Knights of Pen & Paper 1+

After being recently gifted KoPP2 from Liverpoolfanster I had the urge to replay the first, which I'd gotten right up to the end of years ago and never finished. And the replay kinda reminded me why:

Hours 1-6: This game isn't complex, but it's cute and kinda fun!
Hours 7-12: Well, it's starting to wear thin, but there's enough I like about it to keep going, and I really want to level up this new class I unlocked to balance out my party!
Hours 13-15: Dear god, when does this end? Surely it's over soon? Should I try grinding out 3 more levels to get up to the level the quest says, or just go for it and hope for good RNG?

I'm not entirely sure I "finished" (been there) but I killed a big Knight and the game went to credits and then...froze up. I was pretty sure I was supposed to beat [Spoiler Boss] but maybe that's in game 2.

As JRPGs go it's not terrible, and is fun...at first. So on sale there are a few hours of fun to be had here. It's just maybe not deep enough for those last few hours to feel rewarding, which is why I quit right at the end the first time.

The game doesn't help itself that the characters you have access to at the start aren't the most powerful and don't really synergize well (Cleric/Paladin/Druid/Warrior/Rogue/Mage). The strength of Rogue/Mage are that they can CC two enemies each in cycle, except...that doesn't work against bosses, elites, or dungeon enemies. Not to mention, it's not the fastest strategy since you're giving up quite a bit of damage using those spells, esp. if you keep them low-ranked to stay mana-efficient.

You do unlock...10 more classes or something (Barbarian, Hunter, Necromancer, Knight...something something something) but by the time you do, you have to be really committed to starting over with a new party, because just grinding XP through combat is pretty dang slow and you'll probably want the quests (and gold does carry over across all your saves). So you could play like the first 12 hours to unlock a few other classes and then plan to start fresh with a better party (I think).

The game does say it requires a Paradox "account" but it worked fine for me just playing as "Guest" with no log-in.

So far the 2nd one is ok - they've certainly improved the User Interface, and by all accounts it's a shorter game overall. I think the main issue I have with it is the combat animations are all super slow with no setting to shorten them. The first one wasn't the most interesting perhaps, but you could keep things rolling for the most part (other than mining, which was needlessly slow) and just go on inertia even in moments the game wasn't charming. The second game seems to want to drag combat out, and there's just not enough happening for that to be appealing.

Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth. A relatively short, breezy take on Symphony of the Night, apparently made to advertise an upcoming (or is it already out?) Lodoss War sequel. Deedlit has a melee weapon, and you also have a bow for distance attacks/simple puzzle solving, and magic attacks. The map is on the small side and tightly packed, although I don't have much issue with that since some of the recent games in this genre can get pretty expansive.

The most noteworthy aspect of the gameplay is that you switch between having a wind and fire familiar depending on the situation, giving the game a bit of an Ikaruga vibe. E.g., switching to fire allows you to absorb fire attacks and swim in lava. If you keep the familiars fully powered up by not getting hit, you can heal yourself, which really comes in handy during tight spots and saves on burning healing potions. The game is generally relatively easy, and there are some enemies in the game whose attacks I never even saw because they almost never attack before you have a chance to start tearing into them. At a certain point you'll be sufficiently leveled up and well-equipped that you'll be able to run through most enemies in the game, but that's part of the fun of this genre to me. Getting powered up so much that areas that made you work earlier become jokes.

I do wish the map had more surprises to it. I think maybe because of how it was developed, with the game being built level by level in early access, it ended up feeling more linear and less about backtracking than you normally find in the genre. Usually when you circle back to areas you couldn't access before, you just end up finding a weapon that you probably don't even need, or maybe a health bar extension that just gives a little bit of extra insurance for the boss fights.

I've always had a soft spot for the anime. I've played a couple of other video games based on it, but this is the first one that felt to me like it got the right feel across. The art is gorgeous and the animation is very smooth. I wouldn't mind seeing another game, maybe a tad bigger next time.

