Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

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I recently completed Tetris Effect (PSVR), one of gaming's most storied puzzlers re-imagined for one of it's newest innovations.

Gameplay:

• At it's core Tetris has always been a falling block puzzler, and that remains the same here. Pieces called Tetriminos fall from the top of the playfield (they come in a few different shapes, but always consist of four blocks connected together), and it's your job to slot them together like a puzzle, filling out horizontal lines, which are then cleared from the playfield (you can clear up to four lines at once, which is known as a Tetris). You are able to rotate the pieces as they fall (and hold onto a piece for later), which can help finding a slot for them to fit into. If you fail to clear lines in enough time the Tetriminos will stack to the top of the playfield and it'll be game over. Traditionally the speed at which the Tetriminos fall increases as the game goes on to make it more difficult. That's mostly true here as well.
• The core gameplay discussed above is true to this release & is as responsive & addictive as ever.
• The main mode in Tetris Effect is "Journey Mode", which consists of 7 areas (which themselves consist of 3-5 levels, all save for the final one which just has one extra long level). Your score carries across from one level to another within an area, and while you always can restart from the newest level you have unlocked if you lose, getting the best possible score depends on you clearing all the levels in an area in one swoop.
• "Journey Mode" is playable in 4 difficulties. Practice, in which there is no game over, but only contains the first 4 areas, then Beginner, Normal, and Expert (these last 3 difficulties contain all 7 areas, and don't seem to differ in terms of actual game difficulty, but rather how many lines you have to clear in order to beat a level. It's usually 30 lines in Beginner, 40 in Normal, and I haven't tried Expert). While things start out with a pretty standard gameplay rhythm (start out at a slower speed before speeding up as a level goes on), later on things get shaken up as you may go straight from speed level 1 to level 9 instantly, start out at level 9 before slowing down to a more manageable speed, or have the speed fluctuate up and down through a level, which can create some heart pumping scenarios. However, it should be noted that "Journey Mode" has a gameplay element all it's own called the Zone, which allows you to temporarily stop Tetriminos from falling, so you have a chance to clear multiple lines at once in order to rack up a large score & get yourself out of a tight spot (as a catch, it can only be activated after filling up a meter that charges with every line you clear).
• Each level has a different audio-visual theme, which are unlocked for use in the game's other modes once you clear the level. Once you clear all of "Journey Mode" on Beginner or higher you unlock theater mode, which lets you soak in any level's audio-visual experience without any gameplay.
• outside of "Journey Mode" you have various "Effects Modes". There's over a dozen of these and they contain classic modes (such as trying to clear 150 lines, or survive for 3 minutes, while the speed slowly picks up), relaxing no game over versions of the classic modes, and unique modes (such as one where you have to clear dark blocks).
• You can also orbit the Earth, with everyone who has the game having a lit up dot on the Earth's surface (the US, Japan, & western Europe are lit up like Christmas trees, but not so much elsewhere). It's neat once or twice.
• If you care about game length, I'd say it took me roughly 3 hours to clear "Journey Mode" on Beginner (about 20-30 minutes per area, and I only had to restart a level twice), but with the different difficulty settings and various game modes on offer, it's length is really only limited by how much you like Tetris (I can see myself coming back for a couple rounds here & there).

Audio/Visuals:

• VR really brings the experience to the next level. A much more out of body experience than any other VR game I've played, the playfield floats out in space in front of your face, while a cascade of colors assaults your senses along to both the beat of the music, as well as your own gameplay (whether it be as simple as the rotation of a Tetrimino, or very colorful displays that flash up whenever you clear a line).
• Level themes range from both the abstract (such as a kaleidoscope patterned barrage, glittering jewels, or blue & orange orbs clashing in epic battle) to the more naturalistic (usually my favorites, there are themes such as a forest under siege by a thunderstorm that eventually breaks revealing brilliant sunbeams, floating ever higher over the Sahara until a visual shift transitions you over the surface of the moon with an astronaut riding a buggy down below, ascending up a snow capped mountain until you're surrounded by the auroras, and starting out inside a space station before being shot out and floating above both the station & Earth). The Tetriminos themselves will go along with the theme, often taking on the form of blocks of sand, flame, or even other objects such as cogs or jewels.
• The music is an equally important component, and across your journey you'll play along to soothing pop ballads, energetic hip-hop, tribal chanting, jazzy band tunes, and more. It mixes well with all the visual flair, and combines into something almost hypnotic at times in VR.
• Although I haven't tried it, I believe it can be played normally as well if you don't have or can't use PSVR. I can only imagine that it'd be a visually less interesting game that way.

