SaGa 2: Goddess of Destiny (Nintendo DS)

Disclaimer: This is not my first playthrough. I've played through this game, and the game it's a remake of (Final Fantasy Legend 2 for the Game Boy), many times.

Just beat the game with a 4 robot party. This party is nice because it avoids the need to fight endless battles to raise Human/Esper stats, and it also avoids having to look up monster transformations and hunt for meat (or get lucky while experimenting). It's also rather interesting to play an RPG with turn based combat in which the only way to get stronger is to find new equipment. (Also worth noting that there's lots of flexibility; different weapon types use different stats (or none at all, which has its uses), and the usual body slot restrictions (that prevent a character from wearing multiple suits of armor or multiple helmets, for example) don't apply to robots.)

Fought the short version of the final boss because I never used a thread outside of the arena. (That also means I missed a lot of little side quests that reward items.)

I would say that this is one of the better remakes out there, perhaps on par with Dragon Quest 3 SFC/GBC in terms of how much was added (but no bonus dungeon, though there are two arenas for extra challenge).

Edit: I believe this playthrough was under 11 hours IGT. Short by RPG standards, but still considerably longer than SaGa 1 (assuming an experienced player, which I am for both games).

Thronebreaker The Witcher Tales
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3
Deus Ex Human Revolution (original version) (replay)
Red Faction Guerrilla (original version) (replay)
Control
Borderlands (replay)
Borderlands 2 (replay)
Borderlands The Pre-Sequel (replay)
(was building up to getting Borderlands 3 in the Steam summer sale, but got Halo MCC instead)
Halo Reach
Halo CE
Halo 2
Halo 3 ODST
Halo 3

Ran out of room in my first post, continuing here:
166. Another Lost Phone: Laura's Story - GOG - July 25, 2021
167. Retro Classix: Wizard Fire - GOG - July 25, 2021
168. Retro Classix: Joe & Mac Returns - GOG - July 26, 2021
169. The White Door - GOG - July 27, 2021
170. There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension - GOG - August 23, 2021
171. Samorost 3 - GOG - September 1, 2021
172. Tomb Raider GOTY - GOG - September 19, 2021
173. Papetura - GOG - September 25, 2021
174. The Last Stand Legacy Collection - GOG - September 27, 2021
175. Hitman: Blood Money - GOG - September 28, 2021
176. Hitman: Absolution - GOG - September 30, 2021
177. Gun Metal - GOG - October 2, 2021
178. Flynn: Son of Crimson - GOG - October 4, 2021
179. Fractured Soul - GOG - October 6, 2021
180. Bleeding Moons - GOG - October 13, 2021
181. One Dreamer: Prologue - GOG - October 13, 2021
182. Thief: Deadly Shadows - GOG - October 18, 2021
183. Kromaia - GOG - October 24, 2021
184. Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) - GOG - October 27, 2021
185. Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - GOG - October 28, 2021
186. Dark Nights with Poe and Munro - GOG - October 29, 2021
187. Just Cause - GOG - October 30, 2021
188. Just Cause 2 - Complete Edition - GOG - October 31, 2021
189. The Last Express - GOG - November 1, 2021
190. Westerado: Double Barreled - GOG - November 1, 2021
191. Sir, You Are Being Hunted (Classic Edition) - GOG - November 1, 2021
192. Venom. Codename: Outbreak - GOG - November 4, 2021
193. Owlboy - GOG - November 5, 2021
194. Pixel Piracy - GOG - November 6, 2021
195. Evan's Remains - GOG - November 7, 2021
196. Blazing Chrome - GOG - November 8, 2021
197. Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King - GOG - November 10, 2021
198. American Hero - GOG - November 12, 2021
199. Omikron: The Nomad Soul - GOG - November 13, 2021
200. In the Shadows - GOG - November 14, 2021
201. Jalopy - GOG - November 15, 2021
202. Kingdom Rush Vengeance - GOG - November 29, 2021
203. Nine Witches: Family Disruption - GOG - December 5, 2021
204. Looking for Aliens - GOG - December 11, 2021
205. Cave Story's Secret Santa - GOG - December 12, 2021
206. Call of the Sea - GOG - December 13, 2021
207. Risky Woods - GOG - December 13, 2021
208. Hollow Knight - GOG - December 17, 2021
209. Alba: A Wildlife Adventure - GOG - December 18, 2021
210. Journey to the Savage Planet + Hot Garbage - GOG - December 19, 2021
211. Guacamelee! 2 - GOG - December 20, 2021
212. The Coma: Recut GOG - December 21, 2021
213. LIMBO - GOG - December 22, 2021
214. Shantae and the Seven Sirens - GOG - December 23, 2021
215. Little Bug - GOG - December 24, 2021
216. Heroes of the Monkey Tavern - GOG - December 26, 2021
217. The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters - GOG - December 27, 2021
218. Dropsy - GOG - December 28, 2021
219. The Great Perhaps - GOG - December 29, 2021
220. Consortium 2019 REBALANCE - GOG - December 30, 2021
221. VirtuaVerse - GOG - December 31, 2021

Not a whole game, but a DLC I've been working on and off for a while.

