4. Bloodroots [7]
Hotline Miami or Katana Zero type murder spree where you charge through levels, grabbing all sorts of weapons and execute baddies as quickly as possible. The variety of weapons and the different ways they work makes for some very creative slapstick violence. There are multiple ways to finish most levels and it's up to you to prioritise threats and decide what's best to use where. And it encourages you to play at a relentless pace, quickly picking up an object smashing it over an enemy's head, then looking for the next one. Chaining kills together into an unbroken combo is supremely satisfying.

I'd easily score it higher if not the problems that come with moving the HM/KZ formula into 3D. It just doesn't have the precision reqired, visually or in terms of control, to allow you to execute your plans as reliably as you want to. Too many deaths result from confusion because of the perspective, or because the camera zooms too far in or out. Some levels are hugely frustrating for the wrong reasons. There's some great high score chasing potential and online leaderboards, and I can imagine some amazing runs being possible. I just wonder if anyone will have the patience for it.

Anyway, I'd recommend the campaign to anyone who likes this sort of thing. It's rewarding and often funny when it goes right or even when it goes wrong and it feels like it's your fault. Just be prepared for it to piss you off as well.

19. Joe Danger 2: The Movie - Xbox One (2hrs)

I intended to play this on 360 after grabbing in it in some sale or other.  Better late than never anyway, and the backwards comp library is still very much appreciated, you big Microsofties.

I like stuff like this.  Skill/reactions based memory test obstacle courses basically, part autorunner, part full fat minecart section and in this case, part Trials lite (or MotoHeroz, which was pretty much Red Lynx's own Trials lite).  This one's fine, but lacks the finesse of the best in the genre.  As always, there are only a limited amount of inputs, but the ducking and jumping never felt right to me, nor did the lane changing.  It all gets a bit busy on screen at times, which nerfs the purity somewhat.  I'd play this sort of thing with an LCD display tbh, so maybe I'm just shouting at clouds. It's all slightly too lightweight and imprecise anyway, so the 2hr runtime felt about right.  This one has a few play styles, which I don't remember from JD1 when I played on Vita (skis, jetpacks, cars and suchlike), which keeps it varied but of course brings in the dreaded feeling of some being better than others. 

Good fun for the most part, but not great. [6].

Apparently so niche there aren't any gifs around, I thought this series was pretty well known.

6.Vanquish - Remaster - 8 Hours- 10/10 - Xbox One X

What a game, what a remaster, 4K @ 60fps, stunning. One of the best games of its gen, bettered and more awesome than ever. Been excited ever since I heard about the remaster so picked it up as soon as I’d heard it’d dropped. Such a great game, movement, range of weapons, level and enemy designs, great cover system, it’s just all magnificent. Still looks incredible, great artwork and simplicity never gets old. Absolutely loved playing through this again and can’t think of a single negative.

Nice. I’ve been planning a redo of those.

PC has re-invigorated my gaming. I’m not aiming for 52 games at all but might try and at least keep a record of what I’m getting through. It’s been a good start for me.

1. Horace
2. Control
3. A Short Hike
4. Kentucky Route Zero (all eps).
5. Yooka Laylee and the invisible Lair. (Switch).
6. The Touryst (Switch)
7. Beat Sabre (Quest).
8. Superhot (Quest).
9. Darth Vader Immortal (Quest).

I’ll give a write up maybe/perhaps/probably not when I’ve the spare time. Just fancied somewhere to keep a note of what I’m getting through and here seemed as good a place as any.

7.Anthem - 8 Hours - 5/10 - Xbox One X

Hmm...well, it was all bad, then kinda good, then lots of good bits, but no narrative or any other means to pull it all together, it’s just a lot of good ideas, good weapons, awesome movement and stunning looks all thrown into a void without character, charm, wit, it all just exists in a weird vacuum. Such a shame as had they created half a world as interesting as Destiny with Anthem additions it could have been a mainstay for years, instead after finishing the main...story...I’m more than done with it. For the few quid it can be picked up for it’s worth it, but it could have been worth so much more.

Man.  There's a game I bought, tried a few of the popular download levels, thought it was amazing, then just never played again.  No idea why.  Really should get back into it, doing a new level every night, at least.

(bad segue) Here's a game that doesn't need to be played every night.  It doesn't even need to exist!

10: Gravity Falls: Legend of the Gnome Gemulets (3ds) - 4/10

This is a licence tie-in to one of the great modern day children's cartoons.  It could be based on anything though; it's just a dull collection-based platforming game.    The main characters talk to one another like their cartoon versions and it looks pretty nice and controls well enough.  But it is really boring.  Was hoping it would be decent so I could call it a hidden gemulet.  Oh well.

Nice!  No I had no idea about the Zelda stuff, that looks fantastic.  Will update and download a bunch of levels for lunchtime at work tomorrow.  Cheers!

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Have you seen the Master Sword stuff they added in a free update?  Skip to 2min20ish: Sword attack, functional shield, dash attack, multi directional bow and arrow (which collects items), bombs.  Impressive stuff.  Seriously, Super Link Boi is the game I never knew I wanted.  I'm not sure if it comes with any Nintendo designed stages, but they seem like decent tools for making a hybrid that plays well.

Really enjoyed the Zelda stuff!  Works very well and would love to see a full nintendo production elaborate on that.  Would also love a full 2D Zelda metroidvania while they're at it!

But spent most of my lunchtime on an ultra hard 50-second level that I didn't get anywhere near beating.  Was so well put together!  Nothing that required superhuman reflexes and it was clear what you needed to do, it was just a matter of putting it all together.  Really high quality stuff where if it were the last level of a proper Mario game I wouldn't be disappointed.

