What Games Have You Completed? (2021 Edition)

33. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Wraith of the Druids (DLC) (PS5, PS4). Completed, got all trophies.

Played Valhalla at launch on PS4 and returned to it on the PS5 for this DLC seeing as I already owned the season pass. I mentioned in the main thread that I never got a sense of medieval Irish culture but that may be stemming from my own ignorance. To me the map just seemed like a reskinned England from the main game with greener grass and dodgy accents. The map is basically a scaled down version of what you do in the base game but without the interesting stuff like the animus anomalies or the NPC encounters. The story is just boring. Boring medieval politics with boring, talky characters and threadbare connections to the precursor race. Traversal is still far more of a chore than it should be which is odd for a series that really elevated parkour in the consciousness of gamers. The stealth A.I. is trash and there are also still some persisting bugs that I know now will never be patched given that these are bugs that have been there since November FFS.

Also, I would occasionally switch to the PS4 version to quickly pop related trophies since both versions share cloud saves. This did entail me having to play some of the PS4 version to completion since auto pop does not work despite Ubisoft Montreal claiming it’s supported to for Valhalla. Either I’m just too used to the PS5 version or they’ve done something to the graphics on last gen consoles because the PS4 version is unwatchable. If you must play this then best do it on the PS5.

Under other circumstances I would not advise getting this DLC or the season pass. However, native members of this board who can stomach this game long enough to enjoy the novelty of it being in Ireland might find some joy in it but that’s really all it has. I’m not Irish so there was really nothing for me to hold on to sadly. And on that note I’m calling it: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the worst Assassin’s Creed game ever made and it breaks my heart to say it because I’ve been a fan for 13 years. I’m more sad than anything because after hearing that AC is turning into a live service shortly after this really proves that the series I once loved is gone.

Sounds better. Ape escape vs monkey escape.

35.Subnautica: Below Zero. Completed and platinumed.

 I just can’t get enough of Subnautica so not long after I played the original I went and got this DLC. If you’ve played the first one you’ll know what to build to make those initial steps without even consulting your PDA. Speaking of the PDA (which comes with a change of accent and a sense of humour), its recommendations are deliberately vague to encourage more experimentation. There are also less radio waypoints too - in the first game you’d get random coordinates to guide you on the right path whenever you built a significant item. I think this - along with now having to make use of any maps you find - was a great change and a natural evolution for the series because it encourages one of the best things about Subnautica which is the exploration. It's basically more or less the same gameplay so I'm just gonna list off notable differences:

Yes, the on-land segments are much more prevalent here than in the original but Below Zero stays true to the core of Subnautica which is an underwater survival game.

The horror elements are dialed down considerably – which is fine for me personally but some fans of the original may not fancy that. The tone is also much lighter - sometimes to the detriment of the story but more on that later. There are some self-aware jokes from the PDA about the first game and a joke jump scare that made me chuckle. The creatures are also more peaceful / friendly too but still so well designed and varied. My favourite was the sea monkey mainly because of how it treats you during different stages of the story without giving away spoilers. (It was a missed opportunity to not let us pet it!!!)

There is some base building additions like the jukebox that I didn’t even know I needed until I built it. Some of the lyrics - which I believe are fan made - are hilarious, mainly because they perfectly capture the addiction of Subnautica. Speaking of the base building, I enjoyed it even more here than the first due to the fact that the story is shorter and me moving through it so quickly made me feel like I actually had the time to do it. I’m really proud of my base and I hope they add even more variety in furniture and decorations like Fallout.

Quality-of-life improvements were instantly noticeable and much appreciated. This includes choosing what slots to assign certain equipment to in the favourites wheel and being able to pin blueprints to the side of the screen. Small things like that make a much needed difference for a game you can potentially pour countless hours into. The blueprints menu in the PDA still needs work as the selected items tend to take up the entire screen but for the most part the user interface is just easier to use. The graphics are improved considerably too no matter whether you play the PS5 and PS4 but, disappointingly, there are some technical hiccups, mainly stuttering and crashes, so save often.

