Games Completed 2021

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Call of the Sea - Series X.
(Jan) Remember Me - PS3.
(Jan) Ghostbusters Remastered - Series X
(Feb) Disney Infinity 2.0 - PS4 Pro.
(Feb) Batman: Arkham Knight - PS4 Pro.
(Feb) Sacred 3 - PS3.
(Feb) The Darkness II - PS3.
(Feb) The Bureau: XCOM Declassified - PS3.

[Alex79]

JAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
JAN - Judgment (PS4)
JAN - Donut County (Android)
FEB - Gorogoa (Android)
FEB - Horace (Switch)
FEB - Castlevania (NES on Switch)

FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)

AKA the Japanese ROM of Castlevania. I can't really say I noticed any differences, but I probably wasn't paying close enough attention. Amazing how quick you can dash through the game once you know it. I actually did a 1cc. I didn't choose the 'easy' mode from the menu, but whether the normal version of the game is easier than the western release I don't know - probably likely is.

[stvnorman]

Spoiler: show

9 January: Resident Evil 4 (GameCube)
12 January: Power Drift (ZX Spectrum)
15 January: Resident Evil 3 Remake (PS4)
16 January: Castlevania - Rondo of Blood (PC-Engine Mini)
17 January: Wonderful Dizzy (ZX Spectrum)
23 January: V-Rally 3 (Game Boy Advance)
30 January: Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (PS4)

6 February: White Jaguar (ZX Spectrum)
8 February: Alien Planet Underwater Research (ZX Spectrum)
13 February: Indiana Jones & the Fountain of Everlasting Life (ZX Spectrum)
15 February: Batman - The Video Game (Mega Drive)
16 February: Scooby Doo (ZX Spectrum)
17 February: World of Illusion (Mega Drive)
18 February: Akumajō Dracula - Castlevania (NES on Switch)
20 February: Super Star Wars (SNES)
28 February: Cyber Shadow (Xbox One)

Started the month with some new Spectrum games; White Jaguar especially is both a stunner and a great platform adventure! Then I played a load of Simpsons Hit & Run, Vampyr and Shadows of the Damned but got bored about halfway into each, so went for some old favourites instead (though Batman is more favourite soundtrack than game, and parts of Super Star Wars really stink). Finished with best nearly-NES brutal platform adventure you could wish for, Cyber Shadow. Almost beat me, but you always know you just need to get better, and despite my blood boiling over a few points, that’s what I did. Game of the year so far!

[stvnorman]

FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)

AKA the Japanese ROM of Castlevania. I can't really say I noticed any differences, but I probably wasn't paying close enough attention. Amazing how quick you can dash through the game once you know it. I actually did a 1cc. I didn't choose the 'easy' mode from the menu, but whether the normal version of the game is easier than the western release I don't know - probably likely is.

Don’t think it’s supposed to be, but I remembered the final boss being far harder than it was on there. You can definitely zip through it quickly, but for me that’s probably down to how much Castlevania I’ve played recently rather than being an expert. It’s very bare bones to later games.

[stvnorman]

FEB - Akumajō Dracula (Famicom on Switch)

AKA the Japanese ROM of Castlevania. I can't really say I noticed any differences, but I probably wasn't paying close enough attention. Amazing how quick you can dash through the game once you know it. I actually did a 1cc. I didn't choose the 'easy' mode from the menu, but whether the normal version of the game is easier than the western release I don't know - probably likely is.

Don’t think it’s supposed to be, but I remembered the final boss being far harder than it was on there. You can definitely zip through it quickly, but for me that’s probably down to how much Castlevania I’ve played recently rather than being an expert. It’s very bare bones compared to later games.

[Jobobonobo]

Spoiler: show

January 30: Celeste
February 12: Katamari Damacy Rerolled

February 28: Panzer Dragoon Remake
Just blasted through this in roughly an hour today. Never played the Saturn original (in fact, never played the Saturn in my life!) so it was good experiencing this. I enjoyed it a lot and can see myself going back to it but it still does not beat Lylat Wars as my favourite on rails shooter. It was never too tough (finished it on Normal difficulty) but there were times when the crosshair was a bit sluggish and/or hard to follow on screen when it came to targeting enemies which was annoying when I got ganged up on. Thankfully, this did not happen enough times for me to be a real hindrance to my overall enjoyment. Overall, there was a lot to like about this. The barren, oppressive world filled with strange and hostile lifeforms is an intriguing in-game universe and the soundtrack was excellent. Will definitely try out the sequel when it gets remade later on. Nice to try out one of the more obscure series from SEGA, they really do have a diverse library of franchises.

