The last few games you beat and rate them III

[Frankie Spankie]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - 8.5/10

I actually backed this on Kickstarter years ago and I'm glad I did. It does just about everything right. The exploration was great, combat was solid, music was awesome, they even threw in some ridiculousness like a demon shredding on the guitar that shoots stuff at you. The dev team clearly designed this game to be fun and fun it was. My only complaints are I think the controls could be a little tighter, the controls are menus were actually really bad IMO (if you're using an analog stick and press down and like 5 degrees to the right, it thinks you press right,) and some of the animations were kind of janky in animations. I want to emphasize that I don't think the controls were bad, they were still good, there were just some moments where they don't feel as good as they should be in chaotic moments. Overall, still an awesome game. If you want to play a Castlevania game, this is a must play. Definitely one of the best games of 2019 so far.

 

[Warden of the North]

Inside

5/10

I guess I dont really get Indie games? I had heard great things about it and its Free with Gold this month on Xbox.

I mean, it looks great, and sounds and score are perfect for it. But its boring. I have no idea what the hell the deeper meaning of it is supposed to be either.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Inside

5/10

I guess I dont really get Indie games? I had heard great things about it and its Free with Gold this month on Xbox.

I mean, it looks great, and sounds and score are perfect for it. But its boring. I have no idea what the hell the deeper meaning of it is supposed to be either.

Imma be honest, not only do I agree with your assessment, I would go a step further and suggest this is easily the most overrated game I've ever played.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I actually felt the same way about Inside as well. I've enjoyed quite a few odd indie games but I just didn't really seem to get it like other people did. As a puzzle/platformer, it's pretty fun, but I felt like it was just an average game rather than the game of the year like I saw a lot of people claim it to be.

 

[Shareefruck]

Boooo!

Artistically, Inside is one of the tightest and most pristine games I've ever played (Might sound like hyperbole, but I honestly can't think of anything else that even really comes close for me, personally-- it's the only game I can actually put next to serious classic films and go "Oh yeah, this, without reservation actually gives me a comparable feeling").

Every beat, every conceived moment, every animation, every sound, and every puzzle and creative decision.... just the big picture of the entire thing/the way it was all presented/the way it leaves you just felt so perfectly and tastefully considered, while feeling completely bold and uncompromising and without ever feeling pretentious, heavy-handed, or on-the-nose the way certain other artsy games get (like say Gris or even Journey--which I do respect as well-- sometimes does).

It's not mechanically deep/addictive the way that my other favorites are, but it's still absolutely perfect in its simplicity, IMO. I love the philosophy that a story doesn't have to logically make any obvious realistic sense for it to be powerful and feel cohesive and interpretive. It kind of reminds me of the movie Upstream Color in that respect.

Just the attitude of everything about that game feels so right to me. I think I might even give it partial credit for re-igniting my interest in video games as a whole a few years back.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

Metro Exodus - 8.5/10.

- Great atmosphere, characters, 2nd half of the game and story, modding system is great.

- First half is pretty meh imo, gunplay is ok but nothing special, ai sometimes can become godmode and see you when they shouldn't have.


Assassins Creed Odyssey - 8/10

- Great protagonist (Kassandra), meaningful main story, some fun side quests, good combat and lots of cool skills to unlock, impressive looking world

- Lots of boring side quests, not a lot of memorable characters outside the protagonist and a few others, world is massive but becomes repetitive quite easily, classic Ubisoft fodder

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Metro Exodus - 8.5/10.

- Great atmosphere, characters, 2nd half of the game and story, modding system is great.

- First half is pretty meh imo, gunplay is ok but nothing special, ai sometimes can become godmode and see you when they shouldn't have.

This game reminded me so much of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and I always heard the same complaints about it. I think the gunplay is designed that way to fit the theme of the game. These guns are old pieces of shit from Russia after a nuclear war.

 

[God King Fudge]

Last game I completed was Call of Cthulhu.

Kind of janky, pretty unpolished, but I enjoyed it. The setting was just so cool that it kept me playing through all the issues.

6/10

 

[PilotRedSun]

I have mixed feelings on Playdead. I think Limbo is just flat out a bad game wrapped up in a slick coat of paint, but Inside did have a few great moments like the shockwave room.

 

[Shareefruck]

I can respect that opinion of Limbo. I think conceptually and aesthetically, it's great, but the puzzles start to feel tedious and frustrating rather than well designed and satisfying after a certain point. It's more something that I find cool and that I like the idea of rather than something that I love the actual experience of.

