Title: 52 Games. 1 Year. 2018.
Red Text: 3/103/10
This is my main post! Steamworld Heist (NSW) God of War (PS4) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (GBC) - Just as fun the second time, although it was hard not to quarterback. Exactly as long as it needed to be. Very smooth game with incredible flow and progression. The story just didn't with me. Geddit? Unlike Braid I feel like this doesn't hold up after its initial hype. It came at a time when games like this just didn't exist, but now in a world where there are dozens of indie games exploring all sorts of weird things, this game fails at really doing anything particularly unique. What a wonderful mix of Pokemon and FF12 style combat. And the characters an world is absolutely charming. Falls short on the narrative front for me a little bit, but not moreso than any Ghibli movie does in delivering a really coherent plot. Thoroughly enjoyable form beginning to end A very interesting story, and one that can only really be told in our medium which is something I'm always happy to see. I'm loving this evolution of what is essentially the video game equivalent of Short Stories. I think I just didn't get it. Puzzles were kinda meh, didn't really challenge me. Very few "a-ha" moments that gave me that clicking-into-place feeling I look for in puzzle/adventure games. Still glad I played it, and I enjoyed for the most part. Just unfulfilling. Maybe that was the point? My god the unskippable dialogue and puzzles on repeat playthroughs just any sense of narrative clarity this game could've had. I ended up enjoying the story it was telling, but just barely after wading through the quagmire that is the gameplay. Unlike Edith Finch I feel like this would've been a story better left to a choose-your-own-adventure novel. More Shovel-Knight goodness, although I felt it lacked the precision and skill of the previous two iterations. Most boss fights became trivial after a few abilities were unlocked. Narrative reinforced by gameplay isn't something that is done often, and when it is it isn't necessarily done well. Celeste absolutely nails what it is trying to do. The main campaign was enough for me, I have no desire to do B-Sides or anything more difficult. I did beat Pico-8 though. Breath of the Wild replay+DLC - Xenoblade Chronicles 3D - flOw - controls like ass. Monster Hunter Stories -
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