Finally, after almost 25 years I've finally beaten Super Mario 64, specifically the Nintendo Switch version from the 3D All Stars collection.

I actually played this game briefly after launch at a friend's, later also borrowed his N64 to play it some more and eventually also did two or three approaches via emulation but the farthest I had ever gotten was about 2/3 I guess. My relationship with this game is pretty complicated. As a child I loathed how "badly" Mario handles and I found the structure confusing so I didn't really like the game. Eventually I got the game's appeal and overcame some of my trouble with the controls and came to the conclusion that it's a nigh-perfect masterpiece. And now?

I now actually agree with myself from when I first played the game. Mario's handling is unnecessarily convoluted and difficult and the camera is quite awful. You can attack enemies in a number of ways and not one of them is comfortable to use. Even classics of the series were screwed up - jumping on enemies is so difficult that it's barely viable and you can't throw fireballs (which could have easily solved many of the precision issues from going 3D). This kinda open world with "quests" is okay but it does have some issues like some quests only being achievable if you choose that particular one when you start the level while others always work. And some of them are IMO just badly designed or the instructions are far too obscure. Also, the game is riddled with what I call "asshole design": insta-killing pits and quicksand are placed in the most annoying and unnecessary places. There are lives even though they don't really make any sense - the only situation where they really come into play are the boss levels where running out of lives may force you to replay the whole level before the actual boss which is in itself kinda dickish. And all of these are things that Nintendo fixed in later Mario games so there's really no point in defending them as creative decisions.

That said: for such an early 3D platformer all of these issues are of course forgivable and it's still a pretty darn amazing game that's all in all super enjoyable except for some moments of frustration. The worlds may be comparably small but they are very diverse, some sections are frustrating but most are quite fun, some enemies require fun strategies to defeat them and the "quests" give the game some elements of adventure which make it more than just "Mario 3D". It has IMO aged worse than Banjo-Kazooie which almost perfected the format but it's actually still a very good - if rough - game even by today's standards.

And concerning the Switch port itself: it's very basic but perfectly fine as far as I can tell. I don't see any reason to play the N64 version instead of this one unless you're a speedrunner or something.

One to inflate my numbers: A Normal Lost Phone
Short game (2 hours tops - depends mostly on reading speed and on how much want to read) taking place only on screen of one phone where you are trying to piece together what happeneed to the owner. Personally I would prefer more detective work. There are only few things you have to do and most of them are very similar to each other (find password to new thing). The game is more about its message and those are supposed to only be hurdles on the way, to give it some gameplay. I would prefer it the other one around.
I don't think it was wasted time, though.
5,5/10

Full list

B2 - The Keep on the Borderlands (NWN:EE, Review)
The Rogues of Quinn part 1 - In The Service Of Quinn (NWN:EE, Review)

Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth

A Metroidvania with gorgeous pixel art and a Record of Lodoss War theme.

Exploring is fun, but the game is quite linear, with the areas in the map separated as Stages, from 1 to 6, each having 2 bosses (though some have more than one phase).

Combat is very simple, in the lines of Castlevania SotN, with a dual element mechanic, fire and wind, that makes you immune to certain enemy attacks and traps depending on with elemental spirit is active. Each spirit can be leveled to level 3 (where it automatically heals you back to 100% health), but looses a level whenever you're hit (and to level it back up, you have to kill enemies with the other spirit). You also have melee and throwable weapons, bows and spells to attack, some of which have different elemental damage from your basic spirits.

Common enemies rarely attack on sight, usually taking quite some time to load up their attacks. This makes most of them fairly easy, and there's a number of them who could use a couple more of attack types. Bosses are quite elaborate, and make good use of your dual spirit setup to fight them, but you won't be spending a lot of time retrying the fights.

Despite the great pixel art, I did miss some of that gorgeous art the Lodoss OVAs have. There are never any character portraits or scenes drawn in more tradicional art, though, given the indie nature of the game, I suppose that was beyond their budget.

I spent 8,5 hours on it, but I did make the choice of grinding near the end just to have an easier time with the final boss.

Overall, I think it was a great time and I would recommend it if you're already done with the other classics of the genre.

Outriders (XSX Game Pass)

Just finished up the campaign, all side quests and collection quests with the Pyromancer class. Ended at level 30 (the level cap) and world tier 11. It took me 55 hours. I really enjoyed the game, unlike some looter shooter games this is very much aimed at single player and/or co-op. Compared to Destiny 2 for example, here you have a defined character in the world that is fully voiced and the main campaign is the main draw at the moment and not the end game content.

The third person combat is as good as any game in the genre. Not just shooting but also your super powers. Character building is also excellent and all combines with your equipment and play style and mods. There are huge number of different ways to tailor your character even within your class- I came to prefer a build that used mods that gave me extra uses for my three favorite skills, combined with accelerated cool down enhancements. It really is one of the best third person action systems I've ever played.

