Games Beat Me: SUPERHOT

SUPERHOT
The most innovative shooter I've played in years
1 Player
System: PS4
Developer: SUPERHOT Team
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: Mar 19th, 2018

SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played in years.

Games I Beat: Star Wars Battlefront II

Star Wars Battlefront II
FPS a long time ago, far, far away
1-40 Players online
System: PS4
Developer: EA DICE/Criterion Games
Year of Release: 2017
Beaten: Nov 11th, 2017

In middle school my class read 1984 (and then again the next year, and then twice again in high school, they really wanted to bolster our Orwellian fears I guess). While I understand the concept of doublethink, it's a concept I've always struggled to truly understand. Until Star Wars Battlefront II came out. Recently, since a bit before Force Awakens released, I re-realized my adoration for that particular universe. Ironically I've been mostly dissatisfied with the Disney helmed movies, but that's unimportant right now. After Overwatch convinced me I could actually enjoy an online FPS I decided to jump into Battlefront II, seeing as from what I heard, the "first" was, by that time, a sinking ship.

Spookvember: Dead by Daylight

Dead by Daylight
Generator Fixing Stalk 'Em Up
5 Players
System: PS4
Developer: Behaviour Interactive
Year of Release: 2017

I saw a lot of negativity thrown at Dead by Daylight, specifically the PS4 version. Even still, the game appealed to me in a major way, even after learning all you do is run around restarting fucking generators. I just kind of forgot about it until the spooky season fell upon us. A friend wound up picking it up, and that was all it took. Immediately I was immersed in a world of stalking serial killers, hide and seek, and some clunkiness.

Games I Beat: Kamiko

Kamiko
Action Puzzle
1 Player
System: Switch
Developer: Skipmore
Year of Release: 2017
Beaten: Oct 2nd, 2017

Kamiko is one of those random games I saw a recommendation for somewhere on the internet and decided to pick it up based solely on that, and the general aesthetic of the game. Developer Skipmore is probably most well known for Fairune, a duo of games that got decently good praise. The first one is, or was, available for free on phones, and I tried it out. Didn't really do anything for me, and didn't really put much time in it. It certainly looked very nice though.

DLC I Beat: Ashes of Ariandel

Dark Souls III Ashes of Ariandel
Action RPG Lore 'Em Up
1-6 Players
System: PS4
Developer: From Software
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: July 15th, 2017

Dark Souls 3 might get a bit of flak from some fans of the series, but it is probably the most polished of the Souls series. Personally I quite enjoyed it even if it felt a little bit like a Greatest Hits album for the franchise. I never felt drawn back to play through the DLC though, until recently.

Games I Beat: Gaiapolis

Gaiapolis
Top Down Beat Em Up
1-2 Players
System: Arcade
Developer: Konami
Year of Release: 1993
Beaten: June 10th, 2017

It's both bewildering and amazing that so many games made by well recognized game developer's are still managing to float just outside of most people's radar. I'm pretty familiar with many video games from every generation, and delightfully still run into little gems I'd never so much as heard of. When I stumbled on a video for Gaiapolis I knew I would want to check it out immediately. So, with a friend in tow, we managed to make our way to Gaiapolis.

Games I Beat: Legend of Kusakari

Legend of Kusakari
Lawn Mowing Sim
1 Player
System: 3DS Download
Developer: Librage
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: April 5th, 2017

Sometimes things happen that further convince me I'm actually just an insane person. Just, look up the trailer for this game and tell me if the main idea and especially the music would draw you in. Granted the art style is cute, simple and pleasant. But that music is just awful. I needed it.

Games I Beat: Yooka-Laylee

Yooka-Laylee
Collect-a-thon
1 Player
System: PS4
Developer: Playtronic Games
Year of Release: 2017
Beaten: April 23rd, 2017

Huh, I really thought I wrote this already. That's weird, and more proof every day I'm waking up in yet another alternate universe. Yooka-Laylee is one of those kickstarter darlings, with promises of returning to the glory days of Banjo-Kazooie it didn't take long to be fully funded. A few years later, and Yooka-Laylee is released to.... an incredibly mixed consumer base.

Games I Beat: Injustice 2

Injustice 2
Fighting
1-2 Players
System: PS4
Developer: NetherRealm Studios
Year of Release: 2017
Beaten: May 22nd, 2017

For a good long while I thought Mortal Kombat was a dead series, the whole early 3D era did not do the franchise any favors. And yet, after Armageddon, and a DC crossover, Mortal Kombat's 9th game came out and proved to everyone it wasn't over yet. Since then NetherRealm Studios has been switching between MK and the Injustice series. As a long time DC comics fan, I can't tell you how happy the Injustice games make me, as a concept alone. While taking place in a very dark version of the DC universe, this is just a really solid fighting game with super heroes as characters.

Games I Beat: Stories The Path of Destinies

Stories The Path of Destinies
Action Story Telling
1 Players
System: PS4
Developer: Spearhead Games
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: May 27th, 2017

Anthropomorphic animals, floating islands, airships, fun action, a Bastion inspired narrator, a pleasant art style, multiple endings, a metaphysical concept as the basic structure of the story, most of these things all appeal to me in some form or another. And yet...

