The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Nintendo 3DS) - This is a sequel to A Link to the Past, although it hews so close to the original that in some respects it resembles an enhanced remix.
There's some nice stereoscopic 3D in this, with the game taking full advantage of the screen to have the top-down graphics pop in and out of the screen - you can tell this was a title released in the 3DS's prime. The gameplay is your standard Link to the Past-esque adventuring fun and is decently entertaining. The conceit of this one is that you can access almost all of the items immediately and thus play the dungeons in a non-linear fashion as each one is based around a single item. Unfortunately, this means all the dungeons are balanced around you potentially being early in the game, which results in flat and unengaging difficulty progression. The game is also generally a bit of a cakewalk compared to the original Link to the Past. There is an optional Hero Mode that makes the game harder but it doesn't unlock until you spend 20-odd hours completing the original difficultly, by which time you probably won't be up for replaying the whole game again. It would have been better to have a choice at the start.
There are minigames in this that are required for the full set of heart pieces and honestly they are dreadful. Some of them are boring, others like Octoball Derby are actively a nightmare and honestly shouldn't have released in the state they're in. The cucco avoiding mini-game has an optional challenge so difficult that the dev team and QA team couldn't finish it, yet it affects the end credit sequence so many fans consider it to be required for 100% completion. Why would you even put this in a game? I was tempted to deduct a point due to the minigames being such a 'fuck you' to players but ultimately the game's solid ending persuaded me not to bother.
Overall, pretty fun with nice stereoscopic 3D graphics but too easy and similar to A Link to the Past, with horrible minigames. [7]
"ERE's like Mr. Muscle, he loves the things he hates"
I thought A Link Between Worlds was a terrible Zelda game. There's not one thing I liked about it. To call it a sequel to A Link to the Past is an insult to that game.
Just completed A Plague Tale. Had mixed feelings at first, but as the chapters went on, I grew to really enjoying it and looking forward to where the story was going.
It’s clearly a lower budget effort and is limited in its interaction with the world compared to bigger titles, but by the time you’re about a third through, you’ve got some decent tools to progress and the game opens up a little in how you approach each section.
I’ve gone from ‘meh’ to being interested in what they do with the next one, which is guess is the exact reason ended up on PS+.
Been ages since I completed anything but finally polished of Firewatch last night.
It's a really good game. Mostly enjoyable to play, Great Graphics, Great voice acting, Intriguing story and I enjoyed unlocking the various mechanics to progress..
The end was a tiny bit of a let down and I felt that some of the intriguing bits where simply ignored come the end. I was a little disappointed the prologue didn't really make a come back at the end of the story either..