And of course, there are new vehicles which I won't spoil.

The story is more of an open book here being more emotionally driven and less about mystery...and it's probably the one true flaw with Below Zero, itself. In short, you play as Robin who has come to planet 4546B to find out the real circumstances around her older sister’s death who died on the planet seemingly due to her own negligence according to Alterra (merely referenced in the first game, much larger presence here). Robin doesn’t believe that for a second and seeks to uncover the truth. My issue with Robin, however, is that the moment she meets a certain someone she turns into a fangirl and seemingly forgets the reason why she came to the planet in the first place. The player is even able to leave without completing Robin’s original goal and she never acknowledges that if you do. In fact, the sister story line turns into a side quest when you meet a certain character. It’s a minor gripe in a game that is largely about exploration and creation but is worth noting seeing as the story being great in the first one was such a pleasant surprise.

What happened to her sister, Sam, was quite sad, especially because in her final days she was so unhappy and reached out to Robin for help. The audio diaries of Sam and her Alterra colleagues are really good with some decent voice acting. The devs also handled Robin and Sam in a really respectful and non-stereotypical fashion when it came to race. It’s never acknowledged for laughs, in a preachy way or even at all, and neither characters look like a 'video game black woman' but real people. It’s not really something a game should be praised for as it’s the bare minimum but considering how rare this is credit needs to be given where it’s due.  

On a final note, I remember I said I love Subnautica because it’s so rewarding and you feel like you’re in forward motion even when the game tries to set you back. That was reinforced quite recently to me after I completed Nier Automata. Normal difficulty in that game is very forgiving so death is rare but even just the thought of death was anxiety inducing because vital items will be gone forever if you die before retrieving them. In Subnautica that wouldn’t matter because every blueprint, every PDA entry, every visual memory means that no matter what happens you’ll be able to build anything that is lost quickly – and moreover the scavenging and bulding is part of the fun so doesn’t feel like a penalty. In other words, the most valuable resource in both Subnautica games is not your inventory; it’s your knowledge… It also doesn’t hurt that in Below Zero if you die with a beacon in your inventory it drops upon death so you’ll know exactly where to retrieve your items anyway lol

TL;DR: So yes, once again I would recommend Below Zero (and, by default, the original). Seriously, if you like survival and exploration games you need to play this. The Subnautica universe really is on another level when it comes to player engagement. I literally only stop playing when my battery dies (which enrages me). Currently tied with Astrobot for my game for the year so far unless Life is Strange: True Colours comes out and smashes it (fingers crossed).

36. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Completed and platinumed.

I like this game but I don’t think it’s as good as the 2016 reboot and i'm likely in the minority with that opinion.

Basic plot is that Ratchet and Clank are transported to a dimensional universe where Dr. Nefarious always wins. They end up meeting their alternate reality equivalents, in this case Rivet and Kit, both female versions of themselves. I like Ratchet more here. In the 2016 game he was upstaged by arguably more interesting characters but in Rift Apart he actually has a personality and I found my enjoyment went up whenever I was able to play as him. He’s so expressive in small ways like the way his green eyes light up and his cute little ears prick up when he’s excited. He is also genuinely very positive with a can-do attitude which makes him a breath of fresh air in a cast of self-doubters.

Every character here has to spell out their insecurities so they can go through a journey of self belief later on, including Clank who they’ve turned into a clingy, overly sentimental sidekick. He’s out of character and his emotional interactions with Ratchet feel forced. Before, he was pragmatic and competent while still being fundamentally good. He felt like a defective robot, not a person with emotions. I still enjoy his puzzles but they’re arguably less challenging here and, in true Insomniac fashion, either Clank or an NPC have to immediately yell out the solutions. It’s not as bad as Miles Morales in that regards but they seriously need to stop that.