Speaking of Inside... A game that I think is guilty of a lot of the Warden of the North's reservations with Inside is THIS game instead.

Little Nightmares - 0.5 (Bad)

Forgot to review this. I thought this was a cute but kind of hollow rip-off of it. Trying to do a lot of the same types of things but feeling a lot more creatively aimless, empty, and contrived/manipulative while obviously trying really hard to vaguely hint at meaningful things that I didn't really buy. It has a nice look to it, the character designs are neat, there's a superficial spook factor to the creepy way they look that ultimately doesn't amount to much, the puzzles are nothing special, it controls very poorly, and overall, the game isn't good for much more than a cheap periodic jolt/thrill. And holy crap, do the crazy load times on the Switch make it hard to tolerate.

Skip it.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Kamiko - 8/10
Just a short, sweet bite of SNES-like Zelda gameplay with four stages and three characters. Satisfying two or three hours to play, but not sure if there's much replay value for me beyond that.

I'd recommend, but probably wait for a sale.

 

[PilotRedSun]

Here's my updated top 5 games list:

Galaga
Maniac Mansion
Ninja Gaiden
Revenge of Shinobi
Bernband

 

[SniperHF]

- First half is pretty meh imo, gunplay is ok but nothing special,

I haven't played Exodus but in 2033 and Last Light the problem was the way enemies responded to being shot (mostly not at all). It never gave the weapons any weight and felt like you were shooting into giant bullet sponges.

This game reminded me so much of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and I always heard the same complaints about it. I think the gunplay is designed that way to fit the theme of the game. These guns are old pieces of **** from Russia after a nuclear war.

(the problem is stalker's gunplay lies to you not that the weapons are inaccurate)

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

I can respect that opinion of Limbo. I think conceptually and aesthetically, it's great, but the puzzles start to feel tedious and frustrating rather than well designed and satisfying after a certain point. It's more something that I find cool and that I like the idea of rather than something that I love the actual experience of.

Speaking of Inside... A game that I think is guilty of a lot of the Warden of the North's reservations with Inside is THIS game instead.

Little Nightmares - 0.5 (Bad)

Forgot to review this. I thought this was a cute but kind of hollow rip-off of it. Trying to do a lot of the same types of things but feeling a lot more creatively aimless, empty, and contrived/manipulative while obviously trying really hard to vaguely hint at meaningful things that I didn't really buy. It has a nice look to it, the character designs are neat, there's a superficial spook factor to the creepy way they look that ultimately doesn't amount to much, the puzzles are nothing special, it controls very poorly, and overall, the game isn't good for much more than a cheap periodic jolt/thrill. And holy crap, do the crazy load times on the Switch make it hard to tolerate.

Skip it.

One issue I have with pretty almost every horror game: the effect wears off pretty quick with infinite lives. Fear turns to annoyance in the blink of an eye. Little Nightmares is arguably one of the worst (or best?) examples of this problem.

 

[KingBran]

Imma be honest, not only do I agree with your assessment, I would go a step further and suggest this is easily the most overrated game I've ever played.

EVER?

I mean... EVER?

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

EVER?

I mean... EVER?

Ever. If it was merely a run of the mill indie darling, I would say otherwise. The game has a good aesthetic and I would never trash the game for being bad.....

...yet we are talking about a game that is criticially revered as an all timer ny many publications, I have friends who revere it. By the time I exhausted its short run time I had nothing more to say than "good riddance." The chasm between my feelings of the game versus the consensus is large enough for me to stick with the claim.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

This game reminded me so much of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and I always heard the same complaints about it. I think the gunplay is designed that way to fit the theme of the game. These guns are old pieces of **** from Russia after a nuclear war.

Yea maybe. But even things like hit registration or enemies feeling the impact of getting shot were lackluster.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

I haven't played Exodus but in 2033 and Last Light the problem was the way enemies responded to being shot (mostly not at all). It never gave the weapons any weight and felt like you were shooting into giant bullet sponges.





