An unusual month to put it mildly, but did manage to play a few games.
Games completed this month
Hue – Xbox Series X
Not a GamePass game this time, but one free on Xbox Live Gold. Apparently I already owned it on PlayStation as well, probably from PS+, but either way I decided to play it this month and played through the whole game. It feels a little like Limbo in art style but the puzzles are much more forgiving. Some of the later ones are a bit more of a challenge, but they do feel fair.
Games played during May
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Nintendo Switch
Still playing through this with my group. Very much enjoying it for the most part, but I do keep hitting difficulty spikes that hold up my progress. Optimistic I’ll finish it though.
At present it might still be on sale on the eshop, but if it’s back to full price or you’d rather have a physical copy, it’s available here from Amazon*.
Little Witch in the Woods – Xbox Series X
This seems a fun little game that popped up on GamePass, it’s only in a sort of Early Access demo state though and it crashed on me a couple of times. I’ll have another look at it when it’s finished.
Various Train Games – Nintendo Switch
While browsing my Switch library recently I realised I’d managed to buy four different train games and barely play any of them. I gave each a bit more of a go to at least remind myself of which was which. The four I have are Loco Motion, Mini Trains, Conduct Together! and Paper Train.
Paper Train is the most eye catching and probably my favourite, but not sure my reactions are quick enough to progress through the whole game. I’ve also spent a bit more time playing Loco Motion, as it’s puzzles are a bit slower paced than the others.
What’s been on the arcade?
I didn’t play as much on the cabinet this month with everything going on, but I did have a few credits on Galaga 3 that the Ten Pence Arcade guys are currently playing. Nice to have another shmup on there but didn’t have time to get properly into it.
May Pick-ups
Lamplight City – Nintendo Switch
I played the PC version a while back at EGX Rezzed 2019, but the nice folk at Application Systems Heidelberg were once again kind enough to send me a code for the Switch version. I’d hoped to play this sooner so I could share some thoughts about it, but life got in the way. I’m looking forward to getting to it soon though, I really enjoyed the demo.
Devastator – PS5
Heard a few people saying good things about this, and then read the review in EDGE magazine that also suggested it might be my kinda thing. It’s a polished twin-stick shooter in the Geometry Wars style. I grabbed it for PS5 because I don’t really have much that I’m playing on there at the moment, seems good so far.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
First completion this month was another from the 2022 playlist. I think Guardians of the Galaxy was a bit overlooked when it first came out, probably because of how badly received the Avengers game was. However, I really enjoyed this one. The writing captures the characters well, and it is one of few games where the chatter between the characters doesn’t get annoying. Very much worth playing, and great to see it on GamePass.
Easiest way to play on Xbox, Game Pass* but if you fancy it on another format or generally prefer a physical edition, they’re here on Amazon*
Life is Strange – True Colors – Xbox Series X
Another game I wanted to try, as I really liked the first Life is Strange and the prequel Before the Storm. However, after not getting into Life is Strange 2, I was a bit reluctant to buy this new one. Was great to see it turn up on GamePass so I could try it, and I’m glad I did. True Colors is much more of a return to the form of the first couple of games and I pretty much played this entire thing over 2 days.
Boyfriend Dungeon – Xbox Series X
Started this out of curiosity as the premise sounded ridiculous but I’d heard good things on a podcast. It’s part simple dungeon-crawler action rpg, and part dating sim. The people you date also turn into the weapons you use in combat. It’s odd, but surprisingly engaging. I played the whole thing anyway and 100% completed it so…
Games played during April
Blacksad: Under the Skin – PS4 / PS5
I gave this a go, and will hopefully come back to it. The aesthetic is great but it is a bit clunky to play and the load times are criminal. I’ve moved it onto the faster SSD of the PS5 now but it hasn’t made too much difference really.
I have been spending a bit of time with Puzzle Quest 3, but not sure how long I’ll stick with it. I do enjoy playing bejewelled as combat, and have liked a few of the previous puzzle quest games. My main issue with it is just that I don’t really like playing games on my phone.
Battletoads – Xbox Series X
Another game I tried on GamePass, and demonstrating the other benefit of the service. This is terrible. Move along.
What’s been on the arcade?
I played a fair bit of Solar Fox for the ten pence arcade podcast this month, but never really improved at it. Definitely need a solution for 4-way joysticks that doesn’t involve unscrewing my control panel. The new podcast games are a couple of awful submarine based Scramble clones (and I haven’t enjoyed Scramble since I was 5) so I think I’ll give this coming month a swerve. Did play some Bubbles and Robotron 2084 though, still favourites to play on my machine.
