs Tanks (3DS)
34. Mister Mosquito (PS2)

Mister Mosquito

This is one of those weird games that makes exploring the PS2 library so rewarding. Published by Eidos under their 'Fresh Games' label, this label was set up to bring weird japanese games to the West that might not stand a chance of localisation normally. Unfortunately the label was short lived.

In Mister Mosquito you play a Mosquito terrorising the Yamada family. This consists of 12 stages where you must reach a quota of blood sucked from the family members to finish. Each plays out like a weird mash up of an arcade flying game, a puzzle game, a stealth game and a shadow of the colossus style boss battle. The controls are relatively simple for flying and sucking blood. Stages have you flying around a room of the Yamadas house looking for ways to expose the vulnerable areas to suck blood from. Once you attach to these areas you need to suck as much blood as you can while watching for how annoyed the unfortunate victim gets. You must control how fast you suck by circling the R stick and keep it within a certain section of the meter. If they get annoyed they may try and swat you which is an instant game over.

Of course you also have to stay hidden from the Yamada's as if they see you this initiate 'Battle Mode'. In this mode the family member will actively seek you out to try damage you unless you can hit all their 'Relax Points'. These moments play out like boss battles.

Mister Mosquito is a strange unique game but also a lot of fun. There's plenty of laughs from the amusing dialogue and how straight faced it plays it. The narrator sounds like she is narrating a nature documentary. The game is relatively short, clocking in at 4 hours although you can play a new game plus that takes place the following summer if you find and fill all the hidden EX tanks. This makes the battle modes much tougher and changes the dialouge.

I've a few minor issues with the game. In terms of gameplay there's a bit too many unskippable cutscenes that begin each level that get infuriating on the more difficult stage. The dodgy acting enhances the game but the mother and father of the Yamada's yellow face it up which comes across a little bit insensitive. The game can also be a bit skeevy with a lot of focus paid to the schoolgirl age daughter and her friend. There's a bath tub scene with her and her friend wears clothes she would catch her death in.

Mister Mosquito is a fun breezy game that has a few laughs and an impressive sense of scale at times. I also love the games opening warning:

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)
29. Pushmo/Pullblox (3DS)
30. Armored Core 6 (PC)
31. Starfox (SNES)
32. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2)
33. Bugs vs Tanks (3DS)
34. Mister Mosquito (PS2)
35. Beyond the Labyrinth (3DS)

Beyond the Labyrinth

There was quite a bit of buzz about Beyond the Labyrinth in the early days of the 3DS. The early days of the 3DS weren't so good with a lack of quality games on the system. Beyond the Labyrinth looked very promising, being a gorgeous looking RPG that echoed the likes of ICO with the solid RPG developer Tri Ace behind it. It was very disappointing when it became very obvious that Konami wasn't going to localise the game for the West possibly due to the poor sales of the system during the launch window. It's difficult to know why some games don't get localised but it's usually because the game just isn't that good. Thankfully the game received a fan translation so we can judge for ourselves.

After finishing Beyond the Labyrinth I'm absolutely baffled by Konami's decision to localise the game because it's fantastic. There's a lot to talk about here so I'll start with the premise. You might be shocked on starting the game to find yourself in what looks like a old Japanese home computer dungeon crawler. The walls presented in primary colours and choppy first person scrolling like an old Wizardry game. As you get familiar with the battle system three other people join your game. As you explore the maze you keep hearing a girl cry for help before all four of you are isekai'ed into the world of this strange girl. The graphics now resemble a more modern game and you have a strange girl asking for help. You can't can't speak to her but the people playing the game can chat to each other through text. You all decide to stick together until you can help this girl escape the labyrinth.

Beyond the Labyrinth is a dungeon crawler at heart. You explore mazes tile by tile and take part in battles with enemies that roam around the maze in real time. When battle is initiated the game becomes turn based. The battle system is initially very simple. You have three elements and there's a rock, paper, scissors affinity between them. You're only open is to attack but you can trade power to affect your turn order in a visible turn queue. Another unique feature is that there's no way to heal using traditional magic or items. If you or an enemy exploit an elemental weakness the HP is sent to a pool which can be stolen by the next participant with that affinity. It means you have to be quite tactical as sometimes it's not work exploiting a weakness if that enemy is attacking next and will just regain health. There are items in the game but they allow you affect the turn order or swap affinities on the fly rather than being the usually array for potions.

The girl that you are escorting starts off initially useless, not able to attack or defend herself. However as the game progresses you will gain the ability to protect and she will gain the ability to use magic. You can build up the girls magic in a separate pool which can be added to or multiplied. As a result the girl goes from useless to the most valuable member of the party. The battle system ramps up complexity so as to not leave the player confused. There's some really great fights and boss fights as a result.

The game looks absolutely stunning for a 3DS game. Strangely the game foregoes any kind of texture filtering, possibly to increase performance, but it's not that noticeable on the small 3DS screen. The game echoes the likes of Ico or shadow of the colossus, it's one of the best looking games on the 3DS. The girl is well animated and feels very natural. There's not a whole lot of story here, it's more about how the girl and the 3 gamers bond. I particularly like the banter between the three gamers that join you. Prof is a bit of a nerd and is all about gameplay mechanics and science. Lily is the girl of the group who is more spiritual and talks about nature and is very empathetic. And then there's Edge who is your typical gamer and a bit of a dick. Their interactions provide a lot of laughs but they also grow through the experience and get very invested in the girls faith.

One last thing I have to mention is the soundtrack. Composed by long time Tri Ace collaborator Motoi Sakuraba, I don't use any hyperbole in saying it's one of the all time great videogame soundtracks. Check it out on youtube, it's up there with the likes of SMT4 and Shadow of the Colossus.

