Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

@kkslider5552000 I agree with a lot of what you said here honestly. It's a good game, but not as good as the original one, and the gameplay as well as the story have a lot of issues. I can't say I'm a fan of the story outside the last two chapters, given how it felt like when they tried something serious, the tone would never stay consistent. There's one part in particular that has a boss fight which is played for laughs, but then they expect you to actually feel bad after said boss, when there's no way I can take the scene seriously due to the boss in question.

The combat, at least to me, just kind of felt overly complicated, and it didn't help that most of the tutorials didn't even explain it well. It just felt like a really slow version of 1's combat, if they added tons of systems on top. Field skills were also something that made me want to rip my hair out, especially because of a certain dungeon which blocks progress unless you have specific field skills on your blades. I had to grind for hours just to finish that one dungeon.. and they never really use field skills like that ever again.

The gacha system was also kind of.. not great, even though it was completely free.

I'd have to say that I enjoyed my second playthough of XC2 a heck of a lot more than the first.

Just knowing how the game's systems work removes a lot of the frustrations, plus the patch that lets you skip the gacha animations has to go down as one of the greatest in game history for the sheer amount of time it saves when farming the rare blades.

@kkslider5552000 good summation of xeno 2. The field skills were a feature that interested me at first and then became tedious. Combined with gacha blade acquisition and clunky menus and I gave up. I put 80 hours into it and i realized i'd probably end up putting in well over 100 to finish it and I couldnt commit to that. I felt like that playtime was a good deal longer than it should've been had it been streamlined a bit.

The most recent game I've beaten is Donkey Kong Jr.

I started playing Dark Souls Remastered last November. It took me some time to adapt to it. The control scheme was weird to me (shoulder buttons for melee attacks? Barbaric) and I had a constant feeling like I was doing something wrong. I made the choice to play it blind to allow myself genuine surprise and discovery. Well it took a couple months but i finished it in February. Then I finished Dark Souls II, then Bloodborne, and earlier this week I finished the main subject of this post: Dark Souls III.

In Dark Souls III the natural order has been throw into chaos because the next Lord chosen to link the fire has shirked their responsibility. Consequently this has brought the previous sacrificial Lords back from the dead and, as we approach the end times, the land is converging and denaturing. And also the usual stuff: the undead curse, the abyss, human sacrifice, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria. And you? Well you're some schmuck who is 'unkindled' or an 'ashen one' or something. I don't mean to come off sarcastic (well....maybe a little) but I really don't understand my character's role in the events of the story. I think this lack of agency is something I felt in Bloodborne too, and it reduces the experience to a more rudimentary "next area, fight boss, rinse, repeat". Compare that to the original Dark Souls which, while ostensibly the same, you had to prove you are the chosen undead by ringing the bells and be granted entrance to Anor Londo. Then you do the bit where you have to acquire the four mcguffins. DS3 has you going after the four mcguffins immediately and in a mostly linear fashion.

The linearity of the map is another pain point for me. While not as disappointing as DS2, this is not much of a "Metroidvania" map. The areas are mostly self contained and don't inter-connect in clever ways. They are big and packed with detail. Some of them are rather pretty as well, with the snowy ghost city of Irithyll being my personal favorite. However, most of the areas to me felt derivitive. A castle full of undead, a ramshackle town full of undead, a cave full of skeletons (and some undead), a forest full of etc.. Personally, since 2021 has been the year of Fromsoftware games for me, I'm tired of these settings. It's a bit like the "grass land, desert land, ice land" in Mario games. I've seen them so often that I'm unable to accept them as an actual place within the games and see them more as wallpaper with matching obstacles. Of course, to the person who played DS3 first this won't be a problem and I imagine they would find the areas consistently impressive.

I mentioned previously that an aspect DS3 was derivitive. While that's true, I think it has more to do with a deliberate design choice. DS3 is a mosaic that's been built with themes, designs, and gameplay from all Soulsborne games up to this point. Literally the story is about the lands converging to a singular point at the end of the world and, in a way, that's exactly what they've done with the actual content of the game. It was impossible to miss some of the references to other Dark Souls games, but I also noticed enemies that HAD to be holdovers from Bloodborne. Not to mention the combat seems a bit more frantic and almost felt closer to BB than its namesake. It's my supposition, but I think that was a clever way to clean the slate before the developer did an about-face with Sekiro (although they're turning the full 360° with Elden Ring looking a little too much like Dark Souls).