April Pick-ups
Vampire Survivors – PC
Raved about on a number of podcasts, this is an absolute steal at around £2 on Steam. It’s relatively simple to get into, there are a selection of characters and weapons that are pretty much lifted from the Castlevania series, and then you are just in control of moving the character while the weapons attach automatically on a timer. Very addictive and a lot of fun so far.
Zombie Rollerz – PC
I noticed this was on sale, and as a big fan of Video Pinball games (talked about extensively on the video pinball episode of Maximum Power Up) I picked it up. Short-lived however, as the actual pinball physics felt ‘off’ and the art style and overall presentation really grated with me. This is now the second game I’ve ever refunded from Steam.
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch – Nintendo Switch
After I finished Tales of Arise, I’ve been waiting for my little JRPG group to pick the next game. We settled on this, helped along by it going on sale for £8 on the Nintendo eShop. Not far in yet but it seems promising. This is a remastered version of the PlayStation 3 game, which I was intrigued by at the time thanks to it’s Studio Ghibli art, but back then I wasn’t playing JRPGs.
At present it might still be on sale on the eshop, but if it’s back to full price or you’d rather have a physical copy, it’s available here from Amazon*.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
Ticked off the first game from the 2022 playlist this month, and made substantial progress into a second. Also Game Pass continues to prove the best deal in videogaming.
Games completed this month
Tales of Arise – PS5
Fully completed this now, both with the main story “credits roll” at around 58 hours, and then with the optional extra stuff at about 90. Had a great time, but not sure it’ll break into the Top 5. I did even manage to pick up the Platinum Trophy, which is rare for me too. Think I have 8 so far spread across PS3, Vita, PS4 and PS5…
Thanks to my bout of Covid-related isolation in February I ended up finishing this ages in front of my friends (they’re still going now) and I want them to hurry up so we can find the next one to play.
I played on PS5, my friends are on PS4 and Xbox though and it seems like it’s great on them all. All formats are on this link*.
FAR: Changing Tides – Xbox Series X
This was a nice surprise coming straight to Game Pass. I played the original FAR: Lone Sails on the PC back in July 2020. I really enjoyed that one but found it difficult to recommend at full price given the relatively short experience. As with Unpacking and Gorogoa recently though, Game Pass is perfect for this new one. The game is about 4 hours long, and is very much more of the same but with new systems to drive the vehicle along. Definitely worth a try if you have Game Pass.
Games played during March
Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series X
Haven’t got as heavily back into this as I expected but I am still playing on and off. I imagine it’ll be when the first expansion pack arrives that I really get back on it.
I finished the content up to where I needed to pay for the expansion and stopped. It was fun and I think I would like to carry on but couldn’t justify spending the money when I have so much else to play. I might come back to it later.
Animal Crossing New Horizons – Nintendo Switch
I took part in a book launch event that took the form of a treasure hunt on an Animal Crossing island. Was a pretty original idea and really good fun. The book itself is in the Young Adult genre, and if you’re interested it’s here from Waterstones – The Girl With No Soul.
Spent a most enjoyable hour exploring Providence in a delightful book launch event within Animal Crossing, for @morganowenya's new book. #TheGirlWithNoSoul
After playing through A Way Out back in 2020 with my friend Phil, I had been intrigued to hear It Takes Two had a similar approach to co-op gaming. Once again the game showed up on Game Pass so we gave it a try. I think we’re only a couple of hours in but it is great fun so far, hoping to get back on it next month.
Another game from my 2022 plan, although I originally intended to pick this up for the PlayStation 5. It came to Game Pass though, so a no-brainer to play on Xbox instead. I’m about 2/3 of the way through now so hopefully I’ll be including it in my completions next month. It’s an excellent game, really captures the characters well and manages to separate them from their MCU counterparts nicely. Kind of feels like a middle ground between the movies and the comics.
Easiest way to play on Xbox, Game Pass* but if you fancy it on another format or generally prefer a physical edition, they’re here on Amazon*
Mario Kart 8 – Nintendo Switch
After my preorder last month, the first 8 of the new tracks came out in March. I haven’t spent a lot of time with them, but I played through the 2 new cups. I am most happy to have Coconut Mall from the Wii version back in there.
Not played much on the cabinet this month, mostly down to being heavily into Tales of Arise, and because In the Hunt turned out to be stupidly difficult. Jury is still out on the new Ten Pence Arcade game Solar Fox too.
