For the week of September 9 – 15
Check out what I played last week
September 9 – Age of Mythology: Retold
The original Age of Mythology came out at a time when I was only playing console games. While I enjoy real-time strategy games, the concept behind AoM didn’t appeal to me. But, with the remake, Age of Mythology: Retold, I finally wanted to try it. Having no way to compare how this differs from the original, I’m enjoying what the campaign has to offer.
My time with the game includes playing the first few missions of the campaign. I’m enjoying the evolutionary aspects that improve over time. The story itself is forgettable but that’s not why I’m playing. The RTS aspects are fun and that’s the most important part. This is easy to get into, and they’ve done a good job of encouraging new players to the fold.
Yet, this isn’t a game I see myself dedicating too much time after this. I’m enjoying myself but this feels better played in short bursts. Play a campaign mission, then move on to something else. Although I won’t play the game all the way, I’m glad I got to finally give it a try.
September 10 – Soul Hackers 2
I don’t know why I keep wanting to try more RPGs. It’s clear that I enjoy the genre but there are far too many games to play. Atlus’ Soul Hackers 2 was a game that piqued my curiosity back in 2022 but I didn’t get around to trying it. Like a lot of Atlus/Sega games, this game is often on sale. On top of that, there is a 2-hour trial through the PlayStation 5. This is a Megami Tensei RPG, from top to bottom. While I enjoy the game, I don’t have the time to invest.
The first hour or so has quite a bit of exposition but I wouldn’t be able to describe it if asked to. As for the combat, if you’ve played any MT game, this is easy to understand. The key here is recruiting and using Demons in battle. As someone who played Shin Megami Tensei V a few months ago, I felt right at home. Unlike SMT V, the battles here felt easier in comparison. I don’t know if that’s on purpose, part of the onboarding process, or if the default difficulty is too easy.
Like other Megami Tensei games, I suspect Soul Hackers 2 is a long game. How Long To Beat, says this takes about 31-48 hours to complete. I don’t have that kind of time to invest. The combat is good, but I need the story to grab my attention, which this isn’t doing. It was nice to try, but that’s all from me for this one.
September 11 – Slider
Most people are familiar with slider puzzles. They’re a fun distraction for a few minutes, but once you complete them, the fun is over. I can’t think of a game where they’ve used the concept of sliding puzzles as the main gameplay hook. That’s exactly what Slider is. What’s crazy is that it works well and it has me hooked. The best part, this game is completely free.
The gameplay in Slider doesn’t work as you’d expect. You begin in a zone where you’ll have only one piece. The piece can connect to anywhere on the map. The outer borders might contain characters, specific environments, or access to other areas. To get more pieces, you need to solve the specific puzzle to reveal the next piece. Sometimes it’s as simple as connecting two parts so that you can reach a missing piece. In others, you might need to reunite two people or complete other tasks.
Going into too much detail will only spoil the surprises. I’ve gone through the first three areas and there are some creative puzzle challenges. It feels like there is only one way to complete a puzzle, which helps to avoid some frustration. The developers have put an entire walkthrough on their Steam Page. The answers are there but it’s fun to solve them on your own.
As I mentioned in the intro paragraph, Slider is free through Stream. This doesn’t appear to be a limited-time thing and there are no ads that you’re forced to watch. On top of that, this feels long. This has plenty of content. My only fear is that the novelty will run out of steam. If that’s not the case, I can see this appearing on my favorite games of 2024 list at the end of the year.
September 12 – The Last Guardian
After almost eight full years, I’m finally playing The Last Guardian. I remember the hype around this game when it was first teased back in 2009. But when it was finally released in 2016, even with the decent reviews it got, I wasn’t keen to try it out. I had such fond memories of Fumito Ueda’s other PlayStation games. Yet, The Last Guardian came and went. Today, it feels like a forgotten PlayStation title.
For starters, this game looks incredible. I love Trico, it is so damn beautiful and reminds me of my pets. Everything about it intrigues me. From its mixture of a dog, bird, and cat to its mysterious background. I’m also impressed with how well it interacts with the environment. It’s clear that Trico also serves as your guide in puzzles, which I appreciate.
