OC/DC's video game assassination log OC/DC’s profile
Welcome, weary traveler, to my log of video game assassinations!
I supplement my backlog system with info from my Steam Hunters profile.
So my rule for whether a game can move from unfinished to beaten is if it passes my profile average completion or my average SH points per game (i calculate that one manually for now).
This means that i don’t have to bash my head against really hard/grind-y games (measured here by having high total SH points), trying to get their completion higher than my average.
This also, however, means a game can move back from beaten to unfinished, if both of my profile averages climb higher than its completion metrics.
I generally work through my backlog in chronological release order (about seven years behind currently), and try to keep a limit on how many games can be in the playing pile at one time (see: my only list). Although, these rules can be temporarily broken (sometimes games just take your interest.. and sometimes they don’t).
I’ll try and write a post once a month - talking about the games i played, and any interesting thoughts about them or their achievements.
(Un)Official Interdimensional Cable video game
Yeah High on Life is pretty much what you'd expect from the co-creator of Rick & Morty - lots of similar humour, and even the same"wild space-time shenanigans" basic premise
Having your guns be your companion characters is an interesting idea, and also kind of neat because it puts their characters front-and-centre. Very few total guns to compensate for being voiced, although each gun has a few different shooting options, as well as movement abilities that unlock new areas, both adding flavours and expression to gunfights as the game progresses
I had an alright time. It gets points for being a focused experience, and not hanging around too long, but your enjoyment mostly hinges on how you find the writing and dialogue, because it's constant. I don't mind it that much - and even had a chuckle now and then - but if you find it annoying, you probably won't make it through, although there is always the mute button
Not much to say to be honest, and this is another added to the pile of games waiting for DLC to finish properly
I still don’t get why they’re called “unsighted”…
This was an interesting one. Unsighted is a top-down metroidvania, which is mildly unusual on its own, but it's unique selling point - and most divisive feature - is the timer: almost all characters in the game, yourself included, have a literal countdown ticking away until they die (or become Unsighted technically, but it's functionally the same)
So obviously this is a pretty hard sell, and they're aware of it, warning you very clearly near the beginning of the game, and even offering the choice to disable it entirely right then. As someone who takes really long to do anything in life (not just games), this feature was definitely a concern. After checking there wasn't anything critical locked behind keeping everyone alive, i decided to keep the timer on, at the very least just as an experiment, to see how it influenced my play
Basically, it did and it didn't. The beginning was just getting used to the game, so as expected, but as everyone's hours started dropping, i found myself sprinting everywhere, rushing past enemies and sloppily fighting bosses; anxiously debating whether it's worth spending the time to explore, because i could find some of the rare item that extends timers a bit, or maybe a shortcut for speedier navigation, but i could just as well waste a bunch of time.
The first few characters deaths sucked, but kind of expected. A few guys start with remaining time so low that i'd be surprised they didn't die on anyone's first play-through, so i made my peace easily. The next few were a bit harder because they were either useful or charming. One character teaches you to fish, and you find them around the map along your travels, so i was pretty sad to find one of their spots empty all of a sudden. It hit the hardest when the floating fairy-guide character that had been with me the entire game eventually disappeared, but it was also a turning point; death was now normal, characters were expendable, and i had to keep myself alive most of all
Mechanically, Unsighted is impressively well-designed, and seems to be built for sequence breaking. At the start, you're given five bosses to kill, and a recommended order, but the map is technically open already, if you know how. Moments i found particularly surprising were when new traversal mechanics were revealed, but with items you already had for a while - making you realise how many spots you thought weren't accessible, actually were. Clearly the game wants you to use this knowledge to absolutely unravel it on a new play-through
Unfortunately, the narrative is where things slump a bit, which is an extra shame because it makes it hard to feel much when the characters disappear, as they don't leave much of an impression anyway. The overarching plot is a pretty basic defeat-the-evil-and-save-this-world type deal, except you're all robots, and the humans are bad - i don't know, it didn't matter to me. Nailing good story and characters is obviously easier said than done, but getting that right would've put this game into near perfect status, in my opinion, so it's a real shame
Real good game though, and interesting "experiment" that they tried out here
Journey, but actually good
I'm just kidding, i really liked Journey, although this is definitely more engaging mechanically.
