Games Completed 2018

[AndrewBrown]

02/01: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past [SNES Classic]
04/01: Oxenfree [Switch]
13/01: Axiom Verge: Multiverse Edition [Switch]
14/01: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [Switch]
15/01: Super Mario World [SNES Classic]
20/01: BioShock Infinite [360]
23/01: The Fall [PSN]
26/01: Celeste [Switch]

31/01: Super One More Jump [Switch]

Ever play a platformer and wonder why you have to perform the unnecessary labor of holding a direction on the D-pad? Super One More Jump is here to tackle this dire weakness, taking directional control from the player and sending them off to navigate 96 different levels using just one button command: Jump! It's more engaging than it sounds, with lots of objects that can change your flow through the level and a weird gravity system that keeps you connected to a track even if you have to perform a half-orbit then run upside-down. You could call it an Endless Runner, but each level is prescribed, so it's really more of a Rhythm Platformer, with successful navigation a level requiring precisely timed jumps that never waver.

And it's hard. I played Celeste last week and died a little over 1100 times total in its entirety; the penultimate level of Super One More Jump took 2323 attempts to clear successfully. The levels are divided into eight sets of twelve each; the final level set took as long to beat as all the other sets combined, thanks mostly to Level 95. "Pixel perfect" is a term I throw around a lot in platformers like this, but in this game it's not hyperbole. In the last set of levels, if you do not jump at exactly the right time, you will die. Recommended for platformer fans looking for a challenge. There are four different variations on the core 96 levels plus a few bonus modes I haven't even begun to explore yet (there's a Vault of 40 extra levels which might be the original One More Jump?).

Probably the coolest thing it does is let you choose from a selection of graphic sets designed by independent artists, ranging from steam punk ruins to a food theme to a swords & sorcerers theme. Gathering tokens in each level lets you buy more characters to play as in each art set. Multiple people playing the exact same game will be looking at completely different visual styles, which is a neat way to approach a game as "simple" as this.

[Beck]

Spoiler: show

Jan - Tekken 7

Feb - Bloodborne - One of the best games I've played and really glad I took the time to get into it. I chose to finish the final boss so that I could get some closure and play some other games, I'll come back for the DLC and chalice dungeons at a later date. I'm not sure if it's because Dark Souls 3 was my first From Software game but I found Dark Souls 3 significantly harder than Bloodborne. I wonder if that's because I had to overcome the learning curve with the first game.

Feb - Fallout Shelter - I downloaded fallout shelter again and was surprised to see so many new features and modes. It scratched the itch I had for a game of that type.

[MajorGamer]

Spoiler: show

Jan 1 - Neon Chrome (PC)
Jan 2 - Dispersio (PC)
Jan 9 - Numbus (PC)
Jan 11 - Hero Siege (PC)
Jan 14 - Castle of no Escape 2 (PC)
Jan 20 - Toy Odyssey (PC)
Jan 23 - 20XX (PC)
Jan 25 - Battle Chef Brigade (Switch)
Jan 29 - Kamiko (Switch)

Feb 1 - Guild of Dungeoneering (PC)

A bit roguelite-ish, not sure how else to describe it. You send your people into each dungeon to kill some enemies or get some treasures except you don't have direct control over their movement. You get to influence them by creating the dungeon yourself and they move based on what is available to them.

Combat is turn based where actions are determined by cards. Your deck is based on what your dude's class is and whatever equipment they've gotten in the run. Overall, Not bad at all but RNG can be nasty here. You can have runs often enough where, if played perfectly, you still lose. At least the longest of dungeons are only 10 minutes so it isn't too much of a black mark.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Feb - Destiny 2 (Xbox One X)

I've had Destiny 2 on the boil along with Assassin's Creed Origins (also Xbox) and Snake Pass (Switch) throughout January, but last night we saw the credits roll on the Destiny campaign so it wins the honour of being my first 'completion' of 2018. Obviously lots more to do but the main story's done so that counts in my book!

It's worth noting that my co-op buddy and I are very much casual Destiny players playing once or twice a week for 3 hours max at a time, so all the negativity around the game has completely passed us by. That largely seems centred around the late game grind and systems that we've either not really delved into much yet, if at all, so if you're looking for an in-depth critique on that stuff it ain't gonna come from me.

So with the above in mind - I think Destiny 2 is great! It's big, beautiful and feels fantastic to play. It's easy to get into but with enough depth to feel like there's plenty to sink your teeth into below the surface.

