I thought it was a prequel? Is it any good?
Yes.
i totally forgot the best line: just beofre you head down for the final boss fight, fergus says to BJ “Don’t fuck this up, cunt” 
RE1 Remake HD Remaster
I’ve been on a bit of a Resi kick lately, had never played this and it always seems to get praised as the pinnacle of classic survival horror. It was an enjoyable experience, but for me classic style survival horror is maybe a bit of a dated concept. There’s some brilliant atmosphere in this, and peeling back the layers of puzzles to gradually open up the mansion and reveal the mysteries is great. The tightness and cleverness of the progression design is brilliant. But…
The pre-rendered backgrounds/fixed camera thing doesn’t really do it for me. While it creates some ‘cinematic shots’, these fall apart in motion as characters and enemies are not fully rooted in the environment and the movement and combat are not fluid in the least. It also got quite annoying having to constantly check the map to work out the shape of rooms you were in. Made me appreciate Signalis’ more simplistic fixed camera approach, which was less artsy but showed you the layout of the spaces a lot more clearly. The boss fights were pretty naff, it never seemed particularly clear whether you were supposed to be fighting, running or doing a puzzle, and the ones involving fighting were pretty laughable if you had ammo for one of the good weapons. And as much as this applies to a lot of fiction, the incredible level of contrivance and characters’ bizarre refusal to do certain things (will happily wade though a massive shark infested chamber, won’t go through a small waterfall until it’s turned off) dampened the horror a lot.
In summary, good stuff, glad I played it but I think it shows they’d taken things as far as they could with the classic style and RE4 was a necessary switch up.
2 Likes
- Please Touch the Artwork
I liked the vibe and style of this but it didn’t really work for me as a puzzle game. Either felt trivially easy or impossibly hard, very little of that “aha!” sweet spot. Meh.
- Golfclub Wasteland
Also kind of meh. Simple mechanics but really frustrating. “Weighty” plot that fails to land. I can see what it’s going for but it just wasn’t that fun to play.
2 Likes
- OlliOlli2: Welcome to OlliWood (PS4)
- Just Cause (Xbox 360)
Maybe I’d be a bit more charitable had I just blasted through the campaign and done the odd bit of side content here and there before moving on to something else. Unfortunately, the completionist in me looked at the achievement list and thought “that’s doable” and here I am, 25 hours of gameplay later, feeling like there may have been better things that I could’ve done with this month…
Time has not been kind to this game. Despite the flourish of colour that you rarely see in games from this generation, it looks like dogshit. Gameplay is embarrassingly easy - there’s no option to turn off auto-aim or increase the difficulty from what I could see. The only challenge is poised by the odd mission which is dependent on archaic game design. The campaign is what it is - the paper thin plot, bad writing and terrible humour made me laugh because they’re so bad but I wasn’t expecting much from a JC game on that front anyway - and can be blasted through in a matter of hours.
I think my problem with open world games that I’ve played like this and Far Cry 4 (which I actively hated) is that they give you this massive expanse of empty space just for the sake of it. FC4 regularly threw a load of different side content at you to distract you from the fact that the world itself is totally vacuous but this doesn’t even have that. There are such vast amount of spaces that are completely untouched and filled with copy-and-paste forest that just begs the question “Who thought this was a good idea?”
You can see how they got from here to subsequent sequels but it’s just not very fun either. They haven’t got the “gamey” design aspect here yet of the grappling hook which means you’re just floating underneath helicopters or beside cars so you never really bother using it and I’m just not bothered about wrecking havoc because it’s not very entertaining.
Oh well.
1 Like
Cuphead 8/10
Finished this last night. I really, really liked it. Don’t need to talk about the art too much, everyone knows how incredible it is, but the soundtrack doesn’t get enough love imo. Probs one of the greatest I’ve ever heard on a vidya. The difficulty curve is perfect, too, and bosses and levels feel progressively more challenging, but rarely unfair. Basically as tight a platforming game as you’ll ever play. Didn’t feel like (visuals and audio aside), the gameplay itself was anything particularly special and unique though, but the whole game really comes together beautifully. A true sum-of-its-parts experience for sure. Docked points because there wasn’t enough running and gunning, the robot boss is stupid, and you basically don’t have to change weapons from the pea and spread shooters the entire game aside from one or two bosses where the homing shot is useful.
