Modern Games Beaten in 2021

[digdugnate]

This falls in the 'sort of beat' category, but I finished Tetris Effect's (Switch) 'Journey' mode on Normal difficulty (to get the credit roll).   I played it via GamePass on XBox, but bought it for Switch last week.  

 

Probably the best Tetris title on the Switch, and up there for best Tetris title of pretty much all time.  Though... Super Tetris for the PC was pretty neat.

[digdugnate]

Diablo 2: Resurrected! (Series X)

 

I finished the game with my Necro/Summoner build last night.  What a pain in the heinie that last fight was.

[Razzie.P]

16)  Metroid Dread (Switch)

 

 

Eh, I did not like this one at all.   

 

Controls just never clicked with me.  So many odd bumper/trigger combos I felt like I was playing a modern Fifa.  

I mentioned this in a different, “Metroid Dread” thread -- I can max out the score on Contra, beat Battetoads, and do a "no hit run" on the first 2 Dark Souls games easier than I can consistently do moves like double jump (or space jump or whatever it's called) in this game.

And I wasn’t really exaggerating much.  Something just feels so “off” about the maneuvers in this game.  I can do the double jump/infinite jump thing with ease and nail it 100% of the time when in a open area, no enemies (like teleport areas) – but you throw some combat in there and that framerate drops, it’s like the timing of things just goes random.  Same goes with wall jumps, grabbing ledges, etc.  Just never seemed to work right for me.

 

Sad thing is, nothing was really “difficult,” in a traditional sense.   Bosses followed the same, easy to predict patterns.  Nearly every death in my game came from inputs just not working properly.

Those wannabe Stealth sections can piss off and die.  They weren’t tense.  They weren’t fun.  They were just something in the way of getting back to the game.

The later part of the game starts throwing a crapload of the “same” boss over n’ over – like they ran out of ideas or something.  But that’s ok, mostly… they were simple, fun fights –  but at the end of each, there’s some horseshit quick time nonsense that just kills it for me.  I say I died 50+ times on those, with about a dozen “perfect” fights, no damage taken, but died because of the quicktime crap.

 

Oh well, rant over.   If you’re a diehard fan, excuse my venting, please.  ?  Hopefully this one is everything the Metroid fans wanted it to be, but it was a pretty sour experience for me.

[cimerians]

58 minutes ago, Razzie.P said:

 

The later part of the game starts throwing a crapload of the “same” boss over n’ over – like they ran out of ideas or something.  But that’s ok, mostly… they were simple, fun fights –  but at the end of each, there’s some horseshit quick time nonsense that just kills it for me.  I say I died 50+ times on those, with about a dozen “perfect” fights, no damage taken, but died because of the quicktime crap.

 

 

 

Well that's one title to cross off my list, I don't tolerate that kind of BS anymore. Thanks for not being afraid to be honest about a Nintendo title. Your not the only one by the way. 

 

https://www.denofgeek.com/games/metroid-dread-david-jaffe-difficulty-rant-controversy-reactions/

Edited October 17, 2021 by cimerians

[Razzie.P]

17)  Guacamelee 2 (XBox Series X)

 

Figured I’d play another “Metroidvania” to help erase the stink left from Metroid Dread.  And it worked!  Guacamelee 2 was amazing from start to finish!

 

I really liked part 1 when I played it some years back, but kept moving part 2 to “maybe next time” when looking for something to play.  

I got the “bad” ending first, then went back and completed the extra challenges to get key parts needed for the “good” ending.  Not much difference in endings, really, and I actually preferred the bad one 

Difficulty was spot on for the main game, and those extra challenges ramped up to be absolutely brutal, to me at least.  But the beauty of this was, no matter how many times I failed, it never felt like it was due to bad design, or control issues, or like the game “missed inputs.”     This felt extra amazing to me since the previous game I played, I said “Nearly every death in my game came from inputs just not working properly.”

Highly recommended! 
 

[Razzie.P]

18)  Gears 5 (XBox Series X)

 

It was alright.  Had some really amazing moments - some of the best "shooter gameplay" I've seen, but the overall game was brought down by way, way too much walk n' talk where nothing's happening except pretty graphics.

 

Too much of the game feels like it was inspired a bit too much by Uncharted 4's jeep levels and (kinda) God of War's boat stuff, when it's just transport for the sake of chewing scenery and listening to dialog.

