Games Completed 2023

[Jobobonobo]

SEP - WarioWare Inc. Mega Microgame$ (GBA on Switch)

It's WarioWare. It's great. WarioWare is always great. Shame the pointless and irritating cut scenes aren't skippable, but I guess you can't have everything. WarioWare though. Always a good time. Would be good to have a show on the series. I do think it would be the perfect candidate for one of the Nintendo online 99 games too. WarioWare battle royale? Yes!

The C & R team have covered this game already. It is Volume 4, Issue 165. It was focused on the first GBA game and the Gamecube port. Hopefully they get to the other entries in the series at some point.

[Jobobonobo]

Spoiler: show

Jan 8: Densetsu no Stafy
Jan 10: Parodius 2: Fantastic Journey
Jan 26: Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy
Jan 28: Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius
Feb 19: Metroid Zero Mission
Feb 21: Kirby’s Dreamland
Mar 6: Yakuza 5
Mar 25: Luigi’s Mansion 2
Mar 30: Kirby’s Dreamland 2
Apr 13: New Super Mario Bros
May 1: Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
Jun 17: Super Bomberman
Jun 24: Mother 3
Jul 12: DoReMi Fantasy: Milon’s Quest
Jul 16: Angry Birds Trilogy
Aug 3: Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Aug 12: Gunstar Heroes
Aug 13: Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…
Aug 19: Super Bomberman 2
Aug 21: Super Bomberman 3
Aug 30: Super Castlevania IV
Sep 6: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
Sep 14: Soul Bubbles
Sep 19: Sonic Advance

Sep 30: Puyo Puyo Tetris
Finished the story mode on this. Story itself was absolute nonsense but the gameplay itself was really enjoyable where you either play Puyo Puyo, Tetris or a fusion of the two. The Tetris in this game I found one of my favourite versions to play. It kept to reasonable speeds throughout so it got stressful but never too crazy in great contrast to Tetris Effect which I liked but it had a much greater difficulty spike. This was also the first time I really got into Puyo Puyo and popping those little blobs can get pretty addictive when you start to get a few chains going. I really have found myself drawn to puzzle games lately. I think it is that you get large amounts of gameplay in a short amount of time. In terms of time spent on something fun, they can be a good investment. Also they are nowhere near the time sink other game genres such as RPGs for example, can be. Perfect genre for when you have had a long day and just want to zone out while listening to music or a podcast.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Death's Door - Series X.
(Jan) Warhammer: Chaosbane SE - Series X.
(Feb) Evil West - Series X.
(Mar) God of War Ragnarok - PS5.
(Mar) Dead Space(2023) - Series X.
(Apr) Ben 10: Power Trip - Series X.
(Apr) Resident Evil 4(2023) - Series X.
(May) Ghostwire Tokyo - Series X.
(May) Ravenlok - Series X.
(May) Turrican - PS4.
(May) Spec Ops: The Line - Xbox 360
(July) Shadow Warrior 3 - Series X.
(July) Planet of Lana - Series X.
(July) Horizon Forbidden West - PS5.
(July) Bramble: The Mountain King - Series X.
(Aug) Halo Wars 2 - Series X.
(Aug) Remnant II - Series X.
(Aug) Halo Wars: Definitive Edition - Series X.
(Sept) Vampire Survivors(1000GS) - Series X.
(Sept) Control: Foundation/AWE dlc - Series X.
(Sept) Control(1000GS) - Series X.
(Oct) RE4: Seperate Ways dlc - Series X.

[Alex79]

SEP - WarioWare Inc. Mega Microgame$ (GBA on Switch)

It's WarioWare. It's great. WarioWare is always great. Shame the pointless and irritating cut scenes aren't skippable, but I guess you can't have everything. WarioWare though. Always a good time. Would be good to have a show on the series. I do think it would be the perfect candidate for one of the Nintendo online 99 games too. WarioWare battle royale? Yes!

The C & R team have covered this game already. It is Volume 4, Issue 165. It was focused on the first GBA game and the Gamecube port. Hopefully they get to the other entries in the series at some point.

Ah cool, I know I would have listened to it at the time but can't remember it at all! Will go and have a re-listen.

