2024 Gaming Plans

[KSUowls]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

A bit more progress this month after finally beating Horizon Zero Dawn. Truly a fantastic game. Just 2 more carry-over games to complete to complete my goal. I am not optimistic though. I do expect to finish Hogwarts Legacy soon, but the only other game on that list that I am near the end on is Spider-Man 2 which I just have no motivation to turn on.


I also picked up NHL 25. It's been a few years since I played a NHL game, and I really like it. Definitely plays too fast out of the box, but someone here had a set of sliders that I really like. I'm not great at the game, but for my skill level it feels good. It's also really hard to cheese the AI in trades which I like. Only problem with this game is that I just don't have an attachment to any team. I was a huge hockey fan in my youth, all the way through early adulthood. I have no attachment to the league after Atlanta lost its team though, and that kind of diminishes the game world for me.

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Game Reviews:
Game - (Status) - (Score) - Review

Spoiler

(In-Progress) - A game that I have played at some point in the last few months and plan to pick up again in the near future.

Baldurs Gate 3 - (In Progress) - (10.0) -

Spoiler

This game is fantastic. It's perfect in almost every way. It was the 2023 GOTY, and it wasn't close. I don't remember the last time that I raved about a game this much. I don't even like this style of DnD combat, but it all just works so perfectly here. The story is phenomenal, both the main story as well as the hundreds of other side ones that you come across. Every character has a unique personality, voice acting is great, and it's just so fun and interesting to interact with them. The freedom that you have in the game is insane, and your choices really matter. It's almost unbelievable how many scenarios the devs accounted for, and how you see the impacts of some of the most random choices that you can think of.
I would also rate the attitude of the development team as a 10/10.

Command and Conquer: Remastered - (Shelved) - (3.0) -

Spoiler

I loved the C&C series as a kid. The original has not aged well though, even this remastered version. It could have really used some QoL updates from any RTS in the last 20 years. It just feels unplayable from a modern gaming standpoint.

Control - (Complete) - (8.0) -

Spoiler

This is a weird one to review, and not just because the story is weird. With that said, the story is weird...but in a good way. You really have to hunt for all of the little collectibles if you want to really get immersed into the story and get a better feel for it though. This is at times a bit annoying because sometimes you're cruising along and you find an audio recording that will shed some light on things, but you also kind of want to keep pushing through. Combat is smooth enough but kind of mediocre with a gameplay loop that becomes repetitive pretty early. The voice acting from the protagonist is probably the worst part of the game. Lots of puzzles to do, some are kind of annoying to try and figure out if you are not a big puzzle person. There are things that I really didn't like, but the story was so fascinating that I just couldn't stop.

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred: (6.0/10)

Spoiler

The first expansion to Diablo 4. I swore to myself that I would not get this game due to my general feelings on Diablo 4, but I was pretty bored while recovering from surgery. To give Blizzard credit, the game has improved a lot since launch. This expansion also introduces a few nice things too. The campaign story was pretty interesting to follow, but it loses points for its abrupt ending. The new class, Spiritborn, was a lot of fun to play too. Reminds me a lot of Monk from Diablo 3. Most of the fun of the class is attributed to just how over tuned it is in its launch state though (something that no one was surprised would happen. Blizzard needs to make people want to buy the expansion after all). Not sure how interested I would have been in the class if it was more balanced (as it will be in future seasons). Overall some nice things added to the game along with a huge free update that also enhanced some of the experience. Unfortunately its still Diablo 4 though, and I just don't think that D4 is a good game. There is too much grind. Which yes Diablo is a game about grinding, but the grind here isn't fun. The new expansion offers a new zone which is great, but that also means that there is a new zone that you have to do all of the little (not fun) achievements for in order to unlock additional perks for your character. Item drops rates are terrible. I spent a lot of time playing over the first couple weeks of the new season, and I never once saw a mythic unique. I stopped playing around paragon 240 (max is 300), and I did not change my any of my gear from when I was like paragon 160. I was very far from having a complete build too, I just wasn't getting any drops that I needed. In addition to no mythic uniques, I still haven't seen a legendary rune drop. World Bosses are barely worth it. The only thing challenging about them is just how tanky they are, and the rewards are comically bad. The game is in a drastically better state than it was at launch, but that really only makes it tolerable.

Dragon Age: Origin - (Complete) - (8.5) -

Spoiler

Gameplay can become dated, but a great story will live on. That sentence sums up my experience with DA: Origin. I played this game when it originally came out like 15 years ago. I loved it back then, made it all the way to the final battle but then just never picked it back up. I decided to give it another shot with the upcoming release of a new DA game. The combat and movement were definitely more clunky than I would have liked, but this game is obviously 15 years old at this point. The story was a joy to play through. Surprisingly, I still remembered not just the main quest but also many of the side quests that I encountered, but it was still fun to experience them again. I probably would have given this game a 9.5 when I first played it. It also hurts that Baldurs Gate 3 exists at this point, and DA: Origin almost feels like a 1 dimensional game in comparison.

Diablo IV - (Shelved) - (6.0) -

Spoiler

I loved Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 was a game that I would pick up about once a year to play through one of the seasons. Diablo 4 just isn't fun. Originally I stopped playing just a few weeks after release because of the grind and some of the changes that they did. I picked it back up for the recent season, and things are definitely better. I still just don't enjoy it though. Not sure if I'll ever re-install it to give it another shot.

EA CFB25 - (In Progress) - (6.0) -

Spoiler

I don't think that I can give it the benefit of the doubt anymore and wait on patches before providing a score. While the August 29th title patch did finally introduce Mass Subs into the game, the sad truth is that EA CFB25 is missing too much to be considered a good sports video game in 2024.

It absolutely has things that it does well, mostly tied to the on field play. It is lacking in so many other areas though that the lack of engagement even encroaches into that on-field gameplay.

Playing for a month and a half without both formation and mass subs has really diminished my excitement. Finally having mass subs with the latest patch is certainly nice, but it's probably a case of too little too late.

If Gameplay is an 8/10, then everything else is a 2/10.

The state of the game outside of on field play and recruiting is inexcusably bad. I don't care that it's the first game the franchise has seen in 11 years. It's still a AAA title with a huge budget that has had years of development. I wouldn't excuse any other AAA title for missing out on modern features (CFB25 is missing even features that can't be considered modern anymore) with its "first game". How did no one at EA stop to think that maybe it would be a good idea to see season stats in the awards screen, or be able to see player cards (the start of this sentence is valid for far too many things in this game)? Football games from 20+ years ago had better team vs team comparisons on game week.

