La5t Game You Fini5hed And Your Thought5

Mas:

Quote :

Ecosystem reward system is good and Nintendo should have one.

Also Mas:

Whilst these types of games are definitely a quick cash grab which is why they're so short, don't underestimate a child's willingness to play the same bits over and over again so there's little need to put the effort in, Lyla insists on starting a new game every time she plays Peppa Pig (then complains that she can't get to Potato World (the games ultimate goal)).

Good tidings I bring to you and your kin. Santa Tracker is the Nintendo Switch’s very own app in which you can read Santa’s Christmas countdown blog, featuring audio commentary in his surprisingly Liverpudlian accent no less. But that's not all! You can use an advent calendar to find out what Santa’s been up to in his toy factory in the North Pole (with sexy results) and play broken-down little minigames that would’ve received single-digit review scores from NGamer Magazine. It’s made on a budget that wouldn’t add up to the cost of the milk and carrots you’d leave out for Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve.

The main selling point is indeed being able to track Santa on his travels across the globe. However unlike other more sophisticated trackers that you maybe use for fun on Christmas Eve night, this just seems to be active all year round. There’s no rhyme or reason or acute travel planning here, Santa just bops about the world going to random places. One minute he might be delivering presents in Peshawar in Pakistan, then the next he’ll suddenly fly off to look for naughty children in Benin City in Nigeria, then he’ll maybe stop off for a jobby in Cowdenbeath in Scotland before going back to his grotto to read letters.

It’s adequate enough for less than a pound and my ownership of it is what let me download the very decent Formula Retro Racing so cheaply (because of a publisher discount). Yet it's not overly interesting or diverting. Looking back to when I played Santa Tracker last year, in hindsight there was better ways for me to get into the Christmas spirit. 4/10.

@Balladeer  and it is still my wanted thing for Switch 2, though as I said elsewhere Nintendo could bring back Miiverse and when you get all the seeds in Mario you can post the stamp from doing that


What was good? Good VO from Lachlan Watson as Fang, in this yet another music based Visual Novel that I have played this year. The music you play in little mini-games is quite good as well. The D&D or L&L in this case does make me want to finally start BGIII.

What was less good? You kinda know where the story is going to go, because Dinosaurs.

What was bobbins? Not bobbins as such, but the story is typical teen type stuff.

Would I recommend it? Out of the three VN games with musical elements I've played this year in this, Stray Gods and Harmony. Goodbye is the best of the bunch, and if you want a game like that.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

then he’ll maybe stop off for a jobby in Cowdenbeath in Scotland before going back to his grotto to read letters.

He's banned from using the bog in my house ever since the much discussed 75 Mince Pies Mud Pie incident. Also, what on earth do you mean by "sexy results" in the advent calendar?

What Jay said, what's Santa been doing that's sexy?

Volcano High is one of those games that I'm quite happy to look at from the outside. The idea of a visual novel where the end is inevitably 'everybody dies'... That's not bittersweet, that's just bitter. Looks nice though.

Looks like it does in that screenshot, at least on the Switch OLED, which is how I played it. I did get the bad (not really bad, as not that sort of game) ending as I arrived at the lighthouse (is this BioShock?) a few days after Beltane.

Still this feels like a 2D Journey crossed with

That's the most Scottish thing I can think of, though a game called Highland Song doesn't have enough musical sections for me, unless I missed some due to the way I climbed peaks.

EDIT


What was good? Looks great being 2D-HD, decent music, fun real-time combat and maybe the best JRPG (FFXVI isn't a JRPG and Xenoblade FR is an expansion) I've played this year by a long way.

What was less good? The big bads aren't really that present.

What was bobbins? Not for me, but for a Balla who should be playing, is that this has 99 endings.

Would I recommend it? Hell yeah, I'm shocked a Balla hasn't already picked this up.

