Julius

Having really enjoyed my time with Ghost of Tsushima, it sucks to read that you were disappointed with the game, @Sheikah. Even having enjoyed it myself though, I do agree with some of your issues with it. For instance, with what you mention about stealth and being a samurai not being incompatible, I think it would have been totally fine if Shimura personally had issues with it, perhaps justified in the story if Jin's father had been assassinated it something like that, and so Shimura can naturally develop this disgust for such methods, which eventually grows into him claiming that it is not an honourable way to do things, etc. And having not played the inFamous games, but being aware of their morality systems in those games going into this, I was really surprised that a similar thing wasn't used here for being a Ghost vs being a Samurai. Ultimately, being stealthy only added another (incredibly small) toolset (which wasn't really anything other than an excuse to lock the Ghost stance behind a system you can't access until later in the game), but even if you act like a Samurai throughout the whole game and "fight honourably" by confronting everyone head on, it has zero impact - as far as I'm aware - on the way in which the game unfolds. I guess maybe some of the objectives aimed at stealth in camps might make your Ghost of Tsushima level go up faster? And I guess it could be argued that the Mongols might have just exaggerated encounters with Jin, but things like stealth missions feel totally out of place if you play solely as this game defines a Samurai would do. I guess it's worth noting that I rarely play open world games as it is (in terms of typical Ubi-style open world affair, seriously think it's only this, Horizon, and BotW off the top of my head?), as well as not being really interested AAA games in the PS3/Xbox 360 generation, which means I skipped a whole lot of Ubisoft-style open worlds being recycled around a decade ago. It probably does colour my perspective on the game and means I don't have as many issues with some elements typical of open world games (though there are certainly still some issues) which I might have otherwise. I'm interested to see how I like the game if/when I return to it in the future, having played more open world games. I don't even have the greatest memories of Horizon's open world, cool as it was, and returning that at some point in anticipation of Forbidden West could be eye-opening for me.

So, uh, I just realised that I somehow completely missed another game I played in December: Uncharted 4. Probably because of the mess that was the Cyberpunk launch and everything else going on immediately following me completing it, but yikes In short: visually stunning, great music, though the story really, really took its sweet time getting it's hooks into me. Once a certain character makes her appearance in the second half it got so much better, and I really think Nate played off better against her and Sully than he did any of the other characters in the game. The chemistry and the pain of their relationship really comes across well, and I felt both of their frustrations throughout, it was really well performed. I wish we spent more time with them in this game. But hey, at least the ending comes together in a solid way once they turn up. Favourite scene in the game without a doubt is... People like to point at the Last of Us games for stale and repetitive gunplay...yet I think Uncharted is almost objectively worse when it comes to it. The AI can be temperamental at best, getting wiped out by you with ease in one firefight and easily surrounding you the next. In the end, I just threw the difficulty down because I was far more interested in the story by the second half than I was the gameplay, which is something I've never done before. It's not Naughty Dog's best in my eyes, but I definitely don't think it's there worst modern game, either. In terms of their Uncharted offerings, I'd slot it in a peg or two below Uncharted 2, probably on an even keel with Uncharted 3. And it's still definitely worth playing, just to see how it all wraps up.

I'm really, really curious to see how they go about it this year with Pokémon. For the 20th anniversary in 2016, it was an absolute blowout from what I can remember: Pokémon Sun and Moon announced and released; Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow 3DS VC releases on the anniversary itself (and I'm fairly certain they went trigger happy with this on Wii U VC too? Is this the year that got the Mystery Dungeon and Ranger games too?); Pokkén Tournament release; Detective Pikachu announced; and probably loads of other VC and mobile releases I'm missing too. In terms of the core series, I think Pokémon Diamond and Pearl remakes are a given...right? Well, I certainly hope so, for Game Freak's sake, because it's also those games' 15th anniversary this year, which is the longest we've been waiting for a pair of remakes by nearly three years already. Normally we don't get remake news until May, but it being an anniversary year, I wouldn't be surprised if they had a Pokémon Direct next month like they did in 2016. COVID is definitely the unknown factor in all of this, because we've seen how closely Nintendo have been keeping their cards to their chests since how they revealed Paper Mario last year. I've spoken before about how I have little faith they'll do the original games justice in a remake if it is basically just a Sword and Shield version of those games, yet I will absolutely be there on Day 1, based purely on nostalgia and my love of that soundtrack alone. It's a weakness. The only bit about this which makes me a little nervous is the success of the Let's Go games, but I don't see Game Freak passing up the opportunity to celebrate two anniversaries at once. In terms of re-releases and ports, I hope they do the smart thing here and skip over the Game Boy games and go to the Game Boy Advance games instead. We got RBY on 3DS already (while I know they're not on the Switch, I think there are smarter things they can do with those versions of the game), and because we also got GSC in 2017 on 3DS too, I feel like it's time the GBA titles are released on a modern platform. FireRed and LeafGreen this year (because 25th Anniversary), then Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald next year (because it will be the 20th Anniversary of Ruby and Sapphire). Sell them for £10 - £15 each (and wreak havoc on the economy of the GBA resale market in the process), and I think they've absolutely got a winner. Plus, you already have access to every generation of core series game except the third generation (the GBA games) on 3DS, so if you want to keep it fresh, that's how you do it best I feel. In terms of spin-off titles, so far we know that there's a Detective Pikachu sequel and New Pokémon Snap in the works (though not specified for this year, before COVID I have to imagine they were both aiming for a release this year), as well as Pokémon Arena (gross). We could see spin-off collections for their earlier games which I think could go down really well (the Ranger series, as @Sckewi mentioned the Stadium games too). Heck, port over Colosseum! And I would absolutely be all over a remake of Explorers of Sky. And I love how this is just talking Pokémon, never mind the countless Nintendo first party franchises which have their anniversaries this year too. You cap all of that off with a couple of Zelda collections (and maybe the Breath of the Wild sequel? At the very least I'll be surprised if we didn't see that game turn up somewhere this year), Prime Trilogy finally coming out on Switch, maybe even a Donkey Kong Country Returns port? I played it on Wii, and playing that game with a Wiimote was definitely not the way to play that game, and while I know it's on 3DS, I want to play it on the big screen I think things are stacked for this next financial year if Nintendo play their cards right. I mean, not that they wouldn't still do great if they didn't

High Republic launch stream is taking place in just over an hour, at 17:00 GMT. Took a year or two off from the books, but it might be time I jump back in...

