Just Finished: The Last Guardian (PS4)

The framerate struggles quite a bit. No wonder the game could not be completed on the PS3. The controls and camera are wonky as well. Trico is adorable of course. The environments, architecture and level design are wonderfully detailed but disappointingly empty. Never have I craved collectibles so badly in a game, something akin to the treasures in Uncharted would have been welcome. The protagonist is also adorable and brave. I'm glad the game was made and kudos to Sony for not canceling it but I think the game could have used more polish and refinement to make the game more player-friendly. It's rare to see a game where the only objective is to get from point A to point B with little in the way in combat. The environmental puzzles can seem obtuse. The enemies are annoying and not enjoyable to deal with. The story is sparse. I did feel a real bond with Trico but you do not get much in the way of plot development or lore. So long Team Ico. Thanks for the memories.

7/10

Full Completed 2020 List:

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered (PS4)
• New Super Mario Bros U (Switch)
• Resistance 3 (PS3)
• God of War (PS4)
• Call of Duty Black Ops III (PS4)
• Bioshock (PS4)
• Shadow of the Colossus (PS4)
• Killzone HD (PS Now)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
• Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS Now)
• Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD (PS4)
• Bayonetta (Switch)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
• Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Gamecube)
• Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7 (PS Now)
• Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4)
• Flower (PS Now)
• Trine 2: Complete Story (PS4)
• The Last Guardian (PS4)

Rating system changed to another type I use - more simplified this way. Based on a Low-Mid-High scale, signifying how strong something is at the given numeric value it's at. Also bumped down Bioshock and Paper Mario numerically based off further contemplation (and Republic Command in terms of low-mid-high).  

Mega Man 1 (Nestopia and then replayed on NS the next day) [Finished July 31st, 2020] - Rating: Mid 7/10 - Really Good:

A pretty strong first entry held back by a lot of bullshit game design. However, and I'll be honest, that bullshit game design often doesn't detract as much as you'd think, given the power of save states and rewind functions offered in the NS version. It's unfortunate that those gameplay flaws exist, a lot of trial and error and bad respawn points can fuck over newcomers. And some parts, like the beginning of Elec Man's stage (which will take most of your time in that stage, by far) are just flat out unfun. At the same time, a lot of the game design is helped by the idea of collecting new arms for you to exploit. Breaking the game or finding new ways to interact with it are super fun, and I think knowing some of the things that I didn't know the first two times I played it (like that the bombs you acquire from Bombman can be used to destroy the little roomba's that annoyingly attack you in the beginning of the aforementioned Elec Man section) will make it great to come back to. Also has a pretty great soundtrack, it's not one of the best ever but a decent amount of themes really standout. 

Mega Man 2 (NS) [Finished August 7th, 2020] - Rating: High 5/10 - Mediocre: 

Mega Man 2 took the formula of 1, and improved it in so few ways, while still having a lot of the same problems and even adding on top of it new ones. Right away the fact that most bosses don't have an obvious weakness, is stupid. I understand trying to add more depth to the roster by making the bosses various themes more complex, but obscuring their weakness to this extent just makes the rock-paper-scissors aspect of Mega Man nearly non-existent and less fun. On top of that, a lot of the weapons are virtually useless in most scenarios, making a lot of your arsenal pathetic. Even the level design, while generally improved, is arguably more obnoxious at times - like that level that basically forces you to have a certain weapon to play it at all (unless you exploit the rewind feature to have frame perfect timing, which I did), effectively removing the ability to do whatever level you want in whichever order. Mega Man 2 has some nice improvements, the physics are less weird, the game is generally more fair. But it’s just less fun in almost every way. The soundtrack is about as good as one too, with Bubble Man’s theme being possibly one of my favorite tracks in gaming history, but I also think there’s probably a few less standout tracks that one. 

