October was another month where I didn’t manage any completions. I have chalked up a retirement though, but I’m hoping to come back to that one later.

Games played during October

Tetris 99 – Nintendo Switch

Finally managed to stop playing this everyday, but I did go back and play quite a bit for a Luigi’s Mansion event in late October, to unlock the associated theme. I still mostly just play with the Game Boy one, but Luigi’s Mansion is cool.

If you’re in the market for a Switch Lite, the Tetris bundle* is obviously the way to go.

Civilization VI – Nintendo Switch

I did only pick this up in October, but I’ve played so much I thought I should include it in this section. I’ve had a funny relationship with the Civilization series, since despite owning every one of them and most of the expansions for all of the games on my PC, I’ve played less than 6 hours total across them all. However, I did put a lot of time into Civilization Revolution on the DS and Vita, and it was this handheld fit that made me consider the Switch version. Loving it so far, and it does feel better sitting with the game in handheld mode on the sofa, rather than when sat at my PC.

Physical edition on Amazon*

EGX

This month was EGX 2019, the Eurogamer Expo. I played a bunch of games there, and talked about them in a bit in my EGX round up post.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – Xbox One

Made the decision to stick with the Xbox version and not bothering to restart on PC. Some ropey looking water effects aside, I think I’ve come to terms with the graphics. Still a great game and the only real “Halloweenesque” gaming I did for October.

As mentioned last month and if you do like Castlevania, please do check out this episode of Maximum Power Up I recorded with Phil. Still one of my favourites, and I intend to follow it up looking at the two Bloodstained games at a later date.

PS4, Xbox One and Switch versions available here* As mentioned previously, I’d skip the Switch version unless you don’t have access to the other platforms although it has received a performance patch though so things are improving on that front

Nitro Type – PC

Discovered this free little browser-based gem a little while back. Competitive Typing is exactly what it is. It prompted me to finally put together my top 5 typing games post. You can play it yourself on the Nitro Type website, but you’ll need a keyboard, obviously.

Nanotale – PC

As also mentioned in my Typing Games best of, the kind folks at Fishing Cactus sent me a key for the Early Access version of Nanotale. I’ve been playing it a bit to prepare a preview post that should appear during November (Probably when I get back from my holiday).

October Pick-ups

Slay the Spire – Nintendo Switch

I did receive the PC version of this as a gift back when it was in Early Access. Slay the Spire is a great card game / adventure and a perfect fit for the Switch. I grabbed the Switch version when it went on sale, very much enjoying getting back to it.

StarCraft Cartooned – PC

Picked this up at the start of the month after having an eye on it for a while. It’s a complete “reskin” of the original StarCraft game. I’ve been promising myself a proper playthrough of StarCraft at some point, and now I think this may be the way I play.

Paper Trains – Nintendo Switch

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned previously, I do like a train game. This one is a fairly simple puzzle game but it’s the hand drawn “pen & paper” art style that sets it apart and makes it worth a look.

Scene It – PS3

Bit of a surprise charity shop find this, I didn’t even know Scene It had a game on the PS3. We did play quite a bit of the Xbox 360 version first time round, but this has different content to that one, and very nicely supports the Buzz Wireless Buzzers on the PS3. Great fun.

Overwatch – Xbox One

Another charity shop pick up, I’m not sure I’ll play this but couldn’t leave it there for £3. I haven’t even touched the the PC version in over a year but at least I’ve got the Xbox One version as well if some of my friends drag me into it.

GoG Galaxy 2.0 Beta – PC

Not directly a game itself, but I received an invite to the beta from Good Old Games for their new “GOG Galaxy 2.0” client. I’ve already linked it to all my other PC libraries along with my Xbox and PlayStation ones. It’s nice to see everything in one place, but even better to be able to search all those games when I’m trying to check if I own something already or not…

Games retired during October

Metro Exodus – PC

Definitely intend to revisit this. With changing jobs, studying and spending 3 of the weekends during October at NFL games in London, I just haven’t had time for an in depth story game. Hoping November will involve a PC upgrade so I think I’ll come back to this then.

*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.

Incredibly busy month, where I’ve been mostly trying to study, but also applying for, and getting, a new job. Didn’t play a great deal, but managed a good amount in 2-player on the Nintendo Switch with my other half.

