Your 2024 Gaming Diary

[Cube]

40 minutes ago, nekunando said:

Genuinely interested to hear why 🙂

Sure, the game resonated with me completely. The atmosphere and story were absolutely compelling. Which is odd for me, as I'm not big a fan of horror games (other than Remedy's titles, Eternal Darkness is the only the only other one for me). 

I think it's that it's more psychological horror, which is greatly enhanced by the deep characters in the game, not just Wake himself, but those around him. Unravelling the mystery is captivating. 

The core gameplay itself isn't the most groundbreaking thing, but is enjoyable enough throughout the course of the game, and works well with the vibes and horror of the game. 

Then there's the music. The game's use of music is phenomenal, using it to set the tone while also having some genuinely amazing songs made just for the game. The game is responsible for me discovering Poets of the Fall, who are my favourite band.

Every part of the game just clicked with me in a wonderful way, and the way it does horror feels unique. The sequel improved every single aspect.

The whole connected universe (Alan Wake, Quantum Break and Control) are games I massively love. 

[nekunando]

18 minutes ago, Cube said:

Sure, the game resonated with me completely. The atmosphere and story were absolutely compelling. Which is odd for me, as I'm not big a fan of horror games (other than Remedy's titles, Eternal Darkness is the only the only other one for me). 

I think it's that it's more psychological horror, which is greatly enhanced by the deep characters in the game, not just Wake himself, but those around him. Unravelling the mystery is captivating. 

The core gameplay itself isn't the most groundbreaking thing, but is enjoyable enough throughout the course of the game, and works well with the vibes and horror of the game. 

Then there's the music. The game's use of music is phenomenal, using it to set the tone while also having some genuinely amazing songs made just for the game. The game is responsible for me discovering Poets of the Fall, who are my favourite band.

Every part of the game just clicked with me in a wonderful way, and the way it does horror feels unique. The sequel improved every single aspect.

The whole connected universe (Alan Wake, Quantum Break and Control) are games I massively love. 

That's great! I wish I could say the same 🥲

The gameplay was definitely the biggest issue. It felt clumsy throughout but shining a torch at random objects flying through the air just brought out a sigh in me every time.

If the story captivated me I could have perhaps overlooked that a little more but I wasn't engrossed by that or the characters.

The game often issues mundane tasks and objectives in the corner of the screen. It is nice to know where to go but when it's constantly 'go to this room.. speak the this person.. pick up glasses.. pick up tablets..' then it just never feels particularly compelling for me.

I do think it would have had more of an impact had I played it back when it originally came out but it just hasn't resonated with me at all in 2024.

[WackerJr]

21 hours ago, Dcubed said:

They only published/distributed the physical releases, well after their original respective digital releases.  They had nothing to do with their development.

Anything funded and actually developed under GameMill's tenure as a publisher inevitably ends up being irredeemable rubbish.

That makes sense then, and the fact that you could guess the publisher based solely on how atrocious the game played gives a great indication of their reputation!

I’d been keeping an eye on ‘Outright Games’ for the shortcuts they take in their family-friendly games (although reading reviews it sounds as though they’re at least improving… possibly!).