Been a while since I've posted in here, been a bit busy with life, and work, and being ill. I'm going to try to keep it pretty brief compared to my previous entries, because there's a lot to get through. This post will be covering the 11 games I played from July up to the end of the year, so buckle up! JULY BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM | 2009 Awesome responsive combat, which has been aped by many games in the decade since. Dark and brooding world, both thematically, and, well, quite literally - it can be hard to see what's going on at times! Maybe one of my least favourite Batman costumes? A novel plot, but a great way to set a defined scope in Arkham. Solid 3D Metroidvania gameplay loop, with plenty to explore, and numerous gadgets to deploy to reach new heights (or distances). Memorable boss encounters with solid voice-acting throughout, and some interesting boss fights; on the other hand, very forgettable encounters with foot soldiers paving almost every corridor. An awful final boss fight which left a poor taste in my mouth. Noticeable screen-tearing and framerate dips throughout. Fun Riddler trophies to find (no, I didn't find all of them!). A really strong introduction to the Arkhamverse, setting up a Batman who feels experienced, and has storied relationships with friend and foe alike. Batman: Arkham Asylum by no means blew me away, but I had a fun time with it, and it's certainly got me excited for whenever I decide to check out Arkham City. GHOST OF TSUSHIMA | 2020 It had been a while since I'd sunk my teeth into an open world game, and Ghost of Tsushima was a great way to return to one. Lighting and atmosphere from the world surrounding you in this game adds so much, I constantly found myself stopping and just taking this world in, and it's so natural to traverse or finds things to do. The combat is generally fun and intuitive, though it does get quite repetitive later on in the game; my biggest gripe with the combat is the lack of an option to lock-on, and so you inevitably find yourself fighting against the camera at times. Similarly, it also took me a bit of getting used to using R2 for most interactions. Also, for combat, because there are different styles to use with each being stronger against certain enemy weapons, the game occasionally basically pauses itself to force you to change your combat style, which is a bit of a pain when I'm attacking someone from behind after having jumped behind them! In terms of the story and characters, I think it starts out really poorly paced, to be honest: this is an open world game, so why on Earth am I being teleported from one area to another? I understand if you want the player to hear there immediately, but fence them in, or have them ride the distance on horseback, it really isn't that hard a thing and would have added a lot for me; instead, a bit like some films, it feels shoddily assembled in its opening hours. But once it opens up, it gets much, much better, with a sprawling world filled with activities to do and tougher enemies to seek out. It also gives us one of the best title card reveals in video games this year (alongside Final Fantasy VII Remake, of course!): However, the story gets much better as it goes on and once characters have had more time to breathe, and Jin I feel grows as a character quite a bit throughout. That being said, the choice between becoming a 'Ghost' and being a 'Samurai' felt really overstated, as even if you do use stealthy tactics in line with the way of being the Ghost of Tsushima, it doesn't really impact the story in any way? I haven't played any of Sucker Punch's previous games, but I do know about their good/evil decisions and bars, so I feel like this would have been the most obvious and natural way to have gameplay determine the story. That being said, the way in which this story ends felt natural and epic to me, and I was stuck there for five minutes thinking about what it was I wanted to do. What did I want to do as the player? What would Jin want as a character? Both options felt like the right one, so Sucker Punch did a really nice job of writing those I think. It's one of the best looking games of the generation, so playing on a base PS4 I was surprised I didn't experience too many technical issues (the normal frame rate drops and such) throughout my adventure. My final special mention has to go to the fast travel: 2 - 5 seconds to load into another spot in this beautiful open world means, for once, it's viable as a way to just hop back if you think you might have missed something, and it often loaded much faster than I could read the tips. It just lacks that final bit of polish, and I feel like it could have done with a few more months in the oven. An example of this was with how Jin's feet, when, walking up a hill, regularly would disappear into the ground, or the usual open world jank where quests don't pick up on you clearing an area or doing what was asked. On the other hand, though, being able to run with NPC's from one area to the next for a quest was a great way to immerse yourself in the world, and show every other open world developer how to do it right. Also, swiping right on the touchpad to wipe your blade clean? Has there been a greater dopamine release this year? The main story starts out with some shaky pacing, but is otherwise great at the best of times, and a solid Samurai story at the worst, but the real strength here lies within the side quest storylines, sword combat (easily the best I've experienced), secrets, stellar soundtrack written and composed by Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi which I still listen to regularly (Sacrifice of Tradition is my favourite), and the absolutely gorgeous open world. Obligatory spoiler tag filled with only a small selection of the 1000+ photos I ended up taking (I've just thrown tweets in there from my gaming Twitter account so it's easier to look through, but I will warn you, there's still a lot in there!), and a quick shout out to recognise how great a decision it was having Photo Mode mapped to the D-pad by default: There's a lot of respect for Japanese culture and samurai cinema on show, and judging from the reactions over there, I'd guess that the feel is mutual. I have never cared about an open world so much, there's just so much life and vibrance to it all, despite it being quite dark and serious throughout. It didn't pull any punches, and I think that's important, because it didn't shy away from the brutality of war, and sugarcoat it like so many forms of entertainment do. It's an unpolished masterpiece of a game, one I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in, and remains one of my favourite open world experiences to date, and perhaps one of my favourite games of the generation. Kudos, Sucker Punch, you knocked it out of the park. AUGUST SUPER MARIO BROS. | 1985 I don't play many platformers, but I do genuinely want to play more of them; I even made a thread back in August asking for recommendations, in which many here pointed me in a good direction on which platformers to check out. But, well, what better place to start with platformers than with Super Mario Bros.? This game is still inherently fun to play three and a half decades since its initial release, with its whacky, timeless character designs; charming and instantly recognisable 8-bit soundtrack by the awesome Yoji Kondo; and, of course, that trademark, tightly refined Mario platforming. It's rare that I play shorter games, which is a shame, because I loved beating this in one sitting over the course of a few hours on a relaxed, sun-filled August evening, and for the most part, I really think it holds up well. I think my favourite world is probably World 3, simply because of how fresh everything still is, and almost every level introducing something new (as far as I can remember). 3-1 admittedly gave me a bit of trouble, with a lot of Flying Green Koopa Troopas about, the introduction of the Hammer Bros. (though, in fairness, I didn't find myself falling to them!), and a trampoline which might have sent me flying off a cliff to my imminent doom (guess Peach wasn't getting saved on that day, huh?). 3-2 was the first time I got a Super Star, which put a huge smile on my face; 3-3 introduces pulleys, and your platforming skills are tested a bit further with the moving platforms; and 3-4 introduces those jumping fire balls. Oh, those are fun. Now, there are some things which I'm not the biggest fan of: namely the fearless Cheep Cheeps, whose intimidation as a species know no bounds. 2-3 is great when things go smoothly, and you're running and hopping around like a maniac...but not so great when you want to take those fish, barbecue them, grind them up, and feed them to their kids. Screw Cheep Cheeps. How easy the Bowser battles are when compared with some of the other enemies is a bit odd, too? The water levels are mostly quite enjoyable in the earlier parts, until it devolves into praying a Blooper doesn't decide to head your way after you are chased into a corner by them, in the later stages of the game. Probably why World 7 would be my last favourite, and while I think World 8 on the whole is much stronger in its consistency of challenge (and the fun in doing so), 8-4 is definitely the most archaic element of this game playing it today: it depends on trial and error throughout when trying to figure out a way through, and even though modern versions of the same idea, the lack of an audio or visual cue to hint that you're going the right way is a bit of a letdown. But, in the end, it doesn't really matter. This game was fun and a great time, even if it does date itself a little at times. Looking forward to playing more 2D Mario games in the future! YAKUZA 4 | 2010 Splendid game, though there's not much to say without me gushing about the usual Yakuza stuff to keep it brief, I think Yakuza 4 is a worthy continuation of the series with how it ties many things together, and also a great way to carry on from 3, doing so much more I feel than previous games. It's especially amazing when considering they ended up splitting a similar total length for the main story (about 20-22 hours?) across four different playable characters when compared with the three entries released prior to this one. Akiyama and Saejima stole the show for me, and it has probably my favourite first half of any Yakuza game I've played so far because of them. The plot is much more focused than in previous games, doing so much to further the backstories of characters like Majima too. Solid soundtrack as always, many, many, many fun side activities and quests to lose yourself in, and a great evolution in combat from 3 - it honestly handles just like 0 and Kiwami, astounding considering that 3 was so sluggish by comparison. The finale definitely runs a bit long in the tooth, but other than that, it's a great game, with a great story, with great characters. Play these games if you haven't already! SEPTEMBER FINAL FANTASY IX | 2000 Final Fantasy IX is a beautiful tale of love, loss, and life. It's an epic story with a wonderfully endearing and nuanced cast, breathed into life by a spectacular Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack which by its end brought me to tears. It's arguably his best and most emotionally resonant work, which is high praise considering just how true that is for so many of his other works, too. I could reel off every track in the game and have zero regrets, because it really is just that great. In particular, it has my favourite town themes of any Final Fantasy I've played so far; introduces a great variation of the Main Theme, which we've heard time and time again since; utilises a singular leitmotif perhaps more than in any other Final Fantasy game I've played, with the main melody of Melodies of Life (which is probably easiest to recognise in the world map track, Crossing Those Hills) heard in probably more than a third of the tracks used in the game; the use of the Prelude and how it is distorted into this much darker track in Crystal World; Kuja's Theme being a sinister track - not too far in its makeup I feel than One Winged Angel - and then going full on We Will Rock You! in Dark Messenger; probably my favourite airship theme in Hilda Garde; and, of course, Melodies of Life in the credits, the song which brought me to tears. I genuinely think that it's one of the most beautifully written, composed, and sung songs I've ever heard - I'm even listening it to again now, and I find myself welling up again, it's just one of those rare songs which begs to be felt rather than listened to. And, as always, I found myself in the dark just soaking it all in as the Prelude played after completing the game. This game is the epitome of everything a Final Fantasy game should aspire to be, in my opinion. It's charming, fun to play yet difficult to master, and pays homage to earlier entries in the series in such great ways. For me, without question, it's on the same level as both VI and VII. It doesn't hesitate to explore humanity in a way few games do, with deep attention clearly paid by the developers to the player and their emotions as the game and certain scenes play out, often asking players to do more than just play the game. It wants you to slow down and just think about what it's trying to say, and what it's asking of you. What does it mean to have lived? It wants you to aspire to be a better person. And it succeeds. SUPER MARIO 64 | 1996 It kind of feels like cheating, but...I've already written up my thoughts on Super Mario 64 in the 3D All-Stars thread, so I'm just going to copy that MAFIA: DEFINITIVE EDITION | 2020 Mafia: Definitive Edition is such a strange game. Developed by Hangar 13, it's a remake of the 2002 cult classic Mafia, with all of the flaws and shine modern remakes seem to have. Set in the fictional city of Lost Heaven in the 1930's, it follows the rise of American-Italian Tommy Angelo in the Salieri crime family. The story itself is an intriguing one which keeps you hooked, even if it is a bit derivative at times of other works in the mafia genre, and I do sincerely feel it is stronger than Mafia II (which I played earlier this year) in this regard. How it links tothat game is pretty awesome, too, and the setting and era are stunningly captured, with the entire city rebuilt from the ground up from the original game, as well as an onslaught of licensed music from the time, which can be listened