I picked up “Mafia: Definitive Edition” cheap the other day (I’ve linked it on Steam as it’s still on sale for the next few days).
I was a fan of Mafia (the original from 2002) and felt it was cheap enough to give it a shot and I’m glad I did: besides the infamous/arduous racing level I found it to be very enjoyable overall.
I was sad to see that there wasn’t any “Freeride Extreme” in the latest version (this was bonus, fun, ludicrous content, available after completing the game) as it would have been a nice addition, the “Freeride” mode is likewise a little lackluster but the actual campaign is great.
What was the last game you finished? Was it any good?
I finished Outer Wilds a few weeks ago. It was, in my opinion, one of the strongest arguments for treating video games as an art form that I’ve ever experienced. It’s not long - I finished it in about 20 hours - but the narrative and story is so well put together and thought out that it felt a lot longer. I thought it was beautiful and thought provoking.
Video games as a whole aren’t for everyone, but if I meet someone and they’re interested in games but hasn’t played them much, Outer Wilds is on the top of my list of recommends. If you play a lot of video games, this one will amaze you. Don’t read anything about it - just grab it when it’s on sale and go in blind. I did and it made a big difference.
In the same boat, it’s such a beautiful game, especially the less you know about it beforehand. It’s been awhile since I’ve played a game like that. I’m just about finishing up the DLC, then going back through the final sequence to see how that affects the ending, I might try to go back and finish out the Steam achievements on it too, just to have them done. If I could have any memories erased in my life, it would be all knowledge of that game, just so I could go back through it one more time with fresh eyes. The ending kind of mirrors the reality of finishing out the game itself, it’s kind of sad and bittersweet, it’s like a book that I never wanted to end.
Any of the main games by Quantic Dream are of similar artful quality I’d say. Really a playable story with choices impacting the plot and twists and discovery that keeps you hooked. I liked Beyond: Two Souls the best, but Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human aren’t far behind.
Life is Strange is great in that same vein too.
I just finished Lies of P. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a souls-like game that takes story elements from Pinocchio.
I found it a lot more approachable than other souls-like game. It’s a lot more linear (but I don’t think it suffers from that) and does a better job of introducing you to game mechanics. What also made it more approachable was the parry system felt a little more forgiving and there is always a save point right before a big boss (so even if you’re stuck on one, you can keep jumping right back in).
I’d give it a 9/10
I really loved the parry mechanic of Sekiro. I know the games were developed by different companies. Are you able to make any comments about how they compare?
If you like Dark Souls/Sekiro/Bloodborne then you will love Lies of P. It’s very high quality. If you didn’t know better - it could’ve been made by From Software.
The biggest complaints are that it’s almost not original in how well it copies every single facet of From Software. They’re clearly very talented - I’d love to see what they do if they added their own spin.
Alan Wake 2. What a masterpiece, especially THAT sequence. I absolutely loved this game.
The older I get, the more I start to appreciate studios that take risks and believe in their creative identity. Games like Death Stranding and Alan Wake 2 are perfect examples. They’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s what art is. Someone might hate something that you personally find breathtaking. And vice versa.
I’m also playing Spiderman 2 at the moment, and while it’s good and it’s very fun, I will not remember this game 1 day after I finish it. Death stranding I finished 3 months ago and I still think about it. I’m extremely excited for DS2 and hopefully Alan Wake 3.
I also just finished Alan Wake 2. The first game is in my top 3 favorite games of all time, so I was super excited for the sequel. The overall presentation is definitely A++ and so are the graphics. However, there were a couple of really obvious and annoying bugs that should never have made it past QA.
While I really liked the new characters, the overall storyline has become (even by Remedy standards) extremely convoluted and the ending wasn’t very satisfying. I also found the constant references to Finland a bit too much on the nose and they kinda took me out of the game a couple of times.
Of course the game makes it up in other aspects, such as the new gameplay that was clearly inspired by Resident Evil, which I also really like. Alan’s mind place was also fun and I found the ability change the scenes by rewriting them very creative. Saga’s mind place started out great as well, but it started to feel like a chore as the game went on.
Despite the nit-picking, it is pretty good game overall and I’m excited for their future projects in this universe.
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I understand where you’re coming from 100%, and I agree with you somewhat. While I personally enjoyed the gameplay in Alan Wake (nothing like landing a perfect headshot for a 1 hit kill with the rifle), I understand why some will be turned off by it.
On the other hand, I think of Control. Very solid gameplay and mechanics, but the story in my opinion was lackluster, and I think it might be because they were scared to go all out on a mind bending storyline. They wanted to sell games, and you sell them with good shooter mechanics to cast a wide net over the audience, at the expense of creative identity.
I feel like for Alan Wake 2 they went all out to make sure they follow Sam Lakes and the team’s creative direction. And that’s why I love it. You can feel the work that went into this to make sure it’s exactly what they wanted to create, instead of what they needed to.