So far:

Ratchet and Clank (Ps4)
Purgatory 1 and 2 (Enri best girl)
Code Vein
Rune Factory 3 (2nd playthrough. Currently playing RF1)
Ys: Oath in Felghana
Ys: Memories of Celceta (I think I finished it early Jannuary)

Very surprised to see a Record of Lodoss War game released in 2020. Almost 30 years after the anime... Or did I miss something?
Anyways, it looks like a lot of fun.

They seem to do new stuff periodically, but the game is specifically leading into this new series the original creator is writing: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-04-13/record-of-lodoss-war-gets-new-work-side-scrolling-game/.130345.

Jeez. Thanks for pointing that out.

The Way of the Open Hand (NWN:EE, Review)

Dark Souls Remastered - PS4

Made a knight character who focused on strength and endurance for zweihander (greatsword), Artorias greatshield and Havel armor.

Beat the game in 22 hours but the final boss is such a pain in the rear and not fun to fight but down he went. Game runs great on PS4 and looks good.

Highly recommended game.

Darksiders: Warmastered Edition. I finally beat the last boss, after putting in about 76 hours trying to get all the collectibles and weapon enhancements, plus all the upgrades from Vulgrim. I loved the story, and I don't get why some gamers trash it as an infantile Todd McFarlane clone. To each his own I guess.

Subnautica

I got it back when Epic gave it away, but never thought about playing it, until recently, when I got an inexplicable itch to play it (perhaps because of Sony's giveaway of it).

The game is a great combination of chill exploration and base building with horror elements, specially at the start. As you progress, the game does very little in the way of hand holding, new pointers appear to show you point of interest to help you discover more things and that's about it.

The thing is, there's no in game map and the majority of the points of interest you have to find to get the necessary blueprints to build better vehicles and weapons, and reach newer story points is never explicitly revealed. So, gradually, the game switches more and more to a regular alt+tab to check for an online map and wiki and see what you must do, where you must go kind of game.

Which is fine, I had loads of fun nonetheless. But this may break the immersion for some. For me, I liked both "emotional moments" I had with the game, and even late in the game, when I was full on "I know where to go and what to do", it could scare the shit out of me with a simple collision sound or sneak attack from an enemy.

Of the vehicles, the seamoth is the most convenient to drive around, and I suppose most people would use it to the end if the game didn't force you to abandon it as you move lower and lower into the map.

The prawn suit is initially terrible and very limited, but a couple of upgrades, one near the end of the game, make it much more maneuverable and fun to use. It never really beats the seamoth, but it gets better.

The cyclops is essentially a mobile base. It's large and hard to navigate the late game caves with it, but it grew on me with time.

Combat is never really fun, but that goes with the horror theme. Still, every threat is killable, and if you know what you're doing, you can even down the largest enemies in less than a minute. The stasis rifle is the one weapon that breaks the horror elements if you know what to do with it and couple it with the appropriate resources. I killed the final leviathan enemy easily and quickly, for example (it took a couple of reloads, though).

Overall, it's a great game and I would still like to go back and explore a bit more.

The Evil Within 2 (XSX)

I really enjoyed the first game, but the sequel improves in every way. Especially noticeable are some of the benefits of being with Bethesda for the entire life cycle, meaning it's built upon a modified idTech engine. It just looks and runs so much better than the first game and with the option for an uncapped frame rate, this means it's locked 60fps at 1800p with AI applied HDR on XSX. It's a really nice looking and playing version of the game.

I'd say this is now my absolute favorite of the many Japanese style survival horror games. Resi 7 was great, but Evil Within 2 has better story and a really nice mix of open areas combined with linear linking sections over the 17 chapters. The open areas in particular give you the opportunity, if you want, to fully explore and obtain more ammo and upgrades. The stealth system is really robust as well, and upgrading the stealth tree is highly advised as it's invaluable in dealing with the true enemy in these types of game- lack of ammo. Even sub-bosses can be cleverly taken down with a sequence of hit and run style stealth attacks.