Jusant is a nice, short game about climbing a giant, cliff-like tower. You have to manually grip the wall at hand-holds, and can do a short jump/scramble for spots out of arm's reach. There's always a rope keeping you safe while you do this, but it's probably a good idea to place a new piton if that jump looks a bit sketchy
Various one-off mechanics are added in, and sometimes dropped, but they all work off the above fundamentals. Limiting your traversal is a stamina meter, with a slower degrading max that i thought was quite neat (stamina can be restored while climbing, but max stamina only once you fully stop). It felt like a good way of expressing the difference between short term recovery and long term rest
The game is clearly gorgeous (and knows it) with a lovely art style and lots of attention to detail. Get your screenshots ready (or browse the hundreds already uploaded). The setting seems like a dried up sea, with the tower previously populated, but all having left to find water some time ago. You can find notes that give a window into that past, but otherwise all you have is environmental storytelling and silence while climbing
Overall, a nice game (and completion!) to start the new cycle with
March 2025
No new games, only cleanup
Played: 7
Started: 0
Beaten: 1
Added: 4
Completion avg: 81.307% (+0.132)
Points avg: 4913 (+19)
Progress bar:
Beaten:
Progressed:
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DOOM
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Resident Evil 5
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Trine 2
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Just Cause 3
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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Anniversary Edition
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The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Added:
Pretty much just Divinity this month. I tried getting Mafia 3 to work, but couldn't get rid of the missing tooltip icon bug, so i just settled into improving a bunch of unfinished games. New PoP cycle starting though, so there should be a good spread of new games next month - we can pretend i planned it this way...
Stepped a bit outside of my playing pile for the improvements:
- Quick multiplayer achievement in Doom, easy stuff
- A trick achievement with the knife in RE5 - took a bit of patience
- Getting all the secret chests in another level of Trine 2
- Was going to finish the outpost liberations in Just Cause 3, but found that it doesn't have cloud saves, so all my progress is lost with the old PC. Found a different achievement to do, but might end up replaying that game (as slowly/casually as i can)
- The next weapon restriction achievement in Space Marine
- Finally bought the Repentance expansion for Binding of Isaac (please can they calm down with the achievements), and i've been slowly doing runs to get new secrets and unlocks. Takes a while, so this might end up one of the games i fall back to every now and then, like Stardew Valley
For added games, it's just some wishlist buys.
Kinda feel like playing through Mass Effect again (they're technically old games, right?), but if i wait a bit, maybe the feeling will pass...
Belgian Protestant D&D
Oof this was a big one. Even considering i spent a decent 30 hours messing with mods and restarting a few times, that's still a chonky playthrough. CRPGs will be the death of me…
Divinity: Original Sin is an actually-pretty-good game that's unfortunately overshadowed by its sequel (looking forward to it.. one day), which itself is in the even bigger shadow of Baldur's Gate 3 (maybe you've heard of it ?)
At the start of games like these, i usually spend a not-insignificant amount of time agonising over the class and style i want to play. I check the companions and the available skill trees, trying to remove overlaps and maximise class "coverage" - even sometimes resorting to the lore or "canon" to make a choice. Multiply that by two protagonists, and you can maybe imagine why my time is like it is
All that time spent, only to find Divinity has a mostly classless system, so i could pick and choose whatever skill-trees and combine them into my own thing. The starting templates did help setting up a base though. As far as skill systems go, this one is kind of table-top-y ? Six main attributes and a bunch of stats derived from them, traditional stuff. Next to that there's ability scores, which either give passive bonuses or unlock higher level skills. Familiar enough but different enough. Same same but different
I tried co-op a little bit, and it's impressively seamless (i think the two protagonists are a sign that they designed for this to begin with). Running around is done in real time like the old Baldur's, but combat is turn-based, which is a change very much appreciated by me (let's me actually use my skills), but it can look a little goofy when one of your characters is running around freely while the other is stuck in the turn-based dimension. I bet there's some cheeky exploits people have done with this..
