January 2024 - Opening With Closing

Games played this month

• Pony Island
  

  5 hours playtime

  20 of 20 achievements

• Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
  

  4 hours playtime

  37 of 37 achievements

• A Little to the Left
  

  5 hours playtime

  43 of 55 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 4
  

  12 hours playtime

  10 of 20 achievements

• Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
  

  7 hours playtime

  13 of 64 achievements

Gameplay Summary

Both in game and in real life, I have had a productive and wonderful start to the new year. Life has been filled with many pieces of work and finances falling into place to prepare me for a tremendous year ahead. My gaming, though not much more time-wise, has been focused and led to significant progress in percentage beaten and completed. I hope to continue the momentum in both areas of life as I continue throughout this year.

Completed: Pony Island

Oh boy, this one was both awesome to complete and frustratingly annoying at the same time. On the one hand, the game has some nice secrets which did not feel like a chore to complete. I was able to get all but one achievement fairly quickly and without hassle. On the other hand, the last achievement was seemingly random, and I had to look up and cross-reference multiple guides to be able to figure out the nuances for the unlock conditions of the achievement. Thankfully, the game is not overly difficult to complete, and the ability to jump between levels was unlocked after beating the game the first time, saving some headache. Overall, this was a great game to start my productivity streak.

Completed: Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

I can honestly say this game is to my 2024 what Manifold Garden was to my 2023, but for different reasons. Unless something amazing replaces its top slot in my heart this year (Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, perhaps?), this will likely be my GOTY 2024. Between the story telling, the secrets, and the gameplay, this game is incredibly well put together. I have been recommending it to coworkers, one of which bought the game for his wife, who then proceeded to play it all night. Let’s see what the rest of the year holds.

In Progress Completion: A Little to the Left

Not much to update on this title. My gameplay this month solely consisted of doing the daily challenges to make progress toward 100%. I should be able to reach 100% in March, and then I will get the last daily challenge achievement and knock out the DLC quickly. Expect a similarly sparse update for February.

In Progress Completion: The Jackbox Party Pack 4

This month I played Jackbox with family and friends during one of our game days. We played multiple rounds of most of the games, and we earned the achievement in Civic Doodle for having each part of the final picture drawn by a different person. This title is not one I am necessarily achievement hunting in, but it’s nice to earn an extra achievement as a surprise while playing.

In Progress: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator

TABS is a fun tactical battle game where you send an army of troops, sometimes themed and sometimes random, against another army of troops to win the battle. You can optionally possess one troop at a time to be more tactical, or you can just let both sides’ troops have at it. There are many campaigns in the game, and I am halfway through completing the main campaigns, i.e. not the secret ones you can unlock as you play. There are also lots of secret troops you can find by exploring the levels while the fighting ensues.