[Truk_Kurt]

6. Luigi's Mansion 3
I was quite disappointed by this game after hearing all the praise it had received. The animation was great and there were a few neat puzzles and bosses, but I just grew bored of the core mechanic of hoovering up ghosts and slamming them and sucking the environment to get cash which ultimately bought very little. It was my first experience of the series but I understand the previous 2 games were much shorter. I think had it been shorter I would have enjoyed it more.
There was also a lot of tracking back for no real reason like with the ghost pussycat which was just annoying when it kept running off with a key, resulting in just more pointless ghost battles and some of the bosses were very frustrating too.

[Alex79]

That ghost cat is up there with some of the most irritating gaming I've done...ever! Yeah, I'm in agreement with you (as you know) over this game. My kids loved it through, which is the only reason I managed to see it through to the end. Still, at least Nintendo stuff holds its price so you should get half decent trade in value if you're not one for holding on to games.

[ColinAlonso]

Spoiler: show

Jan 1 - Slay the Spire (Switch)
Jan 10 - Streets of Rage 4 (PS4) (Cherry - Normal)
Jan 24 - Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch) (True Ending)

Feb 28 - Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (Switch)

Unlike Michiel, I played the remake with its really pretty art.

As I'm playing the Wonder Boy games out of order, the jump from Monster World IV back to Dragon's Trap is quite interesting. Platforming elements are relatively basic even compared to its direct sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster World never mind MW4. Collectable magic spells are available but the basic attacks got the job done most of the time so these got little use. Swords and lizard-man's fire breath are the basic weapons available. Buying swords, shields and armor with differing stats and effects provide RPG elements.

Obviously the big draw with this one are the animal forms which each have their own special uses. Wonder Boy gets transformed into a new one after each boss and the new form opens up a new area to explore in a Metroid style. They're all interesting to play as but mouse-man's small reach can be annoying.

Difficulty is a bit all over the place. It can be hard getting used to the game at the start. The fireball dropping cloud enemies are very annoying. It gets a bit easier until the run through the Underground and the Daimyo Temple which I made worse by accidentally breaking the game's regular sequence*. This is hardest part of the game regardless. Despite the end sequences of the Mega Drive games being quite long and hard, this one was shorter and easier.

I like the remake's style and the remade soundtrack (with actual instruments!) is quite nice in places. The shopkeeper even snuck in a reference to Monster World that I spotted immediately.

* Every shopkeeper: "You have a discriminating eye". Early video game translations slandering me there.

The cheeky feckers.

I don't think I'd call any of the Wonder Boy games unmissable classics but I've enjoyed the three I've played so far, will play Monster Boy and might check out a ROM of Wonder Boy (2): Monster Land.

*Sequence-breaking explanation.

Spoiler: show

So after unlocking piranha-man and his swimming ability, you're meant to go back to the beach, which I did but I missed the underwater breakable blocks to advance to the next dungeon, the Shipwreck.

Instead, I had spotted some breakable blocks over some water that could be walked on top of back in town, but since I could only attack in a horizontal direction, I couldn't break them. Except beside (immediately to the above and right)those blocks there are the blocks that mouse-man can walk on all sides of. So I went through a separate lava filled area reaching a room that cycles through transformations. Then I transformed into mouse-man, traveled back to town and jumped to the side of that block and could point the sword downwards, cut through the breakable block and into the Underground.

The underground has a few small dead ends on the way to the Daimyo Temple and the remade graphics hint at the hidden Nurse's office. So after a few deaths as mouse-man at the temple, I looked for other hidden doors in the dead ends of the Underground and found the shop that sells the Tasmanian sword. This sword allows you to cycle through transformations and made the Daimyo Temple easier. Later I found out mouse-man can't even beat the Daimyo boss so I needed the sword from the hidden shop.

So after beating the boss I get the hawk-man transformation, but cycling through forms with the Tasmanian Sword also revealed lion-man was available. I was confused so I looked it up and realised what happened. Also lion-man can also break those blocks in town.

I explored the shipwreck later but since I had lion-man the game acted like I had defeated that boss.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Call of the Sea - Series X.
(Jan) Remember Me - PS3.
(Jan) Ghostbusters Remastered - Series X
(Feb) Disney Infinity 2.0 - PS4 Pro.
(Feb) Batman: Arkham Knight - PS4 Pro.
(Feb) Sacred 3 - PS3.
(Feb) The Darkness II - PS3.
(Feb) The Bureau: XCOM Declassified - PS3.
(Mar) Gears 5: Hivebusters - Series X.

