So I’ve not wrote anything for a while, so a quick stock take…

When I joined in June 2017 I was at 80% never played, and now I’m at 73% never played, which I think is a great success given my pinched free time, and that my library went up in the order of 200+ games.

So the reason I want to write about this game is because it’s a game completed journey spanning 6 years…

My first achievement was unlocked 27 Nov, 2012 @ 4:05am. What I was doing awake at 4am I’m not sure and it was 6 years ago… And then it looks like I put the game down until 2016 where I completed the main game but didn’t own the DLCs so just kept the game installed. Until the past few weeks where I’ve decided to beat the DLCs and finally uninstall game I’ve had installed for 6 years.

Little steps….

So in between my last actual update (over a month ago…) I moved house, changed job, reinvented my life, so I’ve been a little distracted from playing games.

I have however managed to finish FF IX which was a gift for my birthday from a lovely little pet

This game is obviously a PC port and this port is great however it suffers from sharing UI with mobile version so the buttons are big.
This game coming to Steam does however brings with it a few quality of life improvements;

Upscaled character models, NPC models, Menus and Icons. These are all pretty nice and true to form but are let down by the original background art resolution. So firstly, if you plan to play this game, please get the HD background mod pack, it vastly improves the experience, this game is old.

‘Cheat’ options. Some are welcome such as speed up time which can cut through the tiresome bits that you’ve seen multiple times. The battles can be painfully slow at times

Auto attack. R2 on controllers toggles auto attack on/off, during combat you’ll do as it says on the tin and attack with melee every time your ATB fills. Paired with 3x speed you can power level those abilities with ease.

So onto the game.. This game is my fave Final Fantasy game out of them all, it might be something to do with playing it on release when I was young and impressionable, but I just adore this game. On GameRankings it has received a score of 93%, the second highest of any Final Fantasy title, behind Final Fantasy VI for the Super NES. So my love for this title isn’t 100% out of the blue. But let’s be clear on one thing, this game is better than VII.

Compared to Final Fantasy VII and VIII this game is considered a lot simpler, the learning curve is easily grasped, and that the ability system is not as complex as previous installments, this led to some advanced players citing it as childish on release. The games overall themes are very similar to things seen before in Final Fantasy installments, such as evil empires and enigmatic villains although the main/final villain is so far removed from the actual story it’s hard to connect. I don’t think the story is the strongest within the Final Fantasy expanded universe but the mixture of the ATE system which lets you delve deep into the story if you seek it out, the dialogue and traits found within the whole game and rich, amusing and full of humor.

Tetra Master is a card game contained within the game and it is inferior and confusing compared to Final Fantasy VIII’s minigame Triple Triad, as the rules are very vaguely explained in the game and there are no rewards earned from playing it despite its expansive nature. You can spend a long time playing the card game (I always do) but its a poor imitation of TT and the RNG nature makes it infuriating at times.

The game itself have a variety of nostalgic elements, from similar traits for characters in other installments to out and out references to previous games, several times composer Nobuo Uematsu reused some tracks from past iterations of the series. I don’t think this detracts from the soundtrack for this game and I personally think this is the best Final Fantasy soundtrack out there. This and many other elements are part of the overall effort to create a nostalgic title for fans of the older Final Fantasy titles.

All in all I really enjoyed this trip down memory lane, and now I’m more settled into my new house I hope to get some more serious backlog slaying completed!

So in between playing Tales of B (my previous post) I won SUPERHOT on SteamGifts and let me just say;

SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I’ve played in years!

The game’s tagline “Time Moves Only When You Move” is apt although not actually literal. Time only progresses normally when the player moves or fires a gun, or looks around, otherwise time is slowed. SuperHOT is set in a very minimalistic environment, taking out hostile attackers that are trying to kill them. The game has been compared thematically to The Matrix film franchise and the Max Payne video game series, so you should know what kind of game you are getting into.

I for one love the story, and won’t expand on it any further because I fear anything I say will spoil it for anyone who has yet to play, that said the ending is very cliche and obvious.
Downsides are how short the game is, I think I beat the main game in 2-3 hours and the rest of the time was spent in various challenge modes the game presents. I think if any shooter game is going to get considered ‘art’ this is it. I have great praise for the recording system in the game and the ability to watch the level you completed in real time which gives you a false sense of being a pro at the game when you see what it looks like without the time stopped/slowed.

