Games Completed 2020

[HaloFandango]

JAN - Titanfall 2 (PS4)
JAN - Pinball FX3: Fish Tales (Switch)
FEB - Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
FEB - Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4)
FEB - Mafia 3 (PS4)
MAR - Mega Man X (Switch)
MAR - Assassin's Creed III Remastered (Switch)
MAR - Control (PS4)
MAR - Shadow Of The Tomb Raider (PS4)
APR - Yoku's Island Express (100%) (Switch)
APR - WWF Wrestlefest (Arcade on PS Vita)
APR - Holedown (Android)
MAY - South Park: The Stick Of Truth (Switch)
JUN - Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
JUN - Golf Story (Switch)
JUL - Days Gone (PS4)
JUL - Bayonetta (Switch)
JUL - Watch Dogs 2 (PS4)
JUL - The Gardens Between (Android)
AUG - Hyper Light Drifter (Switch)
AUG - Celeste Classic (PICO-8 on Switch)
AUG - Thimbleweed Park (Android)

AUG - Celeste (Switch)

There's nothing I can say that's not already been said. An absolute masterpiece that surpassed my every expectation. Constantly evolving, constantly surprising, this has set the standard for platform games for years to come.

Picked this up in the Itch.io bundle for racial justice and equality (like most people probably)! Only heard great things! The platforming is pretty tight from pretty much everyone I have heard from.

[ReprobateGamer]

Spoiler: show

Jan - Riverbond Crystal Caves DLC - Xbox One (100%)
May - Tacoma - Xbox One (100%)
June - Portal 2 - Xbox 360 (single player)
May - Minecraft Dungeons - Xbox One

11 August - Carrion - Xbox One (100%)

This has been mentioned a few things in the watcha playing thread. A take on metroidvania games where you play as the monster in a 'reverse' horror game. The concept is great and there are some superb moments - the ending section was a highlight - but overall the map was not as easy to navigate as it should have been and the controls weren't always as snappy as they needed to be.

I wanted to like this more than I did - the style worked well and the sound was suitably atmospheric - but ultimately this didn't really click for me

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Jan - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (XOX)
Feb - The Last Of Us - Left Behind (PS4 Pro)
Feb - God Of War (PS4 Pro)
Mar - The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening (Switch)
Apr - Panzer Dragoon (Switch)
Apr - Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure (Vita)
Apr - Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (XOX)
Apr - Moss (PSVR)
Jun - Shenmue 3 (PS4 Pro)

Aug - The Last Of Us: Part II (PS4 Pro)

Not without flaws, but still a milestone achievement in the history of the medium. Brilliant.

Aug - Streets Of Rage 4 (XOX)

A fantastic modernisation of a classic series and genre. As good as, if not better than, any Streets Of Rage fan had any right to expect. Will be a go-to game for a long time to come, and will buy straight away if it ever comes off Game Pass!

[Jon Cheetham]

Just beat Dishonored 2 again. Twice in a row. Game is good. Game is so good.

Went through as rat-dad Corvo for High Chaos, then went back through as Emily again for Clean Hands aka killing nobody. Every single one of these levels is so much fun as a battleground or as a series of stealth and parkour challenges as you avoid people. There's levels I've spent nearly 5 hours on first time round that I beat in 30 minutes on my Clean Hands run because I know them so well, but I was still finding new exfiltration routes round rooftops and through tunnels.

Masterpiece.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Jan - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (XOX)
Feb - The Last Of Us - Left Behind (PS4 Pro)
Feb - God Of War (PS4 Pro)
Mar - The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening (Switch)
Apr - Panzer Dragoon (Switch)
Apr - Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure (Vita)
Apr - Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (XOX)
Apr - Moss (PSVR)
Jun - Shenmue 3 (PS4 Pro)
Aug - The Last Of Us: Part II (PS4 Pro)
Aug - Streets Of Rage 4 (XOX)

Aug - Valkyria Chronicles (Switch)

This is a game I've wanted to play for years and owned on the PS3, where I never got round to it before eventually selling the system at the turn of the generation. When this Switch port released I picked it up at the first sign of a price drop, and have been chipping away over a couple of months now.