The sim engine is on par with or even falls behind those of indie sports games. Being one of the 5 or 10 best teams, by the game's own internal systems, means nothing when it comes to deciding how they will play out in the sim engine.

I started with this franchise on the PS1, bought it every year that it was available, and it was my most played video game every year during it's life cycle. I do not like this version of the game.

Elder Scrolls Skyrim: Project Nolvus Mod Pack - (Shelved) - (9.0) -

Spoiler

Skyrim is one of my favorite games ever, and mods just continue to give it life. This mod pack is massive (and took quite a while to correctly install). It improves the graphics, combat, adds story elements, and so much more. My only complaint is that it makes crafting like a cheat code. Shelved primarily just because of the insane time sync that the game is as I try to get through some of these others

Ghosts of Tsushima: Directors Cut PS5 - (In Progress) - (9.0) -

Spoiler

I love this game. I loved it when it came out on PS4, and I love it even more with better graphics and experiencing the full game with the realism mode turned on. The game is beautiful, the story is really good, and combat in realism mode just feels so good. The only thing that could make the game better is if the game world felt more alive.

Hogwarts Legacy - (In Progress) - (7.0) -

Spoiler

I have been playing this one on and off since it was released a year ago. I became a Harry Potter fan in middle school, around the time that Goblet of Fire came out (the book). I absolutely love the story, the adventure, and just the magical world. So, I was super excited when Hogwarts Legacy was announced. The first time that you see Hogwarts Castle and the school grounds, it's like the game is giving a love letter to those of us who grew up with the series.

Combat is exceptional. It is smooth, impactful, and the combos just all feel great. It's also balanced well without being restrictive. There is nothing like magical points restricting you from using your strongest spells at will. The only thing stopping you is a cooldown, which does prevent you from just being a completely unstoppable force, but the cooldowns also don't feel like you're being punished for using powerful spells.

Graphics are stunning. Especially for anyone who was already a fan of the setting.

The gameplay loop isn't anything special. If anything it's a bit generic, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Neither good or bad there.

So why is it only a 7.0? The story and its characters. The story in this game is just plainly awful. Regardless of how it may or may not play into established lore, the entire premise of the game is just simply a deus ex machina on steroids. Fortunately some of the side quests are interesting, but they largely coincide with very unlikeable characters, or ones who are just a little too perfect. Little of the open world feels alive, and the world feels even more disconnected when you consider some of the major story elements.

Horizon Zero Dawn - (Complete) - (9.5) -

Spoiler

I love this game. I loved it on the PS4, and I am really enjoying the PC port. The game is beautiful, I love the story, Aloy is a really fun main character, combat is fun while also being strategic at times. It was my favorite game on the PS4 era. One of my all-time favorite games

OOTP 25 - (In Progress) - (8.0) -

Spoiler

It's OOTP, so you know it's good. There are a few QoL updates that have been introduced which I really like. I'm still unsure on the impact of the new training feature for your players. I love it in concept, I'm just still trying to figure out how well it is implemented. This game probably deserves higher, but I think it's still just missing some improvements that I would have liked to have seen by now as someone who has been buying it for years. Also, my baseball fandom diminishes more and more each year that I get deeper into my MLB boycott which absolutely hurts my enjoyment of the game.

Pokemon Violet - (In Progress) - (7.5) -

Spoiler

The game is just easy mode. It's fun to collect pokemon, but the battles are ridiculously easy. I enjoy the open world, but something about it feels false. I can't quite explain it, but I just felt a lack of progression. Like there was no sense of direction that I get out of other open world games. But at the end of the day it's a pokemon game with tons of them to collect. So, that's always enjoyable enough.

Space Marine 2: (8.0/10)

Spoiler

Really fun combat and a pretty interesting story to follow. I've only dabbled in the multiplayer so far, but it seems like a lot of fun too.

Spiderman 2 - (In Progress) - (6.5) -

Spoiler

When I started writing this I had it at 7.0, which I felt was generous. As I thought more about the game I dropped the score to 6.5. I still feel like I'm being generous, but I tried to remove some personal biases from the score. The combat is too streamlined to be fun. Somehow it feels like even more of a button masher than the first Spiderman game, even though you have even more tools at your disposal. Some of the mini-game side quests aren't just not-fun, I legitimately hate them, but I feel compelled to do them because that's just how I play these types of games. Fortunately there are some mini-games that I do quite like. The story is disjointed as it tries to follow both Peter and Miles, neither story really has time to be fully explored in a way that is appreciable. The story that does is exist is forgettable in every way. Peter Parker as Spiderman is probably my favorite comic book/super hero character. And I simply don't care about any aspect of his story. The Miles Morales story is slightly more interesting, but I don't care at all about Miles Morales as Spiderman. Which is unfortunate because I have found him to be a really interesting character overall, even a really good Spiderman. But, I knew Parker as Spiderman first, and as mentioned he is my favorite character. So, having a "Spiderman" video game where you don't play as THE spiderman for half of it is pretty disappointing. I recognize it as a game that is well made, but it just isn't fun or interesting to me because of the failures of the story and the dumbed down combat.
The one thing I do really enjoy is exploring the game as Spiderman though. Your methods of travel are a lot of fun to execute, and it's a pretty city.

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order - (Complete) - (8.0) -

Spoiler

Recently finished this one, and I enjoyed it. The story wasn't anything amazing, but it wasn't bad either. The characters were all enjoyable enough (though I wish your last companion was part of the crew for longer. She was funny). Combat played it safe with it more or less just being 1 button to block and 1 button to attack, unless you just felt like spicing it up with some force powers unnecessarily. The challenge comes down to timing of those button presses which did add a layer to the game in some battles.
At times the exploration did border on tedium, and I wish that there was more of a sense of progression. I also wish that map was easier to read. There were tons of secret chests spread across the galaxy for you to pick up, but these were all simply cosmetic and most of them were barely discernable from the next. I also felt myself wanting a little bit more interaction with the galaxy itself. I know that your character is on the run, but you end up visiting multiple worlds across the playthrough and they all end up feeling kind of lifeless.