 

And an area where you have to "solve" some sort of crane puzzles to clear a path instead of just, I dunno... stepping over the 2 foot talk debris that acts as invisible walls.

[cimerians]

5 minutes ago, Razzie.P said:

 

Too much of the game feels like it was inspired a bit too much by Uncharted 4's jeep levels and (kinda) God of War's boat stuff, when it's just transport for the sake of chewing scenery and listening to dialog.

 

 

 

Yeah the jeep levels and the boat in both games were......ehhhhh  

[cimerians]

Trick & Treat...Just a small indie RPG maker game which is well done. It's almost Halloween so I took a timeout with this. Only takes a few hours if you use an achievement guide… and I still missed out on two of them but its an easy one to get 100% with the guide. To me these games are like “one shots”, perfect for whatever game you wanna take a break from that takes hundreds of hours to finish.

[Razzie.P]

19)  Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (PS5)

Overall, I loved this game.  I had a big ol’ grin on my face for about 90% of it, I suppose, and it pretty much captured the joy of gaming that seem lost in so many titles.  

Controls were great, but I did have some trouble judging depth during jumps.  But that’s pretty much just “me” with all 3D Platformers.  

The “problem” with this game (that kept my big ol’ grin from being 100%) is the difficulty.  The difficulty ramps up so much in the final parts, that it felt like the levels were designed to put challenge before fun.  And I can appreciate, and even love, a good challenge, but in this specific case, when mixed in with the feel of the rest of the game, it felt out of place, was frustrating, and like it should have been reserved for some of the extra challenge content instead of grinding the campaign to a halt.

I was able to finish the game, but I can’t imagine that’s the “norm” for most folk.  I haven’t googled  “Crash 4 difficulty,” but I’m kinda curious to see how that impacted the game’s success.
 

[profholt82]

On 10/16/2021 at 9:57 PM, Razzie.P said:

16)  Metroid Dread (Switch)

 

 

Eh, I did not like this one at all.   

 

Controls just never clicked with me.  So many odd bumper/trigger combos I felt like I was playing a modern Fifa.  

I mentioned this in a different, “Metroid Dread” thread -- I can max out the score on Contra, beat Battetoads, and do a "no hit run" on the first 2 Dark Souls games easier than I can consistently do moves like double jump (or space jump or whatever it's called) in this game.

And I wasn’t really exaggerating much.  Something just feels so “off” about the maneuvers in this game.  I can do the double jump/infinite jump thing with ease and nail it 100% of the time when in a open area, no enemies (like teleport areas) – but you throw some combat in there and that framerate drops, it’s like the timing of things just goes random.  Same goes with wall jumps, grabbing ledges, etc.  Just never seemed to work right for me.

 

Sad thing is, nothing was really “difficult,” in a traditional sense.   Bosses followed the same, easy to predict patterns.  Nearly every death in my game came from inputs just not working properly.

Those wannabe Stealth sections can piss off and die.  They weren’t tense.  They weren’t fun.  They were just something in the way of getting back to the game.

The later part of the game starts throwing a crapload of the “same” boss over n’ over – like they ran out of ideas or something.  But that’s ok, mostly… they were simple, fun fights –  but at the end of each, there’s some horseshit quick time nonsense that just kills it for me.  I say I died 50+ times on those, with about a dozen “perfect” fights, no damage taken, but died because of the quicktime crap.

 

Oh well, rant over.   If you’re a diehard fan, excuse my venting, please.  ?  Hopefully this one is everything the Metroid fans wanted it to be, but it was a pretty sour experience for me.

Great breakdown of the game. Most of the opinions I've read about it are from people who've only played a bit of the game without beating it. I played through Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion years ago and really liked them. This game being of that similar 2D style has gotten my attention, and I've been thinking about picking it up. I still want to, but I think I'll wait until after the holidays when it's been out a while and is for sale cheaper and/or used at the local game shops. I've already been apprehensive about dropping $60 on it, so I think I'll just hold off until next year. 

