Games Completed 2021

[OneCreditBen]

Got the Elemental Master Clear recorded.
Really happy with that.

Hard Mode
No Death
Full Clear

[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)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)
SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)
OCT - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Aliens (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Alien Isolation (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Attack From Mars (Switch)
OCT - Superliminal (Xbox)
OCT - Haunted Castle (Arcade on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES on Switch)
OCT - Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox)
OCT - Castle Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Land Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Akumajō Densetsu (Famicom on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania: The Adventure (Gameboy on Switch)
OCT - Super Castlevania IV (SNES on Switch)
OCT - The Red Strings Club (Switch)
OCT - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Xbox)
NOV - Guacamelee: STC Edition (Switch)
NOV - Bastion (Switch)
NOV - The Walking Dead: Season One (Xbox)
NOV - Red Dead Redemption (Xbox)
NOV - Assassin's Creed Liberation: Remastered (Switch)
DEC - Halo: Combat Evolved (Anniversary) (Xbox)
DEC - Transistor (Switch)
DEC - Halo 2: Anniversary (Xbox)
DEC - Halo 3 (Xbox)

DEC - Halo 3: ODST (Xbox)

Really enjoyed this! It was an interesting way to tell a side-story, and despite the actual mission sections being far more interesting than wandering around the city between them, looking for the next item to progress the story, I thought the game was a lot of fun overall. The final hour or so was classic epic Halo, too.

The game seems to have quite the voice cast, also! I recognised Buck's voice immediately, but couldn't place it. Thought maybe it was Nolan North, but I looked it up and of course it was Nathan Fillian (although coincidentally Nolan North is also in the game.)

It's very short, finished it over two evenings but I really couldn't stop playing once I'd started, I was really interested to see what had happened to each character. The music is nice, too. A real departure in places from the main games, and coupled with the almost detective type story interludes it gave the city sections a certain, I don't know, almost noir feeling.

All in all, had an absolute blast. Not sure if my memory is wrong here, but I'd always thought it was quite poorly received by the public (despite good review scores), and I'm guessing maybe it was the length that people were criticising, which may have been an issue at full price, but as an addition to the frankly incredible Master Chief Collection, it was perfect.

[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)
Mar 28 - Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Vita)
Jun 13 - Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom (PS4)
Jul 11 - What The Golf? (Switch)
Jul 17 - Everything (PS4)
Jul 24 - Astro's Playroom (PS5)
Aug 2 - The Darkside Detective (Switch)
Aug 5 - Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)
Sep 4 - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS5)
Sep 10 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Switch)
Sep 26 - Blaster Master Zero (Switch)
Sep 29 - Flipping Death (Switch)
Oct 11 - Yakuza: Like A Dragon (PS5)
Oct 25 - Hotshot Racing (Switch)
Nov 6 - Neo: The World Ends With You (PS5)
Nov 25 - Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition (Switch)
Dec 1 - Professor Layton and the Specter's Call (DS cart on 3DS)
Dec 6 - Outer Wilds (PS5)

Dec 20 - Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition (PS5)

I played the first game on release and dabbled with the fourth near its launch, but that was all my experience with the series, so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one. I shouldn't have worried. I may be a bit crap at it but its a blast, with one caveat.

It looks great, the designs, the technical quality of the graphics, movement are all really nice. Ok, the Qliphoth environments get boring in the late game but that s my only concern. Music's good, especially in combat. I like Devil Trigger anyway, but when fighting, its amazing.

The plot is ... well its Devil May Cry! It's basic enough, there's a giant demon tree in a city, Dante's been hired to deal with it, Nero wants to get his arm back from whoever ripped it off and V has his reasons. Delivered with over the top action, quips and style. I really like some of the cutscenes.

So I don't have much experience of these types of action games (DMC history aside, I'm not sure I have any). I found Nero the most fun to play as. The Devil Bringer move is a good way to control distance in a fight and using the different Devil Breakers is fun backed up by a good reliable sword and gun combo. Dante has so many options I could get a bit lost and confused but when I got in the groove with him he was a lot of fun too. Although I probably stuck with the the bike and the shotgun a bit too much.