(the problem is stalker's gunplay lies to you not that the weapons are inaccurate)

Yup, pretty much the same in Exodus. I think it's better but in the not great category.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Katana ZERO - 9.5/10

One of the best indie games out there. It's a 2D action platformer version of Hotline Miami and they do a hell of a job at that. You can slow down time to dodge enemies, roll past them, deflect bullets back at them, etc. The soundtrack is awesome and it fits an incredible aesthetic. The story is great but it ends on a to be continued. That being said, the story still wraps up pretty well and just kind of sets itself up for a sequel. Definitely one of the best indie games out there.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Strange Brigade - 7/10

I got this solely for a co-op game with a friend of mine. It serves its purpose. It's a third person shooter set in mythical Egypt where you fight mummies and other sorts of mythical Egyptian undead. There are also some puzzles to solve but none of them are ever overly challenging. Mechanics are pretty tight but overall, none of it is too special. It's really short and the campaign only took us 6 hours. There is a horde mode but I never really cared for those. At full price, it is certainly not worth it but at 75% off, it's good fun for a few hours. I definitely wouldn't recommend it at $50 though.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Blur - 5/10

Blur is a racing game from 2010 with licensed cars but really arcade-y racing and power ups for you to attack other drivers or defend yourself with. It's pretty average, nothing groundbreaking. I just happened to be in the mood for a game like this, it was the only reason I even finished it. The game is just too easy, I had no problem winning every race but a huge margin. I was probably half a lap ahead of the second place car in most events and the races are only 2-3 laps depending on track length. It's not available digitally anymore, they most likely didn't renew their licenses since they do use real cars. It's a pretty average game overall.

 

[LarKing]

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 1 - 9.5

Been reliving my childhood recently playing this and the second one. I’ll start with the first one. It’s as much of a masterpiece as I remember. Throws you right into the action. The first planet, Taris, is filled with things to do. Every place you explore has danger and it really feels like you get to decide how everything goes down. The other planets are great too but the first is probably my favorite. You know who the main villain is the entire game and it’s fairly straight forward outside of one big twist near the end. Knew about it of course having played before though. I feel like the story is as close to a perfect representation of Star Wars as you can get. The villains, or boss fights, leading up to Malak all feel meaningful. Great, consistent game through and through.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2 - 9.0

I gave this one a bit lower rating but honestly might’ve enjoyed it more. I read a bit afterward and someone put it into the perfect words. Something along the lines of the first KOTOR perfectly representing Star Wars and the second being a complete deconstruction of Star Wars. This one is much deeper and darker. Definitely think you have to beat the first one to fully enjoy this one. However, it’s far less consistent than the first. The first level on Paragus is fairly boring. Telos is alright but also feels like I’m just doing chores. I enjoyed the others, although a few like Korriban have very little to do outside of the main missions. I really enjoyed the Kreia stuff and thought the plot with her is exactly what I like to see with Star Wars. The whole both sides being wrong thing is where TFA should’ve gone imo but they botched that movie hard. The characters in this one were more interesting but the ending was worse imo. The first one definitely makes you feel like you’re more in control of what happens. Overall, still a really good game. Glad they went a completely different direction rather than remake the first one.

 

[NyQuil]

There are mods for KOTOR 2 that restore some of the cut content. (e.g. Korriban)

It's too bad that you only get Mical or Handmaiden but not both in one playthrough.

They both have insight into the complex plot of the game.

 

[LarKing]

There are mods for KOTOR 2 that restore some of the cut content. (e.g. Korriban)

It's too bad that you only get Mical or Handmaiden but not both in one playthrough.

They both have insight into the complex plot of the game.

I’m playing it on xbone unfortunately. Yeah I read after you can get nearly every character to become a Jedi. I feel very cheated now haha.

 

[NyQuil]

I’m playing it on xbone unfortunately. Yeah I read after you can get nearly every character to become a Jedi. I feel very cheated now haha.

The toughest is Bao-Dur and it's not really worth it for him anyway. You have to have him with you to click on very specific conversations and items and if you miss even one, you'll fall short.

It's fun to have Atton, Mira, Disciple/Handmaiden as Jedi though, particularly for the Dxun / Onderon mission.

KOTOR 2 is an almost masterpiece that still turned out to be a pretty good game.

The plot is much more complex and intricate than the original and more ambitious, but I agree with your assessment that it falls short perhaps because it reached a little too far and wasn't completed properly.

KOTOR 2 also had the advantage of building on an existing engine and graphic sets etc., which in my mind makes the original that much more compelling.

What's cool about the original KOTOR is that everyone has a different favourite planet. I liked Manaan, but other people preferred Kashyyk, Tatooine or even Korriban (or Taris in your case).

Also, Bastila was probably my first video game crush. That Jennifer Hale is something else.

Finally, the soundtracks by Jeremy Soule may be the best I've encountered outside of maybe the Heroes of Might and Magic series.