Visually, running in 4K on the One X there have been some pretty awe inspiring sites throughout, and the worlds that Bungie has created are truly stunning at times. The soundscape can also be equally arresting, with a sweeping score that complements and enhances the on screen action wonderfully. Most importantly, it simply plays really, really well. Movement, shooting mechanics, you name it - Destiny 2 is pretty good to great in any area could care to mention.

If I have one criticism it's with the storytelling and overall narrative. This is proper, ripe sci-fi. 'The Red Legion'. 'Dominus Ghaul'. 'The Almighty'. These monikers signal this as clearly real campy stuff, and the dialogue can verge on the pompous and po-faced a little too often. Nathan Fillion's Cayde-6 is obviously designed as the relief to all that, but while he does inject a bit of much needed personality into proceedings he's almost too quip-tastic for his own good at times.

We're going to keep playing for now because we're simply having fun with it, and maybe we'll run into some of the problems everyone seems so devastatingly upset about, but to be honest even if I'd paid full price at release for Destiny 2 (which I didn't) I've had more than enough high quality gaming out of it to justify the price of entry.

Classic case of entitled gamers getting all whipped into a frenzy on the internet if you ask me…

[Chopper]

Dishonored 2

It’s so weird when you play through a game that has everything going for it but doesn’t click. This is a wonderful game and a step up from the first in almost every way (the story feeling a bit rushed at times and the characters underdeveloped might be the only knocks against it beside D1, and that is probably my faulty memory). The environments, the enemies, the various means of traversal of the environment, the options in approach, all are superior. The thought of this and Prey underperforming to the extent that it is rumoured, is sad and strange.

All that said, I personally didn’t really like playing the game, much as with the original Dishonored. I found it very tough to identify enemies and avoid being spotted. I managed to keep it low chaos up until the final level, where I could just murder everything with impunity, as in D1. Finished on low chaos with Emily. Torn.

[Michiel K]

4 Feb - Soul Blade / Soul Edge (PS1)

Cleared the arcade mode with Seung Mina.

[seansthomas]

February 4th - DOOM (Switch)

Not played this before and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ran really well on Switch (bar a bug where I lost sound or ability to navigate menus a few times) and I soon adjusted to playing it on the train with the JoyCons, though at home with the Pro Controller was far nicer.

Looks and sounds amazing (what a soundtrack!) and much of the environment and weapon design was brilliant. Had a bit of fatigue halfway through when I was replaying the same sections over and over upon returning from Hell to the slightly disorientating Metroid Prime like Space Station levels, but think that was down to dipping in and out a lot. Dedicated the past week to it and by the end of the game, I was laying waste to hoards of evil demons. Did have to knock down the difficulty for the Bosses though, as I was plain unable to beat them on Medium setting.

A great remake of a classic for once and one of my favourite credits sequences ever too. A brief go on the Multiplayer seemed a bit dull but Arcade Mode seems a LOT of fun, so think I'll still find reasons to revisit it after a short break.

[AndrewBrown]

02/01: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past [SNES Classic]
04/01: Oxenfree [Switch]
13/01: Axiom Verge: Multiverse Edition [Switch]
14/01: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [Switch]
15/01: Super Mario World [SNES Classic]
20/01: BioShock Infinite [360]
23/01: The Fall [PSN]
26/01: Celeste [Switch]
31/01: Super One More Jump [Switch]

05/02: Night in the Woods [Switch]

I really appreciate the setting of this game. Its portrayal of dying small communities in middle America who have had their livelihoods taken from them (for a myriad reasons too complicated to address in this short piece), sending the older generations into despondency and the younger generations into aimlessness and diaspora, is sorely needed. Entire communities and cultures have been devastated, leaving despair and anger in its wake. This had a big impact on the 2016 election, and I don't think this very real issue has been addressed in our media enough. Night in the Woods is not prescient, it is merely aware.

Which isn't to say that I feel as rapturously towards it as many others seem to be. I appreciated how its final plot arcs didn't quite descend into confirming anything—keeping the plot safely in the area of Magical Realism or New Weird—but at the same time I've seen that particular plot twist executed before in multiple places. I hesitate to say where because it will immediately give away the twist. I understand where Night in the Wood's frustration is coming from and why it's directed towards the places it is, but I enjoyed it more in its first half when it was an aimless young woman goofing off with her friends than the Scooby Doo-esque "ghost story" its second half indulges in. Thankfully, its Epilogue intelligently returns to the slice-of-life stuff from the first half, ensuring us that Mae and her friends, though they're going to struggle, are going to be all right.