Conclusion:

• Tetris has stood the test of time because it's easy to pick up but hard to master, and Tetris Effect is as good an example of the game as you'll run across. Sure, it doesn't need to be played in VR, but honestly now that I have, I don't want to play it any other way, and that has to count for something. It's not the kind of game you buy a VR set for, but if you already have one and are in the market for a Tetris game, I don't see why you'd look elsewhere.
• I included no screenshots because honestly PSVR screengrabs look terrible on a flat screen and way too dark.

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After wanting to play it for a long time but never getting around to it, I was able to finally play and beat Bioshock Infinite.

It is the last of the original Bioshock trilogy and it is the only one to take place outside the underwater city of Rapture. Here the setting is 1912 in Columbia, a fanatical Christian utopia in the clouds. The city is ruled by a psycho tyrant named Zachary Comstock who orders his soldiers to kill the “false prophet” Booker Dewitt.

The player controls Dewitt throughout the entire campaign and just like the other Bioshock games, it is an FPS with some RPG elements thrown in the mix. It does shake the gameplay up in a number of ways from the previous games though.

The biggest changes comes in the form of a skyrail system that is used to navigate the world, the levels being huger in scale than those of Rapture, and the AI partner character Elizabeth (who Dewitt is tasked to save) offering new possibilities with gameplay. Her abilities include spawning items out of rifts that assist in fighting foes and throwing Dewitt health packs, vigors, and ammo. The vigors in this game operate identically to the plasmids in the original Bioshock, giving the player various elemental abilities like shooting electricity, fire balls, force fields, etc from their left arm.

So there is a lot more options for players than ever before in a Bioshock game, however it has some mixed results. On medium difficulty the game feels a bit too easy the majority of the time. The amount of ammunition and health packs lying around the combat areas are so numerous that you’ll never be worried about dying. That in addition to Elizabeth throwing you new items every 30 seconds, make the gunplay feel rather low stakes for the majority of the campaign. Even whenever I put the game on hard I didn’t encounter much of an increase in challenge overall.

The levels being so large also raises another issue of it being difficult to identify where enemies are located. I realize that is part of the challenge of FPS games but in areas where there is a huge open space, it tough to know where the the threat is and where to focus your attention. That means it’s more of a “living in the moment” kind of shooter rather than one that requires strategic movements and any forethought. Say what you want about Bioshock’s combat, but it did require players to move through its narrow corridors with caution because of the fast enemies and limited supplies, even if the penalty for death wasn’t that severe.

The best addition they made to the levels is the skyrails system. The skyrails allow the player to ride along them, similar to rollercoaster, gunning down enemies and dropkicking them from above. This not only allows you to avoid bullets but also get a lay of the arena and find some sneaky foes hiding out. It’s also just fun riding those around even if you don’t know where they are taking you. I can definitely see Bioshock Infinite’s influence on later shooters like Titanfall 2 with its high flying action.

So that’s a positive for the open air level design, even if it created some problems along with that. I prefer the more balanced combat of Bioshock 1 over this one, but I can see why they felt the need to mix it up so it didn’t feel like a rehash or stale.

The presentation in these Bioshock campaigns is by far their most notable aspect, and that is taken to a new height in Infinite. From the moment you start out the story and ascend to the sky, the game absolutely surrounds you with awesome visuals and sounds. This part of the game hasn’t aged at all, just as it hasn’t in Bioshock 1. It eclipses most AAA games on the market today in presentation and attention to detail. However there is a point in the middle of the story where I felt the antagonist was far too cartoonishly evil. Andrew Ryan was a more nuanced and intelligent villain, but Comstock and his gang of leaders wouldn’t be out of place as devilish corrupted adults in the Persona series. They are rascist, greedy, power-hungry and often without justification other than “well it was 1912”. A bit more depth in the second act of the campaign would’ve made for a more interesting experience.

The game does rebound itself in the 3rd act though. It goes through so many mind bending plot twist and shifts in tone that the whole story could’ve felt like a total mess. In some ways it is, but what a fascinating mess of timelines and alternative past and futures. This part of the game I’m not going to ruin for anyone that hasn’t played it. It honestly redeemed the whole experience for me and can see going through the game again just to piece it all together.

Even though I think Bioshock is still the stronger game, Infinite is an a very special experience that I’d recommend almost everyone to check out. It presents a grand world full of possibilities and perspectives that you’ll be debating long after the game is over. Even if some of the ideas are better than others, all of them almost feel worth it by the end.

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I recently completed New Super Lucky's Tale (Switch), the former Xbox One exclusive 3D platformer that has jumped over to Switch.

Ready to go on an adventure, Lucky?

