Gabz/mL

I have been playing various games lately, two of them on the same system but one of them serves as a pallet cleanser to the other.

Final Fantasy XVI on the PlayStation 5

Yup, they are still making these and they will continue to do so until the end of times, Amen!

This is one of those series of games that even if you have never played any of them, you are aware of it. I have never been married to this series like most hardcore, purist fans but I have played my share of games. This one in particular got my attention and I think it’s got to do a lot with the fighting style. I have just recently picked it up because it was on sale, and. I am glad I did because I am having fun with it.

We all know that the FF series has been shifting further away from its turn-based RPG roots, which I am okay with. Final Fantasy 16’s combat is a straight-up action game, I even dare say that the combat has a Devil May Cry feel to it. It is fast, extremely reflex-driven, and super-fun! With air combos, jump cancels, and a huge arsenal of mighty spells and abilities.

The story so far has been very intriguing, only about 4 hours in so far. It does have a Game of Thrones feel to it but better, GoT is crap! One character that stood out, the voice acting I mean, was Cid’s. For the first hour it was bothering me, “I know that voice, I know this voice”. Turns out it is Ralph Ineson (he is also in the movie THE WITCH from 2015 which if you haven’t watched It it yet, do yourself a favor, stop reading this and go watch It it), and if you have played Diablo IV, that is the voice of Lorath.

Sea of Stars on the Nintendo Switch.

Okay, this one I have been waiting for since it was announced. I am a sucker for good old pixel art, so I was into this game right away. It’s got obvious similarities with classics like Chrono Trigger, so very strong nostalgia vibes here. Full of combat encounters and puzzles that fill up the space between larger story moments and boss battles. Everything about Sea of Stars’ look and feel is nice clean, and easy to follow.

This game definitely evokes the best parts of the ‘90s RPG era.

This game has a demo and it is available on GamePass. But I prefer to play this on my OLED Switch, handheld, and it looks gorgeous!

Blasphemous 2 on the Nintendo Switch

I am a huge fan of this franchise, the team, the art, the gore, the creepiness, all about this game. What I am not a fan of, is how difficult and challenging it is. Still, I own both games in both digital and physical forms, well the second one gets here Tuesday.

Blasphemous 2 is a 2D Souls-like, both revolting and gorgeous, with all-too-detailed death animations, which I love! Though I never finished the first one, yup I rage quit it, don’t judge, this one continues the violent trials of The Penitent One, the last living member of an order that’s trying to put an end to the abominations born from a godlike phenomenon known as The Miracle and that’s all I know as far as the story.

You’ll hack and slash your way through some absolutely beautiful – and discomforting – 2D hallways filled with horrific monsters and random wild-looking “scenes”. Although is “hack and slash”, it is not just as easy. You will have to learn your enemies’ patterns in order to effectively move and attack. In this game, unlike the first, you can choose from three different styles/weapons, a one-handed sword, a two-handed sword, and a big mace-looking thing. Upgrading your character’s weapons and health and magic meters, while collecting various buffs and spells makes for a fantastic climb to unparalleled power, and by the end feel like the ultimate unholy warrior.

So far I have died once but that’s because I have barely touched the surface of this game. I have to have patience with this one, but so far, I have not been discouraged.

When I am not playing FF, I am definitely on my switch. And even though I have dabbled between Blasphemous and Sea of Stars on the same system, I think I will try to finish Sea of Stars first and then continue onto Blasphemous 2, until I rage quit it, lol. Or like I have said, use one as a palette cleanser to the other but Sea of Star is definitely the longest game of the two.

Need For Speed Unbound on The PlayStation5

The most infuriating, tough, super-cool-looking NFS game, I have probably ever played.

The Need For Speed franchise has been around for thousands of years, well, that's an exaggeration, but it's been around. I cannot recall the first NFD I ever played. I want to Say Need For Speed II, on the PS One but I could be wrong. I remember not enjoying that game as much. At the time I was full-on Gran Turismo. I never played another NFS game until 2003, when Need For Speed Underground came out. Remember?  

prrrum-dum-dum dun-dah-dum dah-dum dah-dum
3-6-9, damn you fine
Hoping she can sock it to me one more time
Get low, get low (get low), get low (get low), get low (get low)  +

😎😜

I still listen to the game's soundtrack to this day. Anyways, that was when I fell in love with the franchise. I have played, if not all of them, at least most of them ever since. With NFS Most Wanted being my favorite, I remember playing that game over and over again, Annie would sit and watch me play and give me tips on what to do during cop chases, so much fun!