Total War: Warhammer III - (In Progress) - (7.5) -

Spoiler

This game has been given quite the lease on life after a recent update. The game had many many issues at launch, continued to have them long after launch, still has many of them, and the company behind the magic just became absurdly greedy over the last year with increasing the price of DLC while also subtracting from the content of them. The have partially rectified the financial/value problems and they have made some progress in fixing some of the many other issues that the game had. Unfortunately it still has many issues, and it is an inferior product versus the previous game, with the exception of a much larger map and even more options in who to play as. I still like playing it, but it is hard to recommend.

Yakuza 0 - (In Progress) - (7.5) -

Spoiler

Decided to give this one another shot. The story is really good, but every time I play it I want it to be as open world as Grand Theft Auto. It's obviously a different genre of game, but I can't get over wanting it to be something else. The story really carries the fun factor.

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2024 Goals:
With so few new releases that I'm really excited for I am making this the year of completing titles. I failed my goal too complete 3 games in 2023, but I did make significant progress in a number of them.

1.) Complete 4 of the following games that I am carrying over from 2023

Spoiler

Spiderman 2
Ghosts of Tsushima: Director's Cut
Baldurs Gate 3
Hogwarts Legacy
Horizon Zero Dawn
Pokemon Violet
Shenmue I
Jade Empire
Control

Progress: 2 out of 4
Control (July)
Horizon Zero Dawn (November)

2.) Complete 3 other games (new releases or others)

Progress: 4 out of 3 COMPLETE
Dragon Age: Origin (June)
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (June)
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred (September)
Space Marine 2 (October)

Most Anticipated Sports Games:
EA College Football

Most Anticipated Non-Sports Game:
Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 (TBD)


Other titles that have my attention going into the year:
At this point I'm just tracking to see all of the things that I did not buy Only two on this list became purchases, though I did grab some that I was not expecting.

High
Day 1 Buys
R̶i̶s̶e̶ o̶f̶ R̶o̶n̶i̶n̶ (̶M̶a̶r̶c̶h̶)̶
B̶l̶a̶c̶k̶ M̶y̶t̶h̶ W̶u̶k̶o̶n̶g̶ (̶A̶u̶g̶u̶s̶t̶)̶


Medium
Might get day 1, but more than likely will wait for a sale or end up passing on
G̶r̶a̶n̶b̶l̶u̶e̶ F̶a̶n̶t̶a̶s̶y̶ R̶e̶l̶i̶n̶k̶ (̶J̶a̶n̶)̶
S̶t̶a̶r̶ W̶a̶r̶s̶:̶ D̶a̶r̶k̶ F̶o̶r̶c̶e̶s̶ R̶e̶m̶a̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ (̶F̶e̶b̶)̶
B̶a̶n̶i̶s̶h̶e̶r̶s̶:̶ G̶h̶o̶s̶t̶s̶ o̶f̶ N̶e̶w̶ E̶d̶e̶n̶ (̶F̶e̶b̶)̶
S̶o̶u̶t̶h̶ P̶a̶r̶k̶ S̶n̶o̶w̶ D̶a̶y̶ (̶M̶a̶r̶c̶h̶)̶
S̶e̶n̶u̶a̶ S̶a̶g̶a̶:̶ H̶e̶l̶l̶b̶l̶a̶d̶e̶ I̶I̶ (̶2̶0̶2̶4̶)̶
Visions of Mana
C̶r̶i̶m̶s̶o̶n̶ D̶e̶s̶e̶r̶t̶ (̶T̶B̶D̶)̶
S̶t̶a̶r̶ W̶a̶r̶s̶ O̶u̶t̶l̶a̶w̶s̶ (̶T̶B̶D̶)̶ - I won't support this gaming practice. Maybe one day when the game is on sale and complete with all "DLC"
T̶h̶r̶o̶n̶e̶ a̶n̶d̶ L̶i̶b̶e̶r̶t̶y̶

Low
Need more info, but I'm intrigued
P̶a̶l̶w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ (̶J̶a̶n̶u̶a̶r̶y̶ E̶A̶)̶
E̶i̶y̶u̶d̶e̶n̶ C̶h̶r̶o̶n̶i̶c̶l̶e̶:̶ H̶u̶n̶d̶r̶e̶d̶ H̶e̶r̶o̶e̶s̶ (̶A̶p̶r̶i̶l̶)̶
A̶v̶o̶w̶e̶d̶
M̶e̶t̶a̶p̶h̶o̶r̶:̶ R̶e̶f̶a̶n̶t̶a̶z̶i̶o̶ (̶2̶0̶2̶4̶)̶
L̶o̶s̶t̶ S̶o̶u̶l̶ A̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ (̶T̶B̶D̶)̶
Stellar Blade (TBD) - Purchased

Currently Playing:
NHL 25

[kingsofthevalley]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Man, ya'll know what would really hit the spot right now?! Another Shadow of Mordor type of game. Loved the first one, second release was cool too. Something like this or another Batman Arkham type of game.

[franch1se]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

I am absolutely loving and addicted to Arena Breakout Infinite right now. So many quality of life changes/upgrades over games like EFT. Enjoying it so much more than Tarkov.

[piffbernd]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

I get God of war Ragnarök and ARMORED CORE™ VI FIRES OF RUBICON™. Both are good deals

[RockinDaMike]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Gonna be trying out Path of Exile 2. Not to big into ARPGs, played Diablo 3 a lot but never got into PoE1 or Diablo 4.

It looked really awesome in the trailer so they got me down for the early access but watching vids, it seems a bit overwhelming at first with the building of the characters.

[bhurst99]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

I haven’t posted since April but now that the cold has returned in Ontario I’m back playing games and working on my sizable back log. Much of my non-sports gaming for the past six months was focused on completing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. I’ve only completed two games in 2024. Remarkable

2024 Completed

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (PS5 Plus – Hard – Platinum Trophy)

This might be the largest game in the Assassin’s Creed series and I spent over 200 hours playing it. I loved the art design and the regional quests. I didn’t fast travel before completing the main quests and 99 per cent of the side quests. Much of my enjoyment with these open world games is simply travelling at a slower pace and marvelling at the world the developers have created .No one makes an open world game as beautiful as Ubisoft. I wouldn’t say this is my favourite games in the series (that title still belongs to Origins and the Egyptian setting) I liked the idea of building a settlement and improving it. There were some negatives. I played on Hard but even on that setting I became overpowered about half way through the game. Finding new weapons and upgrading them is usually a fun part of the series but finding new equipment here was pretty uselss as it was simply better to upgrade your existing weapons. For me playing as Viking there was a bit of a disconnect with your character who sounds more like a British university professor. Kind of hard to believe a Viking would be that eloquent in his native language. (9 out of 10)

Baldur’s Gate 3 (PC – Tactician) (10 out 10)

The backlog of really good games that I need to play never seems to get smaller.

