Games Completed 2020
Re: Games Completed 2020
I was going to talk a little more about the Halo tie-in media versus how other game series have done it, but I think that’s probably its own thread. So I shall go make one.
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SludgeWizard
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Re: Games Completed 2020
Finally finished Octopath Traveler.
While I enjoyed the combat and REALLY enjoyed the art style, I think that the game really dragged by the end. I finished at just under 70 hours and would have enjoyed it way more if they had chopped at least 20-25 hours off.
That's mostly to do with the story (stories). I didn't find a single one of them enjoyable or surprising, and if you've ever come across a story like the ones in this game you know how they end 20 minutes after they start.
At first I enjoyed the simplicity of them, like a fairy tale or something, but the game just went on too long and I found myself skipping the cut scenes by the end.
Semi-related, did anybody who played this game come across any fun side quests? Every one I found was boring or simple to the point of me not understanding why it was there in the first place. More than one had me talk to a guy, walk 15 feet to another guy and buy something, then walk back to the first guy. End of quest.
Maybe the end game has better quests? Or maybe I just missed them, since I honestly stopped seeking them out.
While I enjoyed the combat and REALLY enjoyed the art style, I think that the game really dragged by the end. I finished at just under 70 hours and would have enjoyed it way more if they had chopped at least 20-25 hours off.
That's mostly to do with the story (stories). I didn't find a single one of them enjoyable or surprising, and if you've ever come across a story like the ones in this game you know how they end 20 minutes after they start.
At first I enjoyed the simplicity of them, like a fairy tale or something, but the game just went on too long and I found myself skipping the cut scenes by the end.
Semi-related, did anybody who played this game come across any fun side quests? Every one I found was boring or simple to the point of me not understanding why it was there in the first place. More than one had me talk to a guy, walk 15 feet to another guy and buy something, then walk back to the first guy. End of quest.
Maybe the end game has better quests? Or maybe I just missed them, since I honestly stopped seeking them out.
Re: Games Completed 2020
JUL - Watch Dogs 2 (PS4)Alex79uk wrote: 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)
This was a lot of fun. It served a real purpose for me over the last couple of weeks. I've just started my long-delayed Social Worker work placement, working with adults with dementia and mental health issues, and my days have been pretty heavy going to say the least. This was a perfect popcorn game to sit and play in the evenings, total brain turn off and just enjoy hooning around a city, blowing stuff up and crashing cars. The flimsy, Hollywood story didn't require much effort to follow, the gameplay was relatively simple and even the hacking puzzles weren't tricky. It's just a really fun game, almost akin to something like Just Cause, where you can just sit back and enjoy. The fact the characters were so likeable and good to spend time with was a bonus, too.
And re: the story, I'm so glad that...
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Games Completed 2020
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The portable Vanias I've played before this (Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow) have both been really great, but this is my clear favourite. This goes back to the artisitc stylings of SOTN and Aria (ditching the anime look of Dawn and Portrait), the original music is REALLY great and the gameplay is this fascinating hybrid of classic and post SOTN style Vania, which results in something that doesn't feel like it's under SOTN's shadow and is great for reasons all its own. Be warned, while not classic Vania hard, this is tougher than its more recent relatives, but it never stumbles into sadistic levels of difficulty. As long as you observe and learn the patterns, you'll get through. HIGHLY recommended.
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Games Completed 2020
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Not going to diverge from popular consensus at all here - I loved it to bits. It might even be my favourite Resident Evil, having played quite a lot of them. The encounters are devious and fun, the weapons are some of the most satisfying in any game I've played, the world design is fabulous, the merchant is a legend and I even liked a lot of the bosses. Nothing like the squelch when you shoot a Resident Evil boss monster in its weak spot. I found a couple of things frustrating, e.g. a couple of instant-fail QTEs at the end of long-ish sections. The highs of this game are so high though that none of these could blemish it, and it has definitely found its way to my heart.
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SludgeWizard
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Re: Games Completed 2020
This has always been on my list, but never close enough to the top where I chose it over something else. But I like how you made it sound, may hit the spot for me too, so next time it's super cheap (which is often) I may pick it up.
Re: Games Completed 2020
Do you have a PS4? It's currently on PS Now which has a weeks free trial. You could probably finish it in a week if you put the time in.SludgeWizard wrote: ↑July 24th, 2020, 2:20 pmThis has always been on my list, but never close enough to the top where I chose it over something else. But I like how you made it sound, may hit the spot for me too, so next time it's super cheap (which is often) I may pick it up.