I know this is a remake of a PS1-era JRPG and Sea of Stars takes inspiration from 16-Bit JRPGs, so are different, yet I don't know if I want to jump into a SoS anytime soon. As I've downloaded on my PS5 for a while now, thinking it be a great Portal game like Star Ocean was.

Edit 2


What was good? It was cheap / "free" as I say cheap (I paid £6 for a physical PS5 game) because EofGiz bought it for CW a few months ago now after a bet, then it went on sale during Black Friday that EofGiz & myself picked it up to do some #content, then a few days later went on Plus. With that in mind, that it is on Plus, it isn't a bad racer.

What was less good? It feels like an even more underbaked Forza Horizon than Crew Motorfest though guess kids want the LEGO cars etc, yet Forza Horizon 4 has LEGO DLC which is much better.

What was bobbins? This is a kids game which has season pass, microtransaction, bundles etc in your face soon as you load the game up.

Would I recommend it? Umm if you want a kids racing game which is open-world over a kart racer along with it being in Plus then sure give it a go.

Edit 3


What was good? The music cues are right, such as the song playing Tech Noir.

What was less good? As it is set after Judgement Day in 1997, the game looks like a PS360 game with the colour palette of grey, brown, brownish grey and the like.

What was bobbins? Early on you have to do a lot of sneaking as you're a human with human weapons that aren't any good against T-800, which makes the game slow and boring. When you get plasma weapons, it is way more fun. Though, why would Skynet make weapons that are really effective against themselves, without those humans can barely take down a roomba.

Would I recommend it? After playing Robocop Rogue City, this is a huge step back as for a lot of the game being a human isn't fun, later on it does get better and as it has a lot of nods to the films, that a fan would like it. You can also see the groundwork for Robo in this and where & how they improved the game.

I will say the Enhanced Version which I played on PS5 comes with one lot of DLC included where you play as a Terminator in a bit of roguelite permadeath mode thingy, which is pretty fun as a lot like Robo you can mow down humans with ease. There is one other bit of DLC, which I would have to buy (is in the complete edition on Xbox Series X|S) where you play as Kyle Reese that might be good.

A Hat in Time



I'm right in thinking this was well liked here right? It certainly is by this guy anyway, full of charm and character I enjoyed every moment of this, from the delightful music, fun voice acting, neat pure platforming sections and great writing, it's all very good. The Murder on the Owl Express level is peak gaming.

9/10

Absolutely!  The entire game is peak gaming, especially the level made out of actual peaks.  It's just a blinding time isn't it?  Chuffed that you enjoyed it too, the perfect game to celebrate your marriage with.  Er.  Somehow.

I guess hats are popular at weddings.

I'm not sure how many more games I will finish this year as I go back to work tomorrow, I bring you (Balla mostly) my scores at the doors for the 71 games I've finished this year along with some expansions/DLC.

Why now, well is because I finished Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Spider-Man Miles Morales, as that is a Christmas game along with an easy'ish Platinum which I got.

The Scores:

That sure is a list of games and scores!  (7 being 'great' and 4 being 'bad' is but never mind that for now.)

My year's really taken a leap over the last few days.  Firstly I discovered that the thoroughly enjoyable Drainus was actually a 2023 Switch game, and that raises the quality of 2023 on its own.  Then I got Mario RPG and the new WarioWare, and they're both looking like corkers.  The year might be (read: is) a bit remake-and-remaster-heavy, but has been a stealth belter for me.  (Yes I'm aware that any year with a new 3D Zelda and a new Mario being 'stealth' anything is a bit whatever, shhh.)

EDIT: what the heck, here's my top ten at this point, missing off the games that are going to make the votes this year (no I haven't forgotten...)
10. Whichever of SMRPG and Move It! I like more by 31st Dec 2023.
9. The redeemed post-DLC Storyteller.
8. Curse of the Golden Idol, a this-year release on Switch.
7. Drainus, ditto.
6. Chants of Sennaar, top language game brought down by some annoying navigation and stealth.
5. Metroid Prime Remastered, natch.
4. - 1. Wait and see!