I can see why people love this game. There's a lot to love after all - interesting gameplay mechanics, beautiful art direction, a soaring musical score, likeable characters and a touching narrative framed as an allegory of WWII. It is clearly a game created with a lot of care and affection for sure.

All that said I didn't quite fall as hard for Valkyria Chronicles as some clearly have, despite enjoying my time with it overall. The gameplay was a little too 'die and retry' for my liking, and while the aforementioned characters and story can be emotionally affecting at times, they can also be a bit ham-fisted and misjudged. For example there are a couple of rather un-PC depictions of gay characters, while gracious butt-shots of the ladies (who all seem to go to war in cute mini-skirts) are not uncommon and tonally out of place for what is generally a well-meaning game. I know this is all fairly typical of many Japanese games, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be called out as a failing.

My other major gripe is the length. This is almost mid-sized RPG territory in terms of hours required to see the end, and while my game clock on completion was over the 30 hour mark, that doesn't count all the times I reloaded to try a different tactic, or lost a unit I couldn't afford to. In reality it will have been much longer than that, and while I have no problem spending any amount of hours on a game, for me Valkyria Chronicles just didn't quite do enough in terms of gameplay variety to justify such a hefty investment. Why did I keep playing then? I'm a stubborn shit. That's why.

A good game then that I'm glad to having finally played, but I think that's my tour of duty done now. I hope the fans continue to enjoy the sequels, but this militia man's war is over.

[Combine Hunter]

Spoiler: show

03/01 - Disco Elysium (PC)
03/02 - DUSK (PC)
12/02 - Baba is You (PC)
13/02 - Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PSP - via Castlevania: Dracula X)
21/03 - Dying Light (PC)
24/03 - Ori and The Will of the Wisps (PC)
04/04 - DOOM: Eternal (PC)
05/04 - Resident Evil 3 (PC)
10/04 - Tangle Tower (Switch)
13/05 - Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (PS Vita)
23/05 - Mega Man X2 (Switch)
14/06 - Shovel Knight: King of Cards (Switch)
03/07 - The Last of Us Part 2 (PS4)
11/07 - Divinity: Original Sin 2 (PC)
22/07 - Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (DS)
28/07 - Demon's Souls (PS3)

21/08 - Manifold Garden (PC)

It's the game I wanted Antichamber to be. Really great puzzle game using mind bending geometry.

[Jon Cheetham]

Spoiler: show

13th Jan - Dishonored 2
19th Jan - Dishonored: Death of the Outsider
23rd Jan - Sayonara Wild Hearts
4th Feb - Wolfenstein: The New Order
18th Feb - Titanfall 2
28th Feb - What Remains of Edith Finch
2nd Mar - Gone Home
2nd Mar - Florence
21st Mar - Hitman (2016)
21st Mar - Thief 2
22nd Mar - BioShock Remastered
25th Mar - Dishonored
3rd Apr - Resident Evil 2 (2019)
4th Apr - Hitman 2
18th Apr - Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen
25th Apr - Monument Valley
1st May - Uncharted 4
6th May - The Last of Us
8th May - The Last of Us: Left Behind
9th May - Far Cry Primal
21st May - Dishonored: The Knife of Dunwall & The Brigmore Witches
24th May - Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
31st May - The Banner Saga 1
8th June - The Banner Saga 2
17th June - God of War (2018)
27th June - The Last of Us Part II
12th July - Control
13th July - DUSK
22nd July - Resident Evil 4
7th August - Deus Ex
7th August - A Short Hike
8th August - Resident Evil (2002)
9th August - The Banner Saga 3

23rd August - SteamWorld Quest

I've really enjoyed playing this in 20-30min (and often longer) bedtime sessions on the Switch. Been getting into deckbuilders thanks to The Witcher 3 introducing me to Gwent.