March Pick-ups
Blacksad: Under the Skin – PS4 / PS5
I didn’t know this was a thing until I spotted the Xbox version on the shelf in Game. I really like the Blacksad comics so was intrigued about the game. A bit of a google has it being something of a 6 or 7 out of 10, but the gameplay elements sounded like a mix of the Sherlock Holmes games with the control system from Grim Fandango. That is my cup of tea, and it was on sale for around £6 on the PlayStation Store, worth a punt at least.
Although I bought this when it first came out on PC in 2018, I hadn’t spent so much time on it, preferring to stick to TxK on my PlayStation Vita (the greatest game of all time). Tempest 4000 is essentially the re-released version of TxK but with approval from Atari. There are some gameplay changes but it’s fundamentally very close. Anyway, fast-forward to 2022 and I was scrolling the ‘coming soon’ section on the Nintendo Switch store, where I spotted Tempest 4000 was being brought over. The Switch is definitely a good place for it if unlike me you actually play it handheld, and I bet it looks amazing on the new OLED screen version.
However. Much more exciting to me was then remembering that the game came out on both Xbox One and PS4, and playing that on the newer consoles would mean Tempest upscaled to 4K with auto HDR. A quick online search later, and I found the PS4 edition for £9.99 so I went with that. I think I’d have preferred the Xbox one, but for some reason that is still quite expensive. It’s a real treat playing this on the PS5, and I’m looking forward to spending more time with it.
This is the one* I picked up, still on sale for a tenner at time of writing. Easy recommend.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
Poor impulse control strikes again in the pick ups, but still plenty of games played so I’ll count it as a win anyway.
Games completed this month
Blood & Truth – PSVR
Finally connected the PSVR up to the PlayStation 5, and went back and finished the Blood & Truth campaign. Still one of the best action games in VR, and looks even better driven by the PS5 rather than my old stock PS4. Using the PSVR with the PS5 is annoying though, I am definitely considering the PSVR 2 and its single cable connection.
While I was in a VR mood I remembered hearing about this free VR game / experience on Steam. It’s only half an hour or so long, and is a mildly interactive retelling of the H.P. Lovecraft short story, Dagon. It was fun and nice to use the headset I have for my PC too. You can play it without VR as well, so worth a look for free if you’re interested.
Games played during February
Tales of Arise – PS5
Fully caught up in this now. Approaching 60 hours in and maybe nearing the endgame, although it’s a JRPG and it looks like I’ll still have a few things to do after. I appear to have gotten quite ahead of the JRPG support group though, and I could do with them catching up so was looking to play other things for a bit. Is the excuse I tell myself for spending a lot this month.
I’m playing on PS5, my friends are on PS4 and Xbox though and it seems like it’s great on them all. All formats are on this link*.
Tetris Effect Connected – PSVR
Seemed rude not to play a bunch of this while I had the headset hooked up to the PS5. I still haven’t tried the new multiplayer modes though. I’ve heard good things about the Switch version of Tetris Effect, but I can’t imagine playing it not in VR.
I have this edition* although it is still on GamePass and playing on PC supports VR there too.
Rocket League – PS5
This has joined Worms W.M.D. as a regular multiplayer session, and while we continue to be dreadful, we still have a lot of fun. We tend to stick to casual matches though, those people on ranked are taking things too seriously…
SEGA Picross – Switch
Had a long weekend away in February and took along the Switch. Got back into this a bit but the puzzles are getting a bit trickier now. I think I’ll still drop into it from time to time, but gone are the early times of smashing through 10 puzzles in half an hour.
Sine Mora EX – Switch
The other game I played while traveling, it was quite nice to get back to Sine Mora. I last played this when it first came out on Xbox Live Arcade for the 360. It’s an interesting shooter, although in handheld mode some of the enemy bullets feel almost invisible. Not sure I’ll play much of it now I’m back, but I might return to it for future holidays.
I’ve got this physical version*, but it goes on sale digitally for less than a couple of quid.
Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series X
Bit of a spoiler for my pick up this month, but now I have the Series X I was keen to get back to Forza Horizon 5 and enjoy it in 4k at 60fps. Still my favourite racing game and now looking even better.
Destiny 2 Witch Queen – Xbox Series X
I haven’t bought the expansion yet, but did feel like checking it out on the new Xbox. So far I’ve just been enjoying the new story quests they’ve added to Free to Play but I may grab the DLC.
What’s been on the arcade?
The Ten Pence Arcade podcast extended the previous month’s game into February. I’d gone off “Up N Down” though so I had been playing a bit of 1942 on the cab. The new podcast game was announced towards the end of the month as “In the Hunt” though, so I’ve had a few credits on that too. It’s just as brutal as I remember it being on the Saturn. Maybe I’ll improve enough to make the leaderboards.