Unfortunately V is the caveat from earlier. I prefer combat in action games to be more direct and his combat style involves directing demons around. It just makes me feel disconnected from combat and a V mission was a good reason to turn off the console and come back later.

That looks like my last completion this year. A few less than usual as I wasn't in the mood as much from April to June and no obvious stand out personal favourite but I still played a lot of good games.

[seansthomas]

January 15th - Spiderman (PS4)
January 17th - Labo VR goggles and camera (Switch)
March 19th - Labo VR blaster (Switch)
March 19th - Bowser's Fury (Switch)
April 12th - Bloodborne + Old Hunters DLC (PS4)
April 18th - Star Wars: Battlefront 2 campaign (PS4)
April 19th - Journey (PS4)
May 24th - Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20th anniversary edition
June 23rd - Vanquish (PS4)
July 15th - Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PS4)
July 24th - Alba: a wildlife adventure (Switch)
October 9th - Hitman 2 (PS4)
October 31st - Metroid Dread (Switch)
November 16th - Outer Wilds (PS4)
November 19th - Unpacking (Xbox Series S)
November 29th - Exo One (Xbox Series S)
December 10th - The Matrix Reawakens: Unreal tech demo (Xbox Series S)
December 19th - Halo Infinite: Campaign (Xbox Series S)

December 21st - The Forgotten City (Xbox Series S)

What a pleasant surprise. Had seen this one popping up in a few end of year lists so thought I'd give it a spin as it's on Gamepass, and I loved it. It might be my Game of 2021.

Without spoiling anything, the gist is you play someone who winds up trapped in an Ancient Roman settlement, which you can't escape from. And the land is governed by a simple Golden Rule; if any citizen commits a sin, everyone dies.

Naturally you can survive it if that happens, if you make it back to the portal in time, retaining your items and memories. And then you try something else to stop that happening.

And that's the genius of the game. For something that takes place in a relatively tight map but with tons of characters, variables, dialogue options and the danger of becoming highly repetitive, it manages to be tight, focused and work around these issues ingeniously, given how the options interconnect or certain repeat tasks get taken care of by other characters for you. It gives you clues if you need them, but you won't.

There are also some real 'Holy crap' moments when you figure something out or work out the story beats just before you're told them, Outer Wilds style.

I beat the game with 3 of the 4 endings in under 10 hours and loved seeing how all the permutations played out.

One of the best written, most interesting, educational and self-questioning games I've played in a good while.

[Rhaegyr]

I've only just started The Lost City so what you've written above makes me even more eager to dive in, especially as I loved Outer Wilds too!

[Truk_Kurt]

19. The Forgotten City
More love here for this game. I echo everything said above. Particuarly about how you feel like a genius when something clicks in you r brain. It also has some laugh out loud moments in it with jokes relating to the past couple of years which must have only been added for this version of the game during its development.

One of if not the best written game I have ever played and probably my GOTY.

My only complaint would be that being in the Skyrim engine, there is some general jankiness to it which can take you out the experience a little like characters not looking at you when speaking to them. 9/10.

[Alex79]

19. The Forgotten City
More love here for this game. I echo everything said above. Particuarly about how you feel like a genius when something clicks in you r brain. It also has some laugh out loud moments in it with jokes relating to the past couple of years which must have only been added for this version of the game during its development.

One of if not the best written game I have ever played and probably my GOTY.

My only complaint would be that being in the Skyrim engine, there is some general jankiness to it which can take you out the experience a little like characters not looking at you when speaking to them. 9/10.

Still want to get round to this. Don't think the full game is in the Skyrim engine though, it's been totally remade.

[Truk_Kurt]

19. The Forgotten City
More love here for this game. I echo everything said above. Particuarly about how you feel like a genius when something clicks in you r brain. It also has some laugh out loud moments in it with jokes relating to the past couple of years which must have only been added for this version of the game during its development.

One of if not the best written game I have ever played and probably my GOTY.

My only complaint would be that being in the Skyrim engine, there is some general jankiness to it which can take you out the experience a little like characters not looking at you when speaking to them. 9/10.

