2024 Gaming Plans

[Executor]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Part 4 - Games I Actually Finished (Not Soulslikes)


Five Dates
Awkward
Choice Clash: What Would You Rather?
Choice of Life: Middle Ages

Well... ugh. Not exactly a money well spent but there was a short period of time when I felt like it, so why not try something new? Five Dates is a dating simulator (who would have guessed) with a cast not necessarily being my cup of tea, except of one, which I actually managed to get on a date, so hey, could have been worse. Awkward and Choice Clash are games designed to be played either online or in a group, but they were fun for a couple of hours. Choice of Life was much less fun but I at least got to one of the possible endings and have never returned back since.

Persona 4 Golden - Surprise of the Year #1. I originally had Persona 5 Royal in my plans for this year, but only if I could get a PS5 Pro, which I did not, and somewhere in the middle of summer I felt the urge to try something new and unfamiliar (and weird, you could say) so I decided to go with this. The game turned out to be a gem I could only hope it to be. As usual, I played it on super easy (story mode or whatever) because I wanted to focus on the story and social-links-building aspects of the game (and yes, dating). Again, great characters, great writing, great story, great music - everything you would expect from a celebrated JRPG IP these days. And... you know you were doing good during your playthrough when you have been able to hit on and later get in a relationship with the most sought-after girl in your school.

Yakuza Kiwami - Surprise of the Year #2. Inspired by the Tokyo Vice Season 1 TV series, along with my decision to finally start learning Japanese, I dediced to buy this game on sale and see if it would suit me. And man, what a ride it turned out to be. I would probably rate this game 9.5/10 if not for the lack of one crucial mechanic - enemy lock-on. Had I not played this game (again) on easiest level, I might have never finished this. Luckily, I somehow managed my fights and man I am glad I did. Kazuma Kiryu is probably the most likable male character this side of Joel Miller, the story (again) is fantastic, writing's on par with the best of 'em, and there is one music track in the soundtrack that might just be a single best music rift ever released in a video game. Incredible fun.

[Bard]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Wow, another year and another amazing thread to follow along with.

This year will be super simple for me... I think? Lol.

I don't have much going on in 2024.

I know I'll get the new WWE and MLB games, but outside of those two, I think that's all.

Going to keep up with Pokemon and Fortnite. Just got Mario Wonder, so my wife and I will play through that.

Currently Playing Into The New Year:
Fortnite
Pokemon Scarlet
Mario Wonder
MLB 23
Madden 24

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

Bard's 2024 End of Year Review:

Top Games (65-250 hours played):

Fortnite
MLB The Show 24
No Mans Sky
Pokemon Scarlet
First Descendant (shocked me how much I enjoyed this)
Madden 24
WWE 2K24
UFC 4
Black Ops 6
Astro Bot
NCAA 25
Sparking Zero
Outlast Trials
PGA 23
Hell Divers 2
Mario Wonder
Pokemon Legends Arceus (3rd playthrough)


Played (20-64 hours played):

Marvel Rivals (if this came out sooner it would be a top game)
NBA 2K25
GTA V
Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel
Diablo IV
Dream light Valley
Star Wars Outlaw
Golf with Friends
Hogwarts Legacy



Tried (under 20 hours played):

Green Hell
Cyberpunk
Tem Tem
Palworld
Ghost of Tsushima
Death Stranding
Far Cry 6
Phasmophobia



Good and fun year of gaming!

[Executor]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Part 5 - Currently Playing

Ucharted: The Lost Legacy - major bummer. I do not know... I was never exactly thrilled with U1, but hey, it was a Naughty Dog, so I tried it out, and then U2-U4 which gradually improved by leaps and bound in both the story, graphics, gameplay and whatnot and made Uncharted a must-play franchise, but Lost Legacy seems... redundant? Stale? No life, no chemistry... I liked Chloe Frazier in U2 so much that I was miffed Nathan ended up with the other girl instead, but in this game, man... something's different. After a month, I am on Chapter 6 now, and it's been nothing but a slog.

Tales of Berseria - I had this game on my radar for a long time now, because its dark story is quite legendary, and I have to say, during the prologue, I was on the brink of declaring it the best game ever (silly as it might seem). While many JRPGs are not exactly known for delicate and full-fleshed enviroments and super advanced graphics, this games looked and felt so colorful, so vibrant... a joy to watch, a joy to play, a joy to discover. Well, that feeling subsided as the game went on, but not to a concerning level - quite the opposite, I am about 17-20 hours in and I still like this game a lot, and I have every intention to finish this no matter how long it takes, because everything that matters to me in these kind of games ranges from very decent to downright fantastic. So, fingers crossed.