Maybe.

Probably my favorite part was when Mae and Bea visited a shopping mall which is just dying. Many small communities have built these malls in an effort to boost the local economy, and various factors (again too complicated to get into here) have either killed them, or prevented them from ever being successful in the first place. The result is small communities being saddled with huge expensive buildings with no businesses in them. We have just such a mall locally, and a YouTuber named Dan Bell has done a fascinating series where he explores these malls. Definitely check them out if you're intrigued by this particular phenomenon.



(he prefaces most of his videos with bizarre title sequences; just skip them)

EDIT: And now a dying mall videogame you can play in your own web browser!
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/american-mall-game/

[Beck]

Spoiler: show

Jan - Tekken 7
Feb - Bloodborne
Feb - Fallout Shelter

Feb - Bioshock Remastered - This was my first play through. The game looks great and still plays very well. It's a shame they never resolved the audio balancing problems for the remaster, most of the character chat / audio dairies were completely inaudible due to the other sounds going around.

[Dante Fireseed]

4th January - X-Com 2 (PC)
6th January - Last Day of June (PC)
22nd January - What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4)
4th February - Final Fantasy XV (PS4)

Overall although enjoyable, I can't help but feel that this was a missed opportunity, in a post Witcher 3 world this game feels dated and the story cobbled together. Combat and visuals were great though.

[duskvstweak]

I "finished" Mark of the Ninja over the weekend. I thought it was really cool, reminding me of Samurai Jack or old Batman animated series. Normally, when I beat a game, I uninstall it and move on but I'll be keeping on my PC for awhile, to try and go after the higher scores and such. I don't usually care about that, but the game makes me think it's actually possible!

[seansthomas]

February 4th - DOOM (Switch)

February 7th - Oxenfree (Switch)

Really interesting game. Well, less of a game, more a Choose your own adventure story.

Dialogue and characters were loads better than I'd expect in your average videogame. Great music, effects, art style and atmosphere too. Won't say anything more about the game than that as it'd spoil it, but it's a total bargain for the current £4 price tag.

It'll stay with me a long while and I'm sure I'll repay it one day. It's obviously designed to be experienced that way, though the pace and movement in the game put me off doing so straight away.

This video made sense of it all brilliantly, but be warned, it's only for those of us who have beaten it:

https://youtu.be/GcOSgy0bQHk

[MajorGamer]

Spoiler: show

Jan 1 - Neon Chrome (PC)
Jan 2 - Dispersio (PC)
Jan 9 - Numbus (PC)
Jan 11 - Hero Siege (PC)
Jan 14 - Castle of no Escape 2 (PC)
Jan 20 - Toy Odyssey (PC)
Jan 23 - 20XX (PC)
Jan 25 - Battle Chef Brigade (Switch)
Jan 29 - Kamiko (Switch)
Feb 1 - Guild of Dungeoneering (PC)

Feb 3 - KByte (PC)
Feb 7 - Cat Quest (Switch)

With a name like Cat Quest, you expect it to be some bad iOS port. Instead, it is a competently made action RPG. Nothing particular stands out about it aside from the mandatory cat puns but it is still pretty fun weaving in and out of the enemies as you can go down pretty fast if you just try to tank hits. It isn't anything too long and the enemy variety is enough to satisfy that length. The sequel bait ending is a bit annoying but it is one I'd check out as this one ended up being pretty worthwhile.

Pretty much skipping over KByte as it is a good example of why I stopped getting any Steam games under $5 unless it has a good reputation. This feels like it was an early college project they decided to sell where it probably got a decent grade but doesn't cut it at all elsewhere.

[AndrewBrown]

02/01: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past [SNES Classic]
04/01: Oxenfree [Switch]
13/01: Axiom Verge: Multiverse Edition [Switch]
14/01: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [Switch]
15/01: Super Mario World [SNES Classic]
20/01: BioShock Infinite [360]
23/01: The Fall [PSN]
26/01: Celeste [Switch]
31/01: Super One More Jump [Switch]
05/02: Night in the Woods [Switch]

08/02: Dandara [Switch]

Dandara dos Palmares was an Afro-Brazilian warrior who used the dance-battle technique of capoeira to fight against slavery in colonial Brazil. This videogame is not about her, but it is about a demigod named Dandara who fights against oppression, and that's almost the same thing, isn't it? The developers seem to think so; I'm not sure I agree, but the videogame ultimately has so little to do with the historical Dandara that its pretty harmless, and indeed, the connection may actually be a distraction.

