For the week of December 2 – 8
Check out what I played last week
December 2 – Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws began as a game I could not wait to play. Weeks before launch, I was ready to subscribe to Ubisoft Connect to play it early. But, as we started getting more preview coverage, I lost interest. Now, with the game getting some quality-of-life patches and it being on sale, I picked it up. While it’s not as bad as some people make it sound, I still see its problems.
At the start of the game, they throw a lot at you but none of it feels important. There is a bit of everything here. You’ve got combat, mini-games, conversations, but the story is lacking. You get a tease of who we assume to be the main antagonist. We get a bit of background on Kay, but not enough to care. The interactions we get with characters don’t leave a lasting impression. That’s odd for a Star Wars property. It’s hard not to remember at least one character regardless if they are friend, foe, or uncertain.
I did encounter some odd gameplay quirks. For starters, the AI is as bad as people say. There were times when the enemies didn’t act as they would. They also don’t interact with the environment. There was one section when I was hiding in a kitchen-like area. While Kay interacts with a swinging gate, the AI does not. So, I watched them phase through the gate, and it immediately took me out of the immersion. None of the characters look that great. Also, the complaints about the facial animations are spot on. Not only is Kay odd-looking, but even some of the alien creatures don’t look as good as they can and should.
There are parts I like. The combat is good even if it felt a bit too easy. The environments are cool and I can’t wait to see where else Kay goes. I also love her companion, Nix is incredible. Like BD-1, I love the interactions and stuff Nix can do. This is a game I will put in a bit more time before the month ends. I want to see more of the story.
December 3 – Path of Exile
Leading into the launch of Path of Exile 2, I wanted to look at the first game, Path of Exile. It’s been around for over a decade, but it’s one of those games I never bothered trying. With all the hype around the sequel, I wanted to get familiar with the first game beforehand. An hour or so was enough to get a taste of the combat and some of the side content.
What stands out the most is that the skill tree here is massive! I cannot believe how large that screen was. I’m playing on a widescreen monitor and it still doesn’t contain everything. Because of that and a few other aspects, I found the game to is a bit overwhelming for newcomers. This is a ten-year-old game that has gotten regular updates over that time.
This latest update is all about building a city. You can use the money you earn to recruit staff to establish businesses. I fooled around with this for a few minutes but I don’t know how popular this aspect is. Other than that, I didn’t pour too much time into the game. With PoE 2 launching in Early Access later in the week, I’ll shift my focus towards it. It is not something I will play right away, but definitely something I’ll enjoy trying in 2025.
December 4 – Penny’s Big Breakaway
It’s the PlayStation’s 30th anniversary. Today would have been a perfect day to play a classic PlayStation game I never tried. Instead, I went with a game that harkens memories of platformers on the PSOne. So, I tried Penny’s Big Breakaway. This is very much an homage to games of that era. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a fan of the genre.
This is a very colorful game. It’s also not a difficult one. But, this game has problems with its camera and some of its action sequences. Because this is a fixed-camera game with 3D-platform elements, it can cause problems. When things move fast, your character can get stuck in objects or obstructions can make it hard to see. This leads to broken geometry and it looks rough at times.
Because I wasn’t a fan of platform games of the Nintendo 64 and PSOne era, I avoided them. 3D platform games have improved so much in the last 20 years but Penny’s Big Breakaway retro feel doesn’t work for me. I can see the audience that will enjoy this type of cartoonish adventuring. I’d rather play something else.
December 5 – Infinity Nikki
There was quite a bit of coverage leading up to the release of Infinity Nikki. The “Nikki” series is a long-running mobile game and this is the first one to have a console release. While I’m not the target audience, I am enjoying the adventure aspect of this game. There are some minor quibbles I have with it, but at least I don’t feel like I need to spend money to have fun.
This is an interesting adventure game. Here Nikki can perform actions depending on the outfits she wears. One outfit allows her to float in the air. Another one allows her to attack. I unlocked an outfit that allows me to pet certain animals in the world. Based on what I could see, there are over a dozen different outfits. Although I don’t know what they do, I’m curious.
The world is cool. This has a very laid-back feel. Not quite Animal Crossing, but pretty close. My only gripe is with how they structure the early missions. I’ve gotten to the point where I have quests to complete, but I have no idea where to go. This is because the tracking isn’t showing my next destination on the map. Hand-holding can be annoying, but having the option to track missions but it not showing where to go sucks. Because of that, I’m wandering around hoping I find where I’m supposed to go.