That’s what frustrates me is that getting around isn’t clear It’s nice that they aren’t hand-holding me. But, there are so many areas where it’s easy to miss a tiny hole that my character can crawl through. I will often have to wander around for a few minutes before I finally see the spot where I can progress through. Trico does help in some regards but when that’s not possible, I’m left to guess until I figure it out.
I began playing this on my PlayStation Portal. It performs fine but doesn’t feel like an ideal streaming game. There was a lot of criticism around The Last Guardian‘s performance on PlayStation 4. It did get a 4K upgrade for the PS4 Pro, so I suspect playing this directly from the PS5 is the better way to play it. I am curious how the story progresses, so I want to find a way to play more of this in the future.
September 13 – Helldivers
After all the positive buzz around Helldivers 2 at launch earlier this year, I wanted to try it. Unfortunately for me, I never tried the first game and felt it would be a good idea to give it a go. I know the two games are stylistically different. I also suspect you don’t have to play the first game to understand the second. But because the first game is inexpensive on PC, I wanted to try it out anyway.
It’s clear the moment you start the game that Helldivers is a cooperative experience. I struggled on the game’s first real mission for a few attempts until a random player jumped into my game to lend a hand. In later missions, I had a few other random players join me. When they did, it made the mission easier and quicker to complete.
As for the story, I don’t feel like there is one. I played “similar” missions on two different planets and there is no sort of progression. This does use a galaxy map that needs controlling. Because of the age of the game, I may be playing it too late. The world map is completely controlled by Super Earth, so there might not be any content for new players. If that’s the case, I’d call that a disappointment.
I have a few other minor gripes. Oddly, your character doesn’t reload their weapon automatically. Using the directional pad to call for support items is odd at first but I appreciate its novelty. Again, with no real story to grab me, I don’t see much reason to play anymore. I picked up Helldivers 2, so I’ll be playing that in the coming weeks. Hopefully, I haven’t missed the boat.
September 14 – Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game
With this project, I’ve tried over 250 games so far and there have been plenty of good and bad games. Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game isn’t a bad game. Unfortunately, for someone like me who enjoys driving games, I’m not having any fun. This is another game where after a few minutes of playing I knew that it wasn’t for me.
This is another true-to-form simulator game, focusing on off-road driving. This isn’t a race, at least I don’t think it is. The best way to describe this game is a mission-based driving game where you’re off-road. There are no roads and getting around requires paying attention to a lot of factors. You will get stuck, but figuring out the best way around is part of the gameplay.
But like last week’s Star Trucker, this one can overwhelm you. During my first few rides, I was flipping over my vehicle. I even managed to destroy my engine because I was driving in water that I thought I could handle. I couldn’t complete the first mission you can choose in Colorado because of the damage I was causing.
Again, this isn’t a bad game. What we have here is a game that will appeal to a specific audience. It won’t win over new players, even on Game Pass. For everyone who has had fun with the Mudrunner/Snowrunner series, then they will love this.
September 15 – CalorieMate Liquid For Game Creators
In another completely free game, we have the Japanese energy food, CalorieMate. They recently released a game to promote their liquid variant: CalorieMate Liquid. CalorieMate Liquid For Game Creators is a weird game that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
This is a short game that centers around a can of drink traveling from the fridge to the hand of the homeowner. They’re hard at work on a game project, so they’ve forgotten to eat. CalorieMate is on its quest to quench that hunger. So, you’ll need to traverse the different home environments to get the owner.
This game encourages exploration but also rewards speed running. There is a critical path, but you’re not punished for taking the time to see what else there is. At the same time, the game lacks any sort of checkpoint system. If you happen to “die”, you’ll have to start the game over from the very beginning.
Because of that, I died a lot. There is one reoccurring enemy. On top of that, two “boss” sections will be where most people struggle. The game’s final stretch is a doozy requiring a lot of proper timing. After a few tries, I managed to finish a run in under seven minutes. I played for about an hour, so I saw a lot and was able to determine what I thought was the fastest course to finish. This isn’t a game that I’d play again, but it was a nice distraction for a Sunday.