The Witch on the Holy Night - one of the games you could probably consider an AAA game in the realm of visual novels, I awarded myself this one as a New Year gift, and man, what a story it shapes out to be. And do I have to say how absolutely gorgeous the music is?

[Executor]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Right there with you.

Berseria is probably my favorite game of the series, the anti-heroes are just a fun group to fall. I struggled to get into Zestiria though. It just doesn't have the same flare.

I actually kinda sorta hope that after all's said and done, Berseria will make me re-engage and finish Zestiria (they are lore-connected, after all, and I love these kind of things), but I have my doubts.

But you are so very right on the anti-heroes-are-just-fun side of things...

WITCHNAPPERS!!! LMAO

[pietasterp]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Kinda weird how sympatico our gaming trends are going (!)

No big plans for me. I'll probably get EA College Football, but other than that, I don't have any definite plans to buy anything this year. I'm kinda sorta starting to get into racing games, so I'll dive deeper with Gran Turismo 7. I also have Horizon Forbidden West sitting out there which I should really run through; I liked the first game, but to be honest, I didn't really see the need for a sequel as I sorta had my fill with the first one. But it came 'free' with my PS5 so I feel like I should run through it.

So until a new College Hoops 2K comes out (spoiler alert: never), there's not much on my 'high anticipation' list for the foreseeable future.

I did finish Horizon Forbidden West, which was fine. I honestly don't think the game needed a sequel and I struggle to think of much that the sequel did better than the original but it was a decent enough game. I probably wouldn't play a 3rd one at this point, though.

I never did take up Gran Turismo 7 again, but that might happen this year. Or perhaps the moment has just passed.

I'm realizing now that once the college football game comes out, nothing else is getting played this year for me.

This pretty much happened. I did nothing after that game released but play it.

So...I guess I pretty much nailed my 2024? Which, along with $5, will get me a small coffee at Starbucks.

[jrnlgrn]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

I did finish Horizon Forbidden West, which was fine. I honestly don't think the game needed a sequel and I struggle to think of much that the sequel did better than the original but it was a decent enough game. I probably wouldn't play a 3rd one at this point, though.

Totally agree, think we are in the minority though. H:ZD is one of my all time favorites and the sequel was such a let down, I actually struggled to finish Forbidden West.

Sent from my Pixel 8a using Operation Sports mobile app

[pietasterp]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Totally agree, think we are in the minority though. H:ZD is one of my all time favorites and the sequel was such a let down, I actually struggled to finish Forbidden West.

Sent from my Pixel 8a using Operation Sports mobile app

I slogged my way through it to the end, but I honestly don't remember anything about the story and I didn't have nearly as much fun as I did with the first one. I can't explain why, but I think it just goes back to my other point about how the original game really didn't need a sequel and Forbidden West doesn't really do anything better than the original.

If anything, I think they made the combat worse in Forbidden West, because figuring out a machine's weaknesses and exploiting them wasn't nearly as rewarding in the sequel for some reason (perhaps because they don't die even if you repeatedly hammer their weaknesses, making it less worthwhile to figure them out), and the new ammo types seemed largely worthless to me.

[DJ]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Following the HFW conversation and I've had similar roadblocks with trying to get through that game. Same with Tears of the Kingdom.

Both are perhaps too similar to the originals (which are some of my all-time favorite games) and the stories and new gameplay features felt like steps back and/or unnecessary changes, just for the sake of changing.

[pietasterp]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

I haven't picked up Tears of the Kingdom, and honestly, I don't really feel all that compelled to do so. Breath of the Wild is one of the greatest games ever made IMO, and I feel like I got everything I needed out of that one. Perhaps one day I'll dive into Tears, but for the foreseeable future, my open world Link adventuring needs were totally met by Breath of the Wild.


Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention I finished the Wii remake of "Link's Awakening" this past year as well. Loved it. Reminds me of the original 'Legend of Zelda', and made me think that Nintendo could make a boatload of cash if they did a similar "toy world" remake of Legend of Zelda. I'd definitely be in on that one (especially since I never actually finished the original...I know, for shame! I was a little kid and didn't have to patience/masochism to slog through games then...).