Still want to get round to this. Don't think the full game is in the Skyrim engine though, it's been totally remade.

You're right, it uses the Unreal engine instead but I would have never of known as it really does feel like Skyrim with how characters move and talk.

[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.
(Mar) The Medium - Series X.
(Mar) Donut County - Series X.
(Mar) Astro's Playroom - PS5.
(Apr) Outriders - Series X.
(May) Lego City Undercover - Wii U.
(May) Ghost of Tsushima - PS5.
(May) Resident Evil Village - PS5.
(May) Dantes Inferno - Series X(BC).
(May) Streets of Rage 4 - Series X.
(May) Dead Space - Series X(BC).
(June) Matterfall - PS5.
(June) Battlefield 4 - Series X.
(Aug) Metro Exodus + DLCs - Series X.
(Aug) Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition - Series X.
(Aug) Maneater(1000GS) - Series X.
(Sept) Dead Rising 4 - Series X.
(Sept) Limbo - Series X.
(Sept) Raji: An Ancient Epic - Series X.
(Sept) The Ascent - Series X.
(Sept) The Artful Escape - Series X.
(Oct) Mighty Goose - Series X.
(Oct) Alan Wake Remastered - Series X.
(Nov) The Evil Within 2 - Series X.
(Nov) Minecraft Dungeons - Series X.
(Nov) Forza Horizon 5 - Series X.
(Nov) Unpacking - Series X.
(Nov) Totally Reliable Delivery Service - Series X.
(Nov) Titanfall 2 - Series X.
(Dec) Guardians of the Galaxy - Series X.
(Dec) Exo One - Series X.
(Dec) Horizon ZD: The Frozen Wilds - PS5.
(Dec) Townscaper - Series X.
(Dec) Halo Infinite - Series X.

[seansthomas]

19. The Forgotten City
More love here for this game. I echo everything said above. Particuarly about how you feel like a genius when something clicks in you r brain. It also has some laugh out loud moments in it with jokes relating to the past couple of years which must have only been added for this version of the game during its development.

One of if not the best written game I have ever played and probably my GOTY.

My only complaint would be that being in the Skyrim engine, there is some general jankiness to it which can take you out the experience a little like characters not looking at you when speaking to them. 9/10.

Really glad others are enjoying it too!

Did you replay the day to get the different endings?

[Megadirt]

Oct - Symphony of the Night - There's nothing I can say about this that hasn't been said a million times before, but god damn. This didn't feel like the birth of a genre in the way I expected, this was absolutely flawless, it had the energy of a modern game made in the style of oldschool metroidvanias and still had enough surprises and frustrations to keep me talking about it constantly to people who, and I was very aware of this, did not give a fuck. I didn't realise how much I love these as a genre but it may be one of my favourites of its kind, and I've been inspired to start making one myself.

Oct - Alan Wake Remastered - Looks great, pulpy but fun horror themed story, a wee bit 2010y but ultimately good. I missed it at launch (2010) as I was probably playing Assassin's Creed II (almost a year late) and Red Dead Redemption, I'm not sure if it entirely holds up, but Im definitely gonna play Control and get AW2.

Nov - Bloodstained Ritual of the Night - With the subtlety of photocopy signed in real ink, this is an unapologetic "Don't you know who I am?!" from Koji Igarashi. All the best bits of his life's work rammed into one almost perfect game. Personally, like Steamworld dig and various others this particular style of artwork makes me feel like I'm playing a game on Newgrounds.com but the music, the feeling of exploration and the attention to detail made this another metroidvania for me to crowbar into conversation and talk about like a man pretending he doesn't have a crush on someone.

Dec - Dragon Quest Builders - Incredibly Minecraft, incredibly Dragon Quest, but not quite as good as either, I adored it but I wouldn't recommend it (apparently the second one is to DQBuilders what Accept's Balls to the Wall is to their debut album). It is so vast in size and yet at the same time incredibly restrictive with freedom of creativity, some characters going as far as to tell you exactly what to build and where. It's as much of a grinding simulator as the original Dragon Quest, but it was my video game equivalent of a glass of warm milk before bed time, and I chipped away at it for months.