February Pick-ups
Xbox Series X
Here we are, the latest impulse purchase. Had got so used to them being impossible to find at RRP that when I spotted Currys had stock I just jumped straight in. I mostly went for the upgrade from my Series S because I haven’t been gaming much on the PC. The PlayStation 5 has become my platform of choice but I think that’s because everything just looked better than on the Series S. Decided to get the X to put them more on a level pegging. Pretty pleased with it so far and a friend bought the Series S from me which offset the cost a bit.
Pre-orders
Mario Kart Booster Pass
I couldn’t resist the prospect of more tracks for Mario Kart, and ShopTo have a good discount on the pre-order. Although this content is included in the Nintendo Online Expansion Pass, none of the other content appeals to me so for now this seemed the better option.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
First of these for the New Year, and we’re off to a pretty good start. I completed some stuff. Granted, not as many as I did in December but still good going by my standards.
Games completed this month
Gorogoa – PC
Heard about this on a podcast a while back, I was interested in the idea of “solving puzzles by sliding pictures over each other”. Didn’t really visualise how it would work in practice though, and I forgot about it. Once again though, GamePass* to the rescue, the artwork is gorgeous and the puzzles very well designed. I think it might be best to play on a mobile device or a Switch with the touch screen, but I found it worked well enough on PC with a mouse. The whole game is only around 2 – 3 hours long which makes it a perfect fit for GamePass.
Until I got distracted by the next game on this list, I was making decent progress on Final Fantasy VII Remake. I don’t have too much nostalgia for the original Final Fantasy VII, since back in the day my memory card corrupted not long after I made it onto the world map. However the characters and story are familiar, and it looks great. I’m probably only around 10 hours in, but I do want to come back and finish the game as it is on the list for 2022.
It seems my 2022 blog did the job and my ex-wife picked this up in January as planned. I immediately dropped Final Fantasy as this is the game I wanted to be playing. Another of our friends is now playing as well so we have a JRPG support group. Enjoying it so far although the characters are a bit grumpy. Lots of owls though.
I’m playing on PS5, my friends are on PS4 and Xbox though and it seems like it’s great on them all. All formats are on this link*.
Animal Crossing New Horizons – Switch
Played on and off during January, still failed to catch a lobster and I think they’ve gone now till April. Oh well.
Prime GamePass fodder. Difficult to call this a great game, particularly on PC where it feels like a clunky console port. However, playing online with a couple of friends was good fun. We’ll probably play a couple more times before we move on to something else.
What’s been on the arcade?
In January my arcade play was mostly on SEGA’s Up N Down, the Ten Pence Arcade podcast monthly game. As much as I sort of enjoyed this, I really couldn’t get to grips with it and never really progressed beyond the second level. Next!
At the start of the year though I did pick up a proper amp and speakers* for the cab and fitted those. I got them from Arcade World* who supplied most of the components when I built the machine. The sound is much better now, although it does have a slight hum that I need to eradicate. Plenty of people seemed to have a similar problem with the Pi, so confident I can deal with it next time I have the cabinet open.
January Pick-ups
MYST & More Bundle – PC
Couldn’t resist grabbing this bundle of MYST goodness. Yes I did own all the games already, but my Steam library was missing MYST 3, 4 and Obduction, so at least I have them all in one place now…
Snowball!
My one purchase from the latest Steam sale, saw someone mention this little indie pinball game, would have been rude not to for 49p. It’s not on sale any more, but even full price it’s only £1.99. Worth a look if you dig Video Pinball like me.
ScummVM & RetroPie – RaspberryPi 3b+
Okay so this isn’t really a pick up as I owned it already, but I wasn’t sure where else to put it. As I mentioned in my Unforeseen Incidents review, I had intended to play the classic Point and Click game Discworld this year. As an alternative to using the Saturn version (which I found out doesn’t support the mouse) I decided to use one of the RaspberryPi 3b+ models I had spare so I could still play on my TV using a mouse.
I’ve basically just installed the usual RetroPie and setup ScummVM to play Discworld and a selection of other games supported by the engine. As a bonus I’ve also started configuring DosBox to run a some other games of a similar era, mostly other Point and Click games not otherwise supported by ScummVM. And Jazz Jackrabbit, because why not.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
Later than planned with this, mostly because I was having trouble finding 10 games I wanted to play this year. The struggle is real.
From the 2021 plan I only managed to complete 3 of the games. I did at least play Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but it was terrible so I gave that one up. For the 2022 list I’m going to keep Myst III Exile and The Last Express on there for another year, but I’m parking the others.
