Earlier this year I posted some thoughts on the games I’d been playing. Here are the ones I’ve completed recently.
Paradise Killer
As a fan of the Danganronpa series, I’d heard great things about Paradise Killer. And the ways in which this game was inspired by the former are obvious, with an eclectic mix of characters embroiled in a complex murder plot. It heavily leans into the vaporwave aesthetic and soundtrack, often crossing that border into the satirical (Hypnospace Outlaw springs to mind). Unlike Danganronpa, it’s quite open ended and allows you to draw your own conclusions about the true resolution to the case. On the whole I enjoyed my time with this game, though I didn’t feel quite as drawn in to the story or attached to the characters in the same way as other detective games.
Inscryption
I don’t really want to say too much about this game for those who haven’t yet played it. Please go in blind if you intend to play it! But at the most basic level, it’s a card game that plays with and bends its rules in very interesting ways. Undertale vibes in the best way possible. If that sounds at all interesting to you, I beg you to give this one a go.
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
A few years back I played the excellent Ratchet and Clank (2016) and had a blast. It was just pure, classic gaming fun with lots of silly weapons and scenarios in which to use them. Rift Apart continues this formula in a beautiful sequel that shows off the capabilities of modern hardware while refining the nostalgic gameplay style of the series. The introduction of a new Lombax didn’t necessarily add much to the game (she’s essentially a reskin), but it made for an interesting story in a range of unique, beautiful locales. As always, the weapons are great fun to use and the game encourages you to swap your arsenal constantly, keeping things exciting throughout battles. I was able to 100% the game relatively quickly, but doing so was a real joy.
God of War
Many people have recommended God of War to me following the game’s release in 2018. And wow, now I can understand why! This was simply an incredible experience in terms of gameplay and story, with deep characters and plenty of customisation that has a significant impact on your moveset throughout the game. By the end of it you really feel like a god. I got the impression that Santa Monica Studio had taken notes from the Last of Us and Uncharted (in terms of a large open world with puzzles and character development), and from that they crafted something incredible. Impressively satisfying to play and I can’t wait to give Ragnarok a try.
Dave the Diver
This is a wholesome game that doesn’t take itself too seriously as you alternate between diving to catch fish and then selling said fish at your sushi restaurant in the evening. I enjoyed my time with Dave the Diver, though I couldn’t help comparing it to Stardew Valley throughout. Yet it never quite scratched the itch and hooked me in quite the same way as Stardew. I think the issue is that the many faces of DtD (fishing, cooking, growing vegetables) all felt like separate disconnected systems or minigames, whereas Stardew was much more holistic. This is probably why I had no motivation to continue playing once I’d completed the main story. But don’t get me wrong – this is a charming game with a fun gameplay loop and beautifully hilarious pixel art cutscenes.
Ghost of Tsushima
A friend of mine described Ghost of Tsushima as an Assassin’s Creed clone. And I totally see what he means, but I don’t think that does it justice! Let me just get this out of the way: this is an absolutely stunning game to look at. I was constantly using the game’s photo mode to stop and take screenshots of, say, a golden sunset, the glint off Jin’s katana in the moonlight, the mist over the hills and many other gorgeous environments. The way in which the game captures the different weather changes is incredible, really providing the backbone for the atmosphere during my journey. Whilst the story didn’t do anything ground-breaking, I liked the exploration of honour in a world where the protagonist has to be dishonourable in order to survive. The combat was fun and varied, with a range of different sword techniques and tools at your disposal. Playing stealthily is a big part of the game and it would have been nice to see a bit more variation in the gameplay here (press square to assassinate etc.) but despite this I found myself enjoying these sequences until the end of the game. I’ve just finished playing the DLC content too, with which I was pleasantly surprised at the way certain gameplay elements were remixed and expanded upon. This was an excellent game which I’d recommend to anyone.
Obligatory GOT screenshot collection below!
spoiler
Has anyone played any of the games above? Let me know what you think :)
Those are some really cool games. Not a single one that I’m not interested in. Paradise killer ist such a cool concept but I’m not certain whether I can enjoy the gameplay of it.
Have you played Ace Attorney or Danganronpa? It’s definitely going for something similar. I was a bit disappointed by it after the hype I’d seen, but it’s still a decent game. If you want something along the same lines of ‘weirdness’ I’d recommend Hypnospace Outlaw - I think that’s a better game overall.
I’ll check out Hypnospace Outlaw. The weirdness is definitly a big selling point for me.
Ratchet and Clank is one of the best looking games I have ever played. I spent more time messing around in the camera mode than it took to 100% it. The game is fun; but it’s kinda short.
I am like 60% through Ghost of Tsushima but I’m getting bored of it because it’s one of those super dense open world games with the same 5 activities repeated constantly, and the combat is not at all challenging.
I can understand that feeling regarding the activities of GoT. I skipped a fair amount of the side content and focused on the stuff I found interesting (such as the mythic tales), which I think helped. The ‘main’ side missions that involved specific characters I thought were quite engaging. What difficulty are you playing on? Perhaps it’s worth bumping it up to make the combat harder.
I play at the hardest difficulty and I use a set of armor and charms that is basically like using a Red Tear stone setup on Dark Souls; I have no health but hit super hard.
That sounds really fun! The combat in the game feels best when each hit hits hard. So satisfying
Dave the Diver is a lovely pleasant game.
Except the boss fights, hate those.
But the rest is amazing! Love it! Also pretty funny things just happening around Dave.
Yeahhh the boss fights weren’t that great - just dodge attacks, fire, repeat. I did enjoy the final boss though!
Ya ghost of tsushima is not an assassins creed clone. It is a much more polished and more enjoyable game than any of the creed games have been.
I felt really bad don’t liking such a well reviewed game. But in the end gaming is a hobby and I should enjoy it, so I quit after around 6 hours. Maybe some day in the future I will try it again, but right now my life is so stressful, that I don’t have the energy to power through another open world game with collectibles spread across the map. Right now I am really enjoying Steam World Heist 2 and Cult of the Lamb instead.
Cult of the lamb was really fun too.
What about ghost turned you off to it? I totally get not liking a game everyone else loved.
Funnily enough I was looking to try one of the recent Assassin Creed games (Black Flag was my last). I heard good things about AC Odyssey, but it also sounded a bit overwhelming in its scale. Ghost of Tsushima perfectly filled this niche and was way better than any AC game I’d played before - I’m really glad I gave it a go!
Black flag was the last creed game that was any good imo. I will be playing the new one when it comes out though.