8.Dead Space - 8 Hours - 10/10 - Xbox One X Spruced

Still just perfect. Just fancied playing it for some reason and man am I glad I did. Absolutely everything is spot on. And it literally just came out of nowhere. Still gets quite a few jumps out of me too...Not sure how much work the X was doing but it looked fabulous and the sound was still tremendous. Now I simply have to play the second. But not the third. If only they’d make another entry.

9.Division 2: Warlords of New York - 6 Hours - 10/10 - Xbox One X

Ace coming back to New York, and ace coming back to The Division 2. Great bit of DLC with tons of content that’ll keep me playing, but that’s the main story content done. Finally the Keener story comes to an end...but more of course appears afterwards. More very similar but awesome weapons and armour, the gunplay is still perfection. Best cover shooter alongside Gears. And Christ it’s beautiful. Thoroughly enjoyed the DLC, completely worth the entry fee.

10.Dead Space 2 - 7 Hours - 10/10 - Xbox One X

Man that was awesome. Again spruced up by the X it looked incredible and felt like playing a new release. Even better than the first in my opinion, just terrific. Throws everything at it but somehow it seems to all stick. Good follow up story, return to weapons and system upgrades and never lets up the pace, now...do I even attempt 3 as I can’t remember anything about it...which can’t be good.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Gah now I want to play those too.

They’re so good. Quick too. So impressed at how well they’ve aged.

Yeah, I even surprised myself when I looked up my achievements and indeed I have completed DS3. Nuts. Have downloaded it so will give it a go. I’ve got another week off work so I tell you what, I’ll get Bloodborne again and try it again, as I do want to like that one in particular. Just for you mate.

22. Ori & the Will of the Wisps - Xbox One (15hrs)

Moon Studios have described this as Mario 3 to Blind Forest's Super Mario Bros, and they nearly pulled it off.  At one point in development they were probably well on course for a masterpiece.  Then they got lazy and all started working from home like a bunch of layabouts with one eye on daytime TV, presumably.  Joking aside, it's a shame they didn't quite succeed.  A few minor problems in amongst the grandeur - and a couple of whopping ones - clip its wings considerably.  What we're left with is probably more Mario Sunshine to Blind Forest's Mario 64, or any franchise you'd care to reach for where the sequel sticks to the same format, tries more but achieves less.  Super Monkey Ball 2, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, Perfect Dark Zero, Sonic Adventure 2 - you do yours!  

Ori was a precision platformer masquerading as a Metroidvania, whereas this is more confident with its exploration and provides you with an abundance of tasks and side missions.  There's far more to reward the off-piste player, evidenced by my half-empty kit bag as the credits rolled.  It nods so heavily at Hollow Knight in a couple of places it's probably risking whiplash, but the systems it pinches are well implemented on the whole.  Back to the platforming, it's mostly somewhere between good and very good, which is me purposefully damning it with the higher end of faint praise - the assault course style design was tighter and more inventive in the original.  Yes, there are some excellent abilities to find in this that are very well used, especially towards the end, but on the whole it lacks the masterclass feel of The Blind Forest when scrutinised as a checkpoint platform game.  The chase sequences are back, despite what I read elsewhere, but of the three main ones two were exhilarating as ever but far too easy and the third was an unwelcome difficulty spike.  Alongside the chase sequence we now have bosses, and as a boss man the realisation that they're all poor was a clumsy kick to my glowing pink breadbasket.  Chalice described the combat as scrappy and I think that's a good description, but I also think it's a good fit for the game's standard stages.  Ignoring the bosses, the overhauled combat system works well once you're got a few weapons under/in your belt.  It all starts to fall apart when a screen-filler appears though.  It's an unashamedly difficult game, and the bosses will relentlessly destroy you while you try to juggle too many systems and muddle through the absolute carnage.  It's too much, they're too fiddly, and they're all too frustrating.  Case in point: I spent 10 minutes trying to chip away at one, before trying a different tact with an optional weapon I'd bought half a game ago.  I then proceeded to decimate the fucking thing in 25 seconds, which just felt wrong.  What if I hadn't bought that weapon?  Why is my standard kit so ineffective?  I'm sure there are many different ways to take them down, and I bet plenty of players smash them all over Youtube without breaking a sweat, but as someone with an affinity for level guardians based on over 30 years of 'being well into them', I'm here to tell you they goofed. 

As expected, it's a stunningly beautiful game, sitting somewhere close to Cuphead as the best looking game ever for me.  I just love the whole aesthetic, truly glorious stuff.  The music is a win for me also, it probably just about edges out the original here too.  The story is punctuated by 'feel this now' moments, so it's manipulative to an extent, but as with the first game it feels like a good fit for what's on offer.  It's Dark Moomins via Princess Mononoke; it wants to give your heartstrings some gyp and it makes no attempt to disguise when it's trying its hardest.  I'm down with that, the whole thing is so rewarding to gawp at it makes the ladlefuls of straight-ahead storytelling quite palatable.

In terms of performance, Xbox One S owners can self-medicate with the game in its current form.  I found that when it started to freeze, rebooting kept that particular problem at bay for an hour or so.  Annoying, but a workable fix.  The framerate still stutters too much for this sort of game though, it's not constant by any means, but there will be the odd occasion where a frame dip seems to gloss over the fact that you just pressed a button.  It's not game breaking, just heart breaking.  If you're an Ori fan don't follow my lead, wait for the inevitable full fix.

Overall then, it's a very good game with fairly sizeable technical issues in its current state, some bold design decisions that paid off and a few that most certainly did not.  I've been down on it for chunks of the review, but I still expect to see it on my GotY list. [8]