to on the car radio. Speaking of which, the orchestrated soundtrack, and the Main Theme in particular, is very strong too. But this was a budget title, and so it felt like there was always going to be a catch, especially looking back at Mafia II. And that catch is simply put: the moment-to-moment gameplay just isn't fun, once again. Characters outside of the main trio feel like shallow caricatures of what they should be, the gunplay isn't all that exciting. In fact, the most fun I had was an incredbily short racing segment of the game, which for some silly reason, in an open world, you never get the chance to return to. While, yes, I was playing on a base PS4 at the time, even outside of the screen-tearing, framerate issues, and texture pop-in, other issues, such as getting caught on environments, were very much in my face. While it's stronger than Mafia II, and I've yet to play Mafia III, Mafia: Definitive Edition ends up a stunning recreation of 1930's Chicago, and not much more. OCTOBER MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN | 2018 In preparation for Miles Morales, and knowing I wanted to hop right into that game as soon as I got my PS5 in November instead of playing through the remaster, I booted Spider-Man up on my PS4. This time around, instead of aiming to complete everything in the main game like I had before, I was instead just going to critical path the main story, and then dig into the DLC The City That Never Sleeps, as I had bought it on offer a while back but just never got around to it. I also wanted to get my trophy percentage for the game back to 100%, as the New Game+ and DLC trophies meant it had slipped to 62%. This meant playing through the game on Ultimate difficulty, after having only played on Amazing (normal) before, and though it took one or two fights to get back into the swing of things, it was an absolute blast, and something I barely noticed after a couple of hours. The swinging and zipping across the roofs of New York in this game was better than I remembered, the story and characters are still well written, and the combat is so snappy, it was just an absolute delight returning to this game! Even parts of the game I wasn't a big fan of the first time around (playing as other characters in stealth missions) was much better this time around, I think because if you're only critical pathing the game, it's actually a decent change of pace, though this certainly wasn't the case when I was collecting everything on my first playthrough. I played through it entirely in the Raimi suit, which was so much fun, as it was the Spider-Man I grew up with alongside the 90's animated series. Yuri Lowenthal really nailed his portrayal of Spidey, because he genuinely sounds like Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield at times! Oh, and the music - the Main Theme in particular - remains as awesome a Spidey theme now as it was back at release. As for The City That Never Sleeps DLC, it continues the story with Black Cat and Yuri, in ways much bigger than I was genuinely expecting considering that this was post-release DLC. As in, some pretty major things go down! It also serves as a great bookend into Miles Morales, as Miles is constantly calling you throughout the DLC content. The DLC offers more collectibles (which I had to collect to get my trophies!) which really helped me get back into the swing ahead of Miles Morales, as well as a few boss fights, which are generally more difficult than in the main story, and the same can be said for the new enemy types introduced. Overall, a welcome addition to the game, which was absolutely worth checking out. NOVEMBER MARVEL'S SPIDER-MAN: MILES MORALES | 2020 Spider-Man: Miles Morales doesn't do much to deviate from the foundation set in the previous game, instead continuing to focus on what the first game did so well. The combat additions, world traversal, and the addition of next-gen features in as Performance and Fidelity Modes (the latter meaning you can play with ray tracing and enhanced, crisp visuals, the latter offering a lower resolution but consistently smooth 60 fps) really does a great job of sprucing things up, especially with load times being as short as they are, too. Haptic feedback wasn't super noticeable, but the tension felt in the adaptive triggers certainly was, and I really enjoyed that addition. The newly introduced Venom attacks are really fun and snappy to use, and there are so many great set pieces throughout the game, and an excellent montage sequence too. I would argue the soundtrack is perhaps even stronger here than it was in the original game, just because of the sheer variety; I think the best example of this is the use of trap beat throughout the soundtrack, specifically in the Main Theme, which also does an excellent job of utilising a choir and having a tremendous orchestra involved too, with some great triumphant moments which gave me goosebumps every time I heard them when swinging around. I was surprised by just how strong the cast was this time around, which has me hoping that some of these faces pop up again in Spider-Man 2 down the road. The game does a great job of communicating how new to this Miles is: there are a lot of moves and gadgets from the first game which just aren't available here, and the animations for his swinging add a lot to this side of his character, too. Spinning to look at you when he runs and jumps off a roof, or slamming his face into the ground if you're too late to swing out of some tricks, just does so much to establish the confidence and rookie nature of Miles in the game. Having the level cap be lower than half of the original game with Peter is an excellent way of communicating this too! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: an excellent way to kick off this generation. This game was visually stunning, so much fun to play, and resonated me with emotionally a bit more than the original game did. Can't wait for Spider-Man 2! ASTRO'S PLAYROOM | 2020 Astro's Playroom is pure bliss, to the point that it's biggest problem is that it's as short as it is! Incredibly fun soundtrack, Mario-like precision when it comes to movement, great level design, and just so much joy packed into this game. The references to a legacy of PlayStation hits throughout the years, the quips in the artefact viewer, and the way the bots interact with each other never struggled to put a smile on my face. And at the same time, it also does a brilliant job of capturing that Wii Sports-like showcase of what the controller is capable of; in the case of the DualSense, that means feeling the tippy-tapping of Astro's feet as he runs around, the pitter-patter of the rain, or the smoothness of gliding across the ice thanks to the haptic feedback, and some really fun uses of the adaptive triggers which I'll avoid spoiling here. Essential playing on the PS5, and I know many here agree. I can't wait to see what Asobi Team does next, and in any case, I seriously hope PlayStation hurry up and put out PSVR2, if only because I'm trying to not pick up PSVR just to play Astro Bot Rescue Mission! DECEMBER DEMON'S SOULS | 2009 / 2020 Having never played a From Software game before, and being fully aware of their difficulty, I went into Demon's Souls fully convinced that I knew what I was getting myself into. Just stick with it, smile through the adversity, and it'll all be fine. I could not have been more wrong. This game kicked my ass, and just when I was on the brink of walking away - frustrated with myself, and the game, and haunted by its motifs and imagery of man's ability for evil - it all just clicked, and my entire outlook on the game changed. This is a hard video game, and I genuinely do think that. You will more than likely die in the tutorial area; souls, the currency of the world of Boletaria after being covered in a thick fog and left in a cursed state, can be lost temporarily if you find yourself killed (which leaves you in soul form, knocked down to 50% of your health, and having to begin from the start of the level, having to face all of the adversity found in a level once again), and lost permanently if you don't get back to and retrieve them with your next life; enemies hit hard, bosses hit harder; and traps, pitfalls, and enemies lurk around most corners. It punishes players who don't respect the game and their adversaries, and having not played a From game before, it definitely took some time to adjust, and a lot of deaths to get to grips with so much of it. But it's not difficult in a way which is unfair; instead, I think it's a lesson in being proactively patient. Absolutely don't stand still, but wait to strike, and strike hard when you do. The sense of accomplishment I felt when felling Tower Knight, or the adrenaline pumping through me when taking on Flamelurker to the point I almost threw up, or even just knowing exactly when and where I needed to be when sprinting across the bridges of Boletaria Castle to avoid being burned alive by the Red Dragon, it's something I can genuinely say I haven't felt playing a game before. This game terrified me at times, in its imagery and depiction of a world turned by man's cruelty, and yet I still loved it. That genuinely says a lot. The subtle story, the Shadow of the Colossus-like scale and melancholy, the interactivity with the world and NPC's, the level design, the reward in going off the beaten path to find an NPC or make yourself a shortcut, it's really, really well done. There's a heft to character movement and combat which forces your hand into learning your character through and through: how many hits they can take from certain enemies, how much damage they can do to certain enemies and how many hits it will take to take them down, the reaction time for dodge rolls, enemy attack patterns, the best way to parry or back stab them, the range of ranged attacks. Then it's the same for enemies, bosses, and the environment itself. Now, this 2020 version of the game released for PS5 isn't perfect. While Bluepoint has done an excellent job at bringing the game up to speed with modern visuals, layering this over code which is a decade old shows at times, such as when enemies can strike you through walls or, in one case during a boss fight, where I was hit through the floor. I don't think it's a coincidence that it was at that boss that I nearly found myself quitting the game. And one particular boss, the Old Monk, is just as potentially unenjoyable played in the "proper way" as it would have been in the PS3 version (not faulting Bluepoint here for staying honest to the original game, but do think it's something From overlooked to some extent in designing the game originally). Having listened to the original soundtrack for the PS3 game and comparing it to the new soundtrack for this release, I can certainly see and appreciate the argument from some fans that the soundtrack is weaker this time around, as everything feels substantially more epic - way more choir, a much higher orchestra volume in contrast - which in some locations, I feel, actually altered the atmosphere, and didn't quite capture what the original game was going for. But, that's not a serious issue for me, and I think that Shunsuke's Kida's compositions for the original game, and his work helping on this version's soundtrack, are nothing short of brilliant. Environments and music bleed together in a way which oftentimes feels overwhelming in intensity or malice, and these tracks are purposely designed to not sound good. They sound ugly, in many cases, which just adds so much to the despair you encounter through your journey in Boletaria. Standout tracks for me are the Main Theme, Maiden Astraea, Flamelurker, Old King Allant (basically the most epic version of Demon's Souls in the game), and The Old One. Return to Slumber, the credits track, certainly lends itself to the feeling of a melancholic victory, a feeling of hollowness, but is also, perhaps, the only slightest hint of hope and light in the game; it's easily my favourite track. It's such a tragic piece at the beginning, but the way in which it climbs upwards starting from 01:50 is divine. It floors me that Demon's Souls is the only video game credit to Kida's name, and that his list of work elsewhere is relatively short, because his compositions are perfectly matched to this game, and his talent is clear. Ultimately, challenging as it can be to get to grips with, Demon's Souls - the story, the soundtrack, the game - is a reflection on man's ability to pursue and persevere unrelentlessly, bouncing back in the face of adversity and cruelty to go another round, and the feeling of overcoming what once stood before you as some insurmountable challenge is such an empowering one. This has been one of my favourite gaming experiences of the year, and I look forward to trying, dying, and trying again in Dark Souls in the future. Now that my Gaming Diary for 2020 is finally up-to-date - and complete! - I can share my final list of games completed in 2020, and I also want to reflect on how I did with my aims I set for myself gaming at the start of the year. And that's not counting any 'ongoing' games I had, such as Animal Crossing, which I spent over 50 hours with; Fall Guys, which I spent around 15 hours with; and FIFA and GTA V, which I'm not even going to look at how many hours I spent with overall, though, by a longshot, the most games I've played in a single year. Looking back at my original aims for gaming at the beginning of the year... Well, I played both Final Fantasy VI and IX, which I ideally wanted to play through from Final Fantasy in 2020. So that one went well! I didn't play a Dragon Quest this year... Didn't do this one either... Kind of went above and beyond on this one! I ended up playing Kiwami, Kiwami 2, 3, and 4 throughout the course of the year. I don't think I'll have any troubles continuing that this year, either Done. Loved it. It's now one of my favourite games of all time. I feel like this one's the worst, because I didn't get to a single indie game this year... Think my only aim for 2021 is to play some shorter games too, which will probably help me get to some indie games and platformers I've had sitting on my console for a while. That and posting to the Gaming Diary thread more regularly to the point where I don't feel overwhelmed by catching up, I might start forcing myself to write something up after every or every other game! But at least I'm all caught up for now