Other Non-Sports Games Focus

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey: (PC -- Hard) – Level 45, 29 per cent completed
Cyperpunk 2077 (PC – Hard) -- Level 21
Diablo 4 (PC-Veteran) – Level 28
Dirt 5 (PS5 Plus) – Player Level 21
Divinity: Original Sin 2 (PC) – Level 9
Elden Ring (PC) – Level 51.
Greedfall (PS4 – Hard) – Level 6
Hogwart’s Legacy (PS5 ) – Level 6 – Just start
Horizon Forbidden West (PS5 Plus -- Hard) -- 19.78 per cemt complete, Level 19
Indiana Jones and the Great Circile (PC Games Pass) – Loving it so far.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 – (PC Game Pass)
Pentiment (PC Game Pass) – Act 2
Starfield (PC Game Pass– Level 15).
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor (PS5) – Just started

I think this list just shows how scambled my brain is. I struggle to concentrate on just one game.

Sports Games

I'm actually enjoying older sports games. I find getting the right slider set such a challenge that once I get that sweet spot, I don't feel like upgrading every year (especially when you can't carry over your franchise).

FIFA 22 (PS5) – Manchester United (Second Season: 26-3-4. First place with five to play)
-- Manchester United (First Season: 27-6-5, Finished Second by one point)
-- France (Second Season: European Qualifying: 3-2-1)
-- France (First Season: Lost World Cup Semifinal; Won Third Place Game)
FIFA 19 (PS4) – PSG (Second Season -- 8-0-2, Won SuperCup);
-- Peru (1-0-1)

MLB 24 (PS5) – Philadelphia (2-1).
MLB 21 (PS5) – Toronto (37-32), Buffalo (32-32), New Hampshire (21-18)
MLB 20 (PS4) – Montreal (33-15)
MLB 19 (PS4) – Milwaukee (38-29)
MLB 17 (PS4) – NY Mets (11-19)
MLB 16 (PS4) – Toronto (56-44)
MLB 15 (PS4) – Washington (43-53)
MLB 14 (PS3) – Los Angeles (27-16)
(I Play on All-Star level, every pitch)

2025 Interest List

Some of these are already out.

Alan Wake 2
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Crimson Desert
Dying Light 2
God of War Ragnarok
GTA 6 (I’m going to guess we don’t get it until 2026)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

[KSUowls]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Time for the end of year update.

What an interesting year for gaming. I went into 2024 already knowing that it was going to be a pretty weak one for new releases, and that became even more apparent as the year went on. There were a few surprises that turned out to be really good, but then some of the biggest games of the year released to understandably mixed reactions.

So I spent the year prioritizing my backlog. I did not complete all of my gaming goals, but I'm pretty happy with my progress overall (as someone who is chronically bad about finishing games).

Goal #1
Complete 4 carry-over games from 2023. Failed, but I did get 3 out of 4.
Hogwarts Legacy
Horizon Zero Dawn
Control

HZD was by far my favorite of the bunch. I'll leave my reviews for each and all other games that I played at the bottom.

Goal #2
Complete 3 other games
Dragon Age: Origin
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred
Space Marine 2

There were some other shorter adventures that I completed, but these were the big ones. DA: Origin was definitely the best. Even though the combat is quite dated from its original release, the story and characters were still super fun to follow.

My personal game awards (applies to 2024 releases unless otherwise noted). Going to limit this to genres where I have at least a few played games to choose from.

GOTY
I struggled with this one due to the lack of signature titles. Of the games that I played I have to give it to Space Marine 2 for it's fun co-op campaign.

Most disappointing game
EA College Football 2025...and it isn't close.

I've talked enough about my many problems with this game. In summary, it does not feel like a 2024 release by a AAA game studio due to how much substance that it is missing.

Best Retro Game:
Elder Scrolls Skyrim: Project Nolvus

Not listed above because I haven't beaten it, but it is so great to be back in the world of Skyrim. Even better with the many improvements that this mod pack brings.

Best Sports Game:
EA NHL 25

Maybe it's because I have not played a hockey game in a few years, but I really enjoy this one. Franchise has some nice depth to it, and the gameplay feels really good (with good sliders). It's not perfect, but of the 5 sports games that I played this year it was the only one that instantly grabbed and kept my attention.

Best RPG
Visions of Mana

Metaphor Refantazio does look good, but I have never liked games that put you on a timer. Visions of Mana has been really fun even though I'm not very far into it yet.

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Game Reviews:
Game - (Status) - (Score) - Review

Spoiler

(In-Progress) - A game that I have played at some point in the last few months and plan to pick up again in the near future.

Baldurs Gate 3 - (In Progress) - (10.0) -

Spoiler

This game is fantastic. It's perfect in almost every way. It was the 2023 GOTY, and it wasn't close. I don't remember the last time that I raved about a game this much. I don't even like this style of DnD combat, but it all just works so perfectly here. The story is phenomenal, both the main story as well as the hundreds of other side ones that you come across. Every character has a unique personality, voice acting is great, and it's just so fun and interesting to interact with them. The freedom that you have in the game is insane, and your choices really matter. It's almost unbelievable how many scenarios the devs accounted for, and how you see the impacts of some of the most random choices that you can think of.
I would also rate the attitude of the development team as a 10/10.

Command and Conquer: Remastered - (Shelved) - (3.0) -

Spoiler

I loved the C&C series as a kid. The original has not aged well though, even this remastered version. It could have really used some QoL updates from any RTS in the last 20 years. It just feels unplayable from a modern gaming standpoint.

