I finally beat Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim there. I haven’t been so happy to see the back of a game for a while. It’s not that the game’s bad, per se, it’s just a massive slog. Seems to fit in between the two styles of games in that it has the action combat but retains the insane level requirements to even do 1 damage to most enemies which means you have to grind a whole bunch.
@Jaz007 Yeah, I do indeed love me some Arkham Origins, thanks! I've still got some map-mopping to do with it but, to summarise what'll inevitably end up a 7,000-word essay in a couple of weeks, I think it's the best of the entire series. Especially if you can play it on modern hardware because sure, its technical performance is a little ropey on PS3 (although it's still more than playable).
It's a much better story than City, it doesn't suffer the divisive vehicular gameplay of Knight (although, for the record, I personally liked the Batmobile) and its thick atmosphere rivals Asylum. It's quite telling that a lot of its innovations were carried over into Knight, and weren't executed half as well, and yet it's Rocksteady and Knight which frequently gets the credit from fans and professional journalists alike, because so many turned their noses up at Origins. The boss fights, characterisations, performances, music... everything just sits perfectly with me. It's a masterpiece.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
After a good few years, I’ve finally beaten The Witness with all lasers. One more trophy to go for the platinum which relies on randomised puzzles which is good because I haven’t cheated the whole game and it means only people who deserve the platinum will earn it!
The Witness platinum is definitely only for those who are skilled enough. And of course I'm only saying that, because I achieved it myself. It took. me quite a while to get it though. The Challenge is hard, especially because I used to stress out whenever I didn't see the solution for one in a few seconds, but in turn that stress hurt my ability to find a solution for it.
I really had to train my stress levels to not let anything effect me, not even the music, to finally get it. Felt really good when I did!
@Kidfried Guess who just pulled an all-nighter attempting The Challenge. I convinced myself that I’d do it, which I did not. So, so many attempts. I actually got onto the final final puzzle but just ran out of time as well. I only got onto the pillars twice out of between 70 and 80 full attempts. I’m going to do it but I think I need to go scream at a wall for a while first.
@Th3solution I’d say it’s harder than any video game I’ve ever played. This section tests your mind far more than games test your reflexes. It’s mad how quickly I can solve the puzzles already but it’s not quick enough.
The Witness platinum is probably the one I like best. If only because the final bit is such a ridiculous ask. The best bit about the final challenge thing is how some of the puzzles are totally unsolvable and you need to work out that they're unsolvable quick enough to reset them and still have enough time to finish solving the rest. Someone messaged me on PSN asking if I'd do the challenge for them on their account so they could have the platinum. They offered me $5.
While I'm here I should probably say that I recently beat Control, and it was alright. I don't see the hype for this one though, if I'm honest. It was fun enough but the story never felt like it took off, and the map was an absolute joke. Spent probably ten hours across my playthrough absolutely bamboozled about where to go. The combat was radical though. And I really liked the main character and some of the side people. Darling and the Janitor were ace.
Just finished Assassins Creed: Black Flag... worth it for the naval stuff alone in fairness, brilliant stuff. Now to see if I can get any multiplayer going to get the online trophies on route to the plat.
@nessisonett Ugh, that sounds rough. I played the opening area of The Witness once and quite liked it, and have always felt like I need to go back and give it a proper go. But for me who struggled with even completing the basic Tetris Effect endgame levels due to the accelerated drop rate, I don’t think I’ll be able to get the platinum if it involves timed puzzles. I’m not wired for quick thinking and rapid problem solving. I made it through standardized testing for school mostly on pure will of force and luck.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@nessisonett Mad props for trying. I'm pretty sure you'll get there. There is luck involved, as well as a brilliant memory and some superhuman focus. You'll be really proud when you make it!
@Kidfried There’s definitely luck involved, especially in the ‘impossible puzzle’ section! Sometimes I can pick the right one just from a quick glance, other times it slows me down enough to kill the run. The main problem for me is the triangle section inside the maze. I worked out the maze layout trick but the puzzles inside it stump me most times, only beat them three times now. By the time I reach the pillars, there just isn’t enough time to fully think about the puzzles! Hopefully I’ll get there 😂
I really enjoyed Jedi Fallen Order which hit a sweet spot of combat, story, and exploration with it taking bits from loads of different games. It has Souls-esque meditation points similar to bonfires and combat has some similarities where low level enemies can easily overwhelm you if you're not careful and bosses are best taken slowly while learning attack patterns. There's also a heavy dose of Uncharted with its big set pieces and some of the traversal.
