Darashiva on 16 September 2023
One new game to the list this time. I think I'll cut some of the text from previous games before the list becomes too wordy.
Finished Games:
- Monster Hunter World (+Iceborne) (PS4) My rating: 9/10
- I spent roughly 150 hours playing through MHW, and I never once got tired of hunting monsters and trying to find more materials to craft new weapons and armor.
- Superhot (PS4) My rating: 8/10
- A fun puzzle game with a unique gimmick and a clever twist to its story.
- Control (PS4) My rating: 9 / 10
- Remedy's best game so far. I love the setting, story, characters, and gameplay. The developer has created a world that is wonderfully twisted in various small ways, leading to a constant sense of unease as nothing feels completely right, from the way characters act to the Oldest House itself.
- Katamari Damacy REROLL (Switch) My rating: 8.5 / 10
- A wonderful game to just lean back and relax for a while. Something delightfully cathartic to just roll everything in sight into a giant rolling ball of destruction.
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (PC) My rating: 8.5 / 10
- Been on a really good roll when it comes to video games lately, and Senua's Sacrifice was another great game to add to the list. Ninja Theory have long been one of my favourite developers, but I didn't get around to this game until now for whatever reason. Still, I'm glad I finally did because it's great. The story is well-told and intriguing, but the true star here is Senua herself and her characterization as a person losing her grip on reality and suffering from psychosis.
- Cadence of Hyrule (Switch) My Rating: 8 / 10
- A fun, rhythm action game with a few shortcomings that keep if from true greatness. The Hyrule setting is great, and the gameplay is a lot of fun once you get accustomed to it. I played the game through with my wife in co-op, and for the most part it's a great for that. There are a few battles that feel a bit unfair in co-op, but otherwise no issues with the game.
- Cosmic Star Heroine (PC) My Rating: 7.5 / 10
- Basically a tribute to classic SNES era JRPGs with some modern concessions. The battle system is fast-paced and fun, the story moves at a very brisk pace, and the characters are instantly identifiable as separate people. However, the pace of the story is bit too fast, as very few moments get time to breathe, and as a result end up lacking in impact. It also leaves many of the characters woefully underdeveloped. The game could have taken a little more time to let the story develop.
- Super Mario RPG (SNES) My Rating: 7.5 / 10
- I had never actually finished Super Mario RPG before. I had played the very beginning a long time ago on an emulator, but I figured that since I have the SNES classic I should finally get around to playing it properly. I did, and it's good. It's a simple, lighthearted, RPG with a nice, quirky sense of humour and an enjoyable battle system.
- Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (PS4) My Rating: 8 / 10
- The first game in the Atelier-series I've actually played, though I've had my eyes on it for a long time. A relaxing, relatively easy RPG with a decent storyline, good cast, surprisingly varied battle system, and an item creation system that actually becomes very deep as the game progresses. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this one, and I'll probably come back for the sequels too at some point.
- The Legend of Dragoon (PS4) My Rating: 10 / 10
- I've talked about this one enough already. One of my favourite games ever. I do wish they would have done a little more with this rerelease, even if it was just an updated translation, because the English language script is just awful, and is easily the worst part of the game. The voice acting is the one other notable shortcoming, though that's more a sign of the era it was released in than anything else.
- Pinstripe (PC) My Rating: 7 / 10
- A 2D platformer with a cool art style and responsive gameplay. Not very challenging either. The story is quite good, with a few nice twists thrown in near the end. It is, however, very short, my one playthrough clocking in at barely 2.5 hours. There are two endings, so you can get more out of the game if you want.
- AER: Memories of Old (PC) My Rating: 7.5 / 10
- A relaxing open world game where the focus is heavily on just flying around the world solving simple puzzles and listening to the story unfold. A nice little game to just wind down and experience once. The idea of a character being able to just turn into a bird at will and fly around the world freely is something I'd like to see explored more in games.
- Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS3) My Rating: 9 / 10
- The third time I've played through DS2. Still the weakest in the series, still great, though I have to admit the game's flaws become more and more apparent as time passes and new games show how things can be done better. Will probably fall down a bit in my year end top 50.
- Astro's Playroom (PS5) My Rating: 8 / 10
- Finally bought a PS5 for myself, and it felt fitting to play Astro's Playroom first. A genuinely fun, nostalgia-filled journey through the history of PlayStation. An easy game to play, but it's a perfect showcase for the controller, and I had a smile on my face through most of the game as I came across all the little nods, references and Easter eggs to past games and consoles found everywhere.