1 Like
- Vampire Survivors
- Hellblasters
- Cosmo Dreamer
- Super Mario Land
- Super Mario Land 2: Six Gold Coins
- Cosmic Star Heroine
- Dragon Blaze
- Please touch the artwork
- Golf Club Wasteland
- Anodyne
Very nearly jacked this in after an hour or so because it was annoying and exhausting working out where to go next and there was some bullshit thing I had to look up to get past it, but I then carried on to the end.
I don’t know if I really enjoyed it. It’s kind of like an indie Link’s Awakening. Combat is shitty. Platforming is bad. Dungeon puzzles are just enough to make it compelling. Story and NPCs etc feel very “lol random”. Lots of people seem to think it’s about depression and set in a dream state but idk. Looked up some reviews and the devs have been very open since release about how they missed the mark in many respects, and that they never meant to make a pretentious, unclear story, but accept that’s how it comes across, which is refreshing I guess.
Most interesting thing happens at the end:
You get a tool which lets you swap the tiles that make up the game - so you can swap a floor and wall and walk through the wall. It breaks the whole game in fascinating ways, and apparently there’s a whole post game with extra secrets and areas the discover using it, but I CBA to bother. But would make a great mechanic for another game.
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Hi-Fi Rush
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Metroid Prime Remastered
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Norco
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Kirby and the Forgotten Land
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Elden Ring (2nd time) - bulk of this playthrough was last year. Came back to it as a break from Sekiro. Still bloody great. Will end up playing again to get ready for whenever the DLC turns up. On the subject of Sekiro - got to the end about a week ago, but spent a good 3-4 hours failing at the end boss. Will prob leave it there now. Fantastic game, even if it was a right headache at points. Think I’ll go back and start from scratch at some point and try and learn it better and finish it. Genuinely think the antidepressants I’m on impaired my reaction times, so maybe when I’m off those
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Resident Evil 4 Remake - brilliant. Maybe the best action game. Glad they’ve still got type writers as the save points, like to imagine Leon diligently typing up everything that happens, even when the island is about to explode. Good fun over the top silly and satisfying plot too.
Jan 13th - Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)
Feb 7th - Hi-fi Rush (Xbox Series S)
Feb 10th - Goldeneye (Xbox Series S / Switch)
Feb 20th - Halo: Combat Evolved / The Master Chief Collection (Xbox Series S)
Feb 25th - Bayonetta 3 (Switch)
Apr 10th - Metroid Prime Remastered (Switch)
Well it was wonderful to get to replay this. I adored Trilogy on Wii, and that was my first intro to the series.
This is a proper overhaul and by Nintendo standards a real labor of love. Looks and sounds even more gorgeous than it already did, and the gameplay holds up staggeringly well for a 20+ year old title.
The atmosphere, exploration and fusion of elements still hasn’t been bettered in 3D, even by Retro Studios themselves. The intro, landing on Tallon overworld, the rain, the music, the hum of the secret nearby, the scanning lore humour, the sense of isolation… perfect stuff that a film could never capture.
Beat the game with 96% item collection (couldn’t find the final 3 missiles) and 96% scan (grrrrrr… Not sure what I missed).
The first half of the game is still pretty much perfect. The second half does drag a bit. Don’t mind the Chozo Artefact hunt personally, it’s more the reappearance of enemies in rooms you’ve cleared out, a few sections forcing you to use the Heat Visor and a couple of bullet sponge bosses that take a few attempts. Nothing game breaking, just not so fluid and magic as that first half.
Not sure the controls are quite as good here as on Wii, due to the switching between beam and visor being less fluid, but perfectly manageable.