Need For Speed Unbound is the latest entry, and I have to confess that when I first saw the trailer for it, I was a bit skeptical. Mainly because of the direction they took with the art style, it seemed too flashy and whimsical. So I was not entirely sure I would necessarily play it.  Until around Christmas time. There was (or is) a big sale on the PlayStation store, one game on sale was Gran Turismo 7 and the Deluxe version of NFS Unbound, both almost at the same price point. Long story short, I, spoilers, ended up purchasing Unbound. Why? Well, I knew I had a history with the franchise, I love the unrealism-ish of it, unlike GT7 which is a real-driving-simulator and has no story, NFS games do have a story not just driving around.

The art style is definitely very interesting, it is almost like Spiderman into the Spiderverse type of style. The car look kind of realistic, in contrast to the characters who look more cartoony, and yet it all works out so well. Then you have all these animated effects around the car for whenever you do a long leap and "fly" you get wings, or the smoke when drifting, are all cartoony but it doesn't feel wrong or look bad. It is actually quite fun. The game, like its predecessors, has a very strong soundtrack. My favorite song is definitely  Villano Antillano: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 51 by  Bizarrap & Villano Antillano 😎

Now, the gameplay. In many ways, this iteration of NFS feels or has a very different approach. This one follows the same formula, you have daylight races and nightly ones. In previous games, you'd make money out of the daily races, lots of it, and at night, street rep, at least on NFS Heat was like that, and you could pick any race or event you wanted. In Unbound, however, you need to buy your way into the races, there are some you don't have to pay to get in but very little money to be made, and this is what makes Unbound a little frustrating at times, particularly at the beginning of the game. It is not like you can get your car maxed out super-quick, and it is a struggle to get there. There were many races in which I would only make it 3rd place. They can be a little frustrating, is like you got to have a perfect run, no mistakes, no hitting other cars, not over drift, and have a perfect take off or you will lose the race. Yes, you can re-start a race if you so wish but keep in mind, you only have 10 re-starts for the whole week. I think the only events that I have mostly excelled in have been take-over events, which are mostly drifting and doing stunts. 

The way the story is setup it is a three or four weeks event, you do races day and night, from Monday through Friday, and this is where you race, make money and fix your car, then on Saturday night, is the qualifier. Not only do you need to be making money to buy your way into races and fix your car but also, to buy your way into the qualifier, and the qualifier, ain't cheap. The qualifier is a series of three races, and drivers get eliminated in each one until there are only three of you. You win monies and a car, of course.

Cop Chases! Ugh!!! GRRRR!! Mother@#%

As you complete races, you gain heat, which determines basically the amount of trouble you're in with the cops, and the cops in this game, do not fool around. Well, they do, at levels 1 through 3, I would say.  Levels 4 and up, is where things get hairy. You get the regular patrols, Interceptors (those are policemen driving them Corvettes, easy to take out, though), 4WD SUBs, Helicopters, big SWAT pickup trucks, and Undercover cars. And is not just one helicopter, you get two and they are a pain, at least until you find some tunnels or something to hide. There have been times when I have spent more time running from cops and trying to make it to a safe house than racing. Or once I have escaped, I am hiding somewhere with my car turned off just waiting for the opportunity to get out and drive. I don't know, perhaps I just suck at running from the cops, who knows. It adds a level of intensity and stress that I don't remember having from other games in the series.

Even Annie tells me, If it's so draining, why do you keep playing it?

Well, darling, I am a sucker for punishment I guess!

And yes, at times it feels a little draining, which is why I take breaks from playing this game, I go one or two days without playing it. I am in the third week now, racing category S cars, did one race so far and lost.

Fun game, though!