Control - (Complete) - (8.0) -

Spoiler

This is a weird one to review, and not just because the story is weird. With that said, the story is weird...but in a good way. You really have to hunt for all of the little collectibles if you want to really get immersed into the story and get a better feel for it though. This is at times a bit annoying because sometimes you're cruising along and you find an audio recording that will shed some light on things, but you also kind of want to keep pushing through. Combat is smooth enough but kind of mediocre with a gameplay loop that becomes repetitive pretty early. The voice acting from the protagonist is probably the worst part of the game. Lots of puzzles to do, some are kind of annoying to try and figure out if you are not a big puzzle person. There are things that I really didn't like, but the story was so fascinating that I just couldn't stop.

Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred: (6.0/10)

Spoiler

The first expansion to Diablo 4. I swore to myself that I would not get this game due to my general feelings on Diablo 4, but I was pretty bored while recovering from surgery. To give Blizzard credit, the game has improved a lot since launch. This expansion also introduces a few nice things too. The campaign story was pretty interesting to follow, but it loses points for its abrupt ending. The new class, Spiritborn, was a lot of fun to play too. Reminds me a lot of Monk from Diablo 3. Most of the fun of the class is attributed to just how over tuned it is in its launch state though (something that no one was surprised would happen. Blizzard needs to make people want to buy the expansion after all). Not sure how interested I would have been in the class if it was more balanced (as it will be in future seasons). Overall some nice things added to the game along with a huge free update that also enhanced some of the experience. Unfortunately its still Diablo 4 though, and I just don't think that D4 is a good game. There is too much grind. Which yes Diablo is a game about grinding, but the grind here isn't fun. The new expansion offers a new zone which is great, but that also means that there is a new zone that you have to do all of the little (not fun) achievements for in order to unlock additional perks for your character. Item drops rates are terrible. I spent a lot of time playing over the first couple weeks of the new season, and I never once saw a mythic unique. I stopped playing around paragon 240 (max is 300), and I did not change my any of my gear from when I was like paragon 160. I was very far from having a complete build too, I just wasn't getting any drops that I needed. In addition to no mythic uniques, I still haven't seen a legendary rune drop. World Bosses are barely worth it. The only thing challenging about them is just how tanky they are, and the rewards are comically bad. The game is in a drastically better state than it was at launch, but that really only makes it tolerable.

Dragon Age: Origin - (Complete) - (8.5) -

Spoiler

Gameplay can become dated, but a great story will live on. That sentence sums up my experience with DA: Origin. I played this game when it originally came out like 15 years ago. I loved it back then, made it all the way to the final battle but then just never picked it back up. I decided to give it another shot with the upcoming release of a new DA game. The combat and movement were definitely more clunky than I would have liked, but this game is obviously 15 years old at this point. The story was a joy to play through. Surprisingly, I still remembered not just the main quest but also many of the side quests that I encountered, but it was still fun to experience them again. I probably would have given this game a 9.5 when I first played it. It also hurts that Baldurs Gate 3 exists at this point, and DA: Origin almost feels like a 1 dimensional game in comparison.

Diablo IV - (Shelved) - (6.0) -

Spoiler

I loved Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 was a game that I would pick up about once a year to play through one of the seasons. Diablo 4 just isn't fun. Originally I stopped playing just a few weeks after release because of the grind and some of the changes that they did. I picked it back up for the recent season, and things are definitely better. I still just don't enjoy it though. Not sure if I'll ever re-install it to give it another shot.

EA CFB25 - (In Progress) - (6.0) -

Spoiler

I don't think that I can give it the benefit of the doubt anymore and wait on patches before providing a score. While the August 29th title patch did finally introduce Mass Subs into the game, the sad truth is that EA CFB25 is missing too much to be considered a good sports video game in 2024.

It absolutely has things that it does well, mostly tied to the on field play. It is lacking in so many other areas though that the lack of engagement even encroaches into that on-field gameplay.

Playing for a month and a half without both formation and mass subs has really diminished my excitement. Finally having mass subs with the latest patch is certainly nice, but it's probably a case of too little too late.

If Gameplay is an 8/10, then everything else is a 2/10.

The state of the game outside of on field play and recruiting is inexcusably bad. I don't care that it's the first game the franchise has seen in 11 years. It's still a AAA title with a huge budget that has had years of development. I wouldn't excuse any other AAA title for missing out on modern features (CFB25 is missing even features that can't be considered modern anymore) with its "first game". How did no one at EA stop to think that maybe it would be a good idea to see season stats in the awards screen, or be able to see player cards (the start of this sentence is valid for far too many things in this game)? Football games from 20+ years ago had better team vs team comparisons on game week.

The sim engine is on par with or even falls behind those of indie sports games. Being one of the 5 or 10 best teams, by the game's own internal systems, means nothing when it comes to deciding how they will play out in the sim engine.

I started with this franchise on the PS1, bought it every year that it was available, and it was my most played video game every year during it's life cycle. I do not like this version of the game.

Elder Scrolls Skyrim: Project Nolvus Mod Pack - (Shelved) - (9.0) -

Spoiler

Skyrim is one of my favorite games ever, and mods just continue to give it life. This mod pack is massive (and took quite a while to correctly install). It improves the graphics, combat, adds story elements, and so much more. My only complaint is that it makes crafting like a cheat code. Shelved primarily just because of the insane time sync that the game is as I try to get through some of these others

Ghosts of Tsushima: Directors Cut PS5 - (In Progress) - (9.0) -

Spoiler

I love this game. I loved it when it came out on PS4, and I love it even more with better graphics and experiencing the full game with the realism mode turned on. The game is beautiful, the story is really good, and combat in realism mode just feels so good. The only thing that could make the game better is if the game world felt more alive.

Hogwarts Legacy - (In Progress) - (7.0) -

Spoiler

I have been playing this one on and off since it was released a year ago. I became a Harry Potter fan in middle school, around the time that Goblet of Fire came out (the book). I absolutely love the story, the adventure, and just the magical world. So, I was super excited when Hogwarts Legacy was announced. The first time that you see Hogwarts Castle and the school grounds, it's like the game is giving a love letter to those of us who grew up with the series.

Combat is exceptional. It is smooth, impactful, and the combos just all feel great. It's also balanced well without being restrictive. There is nothing like magical points restricting you from using your strongest spells at will. The only thing stopping you is a cooldown, which does prevent you from just being a completely unstoppable force, but the cooldowns also don't feel like you're being punished for using powerful spells.

Graphics are stunning. Especially for anyone who was already a fan of the setting.

The gameplay loop isn't anything special. If anything it's a bit generic, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Neither good or bad there.

