52 Games... 1 Year... 2024 Edition - The Bear and Badger

hylian_elf

4. Jusant (SeX) - 23 Jan (7hrs)
Lovely little game from Don't Nod, very Journey-esque but not quite as good - well, not nearly as good. But I enjoyed my time with it. Climbing was non-taxing and there weren't many sections where I thought it didn't work or wanted it to end. The world and story was fine, but it's mostly told via letters and diary entries you find dotted around - I would've preferred more subtle nods to what happened to the place and the community. There are other collectibles which were better- the frescos, the altars and the conches, the latter being what I thought would work better as a story telling device if they had used it more. Overall, glad I played it.
[8]

hylian_elf

Four games in one month for me! UNHEARD OF!!! Hoping to make it to 5 or 6 by the end of Jan. So far I am averaging 2 hours a day of gaming (including games not finished yet)!

retroking1981

I just realised for a brief moment I was level with moot on 9 games. He'll probably be on game 25 by the time I reach 10.

Moot_Geeza

I'm on 10 now. Need to review Zero Team USA.

regmcfly

3. Another Code: Recollection 10 hours [7]

There is probably no one else on this site other than ERE who would give a passing interest at this, but let's talk about it briefly. Recollection collects and fully (and TBF it is *full*) remakes the Another Code games from the DS and Wii, the latter released in Japan and the EU but not the states.

They're visual novels with mild elements of puzzling, maybe once requiring a pen and paper but aside from that just a bit of spending a couple of minutes to figure things out. I like the protagonist, Ashley, and the bizarre supernatural / sci Fi mild bent each story takes.

It turns it into a full story, presented in a full 3D world as opposed to 2D / Side on, and also reworks some puzzles to be Switch-friendly.

The end reveal does the Anime pull everything together look at our master plan thing that I am a sucker for, but also look at the sheer number of coincidences and go "hmmm". I doubt anyone else here is going to want to spend 6 hours walking round a lake town with a nice piano score, exploring and finding 3 keys to unlock a clock Tower for nebulous reasons.

This is one of those weird Nintendo curios I'm glad I've played, will never play again, and hope is worth £ in a few years. Slight, nice, silly and didn't outstay its welcome. Suspect an Edge [5] and I just like a visual novel with a bonkers twist.

Diluted Dante

The DS one was great, never played the Wii one. If I had a Switch I'd be all over this.

EvilRedEye

I played the Another Code games after the Hotel Dusk ones and found the first a slight letdown - it felt like a tech demo or vertical slice rather than a full-fledged game. I thought Another Code R was good though. In the remake they’ve fleshed out the original and tightened up R and while I’m still only part of the way through the first one, it does feel like they’ve done a decent job putting meat on the bone.

regmcfly

There are literally 3 of us.

b0r1s

b0r1s wrote:

Persona 4 Golden - PC - 48hrs 30mins more investigative fun with the Scooby gang. This time in a small town where a series of strange murders happen. Even though I owned this many years ago I put off finishing it for one reason or another but I’m glad I came back to it. Overall it’s a great game with that nice loop of limited choices in the day, interspersed with dungeon battles in another world. I think they improved pretty much everything with P5, except this is a tighter story and, if my memory serves me well, a much shorter playtime because of it. It’s a great turned based JRPG [9]

Edit - now with the proper ending. Yes the real ending was much better with a lot to like, that final boss battle score was top notch. But…

Spoiler:

But I’ll still give it half a point more due to its Return of The King like ending. [9.5]

Final save file 58hrs 7mins - Steam has me at 64hrs.

hylian_elf

Yessss my man well done what a game

regmcfly

Well done b0ris, clearing one of the goats.

regmcfly

Might fire up the vita, there's 2 runs save on there, and see what the hour counts are.

b0r1s

It’s got me wanting the P3 remake but I need to get a few shorter games in, then FFVII Rebirth, so it may be a while before I come back to the series.

Minnesänger

b0r1s wrote:

b0r1s wrote:

Persona 4 Golden - PC - 48hrs 30mins more investigative fun with the Scooby gang. This time in a small town where a series of strange murders happen. Even though I owned this many years ago I put off finishing it for one reason or another but I’m glad I came back to it. Overall it’s a great game with that nice loop of limited choices in the day, interspersed with dungeon battles in another world. I think they improved pretty much everything with P5, except this is a tighter story and, if my memory serves me well, a much shorter playtime because of it. It’s a great turned based JRPG [9]

Edit - now with the proper ending. Yes the real ending was much better with a lot to like, that final boss battle score was top notch. But…

Spoiler:

…I wish the bad guy wasn’t Adachi as I guessed him from very early on. He was just too around too much and doing that bumbling cop routine made it a bit too obvious.