Super Metroid (Snes9x) [Finished August 9th, 2020] - Rating: Low 8/10 - Great: 

In a weird way, I feel like this game getting a great score is rather tame. Like it gets it by default, just for being a good Metroid title. It didn’t really impress me in many ways, as someone who started the 2D entries with Zero Mission. It does contain some of the best music I’ve experienced from the franchise so far (Brinstar Depths, Jungle Floor, and Criteria Surface), but also some fairly standard tracks, and some that would later be massively improved upon (Vs. Ridley, Ridley’s Lair). The controls aren’t nearly as smooth as the GBA games and lack the functional simplicity. I might appreciate this a lot more upon replay, since there’s a lot of options and different orders you can go in. But I also wonder how much appreciation I could have without knowing speedrunning strategies or sequence breaks. The bosses are weird, they are sometimes cool but often too gimmicky for my tastes. Even the graphics are an area where I’m divided - the darker shading and more detailed boss designs create a more horror-esque artstyle which is attractive to the eye, but it’s offset with rather bland and dull color palettes for a lot of the basic enemies and environments. It’s frustrating, there’s a colorful and vibrant beautifulness represented in the GBA games which forgo the bleak undertone of the Metroid IP; whilst Super represents the depressing isolation of the series with few of the majestic alien qualities of the other titles. This is surely an area where Metroid Prime exceeded, ultimately merging the two styles. Similarly, upgrades in this game are perhaps a bit too hard to come upon, whereas in the GBA games they are far too easy to find at random. I give this game a lot of respect though for the tough-as-nails final Ridley battle. With only around 6-8 energy tanks (I can’t remember exactly) and few power bomb/missile upgrades, it took all I got to beat Ridley, adding a lot of playtime to an otherwise relatively short title.

Metroid Fusion (VisualBoyAdvance) [Finished August 22nd, 2020] - Rating: Low 9/10 - Amazing: 

Metroid Fusion has the most obvious flaws of all the Metroid games I’ve played. It’s story is mostly stupid and inconsistent, it beats the player over the head, and by far the coolest part about it, the SA-X, doesn’t nearly live up to it’s full potential. And was quite overhyped by it’s fanbase, might I add, especially with such a disappointing final encounter, both being too easy when you first start by fighting the SA-X replica of yourself, and by being very unimaginative with it’s generic monster final form (not to mention that bullshit final chase sequence before encountering it, my god…). Still, what makes this the most fun I’ve had with a 2D Metroid on initial playthrough, is the pacing. It’s absolutely consistent throughout, and while I’m not keen on the lack of exploration, the game has very few stumbles. The bosses are also pretty good, if a little inmemorable visually. They have very tight damage boxes and very erratic speeds, but their patterns are fairly easy to figure out and they are always fun to fight. The overall difficulty of bosses is the best and most balanced in the series, nothing is extremely hard here but everything is somewhat challenging. I expected more to be done with the space station gimmick, but was mostly disappointed in this regard as I just ended up getting a robot guard or two.  Even the ability to house multiple environments nonsensically through virtual “biospheres” maintained on the ship is not really put to much use, making the game progressively less linear by having the SA-X destroy the secured walls surrounding each environment could have been interesting, as we’d see the enemies and different atmospheres intermingle, but alas such is not the case. Still, this game is fun from beginning to end, never drags, and has the great controls of Zero Mission. There’s a lot to criticize, but also a lot to love. 

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (NS) [Finished September 23rd, 2020] - Rating: High 8/10 - Great: 

One of the best stories I’ve played in a game. It would be the best, but not gonna lie … the fifth case dampered a decent amount of my enjoyment. It’s not even terrible, and it gets pretty good towards the end (similar to case 3, which also is one of my lesser favorites), but it ruins the pacing of the game considering it comes right after the original ending, and ends on a lesser note compared to that original ending. It feels repetitive, having somewhat similar story beats and also not completing Edgeworth’s character arc quite as neatly. Still, I really think there’s something to be said about how intelligently written this game is. Especially how almost every case leads back to Edgeworth. His trials and tribulations are really the spotlight that Ace Attorney shines so brightly with, and the game can be described more as a story about him than anyone else. But the fact that you have him, on top of one of the most relatable grumpy main characters ever in Phoenix Wright, and his lovable sidekick Maya, just adds so much flavor to the game. Great character writing with sometimes shakey gameplay reasoning, and a fifth case which feels unnecessary and kind of lessens the ending. Still a lot to love. 