[DeadpoolNegative]

Mafia: Definitive Edition- XBox One- 1/3
Donut County- XBox One- 1/25
The Little Acre- XBox One- 1/27
Kentucky Route Zero: The TV Edition- PS4- 2/25
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition- XBox One- 2/28

--Dan

[DomsBeard]

Paradise Killer

What an amazing experience from start to finish. The soundtrack, characters were great as well as that story. I could have done with a better map which would have removed a lot of frustrations

Spoiler: show

I didn't find one last kiss or KHX's apartment till near the end

, but that was part of the fun. Already dreaming of a VR version.

[OldBailey]

Paradise Killer

What an amazing experience from start to finish. The soundtrack, characters were great as well as that story. I could have done with a better map which would have removed a lot of frustrations

Spoiler: show

I didn't find one last kiss or KHX's apartment till near the end

, but that was part of the fun. Already dreaming of a VR version.

I did a very small amount of work on Paradise Killer and I can tell you the low detail map was absolutely by design. It's an effort to encourage learning the island through exploration. The devs were very keen on leaving certain elements of gameplay friction intact! Shame that one element didn't work for you but glad you enjoyed it overall.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Call of the Sea - Series X.
(Jan) Remember Me - PS3.
(Jan) Ghostbusters Remastered - Series X
(Feb) Disney Infinity 2.0 - PS4 Pro.
(Feb) Batman: Arkham Knight - PS4 Pro.
(Feb) Sacred 3 - PS3.
(Feb) The Darkness II - PS3.
(Feb) The Bureau: XCOM Declassified - PS3.
(Mar) Gears 5: Hivebusters - Series X.
(Mar) Silent Hill: Downpour - PS3.

[Jon Cheetham]

Spoiler: show

8 Jan - Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS4)
10 Jan - Donut County (Android)
20 Jan - Dark Souls Remastered (Switch)
23 Jan - Bastion (Switch)
30 Jan - Hitman 3 (PS4)
15 Feb - Loco Motive (Itch)
21 Feb - The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt (Switch)
26 Feb - The Witcher III: Hearts of Stone (Switch)

4 March - Quarantine Circular (Switch)

Overall I prefer the detective-based predecessor Subsurface Circular but this is still a very enjoyable sci fi short story in text adventure form. It's a first contact short involving the same dialogue trees and moral quandaries as Subsurface, except instead of a simmering robot uprising the backdrop this time is an aggressive waterborne disease that has torn lethally through the Earth's population (playing it now, I engaged in conversations about epidemiology and disease containment with much more context and knowledge than had I played this 13 months ago). It involves taking various sides of a conversation to try and ascertain why an extraterrestrial has made contact, with shades of Arrival and Childhood's End.

You can knock it over in about an hour and it's often on sale on the eshop and Steam so easy to recommend if you like your sci fi/ first contact stuff. Only complaint as with Subsurface is that each line of dialogue takes a while to pop up, unless I missed something in an option menu - I responded to an in-game prompt for "faster translation" but it didn't seem to make a difference. Tiny nitpick though and really just me being impatient.

[DomsBeard]

Paradise Killer

What an amazing experience from start to finish. The soundtrack, characters were great as well as that story. I could have done with a better map which would have removed a lot of frustrations

Spoiler: show

I didn't find one last kiss or KHX's apartment till near the end

, but that was part of the fun. Already dreaming of a VR version.

I did a very small amount of work on Paradise Killer and I can tell you the low detail map was absolutely by design. It's an effort to encourage learning the island through exploration. The devs were very keen on leaving certain elements of gameplay friction intact! Shame that one element didn't work for you but glad you enjoyed it overall.

Yeah I get that, it was I missed

Spoiler: show

KHXs workshop and the graveyard till near the end so One Last Kiss as well

but what a game!.

[Scrustle]

Spoiler: show

05/01 - Brutal Legend
07/01 - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
13/01 - Sludge Life
17/01 - AER: Memories of Old
19/01 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Human - Nero/Dante)

05/03 - CrossCode: A New Home

So after years in the making this journey finally comes to a close. It was a real fun ride. Very enjoyable game to come back to after a long absence. This final epilogue was a really great addition that feels like a satisfying bookend for some of the stuff that was left open before. The story does a really good job of tying up loose threads, especially one in particular that was only teased in the base game. So it's cool to see it go over that area of speculation and confirm some of my theories, although it did put an interesting twist on it too. It delves in to some of the characters that didn't get as much development in the main game as well, so it had its fair share of emotional high points.