[Jobobonobo]

When I first came across this podcast I did a binge on older episodes and I remembered listening to this one way back. Great little series, had good memories of the GameCube and Wii one in particular.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Death's Door - Series X.
(Jan) Warhammer: Chaosbane SE - Series X.
(Feb) Evil West - Series X.
(Mar) God of War Ragnarok - PS5.
(Mar) Dead Space(2023) - Series X.
(Apr) Ben 10: Power Trip - Series X.
(Apr) Resident Evil 4(2023) - Series X.
(May) Ghostwire Tokyo - Series X.
(May) Ravenlok - Series X.
(May) Turrican - PS4.
(May) Spec Ops: The Line - Xbox 360
(July) Shadow Warrior 3 - Series X.
(July) Planet of Lana - Series X.
(July) Horizon Forbidden West - PS5.
(July) Bramble: The Mountain King - Series X.
(Aug) Halo Wars 2 - Series X.
(Aug) Remnant II - Series X.
(Aug) Halo Wars: Definitive Edition - Series X.
(Sept) Vampire Survivors(1000GS) - Series X.
(Sept) Control: Foundation/AWE dlc - Series X.
(Sept) Control(1000GS) - Series X.
(Oct) RE4: Seperate Ways dlc - Series X.
(Oct) DOOM(1993) - Series X.

[Alex79]

JAN - Red Dead Redemption 2: Arthur's Story (Xbox)
JAN - The Witcher 2 (Xbox)
JAN - Ori And The Blind Forest (Switch)
JAN - Shinobi III (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Sonic Spinball (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Super Fantasy Zone - 1cc (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Death's Door (Switch)
JAN - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES on Switch)
JAN - Final Fight (Arcade on Switch)
JAN - The King Of Dragons (Arcade on Switch)
JAN - Yakuza 3 (Xbox)
FEB - Goldeneye 007 (N64 on Switch)
FEB - Starfox (SNES on Switch)
FEB - Mafia 2: Remastered (Xbox)
FEB - As Dusk Falls (Xbox)
MAR - Grand Theft Auto 3: Definitive Edition (Switch)
MAR - The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA on Switch)
MAR - Pentiment (Xbox)
APR - Resident Evil 4 (Switch)
APR - Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox)
MAY - Dishonored 2 (Xbox)
JUN - Shock Troopers (Arcade on Switch)
JUN - Dizzy The Adventurer (NES on Evercade)
JUN - World Of Goo (Android)
JUN - The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch)
JUN - Mega Man 2 (NES on Evercade)
JUN - The Room (Android)
JUN - Portal 2 (Switch)
JUN - Pinball FX3: Paranormal (Switch)
JUN - Pinball FX3: Earth Defense (Switch)
JUL - F1 2021: Braking Point (Xbox)
JUL - Divinity Original Sin 2 (Switch)
JUL - Borderlands: GOTY Edition (Switch)
JUL - Holedown (Android)
AUG - Sea Of Thieves: Monkey Island Chapter 1 (Xbox)
AUG - Magic & Legend: Time Knights (Evercade)
AUG - Quake (Switch)
AUG - Dragon View (SNES on Evercade)
AUG - Water Margin (Megadrive on Evercade)
AUG - Doodle World: Redrawn (Evercade)
AUG - Return To Monkey Island (Android)
AUG - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA on Switch)
SEP - The Room Two (Android)
SEP - 64th Street: A Detective Story (Arcade on Evercade)
SEP - WarioWare Inc. (GBA on Switch)
SEP - The Room Three (Android)

OCT - Castlevania Bloodlines (Megadrive on Switch)

I was inspired to play through this after listening to the recent Super Castlevania show from Cane and Rinse, and I'm glad I did. It's one of the few 2D games from the series I've not played, aside from a brief go when I was playing through the early games in the series a couple of years ago. For some reason then I bounced off it, but I really enjoyed it this time around. The game is just the right side of challenging and it looks great, with some neat graphical tricks. (I had to check a video on YouTube in the final stage to check the game hadn't glitched!) This is an easy recommend to anyone who's only played the Nintendo games, classic 'Vania and a whole lot of fun.

