Games You Have Beaten Recently?

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

8 hours ago, Sumez said:

Yeah, GoT has a lot of things to do, but you are essentially doing the exact same thing over and over. The game is good at a few things, or it must be, because it's probably the only game of its type that's managed to make me take on every pointer on the map, but it also left me so satiated that I don't really ever want to do something like that again.

For more details, read my own writeup on it, I think I'm being very fair towards the game:

 

Agree to disagree.

I do not think the game is particularly repetitive, unless you make it so. It sounds like you did a lot more side stuff than I did, which may be the reason you feel this way. As I explicitly noted in my write-up, bloat and repetition is a fair criticism of modern open world game design. However, that should only be a major critique if you are forced into the repetitive content by the mainline story or quests.

When I play this type of game, I only do what I consider fun; being a completionist is masochistic in this scenario. This means that I often leave much of the map unexplored, but I'm okay with that. The goal of the game is to have fun, not fill in the blanks. Here is my map at the end of the game:

For those unfamiliar with the UI, the dark red areas are locations that I explored and the bright red areas are unexplored. I uncovered less than 50% of the map and liberated less than 50% of enemy encampments. Had I explored the entire map, liberated every camp, and gotten every upgrade, I'm sure I would have felt the gameplay was repetitive. However the game is balanced perfectly so that you don't need to do extra content to see the credits roll. The game respects your time. It allows you to make the conscious decision to only pursue activities which you enjoy without punishing you. This is excellent game design.

I think it is misleading and a disservice to potential players to levy repetition as a major criticism of this game. It is, in many ways, less repetitive than other open world games due to the variation in fighting styles and numerous sub-weapons, charms, and armor sets which allow you to change playstyle on the fly. The essence of fighting the Mongols may remain the same throughout the game, but battles at the end are quite different than they are at the beginning. It is a great game and deserves the many, many GOTY awards and nominations it received.

Edited August 18, 2022 by DoctorEncore

[Tabonga | 2,318]

I recently finished a third play through of "Banner of the Maid".  I loaded up the plus version of the game - and the changes they make for that make the game quite a bit different.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I knocked out a couple more indie games that were not on my backlog list in the 2022 thread.

What Remains of Edith Finch (XSX) - 8/10
More of an interactive story than a true game, the tale of the ill-fated Finch family is an engaging and extremely well-crafted experience. You play as Edith Finch, a 17 year old girl returning to her childhood home after her mother's death. As Edith explores the ramshackle Finch manor, the player is transported into short gameplay vignettes which showcase the final, tragic moments of her family members' lives. Most of these short segments are interesting and feature inventive gameplay, although a few are overly simple, slightly lessening the impact of the strong ones. As you may expect, things do not wrap up neatly. In the final moments of the story, the player is left to ponder whether the family curse is a supernatural death sentence or simply a combination of mental illness, bad decision making, and worse luck. I'd highly recommend everyone give it a try, particularly if you already subscribe to Game Pass. This is videogame storytelling at its finest and will leave you with something to think about.

Twelve Minutes (XSX & PC) - 6/10
Twelve Minutes is ostensibly a point & click adventure, although it does shake up the standard model with a heavier focus on dialog and character interaction. This is reflected by the presence of an A-list voice cast which includes James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe. Unfortunately, the presence of talented actors does little to save what quickly becomes a shallow, repetitive, and frustrating experience.

The scope of the game is exceedingly small as the protagonist is trapped in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment comprised of 3 total screens for the duration. As seen in other "time loop" games (is this its own genre yet?), certain fatal mistakes reset you back to the beginning of the game's ten-minute loop (more on that later). As is par for the course, the player character retains memory of the events in previous loops, while inventory and other characters are reset. Having this information means you can speed through some portions of conversations, but if you want to test out new solutions to problems, you must repeat many of the actions you previously completed to setup that specific scenario. As you proceed through the story, this becomes mind-numbingly tedious. The puzzles are mostly logical, although there are many that require trial and error. This is not unusual for point and click games, but when you spend 8 minutes setting up a specific scenario only to select the wrong item or choose the wrong dialog option, it absolutely feels like punishment to set it all up again. The game would've benefited greatly from a quick save or checkpoint system; in fact, its exclusion feels like an attempt at artificially extending the length of a game light on content.

As for the quality of the story, it's passable and there are a few strong twists to keep you hooked. As expected, the voice work is quite good. Overall, this feels like a game with a ton of potential and too small of a budget (or at least too little budget leftover after hiring the big name voice actors). So, why call the game Twelve Minutes, when the loop is ten minutes? To tell you that would spoil the game's biggest surprise. Instead, I'll just say that this game is for adventure game purists only and playing on a PC is a must.