In terms of gameplay, it adds a lot of very cool stuff, although some bits were more exciting than others. There's a new area of the overworld, which was a little bit underwhelming. Visually it's nice, with a new tropical beach aesthetic, but it's only a small loop of rooms, so there isn't a huge amount going on there. The new dungeon however is fantastic. As I mentioned earlier, it's broken up in to outdoor and indoor areas, which does a good job to space out how huge it is. It goes on for a really long time, but it avoids feeling like a slog since you're not stuck down in its bowels for too long at a time. And in between sections of puzzles and combat you get to interact with other characters which provides a nice change of pace and a moment to develop them. Also helps keep the aesthetic varied, and this area is one of the best looking in the game too. The final boss is a brilliant climax, juggling loads of different elements together at once, going through a long sequence of different stages that keeps the escalation and surprise going through the whole thing. It's pretty tough too, maybe the hardest in the game, taking me many more tries than the majority of anything else did. The sound design is impressive too. They really know how to nail attacks that feel powerful and strange in a unique way. The whole game has great sound design, not sure if I've given that the praise it deserves before.

There are a few rough edges though. The prickly difficulty remains for one thing, although it is slightly improved in puzzles. You still have to do some of those convoluted ball bouncing puzzles at the end of the dungeon, but luckily they are broken up in to shorter instances, so you don't need to do quite so much at once. They're still pretty demanding in execution though. I also found it was pretty easy to get myself trapped out of bounds in the dungeon, which is strange given the emphasis this game has on tricky platform puzzles that often ask you to go places that it looks like you shouldn't be able to. This dungeon has a teleport checkpoint in the centre you can warp back to at any time though, and nowhere is too far away from it, so it's not that bad. Also I found that occasionally I would get a bug where the game would drop to only a couple frames a second, tanking the game speed with it, whenever I used a special move in combat. This seems like a common issue from what I found, so it'll likely get fixed soon. I was able to get around it anyway by changing what Java version the game runs in.

So yeah, very impressed. A worthwhile addition that makes for a satisfying closure on a fantastic experience. The in-universe story teases more is coming, but I think that's just the game being meta again. Although the way it's worded might line up with something in reality. The developers have confirmed they are working on a new game, and even teased the new 3D visuals. But if I remember right, they said it's not a sequel. The story of this game does leave things open to a new game that has some kind of tangential relation to it though. And what the devs teased looks like it could be something of an evolution of the style of this game. It's likely be many years before we get anything concrete though...

(Also this is the first time I've missed a single month completing a game in many years now. I set sort of an unofficial rule to myself that I would try to get at least one game done a month, and this is the first time I've broken it in as long as I can remember. And this isn't technically even a full game. Not that it bothers me or anything, and even if this is only DLC, it's still pretty hefty on its own, and it's been ages since I properly put time in to the base game anyway.)

[Combine Hunter]

Spoiler: show

06/01 - Monster Hunter: Iceborne (PS4/PS5)
22/01 - Black Mesa (PC)
24/01 - HITMAN 3 (PC)
15/02 - The Pathless (PC)

06/03 - Homeworld: Remastered (PC)

It has a ridiculous difficulty spike right at the end, but I loved this game.

[Jon Cheetham]

Spoiler: show

8 Jan - Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS4)
10 Jan - Donut County (Android)
20 Jan - Dark Souls Remastered (Switch)
23 Jan - Bastion (Switch)
30 Jan - Hitman 3 (PS4)
15 Feb - Loco Motive (Itch)
21 Feb - The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt (Switch)
26 Feb - The Witcher III: Hearts of Stone (Switch)
4 March - Quarantine Circular (Switch)

6 March - Bury Me, My Love (Android)

I've restarted to get a different ending because I definitely didn't get as far as I could have. I got to Croatia, on my first try. I really connected with Majd and Nour, they're wonderfully fleshed out characters firstly. Especially considering this is all done through text messages and a few (brilliantly drawn) "photos".

I admire this game for shining a light on the day to day reality for those displaced from Syria and seeking refuge. We've been lucky enough to have made friends with people who did make it as far as Berlin and were able to settle during the time we lived there, and to see stories that ended well continue on Facebook even after we left. But as is seen in BMML the harsh fact is that so many more never made it or were denied the chance.

Anyway, I will persist with this. I want Nour to get to France.

[Alex79]

It was really great to hear someone praising "The Witcher 3" on Switch. I've tried and failed (but I will try again) to get into the game a few times on PS4 and on Switch (I had it on Switch for full price but nabbed it in a sale on PS4 later because I heard the graphics were better - but I think I have whatever the visual equivalent of a tin ear is for FPS rates etc because I couldn't see much of a difference). Maybe if I treated it more like a portable beforw-bed novel and cranked the combat level down I might get into it more because I know the story is meant to be something really special. Thank you for the really interesting review!

The story in Witcher 3 is decent, but (and I know this is a bit of a cliché these days) the side quests are where the writing really shines. The much referenced Bloody Baron quest yes, but additionally some of the politics based missions set on the snowy island (Skelliga? It's been a while...) are outstanding. Getting involved in who should be the king/queen was one of the best parts of the game for me.