[Alex79]

JAN - Red Dead Redemption 2: Arthur's Story (Xbox)
JAN - The Witcher 2 (Xbox)
JAN - Ori And The Blind Forest (Switch)
JAN - Shinobi III (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Sonic Spinball (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Super Fantasy Zone - 1cc (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Death's Door (Switch)
JAN - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES on Switch)
JAN - Final Fight (Arcade on Switch)
JAN - The King Of Dragons (Arcade on Switch)
JAN - Yakuza 3 (Xbox)
FEB - Goldeneye 007 (N64 on Switch)
FEB - Starfox (SNES on Switch)
FEB - Mafia 2: Remastered (Xbox)
FEB - As Dusk Falls (Xbox)
MAR - Grand Theft Auto 3: Definitive Edition (Switch)
MAR - The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA on Switch)
MAR - Pentiment (Xbox)
APR - Resident Evil 4 (Switch)
APR - Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox)
MAY - Dishonored 2 (Xbox)
JUN - Shock Troopers (Arcade on Switch)
JUN - Dizzy The Adventurer (NES on Evercade)
JUN - World Of Goo (Android)
JUN - The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch)
JUN - Mega Man 2 (NES on Evercade)
JUN - The Room (Android)
JUN - Portal 2 (Switch)
JUN - Pinball FX3: Paranormal (Switch)
JUN - Pinball FX3: Earth Defense (Switch)
JUL - F1 2021: Braking Point (Xbox)
JUL - Divinity Original Sin 2 (Switch)
JUL - Borderlands: GOTY Edition (Switch)
JUL - Holedown (Android)
AUG - Sea Of Thieves: Monkey Island Chapter 1 (Xbox)
AUG - Magic & Legend: Time Knights (Evercade)
AUG - Quake (Switch)
AUG - Dragon View (SNES on Evercade)
AUG - Water Margin (Megadrive on Evercade)
AUG - Doodle World: Redrawn (Evercade)
AUG - Return To Monkey Island (Android)
AUG - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA on Switch)
SEP - The Room Two (Android)
SEP - 64th Street: A Detective Story (Arcade on Evercade)
SEP - WarioWare Inc. (GBA on Switch)
SEP - The Room Three (Android)
OCT - Castlevania Bloodlines (Megadrive on Switch)

OCT - Alien Storm (Megadrive on Switch)

I'm really not sure what prompted me to start playing this today, but I was looking through the Megadrive offerings on Switch and for some reason started it up. Initially it seemed like yet another scrolling beat 'em up, but I ended up having a lot of fun with it. It's closer to Golden Axe than Streets Of Rage, and you choose between one of three protagonists (man, woman, robot) to battle through eight stages of alien killing action. The game keeps things interesting by adding in auto-running stages as well as first person Operation Wolf style shooting gallery sections. The moves, whilst seemingly limited at first, reveal themselves to have a couple of hidden attacks and movements and the controls are really responsive. Even without rumble or great sound effects there's a satisfying feeling to killing the aliens too, it just feels spot on. This was a real surprise, and worth a play for anyone interested in the game. It took me three attempts to beat, with my first and second tries failing on stage six, before beating all eight levels on my third try. Good game!

[Jobobonobo]

Spoiler: show

Jan 8: Densetsu no Stafy
Jan 10: Parodius 2: Fantastic Journey
Jan 26: Parodius: Non-Sense Fantasy
Jan 28: Jikkyō Oshaberi Parodius
Feb 19: Metroid Zero Mission
Feb 21: Kirby’s Dreamland
Mar 6: Yakuza 5
Mar 25: Luigi’s Mansion 2
Mar 30: Kirby’s Dreamland 2
Apr 13: New Super Mario Bros
May 1: Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
Jun 17: Super Bomberman
Jun 24: Mother 3
Jul 12: DoReMi Fantasy: Milon’s Quest
Jul 16: Angry Birds Trilogy
Aug 3: Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Aug 12: Gunstar Heroes
Aug 13: Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…
Aug 19: Super Bomberman 2
Aug 21: Super Bomberman 3
Aug 30: Super Castlevania IV
Sep 6: Captain Toad Treasure Tracker
Sep 14: Soul Bubbles
Sep 19: Sonic Advance
Sep 30: Puyo Puyo Tetris

Oct 2: Super Bomberman 4

I was surprised to see that there was a 4th Super Bomberman game on the SNES but since I really enjoyed the first three I also gave this a whirl. Still a solid title but the stages are a lot simpler in design compared to the multiple rooms with various obstacles you could go through in the past two games. You can ride multiple animals but they do not have any unique skills unlike the kangaroos. The evil bombers were a lot more fun to fight though as if you are smart with your bombs and quick you can trap them easily, allowing you to get some good hits in. Or maybe this was how you were always meant to fight them? I might try this in the earlier games and see how I get on. Overall, this was good but a bit of a letdown compared to the streamlined and tightly designed Super Bomberman 3.