I've finally convinced some of my friends to start playing this with me, so I started it up a couple of hours ago and finished the first few assigned missions solo. Don't know if it's something they'll commit to week in and week out, or if it's something they'll want to move on from, but at least I tried! worst case it'll just become a single player game I'll chip away at over the year (much rather this than FIFA...). I've told them to avoid using the Guardian armour if they can, because it's clearly for those wanting to shoot through the main game to get to Iceborne, and I feel like we'd be missing out on a lot of the core gameplay loop to this game if we did that. Firstly: spent way too long on character customisation, nearly an hour and a half between designing my character and my Palico! I was going for samurai vibes, think it turned out pretty well in the end, if I do say so myself. Still very slowly getting to grips with the gameplay, and still stuck choosing between Great Sword and Longsword, too. I love the weight of the Great Sword...but I wanted to make a samurai character, and there's a katana longsword from the outset. Decisions, decisions... Anyways, like I said, super early on, but I get the appeal, and I'm quite enjoying it! Seeing all of the monsters interact with one another out in the open has definitely been the highlight for me, that and the Anjanath turning up out of nowhere in the middle of me chasing down the Kula-Ya-Ku and ducking for cover

I cannot for the life of me stop thinking about this game! I've watched all of the VaatiVidya lore videos a couple of times through, I've listened to the soundtrack a number of times, and I just cannot get it off my mind. To the point that even though I want to play something lighter now, I can't bring myself to, because it still feels like I'm soaking this game in. The more I think and learn about it, the more I appreciate and obsess over it. Other than the decision to not fix some of the jank in the game from its PS3 release by utilising the same game code - again, getting attacked through walls/floors in particular - I'm having a seriously hard time thinking of anything else about this game I take issue with. The boss of 3-3 maybe, just because of how that fight can be made pretty unfair and seriously unenjoyable. But the subtle story, the Shadow of the Colossus-like scale and melancholy, the interactivity with the world and NPC's, the level design, the reward in going off the beaten path to find an NPC or make yourself a shortcut, it's really, really well done. There's a heft to character movement and combat which forces your hand into learning your character through and through: how many hits they can take from certain enemies, how much damage they can do to certain enemies and how many hits it will take to take them down, the reaction time for dodge rolls, enemy attack patterns, the best way to parry or back stab them, the range of ranged attacks. Then it's the same for enemies, bosses, and the environment itself. It's a hard game, and I really do think that. It punishes players who don't respect the game and their adversaries, and having not played a From game before, it definitely took some time to adjust, and a lot of deaths to get to grips with so much of it. But it's not difficult in a way which is unfair; instead, I think it's a lesson in being proactively patient. Absolutely don't stand still, but wait to strike, and strike hard when you do. The sense of accomplishment I felt when felling Tower Knight, or the adrenaline pumping through me when taking on Flamelurker to the point I almost threw up, or even just knowing exactly when and where I needed to be when sprinting across the bridges of Boletaria Castle to avoid being burned alive by the Red Dragon, it's something I can genuinely say I haven't felt playing a game before. This game terrified me at times, in its imagery and depiction of a world turned by man's cruelty, and yet I still loved it. That genuinely says a lot. @Magnus, I can absolutely see where you're coming from. I've looked up a few reviews and trailers for the later From games and I am certainly feeling the draw of jumping into Dark Souls, but my only concern would be burning myself out on them. That being said, I really don't think it's going to be as long as I expected until I get myself around to playing Dark Souls...

