The year slowly coming to an end

The time has come. I have completed Resident Evil 0 ^^’:

• Resident Evil 0
  

  38 hours playtime

  47 of 47 achievements

• Wildfire
  

  22 hours playtime

  60 of 60 achievements

• Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition
  

  102 hours playtime

  79 of 79 achievements

• Teslagrad Remastered
  

  5 hours playtime

  36 of 36 achievements

Resident Evil 0: …… so I finally did it. After letting the game rot for years(?) in my library having played roughly half of a first playthrough, I finally managed to tackle the game once again. I considered starting a new but managed somehow to beat it from the confusing mid-point I was at. It is a Resident Evil game, more with the classic formular of fixed cameras and limited saves (which I believe to like). Ressource management is important, even more so as there are some differences to the classic Resident Evil. One is the buddy system, meaning you have to manage two people and their inventory at once (but not being able to play co-op). The second one that there was no item box. While you can drop any item anywhere, the drawback is that you have to make ressource runs as soon as you reach new areas. And sometimes new enemies appears which made this quite annoying. Story-wise it was an okay game, although the RE lore would not miss this entry at all. But I liked having Rebecca as main characters as she has rarely the spotlight. Otherwise, atmosphere and tension was good, as you would expect it.
Achievement-wise, it was also typical Resident Evil stuff. Meaning that there are story-achievements, some special trigger achievements and LOTS of replay achievements like no healing, no saving or speedrun achievements. Basically, Resident Evil relies on you knowing the game inside out to be able to plan out the best route and rush through it. Time-consuming but not as difficult as it sounds. Part of this, that most Resident Evil games have these replays in mind (as you can see in the achievements) and there are ways to unlock stronger or even unlimed ammo weapons for subsequent replays.

Wildfire: Wildfire is a fire simulator. Well, actually not. You are an inhibitant of a small village and one day you see a meteor falling down. Investigating the object then gives you the power to control fire to a certain extent, followed by you being hunted by the empress and her knights. There are several different regions and each time - for reasons - you learn a new element, so that at the end you can control fire, earth and water with a lot of fun interactions and ways to tackle the separate levels. One of the main criticism people had for the game was that you have to replay levels over and over again to unlock the points you need for upgrades as some of the point conditions are contradicting (like speedrunning them or staying undetected). That said, since there is no way to respec your abilities, the game has to be (and is) designed in a way that you can beat each and every level with any upgrades at all. As such, replaying levels is only something you need to do if you want to get more points or if you are going for achievements. Achievements are also quite fun to get but need the multiple replay of leves and even twice the game (though you keep your upgrades from the first playthrough, making it quicker). This is time-consuming and can be very repetitive. Then again, I played the first time through the game in local co-op. And as a coop game this title is just wonderful. Making plans with each other and seeing how they crumble because you accidently started a wildfire or startled a guard to jump into his own death is hilarious.

Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition: So, I don’t like open world games, no sandbox games and I certainly don’t see me ever playing a single Assasin’s Creed game. That said, I have only good things to say about Horizon Zero Dawn. The game is an interesting journey centering around the Outcast Aloy playing in some post-apocalyptic world where different tribes are fighting for their survival against nature and recently ill-turned machine animals. On this journey, you not only are given an actual convincing reason why Aloy is the only person to be able to be the protagonist, why she was outcast and also what the apocalypse caused. All this, supported with some interesting side characters and each tribe having its own culture, believes and religions. The world-building and story are certainly the strongest point of the games and make curious for the sequels. The gameplay itself with the fighting, collecting, platforming is good enough to not ruin this experience. The story still has some minor convenience points but overall, it is among the better and more solid ones that I have encountered in game.
Achievement-wise, again a long haul as you need to collect all collectibles, make most side-quests and some grinding here and there. And I think there was a necessary NG+ as well (like most of the games I present today O.o). But the game is good. So good that I didn’t mind it. Also did it on my Steam Deck while in China. Because at least the gaming part of Steam is something which is not censored or blocked there >.< If you are craving for a RPG with a good story, let Horizon Zero Dawn recommanded to you.

Teslagrad Remastered: Not much to say about this one. It is a puzzle platformer centering around the usage of electro-magnetic powers. For the most part on the easier side with an okay story (though only told by theaters and scrolls). I think I wrote more about the original. Only bought the remaster in preparation for Teslagrad 2. Achievement-wise also on the easier side as all of them are tied to the hidden scrolls which needs some more advanced platforming. In a manner of fair game design, you gain at the very end of the game, the knowledge of the location of all scrolls although figuring out how to get them is still necessary on yourself.

And with this, I have to decide what to play next. Right now, I have finished the RE4 remake minus Separate Ways. So, I have to consider if i buy the DLC now or in the Winter Sale hoping it might get a discount. Then again, I have won the game, so even if i buy the DLC at full price - which is only 10 € for content a third of the original game or more - I have not paid to much. Or I will play Teslagrad 2 first. Maybe try making some more Crystal Caves HD maps. Or maybe ….. maybe completing Resident Evil 1 which is my new Resident Evil 0 :P