[Truk_Kurt]

Cocoon

Really impressive puzzle game from the lead designer of Limbo and Inside. You can see the influence somehow despite the game not being anywhere near as darkly themed. The puzzle design steals the show which all involve you zooming in and out of orbs to different worlds. It's actually quite difficult to explain but it makes sense as soon as you play it. There was only one puzzle I had to resort to a guide for and the running time is perfect at around 5-6 hours. The only thing stopping me from saying it's up there with Inside as a classic is the lack of narrative punch, there is one there but there is no gut punch moment like that in Inside. 8.5/10

[Alex79]

JAN - Red Dead Redemption 2: Arthur's Story (Xbox)
JAN - The Witcher 2 (Xbox)
JAN - Ori And The Blind Forest (Switch)
JAN - Shinobi III (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Sonic Spinball (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Super Fantasy Zone - 1cc (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Death's Door (Switch)
JAN - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES on Switch)
JAN - Final Fight (Arcade on Switch)
JAN - The King Of Dragons (Arcade on Switch)
JAN - Yakuza 3 (Xbox)
FEB - Goldeneye 007 (N64 on Switch)
FEB - Starfox (SNES on Switch)
FEB - Mafia 2: Remastered (Xbox)
FEB - As Dusk Falls (Xbox)
MAR - Grand Theft Auto 3: Definitive Edition (Switch)
MAR - The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA on Switch)
MAR - Pentiment (Xbox)
APR - Resident Evil 4 (Switch)
APR - Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox)
MAY - Dishonored 2 (Xbox)
JUN - Shock Troopers (Arcade on Switch)
JUN - Dizzy The Adventurer (NES on Evercade)
JUN - World Of Goo (Android)
JUN - The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch)
JUN - Mega Man 2 (NES on Evercade)
JUN - The Room (Android)
JUN - Portal 2 (Switch)
JUN - Pinball FX3: Paranormal (Switch)
JUN - Pinball FX3: Earth Defense (Switch)
JUL - F1 2021: Braking Point (Xbox)
JUL - Divinity Original Sin 2 (Switch)
JUL - Borderlands: GOTY Edition (Switch)
JUL - Holedown (Android)
AUG - Sea Of Thieves: Monkey Island Chapter 1 (Xbox)
AUG - Magic & Legend: Time Knights (Evercade)
AUG - Quake (Switch)
AUG - Dragon View (SNES on Evercade)
AUG - Water Margin (Megadrive on Evercade)
AUG - Doodle World: Redrawn (Evercade)
AUG - Return To Monkey Island (Android)
AUG - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA on Switch)
SEP - The Room Two (Android)
SEP - 64th Street: A Detective Story (Arcade on Evercade)
SEP - WarioWare Inc. (GBA on Switch)
SEP - The Room Three (Android)
OCT - Castlevania Bloodlines (Megadrive on Switch)
OCT - Alien Storm (Megadrive on Switch)

OCT - Kirby Dream Land (Gameboy on Switch)

Reasonably fun little platformer. Very basic, Kirby doesn't even have his copy ability yet, but the game is quite enjoyable and looks nice for the Gameboy. Very easy and very short (clocked it in 39 minutes!) but I'd say worth playing.

[Michiel K]

September 24th: Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
September 29th: Castlevania (NES)
October 6th: Terra Flame (PC)

Super CV IV wasn't the first time I cleared the game and it certainly won't be the last time I'll clear it either. Such an enjoyable, pure nostalgic romp. The later stages always seem to give me more trouble than I expect, but that's also because I've spent the least time playing those.

The original Castlevania? That was unfinished business, 33 years in the making, as back in the days I could never defeat the penultimate boss, Death. I decided to finally face my fears, popped the cartridge in the NES and kept playing until I was done. To my surprise, I got past my skeletal nemesis and into the final stage on a single credit, after a completely failed run that ended at Frankenstein & Igor. After that, it was a matter of learing and grinding out the final stage and the last boss Dracula, until he went up in flames and I saw the end credits. It doesn't cease to amaze me how well this action platforming game is designed, despite its age. A true classic.