So why is it only a 7.0? The story and its characters. The story in this game is just plainly awful. Regardless of how it may or may not play into established lore, the entire premise of the game is just simply a deus ex machina on steroids. Fortunately some of the side quests are interesting, but they largely coincide with very unlikeable characters, or ones who are just a little too perfect. Little of the open world feels alive, and the world feels even more disconnected when you consider some of the major story elements.

Horizon Zero Dawn - (Complete) - (9.5) -

Spoiler

I love this game. I loved it on the PS4, and I am really enjoying the PC port. The game is beautiful, I love the story, Aloy is a really fun main character, combat is fun while also being strategic at times. It was my favorite game on the PS4 era. One of my all-time favorite games

OOTP 25 - (In Progress) - (8.0) -

Spoiler

It's OOTP, so you know it's good. There are a few QoL updates that have been introduced which I really like. I'm still unsure on the impact of the new training feature for your players. I love it in concept, I'm just still trying to figure out how well it is implemented. This game probably deserves higher, but I think it's still just missing some improvements that I would have liked to have seen by now as someone who has been buying it for years. Also, my baseball fandom diminishes more and more each year that I get deeper into my MLB boycott which absolutely hurts my enjoyment of the game.

Pokemon Violet - (In Progress) - (7.5) -

Spoiler

The game is just easy mode. It's fun to collect pokemon, but the battles are ridiculously easy. I enjoy the open world, but something about it feels false. I can't quite explain it, but I just felt a lack of progression. Like there was no sense of direction that I get out of other open world games. But at the end of the day it's a pokemon game with tons of them to collect. So, that's always enjoyable enough.

Space Marine 2: (8.0/10)

Spoiler

Really fun combat and a pretty interesting story to follow. I've only dabbled in the multiplayer so far, but it seems like a lot of fun too.

Spiderman 2 - (In Progress) - (6.5) -

Spoiler

When I started writing this I had it at 7.0, which I felt was generous. As I thought more about the game I dropped the score to 6.5. I still feel like I'm being generous, but I tried to remove some personal biases from the score. The combat is too streamlined to be fun. Somehow it feels like even more of a button masher than the first Spiderman game, even though you have even more tools at your disposal. Some of the mini-game side quests aren't just not-fun, I legitimately hate them, but I feel compelled to do them because that's just how I play these types of games. Fortunately there are some mini-games that I do quite like. The story is disjointed as it tries to follow both Peter and Miles, neither story really has time to be fully explored in a way that is appreciable. The story that does is exist is forgettable in every way. Peter Parker as Spiderman is probably my favorite comic book/super hero character. And I simply don't care about any aspect of his story. The Miles Morales story is slightly more interesting, but I don't care at all about Miles Morales as Spiderman. Which is unfortunate because I have found him to be a really interesting character overall, even a really good Spiderman. But, I knew Parker as Spiderman first, and as mentioned he is my favorite character. So, having a "Spiderman" video game where you don't play as THE spiderman for half of it is pretty disappointing. I recognize it as a game that is well made, but it just isn't fun or interesting to me because of the failures of the story and the dumbed down combat.
The one thing I do really enjoy is exploring the game as Spiderman though. Your methods of travel are a lot of fun to execute, and it's a pretty city.

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order - (Complete) - (8.0) -

Spoiler

Recently finished this one, and I enjoyed it. The story wasn't anything amazing, but it wasn't bad either. The characters were all enjoyable enough (though I wish your last companion was part of the crew for longer. She was funny). Combat played it safe with it more or less just being 1 button to block and 1 button to attack, unless you just felt like spicing it up with some force powers unnecessarily. The challenge comes down to timing of those button presses which did add a layer to the game in some battles.
At times the exploration did border on tedium, and I wish that there was more of a sense of progression. I also wish that map was easier to read. There were tons of secret chests spread across the galaxy for you to pick up, but these were all simply cosmetic and most of them were barely discernable from the next. I also felt myself wanting a little bit more interaction with the galaxy itself. I know that your character is on the run, but you end up visiting multiple worlds across the playthrough and they all end up feeling kind of lifeless.

Total War: Warhammer III - (In Progress) - (7.5) -

Spoiler

This game has been given quite the lease on life after a recent update. The game had many many issues at launch, continued to have them long after launch, still has many of them, and the company behind the magic just became absurdly greedy over the last year with increasing the price of DLC while also subtracting from the content of them. The have partially rectified the financial/value problems and they have made some progress in fixing some of the many other issues that the game had. Unfortunately it still has many issues, and it is an inferior product versus the previous game, with the exception of a much larger map and even more options in who to play as. I still like playing it, but it is hard to recommend.

Yakuza 0 - (In Progress) - (7.5) -

Spoiler

Decided to give this one another shot. The story is really good, but every time I play it I want it to be as open world as Grand Theft Auto. It's obviously a different genre of game, but I can't get over wanting it to be something else. The story really carries the fun factor.

------------

[Funkycorm]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

I thought I would provide an end of the year update.



Sports Games:


EA College Football 25: It took me some time to finally settle on what I wanted to do. I didn't play the game the entire month of October and half of November because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so a break was warranted. After doing some single season dynasties with random teams before my break and not being invested in any of them, I have decided to start fresh with an Ohio State dynasty from year 1. I had resolved to do a rebuild, but at this point, I find it hard to become invested in teams that aren't my favorites anymore. And it got this one, just like every other sports game.

Madden 25 (PS5): I gave in to the conundrum and ended up buying Madden. I am in season 1 of a Browns franchise as I am taking it pretty slow.


The New Trend:

The new trend is going to be buying sports games a year behind or not at all. Since I care little about current rosters, buying them later when they are on sale is going to be my new go to. This will be applying to all of my sports games.



Non Sports Gaming:

This is the major focus in 2024. And honestly where more of my gaming interests lie these days.



PC Gaming:


Meet 3 gaming goals.

I have kind of slacked off a bit here. I have made progress in multiple PC games but not quite what I did last year. But I will highlight what I have done here.

Farming Simulator 22 (PC): I have made more progress in my one man farming operation in No Man's Land. Enough where I am at the point where I have grown crops that I never have before so that is fun.

Stardew Valley (PC): The goal was to reach year 5. Though I am not quite there yet, I am also the furthest I have been in the game at this point over the course of any save. So that is a win.