The other thing that added hours to my counter was modding the game a bit. I'm not a fan of juggling companions in and out of the party - especially when they each have their own overarching stories with specific triggers - so i added the six party mod. Then i had everyone's opinion of events all the time, so happy me. The trouble is that i was really enjoying the game-pad control scheme on Steam Deck, but the UI seems designed for four characters. Cue the hours spent trying to figure out a workaround, then seeing if i could make my own mod (couldn't), and finally giving up and playing on the laptop, which was.. acceptable at least
D:OS's narrative is long and winding (much like this review is becoming) which is in line with games in this genre, if a bit much. Each act is it's own thing, with side-quests aplenty, and an overarching main quest to pull you through. The tone is all over the place, with humour and grimness popping in and out whenever they feel like it. I'm not sure this is such a bad thing though, as while it does make everything seem a bit erratic, it does make it all seem more true to reality, in a weird way
The Diablo loot system felt really out of place though - i wouldn't be surprised to find managing loot took up a third or more of my playtime. Perhaps i didn't need to be optimising so much as i already had an unbalanced party, but the lure of those colours is so strong. Would've much preferred equipment that was more intentionally designed, which is one of the places where the old Infinity Engine games come out on top
A giant review for a giant game, i guess. As i said at the beginning, i did very much enjoy DIvinity: Original Sin, and would easily recommend it, but the time investment is maybe a bit daunting for most. Keep in mind that i am a slow and exhaustive player (read: obsessive)
February 2025
Back on my bad behaviour
Played: 6
Started: 1
Beaten: 1
Added: 6
Completion avg: 81.175% (-0.022)
Points avg: 4894 (+25)
Progress bar:
Beaten:
Progressed:
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Kingdom Rush Vengeance
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Batman: Arkham City GOTY
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Thumper
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Environmental Station Alpha
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Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition
Added:
Welp, after a pretty good January, i'm back to spending all my time on a single CRPG for the whole month. Spent a sizeable chunk on Slay the Spire though, and at least i finished that
For the other played, we have;
- A new mini-campaign for Kingdom Rush: Vengeance managed to throw off my completion percentage, so i had to rectify that
- Spent some time hunting Riddler trophies in Arkham City, until i could finish that side-quest
- Another S-rank level in Thumper - still fun, but they're getting harder
- A few more post-game secrets in Environmental Station Alpha, including a pretty difficult boss
And then i'm spending a lot of hours working my way through Divinity: Original Sin. Only about a third of the way through (after all that time) and i'm having a pretty good time so far, although some aspects of it seem a bit out of place. Let's see how that goes this month
In new games, i didn't actually buy a lot, only three wishlist discounts, but the other two were wins. So a bit of extra luck for me this past month.
Otherwise, hope everyone is still going strong with the backlog-ery - there's still lots more to play (for most of us)
I like it when games want you to break them
Finally finished Slay the Spire, and yes, it is as good as all the nerds say it is. As you can see, it took me many hours to finally call it beaten, but during that time it such a strong hold on my waking thoughts - other parts of my life may have suffered a bit during, but don't tell them i said that
Not a huge CCG guy growing up, mostly for financial reasons, but cards are nearly fundamental to games (in general) and i always enjoyed playing them, collectible or otherwise. I did jump on Hearthstone when it came out, and spent a few years trying to keep up with that, until eventually burning myself off of it during lock-down. At some point during that Slay the Spire must've emerged, and cards in digital games have mostly exploded since then
Anyway, enough of (personal) history. For those who don't know, StS is a card game rogue-like, you start with a basic deck of ten or so cards, and can add a shiny new card to it after each victory against the various enemies of the Spire, on your way to the top. Other traditional rogue-like elements are here too; character-changing relics, treasure rooms with free goodies, shops with (hopefully) the things you're looking for, risk-reward elite enemies, and bosses ending each act
While there are common card mechanics across the board, each playable character has their own suit of cards, and embodies a broadly different win strategy - having within a few deck archetypes you can build towards (or mix and match). They're introduced in what feels like simplest-to-hardest to understand, but most importantly they all feel quite different to play (some more unique than others perhaps)
Took me a while to realise that i needed to resist the urge to add new shinies to my deck, as having a smaller more focused deck is often better than an overall more powerful deck, that's harder to find the things you need, when you need them (just a basic tip from me).
Good good stuff. Now i want to play every other card game in my library..
January 2025
Not a bad start to the new year
Played: 8
Started: 4
Beaten: 4
Added: 3
Completion avg: 81.197% (+0.022)
Points avg: 4869 (+9)
Progress bar:
Beaten:
Progressed:
Added:
Not a bad start indeed. Managed to cut back on adding too many new games (even in my birthday month), and beat a healthy amount. All of the beatens were fresh and enjoyable too, so i really have to thank the Play or Pay group for that. Doom: Eternal is not technically beaten by my personal rules, but like RE7, i've decided to wait until i grab the DLC before continuing
My completion rate got high enough last month that quite a few games came back for a percentage boost, rather than the usual points, so that's kind of new
- Collected all of the monster souls in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Bit of a grind, but not so bad
- Finished the next B-side level in Celeste (with assists of course - i barely made it through the base game without)
- Achieved "True Adventurer" in all the levels of Lego Lord of the Rings (basically just victory laps with different characters)
- And then i'm still working my way through Slay the Spire. Beat the main game with each character, but now i need to do the true ending with them (along with some trick achievements)
For next month, it's mostly back to my chronological method. Finally got my hands on Divinity: Original Sin, so probably going to try start that, after Slay the Spire and a few polishes. Hope you're all having a good 2025 so far
Playable Album 2: The only thing they fear is you
Doom: Eternal is pretty much exactly what the algorithm for generating a sequel to Doom 2016 would produce: same fundamental game structure, with more things built on top of it - more mechanics, more systems, more world(s), more story and lore.. more everything, for better or worse.
