Topic: Games you've recently beat

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Yeah, the BoxBoy! games are developed by HAL Laboratories. And... I can see why someone would like them. They might find the incredibly simple presentation to be charming. I didn't, really. The puzzles aren't bad, but, at the same time, I can't really say I had fun with it in the same way I enjoy the puzzles in games like Professor Layton and the Curious Village, The Witness, Picross, etc. There's no story, almost no music, no incentive to complete side content. If this was made by an indie, it would already be forgotten.

No worries. While my feelings on DDS are mixed, it's certainly better than BoxBoy! I just beat the second form of Beezlebub, by the way. That was an incredibly tough fight.

Mutant Mudds is an example of a game that I like, but I also can't pretend is great. It's not. It's average, and it was better on 3DS, where the layering effect looked pretty good in action.

Considering I've fought the superboss I know your pain @Ralizah... plus even more! 😂

I think i've actually seen the character Max from Mutant Mudds upon giving it a look. But I have no idea where I've actually seen them before either.

And I can see what you mean about Boxboy!. I suppose the simplicity in the design is to make it rather easily accessible to anyone... but... There could be a bit of colour at least. Shame about no catchy music either or the lack of rewards from challenges other then the satisfaction of beating them.

Least beating the aforementioned bonus boss got me an OP ring I never used.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy You beat the Demi Fiend? Good on you! Sounds like an absolute nightmare to me.

The main game bosses are pretty easy, though. Surprisingly so. I had a harder time with Persona 5 on hard mode.

It... Took a few tries to put it mildly @Ralizah

One try being about forty minutes before a cheap hit knocked me out. He's so OP. 😂

The super boss in DDS2 ( Satan ) is apparently just as fun!

It's really neat though that the random encounter music from Nocturne plays during the fight, like he doesn't even acknowledge you as a challenege. You're just some random fight that occurs as if he's just grinding for exp or something

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: the Black Order (Switch).

Pros:

• The core beat 'em up gameplay is easy to pick up and grasp, but it can be satisfyingly challenging at points. Even against groups of regular enemies there are more powerful variants than can pack a punch if you're not careful so you can't just mindlessly punch around, and the numerous boss fights demand your attention & on more than one occasion I had to abandon the story for a bit to grind up in the Infinity Trials when I was stuck on a boss.
• Between fights with large groups of enemies, platforming/chase segments, light puzzle elements, and the numerous boss encounters (many of which have a special gimmick, such as an early encounter where you have to solidify Sandman with rounds from a turret before you can hurt him), objectives are varied enough to keep the action from getting stale.
• From levelling up individual characters, as well as their abilities, the party wide skill tree, and ISO-8 equipping (stat altering stones), there are lots of ways to power up your heroes. These elements are introduced one at a time though, so they're easy to take in. Good thing too, as you'll need to be conscious of all of them in the later game.
• If there were any performance issues, I didn't notice them. Seemed to run great from my perspective.
• I haven't explored these too deeply, but you have the quickfire challenge based missions of the Infinity Trials if you're really up for a challenge. They're usually remixed boss fights, though there are missions where you have to fight through waves of enemies with special rules in place as well.
• It has an extensive concept art gallery, and I love features like that.

Neutral:

• There are tons of characters to play as (and many do have their own feel), however you're essentially stuck with a core group during a single playthrough as it's impossible to stay reasonably levelled otherwise.
• I like the story well enough, and it has a neat twist at the end, but there are so many characters on offer that not many get much to say. There are even some (like lets say Ghost Rider) that I don't think get any airtime after the mission they're introduced in.
• While I do like the cell shaded style that I think works well with the source material & think it has a good amount of environmental variety, it's definitely not one of Switch's prettier titles. I'd even say that Hyrule Warriors: DE & Fire Emblem Warriors (all developed by the same company, with lots of enemies on screen) look better.
• It probably would be better playing it with others. I didn't have a particularly tough time playing it solo & enjoyed it (and I played on Mighty, so I didn't go the easiest route), but the ally AI tended to bum rush all the bosses, even the ones with a gimmick for you to exploit, which isn't ideal.

Negative:

• For whatever reason, whenever you're moving towards the camera your character stops running and only walks. Naturally, this is a bit unavoidable as you're often trying to run around combat arenas, so it's a bit annoying. Luckily you still jump, swing, and fly at full speed when moving towards the camera, so it quickly becomes second nature to do so if you need to move quickly in that direction.
• The only alternate costumes to unlock are pallet swaps, and even then I think it's just one per character. Of course, I'm not expecting it to be on par with the bounty of options available in PS4's Spider-Man (which only has to focus on one character), but it would have been nice to have at least one or two real options per character.

