Path of Exile 2 Early Access
Persona 3 Reload
Dynasty Warriors Origin (Sun, Liu, Cao)
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (Platinum)
Monster Hunter Wilds
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army
Digimon Survive
Trails Through Daybreak
Ghost of Yotei (Platinum)
I had a desire for some longer games and boy did I find them.
First I played Digimon Survive. As a big fan of Digimon games, I wasn't sure what to expect with this game. Turns out it is mainly a visual novel with a bit tactical RPG sprinkled in. Still the story was pretty good, a good successor to the Digimon anime, but more for the older audiences. The bonds were interesting and tied to the digimon, as well as the MCs decisions. Each digivolution felt well earned. And if they weren't enough, you can recruit digimon out in the world. My favorite digimon was included in the game so I was very satisfied. I used all my one time training bonuses to buff him up to be pretty strong, and then him and the MC digimon carried me through many fights. Speaking of gameplay, some of the levels were surprisingly challenging in the endgame. The game kept me engaged even in new game plus, which is a rare feat, but for this game, NG plus is necessary. I only played 1 route and the NG plus exclusive route, and apparently there are 2 other routes with interesting story changes and new digimon. Music was pretty decent. Overall a good game, well worth playing for any digimon fan.
Next I played Trails Through Daybreak. It was finally time I played my first Falcom game, yet another legendary JRPG developer. This game is chunky. It isn't all quality, but most of the time I was having fun. Story is good even with the limited voice acting. My mind can recreate the voices easy enough. However the repetitive nature of the game can get annoying. I definitely cannot play Trails Through Daybreak 2 for awhile. This game has many callbacks to the previous games, that I did not understand at all due to this being my first Trails game. One character included, I fell in love with and made sure to steer the story around her if given the chance. The last chapter felt kind of unnecessary, and such events happening would call for the leaders to be executed or exiled. The final boss also unnecessary and very surprising, but I got through it. The music is not up my high standards when it comes to JRPG music, but it was okay. Overall a good game, but I can't rate it higher than many other JRPG series. I will have to try some more.
And last night I finished Ghost of Yotei. Then the Platinum looked easy enough and took an extra 2 hours. It is very much like Ghost of Tsushima. There are a few things better in Ghost of Tsushima and a few things worse. However much like NG plus, the 2nd time around isn't quite as enjoyable. Still it wasn't bad, but maybe it is because I really want to play Nioh 3, that this game feels kind of bland in comparison. Obviously I enjoyed it enough to platinum it, but something just felt off the entire time I played it. I really enjoyed using the Odachi, and I wasn't afraid to use the other tools in the duels. In Ghost of Tsushima I always did the duels without the extra tools and it was great fun. In Ghost of Yotei, katana only felt frustrating. Maybe the timings felt different, or maybe I am just off. The snow place seemed to be 2 or 3 times as big as the other areas, which was strange. I rushed the Odachi and then went to the snow place after that area in order to get Odachi upgrades. But it forced me to dip my toes in the Ishikari plain for a bit to get the upgrades. I really enjoyed the Shamisen and the music. Overall a decent game, now make Infamous 4.
That is probably my last full game of the year, as I will go back to Nioh 2 DLC before Nioh 3. I never played the DLC since I completed the game so quickly at launch. And then I might play a bit of WoW to prepare for BC anniversary.