Perils on Gorgon for The Outer Worlds.

It was a little slow in a couple spots, but the humor is always on time, lol. Good stuff. I don't regret getting the expansion pass.

Gonna probably take a break from the game for a couple of weeks and then do the other DLC for it.

Last Stop (XSX Game Pass)

It's the new adventure from the developers of Virginia. It plays similar to something like Heavy Rain, interactive movie sort of experience. The story is set in London from the point of view of 4 main characters who's lives eventually come together like a Guy Ritchie or Tarantino movie. It has a supernatural or otherworldly angle to it that drives you on, wanting to know what is happening. The final chapter that brings everything together ended up being a mild letdown, but the journey getting there was still a pretty funny story with really good characters. It was worth playing, and is only 6 hours long. I'm not sure I'd pay the full price for the 6 hour experience though...but it's your money, your choice.

Raji: An Ancient Epic (XSX Game Pass)

It's a bit like a God of War lite, with less puzzles. It was actually quite good, good enough that I hope the developers make something similar but a bit longer. It's especially interesting to play a game set in a belief/mythology that is quite rare in gaming, apparently it's a take on a traditional Hindu story.
Combat was initially a bit simple and annoying at the same time, but got better as the story went on and you pick up more weapons and favor orbs to upgrade them. At only 6.5 hours though, just as the combat was getting pretty good- the game ends. I really enjoyed it while it lasted though. It's on GOG as well.

Both posts are now listed on the first page :)

Thank you!

Include me please.

List in one place:

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest
The Outer Worlds: Perils on Gorgon
Bravely Default 2

I think that's it.

Using the word "Finished" a bit broadly here.

Curse of the Dead Gods (thanks Doc!)

I'm about 20-25 hours into a game most people who have finished seem to report taking about 30. I...am nowhere near that close to finished, but also coming to terms with the reality that while I'm not quitting, I probably never will 'beat" the game, and Steam achievements seem to suggest that's the norm.

That said, I do really like the bulk of this game. The mood/ambience in particular they've really nailed well, and the combat is solid from early on albeit increases in difficulty pretty steadily with a few big jumps.

The basic structure of the core game is that there are 3 temples - on the first Stage you clear 7-8 rooms then a final boss - for that it took me 4 runs to clear the 3. Then, you repeat the temples again for Stage 2, but this time in 2 waves - 7-8 rooms then boss, 7-8 more rooms on higher difficulty then a boss. Third tier is ...you've probably guessed 3 waves, and even the first wave at higher difficulty than before.

After that, a final temple, which I can't tell you about because...I will probably never get there. A lot of the negative reviews cite the RNG, and that's a factor, but for the most part it's at least pretty fun. In 25 or so runs, I've only ever once felt like RNG really put me in a bind (the worst possible curse at the start of a run). For the most part, when I've died, it's usually from
a) dodging into a trap in the darkness
b) dodging into attack C while dodging A&B
c) not even seeing an attack coming from off screen or in the dark (with a certain curse)
d) just plain effing up

The first 5 hours of this game I think are some of the most amazing game experience I've ever had, and after that it remains great to solid, even for someone who's just so-so at action games. Early on it is possible to overcome weaknesses in both vision and quick twitch reflex by thinking/planning your way through, but by Stage 3 that's definitely gone away. The margin for error becomes so small because traps/attacks start to hurt more, come faster, and your opportunities for healing go away nearly entirely. You might get one right after the boss, but it's a looong way to the next boss.

For what the game is, I don't think that's a death knell, but it certainly will lessen the appeal for someone who wants to play to complete vs. someone who just wants to play for the experience (amazing!) and/or increasing challenge.

I think the two criticisms I would have:
1) The game ostensibly has 3 currencies, but silver skulls are the only one that matter, and you need that one currency for 3 different types of upgrades, and if you're merely an average player, it's going to accrue incredibly slowly (20-50 per run) even though the upgrades quickly jump from 50 each to 1000 each (not a typo). If you're a better player, it will accrue faster, certainly, but as with many games, ironically this short-changes the people who would probably need the upgrades the most. So I'd probably encourage them to consider lessening the mid-game grind in favor of more exciting end-game events.

