147. Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon - Switch (6hrs 15mins)

Non comfort zone gaming.  Or more specifically, when a champion of my comfort zone decides it's side hustle time, up sticks and moonlights in a genre I don't particularly dig [:eyes:].  I'm a huge fan of all things Shovel Knight, so I would've been powerless to resist even if he'd relocated to a game called Clockwork Tower Defence or Craft & Survive: Dougless Edition.  Fortunately - after initially floundering for an hour or two - I ended up really enjoying it, which suggests to me that people who actually like screen filling gem match puzzle games might view this as something extra special, rather than 'surprisingly good'.  Bust a Move 2, Baku Baku Animal and Mr. Driller are the only jewel poppers/block arrangers that I've really latched onto over the years.  I know Tetris is an all-timer but I admire it more than I enjoy it.  Anyway, Pocket Dungeon reminded me of when a friend of mine told me there was a Watership Down themed band called Fall of Efrafa and sent me a load of pics of the lush dark rabbity artwork from a record store.  Then when I got it on the turntable it was part instrumental, part full-lung scream-rage post-hardcore 'crust metal', rather than the fetlocks blowing pipes of pan I was expecting/hoping for, and I was ever so sad.  Then I ended up liking it anyway.

Back to the game, it really is rather good.  It's impossible not to compare it to Crypt of the Necrodancer/Cadence of Hyrule, so I won't try, but it's a match 'n pop game at heart.  You'll get nowhere without focusing on arranging chains, which has always been where I struggle with the genre (no wonder I'm not a fan).  The Necrodancer influence is present in the way you attack enemy types from an adjacent tile to whittle down their health, but there's a designated HP trade off for hits here.  Unless it's the final hit a creature can withstand, in which case there's no tit for tat blow.  If an enemy is touching more of the same type they all receive the same amount of damage.  Couple this with the fact that time moves slower when you're standing still, then factor in the fact that a depleting gem multiplier presents a sense of urgency that encourages faster play.  Gems can be traded for trinkets to enhance various abilities in mid-stage shops.  If you survive long enough the level exit will appear, which must be unlocked with a key you've collected to pass through.  If you run out of health you die. If the screen fills up you die. Even when I got good enough to start finishing runs* it always felt like I was in a sort of controlled fluster, which is kind of the sweet spot for the whole thing. Thankfully, it's all hugely moreish and the characters you unlock as you progress spice things up nicely.  It's almost comparable to a vs fighter with how different each knight is to use, which is possibly the game's biggest achievement - it's genuinely impressive how such a tight game isn't ruined by switching up so many fundamental rules. Thus far Treasure Knight, Shovel Knight and Polar Knight have been my guys, but I think I'll be ready for Shield Knight and/or Propeller Knight soon, their idiosyncrasies seem particularly appealing.

It's a roguelike and a successful run will take around 30 minutes.  You can pay a toll to skip directly to unlocked areas, but amassing artifacts to beef you up stage by stage felt so essential to me that missing chunks struck me as a fool's errand.  Would I have played this without the cast of Shovellers? Definitely not, but I wouldn't have played Cadence of Hyrule without the Zelda trappings and couldn't stomach the thought of deck builders until Steamworld Quest offered me a familiar inn.  Happy to be that guy here, they've all helped me broaden my gaming horizons.  

It's a got a great look and the remixed tunes did the job for me.  The base camp gets a bit busy after a few hours but that's all part of the charm.  For £17.99 there's not an over-abundance of content.  If you're willing to master the full roster it could eat up 30+hrs no problem, but for anyone looking to dabble rather than immerse themselves in the pocket dungeon 30% off might be a better biting point.  Just over the line for an [8], would like to read opinions from badgers who appreciate the genre more than myself.  I haven't played the vs mode yet but I see no reason why it wouldn't be excellent for two players of similar skill.



*Initially you choose permadeath, infinite or finite lives.  Regardless of your choice, if the screen fills up it's game over.  Permadeath wasn't for me, so I set the life stock to ten.  After 5hrs I never made it through the Clockwork Tower, even though I'd been reaching it on every run for ages, so started messing around with the accessibility options.  You can add things like extra damage or give yourself more hit points, but doing so disables the Feats (basically in-game achievements).  I had a couple of runs with extra damage but it felt too cheaty, so switched back and opted to slow the screen fill right down instead, giving me precious extra seconds to plan my moves.  So not quite scrub tier as Feats were still attainable, but the default settings kicked my arse for sure.

