MARCH 2019: NO PAIN, NO GAIN

March was pretty much a month full of trying and completing puzzle related and just challenging games. I was weirdly attracted to genres that tested my patience and capabilities.

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SOME GAMES I TACKLED THIS MONTH
Common genres: RTS, turn-based, plat former, puzzle, fast-paced, action

Title	Hours	Achievements so far	Ramblings. Hope to write more about these on a separate post(s) once they’re done!
Cuphead	11	6/28	Do you want to try something rage-inducing? Well, step right up because this one will be great for that! Oh my god. Cuphead is hard… as many people have already said. Each person’s experience may be different, but oh boy, I can safely say that it’s one of the most challenging games that I’ve ever played in my life. But somehow it can still make me feel awesome and skilled especially once a Run & Gun or boss fight is finally done after dying or retrying so many times/for hours.
Hotline Miami	6	6/35	Like Cuphead, this is another challenging and frustrating (that I still appreciate though) game for me. At first and even now, I still trip over the mouse & keyboard controls since I’m used to playing on console. It’s good though in a way because I’m learning to use them while also trying to be aggressive, fast, and smart while playing this. Personally, the things that make me feel frustrated or annoyed is mostly due to the one-hit kill aspect of it. But hey, I suppose that’s what makes Hotline Miami… Hotline Miami.
Into the Breach	11	4/55	I recently finally reached/opened up a third island. Also earned reputation points and bought some neat upgrades for my mechs!
Epistory - Typing Chronicles	4	19/55	Besides having to deal with a level that made me go “Okay, who thought this was a good idea? I’m done with this”, I do like what I played so far. It’s interesting because I don’t think I’ve ever played (or remember) a typing game before? Pretty art style & voice over too.
SteamWorld Heist	6	2/47	Currently stuck and have to do some missions grinding.
Shadowrun: Dragonfall	7	6/39	It’s slow. The missions even though at times feels unfair and difficult (even on Easy mode). I partly blame myself though because I can be impatient and also not good at turn-based combat. I knew there’d be lots of reading & no voice acting with the Shadowrun series, but I admit, I sometimes tend to skim through or fast forward with the text. :/ The writing is good though.

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THE ONES I FINISHED THIS MONTH
From recent to oldest
Hours of some games may not be accurate, I’ll try to record how long the first play through took to finish main story, etc. next time

Title	Beaten on	Hours	Achievements so far	Interested in 100%?	Recommended?
Tales from the Borderlands	3/30	12	35/35	Completed	Yes
Dropsy	3/24	7	26/30	Yes	Yes
Lara Croft GO	3/11	3	10/17	Yes	Yes
Hidden Folks	3/10	6	5/7	Yes, sadly though you have to buy & play the DLC to get all achievements	Sure
Glass Masquerade	3/9	6	31/31	Completed, but there’s still DLCs	Yes
The Wolf Among Us	3/9	11	35/35	Completed	Yes
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist	3/8	2	6/6	Completed	Sure
The Walking Dead	3/3	12	36/48	Yes	Yes
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun	3/3	53	29/44	Yes	Yes

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THOUGHTS ON EACH FINISHED GAME (Mild spoilers ahead)

Dropsy

Good Stuff: I adore this game’s weirdness. The combination of the main protagonist’s appearance and what they actually do is not something you’d expect, and that’s good. There are many characters you’ll meet and interact with, like A LOT, and they are usually interesting. Certain characters and what we had to do with or for them pulled on my heartstrings. OH and by the way, you have a puppy alongside with you throughout the game. That’s all I’ll spill for now.

It felt really good helping as many people, objects, and animals as I could. Plus, it made smile to see Dropsy and someone hug after not being on good terms for the first time. :’) The game has many memorable and screenshot-worthy scenes too.

Not-So-Good Stuff:

• Walking is slow and there’s a ton of backtracking
• No fast travel option until the very late parts of the game
• You can easily get lost and be confused since this game doesn’t explicitly tells you what your objectives are. You can only see the visual clues and * sounds Dropsy and the characters (sometimes) vaguely suggest or give. Which wasn’t always clear to me. I had to use a guide every now & then because I wanted to make sure I was going in the right direction, not missing important objects & people while also getting the achievements.
• No voice acting which can a personal pro or con to the player
• Objects to touch or grab aren’t highlighted, so be sure to click or hover everything on each area
• Pixel art is cute, but can be blurry
• Story’s not groundbreaking, I say it’s just good for what it is

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Lara Croft GO

Good Stuff: I was very interested in playing this in the beginning. Though halfway through (mostly at the later chapters) I was rushing and watching some walkthroughs or occasionally used the hint mode to get to the end. So in all up until those parts, I solved the levels and puzzles on my own.

