Recommended – Page 5

O tempora: Diablo (+Hellfire)

13/04/2023 13/04/2023

O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.

Can you believe that it’s been more than 26 years since the release of Diablo? So weird to think about it. I mean, it wasn’t the first real-time RPG or the first game to be an action RPG. But it became what defined action RPG for the western market, a mix of ideas from roguelikes, lots of loot and simple but engaging dungeon crawling, solo or in multiplayer. And while I understand why people always love the second game the most – to me, the original game has always meant more.

That said – I actually only finished it once before. And I’m pretty sure it was on the PlayStation port too. I’ve never played the often forgotten Hellfire expansion either, so I’ve been meaning to replay the game for quite a while now.

Happy about: Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

06/04/2023 06/04/2023

I have to say, it really is very weird to be going backwards with these Fatal Frame remasters (but I do hope we don’t stop here). Couple of years ago the currently latest entry, Maiden of Black Water, got released on PC and modern consoles and many people experienced the franchise for the first time. And while it is arguably among the weaker entries, with many poor design choices and annoying elements, it nonetheless had some of the coolest ideas for mechanics that were unique for it and not tried in the series before. Still, I went into Mask of the Lunar Eclipse with relatively high expectations and was not disappointed.

Thoughts on: Crysis Remastered Trilogy

24/03/2023 24/03/2023

I’ve revisited the original Crysis and Crysis Warhead just 3 years ago and that was the first time these titles at least somewhat clicked with me. As I’ve mentioned – I never found any of the titles in the franchise, apart from Crysis 3, to be all that fun. But replaying the first games, as rough as those original games are today, made me understand why someone would like them. Now that all numbered Crysis titles have gotten a Remastered release (sadly, Warhead was not remastered), I decided to play them and see if I can actually enjoy the experience.

Happy about: Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo

20/03/2023 20/03/2023

I’ve always admired how Japanese adventure games manage to combine lots of elements and different gameplay ideas into something that looks and feels quite consistent and stylish. That said, I also always disliked the tendency of these games to overexplain plot points, require you to click on literally every tiny thing on the scene before allowing you to proceed with the story and, if they have lots of potential story timelines in the chart/timeline, being grindy about it. So I was a bit cautious about Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo because I’ve enjoyed far fewer games of this sort than I’ve tried. Luckily, this one is genuinely fun.

Happy about: Like a Dragon: Ishin!

26/02/2023 26/02/2023

Have you ever considered how a “shot-for-shot” videogame remake would look and play like? Well, now we have the answer – Like a Dragon: Ishin! is, for all intents and purposes, a remake of the 2014 Japanese-only title Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! (and to avoid confusion the Japanese title of this remake just added Kiwami, just like with previous remakes). But unlike the Yakuza 1 and 2 remakes, this one feels, looks and plays almost exactly the same as the original game did. Is it good? Is it bad? Probably neither, but the result is a pretty cool entry in the Like a Dragon franchise that, however, does feel like it’s from the past in more ways than the setting.

Happy about: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion

20/02/2023 20/02/2023

Being not much of a fan of Final Fantasy VII, I was never in a rush to try out any of the related games or media that Square Enix dubbed “Compilation of Final Fantasy VII”. So I did watch Advent Children back in the day, and thought it was quite crap, but have not looked into 2 internationally released games in the collection – Dirge of Cerberus (for PS2) and Crisis Core (for PSP). Yet, while Dirge wasn’t particularly liked by anyone, Crisis Core did have a lot of positive reviews. Which might be one of the reasons that Square Enix decided to remaster (on a technical level – remake) the game for modern platforms now called Reunion. And I’m glad they did, because this title is pretty neat.

Happy about: ASTLIBRA Revision

15/02/2023 15/02/2023

I did not expect what Astlibra Revision would turn out to be. When I first saw it and ignored it. When it was brought to my attention again and I’ve decided to play it. Even as I was playing it. It’s not some inventive never before seen mix of genres or anything, it’s just that it’s so constantly full of surprises. And huge. To a fault, really, but still, we’re talking about a game that looks like this lasting 60 hours and still finding ways to introduce some new stuff in the last hours of itself. But it’s also not without many issues.

Happy about: The Chant

30/01/2023 30/01/2023

I’ve never heard about The Chant until it suddenly appeared at the storefronts and something about it made me curious. And now that I’ve finished it, I’d still call it “curious”. A pleasant variety of curious, though, and quite likely worth your time if you like horror themed action adventure titles of the survival action-esque variety.

Happy about: PowerWash Simulator and Chop Goblins

04/01/2023 04/01/2023

Occasionally, it’s nice to play a simple game to relax. And I’ve got two different ones for you to check out. A quick tiny FPS from David Szymanski Chop Goblins and one of those simulator titles that aren’t really serious, but aren’t just a shitpost either – PowerWash Simulator. They’re different, relaxing in their own way and fun.

Happy about: Return to Monkey Island

30/12/2022 30/12/2022

For a lot of people the original Monkey Island titles mean a lot. And for the game industry as a whole, not just the adventure titles, these games have had (and still have) a lot of influence. For me? I respect them and admire them, but the first time I’ve actually completed the first two entries was only after the Special Editions came out a bit over 10 years ago. I did encounter these titles as a kid, of course, but had far more experience with other LucasArts titles and adventures from other companies. The first game in the franchise I’ve completed was actually Tales from Monkey Island and I’ve still never bothered to play Escape and Curse.

Why is this important? Well, your enjoyment from Return to Monkey Island will depend greatly on your experience with the previous games. But what I can say for sure, is that if I’m anything to go by – you can still have a lot of fun with this game, even if you don’t know the classic titles by heart.