Paper Mario: The Origami King [Finished October 14th, 2020] - Rating: High 8/10 - Great: 

REaD mY ThOuGhTs

No More Heroes [Finished November 4th, 2020] - Rating: High 6/10 - Good:

Despite giving this a 6/10, I actually don’t feel too disappointed with this title. Which is odd to say, because at its peak it was a 9/10 on an enjoyment level. The biggest takeaway from it is the presentation, not just the cell-shading and pixel art fanservice (which is great), but the way the game uses presentation and gameplay to serve the story.  Not cutting to a different location after defeating each boss is a brilliant move, as it really brings home the gritty reality of your actions after each boss encounter, taking you down from the prior high. Doing manual labor in-between assassinations is also, originally, a neat novelty that makes a lot of sense thematically. However, what I think really brings this game down is the repetition of it all. As the barrier of entry for missions increases from a price-perspective, the amount of income from chores and low-skilled assassinations does not rise to match the inflation in pricing. So you get more repetition with side missions as the game progresses, which actually feels like it makes less sense from a story perspective. Wouldn’t an up-and-coming assassin have to do a lot more menial work to do than someone who’s proved themselves? It’s just bad for game pacing too, and comes off as padding despite originally being a neat concept. The biggest issue of all though, is the boss design. God, I despise the boss design of No More Heroes. At first it was relatively fine, but it quickly became a game of the bosses being relatively easy to hit … just … monotonous. They have invincibility frames active for 85% of their moves, so you can only hit them at very specific times despite always seeming open to interception (this is something Bayonetta and DMC did much better), and worst of all halfway through the battle they shell up so that the 15% of the time they are susceptible to damage becomes much less frequent. You also get a lot of bullshit gimmicks and one hit kills halfway through bosses, which can sometimes be activated unfairly on the player (this game is very guilty of allowing bosses to activate a one-hit-kill move too fast and too close to the player so that they can’t react in a reasonable amount of time). People accuse Dark Souls of being boring because “all you do is hit, then dodge and roll”, but at least in that game it can genuinely be hard to dodge the bosses, and attacks are much more telegraphed. No More Heroes’ bossfights are boring and repetitive to an insane degree, and it’s sad because they’re by far the parts that have the most charm in them. They are the meat of the game, as it were, but they also expose a lot of the titles biggest issues. What’s sad is that after years of hearing about how No More Heroes combat was too simplistic …. the actual skeleton of the combat system allows for a decent amount of complexity especially compared to other simpler action titles out there, it’s just never utilized at all. And the fucking power ups … my god. Not only are they usually useless, but they actually make gameplay worse in most occasions,  by making the player slower and activating when you don’t want them to (why not make it like say, a Mario game, where you can put a power up in a single inventory slot to use when you want?) and just generally being counterintuitive to productive slaying. Also, the various subtext and subversion elements of the story kind of hit their peak halfway through the game and just weaken as it goes on. It becomes more self-parody by the end and somewhat forgets the main theme, I feel. Still, a pretty fun game all things considered. Just with a lot of major flaws.

twelfth update (124 completed games):

Games I've finished in 2020:

• The Banner Saga (Game Pass)
  
• The Banner Saga 2 (Game Pass / GwG)
• Rage 2 (Game Pass)
• Battlefield V (EA Access)
• Batman: The Telltale Series (GwG)
• Sea of Solitude (EA Access)
• FIFA 20 (EA Access)
• Zombieland: Double Tap - Road Trip (Free Play Days)
• DYING: Reborn
• Your Toy
• Wandersong (Game Pass)
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey
• Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn
• Crimson Dragon (Game Pass)
• FoxyLand
• Project Starship
• Gravity Duck
• Reed Remastered
• Call of Cthulhu (GwG)
• Subnautica (Game Pass)
• Indivisible (Game Pass)
• The Jackbox Party Pack 3 (Game Pass)
• Haimrik
• Miles & Kilo
• Batman: The Enemy Within - The Telltale Series (GwG)
  
• Captain Cat
• Mekabolt
• Tanky Tanks
• Far Cry 5
• Far Cry New Dawn
• Vampyr (Game Pass)
• Aborigenus
• Black The Fall
• Twin Robots: Ultimate Edition
• Quiplash
• Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion (GwG)
• A Plague Tale: Innocence (Game Pass)
• Guts and Glory
• Surviving Mars (Game Pass)
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of the Year Edition (Game Pass)
• Apocalipsis: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
• Toybox Turbos (Xbox 360) (GwG)
• Aery
• Super Box Land Demake
• FoxyLand 2
• Sigi - A Fart for Melusina
• Black Mirror
• Attack of the Toy Tanks
• Blind Men
• SiNKR
• Null Drifter
• Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Game Pass)
• My Memory of Us
• Just Ignore Them
• UglyDolls: An Imperfect Adventure
• Pikuniku (Game Pass)
• Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Game Pass)
• Don't Knock Twice
• SubaraCity
• Doom (2016) (Game Pass)
• Pankapu
• Stretch Arcade
• Ellen - The Game
• Mafia III
• Where the Bees Make Honey
• Transference
• Caretaker
• 2urvive
• Shadow Warrior (GwG)
• Kingdom Hearts: 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- (GamePass)
  