Overall though, this is a good linear game with a pretty 3D polygon art style and colorful environments. Most of the area and puzzle designs are easy and fairly designed. When accomplish whatever it is on your own, you will feel nice. There are collectibles to find and unexpected enemies to kill. Lara is also awesome especially when she’s kicking butt, climbing… just being an overall badass really. Play it and you’ll those cool moments.

Not-So-Good Stuff:

• Some areas might be a bit of a challenge or tricky, so either you will have to do some Trial & Error, watch a walkthrough, or use the hint mode
• If you have a touchpad/playing on a laptop, the gameplay experience may be uncomfortable
• Some of the collectibles aren’t as obvious, so keep an eye out during your first playthrough unless you’d like to play the levels again solely for them

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Hidden Folks

Good Stuff: Cute art style. It may seem “minimal” because of the limited black & white choice of colors. But even with that, this hidden object game is packed with an overwhelming amount of content in terms of the what you see on screen. I ended up watching some videos to progress, but I did try my best to find things on my own. I plan on replaying some levels and challenging myself to not use any help that time around.

Luckily though if you aren’t interested in finding EVERYTHING for the achievements or even just for your own pleasure, then you’re in luck because you aren’t forced to find all the objects in each area to progress to the next one. Another unique thing is the hint aspect.. if you have trouble looking for something, each object has information that can lead you to where they might be. It makes you use your thinking skills and how to connect them so that you can find hopefully find it. Overall, it’s silly and cute, funny at times, and is worth a try.

Not-So-Good Stuff:

• The lack of others colors (which I understand of course) really tripped me out and tested my patience, eyes, and brain with finding the hidden objects at some areas
• Sound effects can be repetitive / overused
• If you’re expecting/looking for a puzzle or HOG game that you can easily and quickly finish, this isn’t it
• Can make you feel overwhelmed

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Glass Masquerade

Good Stuff: I’d describe this as an elegant puzzle game. I admit, I didn’t get to appreciate the detailed artwork whenever I played it because uhhh, I was busy trying to put pieces together! :P It’s a simple, yet still complex puzzle game. Some pieces can take less than 3 or 5 minutes, but some can take up to 30-40 minutes (based my own experience). Nothing was too frustrating though. One of the best feelings is when you’re near the end and the pieces become easier and more obvious to put together.

Overall, it has gorgeous visuals and nice music that fits whatever country or continent you are doing. I enjoyed this one and plan on replaying it from time to time as well as finishing up the other DLC content.

Not-So-Good Stuff:

• Not much or none that I can think of or really bothered my experience

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Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

Good Stuff: It was okay. It does break the video game “fourth wall” or something like that because the narrator/dude that’s talking to you and guiding you throughout the “game” really feels like he is talking to you. The voice acting, graphics, and sound/music were simple. If you have a similar humor to what was in this, then you’ll most likely have some laughs with it. I mostly played this for the achievements, but it’s since it’s free, maybe give it a try for yourself.

*Not-So-Good Stuff:

• If you’re a completionist, use a guide so that you don’t miss things you gotta do and look for
• The narrator’s personality may not be your thing
• If you want a lot of gameplay, maybe skip this one, it’s pretty much a walking simulator

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Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Good Stuff: One of the most challenging games I’ve ever played, it’s personally almost up there with Cuphead & Hotline Miami. It’s the longest one I ever played too on Steam at least (53 hours logged as of right now, though I believe I finished the main game around 44 hours). I loved and hated it at times. I’m gonna dedicate a post just for this game sometime, so if you are interested in that, maybe keep an eye out!

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Oh boy. Thank you very much if you’re reached the end or even just for simply stopping by. I’m sorry if this was too long and if the formatting is busy. For now, it’s honestly how I thought I’d log my progress!

Also, I’d like to know how to embed the Steam games & my stats on the post (plus, the drop-down option to add some written text) , if someone has tips on how to, it’d be very appreciated!

Alright, see you soon, fellow Assassins ✌🏼