Hopes for 4…
Better combat. Or less of it. Don’t start with losing all your gear… maybe just add new abilities instead of hinder the old ones at the start. New bosses. Otherwise, I’d happily take more of the same, which I rarely say.
An unexpected highlight of this last month was my 5 year old son ADORING this. Goes to bed every night asking me what the next power up is, wants me to help him get every secret, wants to know about the other games in the series… honestly didn’t expect him to like it. His sister also thinks Samus is ‘badass’.
Proof right there that not letting old franchises lie dormant has its merits. Two new Metroid fans, right there.
1 Like
Yakuza/ Like A Dragon Ishin!
Weakest yakuza game since 2 or 4 imo. Story was wank, combat was weak, ans the sub stories were nowhere near as good as the mainline series.
i loved the farming/fishing/environment tho
6/10
1 - God of War Ragnorak - PS5
2 - Citizen Sleeper - Switch
3 - Cultist Simulator - Switch
4 - Tinykin - Switch
5 - Hogwarts Legacy - PS5
6 - Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty - PS5
7 - Resident Evil 4 Remake - PS5
7 - Tails of Iron - PS5
The Resi 4 remake really captured the essence of what made the original such a classic. The game is just an out and out blast to play and even the escort mission bits can’t detract from this game being a classic. It was nice that there were some elements mixed up a bit so it keep the game feeling a little fresh rather than just a shot for shot remake. What I really loved in the PS5 version was how the creepy voices Leon hears in his head come from the controller rather than the main speakers which brought in a nice unnerving feel to them. the reloading sounds and weapon noises also coming from the controller coupled with the excellent use of the haptic feedback really enhanced my play through of this game.
I played Tails of Iron as it was one of the recent PS Plus free games and this was really great. Huge Redwall vibes with all the mice. Game was a lot of fun and had some very enjoyable boss fights.
1 Like
- Vampire Survivors
- Hellblasters
- Cosmo Dreamer
- Super Mario Land
- Super Mario Land 2: Six Gold Coins
- Cosmic Star Heroine
- Dragon Blaze
- Please touch the artwork
- Golf Club Wasteland
- Anodyne
- Thomas Was Alone
Loved this. Wicked music, satisfying puzzling, and even the Danny Wallace commentary was solid enough. Very pleasant little game.
3 Likes
Thomas was alone is one of my fav games ever. So much personality projected on what amounts to veryyl simple shapes
1 Like
Resident Evil 4
Fantastic reamke and had a great time in the castle especially and the removal of QTEs is a blessing. HOWEVER i do prefer the original a smidge more as it has more personality and prefer the lighter campy nature of RE4 a tad more as it suits my taste more than survival horror which this one leans way more into (but thats because im bad with horror i literally couldnt play the game without my ADHD medication as im so jumpy without it!l)
Look forward to some mercenaries and ill give this bad boy a 9 (the original being one of my fav games ever so it was a big ask to beat the original for my taste)
The catapult sequence was the only frustrating part of the escort which is better than i could say for the original mind
This video sums up my feelings (though i wouldnt call the remake souless)
But its kinda better that way? Theyre 2 different games and 2 interpretations and theyre both totally worth playing
2 Likes
Disco Elysium.
Don’t normally write stuff but wow, right up there with my favourite games ever. Writing and acting best I’ve seen, such a real and believable world and the best detective duo there ever was. Seriously love Kim. I was welling up at the end when he spoke about Harry.
I’ve gone and bought it on Switch because I know I’ll want more playthroughs (I never do that) and seems perfect for the platform. I played it a fairly straight boring cop but want to go full disco supercop next time. Can see it playing out very differently.
Yeah, totally totally loved it and sad it’s over.
8 Likes
I think the final act with the sniper on the island and the ensuing conversation remains one of the best gaming moments I’ve ever experienced.
1 Like
When the phasmid appeared I felt like crying. It was beautiful.
No other game has made me laugh or (nearly) cry as much as this one.
3 Likes
I played it around the same time as my brother and we both had very different major elements that made up the final 1/3 of the game due to earlier game choices and events. Fantastic game.
Yes that bit is so so good!