Just Finished: God of War: Ascension (PS Now)

I enjoyed the hell out of God of War (2018) on PS4 last year but at times I yearned for the classic GOW gameplay and combat. For that reason playing GOW Ascension was a good way to scratch that itch. The existence of this game is still baffling to me. I suspect that Sony and Santa Monica wanted to get more value out of all the money and experience spent developing GOW III on PS3. The story is not too interesting and doesn't really make any sense to me. It was always going to be hard to follow up on GOW III, so this obviously is not as epic. The gameplay is not much changed from the previous games but they found interesting ways to at least mix up the combat. Moving the QTEs to the edge of the screen seemed arbitrary and made me miss a lot of the prompts.The graphics still look great for a PS3 game. I was surprised that the online mode is still playable. I tried it. It has promise but was more of a nice experiment than a fulfilling gameplay experience. It is not an essential GOW experience but an enjoyable one nonetheless. I will never understand why Sony did not at least include Ascension with the GOW III remaster on PS4.

8/10

Full Completed 2020 List:

• Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (PS Now)
• New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
• Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS4)
• God of War: Ascension (PS Now)

Completed

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Switch) --- Loved every second of it
Cyber Shadow (Switch) --- Good game but sometimes the difficulty is of the annoying kind.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (Switch) --- I took a break from it during the Mechonis part (after the wonderful environments on Bionis, Mechonis is so bland) but came back to it recently and finished it this weekend.
Celeste (Switch) --- All B-Sides completed (soooo many deaths but I did it!)
Resident Evil Village (PC) -- Very solid game and loving the post game content too!

Currently playing:
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
Resident Evil: Revelations (Switch)

Forever playing:
Overwatch (PC)
Hades (Switch)

Kinda abandonned maybe will return later:
Hyrule Warriors: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Switch)
Doom Eternal (PC)
Chrono Trigger (replay on PC)
Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age (replay on Switch, about 50h in)

Finished Games:

• Indivisible (PS4) (8/10) Indivisible is an audiovisually gorgeous game. The music and art style are both wonderful, and the story and characters are interesting and well-written. I think the only slight issue is the gameplay. The game combines 2D action platforming with RPG elements and turn-based combat. All the different gameplay elements are good, but none of them are really anything special. The battle system is fun, the platforming is fine, but neither is great.
• Tales of Berseria (PS4) (9/10) I have to think about it a little longer, but as of right now I might have a new favourite Tales-game. At the very least Tales of Berseria is one of the three best games in the series alongside Xillia and Symphonia. I loved the main cast, the story and gameplay of Berseria, quite possibly more than in any other of the games in the series that I've played thus far.
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (PS4) (8/10) The new Tomb Raider games have all been very enjoyable, and overall a great reboot for Lara Croft but none of the three quite reached the heights I expected of them. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is no different. A very good game, that falls just short of greatness. The gameplay is a lot of fun, but does nothing really new or original, the story is well-told but ultimately forgettable, and Lara as a character never really becomes as compelling as I think the developer wanted her to.  
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (PC) (9.5/10) I finally got around to replaying Trails in the Sky after first playing through it back in 2015, and it's just as great now as it was back then. The story, characters, gameplay and music are all excellent. The Legend of Heroes is today my third favourite video game franchise of all time, behind only Final Fantasy and Dark Souls, and this game is a big reason for that.

Currently Playing:

• The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC

Just Finished: Streets of Rage 4 (PS Now)

A simple retro beat em up game. I have no nostalgia for the series and this is the first entry I have played. I played the game through online co-op with a friend. That was what made it fun. I really can't imagine having fun playing a game like this solo. You can see the DNA of modern 3D hack and slash and action games like God of War and Bayonetta in a game like Streets of Rage. The hand drawn 2d sprites look great, some of the music tracks are catchy, and it feels satisfying to lay the smackdown on enemies. But the game is very simple and rather short. Some levels lasted less than 5 minutes. The level design is not very inspired. The hit detection boxes can seem iffy and you are not given enough defensive options. The story was blah. I am glad I did not pay the full $25 retail price this game is asking for a full download. It felt right to play it as part of my PS Now subscription instead. I played on normal difficulty and found it mostly fair. I definitely enjoyed this experience more than Dead Nation but the game is not amazing or anything.

7/10

Full Completed 2021 List:

• Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition (PS Now)
• New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
• Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS4)
• God of War: Ascension (PS Now)
• Streets of Rage 4 (PS Now)

REPLAYS:
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow 
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon 
Metroid: Zero Mission
Luigi's Mansion
Touhou Luna Nights

Resident Evil (2002) - Chris Redfield

FINISHED:
Final Fantasy VII
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth
Devil May Cry 3
Devil May Cry 4
Devil May Cry 5
Mega Man & Bass
Mega Man Powered Up
Mega Man Zero
Pepsiman
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Mischief Makers
I Wanna Be The Guy
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor
Devil May Cry 2
NieR: Automata
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
Kendo Rage
Makeruna! Makendō 2
Resident Evil 2 (2019)
Monster Hunter Rise
Silent Hill

Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite (Story Mode)
Resident Evil 3 (2020)
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 2 (1997) - Leon Kennedy
Resident Evil 3 (1999)

+ NieR: Replicant ver. 1.22474487139... (Xbox Series X) - 1000G + all endings

Completed:

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - (Wii)

Empire of Sin - (Nintendo Switch)

Currently Playing:

Fallen Legion Revenants  - (Nintendo Switch)

Sakura Wars:  So Long My Love - (Wii)

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker  - (Nintendo Switch)

Gemfire (SNES - Legends Ultimate arcade cabinet)

Shinobi (MAME - Legends Ultimate arcade cabinet)

Wait a minute, I don't know if I asked this already (control F didn't turn anything up) but we do just updated our original comments when we play games, right? We don't make new comments, correct?

So am I good since I just keep updating my OC?

1. Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk - NS - Girls' Gathering Ending (3)
2. Disney's Hercules Action Game - PC
3. Touhou Luna Nights - NS - All clear
4. Sengoku 3 - NS
5. Castlevania - NS - 6 playthroughs
6. Akumajou Densetsu - NS
7. Super Castlevania IV - NS (Replay)
8. Castlevania Bloodlines - NS
9. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated - NS
10. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - NS - Both 100%
11. Psycho Soldier - NS
12 - 16. Metal Slug, X, 3, 4, and 5 - NS - All Replays
17. Ys Origin - NS - Yunica playthrough (3)
18. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - 3DS - Magala Storyline
19. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time TM - NS
20. Monster Hunter Rise - NS
21. If Found... - NS
22. Resident Evil: Remake - PC
23. Perfect Gold: The Alchemy of Happiness - PC
24. Star Fox 64 3D - 3DS - Replay number: who keeps count
25. Top Hunter Roddy & Cathy - NS
26. Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir - NS
27. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind - NS

28. Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge - NS

29. Castlevania Legends - GB*

30. Kid Dracula - NS

31. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon - NS - Regular Mode (Replay) / Nightmare Mode