(Yes I have counted correctly.)

Maybe 7 should be better than Good and 7.5 Great, you get the point, as in when you see a 7ish from me, you know I still like the game.

I should play Chants, as I bought in a PSN sale.

CoS would definitely be a 7.5 from me if I did half-marks. Which I don't. So it's a really high 7.

Guys, I've just finished Hollow Knight. Now that's the way to do a Metroidvania. I can see why everyone's looking forward to the sequel, even though I got the "bad ending" I think. The only confusion I have: why does everyone like that Hornet character? You only see them once in the whole...

*checks map on walkthrough site*

Ah shit hold on a sec, back in a bit

I didn't even know it was possible to only see them once!

Jimbob wrote:

Guys, I've just finished Hollow Knight. Now that's the way to do a Metroidvania. I can see why everyone's looking forward to the sequel, even though I got the "bad ending" I think. The only confusion I have: why does everyone like that Hornet character? You only see them once in the whole...

*checks map on walkthrough site*

Ah shit hold on a sec, back in a bit

Okay, maybe you actually were in the early to mid game after all...

Blimey, has it been 2 months since I finished a game?  That shows you how much I'm finding to enjoy on Switch at the mo huh... oh right, Mario RPG.

Yep this is good.  By which I mean, it's strange.  This is a great throwback to an era when Nintendo let Square:
- give Mario an ally who was a doll with a gun in his hand
- male him fight an all-new very un-Mario set of villains who were based around weapons
- make bondage Donkey Kong a regular enemy
- throw a Final Fantasy boss in because they could.
You wouldn't see any of this now.  Except you would because they remade it!  I'm still not sure how that happened! It looks really really sharp, sounds great (Shimomura my beloved ), has dialogue as odd as the game is, and plays...

...well, it plays old.  It's a SNES RPG and, besides some tweaks to make it a bit less SNES in difficulty (apart from in the postgame) and help you find the hidden items, they've changed very little.  This is good in that there's precious little fat on these bones, fat an SNES cart just didn't have room for.  I finished the main game in around 12 hours with no grinding.  And, it's bad in a couple of confusing dungeons, the lack of overworld (there's just a rather annoying map), and that the combat just feels SNES.  You can't jump on enemies to start battles with an advantage for example.

But, that lack of fat means that I reckon even those of us who don't care for JRPGs on the whole might enjoy giving this a look, especially if you like retro games.  This feels more Earthbound than modern Paper Mario.  If you already played it on Virtual Console, that was probably a while ago and it does look and sound very nice now, but it's probably not an essential buy.  If you didn't, give this a serious look.  It's just so strange.

Jimbob wrote:

Guys, I've just finished Hollow Knight. Now that's the way to do a Metroidvania. I can see why everyone's looking forward to the sequel, even though I got the "bad ending" I think. The only confusion I have: why does everyone like that Hornet character? You only see them once in the whole...

*checks map on walkthrough site*

Ah shit hold on a sec, back in a bit

OK, now I think I've finished it. Finished it enough anyway. Did catch up with the last two bits on the map. Although I fear with those, and then checking after the ending what I'd missed, there was a little bit of a sour taste. They might've learned the wrong lessons from Dark Souls, with late game stuff hidden behind obscure places, as opposed to Tunic's strategy of giving you an item that indicates hidden things and encourages exploration. But I still loved it a lot, it's a Metroidvania that looks and plays better than most, and the difficulty curve was just right. Yeah.

