Been awhile since I posted here.

Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Octopath Traveler 2

Earlier this year I completed the Mass Effect trilogy. I don't like replaying games, but it was necessary to carry over some things from ME1 to the latter games. While the game is good, this being my 2nd playthrough, soured the experience a bit. Either way a solid game with ample space exploration and creepy sci fi vibes. Combat is bad but pretty good for being the first in the series. For ME2 and ME3, it was my first time completing it and I was really excited for it. That said, ME2 was surprisingly not that good, people claim it to be the best in the trilogy, but many times I got really annoyed with the combat and the story was also pretty bad. ME2 often took everything you might have loved about ME1 and threw it all away. Anyway to keep this short I won't list all the things I disliked about it. ME3 felt like a return to form with a good story, tying up the entire trilogy, and combat that works well. The reworked endings were fine too, I see that maybe the multiplayer aspect of this game back in the day probably soured the experience for many original players, but in its present state I have to say it is superior to ME2.

Octopath Traveler 2 gets the honor of being my first JRPG for the year. Quite the solid game with 8 decent stories. The stories were on average very good throughout until the endings, but still decent. Throne's story in particular is fantastic, while I didn't enjoy Agnea's very much. Bosses were fun and the music was decent. Grinding is standard JRPG things.

Persona 5 Royal 1000gs
Goldeneye
Guilty Gear Strive


working on: Danganronpa 2, Persona 4: Golden, Gears 5

Most anticipated: Diablo 4

A couple of games to add this time.

Finished Games:

1. 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. I'm not sure what else I can say. Very few games can hold my interest for such a long time. An excellent game, and without question the best game in the series I've played.
2. Superhot (PS4) My rating: 8/10
   • A fun puzzle game with a unique gimmick and a clever twist to its story. 
3. 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. With two very good DLC releases as well, Control turned out to be one of the better games I've played in a while. In terms of complaints, the Hiss end up becoming slightly dull as enemies by the end of the game, and the upgrade and mod systems don't feel as impactful as I'd like. Regardless, this is an excellent game.
4. 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. It's an utterly silly game, but the only other option would be sheer horror, so it's perfect.
5. 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. Melina Juergens does an exceptional job in the lead role. It's genuinely one of the best performances I've ever seen in a video game. I also love how the environment adds to this sense of lost control, as it shifts around Senua and makes her see things that might not actually be there. The puzzles where the player has to find patterns in the environment or align certain parts of it are also fitting considering Senua as a character. The weakest aspect of the game is definitely the combat, which while fun in small doses, gets really repetitive after a while, and fighting more than one enemy at a time can be exceptionally frustrating. That's the one aspect I hope the sequel improves upon.
6. 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.
7. 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. Now, even after doing most of the sidequests, I finished the game in little over 10 hours. It could have used just a few more hours for its story. Still, this is a fun game that definitely doesn't overstay its welcome.
8. 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. Not among the console's (or Square's) finest RPGs, but a thoroughly fun time regardless.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Pinstripe (PC) My Rating: 7.5/10
    • 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. Nothing groundbreaking or exceptional, but a solid title nonetheless.

Actively Playing:

• AER: Memories of Old (PC)

Games in Queue:

• Persona 5 Royal
• The Witcher-trilogy
• Nier: Replicant
• Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age
• Tales of Vesperia
• Yakuza Kiwami
• Kingdom Hearts III
• The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero
• Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir 
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses
• Xenoblade Chronicles Remastered
• ...and too many others to list

It's primarily been remakes/remasters for me so far this year lol

1. Hi-Fi Rush (PC) which is the only new game I've beaten so far
2. Resident Evil 2 Remake (PC)
3. Resident Evil 3 Remake (PC)
4. Metroid Prime Remastered (NS)
5. Just finished Dead Space Remake (PC)

I'm currently working on the Resident Evil 4 Remake on PC and hopefully by the time I've finished it, The Last of Us Part I will finally be in a fully playable state lol. After that, finally gonna get to play Advance Wars 1+2!!!

1) Cyberpunk 2077 - PS5
2) Medium - PS5
3) Ghostwire Tokyo - PS5
4) Jedi Fallen Order - PS5
5) Forspoken - PS5
6) Shadow Warrior 2 - PS4
7) Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
8) Scarlet Nexus - PS5
9) Oninaki - PS5
10) The Pedestrian - PS4
11) The Forgotten City - PS5

Adding Prey

On the recommendation of gtotheunit. Game was really good and a great example of the immersive sim. Story was very good and how you choose things and can get around different scenarios in the game very well done but feels like the ideas are still locked by certain things. The idea doors need cards is good but it meant when I'm walking around for 30 minutes looking for that card because the only other way in I found requires level 2 strength I didn't invest in. It gives a sense to the idea of hoarding leveling up things to level up when I need it instead of what I want to do. I had high hacking and this only really came to help near the end where I could hack bots.

Also, ammo was scarce, maybe it's how I wanted to play but I usually like to beeline handgun and it's damage and I spent more time making ammo than anything and it wasn't until late game when I realised this was mostly pointless, as it didn't do enough and powers just to avoid the fights were better.

This isn't to take away from the game as a whole, these are minor things in an overall great game. I look forward to when Arkane Austin can make another game of this ilk.

- Signalis (PC)
- Dead Space (PC)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (PC)
- Resident Evil 4 Remake (PC)

Awesome man! I'm really glad you enjoyed it yeah I agree with your nitpicks but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the game. I certainly was immersed, that's for sure! 

Arkane Austin has said that Redfall will most likely be a one-and-done for them of that style of game, and they haven't ruled out returning Dishonored either. So I do hope that a Prey 2 is something they work on eventually. It would be great to see them build on top of what was a stellar game! 

Yeah, Prey 2 I would welcome, the story beats in it I think were great. I'm currently considering a new playthrough but not sure of the spec, I see there is a trophy for no powers so might try that but choosing different story options, maybe being a bit more... murderous. :P

I HAVE FINALLY BEATEN A NEW GAME THIS YEAR and it's...

New games:
- Tetris Effect: Connected (April 5)

Games replayed:
- Metroid Prime Remastered (Feb. 11)

The most based Tetris, it's so cool