When I used to play SNES, I must confess, I did not play many, or none at all, RPGs. If I did, I do not remember right off the top of my head right now. I remember action games, Megaman games,  fighting games, and of course, Super Mario World. Same on the PlayStation One days, I, at the time thought of RPGs, particularly RPGs, as kind of boring. If I wasn't getting any action in the first ten minutes of the game, and instead, lots to read, I was out.

This obviously changed eventually, especially when I started working at the local GameStop, which wasn't entirely local, it was the next town over but the closest one obviously. Then I started revisiting and playing RPGs. I very much remember finally playing Final Fantasy VI, what I don't remember is, if I played it on the Gameboy Advance or in an emulator, I did play a lot of old games like that back in the day.

The thing is, that eventually, I had to catch up with many of the SNES RPGs as well as many from the PS1 eventually giving me a newfound appreciation for these wonderful games.

Fast forward to the present day, and I am a sucker for playing these games on the Nintendo Switch. I find is it the best way to revisit some, and play many I never had the chance to play before, as well, as some new games that are trying to capture that nostalgia of what to many, is the golden era of RPGs.

A game I have been playing these past few days, is Chained Echoes, on the Switch. This was released in early December, of 2022 basically on every main platform., by indie developer Matthias Linda.

I have only put on about three hours into it, maybe four and it has been a delight to play. The combat is the turn-based combat you know and love.  Four members of your team get to take turns swinging their weapons or skills at the enemy. Each member has a totally unique moveset and each of them can be paired with another member and you can switch between them in real time without losing a turn. This makes the battles, more strategic, and as my kid would say, much more funner. The combat system has an Overdrive meter that adds an extra layer of complexity to the combat.   The meter is displayed at the top of the screen, and it builds up as you attack or use your skills, the more powerful the skills, the faster it builds up. And of course, you want to stay in the green area, rather than go all the way to the red area. While you are on overdrive or green area, you deal more damage vs in the read, you take more damage and enemies get more turns. A few ways to back up the meter, you can just defend, or there are some moves or attacks that may also push it back a bit.

Like in any RPG, there is a lot of exploration to do, and of course, and yes, exploration is rewarded. Random treasure chests, helping someone and in turn, you might get a fancy weapon, sell stands with special deals, etc.

I love the art style of this game, it looks fantastic, with gorgeous environments, and fascinating characters.  It pays some homage to games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, which in fact, it was what sold me to this game. Again, I need to mention the Soundtrack, it is great!

So far it is presenting a very intriguing story and characters, and I am very eager to see where this game goes. Also, did I mention mechs? There are mechs your character can be equipped with, at some point, I am yet to have one but I know they're there!

Either way, I am happy this game is finally out for everyone to play, I am having fun with it, and worth checking out.

Welcome, to another post of Games of the Year!

God Of War Ragnarök

My impressions of the game are here.

This is the kind of game, well this is the game that you'd want to buy a PlayStation 5 for. I have played through the entire main story and it was a thrill, to play this game. Definitely worth coming back to it for the extra missions.

 Xenoblade Chronicles 3

My impressions of the game are here.

By far, one of the bests games I have played on the Nintendo Switch this year. The character development, and the overall story, it's so great! I genuinely invested in these characters and the sorry, chapter 5, uff, it really got to me. A game is definitely worth picking up and enjoying.

Horizon Forbidden West 

No impressions on this one, not sure why 🤷🏼‍♂️

I am very surprised, I did not make a post on this one, or perhaps I did while I was hosting – briefly – my blog in Ghost. So we can say that those impressions on the game... ghosted.

This is another game, worth getting a PlayStation 5 for, even though this game also came out for the PS4 if memory serves. The graphics, story, action, and everything about this game make it a  game of the year for me.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge

My impressions of the game are here.

Best Independent game I played on the Nintendo Switch this year. Developer Tribute Games did an outstanding job on this game. Bringing a great beat 'em u, full of fun nostalgia, a fantastic soundtrack, and lots of fun!

Trek to Yomi 

Also, no impressions.