- Horizon Forbidden West + Burning Shores (PS5) My Rating: 9/10
- I spent almost 90 hours in this game over the last few weeks, and I never once got bored of playing it. I loved the expanded gameplay options from the first game, the increased focus on character development, the continuation of the story to some really unexpected directions, and the setting in general. While the first game felt like Aloy's journey to discover the history of the world as well as her own past, FW was much more about her learning to trust others and forging closer relationships with people, while obviously also fighting to save the world.
- Valkyria Chronicles (PS4) My Rating: 9.5/10
- This was my third time playing through Valkyria Chronicles after I realized that it had been almost ten years since I last played it. Still remains one of my all-time favourite games, with a great story, excellent characters, beautiful visuals, a satisfying battle system, and one of Hitoshi Sakimoto's best scores, which is saying a lot.
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero (PS4) My Rating: 8.5/10
- The 8th game in The Legend of Heroes-series I've finished, and I have to say it's one of the weaker ones as a whole. Admittedly, the bar for me is quite high when it comes to this series, and even a game this good isn't among the best in it. Basically, this is still an excellent game in just about every aspect, but the characters, storyline, and music just don't quite reach the heights of the Trails in the Sky or Trails of Cold Steel subseries.
- Gravity Rush (PS4) My Rating: 8/10
- Another replay I decided to do when I realized it'd been almost six years since I played Gravity Rush. Still a thoroughly enjoyable game, with unique gameplay revolving around the use of gravity, a fascinating world, and an interesting set of main characters. Need to replay the sequel at some point as well.
- Stray (PS5) My Rating: 8/10
- Another game with a wonderfully realized world, a beautiful visual style, and certainly a unique perspective from which the player experiences it. Stray may not be a masterpiece, but it certainly warranted the hype it received from being "the cat game". A fun journey that lasts just long enough, and doesn't overstay its welcome.
- FAR: Lone Sails (PC) My Rating: 7.5/10
- A simple, quite intentionally straightforward game that lets the players' imagination fill in the finer details of the game's world and story. A short experience as well, as my first time playthrough was done in well under three hours. Very much a game where the journey matters more than the destination.
- Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Switch) My Rating: 8.5/10
- Finally got around to playing Xenoblade after the game had been sitting on my shelf for well over a year. My experience with the Xeno-games is limited to Xenosaga II back on the PS2, so I was very much looking forward to playing this one. The game had very high expectations placed on it thanks to so many people talking about how great these games are, and for the most part it lived up to those expectations.
- First, the soundtrack is every bit as great as its reputation would have you believe, with a huge number of excellent tracks from a number of different composers. The world itself is a fascinating and unique place, and the history and lore of the world is definitely intriguing.
- The gameplay, story, and characters are more of a mixed bag. The battle system is fun, once you get a few dozen hours into the game and unlock enough abilities for each character to they become less repetitive. I also disliked how some boss battles felt like there was exactly one way to win, and if you used an ability earlier than you were supposed to because you didn't know it was going to be necessary, it became really frustrating to try and push through those battles.
- The story similarly gets very good eventually, but it takes a long time to get there. It's been a while since I've last played a game that delights in wasting the players time with pointless extra steps in order to proceed. A prime example is fairly early on in the story, where in order to unlock the path forward you must find a specific set of items, only to realize once you've done that the path forward is broken and you need to take a different one anyway. I feel like you could easily cut at least 10 to 15 hours off from the game and miss nothing of value.
- In terms of characters, most of the main cast ends up growing on you, but again it takes a while for some of them to go beyond a frustrating annoyance. Some I liked instantly, but it felt like there was always a decent change that any new character the game introduced was going to be annoying.
- This is still unquestionably a great game and well worth playing, but I've played plenty of better RPGs. Still, I am looking forward to getting to the sequels at some point.
Actively Playing:
- Final Fantasy XVI (PS5)
Games in Queue:
- Persona 5 Royal
- The Witcher-trilogy
- Octopath Traveller II
- Demon's Souls
- Nier: Replicant
- Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age
- Tales of Vesperia
- Yakuza Kiwami
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- God of War: Ragnarök
- ...and too many others to list