I had been reluctant to play it after hearing of people having technical issues but that wasn't a problem at all. I had one cut scene where the audio went out of sync and a few autosave points where the game froze to load the next area (which always went on just a little bit longer than you though it was going to take). The game looks great though (Wookiees aside) and the story is more than serviceable to a part time Star Wars fan like myself, even if Cal does feel a bit wooden at times. The only other criticism would be that revisiting areas for collectibles could be a bit of a chore as you cross this massive planets with a slightly cumbersome map.
A more than achievable platinum too if that's your thing.
After that (and my PS5 woes) I thought it was time to finally have my second run through Kentucky Route Zero which got me the platinum for the game.
My thoughts on the game are pretty much the same in that it really is unlike anything I've played before and I adore the art style and music in the game. My run felt a lot quicker than before as I knew which bits were "unnecessary" and in chapter 4 I went for the opposite choices to before (basically always choosing to stay on the boat) which seemed quicker too.
And as before, chapters 1-3 are fantastic, 4 drags on a bit, and 5 is just a bit of an odd ending to the experience. I was glad that overall it still held up second time around though.
Finally, I decided to delve into my PS+ library and went for something quite different with Titanfall 2, especially after hearing so many good things about the campaign.
To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed. The campaign is not particularly long at all but has some fantastic settings and some pretty furious gunfighting. Switching between playing as the Pilot or as the Titan was quite refreshing and the latter has enough different load outs to keep things interesting. The Pilot sections were fine but the wall running mechanic doesn't feel particularly novel as it may have done on release.
The campaign LOVES throwing trophies at you though (but seemed to come with quite a lag from completing non-story objectives and the ping coming) with the shortest gap between trophies being just four minutes! I got a significant chunk of them overall and even gave online a quick blast too for a couple of them. Overall, a fun and short blast.
@Thrillho Glad to see you were still able to take advantage of your time off, even after the death of your PS5.
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As for myself - I completed Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy, a game I had left partially finished for quite some time. I finally put it out if it’s misery and got the shiny platinum. And to be honest, the game was reasonably entertaining. Nowhere near the top of the Telltale heap, but serviceable for what it is. Story was fair, gameplay was expectedly shallow, and the technical performance was predictably abysmal. But the voice acting was alright and I actually liked the voice work and presentation of Star-Lord / Peter Quill. Nolan North does a great Rocket Raccoon too.
Overall, it scratched the Telltale itch for me, so I can’t complain. And I love the GoG property, so that was a plus.
I think the only Telltale game I have left in my backlog is the final season of The Walking Dead, so I’ll get to that in a few months.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Thrillho Oh yeah, Kentucky Route Zero really zips by when you stay on the boat. As interesting as the stuff on land was, having the option to skip large chunks of it really helps in a platinum playthrough.
@Th3solution Nolan North does a great everything. He's the only prolific voice actor that I don't dislike recognising in a game. I caught his name whilst scanning up your post and am not surprised they assigned him to Rocket; even without having heard any of it, I can tell that's a really good match.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
Kentucky Route Zero looks like the sort of game I should like, but I think it'd probably bore me to tears. I'm not cultured enough to properly appreciate it.
@Ralizah I wouldn't say it's a question of being cultured (heck, I enjoyed it enough, and I barely know my arts from my elbow). It's more that the game is hugely open to interpretation, and very much relies on what the player makes of it. There's no right answer, except your own.
Although, like many others I've seen, I did scream "GET ON WITH IT!!" at the fourth chapter. Maybe it being boring is the exception to the rule, and the game's only universal truth.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@Ralizah It’s just a different mindset for a game in that it’s the experience of it over everything.
It’s a wonderfully crafted story but you have to be able to ride with the fact it often doesn’t make all that much sense, and understand your decisions don’t affect he story but make it your story instead.
The pacing is a bit all over the place but if it’s something you think you could enjoy, then I’m sure you would. It really is unlike anything I’ve played before!
And @RogerRoger I had also forgotten how frustrating the Xanadu section is too.
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