But I’ll still give it half a point more due to its Return of The King like ending. [9.5]

Final save file 58hrs 7mins - Steam has me at 64hrs.

Niiiiice.

Did you do any of the post-game stuff? There should be some content after that in Golden, but some of it does depend on earlier choices.

b0r1s

Did the

Spoiler:

Minnesänger

b0r1s wrote:

Did the

Spoiler:

Marie storyline and dungeon which I assumed was extra then it was just all the goodbyes after Valentine’s Day. I managed to max out then NPCs. Left quite a few quests on the table that could have opened up other stuff I guess but happy with what I got done. Don’t think I’ll replay any time soon.

Ah, then yeah I think you got pretty much everything.

The stuff in the spoiler below was all the event/story added for Golden (there was also a bunch of new persona, music etc):

Spoiler:

I think the only thing you might have missed was

Spoiler:

But that's...honestly not really essential at all.

Glad you enjoyed it. It really is, imo ofc, one of the all time great RPGs - loved the story, setting, characters, tone, combat...all of it. Just quality top to bottom.

Now the important question, that I might have missed you mentioning already...which girl?

b0r1s

Did pretty much all of that stuff in your first spoiler. As for your question…

Spoiler:

Minnesänger

b0r1s wrote:

Did pretty much all of that stuff in your first spoiler. As for your question…

Spoiler:

Rise

Spoiler:

Moot_Geeza

11. Zero Team USA - Arcade (45mins)

Thought process behind this one, when browsing MAME screenshots on the SuperConsoleX3+: "ooh that looks like a scrolling beat 'em up" *click* (followed by a quick full game video check on YouTube, just in case it was one of those silly ones that are like 90minutes long).

I didn't remember seeing this in my huge book of belter scrollers. Apparently it's from the developer's of Raiden, and the 'USA' suffix was added to a slightly easier second release. First impressions were mixed - it really doesn't do much to stand out from the crowd - but I warmed to it quite quickly as gets the basics right. It's satisfying to hit the bad guys for one, which isn't always the case in these things believe it or not, and the smaller-than-usual sprites + nipper action give this a slightly frantic solid-lightweight feel that works.

The end credits say this was made in 1997, which would never have been my guess, so it loses a point for being quite so basic in an era where you could be forgiven for expecting a fuller moveset. The version I played had rapid fire applied to one of the buttons though, which was wild so I'm adding the point back on. The chipper chip tunes are poor and I spotted nothing even remotely original here, but a good time was had. [4 out of 6]

Minnesänger

Links to full list of 2022 and 2023 games - here.

1. Games 1-3 (Marvel Midnight Suns, Overboard!, Lunistice)

Not finished with Supermarket Shriek yet (or Kiryu punch punch for that matter), so no entry here for that but it should make the next batch (probably).

Instead, we got some puzzlers with a dash of sports and AAA today.

4. Kine
Been meaning to try this for an age, and finally got on it. It's one of those spatial manipulation puzzle movement games, ala Stephen's Sausage Roll, and i'd heard good things about it, so i was eager to finally check it out.

What I wasn't expecting was how utterly charming it was. You play as a variety of musical instruments with the story starting from wanting to create a band, and moving onto their growth and development from there, and there really was no need to give so much character to these things but...they did and it worked.

The game itself is tightly made. It's a Good game, a very good one, though i wouldn't put it on the pantheon of GOATs. What it is, is something very competent with a fantastic set of packaging - from visuals, animation, writing and music, that elevate a very solid 7 into something a bit higher. This was great. An easy [8].

5. Recursed
This is the Anti-Kine. Not that it's bad, while Kine was good. More like, if Kine = a good puzzle game with incredible packaging, this is...a very special puzzle game indeed, that I think will put a lot of people off as it looks like a dog's dinner.

So, what is Recursed? Well, if you were one of those people that recently played Cocoon and thought it was nice but a bit too easy...this is the game for you. Recursed, like Cocoon, is about levels inside levels.

