Topic: Games you've recently beat

i recently (re)beat Halo CE on the Master Chief Collection (really getting back into Halo lately), although it was a major pain the backside to get working because apparently the physical release was broken and wont install off the disc and my internet was playing up when i installed it (something i have mentioned before but have since fixed) so it wouldn't fully connect to XBL so it wouldn't download the update, which isn't actually and update but is in fact the full game

still it's all working so i'm going on to Halo 2 Anniversary

really hoping that Halo Infinite releases this year

I beat Red Dead Redemption 2 over the weekend. I started failing some missions later in the game, an issue that wasn’t a problem early in the game. But the most I had to restart was 3 times I think for a couple of them.
My full impressions after completing it I put in the game specific thread, if you’re interested in a somewhat long-winded analysis.
The short version: it’s good, maybe even great, but not perfect.

@Th3solution i liked it, but its not as good as people make it out to be. But its a good game.

A while back, I completed Transistor. It's a game I wanted to get to for a long time, and it was enjoyable.

The plot itself isn't explained that well, if I'm being honest. The gist is that you're a famous singer in the city of Cloudbank named Red, who lost her voice and comes across a sword looking object called the Transistor, which is also sentient. Cloudbank is also under attack by robots called The Process, and Red ends up fighting them. Any finer details of the game's story and world is hidden within the game itself, but I'll get to that.

The game is a top-down RPG of sorts. It's got the Diablo camera angle, but you're not exactly hacking or slashing. Battles have you running about like one, using attacks in real time, but you can also use Turn, where you can plan out your moves and abilites and execute them in one shot. Red's abilites are tied to the Transistor's functions, being able to have 4 equipped for use in battle, and as you level up, you can get 8 upgrade slots for battle functions, and 4 passive slots. What makes this game fun in my eyes is experimenting with the various options. For example, one function has you make an explosive packet in battle. You can do that, or you can equip it as an upgrade to another function to increase it's blast radius, or have it as a passive where you periodically spawn packets as you move. The game even encourages this in a strange way: Functions are actually tied to a character in the game world, and by using a function in battle, you unlock more of their background file. It's something I find interesting, and a different way to shed background on the world. Also, if you hate yourself, there's limiters in the game as well, which handicap you. You also get these by leveling up, and by activating them, you learn more about the Process. You also get EXP bonuses.

The art style of the game is quite a treat. The futuristic city of Cloudbank is rendered very well, and you'll see gorgeous hand drawn illustrations pretty often. Soundwise, this game is also great. There's a few vocal tracks that are nice, with the rest of the electronic BGM being a treat for the ears.

Definitely something I recommend. It's a title that I enjoyed more than I was expecting. It's not too long either, meaning you won't have another albatross on your backlog.

@DerMeister Thanks for that! I’ve had Transistor on my PS4 hard drive for a while. I downloaded it when it was a PS Plus game many moons ago, but have yet to try it. It sounds like another good brief palate cleanser game.

I finished Virginia last night. What a strange game that was. I think I did myself a disservice by playing it over three short sessions separated over a few weeks. The game is so short (maybe like 2 hours or so) that I felt like spreading it out to get the most of it, but in reality it is probably intended to be done in one sitting because I have no idea what in the world the thing was about. When it’s revealed that your perspective has been changing the whole time and, in fact you’ve been observing the chain of events from different characters points of view, my mind was blown. At least I think that’s what was happening; I could be wrong about that. Since I played the first half of the game a couple weeks ago (and shoehorned a Red Dead marathon in between) I forgot the full context of what I had seen in the earlier chapters. Now that I know what I’m looking for, and that I may not be playing the same character the whole game, then I can maybe piece it together. Even then, I’m still wondering what the whole thing about the flying saucer is.... and the buffalo? Who’s this cult doing sacrifices? And the dead bird? Huh? Pretty sure there’s some symbolism stuck in there somewhere. I’m going to go back and do a second run later and play through in one sitting and see if the story makes more sense. Maybe it’s not supposed to make sense. [shrug]
It’s weird stuff. And that’s not a bad thing. I can appreciate a game or story with a cryptic esoteric message and I think the game has something profound to say. But I just don’t know what that is yet. 😅

Finished the story in Detroit Become Human. And it was a great story, finely told and probably one of the best I've experienced in a video game. Sure it is not without its faults, with a couple of telegraphed story beats and clunky dialogue options here and there. I was surprised on how dark the story was in places, the level in mansion and the junkyard being particularly highlights.

There is scope to replay the game, but in reality I will most likely not go back to it, unless I suddenly clear up all my games. But hey, you never know I might randomly feel like playing it again, but I doubt it.

