Games Completed 2021

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Alex79
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Games Completed 2021

Post by Alex79 »

JAN - 80 Days (Android)

Thought I'd kick the year off with a run through an old favorite. This must be the 5th or 6th time I've played through it now and I'm sure the first time I've not actually succeeded. I ended up way over time and well in debt! Ran out of money in Japan and had to sell everything for a boat ticket to San Francisco, then had to wait ages for more funds at the bank. The game is endlessly playable, I've rarely had the same section of story more than once or twice, every adventure is new!
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dezm0nd
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by dezm0nd »

Horace

Loved it. A genuine surprise even after all the critical praise.
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Alex79
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Alex79 »

Alex79uk wrote: January 1st, 2021, 1:25 pmJAN - 80 Days (Android)
JAN - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)

I originally played this a while after it came out a few years back, and loved it straight away. I've been wanting to play it again for some time, and keep almost buying the Switch version, which is stupid since I already have it on PS4, so I thought to quell that urge to spend money pointlessly, I'd get it replayed on PS4 tonight so I don't feel the need to buy it again!

It's still incredible. The length is ideal, I've been watching a lot of films in the evening lately, and this filled that movie time slot perfectly. The story is beautifully touching right from the beginning, and that feeling lasts until the final moment of a lovely credits roll. There is an overwhelming sense of melancholy throughout the game, interspersed with fragments of joy and optimism, but ultimately, if you've played the game before, you know where each vignette is going.

A truly magnificent game, and one which on this second playthrough seems to have resonated even more than the first time. It's genuinely caused me to consider some of my own relationships, and the effort I put in to them, and that can't be a bad thing. I just love this game, and if you've somehow never played it, then I'd recommend it to just about anyone.
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Indiana747
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Indiana747 »

(Jan) Call of the Sea - Series X.
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Jon Cheetham »

Alex79uk wrote: January 3rd, 2021, 11:45 pm I've been wanting to play it again for some time, and keep almost buying the Switch version, which is stupid since I already have it on PS4, so I thought to quell that urge to spend money pointlessly, I'd get it replayed on PS4 tonight so I don't feel the need to buy it again!
This is a very sensible approach :lol:
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Angry_Kurt
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Angry_Kurt »

Accidentally put this in the 2020 thread, so:

1. GRIS
Started with a banger, it truly lived up to expectations. Even more beautiful in motion, stunning soundtrack which is one of my all time favourites now and fun puzzle platforming. Can't fault it in any way. 10/10
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

dezm0nd wrote: January 2nd, 2021, 1:46 am Horace

Loved it. A genuine surprise even after all the critical praise.
Have had this recommended a few times now even in the last few days! Will have to check it out!
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Sinclair Gregstrum
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Sinclair Gregstrum »

Jan - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)

A beautiful game that plays to all the strengths of the original while tightening up on some of its weaknesses and portraying a well told (if fairly derivative) story. It is much smaller in scope than the first game, but it was never meant as a full sequel and there's still a lot of content here as long as you embrace the side missions and collectibles along the way.

Overall I really enjoyed my time with the game, although I will say that they'll have to do something really interesting with the characters and setting to get me excited for the inevitable proper Spider-Man 2. Miles Morales does suffer from the fact that the best thing about it is exactly the same as the game that came before - swinging around Manhattan as Spider-Man. I'm just not sure that will be enough (for me at least) to warrant another £60 - £70 and 20+ hours of my time in future.
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Scrustle
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Re: Games Completed 2021

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05/01 - Brutal Legend

Finally finished this after all these years, but honestly I can't say my existing feelings about it have changed. If anything I'm just more sure of them. I really like the world and aesthetic, and the soundtrack is great, but I really dislike the actual game. As an action game it is subpar, and while I don't think I have enough experience to say how this compares to other strategy games, I found that aspect to be pretty unenjoyable too. The last two battles in particular were terrible. In fact that penultimate one was where I quit when I played this originally. It does have some interesting story aspects though, going in certain directions that you don't expect. But I wouldn't exactly call it a particularly good or moving story in any way either.
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NoMoreSpearows
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by NoMoreSpearows »

I've earned credits-viewing permission for Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, but unless I suddenly get very good at Checkers/Nine-Man's Morris/a bunch of other games, I won't be able to get all the medals.