Dec - The Messenger - You have to play this. If you have any interest in old school Ninja Gaiden (1988) esque platformers you *need* to play this, and one of it's main selling points is arguably a spoiler so I wont even mention so much of why it's great. It is designed to make you feel like you are speedrunning everything, for example there is no double jump, but every time you attack something you get the ability to jump again, this can lead to some seamlessness in tearing through levels that will make you feel like you're nailing it at GDQ.

The story is pretty dumb, but It's properly funny in a way that reminds me of Monkey Island, Simon the Sorcerer and other story driven games from my Amiga times. Gameplay-wise It is hard as balls occasionally, but in that "Ok, thats on me, my bad" kind of way. It's like the pixel perfect Super Meat Boy flow state mixed with Ninja Gaiden level-based platforming and it's just incredible.

[Toon Scottoon]

Games completed in 2021 ranked and reviewed to my taste as of 12/24/21

Returnal = Break the cycle
Hollow Knight "Good Ending" - Had me Bugging
Dishonored 2 = High Grade Whalepunk
Fire Emblem Three Houses (Third run. Blue Lions) - Regal Revenge Realization
Fire Emblem Three Houses (Second run. This time Black Eagles) Please no, Edlegard.
Portal 2 = To the moon!
Bowser's Fury = Kaiju Kitty Clash
Fire Emblem Three Houses DLC = Scenario Driven Delight
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions = Effects aren't understated
Skyward Sword HD Remaster Switch = Likeable Groose Truce
The Artful Escape = Douglas Adams Rocks
Death's Door= Immortality eats crow
Death Loop = Who's kidding who?
Metroid Dread = Hunter becomes hunted
Psychonauts = Burtonesque Brain Battle
Castlevania Aria of Sorrow = Brief Danse Macabre
Warioware Get It Together = Games in games
War Groove Double Trouble = Tiny Treasure Takers
Metroid Fusion = Tight Technology Team-up
Link's Awakening = Wake Up Link
Xenoblade Chronicles = Not too grindy
Fire Emblem Binding Blade = Spawned by greatness
Skul = Bone up hero
Axiom Verge 2 = An Artist's Evolution
Super Metroid = Brainy Final Act
Immortal's Fenyx Rising = Delightful Deity Deployment
Kena Bridge of Spirits = Ambition exceeds execution
Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest = Curse the ending
Castlevania - Bite was contagious
Yoku's Island Express - Bug Goes Postal
Rouge Legacy - Genetic Generated Gaming
Hades - Must we again?
Mario Golf Super Rush - Too Many Gimmies
Concrete Genie - My Pet Monsters
Paper Mario Origami King - Wrong Key Luigi
Tiny Metal - Advanced Wars Clone
Steamworld Dig 2 - I dug it
Guacamelee - Es Muy Bien


Pretty pleased to have rolled credits on 38 games this year. It's a task completed as part of a growing routine which includes listening to Cane and Rinse, commenting on a few of the episodes where I've played along, and writing up this little post sometime around the Christmas holiday - complete with three word reviews, which might be my favorite genre of critical game writing, in part because it isn't always that critical.

On this list are a couple of classics I'm thrilled to get off my backlog, but I'm just as proud to have pulled the plug on a few games that are thought of as classics, but just didn't jive with me right when I sat down to play them. As the ad campaign for my favorite game this year suggests, (One that I'm increasingly proud to have completed) sometimes the goal is just to "break the cycle".

As for 2022 here's looking forward to another great season of the show and another year with the warm and thoughtful members of this community. Someday I'm going to get the courage/confidence to jump in and play some games with all of you online. Until then, stay safe, celebrate the season, and hopefully everyone's review's for 2022 read "Things keep improving".