I had wanted to shave my head for a while, so just ended up using a beard trimmer (it works fine, just takes a little longer than a dedicate hair trimmer might) at the start of the first lockdown, and have sort of maintained it since. I've been tempted between lockdowns to get a haircut, but I just didn't see the point in going out just for a haircut when I was doing an okay job myself of just shaving it every couple of weeks. I have a similar problem to @Fierce_LiNk in what I largely see referred to as "Asian hair": I need to grow it long, or cut it short (somewhere between a grade 0 and grade 3), otherwise it just puffs out in a way which disobeys gravity on the sides of my head, growing parallel to the ground. Though, I do miss having my hair a bit longer, and definitely miss conversations about Star Wars and the state of the world with my barber every couple of weeks! This is exactly where I've been at since before the first lockdown, and it's still doing my head in. At best, children - on average - might be in a better position to stave this thing off, but they are still just as likely to catch it, in the sense that they don't need to actually get COVID to pass it on, and are perhaps going to be even worse than adults in some regards. Because, again, on average, as they are meant to be in a better position to stay healthy throughout a bout of COVID than an adult, that just means there are even more asymptomatic carriers around. It's dangerous, and, quite frankly, stupid. I think back to how many of my local shops I used to pop into on the way home from school, the size of groups I walked in, and even all of the interactions in school, too, and the people who thought they were above listening to teachers (and the likely greater number now who aren't keeping masks on, distancing, and cleaning their hands regularly while at school). And the issue with this is plain and simple, and I've mentioned it before. You're putting primary school and high school children in a position where they have very little say, might be very stressed out by the whole thing, aren't fully matured yet in their understanding of the world and how they can impact the lives of others, or even as informed of the COVID situation as they could be. Let's be honest here: even many adults aren't matured in such a way, or as informed about COVID as they could be. So there's this pressure on children to act like adults while still being treated like children. They shouldn't be at school right now, and that's been my opinion for the longest time; I don't even think they shouldn't have returned in September. Yes, I know how important it is being in a classroom and having shared experiences with others in (what should be) a safe environment, for personal development above all else, but why the hell is that coming above the safety and well-being of students and their friends/loved ones/local strangers they pass on the streets? Education is absolutely hugely important (the importance of having a daily structure for these students can't be understated), but the time between the first lockdown and then returning in September was, in my opinion, ample time to come up with a foundation for students to be taught from home until the Christmas holidays. We all had the sense that this wouldn't be over by then(/now) at that point anyways, but it was a way of biding time, keeping kids educated, and above all, keeping people safe. Once it got to the second lockdown in November it would have then been very apparent that they should have just prepared for the rest of the academic year to be taught with children being stuck at home. Key workers could still have their children go to school, but those are insanely smaller numbers when compared with the size of an entire school going in. And it's not the teachers' faults, at all, at least from my understanding (maybe those more informed/teaching can correct me if anything I say is off beat here). From what I've read and heard, and even had my own former high school discuss with my own parents regarding my younger brother who is there now (and had to be pulled out at the start of the second lockdown due to being potentially vulnerable by my parents), js the lack of funding for schools during this outbreak has been egregious at best. There was a reason only the wealthier schools offered this, and it's because they had the funds to transition in such a way. Smaller, local schools? Not so much. They really need to get their acts together. I shouldn't need to be signing petitions every couple of months in an attempt to get something raised in parliament with the hopes of keeping my brother and others safe, because it's the only logical course of action to at least close schools during lockdowns. How can they be content pretending that they're blind to this?

Some 32 hours after starting my journey in Boletaria, I finished this earlier today to make it my last game of 2020! Absolutely loved it by the time it was over, overall one of my favourite gaming experiences too, by far being the most challenging and rewarding. I don't think I've ever gone from as dread-filled and lost as I was at the start of the game, to how powerful I felt by the end. In the hours since I've just been soaking it all in, and have started checking out VaatiVidya's lore videos. Such a rich and storied world! Many will point to the short load times and the appearance of the game being the highlights from a technical perspective (I now understand why people want to play action heavy games in 60fps), but for me, it's the sound design. It's actually insane just how crisp and atmospheric the sounds in this game are. My thoughts on the last parts of the game (made sure to keep boss fights/important bits in spoiler tags): 5-2 My least favourite Archstone going off the first round of levels, I really wasn't looking forward to this. It's dark, the swamp slows you waaaaaaay down and poisons you (as I went on to learn, having mostly prepared for being hit by plague!), and I hated facing the giant ogre guys without the ability to roll! On the other hand, there's so much loot trying to pull you out into the swamp, that it's hard to not be enticed by it. Took me three or four tries to get through to the end, learning a lot about how the level works. In the end, a Regenerator Ring mostly subdued the impacts of the reoccurring poison, and I have grass to last me for days, so that wasn't too much of an issue. I attuned Fire Spray after a few attempts at the level, to see how well it worked on the ogre guys and the flying mosquito things, and it worked much better for me than my Soul Ray! Then it was onto the boss... 5-3 I knew at this point that I would be nearing the end, so did my last bit of Grass grinding (went into the last few levels with filled slots for Crescent Moon Grass, Half Moon Grass, Late Moon Grass, and nearly filled for Full Moon Grass!). Also went hunting at the start of 1-2 for some Large Hardstone Shards to help with upgrading my weapons, which I hadn't done for a super long time: ended up with my final weapons being a Long Sword+6, a Crescent Falchion+3, and I also got my Steel Shield to +3 too! Took me about 30 minutes to prep in total, and then it was onto 1-3... 1-3 ...which I loved! Took it very cautiously, loved finding how strong I was now against red-eyed knights after my problems with one in 1-1! Came across a locked door early on which I couldn't figure out, and I knew there was a locked door at the end of 1-2 just before Tower Knight (I passed it several times on my hundreds of Grass runs, after all!), so I endeavoured to return to both as soon as I got my hands on some keys, which I did about halfway through the level from a Fat Official. Worked my way back around after helping Ostrava out again (by the way: that shortcut which opens up ), but couldn't get the locked door in 1-3 to open still; the one at the end of 1-2, however, did! Made my way cautiously through the rest of the level too, drawing out the three red-eyed knights one at a time with my bow and arrow, then drawing them into more open spaces to duel on my terms. No issue here. Continued chasing the Fat Official we'd been chasing for what seems like forever up the stairs, and... Got 1-3 and it's boss out of the way without dying, which I was very happy with. Ending And there we have it, my first From Software game is complete. So glad I pushed myself to continue playing, and definitely appreciate the encouragement and tips I had from others here too. Favourite boss? Probably between Tower Knight and Flamelurker. Favourite Archstone? Probably the first one, the Castle of Boletaria. Least favourite boss? For me, Adjudicator, that fight just felt so jarring, and was the only one I'd genuinely say was frustrating to a point where I wanted it out of the way vs wanting to overcome the obstacle that it was. Least favourite Archstone? The Valley of Defilement, screw that place. Creepiest level? 3-1, no question. Speaking of Flamelurker, I rewatched my boss fight with him after finishing the game. Couldn't fit all of it into a clip for a tweet, so just captured the last 2 minutes, but just to show how close my first attempt at him could have been to being a failure, so thought I'd share it! I think it'll be a while before I fully absorb this game and move on from it, and I think it's going to be quite a while until I move onto another From Software game. Dark Souls will obviously be up next, when I do get around to it, but I look forward to it. Looking at Bloodborne right now freaks the hell out of me, so I guess we'll see what happens when I get to that For now, it's time to find a fun Nintendo game to play to unscar my mind from some of the dread I felt while playing this!

I've never had trust issues in a game before like this I even attacked a random guy in The Nexus early on, just because I wanted to see how he'd react. I should probably tone my killing spree down...