Anyone play either of these? Both are definitely interesting and I'd love to hear some other opinions.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,533]

[Sumez | 2,952]

On 8/18/2022 at 4:35 PM, DoctorEncore said:

I do not think the game is particularly repetitive, unless you make it so. It sounds like you did a lot more side stuff than I did, which may be the reason you feel this way. As I explicitly noted in my write-up, bloat and repetition is a fair criticism of modern open world game design. However, that should only be a major critique if you are forced into the repetitive content by the mainline story or quests.

When I play this type of game, I only do what I consider fun; being a completionist is masochistic in this scenario. This means that I often leave much of the map unexplored, but I'm okay with that. The goal of the game is to have fun, not fill in the blanks. Here is my map at the end of the game

I think that's a respectable stance, and I've no doubt you've enjoyed the game more because you took that route. But the thing is that the game is completely designed around enticing you to do those optional parts. If the game is a better and smoother experience just following the mainline story and beelining it to the end, I think it would also have been a much better game if it was designed with only those parts.

I do also think the story missions are super plagued by repetition due to the simplistic nature of the combat, meaning there's never any variation and nuance to it, but it's also a lot better at masking it via the storytelling scenes and a more frequent change of scenery. The game's "superficial" qualities (ie. the production quality, the acting, graphics and settings, and so on) are very very well made, and it's what carried me through the game. I think it makes the optional parts a lot more approachable too. Like you, I pretty much never go for completion in these sorts of games, but Tsushima deserves credit for actually making me care enough to do so - even if it did leave me overly satiated.

On 8/18/2022 at 4:35 PM, DoctorEncore said:

the variation in fighting styles

At the end of the day this is actually probably the point where we disagree the most  

[Lynda Monica | 350]

I just finished Donkey Kong Country Returns 100% and unlocked Mirror mode. I was getting pretty fed up with the game towards the end, mainly because I was having collectable burn out. Mirror Mode will be challenging, but at the same time it'll be WAY easier without having to worry about all the junk I needed to unlock it.

I'm not sure how I feel about this game overall, as it honestly wasn't very fun. It was certainly a challenge, but I don't think that makes a game worth playing on its own. I'm in the camp that thinks it's a poor substitute for the old Donkey Kong Country games, as this one is just too chaotic, visually cluttered, and unfair to be as fun as the old ones.

If we look at the game as a Wii title though, this is one hell of an incredible Wii game. No matter how I feel about the gameplay, there's no denying this game is a technical marvel for the system, and worth owning in that regard.

Mirror Mode is next!

[NostalgicMachine | 235]

Battletoads Double Dragon NES (finally)!!!

[Nintegageo | 582]

Chicory and Returnal. Both excellent.

[Makar | 1,946]

After a couple years of on and off playing and getting stuck on the 2nd to last battle in the game, I have FINALLY beaten Wargroove. Super good game especially if you like tactics games like Fire Emblem and Advance Wars. It has its own charm, it’s not too easy, and it has nice battle mechanics. 

The 2nd to last battle took me a ton of tries to beat and I got a lovely D rank when I finally did lol. You’re extremely outnumbered, the enemy takes control of one of your units every other turn, you can’t get more units easily at all, and if you lose any unit during the battle you lose. 

The last battle was tough too but not as bad as the 2nd to last one. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Code Monkey | 2,010]

Kid Dracula

 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Dead Cells (XSX) - 7/10

This is such a tough game to rate. It's a Rogue-lite with some very minor permanent progression (mostly unlockable weapons and skills that can subsequently be found or purchased during arun). It controls well, moves fast, and has quite a bit of variety when it comes to weapons, items, and upgrades. I liked it a lot at first, but the more I played, the more I started to resent my time with it. While there are a lot of weapons and passive upgrades to choose from, only a few combination seem truly viable for the endgame. It's pretty easy to power through the first few levels and boss, but if you don't start finding quality equipment soon, the final stages may be impossible. Couple that with the repetitive levels and the whole thing quickly becomes a grind. I was able to finish a few loops, but I eventually just got bored and decided to quit. I think there is a lot to like here and, if you put in the time, I'm sure that certain tactics and weapon combos start to become more useable, but I didn't find this game nearly as fun as others in the genre like Binding of Isaac or Returnal. I don't think I'll be coming back any time soon.