2) In a similar vein, really, they should at least consider dropping the upgrade for the number of weapon tables entirely and just make 4 available from the start. All of the weapons are usable enough, but most players just won't like certain weapons. Taking this out would at least moderate the number of skulls one needs to invest to open up the more enjoyable features of the game.

While perhaps a controller would be better, it plays very comfortable on KB+M. A few angular dodges would be easier, perhaps, but really, my screwups are almost always lack of vision which is part of the intentional game design of the darkness system and certain of the curses (one flips the room orientation, another escalates the darkness effect, etc).

The core combat/exploration is solid - while same games need the grind to keep players coming back, here it really feels more of a barrier to continuing on than an enticement, at least for me. For an average player, I'd say the first 10 hours are great, and as a result the game is well worth picking up on sale; a skilled action player, conversely may feel it starts a bit slow but it does ramp up in stage 2 or 3.

TLDR: This is a challenging game, but the combat and core features are very well done. At first you may only die to bosses, but as the game scales up, soon enough you will be dying to traps and trash on the regular!

Just tapped off the Ratchet and Clank trilogy on PS2. In short, these are not my favorite games. That said, The first and second are more or less about as good as each other with the third one being slightly better than the previous two. Just a few impressions off the top of my head:

The first game is kind of charming and kind of rough. It's not really what I would consider to be a classic, but people who had PS2s in the day generally did. That said, that is mostly because the game has a little too much shooting in parts of the level design for the lack of shooting game mechanics. The platforming can be a little frustrating as well, actually. This game is about a six out of ten if you ask me, and I am being a little generous I think. That said, the art is appealing, the music is pleasant and quirky, and the story (although told kind of clunkily) is decent in its satire of consumerism.

The second game, Going Commando, did a lot to fix the first game's mechanics... but then introduces its own issues. The level design, once again, is well outpaced by the number of baddies in a given area and the damage dealt by those baddies given the gameplay mechanics. The story was also, while told a little better, still presented clunkily and not as charming as the first one. There are quite a few levels that I remember well for how annoying the level design was (tons of high precision bad guys who take cover and deal a great deal of damage). This game and the first actually introduced me to a concept I use to evaluate games: if the player finds it simultaneously worthwhile as well as easily doable to just run past the challenges (obstacles, bad guys), the level was not fun. Out of ten, this one is probably a six and a half.

Up your Arsenal is simultaneously the best and worst of the trilogy. It is the blandest story wise (which is kind of odd since they introduce more off color jokes) but it also has the best jokes in the trilogy. The cutscenes are, once again, slightly less clunky but still kind of clunky. The gameplay is fun, it was nowhere near as frustrating as the previous games in annoying ways although the camera would get stuck on walls and redirect to the ground constantly. That said, none of the levels were particularly memorable. In spite of the frustrations some of the previous games had in level design, that is its own kind of memorable. Out of ten, this one is probably a seven and a half, depending how generous I feel.

Dark souls 1 remastered.

Wanted to try it after reading lots of Berserk. Great game, can't remember if it took a month or two, it just became second nature to play it a few hours a day. I rate it 8/10 overall, with the minus being some poorly designed bosses such as carpet of chaos.

I forgot if I posted it already, but I finished The Medium and I really enjoyed it.

Endless space 2

beautiful game...

and got so boring.

so done with it.

The Ascent (XSX Game Pass)

Best game released in '21 so far. Stunning visuals for a game made by such a small team, has the Blade Runner style Cyberpunk look done to perfection. Game play is isometric twin stick shooter action RPG. The closest thing I can think of to compare would be to take the shooting play of Ruiner and make it into an open world RPG. Character building is a combination of level up skill points and equipment selection- weapons and augments. Augments in particular make a huge difference depending upon situation. There were a few parts of the game where I hit what I thought to be a difficulty spike, that was overcome by switching weapon damage type and augments- some situations need crowd control and some DPS etc.

After the combat and character building, the world is the next star. It's a very large interconnected world and I cannot think of any other isometric game with this amount of detail and vertical design.

It also ran very well with fast load times between larger areas, though the load times for older Xbox versions are apparently horrific. The game does have a reputation in its first week for being buggy. In the entire game, the only issue I had was on two occasions where I entered a region and the enemies and NPC's didn't spawn. I exited and re-entered and the problem was solved both times. Maybe the PC version has more bugs or maybe I was just lucky. If you do most of the side quests then it's approximately a 30 hour game. It's setup for a sequel too, so I hope that happens.