OP
OP
Entry-level survival horror sounds like a chill time. I wonder if they have a Switch port planned.
Another SROG eyeing me from the backlog…
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StarTopic The 2024 Completed Games Thread
- Thread starter meatbag
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16. Prey (2017) (PC) [May 10th, 2024] - 8.0/10
It's prey-tee good. Prey-tee prey-tee prey-tee good.
17. Tomb Raider (1996) (Remastered) (PC) [May 17th, 2024] - 5.5/10:
I'll start off by saying that i'm not sure I gave this game the best playthrough it could have had. Somewhere from around the third level to the last third the game progressively went from "fun but mildly dull" to "extremely boring and repetitive", and this made me want to just beat the game. Once the last third of the game started and the game got more interesting though, this mode never really went away and it possibly contributed to the game dragging on for me more than it would have otherwise. This game is long, a lot longer than I was expecting, my final playtime only showed 10 hours but I think with reloads it was actually more like 15-16 hours, which makes it longer than any Uncharted game except maybe 2 and 4.
The biggest problem with this game is that for the length it has it doesn't really have enough ideas. It's game design on a broader scale stays relatively fine from beginning to end, but it still gets kind of boring once you realize that you're doing a lot of the same stuff over and over again. The game has surprisingly little in its toolbox, and the Egypt/Desert stretch in particular is really bad about feeling repetitive and bland. One thing that I never thought I'd say about a game is that Tomb Raider is almost too atmospheric, a lot of its soundscape is ambient sounds and while this is ok for a lot of the levels the ambient tracks for the desert levels are so boring that they kind of add onto the games repetition. I think that for how excellent the soundtrack is having music in more of the game would have done a good job of making the weaker parts less of an issue, even if the music was mostly just composed of some short melodies.
The level design here is a bit of a mixed bag, I've seen a lot of people since the remasters saying that the level design is excellent, but honestly it often felt like a good example of how level design being complex and intricate isn't always a good thing. For how much time it takes to complete levels and how vast they can be, you don't really gain much in the way of notable upgrades or rewards. A common theme in this game was that levels that were sprawling and had a lot of different directions for you to go to were some of my least favorite levels (with the notable exception of The Cistern, which seems rather divisive, it's me loving The Water Temple all over again!) while the more linear levels were often some of my favorites. Again, there's nothing wrong with complex level design and a lot of Tomb Raider's more exploration based levels actually have great level design, but when you're getting nothing but hour long huge levels back to back, it can feel very monotonous, it didn't really feel like what the game needed.
I'll also say that while Tomb Raider's tank controls are definitely pretty good, I'm a bit mixed on the actual platforming. The common defense of the platforming in Tomb Raider is that people "just don't understand the tile system" and while this is probably true, I actually think the fact that Tomb Raider's platforming is so consistent can be somewhat of a problem in and of itself. Every long jump in this game is solved using the same technique of going to an edge, pressing back once, and then doing a running jump, and almost every small jump is formulaic as well. This is basically how the game operates with less of a focus on being precise with your jumps and more of a focus on being precise in doing the exact same thing over and over again. I realize that Core Design couldn't do much because they were working with the Dualshock d-pad, but I'm reminded of something a certain Youtuber said about Mario Sunshine and how in the process of accounting for the player both having longer jumps and having the hover nozzle Nintendo had to make a lot of jumps ridiculously big just to have any semblance of difficulty, and that there probably could have been a more elegant solution. I never really had that issue with Sunshine, but I do think Tomb Raider probably could have toned down the amount of jumps that push your jumping distance as far as possible to allow for players to play in less set, rigid ways.
Despite my complaints, the core gameplay here was really strong when I wasn't bored, especially for the levels I liked which were mostly in the beginning and ending parts of the game. I especially liked how creative the game got with its setting right towards the end, it felt like the creativity had finally caught up with the ingenuity of the game design. I think for the next Tomb Raider games I tackle, I'm going to be treating them as side games rather than main games, because trying to put all my focus into this one might have inadvertently made me enjoy it less.
It's prey-tee good. Prey-tee prey-tee prey-tee good.