Only downside for me personally is the usual forced stupidity of your character through cut scenes to set up set piece sequences. It's during these sequences that the game is at its lowest, but many people probably like those parts for the tension. Very highly recommended game, that is good standalone but also ties to and does fan service to the first game as well. Unfortunately Tango's next game, Ghostwire Tokyo, has a pre-existing PS5 12 month exclusivity deal to get over when it comes out- I'll wait.

Postal. From back in the 90s, when games were most happily depraved. You control a guy who decides to go on a shooting spree all over the country, and in each level you have to kill a minimum number of hostiles (i.e., law enforcement, military, armed citizens, etc.) before you can advance. There are also various innocent bystanders (and ostriches) you can shoot but you don't get credit for those. I actually made a point of trying to avoid shooting innocents, which made it even funnier when the trigger-happy police would gun them down while trying to shoot me.

It's a pretty funny game, particularly since it's not uncommon for unforeseen things to happen depending on where you shoot. At one point I fired a rocket at a turret, which caused nearby oil drums to bounce off and land and explode in the middle of a crowd, who all started screaming and running around while in flames. Some levels feature things like marching bands and violent video game protestors, which can lead to some hilarity.

It's a pretty short game, even with all the expansions included. The controls are easy mouse+keyboard stuff, although my understanding is that this wasn't the case before a couple of years ago. The developers have been good about keeping their games updated.

On the downside, the graphics are pretty modest, reflecting the game's relatively low-budget roots. I also rarely found it necessary to use many weapons beside the basic infinite ammo gun. If I was throwing Molotov cocktails, it was more because I wanted to see what they could do rather than feeling like I needed to do so. I probably should raised the difficulty level beyond the default middle setting. That said, the expansion levels are a bit more challenging and encourage you to use more tactics.

Of Orcs and Men

Tried this once or twice before and didn't get into it, but sometimes it's just not the right moment in time, and now, for some reason, I was more open for it and it clicked. I just started playing, then played some more, and more, and more, until I was through. It was longer than I expected, but I still chipped away at it bit by bit, because it got kind of addictive, and so I beat it within a few days only.

It was alright, not the greatest game ever, but it grew on me and I enjoyed it for the most part. A bit of an odd beast, it uses a combat system similar to Cyanide's other title of the same year, Game of Thrones - The RPG, and that means real time but tactical RPG with slowmotion 'pause' while you pick your attacks, and all from third person perspective with camera behind your character. You control a party of two two pre-set characters that you can switch between at (almost) any time, the orc berserker and the goblin assassin who complement each other with their abilities.

The goblin Styx also brings in some stealth gameplay that I believe the following two titles in the same universe concentrate on. In this game, it's not very complex though. Many opponents are just standing around, and as long as nobody witnesses the goblin's assassinations, noone gets upset by all the bodies lying everywhere, and you can stealth kill opponents mere meters away from their allies, if they aren't standing right next to them and are not looking in your direction. So it's often like a puzzle of sorts in which you have to figure out the order in which to kill everyone, according to their field of view. Completely optional though, you can also choose to just fight them, and assassinations just reduce the number of enemies you have to face.