Overall it's a pretty solid effort. It's not going to win any awards, and it's noticeably not even one of Nintendo's top tier efforts on the system, but if you enjoy beat 'em ups or the Marvel universe it's definitely worth a look.

@RR529 Does it connect with the previous UA games story wise? I know by name and game play it does but unless it connects story wise with the first 2 I probably will pass it up. I know UA and UA2 the story's connected with what happened at the end of the first one being the reason for 2. This one however I can't really tell.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Games can be impactful because they are fun, but also because they move you in other ways. I’m not sure I’d call playing Hellblade “fun,” per se, although at times when slashing through an enemy and chaining a combo I did feel a little bit of that dopamine drip we all are familiar with when a game just gels with us. But no, I don’t think Hellblade is a great game in the same way that Horizon Zero Dawn is, or Borderlands, or Tetris with their respective enthralling combat, exploration, or puzzle-solving. Although the gameplay in Hellblade has strong versions of all that, it’s not as addictive or tight like other great games. However this game is great for other reasons, and I would go so far as to say it’s one of the PS4’s greatest titles.

What kind of game is it?
Despite the game being incredibly unique, there are many aspects of it that are derivative. It has Dante’s Inferno basic storyline, a setting and combat reminiscent of Bloodborne, and environmental puzzles akin to The Witness. I’d say there is even inspiration from God of War in its thematic Norse myth related content and cinematic [single shot] presentation and gameplay, except that Hellblade actually came out a year before GoW.
>>Now I haven’t played The Witness or GoW but I’m basing the comparisons from hearsay. As a side note on the Norse mythology theme, it’s interesting to see how it has blossomed into a cultural phenomenon in recent years. Many of the mythologic characters seen or mentioned in Hellblade were familiar to me from the 3 Thor movies in the MCU (such as Loki, Odin, Hela, Fenrir, and of course Thor). I hadn’t realized how grounded in legitimate myth those movies are (albeit with plenty of creative license). And furthermore, in video gaming we now have Hellblade, God of War, and a rumored Norse/Viking themed Assassin’s Creed on its way. Soon we’ll be at a cultural saturation point for Norse mythology, similar to the way things got with the often-rehashed Greek mythology. Anyway, I digress. Back to my impressions of the game—

I compared the game earlier to Bloodborne, and think it’s an apt comparison on a small scale. But where Bloodborne has a huge difficulty wall to get over and brings you the adrenaline rush of each boss defeat, Hellblade is not cripplingly difficult (although I’ll admit I played on ‘easy’ due to the threat the game gives you in the opening moments of permadeath and loss of your game save if you die too many times) and the combat is not as deliberate or calculated as a FromSoft title. But I thought the combat was pretty good. Soulsborne fans will probably dismiss the combat here as pedestrian and too basic, but it’s just hard enough to challenge you to keep your concentration and gets your heart rate up. Even on ‘easy’ I died a few times and especially toward the end it gets really challenging. Some of the deaths are even “cheap,” born out of not knowing certain mechanics until you learn the hard way what you’re supposed to do (or not supposed to do, as the case may be).

A focus on presentation and immersion
And that brings up one of the great things about the game — the presentation. Clearly the focus of the game is on presenting a harrowing experience, frought with anxiety-producing sounds, visuals, puzzles, and scenarios. The whole game is designed to feel like you, the player, are experiencing the twisted world of a psychotic mind. Being in the shoes of a very well-written Senua, who is both heroic and tragic. It’s designed to be sympathetic to her plight as one who is a victim of horrible circumstance and concurrent mental illness. When you embrace that fact, then the semi-quirky mechanics and somewhat disjointed presentation makes for a addictive and moving experience.

You see, the game has no real tutorials. There is no HUD, no mini-map or icons helping you orient yourself on your road to Helheim, no menu with a list collectibles and knick-knacks to pick up like most third person action adventure games, no button prompts or QTE’s that pop up on screen or other visual hints ...nothing distracting from the cinematic immersive participation in Senua’s story. There is not even the options for subtitles to obscure the immersion. And there are no real loading screens as you seamlessly progress from chapter to chapter. The only exception of something that pauses the experience in favor of something “video gamey” is a well developed photo mode, which you can enter at the touch of a button to edit the shot to capture the beautiful and haunting imagery as you traverse. I typically don’t mess with photo modes much, but I found myself capturing many shots of this visually stunning environment.