The rest of the game is par for the course- very serviceable, without being ground breaking in any way. Story is okay, the levels are pretty linear and could have been a bit more interesting or complex. Enemies are actually quite good, but run out of variety as the game progresses. However, as a shooter it all came together well. I'll probably even play again sometime to try one of the other classes, or do some more end game content if they expand it. As far as looter shooters go, I rate it behind the Borderlands games, but above the others I've played- including Destiny 2 which I wasn't able to really get into.

Though apparently the game was plagued by some early server issues. Waiting a week really worked out well, I never had a single server dropout or game crash or bug for the entire 55 hours. It also ran solidly as well, I never noticed any performance drops- though I have a freesync TV which can obviously mask small occasional drops if they exist.

Some people wander how the game came to be on Game Pass at release. The answer is on the loading screens "Microsoft Azure". I'm guessing MS provided Square with a VERY beneficial server deal for a good part of the games lifespan.

Yesterday I finished Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

It's really Uncharted++. More polished, more accurate, more everything. Except for the final boss, I got it, it's endgame, it needa to be hard(er), but do you REALLY need to shoot those things 3 bazillion times?

I got this during early access and on sale. Need to get started on it but I've got a few others to do first. Good to see it getting good reviews.

I got it on early access on a sale as well. Played through the first stage, liked it, and since it wouldn't take long to come out, I decided to wait the final release before going back. But it was very much worth it. :)

Return of the Obra Dinn

Just finished it, took me 13 hours. Bit hard to describe, your goal in this game is to deduce the identity of 60 persons who were passengers and crew on a recently returned ghost ship, and how they died. I had to look on the net once for the location of a corpse I had overlooked, but surprisingly enough I managed to identify all 60 persons on my own, so it's certainly doable.
Definitely an interesting game, both regarding its gameplay and the graphics style. Replayability is non-existent though. I'm glad I played it, but not sure if I would buy another game of this kind. It was fun, but in the end the gameplay has only limited appeal to me.
My rating: 4/5 (would be 5/5 for people who really like this kind of game).

The Rogues of Quinn Part 2 - The Avenger of Quinn (NWN:EE, Review)

I’m playing mythology game Hades. Like all SGG creations, the game is distinguished by gorgeous visuals, a cool soundtrack authored by Darren Korb and unique mechanics. The game's plot is quite simple. The game does not have a specific genre - it is a mixture of action and slasher. There are six types of weapons, but each has four types. It is more convenient to play on the joystick, since the dynamics of the game are quite frantic. However, the difficulty of the game is not so high, sooner or later it will turn out to escape. The game has only four worlds with several rooms in each and a boss at the end, which change. In general, if you were looking for something similar, then you should not pass by. The game is really worth your attention.

Just as a note, this thread is for games finished, there's another for what you're currently playing... As I see you're aware, actually, since the most recent post in that one is yours too (but about another game).

Tetrobot and Co. (2013) (Linux)
(thank you, PaterAlf, for the game!)

Not exactly completed yet, but time to say goodbye. A few things prevents me from actually finishing the game (I've stuck at level 7-5, which seems to be close to the end). The first and the most important reason is a strange bug that sometimes makes me unable to throw items – they just disappear and I have no idea how to get rid of this bug without restarting the level. The second problem is backtracking. I believe it's an incorrect gameplay design, if you let people pass the level and at some point you say to them "well, now you need to go back and collect more items, because you won't be able to progress". Knowing that, I'd probably play a bit different. And I've found some levels to be really difficult – especially in terms of long sequence of moves in different chambers. It may be quite frustrating when you realize that mistake made at the beginning forces you to undo most of your progress (nice, that undoing is so easy here!).

Despite these issues – the game is probably one of the most unique and memorable puzzle games I've played. I really liked most of the levels, especially the ones with all necessary moves and items placed in one chamber (not necessarily the easiest though) which create some elegant and concise challenges. My kids also liked the game, however it quickly becomes too complicated for them to play without my help.

I guess it's time to play Blocks That Matter now! :)

List of all games completed in 2021.

Submerged: Hidden Depths - Stadia

I enjoy this one a great deal. Took me about 10 hours. I spent a good amount of time pushing the limits of the ocean exploring then circled back and got all the items and story pieces. Reminded me a lot of AER which I enjoyed also.

Resident Evil 7 biohazard Gold Edition - Stadia

Took me about 17 hours to complete. I had to push through a lot of this game since I was not feeling it that much but a few of the ppl in my circle loved it. I just found to be meh. It did not scare me like that I thought it would. I found myself confused by a lot of it because of what I saw from other Resident Evils this was a far departure from what it was. I don't think it's a bad game but it was not for me.

Eye Of The Beholder - GOG

This one I liked a lot. I skipped these when they first came out but thanks to GOG free giveaways, I learning to enjoy them. Took me 14 hours to end this but I believe I want to give it a another go soon.

I'm currently playing this as well. I'm on level 10 so far, but I'm losing a little bit of interest.