[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)
MAR - Pinball FX3: Back To The Future (Switch)
MAR - Pinball FX3: E.T. (Switch)
APR - Fantasy Zone (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
APR - Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4)
APR - There Is No Game: Game Jam Edition (Android)
MAY - Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Switch)
JUN - Super Mario 64 (Switch)
JUL - Silent Bomber JP (PS1 on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 (PSP on Vita)
AUG - OutRun 2 SP (PSP on Vita)
AUG - Ashen (Switch)
AUG - Papers, Please (Vita)
AUG - Scramble (1cc) (Arcade on Switch)
AUG - Bayonetta 2 (Switch)
AUG - Pinball FX3: Family Guy (Switch)
AUG - Shovel Knight: Shovel Of Hope (Switch)
SEP - FAR: Lone Sails (Android)
SEP - The Artful Escape (Xbox)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Portal (Switch)
SEP - Pinball FX3: Aliens vs Predator (Switch)
SEP - EA UFC 4 (Xbox)
OCT - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Xbox)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Aliens (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Alien Isolation (Switch)
OCT - Pinball FX3: Attack From Mars (Switch)
OCT - Superliminal (Xbox)
OCT - Haunted Castle (Arcade on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES on Switch)
OCT - Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition (Xbox)
OCT - Castle Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Land Of Illusion (SMS on Vita)
OCT - Akumajō Densetsu (Famicom on Switch)
OCT - Castlevania: The Adventure (Gameboy on Switch)
OCT - Super Castlevania IV (SNES on Switch)
OCT - The Red Strings Club (Switch)
OCT - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Xbox)
NOV - Guacamelee: STC Edition (Switch)
NOV - Bastion (Switch)
NOV - The Walking Dead: Season One (Xbox)
NOV - Red Dead Redemption (Xbox)
NOV - Assassin's Creed Liberation: Remastered (Switch)
DEC - Halo: Combat Evolved: Anniversary (Xbox)
DEC - Transistor (Switch)
DEC - Halo 2: Anniversary (Xbox)
DEC - Halo 3 (Xbox)
DEC - Halo 3: ODST (Xbox)

DEC - Halo: Reach (Xbox)

This was fucking brilliant. That's all. Just really brilliant.

Five Halo games in under a month, and I can't wait to start the next one!

[Angry_Kurt]

19. The Forgotten City
More love here for this game. I echo everything said above. Particuarly about how you feel like a genius when something clicks in you r brain. It also has some laugh out loud moments in it with jokes relating to the past couple of years which must have only been added for this version of the game during its development.

One of if not the best written game I have ever played and probably my GOTY.

My only complaint would be that being in the Skyrim engine, there is some general jankiness to it which can take you out the experience a little like characters not looking at you when speaking to them. 9/10.

Really glad others are enjoying it too!

Did you replay the day to get the different endings?

I didn’t no, any game like this with multiple endings I only play once as then it feels like my story.

[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
14/03 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
17/03 - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (100cc)
02/04 - Drakengard (Endings A-D)
14/04 - Drakengard 2 (Ending A)
28/04 - Drakengard 3 (Endings A-D)
02/05 - Rain
10/05 - God of War: Chains of Olympus HD
15/05 - God of War: Ghost of Sparta HD
24/05 - NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... (Endings A-E)
08/06 - Final Fantasy XV (NG+)
02/07 - God of War II HD
15/07 - Scarlet Nexus (Yuito)
20/07 - TRON: Evolution
21/07 - Sky: Children of the Light
01/08 - Scarlet Nexus (Kasane, NG+)
12/08 - Forza Horizon
18/08 - A Plague Tale: Innocence
21/08 - Contrast
31/08 - Forza Motorsport 7
04/09 - No More Heroes III
13/09 - Metal Gear Solid
23/09 - Metal Gear Solid 2 HD
09/10 - Psychonauts 2
15/10 - Unsighted
17/10 - Sable
18/10 - Halo: Reach (Master Chief Collection)
23/10 - Split/Second
29/10 - Darq
11/11 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
14/11 - Darksiders II (Apocalyptic)
21/11 - Kid A Mnesia Exhibition
23/11 - Forza Horizon 5
27/11 - Exo One
29/11 - Omno
11/12 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64HD)
15/12 - Halo: Combat Evolved (Master Chief Collection)
19/12 - Halo Infinite

26/12 - Metal Gear Solid 3 HD

Once again I enjoyed making my way through this, but taken more as an overall experience, mostly for the story and general presentation. The gameplay is something more that I stumble through, finding it awkward and frustration a lot of the time. Although there were some moments I did enjoy, as brief as they were.

