Topic: Games you've recently beat

@GirlVersusGame You’re welcome and of course no pressure either way if you look into it and decide against it. But if you like the ‘dark tone and X-files vibe’ description then it should interest you.

I have not played Alan Wake yet (both games are on my short list) and I still thoroughly enjoyed Control. There’s supposedly a little bit of shared universe going on, but I really don’t think it’s very major and from what I was told is only slightly evident in one of the DLCs for Control having a reference to AW.

I don’t want to oversell it, but it’s one of my favorite games on PS5. The PS4 version apparently really struggled technically, but on PS5 it ran smoothly. It’s not quite a fast and kinetic as Spider-Man, but I think the combat is maybe a little tougher so you’ll get a little more challenge, but it’s not bad. I’m an average skill gamer and I made it through without issue, only struggled in a couple sections as I recall. (oh… and I almost forgot— you mentioned a couple times with Spider-Man how much you enjoyed throwing stuff at enemies, and so… I think you’ll be pleased with some of the options in Control 😄)

I look forward to hearing whatever you end up deciding. 👍🏼

@GirlVersusGame @Th3solution Having played both Control and Alan Wake 2, I highly recommend playing Control before Alan Wake 2. There are certain and characters that pop which make more sense having played Control. This is for the base game of Alan Wake 2, if you intend to play the dlc, then it is essential. There is also a tease to Control Resonate in the final dlc for Alan Wake 2.

Control is awesome too and should be played regardless. So looking forward to the sequel! I am blanking it out at the mo, as some previews have popped in my YouTube feed.

Gran Turismo. Yes, the original. I still despise license tests because I’ve played the games so much that they’re a complete chore. The ones in this game are a nightmare too. Wasn’t a huge fan at first of the physics and then I got a Dodge Viper and that thing goes straight into my hall of fame of video game cars. Crazy drift but if you can handle it then it’s a complete monster. It’s a barebones game but it’s still impressive for the time. One more down for this year’s RetroAchievements event. So far for that event I have beaten:

Blob Attack (Arduboy)
Adventure (Atari)
Professor Layton 1 (DS)
God of War (PS2)
Golden Axe (Mega Drive)
Monster Attack/EDF (PS2)
Little Britain The Game (PS2 and THE WORST GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED)
Medal of Honour: Underground (PS1)
Gran Turismo (PS1)

I just finished Neva and I couldn't tell you what the story really was about and if I tried to it would be entirely subjective, which is a good thing. I don't think a game has to explain itself, I see it more as a piece of art, it will probably mean something different to each person. I just know I really liked it. Full disclosure I played on story mode with no deaths and that's something I usually would never do but I don't like seeing animals being harmed even virtually so the only difficulty I can comment on is the platforming. I'm struggling to think of any other platformers I've played, Neva had some moments that really made me work towards moving forward, I eventually figured them out and appreciated how intuitive the answer was. It wasn't until I looked at the art-book that I saw that yes every piece was hand-drawn right down to every individual flower. Seeing how the levels and characters were designed showed just how much work went into the game and that's without mentioning the music, which is absolutely brilliant.

All I can say is thanks to @Oram77 I tried it a while back, just one chapter and had to put it down to go somewhere. Now I've finally gotten through it and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants a quick platformer adventure with a little combat thrown in for good measure. I was going to start Control tonight but first I need to jump onto that Neva Spotify Soundtrack and find some new additions for my playlist. There's also platinum to consider, it was a blind playthrough so I only have a couple of trophies and don't mind going back in for more.

@nessisonett Congrats that can't have been easy. Gran Turismo 2 fell on my earlier today while trying to Jenga some games. I opened the case out of curiosity and saw that there wasn't just a manual but a driving guide too. They knew how to package a game back then. Also Little Britain as in the TV show? I'd no idea that was made into a game, I need to see a playthrough on Youtube. I think the worst PS2 game I tried was Celebrity Deathmatch (also a TV show) it was maybe one year ago and absolutely terrible. I can't think of one good thing to say about it. That Most Wanted game with Bin Laden as the end boss was pretty awful too, I made it to the end and he killed me. I don't think I ever finished Golden Axe, I tried it on the PS4 Sega Genesis Collection. I don't know if you ever tried that Collection, I know they delisted it but if you like retro there are a bunch on that disc. I was hoping for a second one but no such luck, it would have been a great addition to Plus+ too.