17. Tomb Raider (1996) (Remastered) (PC) [May 17th, 2024] - 5.5/10:
I'll start off by saying that i'm not sure I gave this game the best playthrough it could have had. Somewhere from around the third level to the last third the game progressively went from "fun but mildly dull" to "extremely boring and repetitive", and this made me want to just beat the game. Once the last third of the game started and the game got more interesting though, this mode never really went away and it possibly contributed to the game dragging on for me more than it would have otherwise. This game is long, a lot longer than I was expecting, my final playtime only showed 10 hours but I think with reloads it was actually more like 15-16 hours, which makes it longer than any Uncharted game except maybe 2 and 4.
The biggest problem with this game is that for the length it has it doesn't really have enough ideas. It's game design on a broader scale stays relatively fine from beginning to end, but it still gets kind of boring once you realize that you're doing a lot of the same stuff over and over again. The game has surprisingly little in its toolbox, and the Egypt/Desert stretch in particular is really bad about feeling repetitive and bland. One thing that I never thought I'd say about a game is that Tomb Raider is almost too atmospheric, a lot of its soundscape is ambient sounds and while this is ok for a lot of the levels the ambient tracks for the desert levels are so boring that they kind of add onto the games repetition. I think that for how excellent the soundtrack is having music in more of the game would have done a good job of making the weaker parts less of an issue, even if the music was mostly just composed of some short melodies.
The level design here is a bit of a mixed bag, I've seen a lot of people since the remasters saying that the level design is excellent, but honestly it often felt like a good example of how level design being complex and intricate isn't always a good thing. For how much time it takes to complete levels and how vast they can be, you don't really gain much in the way of notable upgrades or rewards. A common theme in this game was that levels that were sprawling and had a lot of different directions for you to go to were some of my least favorite levels (with the notable exception of The Cistern, which seems rather divisive, it's me loving The Water Temple all over again!) while the more linear levels were often some of my favorites. Again, there's nothing wrong with complex level design and a lot of Tomb Raider's more exploration based levels actually have great level design, but when you're getting nothing but hour long huge levels back to back, it can feel very monotonous, it didn't really feel like what the game needed.
I'll also say that while Tomb Raider's tank controls are definitely pretty good, I'm a bit mixed on the actual platforming. The common defense of the platforming in Tomb Raider is that people "just don't understand the tile system" and while this is probably true, I actually think the fact that Tomb Raider's platforming is so consistent can be somewhat of a problem in and of itself. Every long jump in this game is solved using the same technique of going to an edge, pressing back once, and then doing a running jump, and almost every small jump is formulaic as well. This is basically how the game operates with less of a focus on being precise with your jumps and more of a focus on being precise in doing the exact same thing over and over again. I realize that Core Design couldn't do much because they were working with the Dualshock d-pad, but I'm reminded of something a certain Youtuber said about Mario Sunshine and how in the process of accounting for the player both having longer jumps and having the hover nozzle Nintendo had to make a lot of jumps ridiculously big just to have any semblance of difficulty, and that there probably could have been a more elegant solution. I never really had that issue with Sunshine, but I do think Tomb Raider probably could have toned down the amount of jumps that push your jumping distance as far as possible to allow for players to play in less set, rigid ways.
Despite my complaints, the core gameplay here was really strong when I wasn't bored, especially for the levels I liked which were mostly in the beginning and ending parts of the game. I especially liked how creative the game got with its setting right towards the end, it felt like the creativity had finally caught up with the ingenuity of the game design. I think for the next Tomb Raider games I tackle, I'm going to be treating them as side games rather than main games, because trying to put all my focus into this one might have inadvertently made me enjoy it less.
ceres15
Downy Snagret
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1. Unpacking (Switch) - 7.5/10
2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) - 9.5/10
3. Ori and the Blind Forest (Switch) - 8/10
4. Advance Wars (Reboot Camp) (Switch) - 8/10
5. Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (Reboot Camp) (Switch) - 8.5/10
6. Super Mario Sunshine (3D All Stars) (Switch) - 7/10
7. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (Switch) - 8/10
8. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch) - 9.5/10
9. Art of Balance TOUCH! (3DS) - 9/10
10. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS) - 8/10
11. New Super Mario Bros. (NDS) - 8.5/10
2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) - 9.5/10
3. Ori and the Blind Forest (Switch) - 8/10
4. Advance Wars (Reboot Camp) (Switch) - 8/10
5. Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (Reboot Camp) (Switch) - 8.5/10
6. Super Mario Sunshine (3D All Stars) (Switch) - 7/10
7. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (Switch) - 8/10
8. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch) - 9.5/10
9. Art of Balance TOUCH! (3DS) - 9/10
10. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS) - 8/10
11. New Super Mario Bros. (NDS) - 8.5/10
12. Animal Well (Switch) - 9.5/10
I've beaten this game and may or may not go far into the post-game content, but either way this game is going to be one of my games of the year. Cool atmosphere, fun puzzles, and amazing mechanics. I absolutely love the depth and level of detail in this game, and I'm thoroughly impressed that this was the product of a single developer. Most importantly, it's just a blast and super engaging.