You start in a room, and you might see a chest. If you jump in that chest, you jump into a sub-level. Items can be carried between nested levels, but there are rules. Parent levels keep items, while sub levels reset...or do they? Rules seem obvious at first and then get twisted and manipulated. Items when thrown forward travel in a straight line until they hit the floor. Chests, and other items, can be picked up and carried deeper or higher up the line, reorganising the relationship between levels. Infinite loops can be created.

Nested levels can be abused in order to duplicate items. Sometimes a pit is inescapable, but necessary to travel into so just...carry the exit down with you as you jump.

It slowly winds up, and then it becomes devilish. But it keeps going, turning sadistic and it honestly one of the most painfully mind-breaking puzzle games i've ever played - the first few areas are tricky but manageable, but the levels of relationships and pathways and interactions you need to keep in your head later on is just something else.

It's an actual work of genius, though one i'm not sure i will ever be able to fully complete. It also has less than 500 reviews on Steam, despite being out since 2016. An actual, proper hidden gem then. Simple to play - only need sticks and 2 buttons, but I guarantee there's little else like this. [9]

6. Alan Wake II
So, this game is very pretty. And it has some fun moments.
I appreciate the move away form endless combat.
I was completely onboard with the story and vibe.
The acting was solid.
The levels were frequently inventive.
Again, it was very, very pretty - even on a console and not a MEGA PC.

But...it was just missing something.

As a game it actually sits somewhere between a Resident Evil 2 and a point and click. And I like both those things. I think what was missing here was a density in the puzzle and play space. A bit too much trudging and walking, where a PSOne era game would have made sure to make each room, corner and hallway important. I stopped going back to redo the poem puzzles just because even though I thought the puzzles themselves were ok...I didn't want to walk there. I didn't want to explore the hub area that Alan Wake travels through between his missions.

I just got bored. They stripped down a lot, but there was still too much chaff and it was still too long. And that kinda sucks, because they basically gave me everything I wanted from a Remedy game (more weird please, less combat, extra puzzles) and I took a bite and decided it still wasn't right. A shame. [6]

7. Mario Golf: World Tour
So, this is just a bit of a nothing game. It's a perfectly ok Mario Golf game, I guess, but it just feels really phoned in. None of the charm of Everybody's Golf, and the gameplay cant touch EG either. Structurally it's a bit of a wet fart, the handicap system slows the game way down. Just...really dull. [5]

Moot_Geeza

Kine's been on my watchlist for years and the one time it dropped (50% off!) I bought something else

Minnesänger

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Kine's been on my watchlist for years and the one time it dropped (50% off!) I bought something else

Seems to go on sale a few times a year, usually during a Fest. Was 75% off recently and the last few times, it seems.

https://steamdb.info/app/824570/

Moot_Geeza

World Tour is probably my favourite golf game. Forum competitions were beyond splendid, I even got involved in the mp side of things at the time. I'd say Super Rush was phoned in but World Tour was a legit package once it got its hooks in, even if it does appear barebones at fist. My second most played 3DS game.

Moot_Geeza

Minnesänger wrote:

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Kine's been on my watchlist for years and the one time it dropped (50% off!) I bought something else

Seems to go on sale a few times a year, usually during a Fest. Was 75% off recently and the last few times, it seems.

https://steamdb.info/app/824570/

The EShop plays by its own rules unfortunately.

Minnesänger

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Minnesänger wrote:

Moot_Geeza wrote:

Kine's been on my watchlist for years and the one time it dropped (50% off!) I bought something else

Seems to go on sale a few times a year, usually during a Fest. Was 75% off recently and the last few times, it seems. https://steamdb.info/app/824570/

The EShop plays by its own rules unfortunately.

Ah yes, my apologies.

Spoiler:

hylian_elf

Recursed goes on The List. Also been meaning to try Kine for ages. Think Edge liked it.

Moot_Geeza

Got a huge [9] iirc.

Moot_Geeza

Minnesänger wrote:

I'm pretty sure a Steam deck would be the last console you'd ever need to own.

If it was a console (rather than a secret PC) and if it looked slightly less like the beanbag bit had fallen off a TV lap tray I would've picked one up ages ago.

afgavinstan

Savage. But correct.

Minnesänger

I love this thread, btw.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories