Topic: Games you've recently beat

@KratosMD Yeah i thought the ending might had that effect on you after what happened, didnt wanna say too much as it took me by surprise too, and did wanna ruin it for you.

@RogerRoger Yeah, as far as gaming innovation is concerned Burly Men is hardly groundbreaking, but it did feel a little bit like a bedtime story and the quaintness helped cover up for the lack of gameplay. I was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of the narration did actually change and respond to subsequent replays, which gave me a little smirk at least while I powered through the alternate story paths again and again. Nevertheless the best part of the game was its overall brevity which kept things tolerable for me. But in addition to the the quaintness, the platinum ended up being one of its most redeeming traits. 😄
Not sure if you’ve played The Unfinished Swan, but I got a similar vibe from that (which doesn’t have a platinum, unfortunately- although I’m still short that one blasted gold trophy for reaching the tower with using only 3 ink balls. I kept trying but it wasn’t fun enough to push on for that trophy given the lack of a platinum for getting 100%). I give these games a little credit also for supplying me with some whimsical subject matter to counter the usual grim worlds and gameplay that make up most of the gaming library. Congrats on #30!

@RogerRoger Fair enough. Too bad it didn't click with you and failed to provide the fun, short experience that I got from it. But that's the nature of art and entertainment I guess, different people like different things.

At least you got a shiny new platinum in your cabinet so it wasn't a complete waste of precious game time. I bet there's a little purple dragon and a bald guy in a suit that will get you back in the mood .

@RogerRoger Well, I should clarify what I said when I compared BMaS to TUS — The Unfinished Swan has actual gameplay, to be fair. It has a “bedtime story” feel to it, and is charming in that regard. The narrative is stronger as well than BMaS. It is basically a first person shooter where you shoot ink balls to uncover the environment while it tells this child’s story. It’s a better game overall for sure, but lacks a platinum, even though it is probably even a little bit longer game to finish. For me if BMaS is a 4/10 (I liked it a little better) then TUS is a strong 6/10.

Just finished Call of Cthulhu. And thank Cthulhu it was a gift so I haven't spent a cent for that mess. A bad looking walk simulator, with a mediocre story and awful mechanics: 4 or 5 stupid puzzles, few minutes of stealth and a dozen of zombie-like enemies you can kill without even aiming with your gun. A blasphemy, as all that stupid merchandising around the lovecraftian mythology. 🤬

@andreoni79 Have you played Bloodborne? That had loads of Cthulhu stuff in it.

@JohnnyShoulder Of course I did. There's more Lovecraft in the Fishing Hamlet area of The Old Hunters dlc than in the entire Call of Cthulhu...

Burly Men at Sea on the PS4. Via PS+, obvs.

It's... uh... cute. I beat the game four or five times and cleared the majority of obvious choices I saw.

There's bearded men. They sail around in a little adventure game, and stuff randomly happens to them. Then they go back home. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Not really my sort of game. This seems like one of those indies that's quirky for the sake of being quirky. But it has decent sound design, and it doesn't outstay its welcome like Abzu or Journey, so I can't complain much. I didn't like the control scheme, which was obviously designed with touchscreens in mind, but that's about it.

5/10. Very average experience.

@RogerRoger Tested my theory out on the Vita version, and it indeed controls well.

It was apparently "one of TIME's top 10 games of 2016." No Man's Sky came in at #15, too.

I completed ABZU and Here They Lie on Monday and Pokemon Let's Go Eevee yesterday by beating the Elite Four with a full team of shiny pokemon. Hoping to complete Fe tonight and then get back into review writing.

Heavy Rain. Rather surprisingly for a story driven game with lots of endings, I actually got one of the better endings on my first attempt.

It was a decent game and I enjoyed playing it, but it does have its flaws. The controls and moving the characters doesn't feel quite right, and take some time to get used to. The quick time events can be annoying. When a QTE suddenly switches from having to hold buttons to tapping quickly, it catches me out every time. And in the heat of the moment when needing to be quick, it's easy to confuse the QTE symbol for moving the right analogue stick with the QTE symbol for moving the entire controller.

As for the story, it starts off slow but it's good once it gets into it. It does feel awkward and cliche in places. But overall it was an enjoyable murder mystery. My sheer obliviousness to any and all plot twists meant that the killer reveal took me by surprise, though I suspect plenty of other players would have seen that coming.

