For the week of September 16 – 22
Check out what I played last week

September 16 – Trap Gunner
I began the week wanting to try another PlayStation One game that I never got around to before. The original plan was to try Brave Fencer Musashi. Unfortunately, the version I got wasn’t working so I had to find something else. In its place, I tried Trap Gunner. I was looking for untraditional games/genres and this one hits that mark. It’s very much a PlayStation game and I can’t think of a fair modern-day comparison.
Trap Gunner is a fighting game where you spend more time “trapping” your opponent. Yes, you can attack them with a weapon or kick/punches. But you do most of your damage by setting traps for your foe to interact with. At the same time, you’re trying to avoid the traps they’ve set for you.
There are different kinds of damage. Some detonate on impact, while others you must trigger when the enemy is close. Most traps cause damage. There is at least one that immobilizes the character. This then allows you to hit them with kicks, punches, or by firing a weapon.
I quite enjoyed Trap Gunner. The movement is rough, but this is a 20+ year-old game. The story isn’t that interesting and the cast of available characters is small. I can see this being a lot of fun playing against other human players. This would also be a lot of fun in multiplayer. Then, you’re getting into Power Stone and Bomberman territory. If I can find another game with a similar gameplay hook, I will give it a try.

September 17 – Remnant 2
There was a lot of praise for Remnant 2 when it launched last year. I didn’t hear much about the first game but it warranted a sequel. This is currently available through Game Pass, so I wanted to give it a shot. I got the first game for free through Epic Game Store but decided to start with the second game. Unfortunately, this feels like you need to know the lore.
The story isn’t that interesting here. You start the game wandering in a post-apocalyptic environment overrun by monsters. I’m not sure what has happened and they explain nothing. Stuff happens and you’re transported to a strange world, filled with the same monsters. I believe the goal is to find the source of these monsters and put an end to them terrorizing Earth. Or I could be completely off because I’m not that invested in the story.
The combat is quite enjoyable, although I’ve been struggling at first. While exploring the alien world, I had a hard time finishing the first main battle. There is a massive tree that needs “cleansing” and during that battle, I died a few times. The swarm of enemies was too much for my lone character. Even with my pet companion, I would regularly die after about 2/3 of the way through the fight.
While I did manage to get passed it, I reached a Temple-like structure and stopped playing. To be perfectly honest, I’m not interested in the game. Sure, the combat is fine but the rest of the game isn’t doing enough to hold my attention. This also feels like a game better suited played with friends. Having a partner to work together feels like the intended way to play. Trying to go through Remnent 2 solo doesn’t feel fun.

September 18 – Helldivers II
Last week, I gave the first Helldivers a try. So, this week I’m playing the follow-up, Helldivers II. In all fairness, I’m struggling to share my thoughts. It’s not that I don’t like Helldivers II. The issue is that Helldivers II feels like a third-person remake of the first game. Yes, there are some differences but most of the game feels the same.
The controls are the same. The mission objectives are similar. There is no single-player campaign and the focus is still playing with others with the same goal in mind. I’m dying a lot and I need to work with others to complete missions. This is all about Super Earth gaining control of the universe. Like with the first game, the Galaxy map needs conquering. This time, I’m contributing to the war effort. Lastly, the maps feel more varied.
My brief time with the game hasn’t allowed me to engage too much with the live-service content. There is a lot of unlockable content, so it feels a bit overwhelming for a newcomer like myself. Yet, there are weapons and gear I want to try, which is enticing me to play more.

September 19 – The Plucky Squire
For the first 45 minutes of The Plucky Squire, it was giving me your standard 2D adventure game. Play any The Legend of Zelda game and you’ll see where this gets its inspiration. Sure, this has a quirky art style and the storybook aesthetics are cool. But with regards to gameplay, it wasn’t offering anything new or different. That was until you get to a certain point late into Chapter Two where the game takes an interesting turn.
I won’t spoil what happens, but when it does, you’ll know it. At the same time, if you can go into this as blindly as possible, you’ll appreciate it more. The change to the gameplay caught me off guard because I wasn’t expecting it.
My worry about The Plucky Squire is that it takes about 45 minutes to get to that point in the game where things take off. Most people will play for a bit and miss out on that creativity here. I was only an hour into the game (starting Chapter 4), but I was ready to give up after 30 minutes. Now, I want to see what else this game has to offer and I’m ready to invest the 8-10 hours it will probably take.

September 20 – One Last Breath
I’m working on a dedicated blog for One Last Breath, so my thoughts will be brief. This caught my eye when I saw some promotional material for an upcoming physical edition of the game. The footage gave me vibes of Limbo and Planet of Lana. This shares a lot of the same gameplay mechanics. What differs here is that this one feels much easier and shorter.
There is a lot of mystery. You aren’t given any background on what has happened to the world. Your character appears to be one of the last remaining “humans” in a deserted world. I’ve yet to come across any other human-like characters. You do encounter a few forest creatures like deer and foxes. You do need to avoid these monster-like creatures that populate certain areas. They aren’t too much of a threat but if they catch you, you immediately die.
I’m currently halfway through the game. This doesn’t feel like a long game but I’m still not sure how the second half will play out. Most of the game is my character running through the environment. When you do encounter a puzzle section, they are easy to grasp. I was struggling trying to complete one puzzle. I later found out that there was a bug in that stage, so I had to start the game over from the beginning. I’ll talk more about my performance problems in the longer review. For now, this one isn’t as good as I had hoped it would be.

September 21 – Pillars of Eternity
With the upcoming launch of Avowed in early 2025, I wanted to finally try Pillars of Eternity. I heard about the game back in the day but it wasn’t something that caught my eye. I was under the impression this was a Diablo-like game but it’s not quite. It’s more like the first few Baulder’s Gate, which I’m not familiar with. So, it’s taking me a bit of time to learn what PoE has to offer.
I can’t speak too much about the story. In the early parts, there are more questions than answers. Thieves attack and murder the members of my encampment. My character and their companion flee but in the process come across an odd ritual taking place. I awaken with them dead and me searching for answers.
To be fair, I am intrigued by the story. It’s moving at a slower pace than what I was hoping for. I’ve reached the first main town and seeing all these dead bodies hung on a giant tree makes me want to learn more. Pillars of Eternity is a long game, so I don’t know if I can make the time to see how the story unfolds. I am curious about the 2018 sequel, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. If it’s on sale, I might pick it up and try it out in the future.

September 22 – UFO 50
I was super excited about UFO 50 the moment I heard about it. Here is a game that takes the idea of a made-up console and it lets you play 50 of its “most beloved” titles. A game collection featuring actual made-up games should be fun to explore. Unfortunately, it feels like the developers only want to give us 50 made-up games and nothing more.
There is no narrative in UFO 50. You have a collection of 50 games spanning the “life” of a made-up gaming console company. You can play the games in any order, so how you tackle the 50 is up to you. That’s where I wish we had a plot to move us through each game. I was hoping we could have vignettes that went into more of the lore of this made-up console. Although I didn’t play it, Atari 50 does that. It chronicles the history of Atari with an interactive experience. It mixes education with the gaming. Fine, this is a made-up console, but they could have done something more.
While that’s disappointing, in the first dozen or so games I’ve tried so far, none have stuck with him. Sure, these games play and feel very much like games of the 1980s. But there isn’t one that I have wanted to play for more than a few minutes. Because of that, I’m just left disappointed with UFO 50. Sure, I might go through a few more games, but I don’t see myself dredging through all 50.