What Video Games did you play this week? (2024 Edition)

[wonderfly]

I've been looking to save some money, so I finally let my Playstation Plus subscription expire. Not just the more expensive "Playstation Premium" or "Playstation Extra", but all of it, including the base Playstation Plus Essential.

So I've lost access to every single Playstation Plus "free" video game I've acquired over the last 5 or so years. And I wanted to take a tally of how many games I have left, either digital purchases through the Playstation store or the handful I have on physical disc.

And after I did my count of what I have left....I have about 50 to 55 games total. And about 15 of those are games I've already beaten or a handful of which I played a little of and decided "Eh, this isn't my type of game after all" or "Wow, this games sucks, bad purchase".

So that leaves me without around roughly 35 games that I haven't beaten or haven't started. I'm thinking of going back and finishing some of these now. Stuff like "Alien: Isolation", "Dragon Age: Inquisition", "Horizon Zero Dawn" and the original "Watch Dogs". Or to start playing some games I bought but haven't started, like "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" and "The Outer Worlds" or "Dark Souls: Remastered".

Still, 35 (or so) games doesn't feel like as many games as I thought I'd have. Guess I'd gotten too reliant on Playstation Plus these last few years, to supply me with games.

I'll get by. I'm concerned about online multiplayer games though. I can play "Apex Legends" still, so that's fine. But I'm wondering if the multiplayer component in "No Man's Sky" works or not. I might break down and renew my subscription eventually, but....not for a while.

Eh, I can already see not having the base "Playstation Plus Essential" is going to interfere with me wanting to play multiplayer online, even if that's only every once in a while. Yes, I can play "Apex Legends" without Playstation Plus, but that's about it.

.....paying $80 for a full year (for Playstation Plus Essential) is something I can't do right now. But $10 per month is too expensive on a monthly basis. I might just get the "3 month" subscription for $25. Still, $25 every 3 months, just to have access to my Playstation Plus "Free" games, and to play multiplayer online occasionally, I don't know....I wish I could pay for them separately. Or that I didn't have to pay for playing online.

EDIT: Be nice if I could pay just $5 per month to have access to the pool of "Playstation Plus Essential" games, games that don't go away like in the higher "Premium" tier. You pay $5, you get the 2 or 3 new games added each month, and it just stays in your library going forward (for as long as you keep the subscription). And I wouldn't have to pay just to play multiplayer, you just get that service automatically. That's be nice.

 

[Spacething7474]

What did you play this week? (6/17/24)

new releases:

June 18: #BLUD (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch), Still Wakes the Deep (PC, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5)

June 19: Echo Generation: Midnight Edition (PC, Switch)

June 20: Dicefolk (Switch), Five Night's at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 (PlayStation 5)

June 21: Dystopica (PC), Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5)​

 

[Antiyonder]

Been finishing up on Dragon Quest VIII on Mobile and started playing it again on the 3DS.

Oh and for fun, here's all of my physical DQ stuff:

 

[Classic Speedy]

I'm planning to buy a lifetime pass for Antstream Arcade on XB Series this week. Over a thousand games on demand? Score!

Only thing that sucks is they've removed all the Warner Bros. games because the contract expired. So no Mortal Kombat arcade, sadly.

 

[Antiyonder]

One of the advantages of having some DQ games on my phone is I'm not too tech savvy, so being able to just take screenshots has aided me in adding pictures to wiki articles pretty slim on content as Quest isn't at the top here.

A few shots from V (Same game adapted into the Your Story movie):

Spoiler

First from the ship and port town Little Haven:

And a shot of the structure of Uptaten Tower:

 

[Spacething7474]

Earlier today I bought Spare Parts (Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network game by EA Bright Light in 2011) because it was on sale for 99 cents as certain chunks of games are getting discounted on the Xbox 360 as its store closes on July 29.

It's pretty good, minus the fact that it's 16:9 only.

 

[the_joker]

I'm (re)playing Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back as part of the N'Sane trilogy on the PS5. It's still a pretty hard game, but it is noticeably easier than the first game. I still like the sliding ability for faster movements and higher jumps, though I'm not exactly good at simply sliding to move through a level quickly for time trials. And I also like the slide attack as an alternative attack with some enemies requiring that kind of attack to be approached. I enjoyed finding some secret exits as some paths mysteriously branched out, so I'm looking to find them all again.

There are the colored gems, and I like the variety of methods to get them. One required you to not break any boxes, and there was another that was hidden behind a wall. I don't know if I would've known to go though a wall without a hint from the game as not all of the walls are fake, so I wonder how people back in the 90s figured that stuff out. I guess the level's doorway having an extra gem slot in the front was also a hint.

Judging distances can still feel awkward due to the camera angles, and I still don't think the lives serve any purpose even back in the 90s, but Vicarious Visions wanted to make the remake essentially match the originals, so whatever. At least the game is short and fast-paced, so the "flaws" are more annoying than terrible.

Overall, it's still a very good game in spite of some problems.

 

[Marble]

I played through #BLUD purely after being sold on its 90's cartoon presentation. It doesn't disappoint in that regard, the animation is really high quality, making it clear what it's paying homage to while also being unique enough to stand distinct from the shows that inspired it.

Unfortunately, the game itself is absolutely rampant with bugs, a lot of which break progression and its gameplay feels more like something you'd get from a $5 indie game (like Ittle Dew, which it reminded me of in some ways) over a decade ago. Needed way more time in the oven to iron out the glitches and work on the gameplay mechanics so they're not so barebones.