• The Sims 4 (EA Access)
• PixARK
• Bucket Knight
• OVIVO
• Minecraft Dungeons (Game Pass)
• Mass Effect Andromeda (EA Access)
• Stick it to the Man
• Halo 4 (as part of Halo MCC) (Game Pass)
• Timespinner (Game Pass)
• Mecho Tales
• Animal Super Squad
• Moving Out
• Grass Cutter
• The Touryst (Game Pass)
• Doom 64
• The LEGO Movie Videogame
• Devil May Cry 5 (Game Pass)
• Dirt Showdown (Xbox 360) (GwG)
• Sunset Overdrive (GwG)
• New Super Lucky's Tale (Game Pass)
• EA Sports UFC 4 (EA Play)
• Injustice 2
• Divinity: Original Sin 2
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered
• Minesweeper Genius
• Lonely Mountains: Downhill (Game Pass)
• Castle of no Escape
• Rise of Insanity
• Gun Crazy
• Don't Starve: Giant Edition (Game Pass)
• Feather
• Bird Game +
• Chop is Dish
• Cybarian: The Time Traveling Warrior
• Iro Hero
• Norman's Great Illusion
• A Winter's Daydream
• ACA NEOGEO FATAL FURY 3
• Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
• Castle Pals
• Tell Me Why (Game Pass)
• Birthday of Midnight
• HardCube
• Deep Space Rush
• Hitman (GwG)
• Carrion (Game Pass)
• Journey to the Savage Planet (Game Pass)
• Golf Zero
• Castle of No Escape 2
• Yakuza 0 (Game Pass)
• ReactorX
• Zeroptian Invasion
• 112th Seed

Currently working on:

• A Hat in Time

Game finished:

Batman Arkham Knight (Ps4)                    Death Stranding (ps4)                                          Days Gone (ps4, my GOTY)                                  Shadow of Mordor ( ps4)

Working on:

Shadow of War (ps4)       

 Future Games :

TLOU2 (ps5)                                                            Ghost of Tsushima (ps5)                                      Assassins creed Valhalla (Ps5)

No love for my switch this year :( nothing has released, no back catologue that interests me.

Sadly, due to mandatory military service, I haven't had the time to play and finish games like I used to. Hope I get to be more "productive" in 2021.

Finished:

The Last οf Us Part II

Call οf Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered

Call of Duty: WWII

Vanquish Remastered

Yakuza 3 Remastered

Yakuza 4 Remastered

Currently Playing:

Zelda: Breath of The Wild

Days Gone

Yakuza 5 Remastered

Plan to finish:

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Yakuza 6

Vampyr

Call of Cthulhu

+ Bright Memory (Xbox Series X)