The combat system in this is very fun, at least to me who hasn't played a lot of turn-based RPGs or card battlers. You have a party of 3 out of a possible 5 characters, so you need to manage at least 3 decks and have them complement each other. Your typical DPS character, healer, etc. It relies on "builder" and "spender" cards, where you charge up Steam Points by using free low-damage attacks, buffs etc, that you can then spend by playing your big ticket cards that cause a lot of damage or apply status effects, heal your party etc. It's a fun ebb and flow and makes you think about how you want to build your deck... you don't want too many spender cards since you won't be able to build enough Steam Points to use them, but if you're too conservative and don't bring any then you'll have a full meter and nothing to use it on. The fights felt really well tuned for the most part, particularly in the mid-game where I would run into enemy mixups that made me think about how I should configure my deck and who to put in my party. Some of the fights at the end were very long and a couple were bit of a slog, but it usually felt fair and I'd be able to strategise a way out of most unexpected binds once I realised what the threat was.

And it turns out there's a NG+, which will be nice to have on the go as I play other things.

[Scrustle]

Spoiler: show

03/01 - Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
08/01 - Need for Speed: Carbon
12/01 - Devil May Cry (Normal)
15/01 - Devil May Cry 2 (Normal/Dante)
26/01 - Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
08/02 - Dishonored
18/02 - Deus Ex: The Fall
23/02 - Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (Normal/Dante/Free Style)
26/02 - Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (Normal/Vergil)
28/02 - Horizon Chase Turbo
28/02 - EQQO
02/03 - Yakuza 3 Remastered
03/03 - Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (Hard/Dante/Free Style)
10/03 - Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (Very Hard/Dante/Free Style)
13/03 - Mirror's Edge Catalyst
19/03 - A Short Hike
01/04 - Doom Eternal
02/04 - Lucah: Born of a Dream (NG+, Bad Ending)
14/04 - Yakuza 4 Remastered
17/04 - Fable Anniversary
21/04 - Transistor
01/05 - The Last Guardian
11/05 - Mafia III
15/05 - Mini Ninjas
17/05 - Burnout Paradise Remastered (Elite License)
20/05 - The Gardens Between
25/05 - The Wonderful 101 Remastered (Normal)
27/05 - El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
06/06 - Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death
14/06 - OneShot
16/06 - OneShot (NG+/Solstice)
22/06 - The World Begins With You
27/06 - Titanfall 2
10/07 - Vane
16/07 - What Remains of Edith Finch
27/07 - Braid
28/07 - Shadow Warrior 2
07/08 - Night in the Woods
15/08 - Night in the Woods

23/08 - Yakuza 5 Remastered

Finally got through this. It feels like it's taken forever. I've started and finished like ten other games in the time I've been playing this. And looking back on my experience, I have to admit that my main feeling is that I'm tired. So very tired. To the point where I'm feeling like this might be the last time I play through one of these games.

Although, I don't really hold it against the game itself. Not totally anyway. It is incredibly bloated and drags on forever. But I knew that going in, and tried to pace myself. I skipped a lot of the side content this time around too. More than I did last time at least. As for the side-games each character has, I still did Kiryu's, as that taxi game is fun, and I made a point to do Haruka's since I didn't do much of that before. But Saejima's and Shinada's I totally skipped, and I even didn't bother with a lot of Shinada's content outside the main story at all. As for how Haruka's content actually was, it wasn't really worth it. Fine to a degree, but so much of it is repeating the same uninteresting content over and over, way beyond the point of still being entertaining. The side-story attached to that content is kind of unrelated to it as well, and it's pretty bad at telling you how to progress through it too.