[profholt82]

I finally beat Greylancer last night. I've been playing it on and off over the past month on both the Xbox and Switch, but last night was the first time I finally beat it. What a great shoot 'em up. Several years back, I went on a quest to play every shmup released on the Genesis in North America and rank the ten best. Some of the European guys mentioned a number of Mega Drive games that I was never able to play, and Greylancer was one of them. I've since gotten a Mega SG, and picked up a few foreign releases, but this one had still eluded me. Anyway, now that I've finally been able to put some time into it, I've really come to appreciate it, and would rate it among the better shmups on the console. 

 

What sets it above the average games in the genre is not just the fun gameplay, but the customization it offers and unique level design. While it's not completely novel to offer customizations such as ship speed and shot type, Greylancer gives you quite a few choices to choose from. And the level design allows you to not just scroll to the right throughout, but sometimes up, down, to the left or any combination thereof. Sometimes you must make your own path by shooting through barriers to get through. There's more than just shooting baddies here, a different part of your brain is engaged by the level design which took the game to a higher level for me. That, and some of the boss fights are among the most memorable I've faced in the genre, most of which have multiple forms. And to top it all off, there's a decent story that is told through anime style cutscenes which is reminiscent of MUSHA, but also clearly influenced by Robotech/Macross. 

 

Yes, I really enjoyed this game, and will likely be playing more of it in the coming months. While not a true modern console game in the literal sense, the English translated story and overall polish make it great alternative to seeking out an expensive MD cart from a foreign seller. And there are some new modern features available if you'd like to use them, most notably the ability to rewind the gameplay if you're doing a practice run and make a mistake. Great game. 

[Razzie.P]

20)  Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut (PS5)

 

I played this for a wee bit when it launched on PS4, but decided to wait because I saw a “leaked” rumor that they were working on a PS5 version, so I finally got around to playing it, and I don’t (think I) usually say this sort of thing, but this game is easily one of the best overall game experiences I’ve ever played.

Simply amazing!

I finished the main story and most of the extra optional stuff, and while it had a couple of warts along the way (nothing major) it was about as close to a perfect “what I’d like to play” type of game as anything I’ve played in a long while.

[digdugnate]

I finished the Vacation Life DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons last night, so that was a neat ending.   

 

I've unlocked all the stuff for Forza Horizon 5 and finished all the road/offroad/cross-country races, but I don't guess that really counts as finishing it, per se.  I still have all the 'Story' stuff to do.

[Razzie.P]

21)  Blood Omen (PC)

 

Not a modern game, I suppose, since it came out in 1996, but it was just released on GOG this year, so that’s my excuse.  

I loved this game back in the 90’s, and was a bit disappointed when the sequels were an entirely different style of game.  Playing it now, it feels a bit rough around the edges, but I still enjoyed it a lot. 
 

[Razzie.P]

22) Resident Evil Village (PS5)

 

Pretty cool game.  I don’t consider myself a RE “fan,” but I have played all the main games and liked them all, for the most part.  Part 4, though, is pretty special for me.  Village is probably my second favorite in the franchise.

 

The only downer to these kind of games – and this one was no exception – is after a short while with weapon upgrades n’ such, it stops becoming “survival horror,” and becomes a shooter.   The first quarter of the game, I was on pins n’ needles.   The second quarter, it was legitimately creepy.  After that, I was like the F’n Doom guy for the rest of the game.  Still a lot of fun, but not exactly what it seemed to be trying to do, I don’t think.
 

[Punisher5.0]

Finished Cyberpunk 2077 tonight. Fantastic game with a super interesting story and a very unique ending. Didn't run into any significant glitches. Once the next gen patch comes then I'll definitely do another play through

[digdugnate]

Serious Sam: The First Encounter (XBox Series X) - Good grief, that final boss fight, lol.  I must've done it twelve times in the last phase.  The game is a heck of a lot of fun.

 

On to #2!

[Razzie.P]

23) Halo Infinite (Xbox Series X)

 

 

I’m a little torn on this one.  The first hour (I guess) was so boring I almost quit, but then it opened up and got friggin’ awesome! 

 

But then the last half of the campaign went back to that boring, linear slog, where everything looked like the library level from the first Halo, and they just kept padding it with random mobs of enemies.  And just seem to drudge on for way too long.  

 

And to cap it off,  it ended with one of the worst boss battles I’ve even played.  It’s almost like any love and goodwill that it had built up just went out the window at the end, and instead of a “YES! I did it!” it ended with a “thank goodness that’s over and I don’t think I’ll ever play this one again.”