Show me the champion of LIGHT!
Just completed Sea of Stars 100%. Was a charming game and was a nice break from the game I last finished: Dark Souls
You don’t really ‘finish’ Factorio, but a few months ago I FINALLY launched my first rocket after a thousand hours of play over 6.5 years. I just always had other things I was up to and for a long time launching a rocket mechanically did nothing so I had no incentive. Here I am detailing some of it at that other site
I just finished Cassette Beasts. Fun pokemon type game with a great soundtrack. Maybe a little short but a fun experience all around.
If it’s short then it’s next on my list!
Undertale. Finished the neutral and then the True Pacifist ending. I refuse to go genocidal. I’ve had my happy ending
Last game I finished was Days Gone and it was great. Nice open world zombie shooter in the US state of Oregon. Great map, great characters, decent plot, good action. Very cinematic at times. After the 10+ minutes of cinematic closing credits you can actually start roaming again and there is some more story after the credits.
I 100% it just a few days ago. What a fun game. Btw it’s definitely worth it to continue roaming and do all the side missions, There’s a “secret ending” that’s really worth it imo
Just Cause 2. Very fun game that is too big for its own good.
They really need to mod the wingsuit into the game somehow. I remember playing the demo way back when and being blown away by how much you could explore even there. I got the game a couple years later and to this day I still haven’t finished it.
God I’d forgotten how much fun that was. Rico was so cheesy and fuckin psychotic at the same time
It blows me away how little publicity that game got. All the best elements of a cinematic action movie packed into one game.
Lately I seem to be collecting unfinished games. The very last game I finished was Cyberpunk 2077 and that was a few months ago, on patch 1.6 I think. I absolutely loved it and I’m definitely planning to buy the dlc and go through it again. I’m a sucker for good story and interactive experiences, couple that with the cyberpunk genre, this was the game of this year for me, no doubt.
Super Mario Wonder. It was an enjoyable game, but just too easy, and no reason to keep playing once you finish. There were only maybe 3 stages in the entire game that offer a real challenge. It would be so much more replayable if it just had a time trial mode or something.
I feel the same! I’m wrapping up world 6 and wondering when there’s going to be any challenge or clever secrets! There’s only been a handful of stages with double exits, every wonder flower is damn near unmissable, and there’s been maybe a couple times that I grunted “oh that’s clever” when seeing a hidden something. I like the creativity of each wonder flower being different, but I was definitely expecting a lot more based on the extremely positive reviews! I haven’t finished the challenge world (I think I’ve discovered 4 so far?) and only one of them took me more then 2-3 tries. Almost every level I’ve 100% cleared on my first try. I’m not a platforming savant, I swear!
I thought Super Mario Bros U on the switch was too difficult to be enjoyable, so I appreciated how much easier (and more fun) this game was. And I play dark souls to relax.
I think there is a middle ground though. It’s fine to have easy settings to help people get though a game if they want. The online functionality in Mario wonder, and the ability of Yoshis to not take damage are great examples of that. But on the other hand, I also don’t want to just steamroll the game, fully clearing most of the stages in a matter of minutes. How many man hours of work did they put into each of these stages, just for me to blaze through it in 3 minutes and then never look back?
Like I previously mentioned, something as simple as just a time trial mode could give me an actual incentive to go back and enjoy the content a little more.
starfield. its a lot of fun, but id put it below fallout 4 on my list of bethesda games. could use more fleshed out content, cant wait for the dlc and mods
same, did you feel the main campaign felt like it ended a little early? I honestly didn’t realise how far along I was until I realised that was it. loved most of the side campaigns though
yeah i did, but i saved the last couple of those missions until i did some more side quests when i realised how far along i was
FTL: Faster than Light. I just got it recently, and managed to beat the boss on all ships a few days ago. I’m now exploring the Multiverse mod, I don’t think I’ll be beating that for a long while.
Hitman 2. Now working on the third. It’s alright, I loved the first one, but it’s starting to get a bit boring/repetitive. The new freelancer mode in Hitman 3 seems somewhat interesting, but overall, there’s been very little change or improvement between the games. They are fascinating at first, but if you play too long you start noticing all the weird glitches in the simulation that break immersion and can either be exploited or just ruin the experience.
Sea of Stars. I liked it but it felt kind of thin. I wish they had had a bigger budget. It really feels like there should have been a third chapter and it feels like things are left hanging. I didn’t get the super true final ending but still felt like there should have been more depth in general. It’s a beautiful game with a surprisingly good and strong narrative. The game play was solid but didn’t really grow much over the course of the game.
They reinvested basically every dollar they made on The Messenger to make this. I’m not sure it could’ve ever been a bigger budget without an entirely different studio - making it a completely different game.
