For the week of December 9- 15
Check out what I played last week
December 9 – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
After playing some older Indy games, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is finally here! I’m writing this section a few days after starting the game, putting in about three hours. I’m still in the Vatican City but getting close to leaving. This is without question one of the bigger surprises for this year. Yes, I was looking forward to this game but I can’t believe how it’s exceeding my expectations. Sure, there are problems. But, they are so minor and easy to look past.
What stands out the most is the game’s stealth. Although this has an “open-world” feel, there is still a need to sneak around. While avoiding conflict is necessary at times, it is also a lot of fun when you manage to trigger a stealth attack. It’s so funny to see the reaction of a Facisist as I smack them with a fly swatter or a shovel. These sequences do highlight some of the graphical issues I’ve faced. The ragdoll collapse of bodies has led to some of them breaking through the environment. There are also some noticeable AI issues. I’ve had more than a few sequences where enemies get stuck in the environment.
But I can look past those and focus on everything else. It’s nice that combat isn’t the focus here. The puzzles so far haven’t been too complicated, which is nice because it allows you to enjoy the rest of the game. I still have a lot more to go, but this is creeping up my Top 10 for 2024. It might not reach Top 2 but it could be my third favorite game of the year.
December 10 – Girls’ Frontline 2: Exilium
Yet another mobile game that I was getting ads for that I decided to try out. This time, it’s Girls’ Frontline 2: Exilium. I’m not familiar with the first game, so I jumped into this one with no expectations. From the ads, this game reminded me of XCOM, and yes, this is a tactical strategy game. At the same time, it does feature “cute” robotic girls in skimpy outfits. Looking at this strictly at the gameplay, I’m quite enjoying it.
The gameplay is like other Tactical games I’ve played in the past. In the story mode, I’ve only managed to get up to three characters to fight with but it seems the most you can deploy is four. The combat is easy to grasp. Characters have their own set of skills and abilities. The game starts you with a short-range and long-range unit to use. Later on, you get a character who uses a sword with great mobility. She’s been an incredible addition.
The story is ok. The start throws a lot at you. You’re protecting a valuable asset that the enemies are trying to steal from you. The asset appears to be a powerful girl who can cause mass devastation. Some other stuff happens but I still have a lot to learn. The game wants you to pay money to get better units or weapons. Early on, it hasn’t been predatory but it would not surprise me if there comes a point when you’ll need to. I don’t see myself getting to that point but anything is possible.
December 11 – Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 + 2 Remastered
This one is going to be a half-cheat. I played the original Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 20+ years ago on the PlayStation. I remember nothing about it since I only played it for an hour or so. This was when you could rent video games. I played it because of the hype around it. On the flip side, I never played Soul Reaver 2, so this is my first experience.
Between the two games, I’ve spent about 45 minutes on each. Soul Reaver 2 is a direct continuation. So, if you want to play both games, don’t jump ahead until you can. As I was more curious about the sequel, I did. What stands out the most about Sould Reaver 2 is how much exposition takes place in the first part of the game. You spend most of the time watching sequences between Raziel and other characters.
That’s not to say it’s a bad thing but I want to explore. The start of the game is very linear, so you can’t get lost. I plan to put more time into the sequel and see where the story takes me. I want to post something about the remaster in an upcoming blog. This remaster has some interesting bonus content that I want to take a look at. If I have the time, I’ll share my thoughts.
December 12 – Super Robot Pinball
The Super Robot Wars series is one that I’ve wanted to get into for some time. Last year, I bought Super Robot Wars 30 on Steam to play on my Steam Deck. I played for a bit but got sidetracked with other things. As a fan of pinball, I found out that they did release Super Robot Pinball for the Game Boy Color. It only came out in Japan but it got an English fan-translation. Even without the translation, it’s a pinball game, so you don’t need to worry about the story. So far, this is a fine pinball game but I don’t quite grasp its connection to the series.
This is a standard video pinball game. There is one main board where most of the action takes place. When you do enough there, you open up a battle against an enemy character. Once you can access the battle board, your mech faces off against a random enemy. The attack board is easy to grasp. Hit specific bumpers to do basic attacks, and get the ball to others to perform special attacks. I noticed that most battles are quite long because enemy characters are strong.