I’ve watched videos of the VR levels which look amazing however as I’m not an adopter of the VR tech I’ve not been able to see these in action but if VR is something you have I highly recommend checking out if this is something you’d be interested in as it looks like a bucket load of fun.

The Devs have said more content is coming but for now I can’t give the game more points out of seven, but with the frighteningly short campaign mode, if you aren’t interested in the challenges or endless modes (which are levels from the main game with restrictions/new rules) you are going to be finished with this game very quickly.

So this was my game for Julys beat a game longer than 20 hours theme, however as it has taken me 122 hours I never got around to it during July…

The ‘Tales’ games hold an important place in my gaming history and many hours have been sunk into the series, so it’s no small feat that I think Berseria might actually edge it out for the best Tales game in my heart.

The story takes a far darker turn than anything seen in the previous Tales games, and you play a ragtag group of anti-heroes with very little regard for most of the people they meet up with. The story follows a fairly simple story of revenge, where you play almost the villain type on your quest to kill the nation’s hero. There’s also something deeply satisfying about being able to play as a team of blatant criminals. The cast is fantastic and the writing is strong and you will actually acquire all the party members pretty early on in the game, although this is preferable due to how the equipment mastery system works (see below).

The intro/tutorial segment is the perfect length (some Tales games have ones that drag on too long, looking at you Tales of Z), and the actual story progresses in a reasonable fashion with very little filler, it was altogether enjoyable. The skit system is a general upgrade over Z as they can happen at any time again, ala Symphonia instead of just at Save points and Inns. There are lots of references to Zestiria stren throughout the game, this game taking place 1000s of years in the past compared to Zestiria, and the ending ties itself directly into Zestiria, however playing Tales of Z first is not a must (although it helps you see how much the series has improved!).

The world map is expansive, and similar to how Z plays with no overall world map and just all the dungeons/fields linked up, however with the addition of ports and harbours its easy to have no idea how everything links up as a lot of the traveling to new lands happens in cutscenes so come the end of the game when I was trying to get to particular areas for achievements I have to actually open the map and work out where half of the stuff was.

The combat engine is largely an iteration and upgrade on the Zestiria combat engine with lots more polishing and it plays a lot better. They replaced (thank god) the skills system from Zestiria with what is probably my favorite system, that being, each new piece of a equipment has a new skill you can learn and is instantly accessible once you equip, but if you want to keep the ability you need to ‘learn’ it through earning points in battle (a system that reminds me heavily of the FF IX ability system which I loved).

The soundtrack is weak for a Tales entry, but the soundtrack is still a solid piece of this game, I just don’t think there was ever a song that made me think “I need this in my life more”

All in all I enjoyed this game a lot and look forward to the next Tales games in the future.

I was meant to beat this for the HOG theme but real life got in the way, as I had it installed I figured I’d cross it off the list before moving on. The game is a good entry into the HOG genre and doesn’t disappoint, however I don’t think it is any great iteration of the gameplay. The story is probably its strongest point, a very interesting dive into the paranormal. There are so strong mechanics that are interesting at first, but get tiring the next time you see them. The HOG part of the game is one of the hardest I’ve played and I’m glad that you don’t need to beat them all without hints as I was using hints liberally come the end. The game suffers from not having a quick travel and having a large sprawling map, however all achievements are attainable in one playthrough!

Just a quick entry so I have a record of what I’ve done.

A game that needs no introduction and probably doesn’t need my opinion on it. I finally got around to picking up the missing DLCs last year and this year decided to get it off my ‘beaten’ list and into my ‘completed/100%’ list. I remember buying this game around release and being hooked, but after modding to hell and several save files getting corrupted it took me until 2016 to actually beat the game.

After my pet recommended The Room 2 so much I figured I’d pick up the first game in series during the sale. Not much to say, after playing the 2nd one first I feel like I’ve ruined my expectations. The 2nd one is better, but this game isn’t bad.

DH3 felt like a very short game compared to some of the other HOGs and the puzzles / hidden object scenes are very easy. The game however is very polished compared to other artifex games, the production value is up considerably. The game can be completed in one playthrough which I feel is a must for HOG games, it has a quick travel via the map, you aren’t forced to play mahjong, all big plusses imo. The art is a big improvement to some other entries. The story and voice work do feel like a big let down however.