A lot of the same criticisms I had about the gameplay of 2 are the same here. Controls are really convoluted and unintuitive, with a lot of fiddliness to it that I don't think is necessary. I suppose it does have its own internal logic to it that one could get used to, but it's an uphill battle that I never got close to reaching. That said, the dynamic camera focused on your character does help things a lot. One of the biggest issues I had with 2 was doing things like trying to hide up against walls, and trying to work out what the game had decided in that moment I needed to do with the controls to do that. With the controls being relative to wherever you point the camera in 3, that issue is mostly solved. Not to mention how it gives you a much better view of the game in general. Although I was surprised to find it's not universally better. There are some moments where the original fixed camera system actually helped out a bit in certain scenarios.

Another thing I noticed was that guards seem to be much less thorough with sweeping an area compared to 2. In that game it felt like every time I got spotted and tried to run away to a hiding spot, the search team would just instantly run to where I was, regardless of how close I was to wherever I got spotted. In 3 they don't seem to do that at all, which made things much less of a tedious headache to get through. That might be something to do with difficulty modes, although I did play both games at the same level.

This game also has the best boss encounters so far. Often I've found them to be a bit of a slog in the previous games. Often frustrating and not particularly interesting. In this game though I found myself actually enjoying most of them. They manage to be interesting in terms of how you approach them, but not too obtuse either. Fights which are more straightforward combat encounters still have a twist on them like The Fear or The Fury, but I also found myself really enjoying the battle with The End, which I was not expecting at all. It was fun playing cat-and-mouse in that stealthy sniper duel.

Once again the general presentation is a highlight. It has a great sense of style and cinematography to it, with some great choreography too. Despite the very long and frequent cutscenes, they don't feel like they drag at all, at least outside some of the early hours of the game anyway. It's paced really well, and makes it easy to remain motivated to keep going through the game despite the struggle of the gameplay. The novelty of that has worn off after three games of it, but I suppose it's still ahead of most other games of its time. Other games were beginning to catch up by this point though, so it's not massively impressive like it was with MGS1.

The story is notably more lowkey this time around. It's more subdued, and doesn't have that sort of surreal feeling the older games had. I miss that. The first game, and the second especially, had that tone that had you questioning how much of what was shown was even real. As if their focus on intricate conspiracies and musings on the nature of reality extended beyond ideology or espionage, but the very things you were seeing in front of your eyes. Like this was a strange dreamlike reality where psychics could exist, but it could also be some strange hallucination implanted by some mysterious larger power. You could never be sure. 3 on the other hand doesn't really go in for any of that, despite somehow still having characters with totally unexplained supernatural abilities. It's mostly a straightforward story of a Cold War spy action thriller. There are conspiracies, but they don't go as deep as older games, and don't bring up as many interesting questions.

I have heard how the character of The Boss and her relationship to Snake is where this story really shines though, and that probably is one of the more interesting elements. The Boss is cool, but she only really becomes interesting very close to the end of the game. She doesn't really have a grand vision of society like previous major antagonists, being more disillusioned with everything. I guess that fits in to the themes of the story though, so it's not like she's got nothing going on. I also like how she's the leader of this group of elite supernatural soldiers, yet seemingly has no powers of her own. She's just that good at CQC.

I also really liked this young version of Ocelot. Very entertaining to watch him interact with other characters, with his amusing idiosyncrasies. I also find it funny how he finds his love for revolvers basically because Snake made fun of him. Seeing him gradually gain respect for Snake over the game was nicely done. The Sorrow popping up in cutscenes was pretty fun too, with his weird smirking face, and being unexpectedly helpful.

So in general I did like the game a fair amount. Probably the most fun I've had actually playing one so far, aside from the controls. But it was lacking some of the main things I'd come to like most about the series before now. I guess MGS4 brings that back, but I don't think I'm going straight to that one. I'm going through these in release order, sticking more or less to the mainline games. But now I'm a bit unsure what comes next. Do I bother with Portable Ops and Twin Snakes? Or just one of them? If so, which?