• Nier: Automata (PS4) (9.5/10) One of the best stories I've ever experienced in video games with wonderfully written characters, combined with a huge amount of gameplay variety and a fun and fast-paced combat system, which had been the weak point in Yoko Taro's earlier works. Easily going to make my top 50 games of all time list this year.
• GRIS (PC) (8/10) An absolutely gorgeous 2D platformer, easily one of the best looking games I've ever played, with a beautiful soundtrack layered on top of it all. The actual gameplay is quite simple, but solid, and there are some very satisfying moments of platforming in the game, even if none of it is all that challenging. It is a very short game, but every moment I spent with GRIS was thoroughly enjoyable.
• Middle-Earth: Shadow of War (PS4) (8/10) A solid open world game made better by the nemesis system that did the same for Shadow of Mordor. The gameplay is fun, the world has a lot of nice variety to it, and although the story is kinda silly in the context of the books, but as a kind of non-canon side thing it's fine enough. Gets a bit grindy at the end, which soured me a little towards it, but it wasn't too bad. If the epilogue had been like in the original release before the balance changes and the removal of lootboxes I probably would have not been nearly as kind towards the game, but as it stands now I do recommend Shadow of War. 
• Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (PS4) (8.5/10) A charming and gorgeous and a sequel to one of my favourite games from the previous console generation. I'm not sure if I would rank it higher than the first game, though. The gameplay is vastly improved compared to the first one, with the battle system, side quests and the other side stuff available for you to do just being much more interesting and varied in comparison. The story and character are also very good, but I might still prefer the first game's cast and story to this one. Still a very good game, and well worth the time I put into it.
• The Banner Saga 2 (PC) (8/10) The Banner Saga-games (at least the first two) aren't necessarily groundbreaking tactical RPGs in any way, at least as far as gameplay is concerned. Every element of the gameplay can be found in other games in one form or another, but these are still very well put together games with a battle system that has plenty of tactical depth to it. The nordic mythology-inspired story is very well written and the characters are interesting as well. Still, perhaps the most impressive aspect of these games is the visual style. The backgrounds and characters look absolutely gorgeous, and the animated sequences always look great as well, though I wish there were more of them. Overall, Banner Saga 2 is a good game that I enjoyed playing through, just one that doesn't really bring anything new to the genre.
• A Short Hike (PC) (7.5/10) A charming little game that I finished on a single sitting. It's unlikely that I'll ever go back to the game, but the short story it tells is quite lovely, and the relaxing, low-stakes gameplay is perfect for unwinding in-between other more demanding games. If you're looking for a game to just take your mind off things and just relax for a few hours, this is a very good option for that.
• Nioh (PS4) (8/10) A very good Dark Souls-inspired games, that doesn't quite reach the same heights as FromSoftware's titles. I enjoyed the gameplay for the most part, the story was fine, if somewhat disjointed, and William is a good main character. The locations aren't as interesting as those found in Dark Souls for example, and the world as a whole also feels like a collection of disconnected places that don't feel like part of the same world very often. Still, despite my issues, I very much enjoyed the game overall, but unlike Dark Souls or Bloodborne I'll likely never replay it.
• Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (PS4) (8.5/10) Played through the game in co-op, and as of right now it might be my favourite in the entire series. I'll have to go through it alone at some point to come to a conclusion, but even with the co-op playthrough Trine 4 is a very good game. The puzzles are better and more varied than in previous games, the gameplay much more fluid and intuitive, and while the story has never really been that important in the series outside of setting up a fairytale-like tone, it's fun and charming as well. Just an overall enjoyable game to play, and a great co-op title as well.
• My Time At Portia (PC) (8.5/10) This was a really fun and relaxing game, that in a lot of ways reminds me of Harvest Moon, except instead of building a farm you do so with a crafting workshop. I put almost 130 hours into this game, and I finished the main storyline and most of the sidequests in that time, and I enjoyed pretty much all of it. There's just so much stuff you can do here, besides crafting new machines and items there's farming, relationship building, dungeons to explore, ruins where you can mine for ore and relics, and so much more. 
• Deponia (PC) (7.5/10) Every once in a while I get in the mood to play some traditional point-and-click adventure games, and I'd had Deponia (and two sequels to it) on my Steam library for ages, so this was a good time to get around to playing it. Visually it's a very good looking game, and the setting is interesting and unique. The story and characters were pretty good too, though it does show that this was essentially just the first chapter in the story, so a lot of stuff was left unfinished. The main character can be somewhat annoying at times, especially early on in the game, but that also gives him some clear room for growth and development, which is nice. I guess the best thing I can say is that after finishing Deponia I'm still looking forward to playing the rest of the series.
• Wild Arms 3 (PS4) (8/10) It had been a while since I'd played a proper old-school JRPG that I hadn't previously experienced, and since I had bought Wild Arms 3 a while back on a sale I thought I'd give it a shot. Overall, I really enjoyed it. The music is great, I really like the world these games take place in, the characters are well written and interesting, and the gameplay has enough unique elements to separate it from the pack. The story is fairly standard JRPG fare, but the main issue I had with the game is the fact that it just doesn't really explain a lot of its mechanics to the player very well. Several times over the course of the game I had to go and find out what certain things actually meant from guides or forum posts, because I couldn't find the information within the game itself. Still, this is a good game well worth playing though, especially if you're a fan of the genre.
• Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) (9.5/10) I genuinely loved this game, and it could very well end up as my GotY at the end of the year. I thought the battle system is excellent, with a genuinely well designed take on the classic ATB system at its core, the expanded story and characters were great, and visually this is one of the best looking games of the year. I'm also very curious to see where they take this story going forward considering how the game ended. The sidequests were the one aspect I would have liked to have been more interesting, but at least the gameplay made them enjoyable enough. A great game, without question. I won't compare it to the original until the whole story has been told, but this is definitely a good way to get things started with the remake.
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III (PS4) (9.5/10) I finally got around to playing and finishing Trails of Cold Steel III after having it sitting on my shelf since last Christmas, and it was just as great as I expected after the previous two games. This is now the fifth game in the series that I've played, and they've made the series one of my absolute favourite video game franchises of all time, behind only Final Fantasy and Dark Souls. The story and characters are among the best I've ever seen in video games, the gameplay is a lot of fun, and the music very good as well. Now I just need to wait for Trails of Cold Steel IV
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Remastered (PS4) (8/10) After several huge RPGs I really needed to play something much smaller for a change, and since I had the Nathan Drake Collection downloaded on my PS4 I though I'd replay the whole series through for the first time in several years. The first game in the series is still the weakest of lot, but the remastering has improved the gameplay noticeably, which was always the biggest issue in the game. Drake's Fortune also always had problems with its pacing, especially in the latter half, and that's still the case here. Overall, this feels like a game that already has all the right elements in place, they just aren't quite polished enough or don't come together as well as they should yet. Fortunately, this would change for the better in the sequels. Still a very good game, but not as good as the follow-ups.
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Remastered (PS4) (9/10) Basically just a better version of the first game, with improved balance between puzzles, exploration and combat, great set-pieces, and just an overall excellent presentation. 
• The Messenger (PC) (8.5/10) A clever retro-style game that starts as a straightforward action-platformer in the style of old-school Ninja Gaiden that turns into a Metroidvania a few hours in. The time-travel mechanic is really clever and well-designed, and the art style shifting between 8- 16-bit graphics depending on which time period you're in is a wonderful touch. 
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS4) (8.5/10) Basically Uncharted 2, just not quite as well-thought out in terms of story and pacing. Still a great game, but some of it feels like Naughty Dog just trying to come up with ways to upstage the previous game's setpieces rather than logically leading Drake to those situations in service of the story. 
• Doom (2016) (PS4) (8.5/10) Finally got around to playing Doom 2016, and I'm very glad I did, as it ended as one of the three best FPS games of this console generation alongside Titanfall 2 and Wolfenstein: New Order. This is how you stand out in the FPS genre, by taking things back to basics and just being faster and more straightforward than pretty much any other mainstream FPS around these days.
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch) (9/10) It's a weird feeling when I finish a game and think it's both great and overrated at the same time. I finally got around to playing Breath of the Wild after getting a Switch and the game for christmas last year, and overall it's an excellent game. The world is gorgeous and filled with interesting places to visit, the gameplay mostly really fun, the story is good for Zelda-standards, the sense of adventure and discovery is impeccable, and yet it's just not quite as exceptional as it's been made out to be. For everything the game does right there is always a minor source of annoyance or frustration that put a damper on the adventure from time to time, and that keeps it from being the masterpiece a lot of others consider it to be in my mind. Still an excellent game, regardless.
• Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) (9.0/10) Overall, I'd probably call this the best game in the series. The gameplay is the more polished and varied than before, the story serves as a wonderful final chapter to Drake's tale, and the different locations you get to visit in the game are all memorable and gorgeous. The only thing it's missing is that one mind-blowing setpiece akin to the train level in UC2, but otherwise it's a wonderful game.
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) (8.5/10) A great Metroidvania with a cool setting, fun gameplay, great music, and a lot of secrets and easter eggs to find. About as close to Castlevania you can get without being called that. The only real negative for me was the lack of any clear guidance at certain points in the game. There were more than a few times were I had no idea where I was supposed to go next, and had to just run around the world before I happened upon the right place.  
• Final Fantasy IX (PS4) (10/10) Still my favourite game of all time. It had been quite a few years since I last played it, and the digital version on PS4 gave me a nice excuse to go back to it once more. The only real issues I had with it were related to the port, and not the game itself. Things like less smooth menus than in the original, minor audio issues and other small things that had for some reason been made worse in the remaster. Besides that, FFIX is without question a masterpiece, and my personal best game of all time. I guess the game could have one or two more challenging superbosses, but that's just nitpicking.
• God of War (PS4) (9/10) If I had managed to finish God of War a little earlier it would have been in top 50 games of all time this year. Obviously the visuals are absolutely gorgeous, the music is great, and the gameplay is extremely satisfying and fun. However, the real star is the story, and especially the character development that happens throughout the game. It's genuinely amazing that Santa Monica have managed to somehow make Kratos of all characters actually relatable, and do it in a way that doesn't feel disjointed or at odds with how he was portrayed in the previous games. The rest of the cast is equally excellent and written wonderfully.