Terra Flame is a Thunder Force/Gates of Thunder inspired hori scrolling shmup from our friend from Japan Terarin, which is included in the Indie Shmup Bundle, that our Schildmaid MX is also a part of. It's fast, fun and frantic and on Normal difficulty very approachable and forgiving. You don't need hours upon hours of practicing and grinding to get your 1CC in this game, so I thought it would be a quick win in getting some more clears on my name. And I was right! Highly recommended if you love the 2D side scrolling shooters of the 16-bit era, with its fantastic chiptune music, smooth action and fun, straightforward chaining scoring system.

[seansthomas]

Jan 13th - Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)
Feb 7th - Hi-fi Rush (Xbox Series S)
Feb 10th - Goldeneye (Xbox Series S / Switch)
Feb 20th - Halo: Combat Evolved / The Master Chief Collection (Xbox Series S)
Feb 25th - Bayonetta 3 (Switch)
Apr 10th - Metroid Prime Remastered (Switch)
Apr 30th - Dishonored + The Knife of Dunwall / The Brigmore Witches (Xbox Series S)
May 1st - Tron Identity (Switch)
May 10th - Elden Ring: NG+ (Xbox Series S)
Aug 5th - Streets of Rage 4 (Switch)
Aug 7th - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Switch)
Sep 11th - Astrobot's Playroom (PS5)
Sep 22nd - Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye (PS5)
Sep 30th - Cocoon (Xbox Series S)
Oct 1st - Dordogne (Xbox Series S)

Oct 6th - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Xbox Series S)

Always been a fan of the series and got this in a sale a few months back for about £4. Loved the original back on Master System, Sands of Time is one of my favourite games ever and I felt Two Thrones was a return to form after the lacklustre Warrior Within, even if the formula was getting a little stale by then.

Maybe it was the recent Assassin's Creed release that got me pondering this again, but I love a bit of tricky platforming around ancient monuments and this scratched a nice itch. Over in under 10 hours and before it gets dull.

It's very much a product of its time; the colour palette is a bit brown and moody, the Prince moves a bit too slowly, the combat is very monotonous towards the end, the final boss is as clichéd as it gets and the story beats / performances are as trite as they come.

But look beyond that, and there a decent game here. The platforming is as great as ever, with giant vertical rooms that seem impossible to scale eventually becoming child's play. The new abilities to freeze water, manipulate ruins and zip across gaps feel really fresh and remind me of playing Celeste in 3D. And whilst there's too much of it, the combat formula of the series is blatantly inspired Arkham Asylum.

It's got a slight air to it of Tomb Raider Underworld or Arkham Origins, where you can tell that perhaps the A team weren't working on it, BUT that it has a few ideas up its sleeve and if you can look beyond the rough edges, there's a decent game at the core.

It's not the pinnacle of the series but holds up pretty well in 2023. And it's made me want another 3D Prince of Persia game yet again.

[Alex79]

JAN - Red Dead Redemption 2: Arthur's Story (Xbox)
JAN - The Witcher 2 (Xbox)
JAN - Ori And The Blind Forest (Switch)
JAN - Shinobi III (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Sonic Spinball (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Super Fantasy Zone - 1cc (Megadrive on Switch)
JAN - Death's Door (Switch)
JAN - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES on Switch)
JAN - Final Fight (Arcade on Switch)
JAN - The King Of Dragons (Arcade on Switch)
JAN - Yakuza 3 (Xbox)
FEB - Goldeneye 007 (N64 on Switch)
FEB - Starfox (SNES on Switch)
FEB - Mafia 2: Remastered (Xbox)
FEB - As Dusk Falls (Xbox)
MAR - Grand Theft Auto 3: Definitive Edition (Switch)
MAR - The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA on Switch)
MAR - Pentiment (Xbox)
APR - Resident Evil 4 (Switch)
APR - Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox)
MAY - Dishonored 2 (Xbox)
JUN - Shock Troopers (Arcade on Switch)
JUN - Dizzy The Adventurer (NES on Evercade)
JUN - World Of Goo (Android)
JUN - The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch)
JUN - Mega Man 2 (NES on Evercade)
JUN - The Room (Android)
JUN - Portal 2 (Switch)
JUN - Pinball FX3: Paranormal (Switch)
JUN - Pinball FX3: Earth Defense (Switch)
JUL - F1 2021: Braking Point (Xbox)
JUL - Divinity Original Sin 2 (Switch)
JUL - Borderlands: GOTY Edition (Switch)
JUL - Holedown (Android)
AUG - Sea Of Thieves: Monkey Island Chapter 1 (Xbox)
AUG - Magic & Legend: Time Knights (Evercade)
AUG - Quake (Switch)
AUG - Dragon View (SNES on Evercade)
AUG - Water Margin (Megadrive on Evercade)
AUG - Doodle World: Redrawn (Evercade)
AUG - Return To Monkey Island (Android)
AUG - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA on Switch)
SEP - The Room Two (Android)
SEP - 64th Street: A Detective Story (Arcade on Evercade)
SEP - WarioWare Inc. (GBA on Switch)
SEP - The Room Three (Android)
OCT - Castlevania Bloodlines (Megadrive on Switch)
OCT - Alien Storm (Megadrive on Switch)
OCT - Kirby Dream Land (Gameboy on Switch)