Planet Zoo (PC): I broke ground and made a lot of progress on my new zoo. I will be continuing to build it in 2025.

I have made small amounts of progress in other games but not significant.

I would call this category a moderate success as it fell off a bit from last year.



Console Gaming:


Beat 3 games

I have definitely excelled in this category.

I have beat the following:

Pokemon Shield (Switch): 7/10. Finished the story, expansions, and the base game 400 pokemon Pokedex. It was my first real pokemon experience and I honestly can say I enjoyed it.

Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster (PS5): 8.5/10. I beat this in the late 90s when it came out with final fantasy 5. Playing through it as an adult made me appreciate it and the final fantasy games that have followed even more so.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor (PS5): 7/10. I had a lot of fun with this game. The story was very good and I definitely enjoyed the combat.

Ratchet and Clank (PS4): 6/10. Played it based on my son's recommendation and it wasn't bad. It was fun but toward the end I was antsy to be finished with it.

Luigi's Mansion (Switch): 6/10. It was a fun game. The combat is fun though the controls can feel a bit wonky at times, especially when trying to aim an object with the vacuum. The levels were fun and none of them were too long or difficult.


In Progress Games:

These are games I have in progress during 2024.


Pokemon Violet (Switch): I started this one but have not advanced far. The goal is complete this Pokedex as well as the main storyline.

Elden Ring (PS5): I have advanced pretty far in this one. My goal is to platinum this game. But that will likely not happen until 2025.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake (PS5): I have always loved the original final fantasy 7 game so it has been fun playing this and seeing what they did with the environments has been amazing. I am at Wall Market at this point and may finish this before the end of the year, but it is more likely a 2025 finish.


Other progress category:

No Man's Sky (PS5): I separated this from the immediate above. I finished the Artemis and Atlas lines and reset the simulation. But I went back to the original galaxy because my goal is to reach the center of the galaxy by jumping systems. It will be a while but I have made a ton of progress.


Potential Purchases at the end of 2024:

NBA 2k25 (PS5): I will likely see if it goes free on PS Plus next summer as opposed to making a purchase. Not a knock against 2k, but I have a lot of time invested in 2k24 with my fictional classes and I can't see dedicating 50 hours to classes this year.


Farming Simulator 25 (PC): I am undecided. I got 22 on the first sale it was on and have about 380 hours into my main save. With so much left to do. I will likely wait a bit.




Gaming Purchases in 24:

MLB 24 (PS5): Regret this purchase. I honestly should have known. MLB 20 plays a better game. Even so, I have done very little baseball gaming this year after being thoroughly disappointed in 24.

EA College Football 25 (PS5): Glad to have college football back and on current gen systems.

Madden 25 (PS5): See above.


Overall, I really haven't bought much in the way of video games this year.



Potential In Queue Games (not a back log):

None have been played in 2024.

Arkham Knight
Baldur’s Gate 3
Greedfall
Saints Row Day One Edition
The Division 2 (in progress)
Assassin's Creed Valhalla (in progress)
The Last of Us Remastered
Pokemon Legends Arceus
Pokemon Shining Pearl
Mafia
Mafia 2
Mafia 3
The Witcher 3 (PS5 version)
Ghost of Tsushima Directors Cut
Guardians of the Galaxy
Demon’s Souls
Lego Star Wars Skywalker Saga (in progress)
World of Final Fantasy
Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin
Biomutant
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
Secret of Mana
Rise of the Tomb Raider


Overall assessment:

This year went well in gaming. Not a lot of change from the year before but EA College Football 25 was the highlight as that was my much anticipated return.

[jrnlgrn]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Overall a pretty good year for non sports games especially the indie titles and the smaller studios. As far as sports games go I have to figure out a different way to approach them and maybe temper my expectations. The genre has improved in a lot of ways but also kind of stagnated. So that's an expectations versus reality thing I have to work out for sports titles at least.

Completed Games:
The Quarry
Donut County
The Wolf Among Us
Stray Gods: The Role Playing Musical
Stellar Blade
Banishers: Ghost of New Eden
The Exit 8
The Dark Picture Anthology: The Devil In Me
Indika
Before Your Eyes
Off the Grid
The Division 2

Started But Not Finished:
Hades
Dragons Dogma
Star Wars Outlaws
Cross Code
Hi-Fi Rush
Judgment

Sports Titles:
College Football 25
NBA 2k25
EA FC 25
MLB the Show '24
Undisputed
WWE 2k25
Pro Yakyuu 24-25
eFootball 21 (Modded)

Of the sports titles Pro Yakyuu is the only one I'm still actively playing. eFootball is installed on my laptop but it's kind of just there for a random game here and there. Undisputed and WWE might make it back into the rotation at some point.

For the non sports titles my 3 favorites were: Wolf Among Us, Stellar Blade and Banishers:Ghosts of New Eden. The games I didn't finish weren't bad I just got bored I may pick them up again someday. There were some other random games I probably tried through PS plus monthly downloads or trials but didn't resonate enough to count. Also some games from previous years I tried giving another shot but put down for whatever reason.

[franch1se]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

if anyone wants to run Arena Breakout Infinite or Delta Force let me know. I need more people to run with instead of randoms every time who don't have mics.

I like ABI way more, but i finished all missions already and max level so i just play now for fun and to kill people. I'm starting Delta Force Now so it would be playing to grind missions and progress throughout the game. I far prefer both games over Tarkov.

[Armor and Sword]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Just finished our second RPG for 2024 in Dragons Dogma 2

It was really a blast. Totally different feel from the polished BioWare Dragon Age Veilguard (which was incredible btw).

The Pawns were the real stars. And the sense of adventuring around the map was also another highlight for me.

We played Dogma 97 hours vs the 78 hours we put into DA Veilguard.

In 2025 we will restart and complete Baldurs Gate 3. I got thru half the game in my initial play through and realized….I did not like anything about my first character build. So we will hit it again and have the ultimate playthrough in 2025 along with The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077.

[Executor]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

I somehow ended up not posting here since the start of last year so here's my end-of-2024 update:

Part 1: Shelved & Deleted:

Days Gone - game certainly has potential and if I decided to play this right after buying which was couple of years ago, things might have went differently, but unfortunately while I was intrigued with the story, I just did not feel the urge to keep on playing, so I shelved the game after a chapter or two for what now seems like a veeeery long time.

