For the week of September 2 – 8
Check out what I played last week
I finally got around to trying Black Myth Wukong. Plus, I tried a few free games through Prime Gaming.
September 2 – Pocket Fighter
With the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection launching soon, I wanted to try a few more fighters. Looking at the Capcom Fighting Collection, I came across Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. This was also known as Pocket Fighter, which is what I’ll refer to it as. At first, I thought this was a sequel to Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. It was only after I began playing that I saw that while they share similar art styles, they are very different.
Pocket Fighter feels like “Street Fighter for Casuals”. It has simple controls and cartoon-like designs. On top of that, there is a smaller cast of characters. The roster of 12 features characters from Street Fighter II and Darkstalkers. Only two characters don’t come from either game.
What stands out in each fight is the collecting of gems. As hits connect, different colored gems will fill the screen to collect. As you grab them, they fill out your special meters which results in them leveling up. The higher the level, the stronger they are. It’s an interesting approach since you need to perform those special moves to earn gems.
Because of the smaller cast and quicker approach, this doesn’t have a lot for you to play with. I finished the campaign with a few characters and felt like I saw enough. It’s nice that Capcom went with this approach and I’d love for them to do something similar in the future. Again, this isn’t for hardcore fighting fans, but for the casual enjoyer, they will find some value here.
September 3 – Harry Potter Quidditch Champions
I never played EA’s Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup from 2003. But, when I saw that a new Quidditch game was coming I was super curious about it. It’s nice that Harry Potter Quidditch Champions is free through this month’s PlayStation+, so many people can give it a try. While this isn’t a bad game, it’s designed with multiplayer in mind.
The single-player isn’t a proper campaign. You start by creating your created character, who begins the game as a Chaser. You are invited to the Weasley’s home where you’ll get to learn all the positions of the sport. Each time you start a new position, the game gets you to create a new character for the role. By the end of it, you have a full squad that will be yours to play with.
But there is no real story. Sure, there are some minor interactions with characters from the Harry Potter universe. The matches themselves are pretty standard. In the Hogwarts Cup, you pick the house you want to represent, and then you play each other house for placement. That placement determines who you play in the semi-finals. If you win, then you unlock the next cup, where you represent Hogwarts against other schools. It very much plays as you’d expect from the films.
Playing on your own with the CPU does get stale. Yes, you can play in any position, and swapping between roles is easy. You can tell that the game’s focus is on multiplayer. They want you to build a team with friends and play against others online. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have enough friends who want to squad up. So for me, there isn’t much else for me to do.
September 4 – Star Trucker
The moment I stepped out of my “truck” in Star Trucker, I knew this game wouldn’t be for me. Star Trucker feels like it is meant to be Euro Truck Simulator but set in space. You’re a space truck driver and you’re assigned to delivering jobs across the galaxy. Some people might find it fun, but I do not.
The game starts you off by getting you to fix your truck. You don a spacesuit and step outside. But the moment you set foot in space you start to experience the space controls. The controls make sense but for a game, they don’t feel fun. You’re in zero gravity, so of course you’re not going to move around smoothly. But, those finicky controls go well beyond the space suit.
Once I got my truck moving, I still struggled with the controls. I had a hard time delivering my first cargo. It was so bad that I had to restart the section twice because my cargo wouldn’t stay in place. Restarting was easier than trying to reattach the cargo to my truck. Then, once I finally managed to complete that, your next task was to dock at a nearby space station. My goodness! Even that was painful to do. This time you need to back up your truck into a section of the space station and I struggled doing this.
I’m done with Star Trucker. I can’t see myself trying to overcome my frustration with the controls and the other gripes I have. There is an audience for this game, but I’m not a part of that group.
September 5 – Black Myth Wukong
The hype is real! I am finally playing Black Myth Wukong and it’s meeting my expectations. I’m still only on the first chapter but I’ve spent so much time being engrossed by its visuals and fun combat. Yes, I’m dying a lot but I don’t mind it. But, there is just one gripe I have with the game.