Currently Playing:

• The Witcher (PC) Slowly making progress on-and-off. About halfway through at the moment I think, maybe a little more.
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (PS3)
• Dark Souls Remastered (PS4)
• Chaos in Deponia (PC)

Here's my list so far:

Games that I've completed:

1. Spec Ops: The Line
2. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada
3. This War of Mine
4. This is the Police
5. Forged Battalion
6. Lapis X Labyrinth
7. Monster Rancher Battle Card GB
8. Deadly Premonition: Origins
9. Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy Of The Duelist: Link Evolution (Original Series)
10. State of Decay 2
11. P.O.W. [Arcade] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
12. Beneath a Steel Sky
13. Siesta Fiesta
14. Severed
15. LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Story complete)
16. Ikari Warriors 2: Victory Road [Arcade] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
17. T.N.K 3 [Arcade] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
18. Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy [Console] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
19. Time Soldiers [Arcade] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
20. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
21. Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure
22. Nano Assault EX (Story Mode)
23. Pandora's Tower (Started a new save, 8 years later)
24. Anthill (Not 100% stars)
25. The Movies (I reached the credits in 2005 but not 100% of the achievements)
26. Brigandine: The Legend of Runerisia
27. The Night Fisherman
28. The Missing: J.J. Macfield And The Island of Memories
29. Noitu Love 2: Devolution
30. -CHASE- Cold Case Investigations: Distant Memories
31. The Outcast Lovers

Games that I'm currently playing:

• Vitamin Connection

+ Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (Xbox Series X)

Sunset Overdrive - PC - 9
Sonic CD - PC - Savior of the Planet run - 6 (Replay)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider - PC - 7
The Messenger - NS - Picnic Panic DLC - 9
Tangle Tower - NS - 7.5
Detective Grimoire - PC - 6.5
Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure - PC - 5
Jet Set Radio - PC - 8
The King of Fighters '97 - NS - 7
Real Bout Fatal Fury - NS - 10
Samurai Shodown III - NS - 4
Waku Waku 7 - NS - 6.5
Code of Princess EX - NS - 6
Daemon X Machina - NS - 7
Mario & Sonic at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games - NS - Story Mode - 6.5
Lara Croft Go - PC - 100% - 7
Real Bout Fatal Fury 2 - NS - 9
Samurai Shodown 2019 - NS - 8.5
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk - NS - 10 (Replay)
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky - NS - 9 (Replay)
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - NS - 7 (Replay)
Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg - 8.5
Devil May Cry 3: Best DMC Edition - NS - 10 (Replay)
Streets of Rage - PS3 - 7
Streets of Rage 2 - PS3 - 8
Streets of Rage 3 -PS3 - 5
Streets of Rage 4 - NS - 9
Super Crush K.O. - NS - 8
StarCrossed - PC, NS - 7
Them's Fightin' Herds - Chapter 1 - PC - 10
A Hat in Time - NS - 8
Chrono Trigger - SNES - 10
Alcahest - SNES - 7
Paper Mario: The Origami King - NS - 9
Art of Fighting - NS - 6
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - NS - 9.5
Kuru Kuru Kururin - GBA - 7
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventure of Mickey Mouse - SNES - 1.5
Sonic 3D Blast - Mega Drive - 3
Kirby's Dream Land - GB - 8.5 (Replay)
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles - Mega Drive - 4 (Replay)
Mother 3 - GBA - 10
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - 10 (Replay)
Metroid Zero Mission - GBA - 10 (Replay)
Super Metroid - SNES - 10 (Replay)
Trials of Mana - NS - 7
Valkyria Chronicles 4 - NS - 7.5

Ikenfell - NS - 8.5
BoxBoxBoy! - 3DS - 7 
Crosscode - NS - 7.5
Super Mario 3D All-Stars - NS  - Super Mario 64 - 10
                                             - Super Mario Sunshine - 10
                                             - Super Mario Galaxy - 10

Cuphead - NS - 8