Edit: They really did, I just watched a video by a page called Mindpulp. Apparently it's banned in Germany for being homophobic, maybe it should just have been banned everywhere. I don't know how you managed to play through that thing. The roller skating level looks like the definition of frustration.

@GirlVersusGame The roller skating level has some of the worst controls of all time. You just slide with barely any handling and get murdered by benches. All of the games are atrocious to be fair, thankfully the achievement popped for unlocking the final level so I didn’t actually have to play it. Dreadful stuff.

@GirlVersusGame My interpretation of the story is that the world they live in has a cycle of repeating the same events every year: monsters attack and the protagonist raises a wolf strong enough to defeat the monsters. The wolf dies and leaves behind a cub, which the protagonist raises next and so the cycle continues until they eventually break the cycle.

Glad that you liked it! Will be you checking out the DLC? It's more of the same, which is a good thing in this case!

A bit late on this, but I finished Professor Layton and the Lost Future last weekend. Great story, but I got kinda tired of the puzzles towards the end. Furthermore, I don't like it when games make you think you're at the end of the story, but you still got several more areas to go. At that point I just blasted through the final areas just to get to the end.

Kinda split on if I liked this game more than Pandora's Box. I feel like I had more of a consistent experience with that game. At the very least I liked both of these way more than Curious Village.

I'm also a bit unsure if I want to continue with the series and pick up Spectre's Call next. I just feel like the games will be more of the same from here on out. I'm honestly more interested in checking out Professor Layton x Ace Attorney on 3DS now that I've experienced both series. I'll just have to think more about what I want to do.

Digimon time stranger a few minutes ago. Was ok, still prefer cyber sleuth and lost Evolution.

@LtSarge That's really brilliant, it also ties into the cycle of the seasons. A first I'd thought of it like Endling, the premise of that game is that you need to take your fox cubs and carefully traverse a near polluted wasteland. There are threats from humans, the environment itself and other animals. It's more of a survival game than a platformer. Food needs to be scavenged and shelter needs to be reached before the sun rises. I couldn't finish it, each time you lose a cub that Moma fox sort of cries or wails, it was so raw. It probably wasn't a difficult game to beat (maybe) empathy-wise it was a real struggle, I'll try to finish it some day. I didn't realize Neva had DLC, I think I'll try it. Sometimes I avoid DLC, I like the kind of original feel of a game before it gets expanded but I just checked and it says Prologue so I just might. Maybe some of the concepts in the art-books that aren't in the main game might make their way into the prologue. I was holding off looking through the rest of the book before finishing the story, I went through the whole thing earlier today and saw these.

Do you play on many platforms? I've only played a couple of Switch games like AnimalCrossing, Breath of The Wild and a couple of retro titles from the store. I think the Steam Deck ruined handheld gaming for me, before then I did use the Switch a lot but the Steam Deck means portable games like Rimworld, Project Zomboid and Dwarf Fortress can travel with me. I've seen the Professor Layton games before too, the art-style reminds me of Tintin, I loved those books. They'd make great games too.

@GirlVersusGame Never heard of Endling before. It sounds like an interesting game, I'll have to look it up!

The DLC is definitely worth it! And yeah, this game really has a beautiful art-style. The developer's previous game, Gris, also has a beautiful art-style and was overall a fun platformer. When I learned that Neva was made by the Gris developer, I just had to check it out!

I only play on consoles as I'm not really into PC. So I play on Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation, but mostly on PlayStation. I'm pretty much a variety gamer, I just love experiencing different stuff! In terms of handhelds, it's mostly Switch and PlayStation Portal for me. Now that I can play my PS5 games on a handheld device, I haven't been using my Switch as much anymore, which is why I haven't bothered buying a Switch 2 yet. But it still gets some games that interest me, such as the Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen re-releases. I've been playing that a lot on my Switch lately as I grew up with the older games.

@LtSarge It has a similar hand-drawn style too, it's side-scrolling but has 3D elements too as you can turn corners and things. It uses stylized realism to enhance the visual emotions of the foxes too, not awkwardly, just enough to really make you feel something. It either is or was on Plus+ that's where I find the majority of Indies, otherwise I'd never know about them.