 

Stray (PS5) - 6/10

This is probably the biggest letdown I've played in a while. The game was hyped by the games media ever since its initial unveiling and review scores are quite good (83 on Metacritic). In it, you play as a cat who stumbles into an abandoned underground world and must find a way out. The story evolves from there, but never rises above your standard post-apocalyptic genre fare. So with a story that's only borderline interesting, the gameplay must be stellar to achieve those high scores, right? Sadly, no. The gameplay is easily the least interesting part of the game. It is a combination of guided exploration (you can only jump to places with an "X" prompt on screen), light puzzle solving, light stealth, and fetch quests. That's literally the entire game. Talk to some robots, run around until you find an area where you can climb, climb, find MacGuffin, and repeat until you reach the end. It's so uninspired as to make me question if I played the same game as all these reviewers. Did they give it a high score because there is a cat? Or were they trying to keep up appearances since they foolishly hyped the game? Or am I just jaded? Whichever is true, I'm extremely thankful I got this game for "free+" with PS Plus or I'd be stewing over my lost $30.

[Gloves | 11,779]

I finished up my playthrough of Super Adventure Island 2 tonight. Upon replaying it after so long... I'm not actually huge on it. Backtracking, a really unappealing casino you have to spend hours playing games in if you want to unlock the best gear, and overall uninspired gameplay. The final boss was a brute force endeavour with some annoying mechanics. 

I'm glad it's over to be honest. Might actually turn this one into trade bait sometime down the line. 

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

15 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I finished up my playthrough of Super Adventure Island 2 tonight. Upon replaying it after so long... I'm not actually huge on it. Backtracking, a really unappealing casino you have to spend hours playing games in if you want to unlock the best gear, and overall uninspired gameplay. The final boss was a brute force endeavour with some annoying mechanics. 

I'm glad it's over to be honest. Might actually turn this one into trade bait sometime down the line.

I felt exactly the same way when I picked it up based on rental nostalgia a few years ago.  One complete playthrough later and it was out the door, never to be played again...

[Sumez | 2,952]

I feel somewhat similar about Adventure Island 4. While metroidvania style games from this era are usually interesting to track down and try, I think this particular series really does a lot better with a classic straightforward arcade style design.

[mbd39 | 2,022]

14 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I felt exactly the same way when I picked it up based on rental nostalgia a few years ago.  One complete playthrough later and it was out the door, never to be played again...

 

I'm one of the few who likes the first Adventure Island best. I prefer simple and straightforward. Adventure Island 2 is fine, but I don't need the dinosaur helpers and map screens and bosses that move around when you die.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

5 hours ago, mbd39 said:

 

I'm one of the few who likes the first Adventure Island best. I prefer simple and straightforward. Adventure Island 2 is fine, but I don't need the dinosaur helpers and map screens and bosses that move around when you die.

I feel the same way and the first AI is one of my all-time favourtie games.  New Adventure Island on the TG16 is also a great linear run and gun platformer in the same spirit, and after that I like AI 3 on the NES far more than 2 for some reason...

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

15 hours ago, mbd39 said:

 

I'm one of the few who likes the first Adventure Island best. I prefer simple and straightforward. Adventure Island 2 is fine, but I don't need the dinosaur helpers and map screens and bosses that move around when you die.

 

9 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I feel the same way and the first AI is one of my all-time favourtie games.  New Adventure Island on the TG16 is also a great linear run and gun platformer in the same spirit, and after that I like AI 3 on the NES far more than 2 for some reason...

I used to have all the AI games on nes. Purging down to nostalgia and games I like left me with only the original AI. It’s the best. The dinosaurs are lame and 2 is just a beta version of 3.

[Code Monkey | 2,010]

Mega Man Zero 4

 

[Code Monkey | 2,010]

On 9/4/2022 at 2:43 PM, DoctorEncore said:

Dead Cells (XSX) - 7/10

This is such a tough game to rate. It's a Rogue-lite

What's a Rogue-lite?

There's a game on PlayStation titled Rogue and it always sends you back to the beginning when you die but allows you to keep the upgrades you acquired so you can do better on each run. Any game that emulates this (like Dead Cells), is compared to this game and therefore is referred to as Rogue-like.

[Gloves | 11,779]

On 9/6/2022 at 4:02 PM, mbd39 said:

 

I'm one of the few who likes the first Adventure Island best. I prefer simple and straightforward. Adventure Island 2 is fine, but I don't need the dinosaur helpers and map screens and bosses that move around when you die.