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duskvstweak
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Re: Games Completed 2020
Finished a play through of the first Halo, via the Master Chief collection on PC with the original graphics. It's funny, I remember getting lost in the library a lot back in 2002, but, even without the Anniversary graphics, I found my way through easily. It's just a really boring, relative chunk of level design. But, the game is still a lot of fun and a good time, minus some vehicle controls. Anyway, that's my 2020 hot take on Halo!
Re: Games Completed 2020
I played the original Halo on PC when it came out and have never been back. I know I really enjoyed it, but remember only two things about the game. Tearing up and down the beach in a Warthog, and that bloody awful library level!duskvstweak wrote: ↑July 24th, 2020, 7:12 pm Finished a play through of the first Halo, via the Master Chief collection on PC with the original graphics. It's funny, I remember getting lost in the library a lot back in 2002, but, even without the Anniversary graphics, I found my way through easily. It's just a really boring, relative chunk of level design. But, the game is still a lot of fun and a good time, minus some vehicle controls. Anyway, that's my 2020 hot take on Halo!
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duskvstweak
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Re: Games Completed 2020
I played it co-op on Xbox over a friends house and then solo on PC. I've enjoyed it every time. It might be worth going back to with the Master Chief collection! You can switch between new and old graphics and it's still a smooth ride. And with the library, it's just move forward and turn something else on to listen to for the however long your there time!Alex79uk wrote: ↑July 25th, 2020, 12:44 amI played the original Halo on PC when it came out and have never been back. I know I really enjoyed it, but remember only two things about the game. Tearing up and down the beach in a Warthog, and that bloody awful library level!duskvstweak wrote: ↑July 24th, 2020, 7:12 pm Finished a play through of the first Halo, via the Master Chief collection on PC with the original graphics. It's funny, I remember getting lost in the library a lot back in 2002, but, even without the Anniversary graphics, I found my way through easily. It's just a really boring, relative chunk of level design. But, the game is still a lot of fun and a good time, minus some vehicle controls. Anyway, that's my 2020 hot take on Halo!
Re: Games Completed 2020
JUL - The Gardens Between (Android)Alex79uk wrote: 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)
Boring, twee nonsense. I'll post full thoughts in the podcast thread, but I felt like this game tried to illicit an emotional response that it made no effort whatsoever to earn. One of the dullest games I've played in a while, and I say that with genuine disappointment.
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ColinAlonso
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Re: Games Completed 2020
My feelings on Octopath weren't too different, maybe a bit more positive. Although it has one of my favourite soundtracks in JRPGs.
Did you just finish the 8 stories or actually take on the final boss? It loosely ties some threads from the 8 stories together, though I found nothing particularly satisfying about it. I had to look up how to get to it as its hidden behind a few sidequests and it is bonus boss-style hard so I never beat it.
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Indiana747
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Re: Games Completed 2020
(Jan) Far Cry New Dawn - XB1X.
(Jan) Darksiders 3 - XB1X.
(Feb) Borderlands 3 - XB1X.
(Mar) Remnant: From the Ashes - XB1X.
(Mar) Farming Simulator 17 - XB1X.
(Mar) Tracks-The Train Set Game - XB1X.
(Apr) Vanquish Remastered - XB1X.
(Apr) Deliver Us The Moon - XB1X.
(May) DOOM Eternal - XB1X.
(July) The Last of Us Part 2 - PS4 Pro.
(July) Assassin's Creed Odyssey - PS4 Pro.
(July) Resident Evil 3 Remake - PS4 Pro.
(Jan) Darksiders 3 - XB1X.
(Feb) Borderlands 3 - XB1X.
(Mar) Remnant: From the Ashes - XB1X.
(Mar) Farming Simulator 17 - XB1X.
(Mar) Tracks-The Train Set Game - XB1X.
(Apr) Vanquish Remastered - XB1X.
(Apr) Deliver Us The Moon - XB1X.
(May) DOOM Eternal - XB1X.
(July) The Last of Us Part 2 - PS4 Pro.
(July) Assassin's Creed Odyssey - PS4 Pro.
(July) Resident Evil 3 Remake - PS4 Pro.