I tried to keep it light on details to avoid spoilers
I recommend going into this game blind, although some of the more optional puzzles can be a little obtuse so don't be afraid to use a guide if you need to (which are probably not super fleshed out yet since the game is so new). My minor gripes are the life/saving system means that you can only save in designated locations, which may be far away from the challenging platforming you have to do. If you die, you'll respawn further away than I would have liked. I also wish that traveling around the map was a little less time consuming with a better version of fast traveling. But overall, excellent game.
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It's nice to play a Mario launch title for the Game Boy, now on NSO! It's rudimentary, but for the time, I'm sure it was nice to have this kinda game on the go!
...what's a Super Mario Land?
Finished in 2024 #23: Alleyway
It's a Breakout clone for the Game Boy. It's pretty no frills - just piloting a paddle, hitting a ball into some blocks, and racking up a high score. You have some speed control by holding A or B, but there are no power ups or other player mechanics. The variety instead comes from the 24 main stages and 8 bonus stages. Every group of three main stages shares a layout across three variants (standard, moving blocks, and slowly descending), mixing things up in an otherwise short game. It's not fully enough to not feel a bit repetitive, though, a feeling heightened by those moments of your ball not being able to hit that one last block! Worth a try if you happen to come across it, and I'm sure this is more impressive as a launch Game Boy title, but there are better versions of this concept out there nowadays.
Perhaps the most notable thing about this one is the fact that it's technically a Mario game! Mario pilots the paddle, one of the stages arranges the blocks in the shape of Mario's head, and all of the bonus stages are based on Super Mario Bros. characters. It's a neat addition to an otherwise simplistic title.
...what's a Super Mario Land?
Finished in 2024 #23: Alleyway
It's a Breakout clone for the Game Boy. It's pretty no frills - just piloting a paddle, hitting a ball into some blocks, and racking up a high score. You have some speed control by holding A or B, but there are no power ups or other player mechanics. The variety instead comes from the 24 main stages and 8 bonus stages. Every group of three main stages shares a layout across three variants (standard, moving blocks, and slowly descending), mixing things up in an otherwise short game. It's not fully enough to not feel a bit repetitive, though, a feeling heightened by those moments of your ball not being able to hit that one last block! Worth a try if you happen to come across it, and I'm sure this is more impressive as a launch Game Boy title, but there are better versions of this concept out there nowadays.
Perhaps the most notable thing about this one is the fact that it's technically a Mario game! Mario pilots the paddle, one of the stages arranges the blocks in the shape of Mario's head, and all of the bonus stages are based on Super Mario Bros. characters. It's a neat addition to an otherwise simplistic title.
OP
OP
And it breaks my heart that Microsoft is shuttering Arkane Austin... I had a glimmer of hope that MS would continue funding their great, but underselling, games to diversify their portfolio, but alas, in the end MS is a tech conglomerate before it is a first party publisher.
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Still have some stuff left to do in Animal Well but I'm happy to put it aside for now with 50 eggs found and the credits rolled. After the somewhat slow start it got better and better and I ended up loving it a lot. The way the world gradually opens up with every new item I got was amazing. Lots of cool secrets and platforming challenges that never got too frustrating but I reached a point where I realized that I'm not going to get much more out of it without consulting a guide or scouring every single inch of the map and in turn ruining my experience with it. So this seems like a good point to stop.
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Alan Wake II
- Rytmos
- Pizza Tower
- Hi-Fi Rush
- Humanity
- Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Jusant
- Momodora: Moonlit Farewell
- Panzer Dragoon (Remake)
- Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
- Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix
- Astro's Playroom
- Ghost of Tsushima
- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
- Birth
- Final Fantasy VII
- Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
- Sifu
- Minishoot' Adventures
- Final Fantasy XVI
- Botany Manor
- Super Mario Land
- Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
- Animal Well