Have you played the ps2 remake of AI1? It's actually quite good, and the bosses have been made actually engaging and unique. 

[Gloves | 11,779]

8 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

What's a Rogue-lite?

There's a game on PlayStation titled Rogue and it always sends you back to the beginning when you die but allows you to keep the upgrades you acquired so you can do better on each run. Any game that emulates this (like Dead Cells), is compared to this game and therefore is referred to as Rogue-like.

Rogue-lite is basically an extra step further from Rogue compared to rogue-like. I've seen them referred to also as rogue-like-like. They have a similar feel, and/or similar mechanics, but pretty toned down and often just "inspired by" as opposed to being functionally the same. 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

18 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

What's a Rogue-lite?

There's a game on PlayStation titled Rogue and it always sends you back to the beginning when you die but allows you to keep the upgrades you acquired so you can do better on each run. Any game that emulates this (like Dead Cells), is compared to this game and therefore is referred to as Rogue-like.

 

9 hours ago, Gloves said:

Rogue-lite is basically an extra step further from Rogue compared to rogue-like. I've seen them referred to also as rogue-like-like. They have a similar feel, and/or similar mechanics, but pretty toned down and often just "inspired by" as opposed to being functionally the same. 

I don't know anything about the PlayStation game you are referring to, but the Roguelike genre is actually named for a PC game called Rogue which was released in 1980. The defining features of that game and it's namesake genre are randomized levels/loot and permadeath. It was apparently quite popular and spawned numerous similar titles, but the genre fell out of favor as games became easier and more linear.

There have been many titles with similar gameplay elements since then, but it wasn't until the late 2000s and early 2010s that the genre returned in force. Indie game development blew up and games like Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac became big hits on streaming services like Twitch.

While those games were popular, they were still quite difficult, limiting their audience. Some smart people realized that the randomization made for great replay value, but the permadeath was a negative for a lot of gamers. So they took the gameplay hook and added some progression between runs and the roguelite subgenre was born. So basically if a game has randomly generated levels, but some way to improve chances of success on subsequent runs (i.e. leveling up, weapon/item/skull unlocks, improved exploration/mapping, etc), it is a roguelite. If the levels are randomized and there is permadeath with no progression, then it is a true roguelike.

Some of the most popular and successful roguelites are Hades, Returnal, Rogue Legacy, Risk of Rain, Dead Cells, and many others.

EDIT: Just spent a few minutes on Reddit and apparently some people really, really care about the definition of a roguelike. Apparently they believe a roguelike MUST be turn based and anything else is a roguelite, but I think the definitions I've laid out are generally accepted at this time.

Edited September 10, 2022 by DoctorEncore

[Gloves | 11,779]

16 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

 

I don't know anything about the PlayStation game you are referring to, but the Roguelike genre is actually named for a PC game called Rogue which was released in 1980. The defining features of that game and it's namesake genre are randomized levels/loot and permadeath. It was apparently quite popular and spawned numerous similar titles, but the genre fell out of favor as games became easier and more linear.

There have been many titles with similar gameplay elements since then, but it wasn't until the late 2000s and early 2010s that the genre returned in force. Indie game development blew up and games like Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac became big hits on streaming services like Twitch.

While those games were popular, they were still quite difficult, limiting their audience. Some smart people realized that the randomization made for great replay value, but the permadeath was a negative for a lot of gamers. So they took the gameplay hook and added some progression between runs and the roguelite subgenre was born. So basically if a game has randomly generated levels, but some way to improve chances of success on subsequent runs (i.e. leveling up, weapon/item/skull unlocks, improved exploration/mapping, etc), it is a roguelite. If the levels are randomized and there is permadeath with no progression, then it is a true roguelike.

Some of the most popular and successful roguelites are Hades, Returnal, Rogue Legacy, Risk of Rain, Dead Cells, and many others.

I honestly didn't even notice he said PlayStation lol. I saw the question and got to typing. 

[Code Monkey | 2,010]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

I honestly didn't even notice he said PlayStation lol. I saw the question and got to typing. 

I watched a documentary on it a few months ago and I thought the author mentioned it was a PlayStation game but I'd have to go back and watch it again. It could have been a computer game. Today I learned there are games like Rogue-like games.

[Gloves | 11,779]

33 minutes ago, Code Monkey said:

I watched a documentary on it a few months ago and I thought the author mentioned it was a PlayStation game but I'd have to go back and watch it again. It could have been a computer game. Today I learned there are games like Rogue-like games.

There's a whole lotta games out there!