The Voices
I would usually hate a game situation that was so void of direction and instructions. I don’t like it when games don’t tell me how to play them. But with Hellblade, the twist is that the game does tell you, just not in the way you expect. After a time, you realize that yes, there are no tutorials or overt instructions or directions popping up, but if you listen carefully, the voices in your head are teaching and guiding you subtly. The trick is that the voices are also deceiving you. It makes for a very rare and fascinating inner dialog, albeit also a frustrating one. But it’s frustrating in the way the game intends.

And on the subject of the voices and audio - I know it’s no secret that the game’s strong suit is its impressive audio design, recorded with 3D binaural equipment to give a deep sense of position and distance. The voices you hear are initially charming but become increasingly annoying, so the natural tendency is to tune them out, so to speak, and try to concentrate on your game tasks ....Until you realize some of the voices are communicating important information to help the current objective or to teach you gameplay mechanics. Then you begin to listen intently again, the only problem is you are also having to concentrate on hearing the discouraging and critical voices too. Many of these voices are inspiring, mean-spirited, mocking, or judgmental. Some are also supportive, friendly, and helpful. This creates a real inner anxiety in the player, and I was surprised how I let the voices actually frustrate me and I honestly started to get angry at them, which is the whole point of this game, I think. The constant bickering in your mind really tests your will and creates inner despair as a player, in a way I’ve never experienced before in a game. The loss of emotional self-control it created in me is rather frightening.

A minor annoyance
If I had to criticize anything about the game other than the obscure narrative and complex, and at times, repetitive puzzles (again, all fitting in the grand scheme of the game), that complaint would be the integrated usage of FMV— actual live video footage of some of the characters mixed in with the computer animated ones. It is startling to see especially when Senua is shown side-by-side conversing with another character who is shot in FMV. It highlights the uncanny valley of the main character and actually pulls you out of the immersion, which is what the game is so intent on preserving. I’m not sure why Ninja Theory chose to use FMV for some of the characters and scenes. Perhaps it was a cost-saving move, but I can’t imagine an artistic reason for it, like I say, because it shows how Senua looks not quite perfectly human, as even the best CGI characters cannot quite get photorealistic animation. And without the side-by-side comparison to living video images, Senua’s character model looks fantastic and very photorealistic by itself. The game has some of the better character animations available on PS4 and so I’m not sure what cheapening it with the FMV cutscenes does. Perhaps it is symbolic of her psychotic mindset in some way I can’t interpret.

Approach to Mental Health and Delusion and Psychosis
As far as the whole mental health application of the game, I would recommend watching the short (about 30 min) video after completing the game which chronicles a small documentary of the game’s making. They show some quotes from people Ninja Theory consulted in the developing of the game - such as professors of psychology and people who actually have schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. It highlights how strongly the game was designed to make you try to feel what they actually feel. Impressive stuff.

Final Take
It’s hard to universally recommend the game, since the themes are so haunting, the puzzle-heavy gameplay is an acquired taste, and the combat can be a little frustrating. Most hardcore gamers (and aren’t we all) really owe it to themselves to play Hellblade, if not for the sheer gaming accomplishment that it is. Obviously there are those among us who just cannot garner any sort of interest in a game so dark and frightening, so if you’re prone for being squeamish then definitely avoid it. But as I’ve mentioned, I personally don’t care for horror or the macabre, yet I found this game fantastic. It’s probably in my top 20 PS4 games, at least.

**{And a quick note: I know I earlier referred to this as a “horror” game and I stand by that due to the way it makes you feel and the fear it creates in you. However, I looked up Push Square’s list of PS4’s best horror games and Hellblade is notably absent from the list when several subjectively inferior games are in the list, as well as a few games (Like The Last of Us, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Inside) that are an even further stretch to call a “horror game.” But I think possibly it is questionable to call Hellblade a “horror game” because it is actually dealing with mental illness and psychosis in quite a clinical and sensitive way. It is trying to make you feel what it’s like to live in with that sort of condition, so perhaps that’s why PS has omitted it. Or maybe PS editors just liked the other 10 listed games better, despite the game receiving a fairly glowing 8/10 score from Sammy and receiving numerous awards in 2017. But for me, it was an excellent “horror” experience.}

@Th3solution Fantastic piece. Hope you'll also be able to find a way to post your Photo Mode screencaps in the appropriate topic, to illustrate your thoughts (no pressure).

I've had this game recommended to me a couple times, not least because I suffer with anxiety, depression and a couple other mental health issues. It has subsequently sat on my "should research further" list for quite a while now but, thanks to you and the detailed descriptions you've provided, you've saved me that effort.