I actually prefer Clank's equivalent, Kit. She has an interesting backstory and is pretty badass. I’m less big on Rivet but do enjoy her chemistry with Ratchet and think it’s cute that they can’t stay angry at each other. Rivet is more hardened than Ratchet having lived in a world where she always loses and didn’t have her version of Clank by her side so the final boss fight, which features mainly her, means more. I really appreciated that she and Ratchet shared inventory and upgrades too.

The gameplay is still mindless fun where you're just blasting everything in sight with not much resistance on normal difficulty, and the enemy designs are top notch. Like the 2016 reboot, load times are non existent so a bad fall leading to your death will see you right back in the action, and being able to retain XP means you can farm weapon upgrades all day long. In fact, I was able to cheese some environmental collectible puzzles by falling off the map lol. Speaking of weapons, they are less exceptional than before and thus why it was more noticeable when I’m forced to switch out the few creative weapons when they run out of ammo. A lot of them are glorified shotguns and RPGs tbh. Some unique weapons make a return like the Glove of Doom which is probably even more OP but they have downgraded the buzz blades for no good reason.

What became immediately apparent when starting the campaign is how on the rails (sometimes literally) it is with its explosive set pieces and point of no return pathing. It’s like Uncharted for kids – which is fine but it’s not what I was expecting. I personally preferred the reboot’s approach of hopping from planet to planet in no particular order where you were free to complete tasks when you wanted. Thankfully, side missions are back, providing a nice diversion to break up the pacing. The little reality ‘rifts’ (dimensional holes you can pull yourself through to teleport) make traversal a bit more creative too. The combat arena is a nice addition and provides a good place to test out weapons. Like Insomniac's Spider-Man, you can also collect outfits via these side activities and they all grant useful perks for any given situation.

Graphics are good but not mind blowing like the journos would have you believe. I played on performance RT mode but then even the original Ratchet and Clank on the PS2 was ahead of its time, graphically. The haptic feedback on the PS5 controller was actually very annoying and I turned it off in the menus eventually. Outside of the visual options, this could have easily been on the PS4 and it does feel like it was made a PS5 exclusive to justify the price.

TL;DR: Same recommendation as with the 2016 one. If you like Pixar mixed with mindless , lizard brain combat then you'll love this...but I wouldn't get it at 70 quid. That's not a knock against it - even the 2016 one wouldn't be worth 70. You should pick it up at some point if you own a PS5 but it's not a must-play and doesn't really do much by being a PS5 exclusive outside of some graphic options. 50 at best.

I've actually completed Last Stop twice and I'm surprised that there hasn't been a law suit out against this game tbh for false advertising. Saying that choices don't matter is an understatement. You can even elect to just let the scenes play out and it won't matter; I've tested this. The only thing that requires mandatory interaction are the mini games and even then the outcomes of them are the same, and there are too few of them. That first person section - which actually doesn't require any detective work from the player - is a necessity so that the character doesn't obscure the player's vision who is required at that point to...open a bunch of draws. Riveting stuff. Much wow. It's not an artistic choice hence why there isn't more of that.

The very final choice i.e. the only one that does matter doesn't even take into consideration your actions up to that point. This wouldn't be a problem if the story was actually, you know, compelling, but it's like a bad 90s British soap opera and the writers seem to have no idea how modern Londoners actually talk.

As for this game teaching bigger studios about cinematic story telling techniques...🤣 Ignoring more recent examples like God of War, Last of Us Part II and Red Dead Redemption II, the camera work in Last Stop is one of the worst things about it. One reason is because, as you articulated, you have to locate where your character actually is on the screen but moreover, sometimes it makes it difficult to tell where you're supposed to go resulting in awkward clashes with invisible walls. Often, you don't even know when you've assumed control of the character, resulting in sudden stops that break the cinematic flow. The only reason why it even allows you to take control in those moments is so the player can feel involved but the fact that these devs think walking from place to place is what makes engaging gameplay is worrying.