OCT - Professor Layton and the Lost Future (DS)

Played through this on my tablet via emulation (DS emulation is flawless on Android and a large tablet is brilliant for playing touch only based games). It's only the second Layton game I've ever finished, and I enjoyed it. The puzzles were good, with just a few requiring use of the hint coins, and the story was interesting too - I didn't see the twist coming. All in all a good experience!

[Scrustle]

Spoiler: show

03/01 - The Last Campfire
05/01 - Splatoon 3
17/01 - Wolfenstein (2009)
22/01 - Fragments of Euclid
02/02 - Postmouse
08/02 - Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Kung Lao)
26/02 - F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch
06/03 - Omensight: The Definitive Edition
09/03 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine
21/03 - Forza Horizon 2 (first finale)
25/03 - Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
31/03 - Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (World Tour)
01/04 - The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
16/04 - Knights Contract
20/04 - Strider (2014)
12/05 - The Sword of Etheria
22/05 - Lost Planet 3
26/05 - Disco Elysium
12/06 - Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition
14/06 - [PROTOTYPE]
18/06 - Zeno Clash II
29/06 - The Wonderful One: After School Hero
07/07 - Dante's Inferno
12/07 - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Shivering Isles
19/07 - Van Helsing
27/07 - Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
28/08 - Shadow Warrior (2013)
15/09 - Kurohyou: Like a Dragon - New Chapter
24/09 - The Forest Quartet
27/09 - The Last Story

09/10 - Driver: San Francisco

First time playing this since it first came out, and it's still an excellent and innovative game that feels just as fresh as ever. The conceit of having the power to warp in to any car leads to so many creative and interesting gameplay ideas that it keeps on hitting with you through the whole runtime. Racing games are often afraid to do anything too out there, leading to this conception that there isn't much potential to explore in the genre, but this game proves that wrong. I wish more racing games were willing to do something as bold as this. And it also does it without sacrificing the core focus and satisfaction of the driving mechanics too, as some indie racing games can fall in to when they try to explore ideas outside of that.

Cars have a sense of heft to them, which is believable and requires some level of finesse, but they also have an exaggerated slidy-ness to them that lends itself to more stylistic and loose feel. But at the same time certain cars can be quite twitchy, which can be a bit of a handful with their willingness to get sideways. There's also quite an excessive amount of traffic on the roads, which can be a bit of an annoyance at times. While it's pretty impressive they were able to have such a densely populated city that still runs at 60fps on consoles, it can be a bit counterproductive towards trying to elegantly slide a car through a corner quickly when there's just too much stuff to dodge at the same time. But in general it's a really good handling model that provides enough challenge to be really rewarding when you can make it look fast and smooth, but while also having a sense of playfulness and cinematic unreality to it.

The story is some pulpy fun, where they also use the warping mechanics to get creative with it. The central plot is okay, but the more entertaining stuff comes from the side stories of various characters you hop in to and control. It uses these to get a bit silly with it, in ways that sometimes tie in to the main plot, but often are just kind of their own thing and tell their own little story across several smaller chapters. It's a cool way to blend the mechanics and story together in a natural way.

The soundtrack is also something of a highlight. As this game is something of an homage to old car chase films of the 70s and beyond there's a lot of music of that era that one might expect to hear in films like that, but there's also a lot of modern music which actually does a good job of feeling like it fits alongside the older stuff, keeping the same tone. When this first came out I remember the soundtrack being good, but not really particularly exceptional. Just goes to show how licensed game soundtracks really are something of a lost art these days.