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JadePhoenix
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Re: Games Completed 2020
Apr - July
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky/SC/The 3rd
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero/to Azure
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1/2/3
I decided about three months ago that I was going to give the Legend of Heroes: Trails games a shot, and once I started, I just couldn't stop. Each game is individually a great JRPG experience, but it's in the shared world that the magic really happens. To my knowledge, no other series of games has tried to do what Trails does, by telling one continuous story across multiple series' of games, and it's a fantastic success. Each series explores a different portion of this massive world that's being built, and seeing familiar faces from past games never gets old. I cannot wait to see the end of the current arc when Cold Steel 4 releases this fall, and to see where the series goes after that.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky/SC/The 3rd
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero/to Azure
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1/2/3
I decided about three months ago that I was going to give the Legend of Heroes: Trails games a shot, and once I started, I just couldn't stop. Each game is individually a great JRPG experience, but it's in the shared world that the magic really happens. To my knowledge, no other series of games has tried to do what Trails does, by telling one continuous story across multiple series' of games, and it's a fantastic success. Each series explores a different portion of this massive world that's being built, and seeing familiar faces from past games never gets old. I cannot wait to see the end of the current arc when Cold Steel 4 releases this fall, and to see where the series goes after that.
Re: Games Completed 2020
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Replaying an old favourite again. This game is a pretty important to me, and for the history of the medium too I think. It's the game that really kicked off the boom in popularity of arty indie games by being the first one that was a breakout hit on consoles, showing how games like this can find an audience through digital download. That context is also why it's a big deal to me, as it was the first time I'd played a game like this, and was responsible for me appreciating similar games in the years after, leading me to many other games that mean a lot to me. Like OneShot that I just discovered last month, and haven't been able to stop thinking about since playing.
So it's curious to see how this stands up after all these years. This is the first time I've fully played through it since it first came out, but I have dabbled around with it a few times in the years since though, and I always remember still liking it those times. But actually playing it through properly, I think it does still stand up well, although I have to admit it doesn't feel quite as special as it used to. I still really like the aesthetic and feel of it. The lush, dreamlike painterly art style still looks great, and the soothing and tender music compliments it so well too. And the puzzles are mostly pretty good, and the way it toys with the flow of time in so many different ways is impressive and inventive as ever.
But I think the way some of them are presented are a bit obtuse, and it's not great at communicating how the puzzle works. Sometimes these puzzles can be sort of compelling, and stick in your mind after you stop playing, and when you come back to it later you have a revelation and see something you didn't think of before, and that's great. But on a few occasions it doesn't feel like the solution is particularly fair, like trying to figure it out through experimenting with your abilities feels like banging your head against a wall, and you just have to magically know the answer. So I have a bit less patience for that kind of thing these days, and I feel like games have learned better ways to teach the player since. And even if the mechanics are still interesting, they do lose something on account of the loss of novelty. Those things are only really a small mark on an otherwise very good game though.
Re: Games Completed 2020
Glad it's held up well, I'd still happily put it in my all time list, but I've not played it in a while. I wonder what Blow is up to these days, he doesn't seem to be working on a game as far as I know, last time I checked he seemed to be working on an engine or something. Shame, as he's been responsible for probably my two favorite puzzle games ever.
Re: Games Completed 2020
I actually looked up what he's up to while revisiting Braid, and he is working on something. Although he's pretty quiet about it, like he was with The Witness. Apparently he's making a game codenamed "Sokoban", since it's based around the same concept as the original game of that name. Looks like a block pushing thing. Last time it showed up though was an early prototype he showed in 2018.
Re: Games Completed 2020
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My thoughts haven't changed much from what I said earlier here, but I do have a few things to add. The RPG loot grind does start to outstay its welcome a bit as the game goes on, and the latter third of the game starts dragging a bit. All the stuff I liked at first are still a lot of fun by the end, with the great feeling combat especially, but I feel like the game could do with being a bit shorter than it is. Even though it's not an especially long game (17ish hours for me), it does feel a tad stretched out longer than it can justify. It would feel better if it was a bit more focused. But it's still a really fun and visually impressive shooter, and it has a few pretty good boss fights as well.
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Combine Hunter
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Re: Games Completed 2020
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A game I always knew I loved and had pretty much seen everything in it through videos, streams, listening to the soundtrack, etc, etc. But had never quite got to the finish line myself. Really glad I have now. I think Demon's Souls has some wrinkles when compared to even the first Dark Souls, but it's filled with such cool ideas that more than make up for it.
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duskvstweak
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Re: Games Completed 2020
Finished Halo 2 over the weekend. It's a lot of fun, though for some reason I'm really bad at the Arbiter sections? I learned to loath the brutes and their bullet sponginess. I had forgotten that this game introduced duel wielding, which really is a whole bunch of fun from the start. I wish there were more Earth levels like the Black Hawk Down section and I kind of shut down during the story, but it's a fun ride. And those original graphics still look pretty good!
Anyway, on to Halo 3.
Anyway, on to Halo 3.