 

[Classic Speedy]

Been sampling a lot of games on Antstream Arcade. It's another reminder of how staggering it is how many video games exist. TBH a lot of times I feel like I'm playing Action 52, due to the abundance of shoot-em-ups on the service and they tend to run together.

They really need to expand their PS1 selection. There are only a handful of games, and what's on there they probably got dirt cheap. Of them, 40 Winks is probably the best, which isn't saying a whole lot.

Honestly, the best part of the service is the Amiga collection. That's a console I never played before (I didn't grow up in the U.K. where it was bigger) so it's been great finally playing the massive library, even if not all games are worthwhile.

I'm (re)playing Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back as part of the N'Sane trilogy on the PS5.

CB2 is my favorite of the original trilogy. It irons out most of the problems of the first game and, jetpack and polar bear riding levels aside, it's pure platforming, unlike 3 when they had more gimmick levels that were hit-or-miss. (still enjoy the jetski and tiger-riding levels though)

 

[Spacething7474]

What did you play this week? (6/25/24)

New releases:

June 25

Beyond Good & Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5), Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit (iOS, Android), Graven (PlayStation 4 Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5), Riven Remake (PC, Mac, Quest 2, Quest 3), Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble (Switch), Until Then (PC, PlayStation 5)

June 26

Monster Hunter Puzzles: Felyne Isles (iOS, Android)

June 27

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (Switch), NeoSprint (PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5), Tchia (Switch)

June 28

Spy x Anya: Operation Memories (PlayStation 4, Switch, PlayStation 5)​

 

[Antiyonder]

Still grinding in the current 3DS playthrough of DQ VIII. Also from the Mobile version, my two Monster Teams:

Spoiler

America's famous team.

Followed by an elite team of Golems with attitude.

And their combo:

 

[the_joker]

With Luigi's Mansion 2 releasing on Switch this week (where's the first one, Nintendo?), it only felt appropriate to play Luigi's Mansion 3. I previously played Luigi's Mansion 2 (aka Dark Moon) on 3DS, and while I did like the interactions with the environment and solving environmental puzzles, the console and especially analog stick felt too small for my hands, and the game in general just looked too small on the 3DS (or maybe I'm getting too old). Those haven't been issues at all while playing LM3 on Switch, so the game has definitely been enjoyable. On a very minor note, the game is set in a hotel rather than a mansion.

In addition to the vacuuming up ghosts, they can also be slammed onto the ground (a little odd since they're ghosts, but whatever) or other ghosts for additional damage. A burst attack was also added for dealing with groups of ghosts and just for destroying the environment. However, the addition of Gooigi was easily the most notable addition to the game. As the name suggested, he plays like Luigi while also being made of goo. Switching between the two was needed to navigate at least several different parts of different levels, so I quite liked this "single-player" co-op gameplay.

There was also a garden-themed level that provided a buzzsaw, and I couldn't resist indulging in some vandalism.

I wouldn't mind picking up Luigi's Mansion 2 HD at some point after a minor discount, and I'm certain I'll find it more enjoyable playing on a big screen with a regular controller.

 

[wonderfly]

A week or two ago, Nintendo added "Metroid: Zero Mission" to Nintendo Switch Online.

It's a remake of the first Metroid game from the original NES, which is one of the NES games I don't have fond memories of. Original NES Mario? Fun! Original NES Mega Man? A blast! Original NES Zelda? Delightful! Original NES Castlevania? Fantastic. But Metroid? I sucked at Metroid.

But with this being a remake, I figured I'd give it a shot. And I'm....actually enjoying it! The controls are smooth and the platform is not super hard, and the graphics are that perfect "early 2000's Game Boy Advanced" graphics that I love. I'm going to keep playing, see if I can beat it.

Here's the trailer:

 

[Light Lucario]

I played through the Indigo Disk's storyline in Pokemon Scarlet. I still haven't covered everything and I haven't started the epilogue event either, but I got to the ending credits. It was really fun and there were some interesting twists that I didn't see coming. I'm mixed on how grind heavy it is with the Blueberry Quests. On one hand, you do get some really cool rewards like catching older starter Pokemon, finding Legendary Pokemon, getting rare items and being able to rechallenge other characters in the League Club. On the other hand, it can feel tedious, especially doing it solo like I have so far, and locking a few Legendary Pokemon behind some of the group quests is pretty annoying. The storyline isn't exactly short, but it does feel like there wouldn't be much else to do without grinding for these bonuses. At least the new areas are fun to explore.

Kieran is the main rival of the DLC and I've seen bits of people praising him, but I don't see it. Maybe it will be different after doing the epilogue, but he came off as a edgy teenager instead of a sympathetic rival. My sympathy ran out for him pretty quickly compared to the first half of the DLC. I wouldn't say he's poorly written, but just that I don't see him as being particularly good, especially compared to Nemona, Arven or Penny. He is much more interesting than Carmine though.

One of these days I'll have to collect my thoughts on Scarlet/Violet as a whole, as well as the DLC, since these are really really fun games. They have obvious issues, not just on the technical side, but they're just so much fun to play, which is what I value the most out of video games. It really feels like there's a good amount of content, especially when I have multiple teams in my Scarlet version, something that I never did in any of the other generations. There are a ton of great Pokemon, likable characters, a solid storyline and it's fun to explore the Paldea region. It's a really solid set of games.