The itch.io charity bundle story so far:

More bundle quickfire review
Button City I did eventually replay and I think already gave it the official score Quite Charming/10
Micro Mages - Oh for a world where Nintendo's attitude to things wasn't so draconian. This is technically a wrapped-up emulated NES game, a 4-player upward platformer. Very tough - I didn't do the last last boss if I'm honest - but plays like a modern retro game as opposed to a bad old one. Would be a cult hit if somehow Nintendo would let it onto the Switch Online. 4/5
Skull & Bones - Wasn't expecting a lot from the generic company name Addictive 24/7 Games. Charming idea though, a boy is duped into saving the world with help from a new-found friend, a reanimated skeleton. Puzzle platformer where the 2 character's skills are used in tandem. Plays like a mid 90s PC game, but has the same problems: switching between 2 characters to traverse a landscape twice is draining, and "square-shaped levels where a missed platform means dropping to the start" can get in the mid 90s sea. Music slaps though. 7/24
Arachnowopunk - Clever idea, a Metroidvania where your spider character crawls along by itself, including up walls and ceilings (I guess it's like a Geemer from Metroid when I think about it...) and your jump button (really the only button) is used to find routes around the levels. In practice though, it's a clever idea but hard to play enough of to feel like you're ever in control of the situation. 3/6
Blasting Agent - Throwback to old DOS games like Secret Agent. A bit too punishing though, and not interesting enough to put up with the restarts. Not my nostalgia/5



Also, bonus elder family review: My Mum finished Jusant. This was a charming calm combat-free exploration game she likes... as shown by her comments such as "CLIMB UP YOU SHITTY FUCKER"

Hey girlies, it's me! Some quick-fire thoughts from me too:

Pikmin 4: I absolutely understand Buska's take on this, though I have to say I really, really enjoyed it. The gameplay loop was so tight that I got absolutely hooked and 100%-ed it - something I rarely do with videogames. You can kind of bulldoze everything with Oatchi if you want to, but you don't have to, if that dilutes the experience for you. I had a lovely time. 9/10

Tears of the Kingdom: A fab game, but was it iconic, never done before, top banana hot shit? Not quite. I did really like it and would obviously recommend it, and I did get invested in the story in a way I typically don't with Zelda games, though. I would say that the Depths were a bit shite though. 9/10

Super Mario Bros. Wonder:: Now obviously this slapped you in the face with a charm offensive, and I totally bought it. I had a great time. I got every Wonder Seed and beat every level, and as with Pikmin, I wouldn't necessarily bother doing that with a lot of games. It jazzed up the 2D Mario formula in a really fun way and the little Easter eggs (like discovering a certain explorer in parts of the overworld) really tickled me. 9/10

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: You guys, I think this is one of my favourite games ever. I've voiced my frustrations with XC2 before, but XC3 nailed the kind of character authenticity that XC2 completely lacked. It had its tropes, sure, but every character felt like they had depth and I just thought the world was really well fleshed out, and the time I invested into it was rewarded. I haven't played the DLC yet but I have every intention to. 9.5/10

Super Mario RPG: Balla summarised this well I think - it's a funny little time capsule and I like that the time was taken to bring it out in 2023 to an audience who never got to experience it. It's got foibles and quirks, but it captures a past era in an intangible kind of way that triggered some sort of nostalgia for a bygone gaming era. I had a lovely time with this too! 8/10

Carrion: A very different vibe to Super Mario RPG, but I liked it - though I think I liked what it was trying to do more. It nailed the feeling of being a big squelchy lab experiment gone wrong, though sometimes it was a bit of a pain in the arse to control, and some of the puzzles were a bit lame. Still, it was a very compelling approach to a Metroidvania and the storytelling - particularly the ending - made more of an impact than I had thought it would. 7.5/10

The Teal Mask and Indigo Disk: They were OK. I quite liked Carmine, and Ogerpon, and Kieran's arc of being a dweeb into being a mega bitch. The bit after you complete the main story of the Indigo Disk and go to the Crystal Pool was actually really quite well done, but none of the rest of it really left me shooketh. I haven't played the epilogue but I'll probably get around to it eventually. 6/10

Advance Wars: I beat this as part of Re-Boot Camp, and had a good time with it. Some maps were challenging but I tended to understand how to approach a map on a second go and come out on top. I even beat the last mission on my first try! This is a series I never got on with when it first came out, despite NGamer loving it, so I feel like I've been able to appreciate it in a new way and I'll be taking on Advance Wars 2 at some point. 8/10

Rum wrote:

Pikmin 4: 9/10

Tears of the Kingdom: 9/10

Super Mario Bros. Wonder:: 9/10

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: 9.5/10

Welcome back Rum!  After XC2 left you coldish, chuffed to see you enjoying XC3.  More than TotK?  You absolute sick bastard, and I think I agree.  That DLC's grand too.

