Topic: Games You Recently Beat?

I beat quite a few games in 2025 - here's a list

• Silksong, including act 3
• Hollow Knight, just one ending
• Undertale neutral route
• DK Bananza
• Mario Kart World, by which I mean I unlocked Mirror mode.

Huh - I guess that's all of them.

Had a Metroidpalooza as of late,

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: I like this game but I do have many of the same issues with it that I have with all the Prime games. The boss fights tend to take way too long for my tastes, whereas they are still challenging yet comparatively fast paced in the 2d games. Also hunting down late game items, in the case of this game the energy cells, always becomes a bit tedious for me. I do love the variety of alien biomes in this one, Elysia and the Pirate Home World are particularly cool.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond- So this was very much a traditional Metroid Prime game, barring the shinier coat of paint, it would've been right at home in the gamecube/wii era. I suppose I went in expecting maybe a little something more, considering the protracted development time and the fact that Prime 3 came out in 2007, but I can’t say I was entirely disappointed. The game looks great, (i played the Switch 1 version), and the gameplay is fun if not more linear than previous entries, which personally I’m fine with. I liked the motorbike, however I feel it could’ve been more cohesively merged with the the core gameplay. Besides literally a couple boss fights you just use it to traverse the desert between zones. I’ve seen a lot of people complaining online about myles and the other federation troopers, I actually liked them. They add some personality to what otherwise might be a fairly sterile experience. It is weird though that, considering they actually have spoken dialogue, Samus doesn’t talk at all throughout the game. Which brings me to the next game I beat,

Metroid: Other M - Been awhile since I played this one. I just remember really disliking the controls. Switching from holding the wiimote horizontally, to aiming will never not be awkward, however I found I was able to adapt after a short time. Visually the game holds up very well, it has a very slick look which reminds me of Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden games. I like that the enemy designs are very reminiscent of classic Super Metroid enemies. The more action focused gameplay is actually really fun once you get a handle on it. The mechanic of dodging and countering with a fully charged shot is incredibly satisfying.

I know this game has gotten a lot of flack for it’s narrative, but I actually don’t mind it. Samus purposefully withholding her abilities out of respect for Adam is a bit silly, but I appreciated that they attempted to give her more of a character. Maybe I just found it refreshing after her relative silence in the Prime games.

Metroid Fusion- This is my second favourite Metroid game after Super. It’s certainly more linear than other games in the series but I’ve always loved replaying it, some awesome boss fights and the dynamic between Samus and the ai Adam is quite compelling. The X are also an interesting foe, basically being the alien from John Carpenter’s The Thing.

Metroid Dread - Having recently played both Beyond and now Dread again, I think I prefer Dread. Although I am biased as I’ve always been more partial to the 2d Metroids. This is a great entry in the series that builds upon the lore and gameplay mechanics of previous games. I think Raven Beak might be one of, if not the toughest boss in the entire series. Also the Metroid Suit looks badass as hell. Hope this one gets a sequel eventually.

@OldManHermit
I genuinely really love Fusion, I know there are people who don’t like it abandoning Super’s more open style, but the sacrifices to freedom are more than made up for in just how good the atmosphere and plot is. That scene when the elevator breaks is one of my favorite moments in gaming, and it didn’t need AAA graphics to achieve the genuine unease you feel during it. I also really love how the sometimes handholding nature is incorporated into the plot by the end, and the bosses are great too. Just a phenomenal game that can be enjoyed even if you don’t like Metroidvanias.

Starting off the year strong by finally beating Red Dead Redemption. Man, that ending messed me up. Why did I sit on it for so long?

Was a bit late reporting on these recents.

Hades 2 (Switch 2). Well, I rolled the credits but not the postgame story and all the tons (and tons) of odds & ends there is to do. Really enjoyed the game. If I HAD to choose, I'd say I prefer the 1st one but that could be influenced by it being my first real rogue-like game experience. I plan on going through the postgame stuff but at a much slower pace than I did with the 1st one so I can get to other games in the backlog. Otherwise, it'll dominate even more limited gaming time.

Luigi's Mansion (NSO). I stated in previous "What are You Playing?" articles that I finally decided to sneak this one ahead of the backlog line. This was one of the games I got at launch back in 2001 but never beat it. Got to the end but never finished for whatever reason. So crazy to have finally beaten it 25 years later. Great game!

I just beat Dadish 4. Such a fun series.

Just beat sin and punishment star successor. A fun game. A strain on the hands no matter what controller you use to play.