If you've read about this game, you've probably read about its difficulty, probably in comparison to the Soulsborne genre. It's not an unfair comparison—it copies the Soulsborne leveling mechanic almost entirely, complete with campfire save points you can use to replenish supplies and gain levels—but I found the difficulty stemmed more from a finicky movement system then from any real challenge. Dandara cannot walk through the Metroid-esque environment, she instead must jump to prefixed points on the floor, walls, and ceilings with lightning speed. This is interesting, because it transforms fights that would be simple affairs in a standard platformer into a tricky dance of timing, technique, and positioning. But it's also troublesome, because the mechanic to perform these leaps is incredibly finicky and imprecise. "Annoying" is a word I uttered more than once, especially when fighting the more powerful enemies in some of the more intricately designed later areas. By the end, when I had enhanced Dandara's HP and healing capabilities to their max levels, more of my deaths felt from the result of cheap shots resulting from the movement system then from any devious design or error on my part.

It's a short affair. To my slight amazement, there are only three bosses. The second one is incredible; the first and third would feel right at home in some of the weirder shmups. I'm glad I played it but it's not one I'm going to recommend with eagerness to others.

[ratsoalbion]

Spoiler: show

06 Jan: Resident Evil: Director's Cut (PAL PS1 on PS3)

09 Feb: Final Fantasy II (GBA)

[Bakers_12]

2/1 Battlefront 2 single player
2/1 Battlefront 2 Resurrection
5/1 inside iOS
26/1 Dishonored 2 Low chaos Emily play though

9/2 The Room : old sins

More Room init! A nice bonus is the backtracking of 3 has been streamlined in this one.

[Combine Hunter]

10/02 - Final Fantasy II (PS Vita)

Thoughts on the pod!

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Feb - Destiny 2 (Xbox One X)

Feb - Snake Pass (Switch)

Snake Pass developer Sumo Digital are generally a bit of gun for hire, trusted by some of the world’s biggest publishers to deliver games in some of the most well known franchises around. Sonic, Forza, Little Big Planet, Outrun - Sumo’s done it all and more, and they’re currently helping out on Crackdown 3 and sorting out/starting over Dead Island 2.

There aren’t that many rock solid, high quality devs around with a CV that impressive, particularly based in the UK. Despite this Sumo often seems to fly under the radar a bit, perhaps precisely because of this CV. The properties it works on and the publishers that own them are often so big that they perhaps dwarf the name of developer itself.

Now I have a bit of personal interest/local pride associated with Sumo as they’re based in my adopted home city of Sheffield, so I always follow what they’re up to and how they’re getting on. So when I first heard about Snake Pass I was pretty excited - an original Sumo game, self published and fully independent, borne out of an internal game jam that they decided to run with and make real.

So how did it turn out? Bloody well I thought! Essentially Snake Pass is about tricky environment traversal and collecting stuff. You play as Noodle, a chirpy young snake who you have to get from one end of a level to the other. To progress through the game the minimum you have to do is collect 3 gem stones that open the portal to the next level. On top of that there are 20 blue orbs and 5 gold coins hovering around each one for you to grab if that sort of thing floats your boat. The former are mostly pretty easy to find or get at with only a few proving particularly tricky to reach, while the latter are properly hidden and require some really fancy snaking to access.

Now Snake Pass won’t be for everyone as manipulating Noodle around the levels can take some getting used to, but when you’ve got the knack it’s an incredibly satisfying gameplay mechanic that makes the game uniquely fun, and by the later levels firmly challenging. There are a couple of missteps along the way (the adding of a particular environmental obstacle in the late game I thought was unnecessarily frustrating), but overall if you’re into platforming collect-athons and fancy trying some a little different, then Snake Pass comes highly recommended!

[kintaris]

(the adding of a particular environmental obstacle in the late game I thought was unnecessarily frustrating)

Was it the wind? I hated the wind! (Despite the beautiful music)

[Michiel K]

11 Feb - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch).

I collected my thoughts on Twitter.