26. Volgarr the Viking (Switch) - 4hrs 

Hard as nails action platformer that's addictive, fun and satisfying, the controls are spot on, when you get hit it is your fault.

The main minor complaint I have is the nature of the difficulty. You will die almost without fail at every new segment of a level, there's very little room for reactions and using the mechanics of the game to overcome a battle if you've approached it in the wrong way.

Once you figure out how to tackle each scenario you will breeze though it. I ran out of time on one session so had to restart Level 2 from the beginning and done it in just over 10 minutes.

It feels like a game designed for speed running instead of standard progression gaming. Each level is almost one big boss fight with a very scripted way to tackle it, the platforming equivalent of Punch-Out!! There's no getting good at the game itself, just a case of memorisation.

I liked it though, but it's an acquired taste and definitely not for everyone.

8/10   

My list

4 - Zone of the Enders 2nd Runner
PS4.

Still great. Loved it on PS2, loved it on PS4.
Still one of the best robot designs I've seen. Action feels good, music is good. Close combat can feel a bit chaotic at points. Lots of drawn cutscenes which have some good action direction.

51. Valfaris - Switch (8hrs 9mins)

Ghastly looking run & run side scroller with visuals that seem to be stuck in an undesirable early 32-bit limbo.  Overly pixellated characters coexist on a 2D plane with some fairly obvious 'HERE COME THE POLYGONS' geometry additions such as rotating cogs, all coupled with a strong metal motif (replete with the devil horns/power chord/headbang combo when you collect new weapons).  It's certainly not a sight for sore eyes; it's more likely to be the cause of the eyesore.  It's the designer's vision and it's probably a job well done on some level, but no sir I don't like it.  CRT filters help to an extent, but half the game looks like a magic eye picture of Dio's haemorrhoids. 

That's pretty much it for the negatives though, the game itself is sailing pretty close to masterpiece territory.  Yes, I like lots of things I play and I'm reasonably easy to please with tight new retro experiences, but this is one of the best games I've played in recent years.  It's not quite as air-punchingly good as Huntdown for my admittedly oddbod tastes, but that was a very specific tarted up retro experience that erred on the simpler side of gaming history.  Valfaris is the better game if we're talking head vs heart.  

It's fairly standard in terms of the basics; multi directional shooting with a bumper assigned to lock you in position.  You also have a melee attack and a secondary weapon (which has its own energy bar).  Using the former replenishes the latter.  Throw in a shield on top of the rock solid foundations and you've suddenly got a game that feels a little different to its genre peers.  The shield relies on the same energy bar as the secondary weapon, and a last minute block can turn projectiles into a counter attacks that are unleashed when you release the button.  It all feels pretty intuitive once you get going, and the levels themselves are superb.  The bosses might not look particularly memorable, but each one requires a pattern to defeat that many Cuphead guardians would be proud of.  The various weapon unlocks mostly seem worth experimenting with (all of which can be ugraded), and it turns out I happily backed what seems to be the Reddit crew's equivalent of the water magic for the majority of the game.  *Shrug*, it worked for me.  

I'm struggling to think of a run & gun game that plays better than this, all things considered, and as I can't do so off the top of my head I'm willing to declare this the best example of the genre ever created.  If you appreciate what this is trying to do it's a pretty special game.  Ultimate form [insert retro template] types are the best thing about modern gaming for me.  I might moan about open worlds getting larger elsewhere but at the same time I've never been this well catered for with the kind of experiences I love.  [9]

I've heard good things before, but was definitely put off by the aesthetic. Actually I still am.

JonB wrote:

1. Control [8] 30 Dec-11 Jan This is an excellent and original AAA action adventure game with some minor issues that just bring the overall experience down a touch. I loved the location and the way the scenario allows for all kinds of reality bending events. The combat is also great fun for the most part, especially once you've unlocked a number of skills, with a great fluidity between the different moves. It encourages you to get in amongst the action, rather than hiding behind cover, and reeling in a hefty piece of scenery then chucking it back at an enemy never gets old. But still there are too many regular battles with enemy designs that could've been more interesting. The middle of the game certainly started to feel a little padded out. It's also annoying how quickly battles can go wrong when you've been doing well, as you're suddenly caught unawares by a projectile or fall off the edge of something while charging about the place. The health recovery system is a nice idea but sometimes just isn't convenient, and the checkpointing system is a bit weird, adding to the frustration. Other than that, special mention to the map for being next to useless half the time. And although performance on my base PS4 mostly wasn't too bad, the loading times became an issue. And yet, there's so much clever stuff to find and do, so many neat little touches or amusing characters, none of that can really spoil it. In the end, the main story is almost merely a way of introducing all the areas and powers and getting you used to how the place works. What I enjoyed most was doing all the side missions, many of which are better left till after the credits have rolled. It's here that things get more imaginative, and there are some proper bosses to take down, which were genuniely interesting and solid challenges. It's a brave game that hides so many of its best ideas, but it works in terms of gradually unravelling all the mysteries of the place. I was happy to just keep investigating and uncovering new stuff, to the point I ended up exhausting it all and getting the platinum trophy (rare for me these days). After all that, I think I'd really appreciate a sequel. Perhaps one that involved travelling around different places investigating reports of strange activity. There's certainly plenty of potential in the fiction to explore, and with a few tweaks to the systems the results could be very special.