I'm not going anywhere near it, and not just because of your concluding thoughts on classifying it as horror. Your paragraph about tuning in and out of various voices (and losing your emotional self-control as a result) paints a particularly effective picture, because you've basically just explained every single day of my life. It's why I try my best to escape into games, films and writing. I couldn't knowingly walk into an experience like that. I might've accidentally stumbled into it, however, and so I'm beyond grateful to you that I now won't, because it sounds like Ninja Theory's consultants certainly earned their fees.

Your longform writing is excellent, by the way. Despite all of the personal issues above, I really enjoyed reading this beginning to end (especially the segue into musing about cultural over-saturation of Norse mythology which, rather aptly for the subject matter, made it easy to hitch a ride on your train of thought).

So for the warning, for the details and for the enjoyable read, thanks for sharing!

@Th3solution Nice write-up. The game itself has never looked very attractive to me, but, I'll admit, I'm tempted by the innovative use of 3D audio, which is something I rarely see in video games (before this, the closest example I could think of to effective use of 3D audio in a game is the PSP horror indie Corpse Party). I like the sound of a game so stylistically cohesive and that integrates its primary theme so deeply into the work that is completely informs every aspect of the experience, even down to the lack of traditionally game-y things like a HUD.

@Th3solution +1 to the good write up vibes

I admit I don’t often read the long reviews by people on here but was interested in what you thought of the game as it’s been on my radar but not one I’ve ever taken the plunge on. I may well now pick it up though based on what you’ve said.

Did you play with headphones though?

@RogerRoger I appreciate your kind words. Yeah, I know you have a particular aversion to things horror and zombie related so I’m glad you picked up on my very conditional recommendation. In my opinion, Hellblade is more disturbing than The Last of Us, and I know you’ve never felt inclined to play that. And I really don’t care for grim and scary games usually. I’m with you— I play games to escape the anxieties of life, not to add to them! But I just love what the game was able to accomplish. But believe me, I’ve had my fill of corpses and screaming for a while.

It is interesting to note, though, in the “making of” video that they show the consultants watching the playthrough of the game prior to its release and how they were interviewed and confirmed, “Yup, that’s pretty accurate with how that looks and feels.” Without spoiling too much, I will say the portrayal of mental health issues and psychosis in the game is not presented solely as a curiosity to gawk at and vilify as it is in other media, rather it seems to want to promote awareness of these disorders. And to actual champion the ways that each of our minds work differently. The psychosis is not the villain. In fact, quite the opposite. Senua is uniquely capable to accomplish things in the game because of the way her perception differs, despite her also being the victim in some ways as well.
But yes, I agree you should probably avoid it. I was amazed at my mood about 2/3 of the way through. I was feeling despair and frustration and had to tell myself, “it’s okay, we’ll get through this.” There is a short section in the game when the voices go away for a time in one part and when they come back I felt a strange sense of relief as well to have them back as my companions. It’s very complex stuff which plays with your emotions like that.

@Ralizah Thanks! I believe you would really appreciate the technical achievement. Also the narrative is something rather deep, with a lot of layers, which I know you also like. If you can muster the interest, I would be interested to hear your take on it if/when you play it.

@Thrillho Absolutely. I play most of my games in my Audio Technica headphones anyways, and for sure that’s how I played this one. The splash screen at the beginning when you boot the game advises you to play with headphones. I think a really high quality surround sound system would suffice, but it would still be so much better to use the headphones and cancel out all outside noise to feel the full effect.
If you end up trying it I’d be interested in your thoughts.

@Tasuki, the only other one I've played was the first one, and that was over 10 years ago, so I can't say.

@RR529 Hmmm. Ok guess I will pass on it then.

@Th3solution You totally convinced me to buy this game right now. Sounds like I was wrong to have skipped it for so long, because the way you describe it, it seems like a perfect game for me.

@RogerRoger I understand very well why based on your personal life, you wouldn't want to play a game. Interestingly enough, I'm the other way around.

I suffer from anxiety and depression too. And as a result my mental wellbeing from day to day is pretty unstable. Anyway, to me games that deal with that subject matter work kinda therapeutic. They help me confront those parts of me, that I so often try to deny.