 

Hopefully future games will be more of “that awesomeness in the middle”
 

[+jgkspsx]

Pinball Deluxe for the DS is an EU-exclusive Atari SA oddity that seems to be two downloadable pinball games glued together with a game switch to switch between them. I beat the “toys” theme (which is not really much of a theme; it’s pretty much “things that are not sports”, as there’s nothing very toylike about the tables). I liked the “boss” even if it was easier than most of the normal challenges.

 

 

It is janky and somewhat unbalanced, but somehow it plays better than it seems at first. I have improved markedly at it, and being able to improve one’s performance is one requirement of a decent pinball game…

[Razzie.P]

On 12/10/2021 at 11:22 AM, digdugnate said:

Serious Sam: The First Encounter (XBox Series X) - Good grief, that final boss fight, lol.  I must've done it twelve times in the last phase.  The game is a heck of a lot of fun.

 

On to #2!

Played the first Serious Sam on PC back in 2001 and was blown away.  Had 2 computers linked together for LAN and played through Co-Op with a buddy.  In some parts, it felt like we've never seen so much chaos (in a good way) on the screen at one time.

[digdugnate]

I finished Pokemon Brilliant Diamond this morning after grinding and grinding and grinding to beat the last person of the Elite Four and the Champion.  I'm not sure if it was actually harder or me just making it harder than it needed to be, but this was probably the hardest Elite Four/Champ fight set of all the games I've played.

 

Now dorking around with the post-game stuff (filling out the 'Dex, hunting down the other Legendary pokemon, etc).

[+jgkspsx]

I completed all the goals on the last real Sports table in Pinball Deluxe (DS, PAL exclusive) early in the week, but drained my last ball before hitting the exit chute. Aaargh!
 

After many (many) more attempts, I finally hit the score AND exited the table, this time with one ball left and all three multiballs still in play. Nice. After that slog, the final “boss” table was trivial (but crazy fun in a way the game could have used much more of).
 

 

So now I’ve beaten both challenge modes, unlocked all tables for free play, and I consider the game completed. Still need to get the high scores in free play but that will be child’s play.

[cimerians]

Dragon Age Inquisition - I got a new machine this year lost some saves so I figured I'd make another canon run in this, it's a slog fest but now I have a save in case Dragon Age 4 is any good.

 

Ziggurat - a Heretic clone, I thought it was pretty cool, I'm a fan of Heretic\Doom\Hexen and any 90’s style shooters.

 

Space Invaders Extreme – cool music

 

Platypus – quirky claymation “shmup” also released on PSP ages ago. Technically I didn't beat it but I can't get past the 2^nd to final level. So I consider it beaten

Edited December 27, 2021 by cimerians

[8th lutz]

Earlier this in 2021, I beaten: Ys Origin and Ys IX: Monstrum Nox for the Switch.

 

Ys Origin had great music and game playplay. It is bit different as YS game compare to the others that I've played. It is a dungeon crawler. The graphics are what you expect out of a YS game that uses the Ark of Napishtism game engine. That game engine is very old and Ys Origin originally came out on Computers in 2006 that happened to come out in the switch in 2020. Each character's adventure is your typical YS game before YS 7 in terms of amount of time. All 3 Characters take can take up to 10 hours each. The game does a great job of tying up loose ends and sets the events up for YS I and II great. 

 

YS IX is a pretty good game. I think a little of experience of past YS games is a good help. There are references to past YS games in YS IX. YS IX soundtrack to me isn't quite as good as YS VIII. There is still good music in the game. The gameplay is great. There is great character development for the secondary characters. 

[+wongojack]

I finished "The Walking Dead: The Final Season" earlier in December.  It took the series to a decidedly "juvenile" place and felt much more like a YA story than the previous games.  That was ok, and I enjoyed it, but it didn't have the same reach as the previous entries (or the source material).

 

I also finished the campaign in Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 on X360.  This is a game that I've owned for more than a decade and finally got around to playing.  It is fun, and I had fun playing the challenge rooms and trying to get all the collectibles.  I'm still working on some of those, AND I started re-playing the original Bionic Commando Rearmed which features insanely difficult extra challenges.  I've only got one of those challenges left and was hoping to finish in 2021, but that didn't happen.  I'll keep at it in 2022.