3-2. 3-3. 4-2. 4-3. All done. One heck of a day for me making progress with this game! I might actually get to finish this before 2020 is over 3-2 I actually quite liked the level itself, at least, up until it's latter stages and the boss fight. I got through pretty much all of the level just fine on my first try, I liked how cramped the walkways were, going up and down the towers, it all just made the gargoyle fights very intense. Unfortunately...their AI seriously sucked, and they went down pretty easily. The AI for the scorpions with faces (obligatory: NOPE) was much better, but again, they didn't really give me much of a problem. First real issue I came across besides the boss fight was the Black Phantom Mind Flayer; whoever decided to stick them on tight stairways knew what they were doing, because boy did taking these guys out suck. I got past the first one by drawing him out and just sprinting past, but the later one on the spiral staircase up to the boss knocked me off, which is what caused my first death (thankfully, the level was quite forgiving because I'd already done everything I needed to by that point, so it didn't take long to get back to the boss fog gate). Came up with a strategy to go up to the eighth pillar up on the spiral staircase with a Thief Ring equipped, as it turns around on the 10th or so, then quickly run up behind it, backstab it, and kick it off the staircase into the depths below. For whatever reason I didn't get any souls for killing it, I think because it just phased out of existence before hitting the bottom, but whatever also noticed similar jank when I first completed the level and was trying to get to the spiral staircase, the wings and weapons of the gargoyles would turn up but their bodies wouldn't? On the upside though, I had good fun edging my way across some ledges in this one to get some nice loot, too! Also found a guy in a jail cell, seemed really suspect. Especially after he went nuts when I said I wasn't letting him go free. So, naturally, I let him out and knocked him off the platform, because his helmet looked cool and it had to be an actual item...right? I found it at the bottom, so I guess so As for the boss fight... Then collected my souls and went on my merry way. 3-3 4-2 Killed the boss and cleared this level on my first try, which got tense once or twice, that's for sure! For the level itself, I picked up a bunch of arrows I hadn't seen in the game yet (Fire and Light arrows) from the vendor early on, and used that to kill the Grim Reaper-looking dudes from range after killing any of their blue ghost guys who made it close by. I edged forwards through this level so slowly when I encountered them, knowing there was a Reaper dude somewhere nearby, and so kept an eye out; apart from the one hiding behind a corner (which gave me trouble because I got caught between two of the blue guys in the right passage just before him!) the others I could spot from a mile away if I slowly made my way through and constantly looked around, so I made light work of them. Fights with the skeletons got a little tense at times, but weren't too bad on the whole, it was just a case of getting them into an area which wasn't a cliff ledge where I was happy to take them on. Loads of loot on this level, and loved the change of scenery with the little slug guys before the final fog door. Annoying, but cute designs by this game's standards. Then onto the boss... And then, finally... 4-3 These Archdemon fights really remind me of Shadow of the Colossus at the best of times, which is great! Anyways, back to my least favourite Archstone so far to take on 5-2. I really need some Widow's Lotuses, but have no idea where they might be, so I might look that up before giving it a try (EDIT: wait...the Cure miracle should do, right?). With any luck, though, I'll finish the game tomorrow!

Reading this thread...you guys are really making me want to play this, even though I know I want to play 5 and 6 (and maybe even Judgment) before I get around to it. The only reason I've held out this long is I'm still waiting for the standard edition case which is making me justify the wait until at least the PS5 upgrade going live in March, but man, it's hard reading this thread! I love JRPG's, and I love Yakuza, but I really wasn't expecting this to do as well as it clearly has at nailing both, at least based on the discussions I've seen here and elsewhere. Seems like they've done a great job, once again!

Yeah, I'm totally going to stretch my list of games played in 2020 (and add the qualifier of playing them for the first time) to a Top 10, just because I loved so many of the games I played this year, and I'd feel bad not mentioning more. Oh, and also because quite a few are probably on my All-Time Top 10 now honestly, the top 4 of that second list can be swapped in almost any order depending on my mood, but point is, I loved them! Released in 2020: 1. Final Fantasy VII Remake - I think my other list makes it very apparent that I've loved everything I've touched from Final Fantasy so far, and VII Remake is no exception to that. It can feel a little drawn out at times, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the final boss when I reached him...yet, the more I've thought back to this game, the more I've come to realise that I loved it. I could not put it down! Great evolution for action JRPG's in how the ATB system was adapted for this game, an awesome main cast of characters, and a stunning recreation of Midgar make this my favourite game of the year. Square Enix were as bold as I've seen anyone be, taking risks I think only in ways I think The Last of Us Part II did too this year, and I can't wait to see what comes next. Also, the original game's soundtrack was already a 10/10, so the fact that this adapts and rearranges tracks which is at least just as good, but in many cases even better, deserves all the praise I can afford it. 2. Ghost of Tsushima - my second favourite open world besides Breath of the Wild, which is very high praise for me. Exploration is intuitive, and it's probably the most beautiful game (those golden skies!) for me of the generation, as the 1000+ screenshots I took of the game while playing surely prices. Look, it has its issues: early story pacing problems, no lock-on (for seemingly no reason), and it could have done with more polish. But at the same time... it's just awesome. The sound design is great, the music is stellar, character arcs feel surprisingly meaningful for an open world game, it has what is probably my favourite title splash of any game ever, and there's just so much to find on your travels. Also, shout out to Sucker Punch for getting SSD-like load times on base PS4 consoles, that's some seriously impressive stuff! Not to mention the free online content added with Legends (which unfortunately I still haven't got around to checking out). 3. The Last of Us Part II - intense doesn't even begin to capture this game, even at the worst of times. Best in class for facial animations, rope physics (seriously!), and pretty much every other technical aspect a game could offer. Nails accessibility options in ways that other games could only dream of. The story is gripping, and it aims very high, much higher than I think any other game I've played before. Does it miss a few times? Yes. But credit where credit is due, Naughty Dog had the balls to take this story to places where no sane person would. It has pacing issues and can be predictable at times, given the subject matter, and it's depressing as hell. It made me drop games for nearly a month after completing it, that's how empty it left me feeling afterwards. Avoid the spoilers if you haven't seen them already, and, assuming you've played the first game, give this game a try and make up your own mind. You might love it, you might hate it, but I still think it's one of the best games of the year. 4. Astro's Playroom - yeah, this is the most fun I've had in a game this year. Easily. Blasted through it in a day and never wanted it to end, it has me struggling to not pick up a PSVR headset just to check out Rescue Mission, it's just that good. Incredibly charming and creative, packed with so many awesome references, and even has a mode for speedrunning. I don't know how, but they hooked me, and I had to delete the game because I knew I wouldn't stop playing it otherwise 5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons* - I'm sure this will come up a lot, but this was exactly what I needed at the start of the first lockdown. Yeah, I dropped it after 50 hours, but that was mainly because *DISCLAIMER: I'm nearing the end of Demon's Souls, and might finish it tomorrow. If I do, I don't think it's that crazy that it ends up on my Top 5 for the year somewhere (depending on how the rest of the game plays out), which might knock Animal Crossing: New Horizons off the list... Of the games I've played in 2020**: 1. The Last of Us - I honestly don't think I've ever been gripped by a game quite like I was The Last of Us earlier this year. I've mentioned it before in the Gaming Diary thread, but playing this after my only other exposure to modern Naughty Dog was playing the Uncharted Collection a couple of years back, it flipped my thoughts on them from being "I don't get what all the fuss is about" to "oh, I understand the fuss", pretty much singlehandedly. I pre-ordered Part II before the game was even over! Brilliantly paced, one hell of a soundtrack, intense and focused moment-to-moment gameplay, great characters, a super interesting post-apocalyptic world...hell yeah. Also my first completed game that I would describe as being a survival horror game, I'm really glad that I tried it out and put myself out there by doing so, despite my previous hatred of horror in video games. There's no way I'd be enjoying Demon's Souls right now if not for getting to grips with intense games through TLOU. 2. Final Fantasy VI - honestly, splitting one or two hairs between this and IX, the order of these two (and VII) all flip on a nearly daily basis for me as my favourite Final Fantasy. Stellar and enormous cast, snappy battle system, one of the best soundtracks from the greatest video game music composer of all time, a consistent and cohesive narrative vision (looking at you, VII's last third ), ...and I played it super close to the TV as the first game I played on my SNES Classic, which made me feel like a kid again. I absolutely adored this game. 3. Final Fantasy IX - so, uh...pretty much everything I said about VI, and just as passionately, but with probably a stronger main cast, but a much slower battle system (thank goodness for 3x speed!). It's one hell of a celebration of the franchise and I absolutely adored it too. VI gets the nod at this very moment for what I think is overall a slightly stronger soundtrack and probably more consistent pacing earlier in the game (the opening kind of slows down quite a bit immediately after the crash), but make no mistake, I loved this game too. Again, this could just as easily be sitting above VI, depending on what day you ask me 4. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - as you can see by the rest of this Top 10... I have learned to absolutely love Metal Gear Solid this year. Excellent gameplay mechanics, awesome pacing, intriguing story and well written characters, it's quite clearly the strongest of the MGS games I've played so far (note: I haven't played any since...yet). I can't speak to modern Kojima, besides a few hours pumped into MGS V a couple of years back - having absolutely no idea what was going on - but I can say for damn sure that late 90's to mid 00's Kojima was a straight up video game directing genius. It's a game about circumstance, and how we're influenced in our every day by the world which surrounds us, having the nerve to pose the important hypothetical of the US and Russia one day being allies. It's such a special game. 5. Final Fantasy VII Remake - see above 6. Metal Gear Solid - clunky at times, but absolutely engrossing, seeing where MGS began over 20 years after its release and still adoring it says a lot about the quality of this game. One of the greats. 7. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - this game has really stuck with me, mainly because of its commentary on the modern era's use of information and how society can be controlled. It's...honestly scary to think about, in that it's totally accurate, and was discussing these things in a video game well before it was obvious. Again: genius Kojima at work. Even if it has aged poorly in some areas (I hate that damn camera), it's still absolutely worth playing today. 8. Yakuza 4 - the world would be a better place if more men (and women) were like Kiryu. Not even joking, probably one of the best male roles model around today. This franchise will make you cry tears of laughter, and without skipping a beat, you'll find yourself reflecting on important themes such as friendship, love, and honour. Returning to Kamurocho is like returning home after a long time away, and for me, this is probably the best narrative in the series, besides 0 (only played up to 4 so far...got some catching up to do I guess!). Side note: if you haven't played a Yakuza game yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! Start with Yakuza 0 and don't look back, you will have zero regrets! 9. Ghost of Tsushima - see above 10. Yakuza 3 - the fact that this is almost objectively the weakest Yakuza game I've played so far (probably alongside Kiwami) but still makes it into my Top 10 for the year speaks volumes about the year we've had more than the game itself. This is the Summer Beach Special of the Yakuza franchise, and it was a much-needed smile very early on into COVID (and coming off the back of TLOU). Probably the cosiest Yakuza game for me. *for the first time...because otherwise I need to include Chrono Trigger, and figured I could free up a space this way plus, it's hard enough to rank without taking Chrono Trigger into account, and it's my list!