Based on my time with the game, this is a linear experience. The first chapter has you move from point A to point B with almost no opportunity to discover new things. The second chapter is a bit more open. But it’s a trick since you still need to go to all those locations to fight specific boss characters. I was hoping for a true sense of discovery, rather than a tailored experience.
But part of that gripe is my real concern with the game. Because of the linear nature, it also means that this game features its fair share of “invisible walls”. Even if it looks like you can go somewhere, you can’t. I would regularly get to a spot where I thought my character could access it, only to discover I couldn’t. This happens a lot in the first two chapters and I’m worried it gets worse.
Other than that, I’m in awe of this game. The game’s opening throws you into the game and you get to see the Monkey King’s true power. Once I began the main campaign, I was impressed with everything. The controls are easy to grasp, the combat offers plenty of variety, and I love the attention to detail. I am playing it in Mandarin and the voice work is unbelievable. I’m also loving the game’s score. I’m going to do everything in my power to finish this game as quickly as I can.
September 6 – Trek to Yomi
Trek to Yomi is a game I’ve wanted to try for a long time. When this came out in 2022, it was coined as a Kurosawa film in video game form. It does have the visual qualities of Japanese cinema of the 50s and 60s. Unfortunately, the story isn’t grabbing me, and the combat is repetitive.
This is a side-scrolling action game. Combat, at least from what I’ve experienced, is always a duel against one or many foes. Like Bushido Blade, characters can die with one swift hit. Yet, you need one or two strikes to take down a foe. The same goes for your character. I’ve had a few fights where one well-time hit killed me. Thankfully, the save function is good that you don’t have to replay long sections again.
But the combat hasn’t changed in the hour or so I’ve played. It’s the same scenario. I’ll encounter either a solitary foe or a group of 2-4 and will perform the same few actions to defeat them. Time my block, then counter with a strike of my own. The enemy always goes down, as long as I don’t mistime my block.
A stronger story and more variety in the combat and the exploration would have made this a better game. As it stands, the novelty runs out after the game’s first act and the narrative can’t hold my attention. I’m glad I got to finally try this out and now I can move on to something else.
September 7 – Retro Bowl 25
When I write about games for this series, I try to keep at most four paragraphs long. These sections aren’t supposed to be full reviews, but short analyses of the game I played on a particular day. But for Retro Bowl 25, I began writing about the game and I couldn’t stop. So, I’ll have a proper Quick Thoughts on the game in a separate post, which I’ll link to here.
Retro Bowl 25 is an arcade-focused football game, available through Apple Arcade. With the start of the NFL season, it was nice to try a football game I can talk about. I have a lot of thoughts to share. While I am having fun, I have my fair share of criticism. If you want the TL: DR, if you have an Apple Arcade subscription and you enjoy football, give this a try.
September 8 – Eternights
Eternights is a game that’s been on my radar for a while. My interest was mainly because of the comparison it was getting to the Persona series. The idea of an action RPG with dating/social elements sounds cool on paper. Alas, the start of the game only showcases one of the two. Unlike Persona, which does a lot of world-building, Eternights does the opposite.
The game begins with your character and your best friend discussing dating. You download a “new dating app” that asks you a few questions and “pairs” you up with a match. You and your match arrange a date the next day. Unfortunately for you, all hell breaks loose.
I won’t go into too much detail about the story. During the first hour or so of the game, you learn that your character is special and the key to ending the outbreak. You also get a hang of the game’s combat and a small taste of how your friends factor in. The combat is fine, but it focuses on dodging attacks and filling up a special meter so you can perform a QTE attack.
I’m not feeling this game. The story is ok but hasn’t hooked me. I don’t see the “dating” aspects come into play when I’m supposed to save the world. I wish this game had a stronger start. As it stands, I doubt I’ll play any more after today.