It takes many hits to take down a foe in these sequences. If you lose a ball the battle is over, which is frustrating if you are almost done. At the same time, this feels more difficult in comparison to other Game Boy Pinball games I’ve played. I can only finish one fight before reaching the game over screen. If I practice a bit more, maybe I’ll get better and last longer.
December 13 – Neva
After winning the Games for Impact award at Thursday’s The Game Awards, I picked up Neva to see what’s it all about. I played the studio’s previous game, Gris, back in 2019 on the Nintendo Switch and enjoyed it. While I don’t remember too much about the content of the game, its visuals left a good impression. With Neva, I’m having a lot of fun and enjoying its world-building.
The game focuses on your character and a wolf named Neva. Your character serves as a mother figure. While you traverse the world, you’re doing it with Neva close to you. Sometimes they will run ahead of you and end up needing your help. One moment early on, Neva misses a jump and gets a little nervous. So, you have to encourage it to try again, which it succeeds. Yes, there is a petting button and I would spam it whenever I could.
Neva seems to be important to the game’s world and evil forces want to harm it. So, your character also gets into combat situations where you’ll have to fend off enemies. These can range from combat-specific situations to puzzle-solving sections with hazards. The combat is easy to grasp. The same goes for the puzzle sections. So far, these revolve around hitting dormant enemies that have blocked the path.
The game structure focuses on the passing of time through different seasons. I’ve finished Summer and now I’ve entered Fall. Neva is growing, so I’m curious how our interactions will change. In all, I’m impressed with Neva and want to play more. This doesn’t feel like a very long game, so I should be able to finish it if I make the time for it.
December 14 – The Wreck
Apple’s App Store recently revealed the winners of their 2024 App Store Awards. Other than the Apple Vision Game of the Year, I already played all the winners in the game categories. On top of the main awards, they also acknowledged a handful of “Cultural Impact” apps. On the list is the game The Wreck. This is a visual novel that first came out on PC in 2023 but got an App release this year. I was curious to check it out. It has some interesting gameplay elements but I’m not enjoying the story.
The story focuses on a strained relationship between a mother and daughter. You play as the daughter who arrives at a hospital where her mother is a patient. The game doesn’t go into detail about the illness but they hint at something terminal. The daughter is now responsible for the next steps but can’t grasp the responsibility.
While this is a visual novel, there are some gameplay sections. The main character is driving from the hospital and it appears they get into a car crash. As the car is flipping over from the collision, you begin to interact with objects flying around. The first one is a tin with a bird on it. During this phase, we get to control the scene. The first one focuses on an injured bird. You reminisce about what happened to the bird and how it connects to the family.
This car crash ends up being an unreliable plot mechanic. After you finish that section, you return to an earlier part of the game as if the crash never happened. Unfortunately, I’m not feeling the story. I don’t like the main character and so far I haven’t felt any sort of connection to them. It also doesn’t help that the only two other characters I’ve come across are also forgettable. Even with its recognition by the App Store, I’m not sure many people will bother trying this out.
December 15 – Deathless. Tales of Old Rus
After enjoying Zoeti back in April, I started looking for other card-based games. The latest one for me to try is Deathless. Tales of Old Rus. This launched in Early Access in June but got a 1.0 release a few days ago. I knew I would enjoy this type of game but I didn’t realize how addictive it would be. I already put in five hours and could see myself playing even more.
For a game built around Slavic mythology, that’s not what’s grabbing my attention. What I love is the gameplay and its focus on combo attacks. The key to winning battles is about maximizing your cards. One character, Aloyosha can do some wild attacks if you combine attacks in a specific order. Let’s say you get a modifier card that lets you add burn to your following attacks. Combine it with a card that lets you attack twice. Then, finish it off with a high-damage attack and you’re able to take out a strong foe in one turn.
Since this is a roguelike, I haven’t been able to significant progress. I can defeat the first “boss” character you encounter but the second has usually proven to be too much for me. I’m noticing that boss characters have an unfair advantage. Their attacks are devastating. I had one encounter where the boss was able to attack me twice and both attacks added a poison card to my deck. You have to spend an action point to get rid of it. So, two poison cards make it impossible to attack.
Making any sort of progress unlocks new cards to add to your collection. I suspect that as you unlock better cards, the combat gets easier. I’d want to further experiment with cards to see what other combos I can create. In all, I’m having a lot of fun with Deathless. Tales of Old Rus and can’t wait to spend more time in this world.