Cheers mate, this thread does me nicely as a bit of fun/massive obsession though.  Too many unknown eyeballs and I'd start to get all self-conscious and try to review them with a sensible hat on.

61. White Shadows [7]
A Limbo/Inside/Little Nightmares linear weird horror type experience, with more than a whiff of knockoff early on. But give it a chance and put up with some rough edges and it definitely forges its own identity. It helps that the black and white scenery is so impressive, and there's some great use of familiar classical music. But also by the second of its three hours the horrific reveals and playful twists start to land, with a few particularly memorable scenes. It still lacks the polish of those games up there, but for a B-tier genre-mate it's a solid effort, and just about scrapes that 7.

One of the few indies I successfully ditched this year. Decided to watch a Youtube playthrough instead, then forgot.

Shining Force 2 - Megadrive/Switch (20hrs?)

Probably my favourite 16-bit single player game, I hadn't played it since selling my Megadrive to fund Saturn stuff. Occasional wayfinding oddities aside (characters rately bothered telling you anything twice in 1994) it stands up magnificently. The simple battle system had me locked in for the past fortnight, to the point where my customary Christmas Day nap was ruined by movement grids on my eyelids and booze-fuelled half-snooze images of my favourite characters snuffing it from second attacks by hyrdas. I'd forgotten how long this was, and expected to bash through it in 10hrs or so. Even with the fast forward button offered on the Megadrive Classics Collection - which I've no doubt I'll now miss on every other game for ages - it felt like I was playing for double that. I enjoy assembling a kick-ass crew in games, and I can't think of anything else that rivals this for getting the gang together feels (Mass Effect 2, maybe).

It could do with a few more tunes, levelling sometimes feels a wee bit off and the dialogue is lol, but it's as good as anything grid based from the 90s. The story is nonsense of course (it's a JRPG with a mute character, accidentally unsealed evil, TARDIS/Mary Poppins' bag style ancient caravans and possessed kings making out of character decisions), but at least it leans into the crazy. By the end the barmy has been promoted to BARON BONKERS, which is better than po-faced navel gazing in my book.

Replaying was one of the best decisions I made this year. A '94 96 and a 20/20 hindsight 2021 9.

Moot_Geeza wrote:

One of the few indies I successfully ditched this year. Decided to watch a Youtube playthrough instead, then forgot.

I could easily have ditched it early on. I think it was just about worthwhile carrying on in the end.

63. Slay the Spire
I've played this as much as anything this year, so it may as well count. And since I beat the final boss for once this time, I'll call it a new completion. No need to say anymore. Everyone knows by now.

JonB wrote:

63. Slay the Spire
I've played this as much as anything this year, so it may as well count. And since I beat the final boss for once this time, I'll call it a new completion. No need to say anymore. Everyone knows by now.

I think I might still be playing Slay the Spire on my deathbed. It's the best game ever made, and I never tire of it.

You can't claim a tech demo as one of ya 52 jesus reg

acemuzzy wrote:

You can't claim a tech demo as one of ya 52 jesus reg

Watch me

64. Golf Club Wasteland [8]
This always sounded like a great idea, and it turns out it was executed really well too. 2D golf around a post-apocalyptic Earth which has become a tourist curio for the super rich elite who legged it to Mars. The golfing is incredibly simple, while the holes get more complex as they fit around greater scenes of devastation. But it's all really a vehicle for the story anyway, which uses the world and an in-game radio station to take square aim at the likes of Musk and his fellow techno-capitalists. If anything, it's a bit too on the nose with some of the satire, but I'll forgive it that, and a slightly wonky putting game, because it nails the core concept so well. Plus the soundtrack is excellent.

I didn't realise, but it was released on Android/iOS 3 years ago. Strange that it took so long to come to PC and consoles.

GCW didn't even make my top 10 GOTY reckoning - I kinda enjoyed it but but enough.

Diluted Dante wrote:

acemuzzy wrote:

You can't claim a tech demo as one of ya 52 jesus reg

Pretty sure I claimed that Spider-Man VR thing a few years ago.

Two wrongs don't make a right. Shameless.

A party

Good analysis

On one hand it's a shame this isn't so good.

On the other, I'm not sure what the word is for when you're relieved a Gamepass game is a bit shit and you no longer feel obliged to play it, but I'm feeling that atm.  Can't wait to go home and uninstall it!