In the predecessor your basic mechanics were shooting to do damage, glory kills to restore health, and chainsaw kills for ammo. Eternal adds a flame belch for armor, and a frag & ice grenade for some crowd-control, with those and one pip of the chainsaw now on cool-downs (so technically you have unlimited resources, if enemies are around). Keep the double-jump from 2016, and add a double-dash, then add a high-damage blood-punch charged by glory-kills, as a nice removal tool
We're not done adding new things though. Give us some character upgrades in the form of Praetor suit tokens, while still keeping the Argent upgrades to health/armor/ammo, but add some more bonuses to that system as well. Keep all the weapons and their mods (with a few minor tweaks), but in addition to mission challenges for weapon upgrade points, give us some secret encounters that reward them as well. Add some hidden keys to hidden Slayer Gates that give a new super-weapon upon completing, and then add cheats, toys, music tracks, and lore pages all over every level because why not
As incentive to use all of these new systems, enemies have specific weaknesses to 1 or 2 weapon attacks. The difficulty felt cranked up slightly as well, with more demon types, and in greater numbers. Eternal really doesn't care about making you sweat though, giving extra lives to collect, and letting you use cheats without blocking progression. If you die enough in one spot, you can opt for a super-suit to get you through that bit - might've had to use this on the final boss…
There's lots more lore to read as well, with a few more characters floating about - the plot is still primarily a vehicle to get you level to level though (at least to me). What levels though! The world design is gorgeous. I know it's probably just flat images, but damn are they good images to stare at between bouts of carnage
Soundtrack is still ridiculously good, maybe even a touch better in some tracks. Overall Doom: Eternal is easily a great game; lots of fun had i while playing here, and lots of hours spent doing it. I can't help feeling a bit odd about it. It's simultaneously a natural expansion of the original, which feels kind of safe, and also quite experimental with all its new systems. In a good way though.. mostly
I read an article recently about the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages, comparing it to Doom: Eternal - they said that where Eternal feels like piloting a fighter jet, Dark Ages should feel more like driving a tank. Following that analogy, as thrilling as high-speed flying may be, i'm not sure i'd make the best fighter pilot. I think i'm more of a tank guy, i've just decided… yes, let's go with that…
Oh god, i forgot to mention the Doom Fortress with its Sentinel Battery unlocks, and the Crucible sword weapon…
Everyone is a sexy bikini lady (yes, even you)
From a a singing bard to a dancing genie, it seems my month is developing a theme. Shantae is a fairly long-running franchise of metroidvania games, with Seven Sirens being the latest (and the only one i've personally played)
As a metroidvania, it's pretty good. The world is nice to explore, and each new ability is fun to play with, although only about half of them pass the test of "is-it-just-a-glorified-key?" - for extra credit, even the ones that fail will add a sort of mini-game to the unlocked "doorways", which is different at least. Enemies (and bosses) will test you in interesting ways, and controls are tight enough for you to respond. It's not as expansive as the better Castlevania's or Metroid's but it doesn't really have to be
Difficulty-wise, Seven Sirens has the odd quirk where things will get easier over time (at least if you aren't intentionally limiting yourself). The first boss was probably the hardest for me, as character upgrades are scarce at that point, but by the end of the game i was just tanking bosses while whipping them to death with my upgraded hair. I know people are divided on which way a difficulty curve should progress - i'm not even settled on an answer myself - but i found it a touch too obvious here
For aesthetic and narrative, it's (just) pretty good as well. Nicely animated style, and lots of weird characters along the journey. Story has a mild mystery to it, but nothing too wild. Soundtrack has some good bops in there. I guess it's overall well made, and nothing seems out of place.. i'm just kind of running out of things to say…
I want to make it clear though: Shantae and the Seven Sirens is a good game. I enjoyed my time with it, even it was very familiar ground. If this was my first metroidvania, i'd probably like it more
1332 | games |
59% | never played |
2% | unfinished |
26% | beaten |
11% | completed |
2% | won't play |