The fan translation is pretty high quality with a few typos and lines that don't make sense slipping in rarely. The translator unfortunately drops the 'R' word on one occasion which is very jarring. They have expressed regret for it and wished they could change it but the code is lost. Just a warning if anyone is going to try the game. I recommend you do though as it's such a great RPG and not too long, clocking in at 25 hours.

Again I really don't get why Konami held this back from a Western release, it's a game that deserves much more exposure than it got. Anyway, some trailers to get across what the game actual is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYJSgPZtoaQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_mYOAdMVjA

Penn

1. Neon White (PS5)
2. Dead Cells (PS5)
3. Superliminal (PS5)
4. Dead Space (Remake) (PS5)
5. The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe (PS5)
6. Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy (PS5)
7. Like A Dragon: Ishin (PS5)
8. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS5)
9. Horizon Forbidden West - Burning Shores DLC (PS5)
10. Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5)
11. Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (Switch)
12. Humanity (PS5)
13. Baldur's Gate 3 (PS5)
14. Mortal Kombat 1 (PS5)
15. Lies of P (PS5)
16. Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
17. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)

Alan Wake II (PS5)

An incredible experience of a game. The way it presents its scenes, settings, themes and set-pieces is an amazing accomplishment in design. It provides outstanding experiences, blending together an unsettling game experience, live action and amazing audio-visual design into incredible game sequences.

It's not flawless though. Much of the combat I just found to be bland and uninteresting and largely ended up trying to avoid by about the halfway point in the game, which in fairness for the most part the game does allow you to do if you choose outside of a few set-pieces here and there. Though this also had the knock-on effect of meaning I did less exploration off the beaten path as time went on. Some of the puzzles are also well designed and can be tricky to figure out, but a lot of it is too simplistic with very little player input or thought required, and I feel like there was potential for better-developed systems which would have been more engaging.

I said it in the AW2 thread, but I enjoyed this far more as an experience than as a game. It's pretty incredible to playthrough and is a huge accomplishment in design. I just wish the balance between puzzles and combat was more tilted towards puzzles.

Retr0gamer

1. Sonic Frontiers (PC)
2. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES)
4. Aladdin (SNES)
5. Crash Bandicoot 2 (PC)
6. Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PC)
7. Deus Ex: Invisible War (PC)
8. The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero (PC)
9. Thief: Deadly Shadows (PC)
10. The Firemen (SNES)
11. Omaze (Playdate)
12. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess (PS4)
13. Deception 4: Nightmare Princess - Rachel Pack DLC (PS4)
14. Battletoads (NES)
15. Contra (MSX2)
16. Super Mario Run (Android)
17. Star Sled (Playdate)
18. Run Saber (SNES)
19. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
20. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intermission (PC)
21. Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse (3DS)
22. Parameters (Browser)
23. Quake 2 (PC)
24. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
25. Astroboy: Omega Factor (GBA)
26. Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)
27. Knightmare (MSX)
28. Echo Night (PS1)
29. Pushmo/Pullblox (3DS)
30. Armored Core 6 (PC)
31. Starfox (SNES)
32. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2)
33. Bugs vs Tanks (3DS)
34. Mister Mosquito (PS2)
35. Beyond the Labyrinth (3DS)
36. Pilotwings (SNES)

Pilotwings

Pilotwings was a launch title for the SNES and meant as a showcase for it's fancy new pseudo 3D mode 7 effects. It was also the first SNES game with an enhancement chip, in this case the DSP. The SNES had a bit of an issue with a fairly weedy cpu, especially in comparison to the megadrive so it needed so extra processing power to calculate the 3D co-ordinate maths needed for a 3D game like pilotwings.

Pilotwings is split into license tests each consisting of 2-4 challenges involving differing methods of aeronautic sports. There's 100 points up for grabs in each challenge and to gain your license and move on to the next set of challenges you have to hit a certain points threshold.

It's a simple set up seen in many sports games but what sells pilotwings is how they nail the feel of each event. The four types of challenge consist of either a light prop plane, a parachute jump, hang glider or a rocket pack. There's also a fun Apache attack helicopter mission that shows up at the halfway point and the end of the game. Each mode has a fun and nuanced physics model which is tricky but rewarding to master and the game never strays into full on simulation, everything can be controlled with the dpad and two buttons.

Pilotwings is a great example of how to let technical advances inform game design. It showed what new game experiences the SNES could bring that weren't possible on 8-bit systems and even its competitors 16-bit systems. It's not only a fantastic tech showpiece and launch title but also a great game. The mode 7 effects looked incredible at the time, that type of scaling and rotation would have only been seen in top of the line arcade machines, but the game remains addictive and enjoyable despite the ravages of time. I could see this one being in regular rotation especially if your friends called over.

Mr.Fantastic

1. God of war: Ragnarok -PS5
2. Signalis -Xbox Series X
3. The Callisto Protocol - PS5
4. FF7 Crisis core reunion -PS5
5. Fire Emblem: Engage - Switch
6. Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
7. Resident evil 4: Remake -PS5
8. Star Wars : Jedi Survivor-PS5
9. Chained Echoes -Steam Deck
10. Dredge - Steam Deck
11. Midnight Fight Club - Xbox Series X
12. Final Fantasy XVI -PS5
13. Mortal Kombat 11 - Xbox Series X
14. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Steam Deck
15. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty DLC - PS5
16. Alan Wake 2 -PS5
17. God of War: Ragnarok DLC Vallhalla -PS5

God of War: Ragnarok DLC Vallhalla

Not really a full game but a nice DLC from Santa Monica studios was quite difficult more dark souls than Gow was enjoyable for what it was. Might be my last game this year unless I can finished dead island 2 in the next few days.