Even on normal difficulty the game is so ****** hard with bosses that will sometimes throw everything at you and still ask you to keep up. The game leans a bit too much on the dodging that staying still will frequently shred your health. That and your parry/ melee attack to reflect projectiles, it having lag at the end of its 3 hit combo does not make it easy to use when 4 projectiles are coming at you all at once...

@Tanookduke
S&P:SS is an easy 9/10. It was pretty surreal(Stage 2's Underwater tunnel rings the pinacle bell 😙 )and exhilerating in it's time and overall is probably the best Wii on-rails shooter there is along side the Arcade/Dreamcast port for House of the Dead 2 from HOTD 2&3 Returns.

Neither would play properly on NS2 though due to the lack of a sensor bar. It would be HOTD 'Remake' all over again with the joy-cons, which was unplayable.

Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles Wii had potential, but its 30fps cap, wierd finicky enemy hit detection(More so with zombie head shots), bosses had teeny tiny dead zones and the fights themselves felt like they draged on for an eternity. Total bullet sponges. I hear its sequel is even worse due to the shakey cam.

Freddy Farmer

This puzzle platformer is pretty much a masterpiece. If it weren't for the lame poorly thought out bonus stages and 'all too easy-over before you know it' final(And only) Boss battle, I'd smack it with a 10. Brilliant soundtrack, wonderful visuals, and the gameplay & controls are fine tuned to pure perfection. You have to beat it once on Normal....Where It then pulls a Ghosts 'n Goblins, forcing you to replay it all over again, but on Hard mode which then unlocks access to 2 extra stages(6 & 7) for all 5 worlds which you'll need to complete, leading up to the final boss.

You basically have to collect 5 items in order in each stage accordingly, while avoiding hazards, enemies(etc). It's so intense, exhilerating and rewarding, since you're forced to replay past stages in order to get to whatever stage you need to just to get each items in order which completes a potion. You can't just select any stage within a world. Lose all 3 lives and you're back to lets say 2-1, which is the way i like it. Your platforming skills need to be an 11 to finish both Normal & Hard.

This is Flynn Arcade's magnum opus as far as I'm concerned. Scratch that, I think they only produced it! Catcade Games were the ones responsible.

I finished my second playthrough of Pokémon Scarlet and its DLC, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. I replay Pokémon games a lot, and I feel like the base game of Pokémon Scarlet is the worst one to replay by far.

Fundamentally, there's no reason to engage with the open world on a second playthrough, since I already know that there is no benefit to exploring the ugly, empty world. The lack of level scaling forcing me into the same path I did on my first playthrough didn't help matters either. Battles were way too easy (especially Geeta), making me wish for a hard mode to spice up the difficulty. Nemona, Penny, and Arven are all fine characters, but are ultimately nothing to write home about. I also feel like these characters together lack the same chemistry GameFreak later achieved with Team MZ in Legends: Z-A. The postgame is also super mundane, just featuring mindnumbingly simple rematches with the gym leaders.

Base game rating: 5/10

The DLC is a massive improvement over the base game (although probably not worth $35). Starting with the final battle with Kieran in The Teal Mask, the difficulty is stepped up to one of the most challenging experiences we have had in Pokemon ever. The world design of the two new areas in the DLC feels much more intentional, though still could use some more incentives to explore. Even the visuals are improved (still garbage though, just nicer garbage). Regarding the story of this DLC, I would say it's easily the best narrative I've seen from any Nintendo game I've played. It offers a surprising amount of moral complexity through its various characters, including the player. The only major complaint I have about the DLC is that BBQs are way too grindy and repetitive, but are necessary to unlock so much in the Indigo Disk (including past starters, new customization options, item printing, gym and rival rematches, certain evolution items, past legendaries, and probably more).

DLC rating: 7/10

I wrapped up my replaythrough of Super Mario Galaxy last night, via SMG1+2 for the Switch. It's still an amazing game after all these years. I got 120 Power Stars and I also read the storybook, including the new chapter that was added. The levels are fun and creative, the orchestrated soundtrack is fantastic, and it also looks great on the Switch 2 thanks to the 4K resolution.

I think my only real critique with the game itself is how Spring Mario is controlled. Once you get the Spring Mushroom, Mario gets super difficult to control... you'd basically have to be really careful once you get a hold of it. I feel like they could have made the controls/physics more straightforward than they are, but I think they wanted to encourage the player to take their time while they have the ability to jump super high. That's my guess anyway.

Think I want to focus on Penny's Big Breakaway next. I'll start playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 on my birthday as a way to celebrate that, and my favorite game series of all time.