Hot take - I don't think Dark Souls should have ever been as popular as it has been, and I don't think it needed to be a three game series. That is almost certainly a corporate move to maximize the profit on a popular name. Miyazaki isn't even the sole director on DS3. In spite of that, this game is clearly made with care and attention to detail. I still can't decide what my overall feelings for Dark Souls III are. I can confidently say I think it's a 'jack-of-all-trades, master of none' situation. However, that means that (assuming you like Souls games) there's something you'll like in this.

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aaaaaaand stuff I couldnt organically fit into what I wrote (that I wanted to mention regardless):
-music is meh
-this one is suppose to be an easier souls game, I actually felt like it was the hardest. There are a half dozen boss fights with mutliple health bars towards the end. It's ridiculous.
-this is the first DS game where stuff just didnt make sense to me. Like, I had no greater concept of time. Or what life was lile before the world collapsed. It annoyed me.

Minecraft Dungeons - played through normal difficulty, it was...fine. Unlike Diablo III, I don't really see a reason to play it again. Because even though I'm a Minecraft fan, the gameplay in this game is...serviceable, not at all thrilling. It's an action/rpg for the most casual of casual gamer.

Robotics;Notes Elite - I made it over twenty hours into the story and I just got bored. Experiencing a story about a "slice of life" in a pseudo-futuristic high school setting just...doesn't captivate me. Personally I'd rather re-watch Robot Jox or Pacific Rim for a more compelling mech story.

Beat blaster master zero 3 last night

Shantae and the Seven Sirens.

It's a really nice game. Comfortably the best experience I've had with the series although I've only otherwise played Pirates Curse (which I personally found to be very good but very flawed & uneven in the back half with too much pixel perfect platforming). The game looks gorgeous throughout, the cut-scenes really add something and the characters and scenarios never grated on me at any point (not the case with Pirates Curse which I found to be occasionally caught up in fan-service).

It's one of more than half a dozen Metroidvania games that I've played through on Switch. As a Metroidvania I'd put it in the upper mid-tier. It has a decent map, the power-ups aren't always completely entirely expected, an attempt has been made to make swimming "fun" and fast and it definitely has that satisfying progression that all successful Metroidvanias have. It's not adding something genuinely new like Hollow Knight.

I do like that the difficulty is largely optional - even if this makes most bosses a waste of time.

I don't like that too much of the game requires you to do lots of dances for completely invisible things late game (although in hindsight this isn't actually too much different to Super Metroid's "if in doubt at a dead end plant a super bomb"). I also thought that the loading screens - although generally not a problem - were slightly too long for a game that has you moving from area to area very quickly late game.

The game would have benefitted from a Zelda style "master mode" option where none of the pots drop hearts (or alternatively a mode where there's no collectable food). I wouldn't personally choose that option but it feels like the balance of the combat isn't quite where WayForward want it to be. Or maybe it is?

Anyway - it was a good game and I enjoyed it.

Link’s awakening. Own the original but never played it (I wanted a game boy player and then never got one so forgot about the game). It was… interesting to say the least. Beautiful game and I love the music but didn’t enjoy this one. It’s next to LoZ in a “I beat it because I feel obligated as a franchise fan” sort of way. That being said the fact that this game meant that my favorite Link got an amiibo and in the cutest artstyle ever (seriously I would do something insane to get LttP in this artstyle) make it worth the pain.

Just beat Boyfriend Dungeon. It wasn’t bad but it suffers from the same issues mainstream games do. In an attempt to be inclusive they just make everyone bi (which made the first part of the game very uncomfortable because the guys don’t take no for an answer) so orientation has to give way to identity. For the rest its the normal issues, very few female options (granted it is called Boyfriend Dungeon), and everyone is a stereotype. The combat isn’t bad albeit simple and the artstyle is cute. But it tries to cater to everyone in the rainbow so the game as a whole is bland. But it was something to play. It’s hard being a female homosexual in these gaming streets.

I've been slacking on this thread. XD Here are my recent completions, in reverse order:

Drill Dozer (Wii U VC)
A lesser-known Game Freak work when compared to a certain monster-enslaving series. This was a fun platformer, one where the drilling gimmick is (mostly) used intuitively and explained well. I actually liked most of the mechanics and underwater sections, but I disliked how controlling the dozer in the air was implemented. The animations were pretty good for a GBA title, and I recognized some of the sound bits from the Gen 3 Pokemon games. There's also a ton of replayability by going back through levels and trying to find all the treasures, as well as unlocking secret levels and buying more upgrades for the drill dozer. The story is also short but entertaining, and the boss fights are fun and require some strategy at times. The game also makes excellent use of the Wii U Gamepad's rumble effect.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (Switch)
This is, quite frankly, one of the best action RPGs I've played in recent memory, only second to XC:DE. In fact, I enjoyed it enough that I now wish to track down and play the other modern titles! (Already have both Ys Origin and Ys IX backlogged on Switch). Excellent gameplay and combat, plenty of exploration, an amazing soundtrack, a decent plot (more on that shortly), great character development if the player puts in the work, likeable companion characters, a village to develop and services to expand, fun raid battles and hunts to participate in, and some interesting side quests to boot. I was kept busy for 70+ hours, longer than the ~50 I was expecting to dump into it.