27: Control (PC) - 8/10

I agree with a lot of this - with a couple of further issues on my end a) I'm pretty bad at 3d shooting games so I really struggled with the Dark Souls style checkpoints! and b) my laptop could only run it decently on the lowest settings, so I missed out on a lot visually.  It still looked very stylish.

Pretty keen to save up for a decent computer within the next year and will be keen to revisit this to try the DLC and bits that I didn't do during the game (good advice re: just following the story and worrying about the side content later.


28: The Binding of Isaac Afterbirth+ (Switch) 9/10


Played a previous version of this quite a few years ago - I'm not too sure what's different but it's a really engrossing little game.  Never really liked the gross cartoon graphics but at least it's clear what's going on.  It seems to have a good balance of luck and skill, but then again I don't have a clue what many of the power-up items do, so I can't really say much about that.

Was one of those games where I was playing it obsessively for a few games but now that I've 'beaten' it, the urge is gone.  There does still seem to be an unlimited number of things to unlock but I'm fine for the time being.  Good stuff.

Also the Switch physical comes with an instruction book!  I miss those things, but not to the point I actually read it.

EDIT: I can't stop staring at that Valfaris GIF!  Looks awesome

26. Devil May Cry 5 - 10 Hours - 8/10 - Xbox One X

That was awesome!! Can’t believe I’d not played it until now. Perfect mix of everything DMC. Stylish, fun mad story, great characters, looked absolutely stunning, played beautifully. Perfect DMC. Can’t say a tremendous amount about it as it’s DMC, you stylishly take on waves of Demons, kill a few bosses, and enjoy some corny devilish jokes, but what a ride! Hope the series continues even if it continues to do only what it says on the tin.

Well done Retro!  Knew you could beat it!

Haven't had anything to put in here for a while:

11. Jetlancer [5]
Finally finished this off after getting stuck a couple of times on the timed score attack levels. They're some of the oddest difficulty spikes I've seen in a game for some time, and along with a few other poorly designed mission objectives bring the whole thing down. For the most part, it's very similar to Luftrausers, with the same nippy and tight plane control. But to compensate for its repetitiveness, it feels like they've overcomplicated it, with too many buttons to remember and too many customisation options that aren't worth the bother. Still, the basics are solid, the bosses add some variety, and the blue skies are nice. It's OK.

12. The Last of Us Part 2 [9]
This was much better than I expected, and than the first, which I was luke warm on. It's the usual Naughty Dog stuff, but more varied and less rigidly structured, which makes a big difference. The locations, characters and many of the set pieces are stunningly good. It's too long though, the violence is misjudged, and overall it's probably trying to be more clever than it really is. But there are a ton of wow moments that make it well worth the trouble.

Classic @JonB

All valid, it's chock full of positives, it really depends how much you're willing to forgive iffy jumping and climbing in a game that requires a lot of both. He's an old man, but he can scale cliffs by his fingertips and perform huge leaps between chasms (he seems to have plenty in the tank most of the time). It's just a shame that old has equated to cumbersome when it comes to the way he controls, imo. I would've rather watched it than played it I think.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

it's chock full of positives...

I would've rather watched it than played it I think.

Sounds like The Last Guardian.

Have you not played Super Hexagon before?? You're in for a treat!

No iPhone or iPad? It’s such an awesome game.

13. Atomicrops [7]
I'll call this done, even though I've just finished the first year. After that you unlock a second year and so on, each one a little more difficult.

Anyway, I'm pleased with what I've played. It's a Roguelike that combines farming mechanics with a twin-stick shooter. Plant crops in your little patch, explore the surrounding areas for further seeds and various enhancements, then defend your plants at night from hordes of slugs and gun-toting rabbits. Visit town to sell crops and buy stuff, then back to the farm for a new day.

And it just works. The systems all link together logically (e.g killed enemies leave behind fertiliser that can enhance crops). The simple resource management stuff slots in unobtrusively around the action and the random roguelike element, keeping you strategising on the fly. The combat itself is also satisfying, and gets pretty hectic by the third season.

There are a ton of different upgrades, as you'd expect, plus permanent unlocks and things to discover over extended play. My only real issue is that the areas, enemies and bosses seem to be the same each time. More varierty in those areas and I'd be willing to carry on.

27. God of War 3 Remastered - 10 Hours - 6/10 - PS4 Pro

Good fun little hack and slash that is what it is and nothing more. Usual fun Demi God vs Gods story, good action, irritating QTE’s and even more irritating flying sections BUT when it’s just crazy combat with a little puzzling included it’s good fun. Imagined there may have been a little more set up for the next in the series but alas, it just, ends. Decent fun and has aged well for a ten year old game.