Now let's all sit around the campfire and slag off Ghondor for being chuffing terrible.

I dunno, I found her batshit accent quite charming, in a world where all the other voice acting was generally pretty subtle. Her character? Well, let's just say that I kind of felt myself being Team Shania.

I've just finished Another Code: Two Memories, in that I've completed that bit of AC: Recollection (the remake doesn't fully differentiate between it and its sequel and you just go straight from that into a "two years later..." situation as if the game just continues). Anyway, I think it counts enough to put it in here.

Two Memories has a special place in my heart because it was charming and atmospheric, and used the DS in very clever ways, albeit it was recognisably flawed in a few others. I was really excited to see a remake was on the cards, and playing through it again gave me a good degree of warm fuzzies. They've made some changes, and the puzzles aren't as impactful because you can't do as much weird shit with the Switch, but it felt like a passion project and I was pretty hooked despite its slow pace and rough edges. 7.5/10

Minor Easter eggy spoiler:

Ghondor brings XC3 down to second spot on my Top 30 Switch games as she's that bad, I also could post my current Top 30 as I can't see me playing anything on Switch that make the Top 30 before March 3rd 2024 (Peach is after this, so is in year 8 of the Switch).

Anyway, I left a bunch of games for one big post from me

Resident Evil 4 Remake

As you may know, I wasn't going to get this, but I got a voucher in work over Xmas and this was on offer, so I paid like £10 for it. And I have to say it's pretty good, unlike REmake 2 where it's basically changed the game I didn't like it at all, this feels like RE4 but looking nicer for 2023 standards. With that it doesn't feel new or revolutionary as the OG on Cube which was like WOW what a game and still talking about it nearly two decades later.

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores

When you go back to games like this, I'm always blown away how good they're actually are like playing things like Starfield last year then go play this, and I know different genres etc it's damn ohh yeah this is what a top-notch video game is.

The new story here with Aloy and Seyka is pretty good, along with some new robots to take down is a fun time.

Interaction Isn't Explicit.

This is free on PSN and is described as a short, interactive study where it goes through different pros and cons of game mechanics. It mentions games like Dark Souls, Final Fantasy XVI, SotC and how you interact with those, how they do things differently etc. I found it interesting enough.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

After the Xbox Direct, I went back and loaded up my save for Hellblade 1 on PS5 (PS4 game via BC) with my old save from 2017 to finish the game for a second time, the first being on Xbox I think after they announced the second game.

It still looks fine for a 7-year-old, yet where it still shines is the acting, sound, story etc making it still a game worth checking out in 2024.

Tekken 8

Just came out this past Friday, and I've already got the Platinum for this and sold it on which fund Granblue Fantasy for instance. The main story mode with the flashy cutscenes where you mostly play as Jin reminds me of the story modes in MK but with the story mostly only focused on the one character who I wouldn't use myself is a tad lame.

The other story mode Arcade Quest is fun, where you make Mii-like characters who go to different arcades in different towns to play the new hit video game Tekken 8, which I could use who I wanted here to get through the story of becoming world champ.

Is a bit of an old school arcade mode as well where you play a Lili then get here story movie at the end after around 5 fights. For fans of fighters like Jay, who I know has the game this seems a great fighter I just know I won't play much online (then will a Jay play SF6 instead online?) to be worth keeping it, hence why I sold for £50 already.

Not much to say about Mas' haul, apart from isn't Lili the horny choice?

AC2M, though - there's a title I have a heavy soft spot for. How was the voice acting Rum? That was the aspect that I was a bit sceptical about from the trailers.