I can't recall how I became aware of this game but I do remember taking notice of its classic samurai film visuals. It was like Ghost of Tsushima but in side-scrolling. I can't really say that is 2D side-scrolling because it does have some different camera angles. The game is beautiful and full of surprises, and it can also be tough, it is almost soul-like. You need to memorize your opponents' attacks and strike at the right time, there's no hacking and slashing your way through this one.

Games on deck:

Currently, I am playing a few other games that haven't played enough to be runner-ups.

On the Switch, Chained Echoes.

created by a single developer, is my understanding, with the help of some pixel art artists but developed by  Matthias Linda. What got me sold on this game is that it is an homage to games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI. Very much calling back to some SNES classics JRPGs. I have played a few hours but not enough to be truly invested yet.

On the PlayStation 5, Need For Speed Unbound

I do have a lot to say about this one, I think. I have played a significant amount so far and I have a lot of mixed feelings, mostly good but, well, stay tuned.

Well, there ya' have it, my top 5. Let me know, down bellow, what are your top 5 games, if any, and what have you been playing.

Okay guys, until next time! ✌🏼

Gungrave G.O.R.E on the PlayStation5

I got to start by saying that I am a massive Gungrave fan, I watched the anime adaptation back in the day, and I played the two games that came out on Play Station 2, Gungrave (2002) and Gungrave Overdose (2004), so I may have gotten a wee overexcited when I saw the announcement of Gungrave G.O.R.E. 

This game is a third-person action shooter, you take on the role of our hero, Grave,  a gunslinger, a sweeper for the Millenion mafia, now working alongside an organization called "EL-Alcangel" with one mission and one mission alone KICK THEIR ASS, well, there is a point to their mission. The setup is pretty simple, SEED, a drug that transforms its users into monsters that were thought to be eradicated, has actually survived. Now, sold by the Raven Clan, so Beyond the Grave and friends head out to stop SEED production and take the Raven Clan down. 

The stages are simple, you shoot your way from point A to point B, decimating waves and waves of enemies. Blood, explosions, wrath of god, lol, like a good old shoot 'em up. And you do that over and over until there is a boss fight of sorts. One thing that this game does differently from its predecessors, is the fact that in some instances, you don't necessarily play as Grave, there are other playable characters, that you play as for a short mission or so. Although, I think Overdose had two playable characters besides Grave if memory serves.

There are, so far, four main bosses of the Raven Clan you need to fight against, the boss fights aren't particularly super-engaging, I mean, all you do is move around shooting at your target and maybe evade one or two attacks but they push the story along. Most of the story is told in cutscenes, there isn't too much story, I mean, it is a simple setup. I don't need an overly complicated story on a shoot 'em up, honestly, the action is what you are here for.

I feel like this game is purely a fan service, you don’t have to have played any previous Gungrave games or seen the anime adaptation, though I do recommend it, at least the anime adaptation. Even if you do have a PS2, these games might be tricky to find and they probably don't hold up. However, there’s a short video explaining its history which is useful. Even I had to watch it to kinda remember some of the events of the previous games.

I am having fun with the game, but I can see how someone that is not a fan or familiar with the series might not pick up this one.

 

Dawn of the Monsters on the Nintendo Switch

I had no idea, this game even excised. I am even surprised it didn’t even make it into my radar as someone who’s constantly checking what’s new in the eShop. I believe the game was first released, at least on the Nintendo shop, back in March. It wasn’t until I was watching a resent episode of Happy Console Gamer, my second favorite Canadian, that I made aware of this game.

Side-scrolling, kaiju beat-’em-up!

When I read that, I was sold! Imagine Streets of Rage meets Pacific Rim! Just like your typical beat-‘em-up, you fight a wave of enemies, all of them monsters, and move to the next area and at the end of it, there will be a boss fight. A simple formula that still works.

You get to pick in between 4 characters, two mecas and two kaijus that’s somehow fight for humanity. You get to select deferent upgrades or enhancements. And off you go.

The story is, so far, simple, save humanity by getting rid of the “nephilim” (the monsters).

The art it’s great, very anime/comic book ish.

The music it’s fine, not mind-blowing like other games of its genre, but it fits.

