Monthly Stats #2: September 2020

Finished	Status	Rating (1-5)
	Completed (1/1 achievements)
	Beaten (34/55 achievement)
	Completed (37/37 achievements)
	Beaten (50/99 achievements)

All reviews are free of spoilers


TO THE MOON



There's very little games that make me cry, and this was one of them.
More than a game, this is a beautiful visual novel about life, death, and everything that goes in between. It's a game about fate, about wishes, about crushed dreams, about the darkest side of life, but also about the beautiful part of it. Like life, this is a game to enjoy slow paced (with how short the game is, you better don't rush it), unwrapping it as if it were a gift, only to feel totally crushed and empty when it's over. Because that's the worse part of this whole story - that it ends.
The fact that the pixel art is pretty low on the resolution and kind of blurry (it could also have been my teary eyes) is never a problem, as even the graphics get eclipsed by the beauty of this story. The soundtrack is perfect, and you can feel the music wrapping you up during the whole story, as if it were a soft blanket.
I wish I had played this earlier

Aprox. gameplay time: 4.5 h.
The best: The rich storytelling
The worse: The resolution is pretty low, which makes the pixel art a bit blurry
Rating: 5/5 stars



THIS WAR OF MINE: FINAL CUT



I finished This War of Mine last year, but I had never played the Stories DLC until now. I have to start by saying that This War of Mine is one of my favorite games ever, I really enjoy it, and I've spent a lot of hours in the different scenarios and with the different characters, so I'm not sure why I kept delaying the moment to play the DLC. But I'm glad I finally did, as these last three stories still do what the game does best - they make you feel.
I graded it with 4 stars, because out of the 3 three stories, I found the first one (Father's Promise) kind of boring and weak, while the other two (The Last Broadcast and Fading Ambers) were really good, and gave a new perspective on how the war can affect the civilians, with not only new scenarios, but also with stories that push your morals to the limit. I especially liked the fact that even if the story is more scripted than the base game, you still have to work hard to survive and you still have to make choices, leaving the game kind of open despite the script. In that sense, I especially like the fact that the fate of the characters gets directly afected by the choices you make, which at times can be terrifying and sad, but it also adds more interest to the game than if it was just following a script.

At the end, these three stories keep showing us that there is nothing good in war, except its ending.

Aprox. gameplay time of the DCL: 12 h.
The best: How will make you question your moral and push it to the limit.
The worse: It can get very frustrating at times, especially when some actions and materials become unavailable to adapt to the script of the story.
Rating: 4/5 stars



MUSHROOM CATS 2



Cute as a button, and short like a flash.
If you ever played the first (free) version of it, then this one is going to surprise you positively, as it's an improved version of that one, with more features, and actually an attempt to make the gameplay more interesting (it hides the hats better than the first one, which mostly was spotting them on the screen). I wouldn't call it a problem solver or a puzzle game because it's easy, but still it has some interesting dynamics that are introduced in comparision to the first one.

Aprox. gameplay time: 20 mins.
The best: The cute graphics
The worse: The "difficulty" (to call it something) is not really gradual, the last levels are easier than the first ones (and shorter). It's like all the effort was put at the first level, and the other ones were left aside
Rating: 4/5 stars



SHADOW OF THE TOMB RAIDER



I've played every Tomb Raider since the original one came out in 1996, and to me, this is one of the best. When playing it, it becomes obvious that they've tried to fix all the issues that were frustrating in past games (especially the ones related with jumps that ended up being random and failing, or time secuences that were too complicated to execute at points), and made a very polished game that becomes a pleasure to play. I also liked the fact that it focuses more on stealth that on gunplay, but that's a very personal opinion, as I prefer to play it like that.
In terms of gameplay, this one is very similar to The Rise of the Tomb Raider, but graphics are even better (and saying that they're better it's really an understatement). It's easy to get immersed in the landscapes and tombs, and the music really help to create a beautiful and thrilling experience.
Despite on how much I loved this game, I also have to say that I found the story weaker than the two previous games, especially if we consider that this one represents the culmination of them.

Aprox. gameplay: 20 h.
The best: The amazing graphics.
The worse: The story feels kind of weak.
Rating: 5/5 stars



ARIDA: BACKLAND'S AWAKENING



Let me start the review by saying I couldn't finish the game. Not because I didn't want to, but because a bug at the very last final mission (a character that wasn't appearing) made it impossible for me to finish it (and I was too frustrated to repeat it and see if the thing wold get fixed, especially because I read about other people with the same issue who never got to fix it, even after retrying to whole game). Still, I played almost it all, so I have a pretty good idea of the whole game, despite not having experienced the end.
This is a game I really wanted to like, based on true historical events about the brasilian backlands on the 19th century, and a tribute to natural environment, and to those who survived a harsh draugh in very poor conditions. It's rich in narrative and beautiful when it comes to graphic, but the gameplay makes it too tedious to enjoy, to the point that it becomes frustrating very fast (nobody needs to eat every single minute of their day to stay alive!). Characters are very well presented, the story is emotive, and the fact that it adds elements of survival make the gameplay interesting. Sadly, it becomes repetitive very fast, and having to constantly be looking for food and water in a permanent (almost obsessive) way, really kills the narrative of the story. Not to mention how short it is for the price it has (gameplay last about 90-100 minutes). I wouldn't recommend buying it full price.

Aprox. gameplay: 1,5 h.
The best: How gentle it is presenting the character and the historical facts
The worse: The tedious gameplay to survive
Rating: 3/5 stars