It should be so lucky to even draw any comparisons to a Quantic Dream, even in a negative. It's games like this that make you realise how talented David Cage truly is.

38. The Suicide of Rachel Foster. Completed and platinumed.

Talking about this game’s story and politics is doing it a service it doesn’t deserve. It deliberately wants to offend and shock people for attention, almost to a comical degree so I’ll just focus purely on the gameplay that it’s trying to mask. If you're interested in the actual narrative this guy sums up why it's trash:

Basically, you get trapped in a hotel one night with a ‘nice guy’ type on the phone providing you with instructions on how to navigate it in order to survive the next few days until help arrives. This is actually a really fun premise and the creepy ghost element of the hotel coupled with optional items you can find to make navigation easier make for a risk/reward factor. Unfortunately, the guy on the phone keeps calling you and never **** shuts up so any tension is quickly clipped by annoyance. So if you enjoy being constantly taken out by Mr Friend Zone as you’re forced to sift through long lines of dialogue options that builds or dismantles your “relationship” with him over the space of 3 or 4 hours tops then, sure, go for it. It’s also set in the 90s and the protag is a woman so in a smug, self-satisfied attempt to highlight how far we’ve come as a society in terms of gender equality since then (even though, ironically, the way certain subject matters are handled in this game proves that's not true) expect a lot of, "the 90s were sexist!" moments. In other words if you're easily triggered when the issue of sexism is merely implied you've been warned.

I can’t say, “don’t play this game” (even though on principle I really want to) as the gameplay is quite fun despite Mr Friend Zone doing his best to ruin it and hey, you may even enjoy the story and characters if you have no morals. But if you do have anything resembling a soul then I would say DON'T PLAY THIS DESPICABLE GAME. 

1.    Tomb Raider Definitive Edition.

2.    Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Remastered (The Ezio Collection).

3.    Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.

4.    Astro’s Playroom.

5.    Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

6.    Bugsnax.

7.    Cyberpunk 2077.

8.    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered.

9.    Spider-Man: Miles Morales DLC.

10. Rage 2.

11. Rage 2: Rise of the Ghosts DLC

12. Rage 2: TerrorMania DLC.

13. Mass Effect Andromeda.

14. Late Shift.

15. Subnautica.

16. Anthem.

17. Tacoma.

18. Days Gone.

19. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Remastered (The Ezio Collection).

20. Battlefield 4.

21. Concrete Genie.

22. Rise of the Tomb Raider.

23. Rise of the Tomb Raider: Lara’s Nightmare (DLC).

24. Rise of the Tomb Raider: Cold Darkness DLC.

25. Journey.

26. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

27. Maquette.

28. Watch Dogs: Legion (PS5).

29. The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone (DLC).

30. Gris.

31. Watch Dogs Legion: Bloodlines (DLC) (PS5).

32. Return of the Obra Dinn.

33. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Wraith of the Druids (DLC) (PS5)

34.Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Wraith of the Druids (DLC) (PS4)

35.Ratchet and Clank (2016)

36.Subnautica: Below Zero.

37.Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

38.Sherlock Holmes: Crime and Punishments. 

39.The Suicide of Rachel Foster. 

40. Legends of Talia: Arcadia. Completed and platinumed.

Technically, I’ve completed this visual novel (is that what they call it?) Couldn’t tell you what it was about as I just wanted to see if the rumours were true that this is the fastest platinum ever. It is, at about 30 seconds. Oh, and it has a PS5 and PS4 version so double plat for me. Uh…it looks pretty, I guess? 

"just extremely difficult"

It's not and I don't consider myself some badass gamer or anything. 

Anyway, love Heart of Darkness; at the time it was my favourite game ever. I remember I used to obsessively draw the title logo over my school books. Brings back a lot of good memories. I need to find my old Playstation games as they're scattered around at my parents house. I might just rebuy some second hand copies if they're available.