It has really been a lot of fun playing this game. In fact, I have been playing on local co-op with my oldest daughter, and she’s also been having fun with it. The game isn’t super-difficult, I have probably died once, it can get a little hairy when multiple enemies band together and your daughter is too busy watching YouTube rather than play with you.

for the past few months, I have been into this thing about buying physical copies of Nintendo Switch games, whether I already owned them digitally or not. So, if I had a significant backlog, it's gotten much worse.

So I am trying to get through them.

The first one on the list is,

Koumajou Remilia: Scarlet Symphony

Gensokyo faces sudden disturbance as "Scarlet Mist" spreads once again. To Reimu Hakurei, this peculiar phenomenon resembled something familiar.
'Is this that vampire's doing?', she thought to herself.
There was only one choice: head to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and find out the true cause of the disturbance.
......but this time, the way to the mansion was a little different from usual.  

This game to me is sort of an oddball, in some way. I am not even sure why I even got it, to be honest. That being said, I am glad I did, I think. Anyways, this is another Metroidvania-ish, and this one is the remastered version of its original release back in 2009. And you can very much tell that is heavily influenced by  Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Although this title is regarded as a Metroidvania, the stages are very much linear, there is no backtracking or secret rooms and such. You enter a mansion and you pretty much work your way from different sections and a boss fight at the end of each, no fuss no muss. By defeating these bosses, they join your party and you can use their abilities in a single assistance attack and that's about it.

It is Japanese with English subtitles, very anime-like, all the characters are females, and the music is pretty awesome. 

I believe I finished the game in a few hours of gameplay. 

Next up, is Moonscars.

This one is supposed to be a tough game. I am still trying to find my footing and figure out the battle system. I have died a few times already, there is no hacking and slashing my way through this one.

Tunic on the Nintendo Switch.

Explore a land filled with lost legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters in TUNIC, an isometric action game about a small fox on a big adventure. Stranded in a ruined land, and armed with only your own curiosity, you will confront colossal beasts, collect strange and powerful items, and unravel long-lost secrets.  

This game, wasn't even on my radar until someone mentioned it in a podcast back in March. I remember this because I was traversing my way through the dangerous city of Chicago. I was trying to get to the hotel where the convention I was attending was being held at. 

I added it to my PlayStation 5 wishlist, it wasn't even listed in the eShop, at the time. Fast forward to the end of the last month, the game is available on the eShop, and the switch being my preferred gaming console for these games, well, I got it on the system over the PS5. The game had been out I think six months prior on macOS, PC, and Xbox, but it wasn't until six months later that made it to the PlayStation and Switch.

Still, I had heard very little about this game. I heard it was a combination of a Zelda-like game and a Souls-like game. By this premise alone, I should have stayed away from this game, in theory. Why? Well, I suck at souls-like games, and yet I guess I'm a sucker for punishment because I buy them anyways, and I no longer have the patience for unguided exploring games like Zelda.

Tunic is an action-adventure game and right off the bat you can tell, it is very Zelda-like, especially the earlier ones. You are a fox and you wake up in this strange world with, gain, very little guidance on what you need to do. From what I have gathered so far, you battle your way through it, you must find and ring a number of bells and find some "gears" that should end up in a central place. Just like Souls games, there is very little or nonexistent back story presented, you must unravel the mystery as you go. Enemies can be a little unforgiving, or so I was told. If you die you respawn at your last save point, and you lose some currency and such, just as expected in a souls-like game.

You have stamina and mana, as well as your health. You can upgrade your stats, although that is not well explained in the game. There, is literally very, very little guidance and lots of explanation in this game, however, I can't stop playing it.

What is amazing about this game are the accessibility options, it has a No Fail Mode, No Stamina Restrictions, and Reduced Combat Difficultry. Well, guess what? I have all turned on! No shame, No ragrets! So to me, the combat isn't frustration, if any, it would be my own impatience. But it's fun to just turn on the Switch and just go to town exploring and see what things I can do, which paths I haven't explored, you know just fox around with my sword. And believe there are lots of secret paths and secrets in general in this game.