I played it both on PlayStation 5 and iPad. I noticed the game didn’t run that well on PS5. Moving between menus and button presses had noticeable delays. But on iPad, the game ran well with only some draw distance issues. Hope this is some of the first-week kinks that will get ironed out soon. In all, Infinity Nikki is the kind of free-to-play game that I could see myself fooling around with from time to time. Especially because of its easy-going aesthetics.
December 6 – Marvel Rivals
Without question, this format of trying games isn’t going to work that well with Marvel Rivals. I’ve played for about 45 minutes and I don’t have a grasp of the characters. It’s even tougher when I’m playing a team-based shooter on opening weekend. Not only am I new to the game, but millions of others are as well. So far, this isn’t a bad game, but it’s hard to deny that this is very much an Overwatch clone.
For the few games I ended up playing on this day, I did have fun. The only downside is that I haven’t found a character I like playing with. I did find some enjoyment with Iron Man and Loki, but I still need to learn their abilities. The melee-focused characters like Wolverine and Captain America were no fun. As I do with Overwatch, I’m going to lean towards ranged characters or those who are better supporting.
The stages are cool but I only played on three of them. I’m not sure if they are limiting the stages and match types early on, but it was odd that there wasn’t more variety. Also, I didn’t get to sample too much of the Season Pass, Missions, or Objectives.
It’s too early to go into a deep dive comparing this to Overwatch. One day isn’t enough. I’ll try to make time in the future to spend a week or two, as I did with Overwatch 2 a few years ago. Then, I’ll be able to see if this can replace that game for me as my team-based shooter to play when I’m in the mood for it.
December 7 – NBA 2K25
Earlier in the year, I played NBA 2K24. Unfortunately, I don’t remember too much about it other than its classic mode. It’s among my favorite modes in sports games and I wish more games would do those. With NBA 2K25, it’s available with a two-hour trial, so I decided to try it out. When you look past the wonky meta-world content, the basketball is a lot of fun.
The game starts you off playing for your favorite team. It’s Overtime in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals and your team takes the lead. As you win the game, you wake up with your My Player about to start their NBA career. You don’t have to play My Player, but I decided to start it with it.
This year’s game focuses a lot on the Meta world content. You can take on quests and do other activities. Or, you could head to the arena and continue the story mode. I didn’t bother with the side stuff, focusing on the career elements. As a member of the Chicago Bulls, I played my first game of the season. We blew out the Pelicans, and my character got some solid playtime off the bench. As a Point Guard, Chicago is among the better teams to choose from about playtime. We won’t win a championship, but we could make the playoffs.
All the dialogue stuff in My Player isn’t that appealing to me. I ended up skipping most of the sections, I wanted to play. Yes, you still start with a 60-rated player and it still feels difficult to level up. Despite my solid 11-point opening game performance, I didn’t earn enough XP to improve my player. I don’t see myself playing much more. But if this gets the PS+ treatment as they did for last year’s game, I may jump back in.
December 9 – UFL
I’m ending the week with another sports game. This time, it’s the long-awaited UFL. I’ve been following this soccer game since its announcement many years ago. Along with Goals, we are seeing more soccer games wanting to capture a new audience. This has some potential, but if you’re not an online player, there is little here for you to enjoy.
The local mode is one-off matches. While they offer 30 teams to play with, only four are real clubs. Other than an Adidas all-star team, the rest are generic clubs. There is no incentive to play local since they don’t reward you with any credits to help build your squad. eFootball and FC give coins for playing offline, so this omission is frustrating.
The gameplay is fine but I noticed it was a bit too fast-paced. This causes the game to feel more on the arcade side instead of simulation. Not only do passes move fast, but even lower-rated players have decent speed. Even with my generic squad, my players were keeping pace with high-rated players. The offline match I played was my squad against the Adidas All-Stars. I ended up winning in extra time but I was able to stay competitive coming back twice in the 90 minutes.
As for the online side of things, I didn’t bother to jump into a game. The game starts you off with a low-rated squad, with only one player above a 70 rating, with the rest all under 60. What’s worse, the money they give you to start isn’t enough to get a decent player. The most I could afford was a 67-rated winger. Why they couldn’t offer you some better players to start, even if only for a loan, is an odd choice. This is why the omission of a single-player option is so frustrating. I’d be willing to grind offline to help me be better prepared for online.