To start the year I have beaten Castlevania Lords of Shadow + both DLCs on the Steam Deck

I have stopped using my Xbox One X because it does not take screenshots normally anymore. When I press the screenshot button 5 times it takes 1 or 2 screenshots. And I read that this is the current situation with Series S/X as well. Pathetic. And let's not forget that it does not even have a dedicated screenshot button. When I play games I LOVE to take a screenshot journey that varies between games but there are around 500 to 2500 screenshots per game so that is important to me! Why are the Xbox consoles such absolute messy trash? Rant over, I promise!

Finished Marvel: Cosmic Invasion this past evening and I enjoyed it a decent amount. The graphics, music, and character designs are everything I would expect from a 90’s Marvel beat-em-up without relying solely on old characters, using some pretty deep cuts both for bosses and even for characters. The characters all are varied (which is hard to do in a beat-em-up) and feel fun to use. I wish, however, that the enemy types were a little more varied, and that the stun they did was a little less punishing. I also wish there was just a few more levels to put it into being completely worth the 30 bucks I paid for it, as I don’t think unlockable arcade modifiers count enough as a suitable side mode. Still really enjoyed this game, and will be right back in line for the next Dotemu beat-em-up with a property I care about.
8/10

Just beat Donkey Kong Country for the second time.

Well...kinda. I made heavy use of NSO's rewind function. Sometimes it felt like I was using it for every jump and every other enemy.

DKC is actually the first game I ever remember playing, back on my friend's SNES in the 90s. The atmosphere, particularly in the first world, is incredible. Incredible music and, for the time, really beautiful graphics. As much as I love DKC Tropical Freeze, I am a little disappointed that Retro Studios didn't capture the same tone of this game.

Gameplay-wise: I do like the basic gameplay, and really enjoy the first two or three worlds. But after a point I do find the level designs get a bit frustrating, and it becomes a game of annoying obstacles around every corner. This is how I remembered it and - tbh - I don't really have the patience for this type of level design anymore.

Basically I've learnt to stick with the first few worlds next time I play this. Play for the atmosphere...then drop it as soon as it gets hard.

In the tail end of 2025 I finished Metroid Prime Remastered, Metroid Dread, Super Mario Maker 2 story mode, Pokémon Legends Z-A, and Xenoblade Chronicles X. They were all great experiences and also Nintendo exclusives.

The NS2 is my only gaming machine so those were the only games I played. A good end to the year.

And Castlevania Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate HD is done 100% First time completing the HD version. I was sad that they removed the Mario & Luigi reference but at least it is exclusive to the 3DS version

I just beat Assassin's Creed Shadows it took me just over 80 hours. I liked it and would give it an 8.75 out of 10.

Tuff E Nuff on SNES Nintendo Classics, NSO, or whatever we're calling it nowadays. Just wanted to play a classic game tonight, and the box was yelling "HEY PUNK! ARE YOU TUFF E NUFF?" at me. So, I played it tonight, and beat all 10 levels.

For some reason, I thought this was going to be a beat 'em up. Similar to Streets of Rage or Rival Turf. Didn't expect a fighting game. Had fun tonight playing it.

Doomsday Warrior on SNES Nintendo Classics. Another fighting game on the NSO Nintendo Classics service. Game was alright, had some fun once I got use to using the B button to jump, as oppose to up like in every other fighter I've played. The game had some nice cutscenes too. My problem was that final battle. I don't know if it was shoddy programming or what, but at times, I'd kick the final boss, and it wouldn't even register as a hit. The boss would stand there, get kicked, and not react. I even had to abuse the rewind feature just to beat it.

Also, last night, played through Fatal Fury 2 on the same service and beat the game.

With Tuff E Nuff from the other night, that makes, three fighting games I've beaten on the service.

I just finished my first playthrough of Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo Switch).

The level design was great as always and the regular controls felt really good most of the time. The soundtrack was stellar (although I do prefer the Big Band style used in 3D World) was a constant joy to hear. The gravity mechanic was inconsistent in its execution, with sidescroller sections using it excellently while 3D sections usually just resulted with the controls being messed up, with one frequent example being going forward on a planet only for the gravity to invert, causing Mario to just move in circles for no reason. I also was not a fan of the diving and Spring Mario sections, as the controls could be extremely finicky. The whole system of Galaxies being divided into 3 mini levels felt odd to me, and I think it would have been much better if each Galaxy was simply a small sandbox where you can find the 3-4 Power Stars. After playing Donkey Kong Bananza, it's admittedly hard to go back to usual Mario system of collectibles being used exclusively to progress to the next level, but that is a fairly minor complaint.

That may have been a lot of complaints, but overall I think the game is pretty good.

Enjoyment Score: 4/5
Execution Score: 3/5

Overall Score: 7/10