I have gotta say, even though I had no idea what is going on, no guidance whatsoever. I'm clueless about what I am supposed to do, and yet I am having a good time. The game is charming and beautiful, the music is great, and I even have the soundtrack on rotation because it is that nice.

Moonscars on the Nintendo Switch

Ugh! Another one.

Last night, like almost every night, I am browsing the newest releases section of the Nintendo eShop, it's almost like an addiction at this point and immediately saw the image above. And I went, "uh, what's that?", and that's all it took. I went in and looked at the images, and I was already hooked, then it dawned on me, "uh-oh, this is probably a souls-like". I watched the trailers and yup, definitely a souls-like.

"But it's so prettyyyyyyy!" (in a morbid way)

I am such a sucker for indie-souls-like games! Blasphemous, Eldest Souls, Morbid: The Seven Acolytes, ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights (which I actually played quite extensively) are a  few examples. Where three of them I barely played due to their difficulty, I may revisit in the future, who knows.

Why these games? Is it the darkness? Are their stories as vague as they may be? Perhaps, and most likely. There is also the pixel art style, the sprites, and the music. I am very attracted to these games, but I suck at them. Even for "AAA" games of the same genre, like Elden Ring, which I have purchased and I am so scared to play!

Again, I am a sucker and I will probably end up getting this game, and eventually, its physical copy if ever available.

Also, I understand that the game is currently somewhat broken, I believe is towards the end of the game, but the developers have identified the issues and there is a patch coming. That is good to know going in for sure.

Cult of the Lamb on the Nintendo Switch

Start your own cult in a land of false prophets, venturing out into diverse and mysterious regions to build a loyal community of woodland worshippers and spread your Word to become the one true cult.

I don’t remember exactly when I became aware of this game, I want to say that it was in some Nintendo event where they announced a couple of indie games. What I do remember was being drawn to the game’s visuals, the art style, and obviously the gameplay. It looked both somewhat-creepy and adorable. I mean, you are a lamb, an innocent cute little lamb, and you lead an evil cult. So, I put its release date on my calendar and even pre-ordered a physical copy of it, that is supposed to arrive sometime in Q2 of 2023.

Now that is finally here, the gameplay is one part sim and one part action-roguelike, imagine if Hades and Stardew Valley had a baby. The premise of this game is you are being sacrificed by some cult by the Old Ones because a prophecy said that a lamb will be the vessel by which The One Who Waits will return. Obviously, you do get sacrificed and then return to life by The One Who Waits, for you to raise a cult in his name and to destroy the 4 Old Ones in order to break free, just like the prophecy says.

Again, the gameplay is divided between you taking care of your duties, tending to your followers and your efforts to fight your way through the forests of heretics, the rouge like part, and hunt down them Old Ones. Here is like your typical rouge like game, where you enter a dungeon, you pick a weapon, and you fight your way through different rooms. In some rooms, you will encounter some cult member that you can convert and at the end of the run, there will be a boss. These dungeons aren’t super-long, they might take about 10-15 mins to complete. Then you return to your commune with the spoils of your adventure!

In your Cult’s Commune is where you do your sim part of the game. Part of tending to your followers is to listen to them and resolve their issues, you farm, you harvest, you build things. You give sermons and teach doctrines, you can assign jobs and responsibilities to each of your cult members. You also need to do anything and everything to keep their faith from dropping, or they will turn on you. At this point, you can teach them again, throwing them into prison or my favorite, sacrifice them.

You do a zillion things, I won’t list because there’ll be too much, or I probably haven’t even got to do them.

This is definitely a completely unique rougelike kind of game, and I will say, half of it, to me, can be stressful. The action, rougelike part of the game isn’t that hard, granted, I’m playing on easy, and it is where I get a lot of fun out of. The sim aspect of it, well, that is the stressful part, for me. I always worried that I will not attend to every request, that my followers aren’t happy, that I am not building the necessary things, etc.

If you very much enjoy games like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing, you will love this aspect of the game. I do own both Stardew and Animal Crossing, and I had never been able to get into them, I lose interest quickly.

This is a beautiful, cute-looking game, and it is a lot of fun, except for the sim part, for me, but it is definitely with checking out.