[Alex79]

If you've played MGS 1, there's no need to play Twin Snakes really. I'd also skip Portable Ops, as it was later considered non-canon.

However, Peace Walker is an absolute must and one of my favourites in the series (and is a more logical follow on from 3 than 4 was). You can really see the groundwork for 5 being laid right there. Glad you enjoyed 3 in the end, I came to the series late, only having played them all a couple of years back (I played PS1 MGS back when it was released, but none of the others) and really loved the series. 3 was probably my favorite, even though it's objectively not the most polished with regard to controls and mechanics.

Don't be put off by Peace Walker being a PSP game, too. It was meant to be MGS 5 according to Kojima, but they didn't want a proper numbered entry being handheld exclusive. You've got the HD version, or my preference was playing it on a Vita, which controls a lot better than the PSP due to being able to map the camera to the right stick (it used the face buttons on the PSP, rather clunkily).

[Simonsloth]

If you've played MGS 1, there's no need to play Twin Snakes really. I'd also skip Portable Ops, as it was later considered non-canon.

However, Peace Walker is an absolute must and one of my favourites in the series (and is a more logical follow on from 3 than 4 was). You can really see the groundwork for 5 being laid right there. Glad you enjoyed 3 in the end, I came to the series late, only having played them all a couple of years back (I played PS1 MGS back when it was released, but none of the others) and really loved the series. 3 was probably my favorite, even though it's objectively not the most polished with regard to controls and mechanics.

Don't be put off by Peace Walker being a PSP game, too. It was meant to be MGS 5 according to Kojima, but they didn't want a proper numbered entry being handheld exclusive. You've got the HD version, or my preference was playing it on a Vita, which controls a lot better than the PSP due to being able to map the camera to the right stick (it used the face buttons on the PSP, rather clunkily).

Im pretty sure peace walker HD collection on Xbox and PS now/PS3 still has online capabilities and in my opinion for some of the latter game content co-op is key. Pretty sure I can dig out my old PSN save for the occasion if you get around to it.

[Alex79]

Yeah probably easier in co-op, although it is doable in single player - I just relied a lot on the munitions and ammo drops from the helicopters!

[Indiana747]

Spoiler: show

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.
(Mar) The Medium - Series X.
(Mar) Donut County - Series X.
(Mar) Astro's Playroom - PS5.
(Apr) Outriders - Series X.
(May) Lego City Undercover - Wii U.
(May) Ghost of Tsushima - PS5.
(May) Resident Evil Village - PS5.
(May) Dantes Inferno - Series X(BC).
(May) Streets of Rage 4 - Series X.
(May) Dead Space - Series X(BC).
(June) Matterfall - PS5.
(June) Battlefield 4 - Series X.
(Aug) Metro Exodus + DLCs - Series X.
(Aug) Mass Effect 1 Legendary Edition - Series X.
(Aug) Maneater(1000GS) - Series X.
(Sept) Dead Rising 4 - Series X.
(Sept) Limbo - Series X.
(Sept) Raji: An Ancient Epic - Series X.
(Sept) The Ascent - Series X.
(Sept) The Artful Escape - Series X.
(Oct) Mighty Goose - Series X.
(Oct) Alan Wake Remastered - Series X.
(Nov) The Evil Within 2 - Series X.
(Nov) Minecraft Dungeons - Series X.
(Nov) Forza Horizon 5 - Series X.
(Nov) Unpacking - Series X.
(Nov) Totally Reliable Delivery Service - Series X.
(Nov) Titanfall 2 - Series X.
(Dec) Guardians of the Galaxy - Series X.
(Dec) Exo One - Series X.
(Dec) Horizon ZD: The Frozen Wilds - PS5.
(Dec) Townscaper - Series X.
(Dec) Halo Infinite - Series X.

(Dec) The Gunk - Series X.
(Dec) Marvel's Avengers - Series X.

[Megadirt]

Don't be put off by Peace Walker being a PSP game, too.

I second, third, and fourth this. I was put off by the idea of playing a PSP game, but now I would say PeaceWalker is my favourite MGS game, and I didn't make use of the co-op stuff at all (though I wish I had).