@Kidfried I think it sounds like you’ll really like it, especially given your love for The Witness and Bloodborne. Again, I haven’t played The Witness, but my understanding is a lot of the puzzles are kind of similar. And the game’s not too expensive — $30 is the base price and I got it on a sale somewhere along the way for $20, I believe. I beat it over a weekend, glued to the TV over just a handful of play sessions (probably 8-10 hours - I lost track of time. And factor in some mucking around in photo mode), which is a nice diversion from all the longer games and the length felt just about right, not too long and also not too short. There is no ramp up time to have to “git gud,” or wander through hours of intro or exposition setting up some kind of epic narrative in order to experience a pay off. No, it has you from the start.

Incidentally, if you really want to delve into mental illness themed content, the little indie title Actual Sunlight takes on depression full bore. It’s also a really short little game (no platinum) like maybe a couple hours tops, but is less creative in its approach of playing as someone who suffers with depression. It’s a quirky game with a pretty low production value, but serves as the only other game to so openly tackle the subject matter in recent memory. It was free on PS Plus a while back. I can’t particularly recommend it as a good game, it’s pretty basic, but if the idea of playing a game which deals with mental health interests you and you have it sitting in your library from PS Plus, then it may be worth an hour of two of your time.

@Kidfried That's the blessing and the curse of mental health; it's unique to everybody. No matter how much commonality might be shared, there'll always be that one key difference. I think it's awesome that you find these kinds of experiences therapeutic. I sincerely hope playing Hellblade helps you, and would love to know what you think of it (in as much or as little detail as you're comfortable with).

@Th3solution Thanks for your follow-up. I'm genuinely pleased that people are starting to take mental health more seriously and create these kinds of awareness-raising, empathetic experiences (rather than, as you say, making a villain crazy or playing it for laughs). Whilst I do slightly recoil at the "your insanity was your greatest ally all along" approach to which you allude, I can't really comment as I haven't and never will play the game myself... and that's likely my own personal bias, too, because I'm still wrestling with my own issues. It's obviously had quite an impact on you, and that's always awesome when a game (or film, or TV show, or piece of music) can do that, for whatever reason.

@RogerRoger Yes, it sure has had an impact on me, more so than most other games. And I might have given the wrong impression that Senua’s mental illness is glorified or misrepresented as some kind of super-power or something to be grateful for. There is very clear anguish and suffering associated with and brought on by her condition. But, and I’ll spoiler tag it for other readers who may be passing by, but since you’re not going to play it, it will be fine - the puzzles largely involve looking for patterns in the environment to match up with runes on doors in order to unlock them and proceed. Also, looking at obstacles—say, a broken bridge, from certain perspectives will mend the bridge so she can pass. Apparently one of the aspects of psychosis and delusional disorders is that these individuals find patterns in everyday items and in their surroundings that they perceive to be significant, even when they aren’t. If you’ve ever known someone with schizophrenia or bipolar with psychosis you might have observed this. The voices and other auditory hallucinations will tell you “that’s not the way!” Or “look out behind you!” And other clues. In this way, her delusions and the way her mind works are actually helping her progress. Now, obviously this is all a world created in her own mind to begin with (at least that’s the implication) but these symptoms of persons with psychosis (hearing voices which instruct them, seeing patterns in everyday items, etc.) are utilized as gameplay mechanics to progress. It’s also implied that Senua is a good fighter because of her keen observation skills and recognition of patterns in swordplay. So, I guess it’s not the insanity which is her ally, but it is that the fabricated world in her mind is only successfully traversed and conquered through abilities inherent to her own delusional disorder
Anyways, I don’t want to belabor it, nor do I wish to make you or anyone else uncomfortable, but I felt the need to qualify my earlier remarks. 🙂

@Th3solution Thank you for the write up sir, of a high standard as always.

I'm kinda of feeling the same as @RogerRoger, Hellblade sounds like it plays a little to close to home for me personally. Just reading about the voices made me feel a bit anxious!

@Th3solution Qualification appreciated, thanks. Sounds like it's been well-considered and the key point about the game's environment being constructed by her mind changes the context of the previous discussion point. Fair play to the developers for giving it that depth and consideration.

Oh, and...

Sorry, couldn't resist!

I finished Blood and Truth on PSVR this week. Again, it is a shame that the PSVR is still niche purely because Sony's studios have kicked it out of the park in the last year with some of their VR games. While not topping Astrobot, Blood and Truth was pure fun to play. I had a couple of quibbles, the Move controllers were on the whole, solid, but I found the application of two handed weapons, particularly the pump action shotgun too hard to use and also some aiming a little bit floaty. That said, the voice acting was good, the story was better than I expected and some of the set pieces were just great fun.

Also, the ability to spin pistols on your fingers, flick to reload and then put into your holster was the most fun mechanic since throwing the axe in God of War. Sooo much fun.