The plot is amazing for the most part, though it sags a little after the rather dramatic prologue but then increases in quality about 1/3rd of the way in. After that point, the quality and scale continue improving for an amazing climax. I mostly played the game in docked mode out of preference, but it does understandably take a hit in handheld mode...though nothing game-breaking. Some of the water textures look...weird early on, but I adapted lol.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York (Switch)
A visual novel set in White Wolf's World of Darkness and a standalone expansion to Coteries of New York. As expected, there's a lot of text and decision-making that does affect the story in a limited manner, though it will play out in some directions regardless of player input. The art is pretty well done, and the protagonist is tolerable. On the flip side, the game lacks replay value, is somewhat short, and...I'll be honest, I wasn't too chuffed about some of the setting or the ending I received. Easy to recommend for those who like visual novels and WoD, but there are better works out there.

So, which other Ys games will you be looking for, @Tyranexx ....? Glad you enjoyed that, anyway!

recently beat the whole shovel knight treasure trove

Tier
Shovel Of Hope (A+)
Specter of Torment (A)
Plague of Shadows (B+)
Showdown (B)
King Of Cards (C+)

Brilliant collection tho

Finally got end credits on Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. Very good game overall but the sound direction was a little off. I still have loads to unlock since I have all the DLC but I can take it out of my regular rotation now.

Out of the 5 games (including Xmen Legends) I would put it at 3rd on my list.
I also think they set it up for 4, but not sure if that will ever happen.

Yonder the Cloud Catcher Chronicles PS4.

@BruceCM Hah, pretty much everything highlighted on this page! It has proven very useful. Ys V is out of my reach unless it earns a remake. While I prefer to game on Switch, everything not already on it is obtainable on PC. My laptop should at least be able to handle Ys I & II Chronicles, but I'm not sure I trust it with anything more intensive lol. I'd like to build a decent PC, but between the current graphics card market and a few looming purchases, it'll have to wait a while yet.

I just finished Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. I still have the DLC to look into, but the main stories on both 1 and 2 are pretty much over. It was a wild ride, and I really enjoyed both, even though the second game felt a bit rushed in comparison, and the first game wasn't really that great, only serving as set up to 2. The story is great though, and so are the characters. Sherlock Holmes is probably the best character in the duology, with it being a pretty unique take on the character. They leave 2 off wrapped up fully, but at a place where they could technically make another game if they really wanted to.

Sadly, they probably won't make another, but that's mainly because GAA didn't sell well in Japan when it first came out. Hopefully it did well with the collection, so that they'll consider making more.. mainly since it was really great.

DDLC+ a few weeks ago. The side stories add so much to the collective experience that I think playing it again is worth it just for that. The stories were surprisingly long, though I had to let it play on autoscroll for me to truly appreciate that considering just how fast I scroll. It was my first time playing the whole thing, although I didn't go in blind.

The game itself is kinda what I expected. I knew about some of the horror gags but they still did enough to give me something to think about when falling asleep. The third and final acts were pretty thought-provoking however and left me very fulfilled when the credits rolled. Some of the horror elements don't work on Switch though, things like deleting character files, plus deleting Monika herself naturally work much better on PC, not to mention things like glitching and broken character sprites.

The Plus! content was good. The side stories were the most feel-good thing possible, and some of the dialogue coupled with the new music (which I think is overall better than the original's soundtrack) made for some truly emotional moments, and elicited a slightly emotional response from myself. The customisable virtual desktop is fun, but the gripe I have is with the emails. They expand on the game world, but in a very strange way. It's easy to pretend they don't exist though...

But... yeah. Pretty great experience overall!

In some ways, it's surprising Ys I & II Chronicles haven't been ported to Switch ... Those are even on Android & iOS! While the rest would fit very well on there, too, so I've been expecting to hear about them starting ports, especially when they did Origin Perhaps the others will be announced soon, @Tyranexx ?

I only play SAMP

@BruceCM We can hope! We know the Switch can handle the most recent entries - Ys IX visual hit aside - so hopefully all three games currently available on the platform have done well enough to warrant more ports.

I've looked into buying Ys I and II Chronicles on Android, but from what I understand the best version out there is on PC. I was half-tempted to track down the DS release, but I've read that one...isn't the best. It's also absurdly priced by this point.