Far Cry 5 - came back to this game after year of not playing, cleared couple of outposts and some minor side quests but quickly became disinterested; again, I suspect a veeeery long time before I eventually come back, if at all.

Tales of Zestiria - I bought this game last year because 1) I always knew I would one day play the prequel, Tales of Berseria (more on that later), and thought I might as well give this one a try, and 2) it's repeatedly on sale for a ridiculously low price so there was no downside in trying. However, the story from the beginning is nowhere near to its prequel, and since I play these kind of games mostly for the story and do not care much about combat, my interest quickly fell off a cliff here, too.

Last Hero of Nostalgaia - I had so much hope for this game but while true soulslike nerds might consider (and I admit, rightfully) this to be a hidden gem in the genre, for me it was a massive disappointment: the deeper you go into the game, the more tedious the levels become; the warp system is either non-existent or awfully implemented; and the bosses are a major pain both graphically and in design. Major letdown.

Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption - surprisingly cool graphics almost on par with best FromSoft work, but awfully designed bosses made this game unplayable for me. Hard pass and hard delete.

Choice of Life Middle Ages 2 - there was a short period of time this year where I flirted with couple of choice based / card games and I actually finished the original Choice of Life: Middle Ages, but the sequel... ugh. Hard delete.

[KSUowls]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Tales of Zestiria (S) - I bought this game last year because 1) I always knew I would one day play the prequel, Tales of Berseria (more on that later), and thought I might as well give this one a try, and 2) it's repeatedly on sale for a ridiculously low price so there was no downside in trying. However, the story from the beginning is nowhere near to its prequel, and since I play these kind of games mostly for the story and do not care much about combat, my interest quickly fell off a cliff here, too.

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.

[Executor]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Part 2: Visual Novels


I Kill Her
Fairy's Song
Kuroi Tsubasa

I Kill Her is one of those games whose synopsis paints a whole different picture from what you get when you actually play / read through the game, and is also incredibly short (an hour or so), however, it's ending alone is worth the buy, but beware, it might blow the top of your head off - maybe literally. Fairy's Song is a little bit of a slow-burn but had enough peaks to not make me regret trying it out. Kuroi Tsubasa seemed to follow a similar script - it was the first game in my ever expanding collection of visual novels that made me question the buy, but at some point it turned literally on a dime and went on to become on of the most memorable, well-fleshed-out stories in my library.

Doki Doki Literature Club - a legend of its own in the realm of visual novels, it took me one and a half year to finally muster the courage to try out, and man, during the first playthrough it was everything I hoped and feared, and many more. Wonderful characters, mind-bending twists, absolutely amazing writing, a 10/10 visual novel if it stayed... well, with only one playthrough. However, you have to play through the much of the same story at least two more times if you want to unlock all the secrets and gems of this game, and for that, unfortunately, the game's a little counter-intuitive. I will get back into it eventually but what seemed like a slam dunk masterpiece at first left me with mixed feelings in the end, which was a tad disappointing.

The Fox Awaits Me - one of the longer, more complex visual novels on the market, it started pretty slowly story wise and also took me longer than expected to adjust to its visual style, but turned out to be a masterpiece I hoped it to be ever since I find out it existed. Great story, great atmosphere, and some of the tracks are one of the best music you will ever hear in a video game.

Steins;Gate Elite / Linear Bound Phenogram - these are actually 2 games in one package. Steins;Gate Elite is an anime series masterfully adapted into a video game / visual novel, and the one where choices matter, no less. Again, basically everything - the story, characters, writing, music - is amazing: equally chilling, fun, tranquil, heart-breaking, shattering, thrilling. For me, the game's simply one of the best in the genre, period. Linear Bound Phenogram is an alternative universe sidekick to the main game featuring 10 individual stories for each of the 10 main characters from the original game, and while the art and stories overall do not quite match up with the original game, most of them have moments absolutely on par with the main story.

Steins;Gate Zero - if The Last of Us is known/regarded as the best story ever told in video games (a sentiment with which I wholeheartedly agree), then SG:Zero confirmed what I already knew deep in my heart - that the Steins;Gate franchise is the best love story ever told in video games. Overall the game appears to be shorter that the the original, and I also somehow happened to get one of the two alternative endings instead of the main one, but I will definitely come back for the other two in the near future.

[Executor]

Re: 2024 Gaming Plans

Part 3 - Soulslikes

Ashen - like the Last Hero of Nostalgia, a game for which I had very high hopes. Unlike Last Hero of Nostalgia, a soulslike I actually finished, though in the end, it took a lot of (mostly mental) effort. The game is open world but only has six bosses, which is almost a travesty, brings some different ideas to the genre, but never quite hits the spot. It's best part definitely is a DLC, probably due to it's own unique atmosphere and actually likable, lively graphics. And, of course, it's own boss.

Bloodborne - after slogging through Ashen, I felt like I need to remind myself how true soulsborne feels and plays like, and went for the second playthrough of this masterpiece in two years. Unlike first time, I skipped the chalices this time, so the game which took me over 100 hours last year was now over after only like 35 or so. Fantastic game.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin - I guess I played this one shortly after I finished Bloodborne and enjoyed it none the less. Contrary to what majority of fans of the DS series says, I actually liked the SotS better than the original Dark Souls. The most interesting thing on this game that there is love/have aspect to basically every controversial in-game mechanics the developers put into the game, but overall, it's still FromSoft, it's still Dark Souls, and it's still amazig.

Dark Souls III - Game of the Year, end of story. I always expected this game to look, play and feel close to Elden Ring, but all those aspects are actually much closer to Bloodborne, which took me be surprise and also immediately, literally from the first step, endeared this game to me. The game is quick and sharp, looks fantastics, the bosses are simply a work of art, the DLCs absolutely rival The Old Hunters... and yes, like every FromSoft game so far, the game almost broke me, again (hello, Nameless King... hello, Midir), but in the end, it's a mind-bending masterpiece and with Bloodborne, it's now tied for No. 2 on my all-time console games list.

Dark Souls Remastered - second playthrough (first was last year), couple of months after I finished DS3. Like with Bloodborne, what took me around ~70 hours on my first playthrough lasted only ~38 hours this time. Game's still awesome despite it's warts, and its DLC, as you can bet your life a FromSoft DLC would always do, still takes the overal thrill and adventure to a whole another level.