But even with those problems, I think a lot of my apathy kind of comes from this game not being new to me anymore, and perhaps simply having had my fill of the series in general. I still appreciate the combat and general vibe of the game, but when the twists and turns of the story aren't a surprise anymore, and playing the game in general doesn't feel like I'm experiencing any kind of progression in any way, it's hard to get excited. Although some moments in the finale still got to me. Despite everything, these games do still know how to end with a bang at least. And Shinada is a great personality. I like him a lot. He deserved to become one of the main cast after this. But yeah, looking forward from this, I can't say I'm too enthusiastic about doing it all again any time soon. And with how I was already not liking the look of the big changes they are making with the next game, I think I'm done. Only way I see myself coming back in the foreseeable future is if they finally localise Ishin, but I think the ship has long sailed on that one by this point.

And one more thing too. This is something that has always bothered me about the story, even back on the original version. A big theme in this game is people coming together to help others achieve their dream. The biggest example being Haruka becoming a pop idol. Yet at no point does it feel like that's actually what she really desires herself, and it's more like she's being pushed in to it by other people, and just going along with it because she's too nice to say no. And then...

Spoiler: show

During the finale, when she's on stage at her first big concert as a signed artist, she decides to give it all up and go back to live with Kiryu. Apparently her dream was never that important anyway, and she'd rather just play the role of a supportive family to him. And to make it just that more inconsistent, during this speech is the only time she ever actually says that she wanted to be an idol herself.

Sigh... Sorry Yakuza, but I think this is where we part ways. It's not your fault, it's mine. And it was a hell of a ride while it lasted. Thanks for all the fun.

[Angry_Kurt]

This is something I’ve been wondering after playing Yakuza Zero and Judgement. Both of which I really enjoyed and I don’t know whether to quit while I have great memories of those games and leave the others in the series which might not have aged well gameplay wise. It wouldn’t be so bad if each of them weren’t huge time sinks, but alas they are and I don’t want to feel as if it’s a chore to play them just to say I’ve played them all.

I know there are some big Yakuza fans here, so should I play any of them I’ve missed or do the above?

[Scrustle]

I think it's still worth going back to the old games if you haven't played them before. They haven't really aged much from a gameplay point of view. Zero and Judgment still stick to the same kind of template as the older games, Zero especially. The only major difference is that those newer games give you multiple fighting styles to switch between with one character, while the older games limit it to one style per character. How much variety that gives you depends on what game you're playing. But you'll always have at least Kiryu, and his still is always fleshed out well. Otherwise the differences probably comes down to just better writing, and pacing for the main story I guess. My main issue this time around wasn't the games feeling old, just more me being burnt out on them.

Although I can't say anything about the original PS2 games, since I never played them. But from what I've seen, it seems like the first might be pretty rough and hard to get in to these days, but the second is more approachable. I did play the Kiwami remakes however, and I think that's the best option for a newcomer these days anyway.

[duskvstweak]

Played through Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I think they figured out how to do really fun platforming levels in the Sonic games in this one. 2 figures out how to handle the speed and roller coaster ride of it all, but 3 has some creative level design that I was much better equipped for than the previous games. Also, no surprise, I love the Ice Cap and Lava Reed Zones and accompanying music. I might see it as the most complete package of a Sonic game, that I've played.

I'm on to Sonic CD next and then the Adventure games...

[HaloFandango]

Played through Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I think they figured out how to do really fun platforming levels in the Sonic games in this one. 2 figures out how to handle the speed and roller coaster ride of it all, but 3 has some creative level design that I was much better equipped for than the previous games. Also, no surprise, I love the Ice Cap and Lava Reed Zones and accompanying music. I might see it as the most complete package of a Sonic game, that I've played.

I'm on to Sonic CD next and then the Adventure games...

The Ice Cap Zone music is just dang catchy - you gotta love those Michael Jackson beats!

Let me know how you do with Sonic CD my dude, that has always been one of the Sonic games that I wanted to play.

Recently played through Sonic Adventure 1 DX on the PC and bounced off it pretty hard. The Action Stages themselves are so much fun to play, but the tedious open world exploration just killed it for me. I will have to force myself to complete that game, to at least see all of the Action Stages.

[Angry_Kurt]

My main issue this time around wasn't the games feeling old, just more me being burnt out on them.