Nice! And wait a second...now you mention it and I'm stopping to think about it, that's the only way those areas could have connected! I'm curious now I'm thinking about it whether I would have gone right had I died earlier or to Flamelurker... that could've been a few more deaths and a lot of wasted time! guess Oh well, I've gained some valuable experience from going the long way, I have no regrets Ah okay, that makes sense I guess, I'll try to reel in my expectations for the final levels of each Archstone, thanks for the heads-up! It does take away some of the tension of making it through an entire level and then having to face a boss, but then again, it adds a nice bit of variety and definitely still feels empowering to take a massive boss down with a little less pressure on the whole thing. And yeah, I weirdly get what you mean about Flamelurker being a straight up Dark Souls boss, because there have been a few "gimmicks" to some of the others that, once you pick up on them, become much easier. And again, there's been a lot of variety (good and bad) to them which I wasn't expecting, and much less dodge rolling than my limited knowledge of other From Software games told me there was going to be, from streams and reviews, things like that. From the little magic I've used so far, having put zero Souls into levelling it up and rocking Soul Ray with limited MP...it's been OP from my experience, when used on the right enemies at least. Generally after I encounter a new enemy type, where it's not super obvious what it's going to be weak to, I'll drawn it in to figure out its attack pattern, then give it a whack with my Long Sword, and then follow up with my Crescent Falchion; if it's weak to the latter, I'll blast it with a Soul Ray and see how it pans out. Generally though, magic seems to have done a decent amount of damage to a lot of enemies so far, and it's certainly made my Grass grinding much easier

Took a bit of a break after finishing 2-2 and defeating Flamelurker, but just hopped on to give 2-3 a try and completed that too! Been a great day for me making progress in this game, hopefully can make some more tomorrow I actually really liked 2-2 - much more than I did 2-1, anyways - for the most part, what with the introduction of those proximity explosives in the carts, and the game giving you a chance to show yourself how far you've come (I guess unless you came straight here after 2-1?) by taking on the pickaxe-wielding miners and a Fat Official. Kind of brushed them aside. There was an NPC in the shaft who all the messages said was lying, but I'm not sure what about, because I accidentally hit him a couple of times when getting chased by those molten bees and the dude (rightly) wouldn't calm down, soooooo I kind of killed him. Self-preservation and all that then I quite enjoyed figuring out my way through the tunnels, how to navigate it with those chunky flame bugs lying around, though it did take me a while to figure out where to go from there (the lava river wasn't too giving in terms of how to progress). I actually only went left in the tunnel and stuck with it because I died twice getting caught on a plank sticking out where I was trying to drop down from, which caused me to go off course and plummet to my death; no idea what's to the right! In no real rush to go back there, mind And then it was the boss fight with Flamelurker, which I beat on my first attempt, which I'm both very proud of! Even saved the last 15 and 60 mins of footage once it was done because I couldn't believe it, I'd heard it was one of the tougher bosses for someone with a melee build, which I've been using. It far more stressful doing it first time in a way, because there was a lot of adrenaline pumping once I got it's health to tick down past the halfway mark. Overall, even though it was waaaaaaay too intense a fight, probably my favourite boss fight alongside Tower Knight so far! That's going to be a boss fight I cherish for a very long time, because unlike some of the others where I had to return after dying, I didn't get the chance to figure much out about it other than what I could on the fly. It felt so great to take it down! And then I took a break, before taking on 2-3, which was not what I had expected...at all. Anyways, yeah, I'm enjoying this quite a bit now, though I guess that's easy to say after a solid session with a decent amount of progress over a few hours spent on it today also, I made it to Soul Level 50, which feels like a pretty big milestone on my journey! Hope that means things are looking up for the rest of the game onto 3-2, and whatever else I can manage, tomorrow!

I just beat Flamelurker on my first attempt! I actually think I'm going to throw up...

Yikes, 5-1 suuuuuuuuucks. Plague is a thing all of a sudden, it is way too dark to be walking across these small planks, and you get caught on things or fall off at the most random of times (had to close the game twice to get to my last auto-save already because I've got stuck on things). Tried out my Crescent Falchion+2 and it seems to suit this place, and my answer to the darkness is obviously to crank up the brightness. Now if I can just get past that big guy with the club... EDIT: okay, just draw him in with an arrow from a distance and walk up the stairs to the weird woman and he got stuck in the corner also, noticed my character has started randomly dodging attacks after I attack with my Falchion a couple of times? Anyone know why that might be? EDIT 2: Okay, 5-1 cleared and Leechmonger down at my first attemot. That was probably the easiest boss so far, think the only tactic really needed is to keep your shield up and remember to heal? More of a war of attrition more than anything else. Guess I'm going to be heading back to 2-2 next...

Damn, making some quick work of it @drahkon! Nice job which is your favourite of the earlier bosses? I haven't really had a long session with the game so far, despite playing it for two weeks at this point (with many instances of taking days away from it at a time). Getting through 3-1 and then to the very end of 4-1 yesterday is probably the most time I've spent with it in a day so far. For now, I think my mind is made up: I'm way too stubborn and way too invested to walk away, so I'm going to try to stick it out. Now I'm a bit more determined in my approach, hopefully I can convince myself to spend more time with it in my play sessions I'm off for the week and I've been struggling to dedicate time to it! This was a week I booked off to just relax and do what I like, yet I find myself feeling guilty playing games, listening to music, reading books and watching films. I really need to get better at managing stress and my mental state, hate to feel like I'm spinning my wheels when I know I've got nowhere to go fast right now guess I just figured out my New Year's resolution! Back to the game though, it takes up so much of my mind share when I'm not playing it. Thinking about the atmosphere, attack patterns of certain enemies, the boss fights...it's not obsession, but I've definitely formed a lot of respect for what the game has offered so far. Well, apart from my experience with Adjudicator; whoever designed and programmed that guy's AI can get lost.

Throw 4-1 on the done pile. Thank goodness. Suck it Adjudicator, I hate your guts. The level itself is quite short, the fights are well laid out, and I love that you're basically circling the island to get to the boss. Today I breezed through the level itself and my only deaths were to the boss, so my number of souls by my bloodstain only kept going up and up; once I finally defeated the boss, there were some 60,000 souls lying around (in addition to the ones I was carrying from my final run of 4-1, and those rewarded for beating the boss). Used up some of the souls I had found too, so ended up spending around 100,000 souls to make me jump from Soul Level 28...to 41 feels good! Going to take a break for now, might give 5-1 a go later. I'm still on the fence as to whether I'm sticking with this or not, and I could see myself shelving this until the new year just because I'm in the mood for something lighter right now. We'll see!