[Truk_Kurt]

I should preface this by saying I think Driver San Francisco is a really good game, however as a huge fan of the franchise including even Driv3r. I don't think DSF is a good 'Driver' game and should have come out under a different name. The tone of DSF was just too silly for me, compared to previous entries in the series which took a more serious approach to pretty much everything. I might not have minded as much if they had used different characters but they didn't which made me dislike it being a Driver game even more. This probably comes across like I'm being a spoilt brat about it and I probably am haha, it's just that Driver is the one series that means a lot to me and know so much about. Like how people are huge fans of the Souls games, that's me and Driver. It would be like if FromSoft made a new Dark Souls game but it was all really silly, even if the mechanics were still great.

I would love Driver to return someday, even though I doubt it will, but I hope they go back to its roots rather than the SF approach.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Death's Door - Series X.
(Jan) Warhammer: Chaosbane SE - Series X.
(Feb) Evil West - Series X.
(Mar) God of War Ragnarok - PS5.
(Mar) Dead Space(2023) - Series X.
(Apr) Ben 10: Power Trip - Series X.
(Apr) Resident Evil 4(2023) - Series X.
(May) Ghostwire Tokyo - Series X.
(May) Ravenlok - Series X.
(May) Turrican - PS4.
(May) Spec Ops: The Line - Xbox 360
(July) Shadow Warrior 3 - Series X.
(July) Planet of Lana - Series X.
(July) Horizon Forbidden West - PS5.
(July) Bramble: The Mountain King - Series X.
(Aug) Halo Wars 2 - Series X.
(Aug) Remnant II - Series X.
(Aug) Halo Wars: Definitive Edition - Series X.
(Sept) Vampire Survivors(1000GS) - Series X.
(Sept) Control: Foundation/AWE dlc - Series X.
(Sept) Control(1000GS) - Series X.
(Oct) RE4: Seperate Ways dlc - Series X.
(Oct) DOOM(1993) - Series X.
(Oct) Need for Speed Heat - Series X.

[Scrustle]

Spoiler: show

03/01 - The Last Campfire
05/01 - Splatoon 3
17/01 - Wolfenstein (2009)
22/01 - Fragments of Euclid
02/02 - Postmouse
08/02 - Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Kung Lao)
26/02 - F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow Torch
06/03 - Omensight: The Definitive Edition
09/03 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine
21/03 - Forza Horizon 2 (first finale)
25/03 - Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
31/03 - Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (World Tour)
01/04 - The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
16/04 - Knights Contract
20/04 - Strider (2014)
12/05 - The Sword of Etheria
22/05 - Lost Planet 3
26/05 - Disco Elysium
12/06 - Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition
14/06 - [PROTOTYPE]
18/06 - Zeno Clash II
29/06 - The Wonderful One: After School Hero
07/07 - Dante's Inferno
12/07 - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Shivering Isles
19/07 - Van Helsing
27/07 - Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
28/08 - Shadow Warrior (2013)
15/09 - Kurohyou: Like a Dragon - New Chapter
24/09 - The Forest Quartet
27/09 - The Last Story
09/10 - Driver: San Francisco

12/10 - Soulstice

I’ve been wanting to play through this game out ever since playing the demo, and I’m really glad I got the chance. It’s a great game with fantastic combat and a great aesthetic. It has strong vibes of 7th generation middle budget games too, in all the right ways.

There’s clearly a very strong influence here of games like Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, with the combat trying to split the difference between the two, and it succeeds pretty well at that. The combat feels great to play, and has a lot of depth to it as well. There’s a wide range of moves that all have different characteristics and which flow together very seamlessly, providing a lot of room to get creative with it. It also has a system of some enemies being colour-coded, much like DmC, and it works well here. They actually play a bigger role here than they did in that game. There’s a wide variety of weapons too, each with their own specific capabilities and strengths. I found all but one of them satisfying to use, and that’s only because of my own personal tastes on that one particular style of weapon. In addition to your main melee abilities you also have some secondary semi-passive abilities, with a companion character that can parry attacks and use some ranged abilities, which gives things a cool multi-tasking feel on top of everything else. Boss design is pretty solid as well. They have interesting behaviour and can be pretty challenging, but without pushing things too far over the edge. Overall it’s really impressive as an action game, and can definitely hang with some of the best in the genre on a mechanical level.