Two more HOGs have fallen, that brings me up to 6 (I think) for the month ^^

The Secret Order 3: Ancient Times is a nice follow up to TSO2. The story line continues, and while the plot is thin and I’m not really sure what it was there is a very nice pace to it without much over reliance on revisiting the same areas constantly. A very good entry from Artifex and certainly one of the top tier HOGs they have released.
The bonus chapter sadly suffers from a dramatic drop in quality and unless you are hunting for the achievements I recommend skipping it.

My pet Has been recommending this game to me for a while and as its HOG month I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s very different to the other HOG games available and I’m not really sure what genre it really fits into. It’s a charming little game where you root around to collect items and trade your way to getting the correct items to finish each ‘puzzle’. The achievements (if you are into that) get a little bit grindy and the base game could probably be finished in about 3 hours instead.

I’ve also finished another 14 games this month as part of my achievement hunting ^^

Two more HOGs have fallen, that brings me up to 4 for the month ^^

Draclua’s Legacy is a mediocre entry in the genre of HOGs. The hardest part of the game is the UI which has no feedback when you use the wrong items in the wrong places, and your clicks have to be what felt like pixel perfect for it to accept some item uses behaving exactly as if your click didn’t register.
Can be beaten in one playthrough, sadly no quick travel that I could work out. Poor translations in many places…

TL;DR Don’t bother unless you love HOGs and need a fix

I don’t have much more to add that tsupertsundere hasn’t covered here. The game has aged badly and isn’t a very good entry from Artifex sadly. A big plus is that you don’t need to play it twice to get all the achievements, and there is a map that allows quick travel.

The 2nd game from my backlog for the theme.

Adam Wolfe, as the game informs you at startup is an intense narrative experience and it isn’t lying. This game really takes it to the next level when it comes to quality HOG experience. Full voice acting, crisp animated sequences and interactive puzzles. I was blown away at the first hidden object puzzle where the character speaks out loud which item he’d like you click on next, it was a thrilling moment.

The art style has a very noir feel to it that I really enjoyed, and the story is very enjoyable. The voice acting really helps immerse yourself in the game, and I liked that it progressed to a grittier darker story as the first two chapters are very campy.

Difficulty wise this game strays further to the casual side of the puzzle world, compared to Artifexs games this pales in comparison. Majority of puzzles and things to do take place on the same screen you are on with minimal wandering around, very little combining, just click until you complete.

On the plus side this game doesn’t run afoul of my faux pas’s when it comes to HOG games, that being that you can complete it in one playthrough, and it has a map that allows fast travel.

Personally this is one of the best HOG games I’ve played when it comes to delivery, even if it was maybe too far on the easy side for me.

And now one from my normal backlog…

I’m fortunate to have a pet who gives me these terrible games with the proviso I get all the achievments. This is a particularly bad game. There is only 1 level so don’t let the store description of 6 levels fool you. It’s the same level 6 times with various changes to the lighting effects. The physics this game runs on is shaky at best, I’ve been able to clip through boundaries by picking up enough speed, or super jump by mashing the jump button. There is also an unfortunate soft lock where you can get stuck on the jump pad endlessly because you can’t move once you are in the air.
This game will only find enjoyment for achievement hunters, and even then I use enjoyment loosely. Avoid like the plague otherwise.

—Edit—

Might as well add this here and I also completed it today. Very casual puzzle game, very weak implementation of a simple idea. Not worth the time.
Nice soundtrack though.

The first game for the monthly theme has fallen to this assassin.

Dark Arcana: The Carnival is an unassuming entry from DevPubs Artifex Mundi. The story is interesting enough, with the usual setup: we play a detective whose expertise is required in solving a mysterious case. Artifex do campy creepy horror very well, and an amusing love story unfolds around you while you travel through an eerie carnival. Still a better love story than Twilight.

As it is one of Artifex’s earlier entries it does suffer from what I think are the two biggest faux pas in the HOG world; these being; 1) Having to play the game twice to unlock all achievements as the replayability for games like these are limited at best, and 2) Having a map that doesn’t let you quick travel.
As for the game, its a very simple entry, the puzzles and hidden object sections are substantially easier and less detailed than their other games. As the game has a “mirror world” section, several of the hidden object sections are mirror duplicates and offer no differences which is a shame.

The art and settings are always a delight from this DevPub, the music I’m not sure about as I was blasting Unleash The Archers new album over the top of everything. All in all, if you love the Artifex Mundi games (as I do), you won’t hate this one, but you will be dissapointed when compared to the others.

Game 1/7 for this month’s theme.