Games completed this month

Raging Justice – Switch

Barely feels like a completion, but we got a credits roll so I’m counting it. Girlfriend and I had a great time on this, the ride-on lawnmower section is a definite highlight.

Games played during July

Horizon Chase Turbo – PS4

I had been on the fence about grabbing this for the Switch. I liked the idea of it, but was concerned it might feel a bit “mobile game”. Fortunately it popped up as a freebie on PlayStation Plus for the PS4, so I was able to spend some time with it. I played for about 45 minutes. It was enjoyable and certainly presses the nostalgia buttons for these classic arcade racers. However after 45 minutes I’d had enough and don’t think I’ll go back to it. Saved me buying it on Switch, although it did motivate me to immediately buy a different game on there. More on that below.

Duke Nukem Forever – PC

Yes this is just about as bad as you think it is. I played it for an upcoming podcast episode, but didn’t entirely hate it. A couple of the later guns were quite satisfying, and there is a whole level early on where you’ve been shrunk and you’re driving around in an RC Car. I did enjoy that.

Metro Exodus – PC

Had a quick go on this, busy month meant I haven’t put a lot of time into anything, but I think this could be my next proper game after The Witcher 3, and was pleased the PC version was included in the Xbox Game Pass thing. What I really like is that it seems to be really well optimised, and gets 60+ fps on my PC with everything on Ultra at 1080p.

X-Men Legends – Xbox

As included in my NERG Pickups below, this month saw me acquire an original Xbox. This game was already on the Hard Drive, I’d forgotten just how good these games were. I think I’ll probably put a bit more time into it.

Doom 2 – Switch

Bethesda released Doom 1, 2 & 3 across all the modern platforms, coinciding with QuakeCon. Annoyingly I was supposed to go to the event in London but had to cancel to finish up some study. I did grab Doom 2 though, and have already had some fun playing it in split-screen with my girlfriend.

July Pick-ups

Virtua Racing – Switch

As mentioned above, this was the purchase I made straight after playing Horizon Chase Turbo. This port of Virtua Racing is incredible fun, these SEGA Ages ports continue to impress. I doubt I’ll ever get to try the 8 player split-screen mode but I’m glad that it’s in there. I really hope we see some more racing games. Naturally I want SEGA Rally, but it would be something of a dream if they could finally give us home versions of SCUD Race and Daytona 2.

NERG Pickups

I covered NERG in my last blog post, but thought I’d just mention the gaming items I picked up. First up was the modded Xbox that was a gift from Phil, have wanted to get one of these again for a while. I also picked up a 6-button Competition Pro pad for the Mega Drive the same as the one I had as a kid. Last bit of gaming related stuff was a handful of loose Game Boy games. Robocop, Terminator 2, Batman the Movie (or Batman inexplicably with a gun), Jurassic Park and Elevator Action.

Puyo Puyo Champions – Switch

To be honest, I just grabbed this because it was 50% off and I thought my girlfriend might play it. We’ve been playing a lot of Puyo Puyo Tetris again recently, but I just stick to Tetris. My little brain can’t Puyo.

Phantasy Star – Switch

The third SEGA game I bought for my Switch this month, I haven’t loaded this up yet. I’ve never really managed to get into the Phantasy Star games, but this looks like quite a polished port of the original Master System game, so thought I’d give it a go.

Brawl – Switch

This was 89p. I played Brawl a bit on PS4 when it first came out, it’s a fairly competent little Bomberman clone, with an odd horror aesthetic. I didn’t really get into it at the time but thought it might be nice to have some Bomberman action on my Switch without getting Super Bomberman R for the third time.

Retired this month

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Xbox One

Well I tried my best, but the openworldness got to me. Found myself not wanting to load it up anymore. Think I’ll stick to reading the books and I’ll check out the TV series when it appears.

Good productive month all-round. Well, where gaming is concerned anyway. I procrastinated the hell out of everything else I was supposed to be doing.

Games completed this month

Hollow Knight – Switch

Hurrah! So far I’ve only got the ‘basic’ ending, but that’s enough to count. Up to this point Hollow Knight is up there as one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. I have some gripes with it after this though, now that I’ve been playing for the “true ending”. To get the true ending you have to clear a platforming challenge that feels massively out of place compared to the rest of the game. I have done that now at least, but then found the final, final boss infuriating. I intend to go back to it after I take a break. For now though, I had an ending and the credits roll, so we’re done.