I found a lot to appreciate on an aesthetic level too. This game is dripping with the Darksiders look and feel. A lot of looming, exaggerated Gothic castles, dark and brooding atmosphere with a similar colour palette, and an ominous synth drone to the ambient soundtrack that sounds right out of Darksiders 2 in particular. There’s also a big anime influence too, especially when it comes to animation. It’s very snappy and stylish, and has a great sense for cool and interesting poses too, in that way that a lot of anime-inspired stuff struggles to capture. Here they nail it. There’s also a hint of Berserk when it comes to the character design and their armour and weapons.

It can get a bit visually repetitive however. The whole game takes place in a single city, and while you do move through different areas of it, it’s still generally rather similar. You also spend quite a lot of time in a single location before you move on to the next. Although there is at least a sense of progression in the colours used over the game. Starting out with more natural greys, before gradually turning more blue as you enter areas covered in ice, and eventually end up getting a lot of purple as you start entering areas more dominated by the evil powers that you’re fighting against.

The story is entertaining, but not exactly a highlight of the experience, as it often the case with games like this. It does try to set up a larger world with lore and everything, but it’s not exactly the most original or compelling. It does the job though, of giving you a threat to take down and characters to come in to conflict with.

There is however something interesting about the concept of the main characters, the sisters Briar and Lute. They together are what this game calls a “Chimera”, where one of them is an immortal knight that has powers that come from the same corrupting otherworldly magic that you’re fighting against, while the other is the disembodied soul of someone they shared a strong bond with in life, who tempers their partner’s powers to stop them from being consumed by the corruption. It’s a good way to give a tragic backstory to the duo, and ties the gameplay together with the narrative pretty well. It also provides a lot of room for exploring exactly what that bond can be, as you come across various different Chimeras throughout the story who each have a different spin on the idea. I wouldn’t say the game actually does explore those ideas on a deep level or anything, but it’s neat in concept. There’s also a few little animation touches that sells the relationship between Briar and Lute nicely, like when Lute hangs on Briar’s shoulders, draping her arms around her as an idle animation.

The story also very heavily sets up a sequel, as there are a lot of plot threads left hanging after this game, and an implication that there’s much more to this world than what was revealed in this first outing. I’m not sure if this game has been successful enough to make that a reality, but I really hope it was. Even though I’m not especially invested in the plot, I definitely want to see this gameplay iterated on. And perhaps they can actually do some more of that exploration of the Chimera concept next time around.

This game also ended up being quite a lot longer than I was originally expecting too. That might be partially down to me taking a long time getting through the levels, as my scores on some of them would indicate, but even without that it was a surprisingly hefty game. The mechanical scope, level of polish, and quality of the experience was all very impressive though. Nothing about it felt like it didn’t get the maximum amount of care and effort put in to it. This could easily have passed for something that demanded a full price release on the 7th generation consoles. One of the best games I’ve played this year.

[Indiana747]

(Jan) Death's Door - Series X.
(Jan) Warhammer: Chaosbane SE - Series X.
(Feb) Evil West - Series X.
(Mar) God of War Ragnarok - PS5.
(Mar) Dead Space(2023) - Series X.
(Apr) Ben 10: Power Trip - Series X.
(Apr) Resident Evil 4(2023) - Series X.
(May) Ghostwire Tokyo - Series X.
(May) Ravenlok - Series X.
(May) Turrican - PS4.
(May) Spec Ops: The Line - Xbox 360
(July) Shadow Warrior 3 - Series X.
(July) Planet of Lana - Series X.
(July) Horizon Forbidden West - PS5.
(July) Bramble: The Mountain King - Series X.
(Aug) Halo Wars 2 - Series X.
(Aug) Remnant II - Series X.
(Aug) Halo Wars: Definitive Edition - Series X.
(Sept) Vampire Survivors(1000GS) - Series X.
(Sept) Control: Foundation/AWE dlc - Series X.
(Sept) Control(1000GS) - Series X.
(Oct) RE4: Seperate Ways dlc - Series X.
(Oct) DOOM(1993) - Series X.
(Oct) Need for Speed Heat - Series X.
(Oct) Cyberpunk 2077 - Series X.

[Truk_Kurt]

Call of Duty Vanguard
Not my favourite Call of Duty campaign ever. Graphically it was stunning and the core gameplay is fun, but there weren’t any stand out missions that I’ll remember like there has been in the 2 most recent modern warfare campaigns and the story didn’t grab me either so ended up skipping the cut scenes. I must give a shout out to the WW2 guns though which were incredibly visceral to use with great sound design. 6/10