At least there's Hanafuda to cheer me up.
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Re: Games Completed 2021

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Scrustle wrote: January 5th, 2021, 3:05 pm 05/01 - Brutal Legend

Finally finished this after all these years, but honestly I can't say my existing feelings about it have changed. If anything I'm just more sure of them. I really like the world and aesthetic, and the soundtrack is great, but I really dislike the actual game. As an action game it is subpar, and while I don't think I have enough experience to say how this compares to other strategy games, I found that aspect to be pretty unenjoyable too. The last two battles in particular were terrible. In fact that penultimate one was where I quit when I played this originally. It does have some interesting story aspects though, going in certain directions that you don't expect. But I wouldn't exactly call it a particularly good or moving story in any way either.
Completely agree with you. I like everything about it except the actual game! It could be an unpopular opinion but I felt the same (to a lesser extent) about psychonauts too.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Simonsloth »

January:

Tearaway Unfolded - Lost a lot of its charm for me in the transition from the vita. Still good though.

Astrobot Rescue Mission - wow! What a fantastic game. Clever use of VR and I’m surprised there hasn’t been a VR follow up.
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Combine Hunter »

06/01 - Monster Hunter: Iceborne (PS4/PS5)

Good ass expansion!
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duskvstweak
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by duskvstweak »

Combine Hunter wrote: January 6th, 2021, 11:57 pm 06/01 - Monster Hunter: Iceborne (PS4/PS5)

Good ass expansion!
How long did Iceborne last you?
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Combine Hunter »

Man, I have no idea. My Monster Hunter World clock is close to 188 hours if that helps.
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Scrustle
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Scrustle »

Spoiler: show
05/01 - Brutal Legend
07/01 - Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

I've had this sitting around in my library for ages but never had any intention of playing it until recently. But recently I've been hearing stuff about it that made it sound interesting. And I know this game has something of a notorious reputation for being a stripped down more narrative focused game compared to its predecessor, but given that I really enjoyed SOMA using the safe mode option, that actually made this sound more appealing.

I enjoyed this a fair bit, but I did have some issues. The atmosphere and tension it creates is brilliant. I'm often put off by horror games, and when I do try them I find that getting caught be an enemy either just makes me angry and annoyed, or it simply dissipated all the tension. Often both. So consistent with my experience of SOMA, I think there is something to horror games actually being more scary and compelling when the threat actually isn't such a big deal. If you focus on creating the illusion of a threat, instead of ever allowing a situation where that illusion can be broken, then it works much better.

The story is pretty good too, especially towards the end, and the dialogue is well written and delivered. It does somewhat drag in the middle though, and I think it's a result of the game perhaps being a bit too long. There are chapters in the middle where it doesn't feel like much progress is being made with the time being used, even when the whole thing only took me 5 hours. But it makes up for it in the end with a climactic sequence that ups the stakes a lot, and then has some very interesting and dramatic reveals at the end. Although I knew said reveals before starting actually. Originally I didn't care about spoilers for this, expecting I would never play it, but hearing them is part of what made me want to try myself. Even so, the final revelations and the way it is delivered is a pretty powerful moment regardless. That final monologue is really something.

One huge problem I had all the way through however is that the game's performance is just terrible. For at least half the time playing I was stuck at an awful juddery 40fps or so, seemingly for no reason. There's nothing about it that should be demanding, and I even got this same issue turning all the settings down. And it's completely inconsistent too. In the same area that I could be getting flawless 60fps one moment, it can suddenly tank down to 40 and stay there until I move on. And the reverse can happen too. And given that it comes and goes with no rhyme or reason, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with loading in new environment areas either. Upon taking a quick look online to see if there was a fix, it seems this is a widely known issue, but there doesn't seem to be any solution. It unfortunately did end up impacting my enjoyment of the game too.