RIVEN – SEGA Saturn

Really enjoyed my return to the MYST universe, definitely want to get to MYST III – Exile now. Also incredible fun playing with the Saturn mouse. Might have a look at some of the other adventure games that support it too.

Games played during May

Tetris 99 – Switch

I fire this up now and then anyway, but this month had a limited time event where you could unlock a classic Game Boy Tetris theme for the game, complete with music and sound effects. I had to get in on that. Managed to secure the required points, so now my Tetris battle royale losses are much more nostalgic.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Xbox One

After putting Hollow Knight to rest, it is time to tackle one of the bigger games on the list for the year. I’ve been reading the books again to get into the mood and at four books in, I am ready. Played a few hours so far and am very much enjoying myself.

Nefarious – Switch

A bit of light relief after Hollow Knight. Difficult game to recommend, as the actual platform levels are pretty much just “filler”. The boss fights are amusing though, taking the role of villain and seeing the other side of classic fights from Sonic, Mega Man, SNES style RPGs and even a bit of Mario.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Switch

Thanks to one of my other pick ups below, I’ve been back on my Mario Karting. I’m aiming to 3 star all the cups up to Mirror Mode (200cc can bite me, I might try to do those with 1 star…) Maybe I’ll also get to playing online a bit now.

May Pick-ups

SEGA Rally – PS3

Picked this up cheap with the PS2 games below. I’ve been wanting to check it out for a while, since it mostly passed me by when it first came out. I played it for half an hour or so. It is fun but I’m not sure it’ll hold my attention now.

Super Bust-a-Move 1 & 2 – PS2

As per my top arcade puzzle games post, I’m a big fan of the bust-a-move / puzzle bobble games, and couldn’t resist grabbing them for my PS2 when I saw them cheap.

Robot Wars – PS2

Mostly picked this up for my partner, as she is a big fan of the TV show. The game seems fun, and I like how the controls are mapped for the robots. It seems like you need to put a bit of effort into gaining funds to build a robot though. To be honest we’d have enjoyed it more if we could just pick from a selection of existing robots from the show and smash them into each other.

Gameboy Games

As we were in Brighton shopping, I popped into Ninja Games Den again, and grabbed a few more loose Game Boy games. Mostly worth it for Dr. Mario, the others were just a bonus.

Pocket Rumble – Switch

Picked this up almost entirely because of how much I miss the Neo Geo Pocket Color. I have looked at buying it on Steam before, but the Switch version feels a bitter fit to closer replicate the old hand held feeling of a decent portable fighting game. If only I could get a Switch Joycon with one of those Neo Geo thumbsticks on.

Castlevania Anniversary Collection – Switch

I played all but one of these games for the Castlevania episode of the Maximum Power-Up Podcast. However that was mostly just dabbling with emulation and various EverDrive devices. I liked them well enough that I fancied this collection on the Switch, so I could give them a bit more time. Particularly Super Castlevania IV and Bloodlines.

Sundered: Eldritch Edition – Switch

This game caught my eye back when we were researching for the podcast’s H.P. Lovecraft episode. I didn’t get to it at the time, but kept it on my radar. It popped up in the same Switch sale as Pocket Rumble above. It’s a metroidvania with some heavy Lovecraftian influences, so I’m looking forward to getting into it eventually.

Pro Controller – Switch

As hinted at above, this is why I’m back on Mario Kart 8. A birthday gift from my partner, I do now see what all the fuss is about. This is an excellent controller, the lack of analogue triggers keep it from joining or surpassing the PS4 and Xbox One pads as my current joint favourites, but it is very good.

Obduction – PC

Free this month on Humble Bundle, I’ve wanted this for a while. I was going to pick it up on PS4 when the promised VR support was added, but reports of that suggest it doesn’t run well on the PSVR hardware. PC version it is then!

Toki Retrollector Edition – Switch

Another birthday gift, this time from one of my friends. Didn’t know much about the game going in, but this collection made a great gift. All the parts are high quality, and the wooden arcade cabinet style stand for the Switch is awesome. I can see me using the stand with other games when not playing on the TV. I’ve played a bit of the game as well now, and it’s good fun. Looks great and is a straight up remaster of the old arcade game. I do have vague memories of playing it first time round (probably the Mega Drive port).