Episode 4 of Attack on Titan Season 4 is another awesome episode. So far it's been all killer, no filler, and I'm loving it. Cannot wait for next week, really enjoying keeping up with the weekly release of new episodes, because there hasn't really been any redundancy in what we've had so far this season. Strong pacing, great animation, stellar soundtrack, and always an awesome tease for what's next. Loving it!

Going to preface what I'm about to say about 4-1 with this: I'll be totally honest, I'm getting to a really weird spot with this game, and it's something I haven't felt when playing a game before. While I'm enjoying it when I'm playing it, I don't find myself in the mood to return to it often, nor do I actively look forward to picking it up. It's a totally different type of tension to something like TLOU, where, even though that game was tense, the story kept pulling me back. Even TLOU2, which might have been even worse, I pushed on, because there was something outside of the gameplay - the story - which kept pulling me back. I have nothing but praise for the atmosphere and gameplay Demon's Souls offers, and I think I finally understand why there are so many fans of these games having played through these early parts, but...maybe it's just not for me. Dreading going back to the game and actively putting off playing a game is something I never do, even when I'm not enjoying a game, and here's a game that I do enjoy when I play it, but dread the thought of returning to. Is it because this year has been bleak enough as it is, and it's just pushing me over the edge a bit? Maybe. Is it because I'm off from work for a week, and the thought of playing this for the next week and the real possibility of not having finished it just depresses me a bit? Maybe. To clarify, it's not the thought that I need to finish this before I get back...but it's not exactly a great way to relax during a break from work, and it still not being done by the time I return and potentially having not enjoyed it during my week off is what I'm getting at. It might just be that I'm in the mood for something lighter right now, and maybe I'm forcing myself to play this instead, seeing as I normally only play one game at a time. I don't want to say I'm dropping it, because I do want to see this game through to the end, but I might see how my next session with it goes. If I'm still not feeling it, it might be worth me putting it on hold, at least until I've played something a little lighter? And then I might give it another go, and then if I'm still not feeling it, then...yeah, I might shelve it. I'll see. Anyways, 4-1: 4-1 Got to the boss at the end of 4-1 after a few attempts, it's definitely a level which can be quick to breeze through once you know what you're doing. Taking out the Vanguard Demon was good fun, using Soul Arrows a lot more on this level than others, given just how many enemies are probably best to take on with it (the manta ray things and the golden - ? - skeletons with the larger swords in particular). They haven't caused me too much trouble since the first two attempts where I got killed by them, but now I know a bit more about the strategy to take when facing them, they're not too bad. Those black skeletons though? Screw those things. The one in front of the fog door before the boss in particular, whoever decided to put one there is on a list of developers I never want to meet got to the end just to be killed by it three times, the time I beat it was attacking it with Soul Arrows and running in circles. I fell off a cliff with it targeted, got carved to pieces because the staircase it's on isn't long enough at my level to take it out with just magic, etc. And my one attempt at the boss wasn't fun at all either. Peered through the hole in the floor to get a look at what I was facing, locked on...and got whipped by something through the floor. And then when I went to heal immediately after moving out of the way, I got whipped through the floor again (I was in the corner and had a clear view that it came up through the floor) the sort of jank I really hate in games, where it makes the game seem a little on the unfair side (of the opinion jank should only ever favour the player, or developers will never hear the end of it). Experienced this back on 1-2 as well, when a guy put a spear through me when he was on the other side of the wall. I know it's a faithful remaster/remake, but I do feel like being hit through walls/floors is something they could have cleaned up, because it's a clear sign of the game showing its age (or lack of work after QA? You get what I mean). So, going to be giving 4-1 another go in the morning. Got some 40k souls left by that boss now...going to be pretty hard to not think about those when getting back there!

That's good to hear then! I was coming from it more of the perspective that it has less subtle, "adult" visual humour in it (the hooker toy in Toy Story, or Lightning getting flashed in Cars comes to mind) and rather more planned bits clearly aimed at adults (which still might even fall flat for some; I know I was looking up Andrew Jackson afterwards) and more evident, physical comedy, which as you said, is lighter in tone. And yeah, I guess it depends on the age of the child to some degree too. If I watched this at 3 I probably would've enjoyed it, because like you said, it's colourful and has a lot of physical comedy. But if it came at 5 or 6, after I'd had my first existential crisis? Probably not Do agree that the plot was fairly predictable, though I still had a good time with it in the end. Don't think it's one I'll be in a rush to return to, though, and even though I enjoyed Onward earlier in the year, it's the same with that for me too. Don't know if it's just me getting older and not being at the age where falling in love with one film in particular happened a whole lot, or if Pixar films just aren't as strong as pulling the audience back in for further viewings?

Adding the Tower of Latria to the list of places I never want to return to in a video game. The sense of dread and tension in this game is already insane, never mind the fact we've got tentacle-headed dudes and places which are so dark you're questioning whether to crank the brightness way up Beat 3-1 on my third attempt at the level, and the Fool's Idol boss on my very first try! Probably the first and last time I'll be saying that, but I'm proud of it The first couple of deaths in the level were down to the Mind Flayer and figuring out what my attack strategy was going to be, on 3F the first few times you encounter them. Pretty much just turned into me slicing them up once I'd drawn them into walking towards a corner and giving them the jump, and the few times that didn't work just needed me to roll away to get a bit of space. Quite a few stabs in the back too, they totally deserved it. Freed Freke and ran into some other guy, Rydell I think? No idea what I need to do to save him, but something nearby mentioned world tendency...so probably not something I'll go back to do speaking of which, I got invaded for the first time just before the doors to the boss fight. Is that always supposed to be there? I walked around as much as I could, so killed the guy up top who told me to trust him (I trust no-one in this game so he's dead now), and then yeah, someone with a short sword and crossbow was trying to take me out. Was taken by surprise and a bit frustrated (I'd only just got to where I imagined the boss was, and now there's someone else trying to kill me!). Took it slow, kept my distance to make them use the crossbow, then rushed them with some slashes of my sword whenever they went to change to their short sword. Also, would just randomly change from shield to my Wooden Catalyst, and still holding L1, would immediately cast a Soul Arrow at them, so stunned them and rushed them again. Way too tense to have that happen to the first time just before I reached the boss! Going to start throwing my boss fight encounter descriptions in spoilers from this point, I'll probably drop names once I'm a little deeper in too. Just because I want to avoid spoiling it for anyone, the boss fights are a good chunk of the fun! Great atmosphere to 3-1, quite enjoyed the boss fight, and thought the track for the fight itself was cool. A lot of choir in this game though? Looked up the original and gave it a listen, and I do feel that taking away the choir definitely offers an entirely different tone, more malice and pure horror than with the addition of the choir, which seems to be trying to make it sound a bit more epic? Think I might give the original OST a listen once I've finished the game, because based on this track at list, some of the remake's OST seems to starkly contrast against the tone of the original. Anyways, onto 4-1!

Sucks to read your were having those issues @Ganepark32, is it sorted now? Had my own issues today with the PS5 when returning to Demon's Souls. Took the disk out the other day to watch a film, put it back in today, press 'Play', and I get the error reading "Can't start game or app. Please delete the game and reinstall.", etc. Didn't even get an error code, and it still showed as being installed in my system storage. So got to copy the game over again and wait for the update to install. I know it's a small thing, but still, it takes enough to be in the mood to play this game normally anyways!

Here's mine: I'll be honest, I'm surprised it's even that high. Can definitely see the Animal Crossing (~50 hours of play) and Xenoblade (~70 hours of play) bumps, though! My Switch is in such a weird place. I really enjoy what I do play on it, but I feel like I'm way more selective when it comes to playing things on it when compared with my PlayStation. There are long stretches where it gathers dust, even when there are things I want to play on it. Got to imagine being stuck at home because of COVID probably takes a chunk of time away from it that I might have spent playing it outside...maybe. Guess my unofficial aim for 2021 is to get over that hump and play more Nintendo games