Playing this also makes me think about my previous experience with The Chinese Room's work as well. I played Dear Esther way back when that first got a standalone release, and at the time I rather liked it. It was the first time I'd played a "walking simulator" type experience (still hate that term), and it was probably the first one of those to get a lot of attention. But I never really played much of the genre in the years since, and looking back I suspect that I probably wouldn't like Dear Esther anywhere near as much now. Even with my limited experience with other stuff like it, I think the genre has evolved massively since then and done way more interesting and innovative things. A Machine for Pigs on the other hand I think stands up fairly well, probably thanks to it being much more game-like. In Esther the story sort of just happens at you while you walk forward through landscapes that are only tangentially related to the narration. But with MfP, you feel much more involved in the story as the levels you go through are much more relevant to the plot. Not just in terms of the narration and events going on around you, but a big part of the themes and message of the story are embodied in the areas you explore and things you interact with.
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Jon Cheetham »

8th Jan - Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS4)

Big one to start the year. I got a craving for it in November and went straight into NG+. I respec'd my Ultra Greatsword wielding stronk boy into a Hexer which has been a huge amount of fun (it's mad how the Hexer trainer just gives you the best staff and gear for the build if your intelligence is high enough when you talk to him). I haven't done the DLC yet, just the main quest, although I did kill Vendrick this time to get the secret boss fight with Aldia and the alternate ending.

This playthrough has really solidified this as my favourite of the two sequels. By quite a bit. Firstly the world is melancholy and absorbing, it doesn't have interconnectedness the way Lordran (or Shulva or Brume, but that's another story) does but it just keeps you pushing forward from bonfire to bonfire in this really compelling way. It also has some of the best skyboxes and overall art design you could want to gaze at. Heide's Tower, the Dragon Aerie and the road up to Drangleic Castle are all these stunning setpieces unlike anything else in the series.

I feel it's underrated for its level design as well, even before the DLC. The Forest of Fallen Giants and Lost Bastille are labyrinthine, crumbling citadels with so much to discover. No Man's Wharf is gloomy, compact, full of jump scares and strong enemies that make you want to inch carefully over every new bit of ground covered, at least until you've started lighting the torches to stake your claim there. Even the much-maligned Iron Keep feels like it is a mashup of elements of Anor Londo and Sen's Fortress in a pretty fun, if tough way.

Secondly the diversity of combat which fans of the game often mention, I was going from caster to dual wield to two-handing to turtle-poking all in one build. An endgame build admittedly, but that certainly isn't a possibility for my endgame characters in the other two games, at least not if I want to be doing decent damage. The Bonfire Ascetics and Soul Vessels mean you can re-do things and the world is open to approach how you want.

And of course the stories - Lucatiel, as explained brilliantly by CJ guesting on the C&R ep. Cale the cartographer who pores over his map, enthusing over the fires that light as you make progress the whole game, until you've lit all of them at which point he falters and then asks who you are. The enigmatic Aldia with an absolutely cracking voiceover performance. Encountering Vendrick in the past, sat alone and broken, and you know he'll just sit there until he hollows completely because you've just seen what becomes of him. Indelible stuff.

Dark Souls Remastered apparently didn't sell too well on the Switch which is a shame, but I'd love it if this somehow got ported over so I can play even more of it.
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by ironedflemming »

9/1 Yakuza 4 Remastered (PS5)

Another solid entry in the series, enjoyed the 3 new playable characters and their fight styles and respective story arcs. Plot and tone get increasingly ridiculous as the game goes on but that's par for the course with this series :)
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by Megadirt »

after never getting the genre, i eventually pushed through and fell in love with the Demons souls remake.

So this week I finished Dark Souls Remastered, and i’m half way through DS2.

They really are something else.
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Re: Games Completed 2021

Post by duskvstweak »

I finished Fallout: New Vegas last night. Before that, I did complete two of the DLCs, Honest Hearts and Old World Blues. I think that did me a disservice because, before that, I was 100% into the game and enjoying the whole thing more than I did Fallout 3. But, those DLCs sort of wore me out and slowed me down. Once I was out of Old World Blues, I cruised through the rest of the game. It helped that I was now a much higher level and decked out with new weapons. Also, in terms of New Vegas' praises, I did have to stop for the night and think about what choice I would make near the endgame, when certain deals were being made. Any game that forces me to roleplay like that is doing it right.
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