Games I Beat: Dragon Quest VII Fragments of the Forgotten Past

Dragon Quest VII Fragments of the Forgotten Past
JRPG
1 Player
System: 3DS
Developer: ArtePiazza
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: March 31st, 2017

It genuinely upsets me that it's taken over a month to finally get around to writing this. Dragon Quest is a long running series that I have become a massive fan of over the last several years. The main line series is a very true to it's roots series, mechanically the games are all very similar to one another. And yet they manage to appeal to so many people despite that. That being said, Fragments of the Forgotten Past here is the longest game in the franchise (X, an MMO, not included), is it worth sinking upwards of 80 hours into this game?

Games I Beat: Downwell

Downwell
Reverse Vertical Scrolling Platformer
1 Player
System: Android
Developer: Moppin
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: April 3rd, 2017

So many times on this blog I'll mention that as soon as I caught wind of a game I knew I needed to pick it up. Lo and behold Downwell is one of those games. Look, fuck the typical intro, just look at this:

Games I Beat: Sega 3D Classics Out Run

Sega 3D Classics Out Run
Road Trip Simulation
1 Player
System: 3DS
Developer: M2
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: April 4th, 2017

Playing through this game left me with a really odd sensation, at least at first. Video games typically don't illicit a feeling of nostalgia that I can't place. Smells, or sounds might do that on occasion, but usually if I play a video game I'll know why it's making me feel warm and fuzzy. As a child I played Out Run quite a bit and I somehow completely forgot. A day care I used to go to as a young child had several arcade machines, one of which was Out Run. Booting up this 3D remaster(?) brought me back to a time that might have been forever lost had I not.

Games I Beat: SteamWorld Heist

SteamWorld Heist
Turn Based Shooter
1 Player
System: PS4
Developer: Image & Form
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: February 3rd, 2017

It's a god damned crime I haven't gotten around to writing this sooner. Immediately upon seeing the first trailer I was sold on the concept. You and your rag-tag group of robot space pirates go from ship to ship fighting other robots in a weird turn based shooter kind of style. It looked unique, and while I was a little wary that the gameplay might feel stale it never wound up feeling that way to me.

Games I Beat: ABZU

ABZU
Chill Diving Simulation
1 Player
System: PS4
Developer: Giant Squid
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: January 28th, 2017

Some games just don't appeal to everyone. I feel like Abzu is going to be one of those games. There isn't a lot to this game, if you try to just simply beat it you'll rush through in no time at all, with basically no challenge to be found. This is the kind of game for people who loved Journey. Hell, this game is Journey, but set underwater.

Games I Beat: Assault Android Cactus

Assault Android Cactus
Arcadey Shoot 'Em Up
1-4 Players
System: PS4
Developer: Witch Beam
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: January 22nd, 2017

I'm worried I won't have much to say about this game, not that it's bad, I liked it quite a bit really, there just isn't much there. Like a fairly satisfying snack. That's actually a really succinct analogy for this game.

Games I Beat: Far Cry Primal

Far Cry Primal
Mass Caveman Murder Simulation
1 Player
System: PS4
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: December 4th, 2016

Far Cry is a series that has seen little to no change since the third entry dropped. I remember falling utterly in love with that game when it came out. It just felt so good from the controls to how the game visually responded to your input. It tends towards the easy side, but can offer some interesting challenges, primarily when it comes to taking over enemy bases. My two favorite entries may have only shaken up the game superficially, but for me that's enough. Both Blood Dragon and Primal drew me into their world in such away that I could easily forgive their repetitive Ubisoft natures.

Games I Beat: The Deadly Tower of Monsters

The Deadly Tower of Monsters
B-Movie Climb and Shoot 'Em Up
1 Player
System: PS4
Developer: ACE Team
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: November 11th, 2016

Sometimes I see a game title and I write it off entirely, and sometimes this turns out to be a huge disservice to not only the game, but myself. The Deadly Tower of Monsters is one of those cases. It's funny too because as soon as I had the game described for me I was all in. At first glance I assumed it was just another indie title that I wouldn't have time for, but when it was announced for PS+ I finally looked into it. I'm so sorry for turning my back on you for so long you wonderful cheesy B-movie styled game.

Pulp of a Dead Horse: Hyrule Warriors Legends

Hyrule Warriors Legends
Musou (Kill 'Em All Simulator)
1 Player
System: 3DS
Developer: Omega Force/Ninja Theory
Year of Release: 2016
Beat Legends Mode: November 5th, 2016

I've hardly been able to use this, my favorite of all titles! Over two years ago now (wow!) I beat, and wrote about, Hyrule Warriors. I didn't think it reinvented the wheel or anything, but it never set out to do that. It brought fast and frantic, if simple, gameplay to the Wii U in the universe of Zelda. And it was, honestly, a ton of fun. Since then not only has a great deal of DLC been released, but a remake on 3DS has come out as well. Does that conversion worry anyone else?

Games I "Beat": Overwatch

Overwatch
Online Heroic FPS
Mostly 12 Players
System: PS4
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: Ongoing

Hi, my name's Adam. I'm an avid video gamer, I mainly enjoy single player games, peruse the sidebar and you'll see most of the games I've talked about are single player by nature. Don't get me wrong, I love playing cooperative games with friends, some of my favorite memories grew out of co-op experiences. When it comes to competitive games, I typically don't get into them. There have been a few stints, but nothing has ever grabbed me for more than a week. Weird shit too. Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare, Mass Effect 3's online mode, Rocket League, and random bits of the "mainstream" FPS games. Then Overwatch had a free weekend.