My biggest gripe with this game is with Madison. She was such wasted potential. Her problems with being an insomniac and having nightmares are quickly forgotten about, and she instead spends most of the game just aiding the other main characters.

Not sure now if I'll continue playing this now that I've seen one ending which turned out to be a good one. I'll likely wait a few days then check the trophy list. If the trophies aren't too difficult or tedious then it could be fun to explore the different choices in this game while working on the trophies. If the trophies are too tedious, then I'd be perfectly happy to not play any more and instead move on to a different game.

Just beat Darksiders 3. A really solid sequel. Took me just over 26 hours and got most of the trophies (67% completion). Think I'll go back to platinum once/if it gets a NG+ update.
I really hope the game sells well enough. They've laid enough story to get at least 2 more games.
Next up Strife!

@Fight_Teza_Fight thq Nordic said that they need 100k copies sold to be profitable so I reckon that already surpassed that number.

@NecuVise Seems like an attainable goal. Also it supposedly sold pretty ‘well’ on PC.
According to steam spy there are 50-100k owners. https://steamspy.com/app/606280
Don’t know how reliable that is, but it seems to suggest they’ll probably hit their goal across all platforms.

RDR2. I fear the best part starts now since I'll be free to do what I want instead of being just an actor. Almost all the missions were an eye-roll festival because of many annoying things: me forced to use a certain weapon by a companion, me forced to approach a gunfight exactly how the devs decided otherwise the companion dies etc.
I think I'll do the post-game stuff only when I'll take a break from Dragon Quest XI (just started).

Uncharted 3. It was a great game with lots of memorable moments, though the ending seemed slightly underwhelming when compared to the first two. I'd say that overall Uncharted 3 is the best one out of the first three and that I enjoyed it more than Uncharted 2, though Uncharted 1 is still my personal favourite.

@crimsontadpoles I agree that UC3 is the best. It's just filled with thrilling set-pieces and lacks the irritating yeti and tank bits that dragged Uncharted 2 down for me. I also enjoyed the look back at how Sully and Nate first met.

Nothing will beat the vehicle chase in UC2 where you jump from one vehicle to the next. It’s the perfect example of making you feel like an utter hero even though afterwards you realise it is all set up perfectly.

The time has come for me to leave Inaba. I knew this day would come and I usually don’t make a big fuzz about finishing a game but this is different.

After clocking a little over 110 hours on my main save, reaching 70% trophy completion and being captured by the golden ending, Persona 4 Golden is now transferred from my Vita memory card to a slot in my heart.

A few impressions:

The day to day gameplay loop was a great way to unfold the narrative. Constantly learning more about the mystery while dealing with everyday life, teenage angst and identity together with a group of unique and well-written characters. When I said goodbye to them and reminiscing about everything we’ve been through it really felt like saying goodbye to family.

The turn based combat was slick, stylish, strategic and sometimes really challenging on normal mode. I never felt I had to grind extensively. The boss fights were pretty cool too.

The game looks great on the Vita OLED screen and the cut scenes were glorious!

It was my first encounter with the franchise and it really got under my skin. Someday I will definitely play 3 and 5.

@KratosMD It's great that my impressions made you relive those memories. It truly is an emotional game that, despite the heavy themes and murder mystery, stays upbeat and optimistic. The game seems to invoke 'extreme' opninions. Either you completely fall in love with it (like we did) or you don't like it at all, which is also perfectly fine. I can fully understand that this game is not for everyone... It sure made a huge impact on me and puts things in a different perspective.

The ending was so fulfilling and perfect that I didn't want to bother with NG+. I think if I kept playing and playing I would eventually get burned-out and that is not what this game deserves.

I will remember to let you know what I think of Persona 5 when I get around playing it. The experience will definitely be different because I have to play it on my PS4 instead of the Vita. I felt that P4G was a perfect fit on the Vita so I'm curious to see if the experience holds up on home console.

@RogerRoger She's definitely in for a treat! If I can give a little advise: I usually steer clear from guides on first playthrougs but I did do a little research to make sure I got the "True ending" (Golden ending) because it is highly missable. That research did nog spoil the experience for me and the golden ending is truly rewarding. Do let me know how she likes the game!

Happy holidays guys!