I've yet to play/watch Pokemon, it's like being a musician and never hearing the Beetles or Hendrix but for whatever reason I had no exposure to that show or those games growing up. I don't think it's regional either, it seems to be huge world wide. I do know the government labelled it as Satanic so maybe that's why, I wasn't aware of it even existing until I saw one called Sylveon in a store called Build a Bear. That was very recent, maybe three years ago. I have played Palworld and that's sort of like Pokemon, or it was before they started removing elements that were copied from the actual franchise. My Little Pony was and maybe still is viewed as Satanic, I collected those for a while but more recently was told they represent the downfall of civilization, they don't to me but fair enough. That mobile one Pokemon Go I was told that was a CIA invention, so I never got to try that either. In hindsight I can question these things, but only to myself and very quietly. It seems like the whole world has either seen or played a Pokemon game, I'd try one if it was open world maybe. I understand the gist of it, catch one in a ball, then have them battle like Palworld and Yakuza with it's Sujimons. It's on Netflix, I could start from there.

Finally finished RE Village after my marathon of RE7 and all the DLC. I think I'll be putting some time between me and the DLC this go around, though, because I'm dangerously close to getting burnt out on all this Resident Evil.

Good game, though. Glad I have tomorrow (today, I guess) off, since it meant I could stay up into the wee hours of the morning finishing the game.

Finished Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS5 version) and started Resident Evil VII, actually I am already on the ship section.

I really hate that part ... I know it is important for the story but I prefer the mansions, graveyards and museums turned into police stations

@Ralizah For what it's worth, Shadows of Rose is my favourite of the Winters saga DLCs. I think it's the most interesting naratively even if it basically just recycles the main game's environments with a new skin on it. It also has one of the best sections of both games overall in there. Not saying you need to go back into it right now if you're feeling burnt out, but I think it's worth knowing you might be surprised by how much you enjoy it... if I haven't led you completely astray! I personally hated the End of Zoe DLC and was charmed, but overall unimpressed by the Not a Hero DLC. If you feel similarly to me there, then you might have some good stuff to look forward to!

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@Zuljaras The boat section is definitely the worst part of the game. The narrative just isn't strong enough for it to uphold that kind of more serious, linear experience. Even if the revelations there are supposed to be quite meaningful to the overall game! Will you be playing the DLCs and Village (if you haven't already)?

@Tjuz Ah yes. I am playing them for the 4th or 5th time now

As for the DLC I am always playing End of Zoe and I doubt I will be playing Shadows of Rose. I might try it. I like to play what is on the physical media on consoles.

And I will be playing them again in PC VR.
Already finished RE2R in VR and it was unforgettable experience And today I figured out what was making RE8 and RE4R unplayable on my PC VR now they are smooth. And the RE9 VR mod has released and fixes are pushed every day!

@Tjuz Oh, cool! I actually liked all the DLC for 7, although Not a Hero > End of Zoe, for sure. The former felt like a nice epilogue to the main game. The latter... was unnecessary, but interesting with the changed up combat.

My favorite DLC was actually 21. Torture porn blackjack got its hooks in me and didn't let go until I completed Survival+ mode.

@Zuljaras Wow, the ship late in the game? That's fast. I actually loved the cruise ship section of that game. Reminded me of Revelation, which was a favorite of mine on 3DS. The ships are very creepy, claustrophobic settings.

@Ralizah RE7 is really fast with each new playthrough But I am 100% sure it will be much slower in VR ...

I found that section awful and it was such a downgrade after the mansion tbh.

@Tjuz

I loved Shadow of Rose. It started fun but then upped the ante with each new section. I also got emotional too. Hope we see Rose in the future again.

I hated End of Zoe too. It was really boring and felt like a chore to me.

I finished my umpteenth Sly 2: Band of Thieves playthrough last night. Super fun game, holds up well and it was fun to relive a very prominent game from my childhood!

@Kairuuu Sly 2 really is a great game! I finished the third one last year and while it also was good, I think my favourite of the trilogy is still the second game.

I've been contemplating on starting up Thieves in Time. Have you played that one yet?

@GirlVersusGame Congrats! I'm glad to hear that you liked it. It's definitely my favourite Remedy game because of its cool story and fun gameplay. Which is why I was disappointed by Alan Wake II after having played Control.

The thing about Remedy is that they've now created the "Remedyverse" after Control. They used to make games that don't connect with each other, but that changed with Control as it connects to Alan Wake. So the best way to experience the games would be: Alan Wake, then Control, then Alan Wake II, i.e. in release order. I honestly think it's cool when different series share the same universe, like with the MCU.

Now that you've brought it to my attention, I might have to check out Control: Resonant later this year. I wasn't planning on getting it at launch, but after remembering how much fun I had with the first Control, I now want to get the sequel as soon as it comes out. And it looks even more promising than the first game!