Gameplay:

• A throwback to the era of 3D mascot platformers, Lucky is able to double jump & tail swipe (in the air this lets him prolong a jump), with his most signature move being able to burrow under dirt surfaces (this lets you dig under certain obstacles, and pop up under armored foes). With no power ups, it's a pretty straightforward setup, however they manage to do quite a bit even with that simple moveset.
• The game is split up into 5 Worlds (plus 1 postgame World), each of which is a hub world to run around in. Once in a world, you're able to play it's levels in any order you want, and are able to tackle it's boss as soon as you have the required number of pages (the game's main collectable).
• Exceptions include the 5th World, where you have to play it's main levels in a set order, and the post game world, which doesn't have an end boss (it does feature boss levels, but you can play them in any order, just like the rest of it's levels).
• In the main game, main levels are accessed via glowing doorways and have 4 pages to collect, while side levels are accessed by diving into wooden manholes & have 1 page to collect.
• Main levels most often take the form of 3D environments to explore with more of an emphasis on puzzle solving (though get tougher platforming elements as the game goes on) or sidescrolling levels with a more pure platforming focus, but at times can take the form of mazes with an overhead/isometric view, or auto runner levels. You get 1 page for simply clearing the level, 1 page for collecting at least 300 coins in the level, 1 page for collecting all the letters in "LUCKY", and there's 1 hidden page usually hidden behind the level's toughest platforming or puzzle element (not always, but this is usually segmented off into a separate area accessed by finding a hidden wooden manhole in the level).
  
  An example of one of the game's exploratory 3D levels.
• Side levels are always either statue sliding puzzle rooms (you slide the statues along paths with your tail swipe, trying to get the fox statues to end up resting on green spaces), or Super Monkey Ball like affairs where you have to manoeuvre a sphere bound Lucky around by tilting the level with your left analog stick, collecting coins. As mentioned before, these levels only have the completion page to collect.
  
  An example of one of the game's Super Monkey Ball like side levels.
• The post game world is a bit different in that all it's levels are equal in terms of rewards (no matter if it's a main level type, side level type, or boss level, all have 1 collectable for completion, and 1 well hidden/hard to reach collectable to nab as well).
• Similar to Super Mario Odyssey, there are numerous different costumes you can buy with the coins you have collected, from a shop that pops up in every hub world (new costumes unlock for clearing a world, collecting all it's pages, and numerous post game goals).
• Apparently the game has had some tweaks to improve it after it's lukewarm Xbox One release, hence the "New" in the title. This apparently ranges from increased camera control to even completely reworking entire levels, but as I don't have the other version, that's all I really know.

Audio/Visuals:

• The game pretty much nails it in terms of creating colorful, charming worlds to explore, that manages to avoid feeling generic (heck, the desert world is home to a civilization of pro wrestling obsessed Yetis, who also happen to be Buddhist monks). At times the character designs can border on the fugly (such as the earthworms), and the try hard goofiness of some of the world themes (coupled with some punny writing) rob it of any potential timeless appeal, but it's mostly an endearing romp.
  
  The game offers some downright extravagant level themes.
• In terms of performance issues, it's mostly smooth sailing, except for a few brief moments of slowdown when trying to move the camera in some of the 3D levels. The most notable of these is when traversing the middle of a boardwalk in a haunted carnival level, however most of the challenges here seem to be segmented off into their own rooms, so it wasn't a big deal. Also, it can have some lengthy loading times, especially the one upon startup. I usually don't get bothered by such things, but that first one got to me a bit each time.
  
  This is the hub world where the level mentioned above resides.
• I'm never one to pay too much attention to music in a game unless it's particularly good or bad, so I don't have much to say here. Sounds good for what it is, I suppose.

Story:

• There are a group of guardians who protect a magical book that connects various worlds (the in game worlds you travel to), but when one of their own turns rogue (a sorcerer cat named Jinx), it's pages are scattered, the worlds are separated, and it's up to Lucky (the little brother of one of the guardians) to rise up and fix things.
• It's simple, as you can expect from the genre, but it gets the job done, and the storybook like intro & ending are a nice touch. Plus, it has a nice twist if you manage to complete post game.
• As mentioned before, the writing can be a bit puny (expect to hear jokes about "Finstagram" for example), which can be a bit hit or miss.

Conclusion:

• It's not quite as tight as something like Mario Odyssey, Astro Bot, or DKC: Tropical Freeze, and some may find it a bit easy (I had pretty much 0 issues 100% completing the main worlds, and am only missing 4 of post game's hidden collectables), but it's still a very fun romp and feels like more effort went into it than some of Switch's first party platformers (like Kirby: Star Allies), so I think it'll go down really well for fans of the genre, plus Lucky is simply cute as a button. I actually liked it about as well as Yoshi's Crafted World, which I really enjoyed.
  
  That's right Lucky, celebrate my recommendation with those ugly redneck worms.