Other than that, it's an extremely linear RPG with corridor levels, one map per mission, and missions, whether main or side quests, always involve fighting your way through from start to finish. The story is told via cutscenes or dialogue in the style of Mass Effect, with occasionally significant but very few choices. On level up you get to raise one of your four attributes by one point and pick or enhance one skill. Each skill can only be enhanced once and you have to pick one of two different enhancements for it, but there are quite a few different skills to choose from, and all are exclusive to the two different characters. Near the end you also have to decide on a specialization for each of the two characters but without knowing what that means in terms of skills - it is presented as a choice in the story only (I don't really like making uninformed choices so I googled the outcomes before deciding). You get new equipment items (no consumables, the game doesn't have those) in bonus chests that you can find in the dungeons or as quest rewards, and you can exchange them for trade points that allow you to buy other ones or upgrade yours. This system is also a bit unusual in that the items which you find later in the game are not obviously better, just different, and they may seem very weak until you upgrade them. So if you've already upgraded part of your equipment early in the game, most base items you find afterwards will not seem attractive in comparison. But I think if you upgrade them, they take your current level into consideration. Not quite sure though. I reached something like level 21 at the end, which didn't leave a lot of room for building on the specializations (only two skill points left to spend between specialization and the end, IIRC), but at least in the case of the goblin, the specialization was quite helpful nevertheless.

What's interesting is that in my experience most RPGs lose steam in the last third or so and the environments get less attractive (lava levels, darkest dungeons etc.), while in this game a major part is just drab corridors, but when the finale is getting nearer, the areas actually become more varied and nicer to look at, and even though during the middle parts, the game was beginning to overstay its welcome, the last part with the nicer areas and the new specialization abilities was actually the most fun, so in the end I could have played on a little longer again.

But all in all the 20 hours it took me, with all side quests included, were more than enough. It's not a very pretty game; story and setting were mildly interesting but not overly so, and the 'edgy' writing, while generally tolerable or even quite alright, had some really cringy moments ("mind rape"). Apart from that, there were no great annoyances either though. Everything was doable on Normal difficulty, sometimes rather easy, sometimes more challenging but I only needed to repeat a few encounters, and in those cases changing my tactic always helped. Sometimes the pathfinding could get a bit tricky and I got stuck on something, sometimes the close camera momentarily obstructed the view in combat, and sometimes it seemed a bit random how far the sneaking goblin could leave the orc behind before the game put an invisible wall in his way and told me to get him first before moving any further. But it probably had to do with savepoints, which in this case made all the difference between not being able to move ahead even though the orc was close behind and being able to explore vast areas without him. Despite the autosaves, you can also manually save at every time outside of combat and cutscenes, btw.

Anyway, I'm ready to try Styx: Master of Shadows now (or at the next right moment in time), and I'm curious as to how much the gameplay will differ from this title.

Restricted Area

Another Diablo clone from the first decade of a new millenium, when they were made en masse, vast majority of them are forgotten and never came back to digital stores.
This time it's sci-fi post apo cyberpunk mix.

Played as firearms JCD-Denton bootleg editon character, for some reason his skill are mostly for shotgun (one for flat damage and one active skill that give ~500% more dmg for some HP), they are nice but cumbersome and damage is pretty random. Other guns? Pistols are bad
Flamethrower is amazing, but you need to pause for recharge all the time. For some reasons it's better to spam attack than hold it and fire one constant stream of fire. You waste a lot of fuel for not so much damage... oh and it also can shoot through the walls but only if you can see enemies behid the walls? Sometimes it works, sometimes not...
Sadly Flamethrowers skill is not working, does not give more damage. Also - you can get at most +50% more recharge rate but that's still not enough for comfortable fire mayhem. They should give you something like psionic energy recharge boost skill for psionic.

His ultimate ability - bullet time - make 30+level fights into breeze, sadly you need to kinda endure pre30lvl game to get there.

Main quest line is like 5? missions and final one is hard as nail, on top of that you have no access to your transporter so you can't stock up on medkits, sadly. You can also get randomly generated jobs, the only way to check their difficulty is by checking the reward and trying to guess the right level, otherwise your XP bar won't budge even with maxed out bonus XP skill.
And they're painfully repetitive, poor enemy variety and even more poor level variety, it\s just metal corridors with explosive barrels, some enemies and boxes. A lot of boxes. There is some physic stuff going on so you can push these boxes and it serves no purpose other than annoying you and slowing you down, quite notable in one mission where you have to run away while time is running out.