So was it just a case of playing them too close together that you got burnt out? Because that's what I want to avoid, that feeling of being burnt out on them.

[Flabyo]

I went into Kiwami 1 not long after finishing 0, but after a day or two I realised I needed more of a gap to properly enjoy it.

I’m aware that I don’t know how long 0, k1 and k2 will stay in gamepass though, so I suspect I’ll go back to k1 fairly soon.

[Scrustle]

My main issue this time around wasn't the games feeling old, just more me being burnt out on them.

So was it just a case of playing them too close together that you got burnt out? Because that's what I want to avoid, that feeling of being burnt out on them.

That's definitely a possibility. I did try to leave a decent amount of time after finishing 4 to start 5, since I already felt like I had that problem with starting 4 too soon after 3. But maybe it still wasn't enough. I'd definitely say leaving a long break between games is a good idea. Even playing the series as they came out, before this 3-in-1 remaster release, it was already pushing it for how much Yakuza I could take in at that rate. Which, looking it up just now, was about twice a year during this period when the series really started taking off outside of Japan. That's actually faster than I was expecting, and it already felt fast. The Japanese releases seem to have a much steadier rate, at about once a year, excluding the remakes. Which sounds like a much better rate, at the least.

[Alex79]

I went into Kiwami 1 not long after finishing 0, but after a day or two I realised I needed more of a gap to properly enjoy it.

I’m aware that I don’t know how long 0, k1 and k2 will stay in gamepass though, so I suspect I’ll go back to k1 fairly soon.

Definitely worth getting through K1 to get to K2, a much better game IMO.

[DomsBeard]

This is something I’ve been wondering after playing Yakuza Zero and Judgement. Both of which I really enjoyed and I don’t know whether to quit while I have great memories of those games and leave the others in the series which might not have aged well gameplay wise. It wouldn’t be so bad if each of them weren’t huge time sinks, but alas they are and I don’t want to feel as if it’s a chore to play them just to say I’ve played them all.

I know there are some big Yakuza fans here, so should I play any of them I’ve missed or do the above?

Kiwami 1 is a big comedown after 1. Kiwami 2 was great though. I started 3 but not gone back to it yet.

0 and Judgement are the top 2 so far.

[ColinAlonso]

As much as I enjoy the Yakuza series, I'm really glad that I spread them out to one a year. Even then, the risk of burnout is there.

I know there are some big Yakuza fans here, so should I play any of them I’ve missed or do the above?

Scrustle's summary is pretty accurate. 0 is my favourite followed by 5 and K2. 5 was made in the same engine as 0 but has 5 (4 fighting) characters rather than the switchable styles. The complaints about it being bloated are extremely valid though, I had only played 3 (years earlier) and 4 (the year before), so I was happy to really invest in it, which I doubt I would now after playing another 4 games in the series. I think another problem is that you'd be somewhat expected to know who the likes of Akiyama and Saejima (both introduced in 4) among others are. K2 is quite fun and a fair bit shorter. It is the same pair of locations as 0 though (2000's style).

[Alex79]

I might be imagining it, but the engine used in K2 seemed more polished than 0 and K1, too. I think gameplay-wise, the Kiwami games are absolutely worth playing. Just found the story dragged a little in K1, whereas it really kept me hooked till the end in the second game.

[Scrustle]

I might be imagining it, but the engine used in K2 seemed more polished than 0 and K1, too. I think gameplay-wise, the Kiwami games are absolutely worth playing. Just found the story dragged a little in K1, whereas it really kept me hooked till the end in the second game.

K2 is using the same engine that was introduced in 6. Everything from 3 to K1 used the previous engine, which did evolve over time though. But the engine for 6/K2 added a bunch of new graphical features and a more extensive physics engine.

I can see K2 being more polished than K1, but not really 0. K2 looks better I guess, but 0 is still really well put together, and more consistent too I'd say. In that you can still very obviously see PS2-level animations being used in that game.