@JohnnyShoulder Your thoughts are exactly my own on Detroit. You said it well. Such a great game and interesting story. I too have kept it on my hard drive, thinking I might do another playthrough, but in reality I just haven’t gone back and I cherish my first run as being the canon for the game’s story. I did the same for Heavy Rain. I never went back to see the alternative story arcs. I think Detroit would definitely lend itself to being an enjoyable experience on a second, third, or fourth run if I had the time though.

@Th3solution Yeah I did the same with Beyond: Two Souls, just the one playthrough. I may give Heavy Rain another go, but I found the controls too clunky and I already know the big twist.

NSMBU Deluxe (Switch) - Not the most ambitious game, but I thought it was good fun. A nice contrast to God of War, which I'm currently playing on PS4.

@DerMeister Good write-up. I've played Bastion, another game from the same developer, and it also had very... subtle story-telling. Well, aside from the obnoxious narration. Combat sounds more interesting in Transistor.

This game has been sitting in my backlog basically forever. Maybe I'll get around to it soon.

@Th3solution I'm sorry I missed your thoughts on Virginia last week. It's interesting to see what you deduced and took away from the experience, having broken it up into multiple playthroughs, as I'd strongly disagree with your conclusions whilst totally understanding how and / or why you've arrived at them. With a total lack of dialogue, it's one of those games which I feel does have a specific story, but that revels in the idea of each individual player filling in the gaps with their own thoughts, feelings and reactions. That's what I liked about it; the idea that I'd figured it out, whilst also figuring out three other possibilities.

I'm glad you enjoyed it overall (or at least seemed to)! Do you think you'll ever replay it?

Just finished Rise of the Tomb Raider. I can say a lot about this one, which I might tomorrow, but I specifically wanted to post right now to say how beautiful and captivating the song from the credits (by Karen O) was.

Good night everyone!

@RogerRoger Yes, I do have plans to play Virginia again and do a platinum run. But I’m not sure when. Maybe this weekend. I hope to come up with a more concrete interpretation of the story. If I do then I’ll try to post those thoughts.

@Kidfried Glad you enjoyed at least the closing song and I look forward to reading your full impressions, including a comparison to the first game and if you like the direction the series went. Also I’d like to hear if you plan to try Shadow of the Tomb Raider any time soon.

@Th3solution Hey, if your interpretation of the story isn't concrete, that's fine too. I think that's the beauty of their approach, so I look forward to your thoughts as / when you share them.

@Kidfried What's the song called? Always got time for a bit of Karen O.

@KALofKRYPTON I have always liked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, so I was pretty excited to suddenly hear Karen's voice in the credits.

I think the song is a perfect fit for the game too. Personally I'd even argue that the tone of this song better fits the game than any of the writing.

(Also, I listened to a lot of Robyn during this game. Listening to other music is something I rarely, if ever, do in single player games, but this game really needed some more uplifting tunes for balance.

I hope 'Shadow' has a bit more light-heartedness throughout, but going by that title I won't expect too much!

@Kidfried Me too, YYY are properly great. Really enjoy the Where The Wild Things Are (Karen O & the Kids) album too.
Thanks - it's on Spotify so I'll check it out later

@KALofKRYPTON Thanks for reminding me that album existed! I'll immediately put it on as soon as I'm home. Great taste.

By way of follow up, I did go through Virginia again today (the game, not the state 😆). I played it through more quickly this time and in just two play sessions with no other games in between. It definitely made more sense this time. And I realized that I was way off in my previous interpretations of the story. I don’t think there is a change of playable character, as I previously thought. The one sequence toward the end where the perspective keeps changing is more of a dream sequence I think. It’s actually really hard to know what is Dreams or visions and what sections are reality. I was totally confused the first time and thought that Maria and Judith Ortega were the same person and that she had changed her name when she was investigated by the FBI. I now realize Judith is the mother. I also thought the dying man at the end was Maria’s father, since we see the hospital bed in her apartment, and I couldn’t figure out why Anne Tarver would have the broken key, which further fueled my theory that you play as different characters and just don’t realize your seeing things from various perspectives. I now realize that is flashback to Anne’s fathers death. The recurring visions of the door and the furnace make more sense, given that his dying wish was to burn a secret box, that we never see what was contained therein.
As a story piece, it’s great to pontificate about. It’s the most complex and symbolic game narrative I’ve played since NieR: Automata. I enjoyed it, but definitely recommend a second playthrough in order to make sense of the storyline and symbolic message.
@RogerRoger 😁