Super Metroid and Call of Cthulhu can just return to the backlog. Hollow Knight: Silksong seems to be never coming out, but if it does I’ll want to play it immediately anyway. Finally, I did almost get to StarCraft: Legacy of the Void, then the ongoing and awful revelations about Blizzard Activision as a company left me feeling unable to buy or play their games.
Before we get to the new playlist for 2022 though, time for a quick look back at the highlights from 2021.
Top 5 played in 2021
1. Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series S / PC
No surprises here, could have almost called this a year in advance. The series just keeps getting better in my opinion. At some point I need to update my All-Time Top 5 Racing Games list, although I’d probably just lump all the Forza Horizon games together at the top.
Forza Horizon may have been a given, but I did not see this one coming (or its friend lower down). I think it turned up at the right time, and playing alongside my ex-wife to compare progress with no doubt helped, but I had a great time with this.
I think I enjoyed this more than the main Spider-Man game. Granted it is much shorter, but also had a lot less of the open-world ‘busy work’ that I find tedious. Also helped that it’s all set in a snowy December. Probably the first time I’ve really been impressed by ray-tracing, the night levels look great.
This* is the edition I picked up, it’s a bit more expensive than I found it for on eBay though.
4. Ori and the Will of the Wisps – Xbox Series S
As disappointed as I was that the Hollow Knight sequel, Silksong, didn’t come out in 2021 for me to play, this was a worthy alternative. The original Ori didn’t quite make my Top 5 Metroidvania games, but it was a near miss. I think the Will of the Wisps is a better game than the original, I’d still suggest playing them both in order though. Excellent and I was delighted / surprised that my Xbox Series S was able to play it in 4K at 60fps. Lovely.
As I played on the Series S, there is no point linking a physical copy to buy. Think I played on GamePass anyway. You can pick it up here* on Switch though, and Metroidvanias are always a good fit for that.
5. Octopath Traveller – Switch
The second JRPG I completed last year, and caused me to update my All-Time Top 5 JRPG list too. I don’t think it’s as good a game as Bravely Default 2, but the art style is fun and there are a lot of good gameplay mechanics to it.
Realising two of the best games I played in 2021 were JRPGs, I’ve put another two on my list for 2022. Whether I play them both partly depends on convincing my ex-wife to join in too.
Sometimes difficult to find in stock this one, if Amazon have it, it’ll be here*. I ended up buying it digitally anyway when I couldn’t get a physical edition.
Also ran:
Control: Ultimate Edition – PS5
I almost let this pass me by but I’m glad I gave it a go. Sort of X-Files the action videogame, I enjoyed Control quite a bit. Very much liked the various nods towards Alan Wake too.
This* is the edition I played. I had it free with PS Plus though, so check you don’t already own it before you buy.
10 games for 2022
1. The Last Express – PC
Last time I’m allowing myself to keep this on the list. If I don’t get round to it this year it goes “back on the shelf”.
2. Myst III: Exile – PC
The other game I’m taking forward, I do still intend to progress my way through all these. However long it takes. I did dabble a bit last year with the MYST remake on PC and Xbox but it had a few stability issues that I hope will be fixed with updates.
3. Final Fantasy VII Remake – PS5
I did suggest I’d consider this one when I updated the All-Time Top 5 JRPG list. Sony gave the PS4 edition away free with PS Plus a while back, but it was exempt from a free upgrade to PS5. However, over Christmas they relaxed that and I was then able to upgrade for free, so I thought I’d give it a go.
The PS5 edition is available here on Amazon*, if you missed it on PS Plus.
4. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon – Switch
In the continued absence of Silksong, I wanted a Metroidvania for the list. Since I’ve banished Super Metroid back to the backlog, I thought I’d try to make an effort to play the Gameboy Advance games I never finished. I’ll play them on the recent compilation for the Switch, starting with Circle of the Moon and see how I get on.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – PS5
Haven’t bought this yet but I intend to pick it up early 2022. I’ve heard lots of good things and I am a fan of the characters.
Available here* but at time of writing it’s back at full price. Has been discounted a few times already so I expect to pay no more than £35.
6. Tales of Arise – PS5
Another I haven’t bought yet but I do want to play. I think my successfully playing this may be dependent on convincing my ex-wife to play too, so fingers crossed.
Haven’t played anything through fully on my Saturn for a while, and I had been thinking of replaying this game too. I’ll pop it on this list, it’ll be a good excuse to get the Saturn Mouse out.
8. Command & Conquer Remastered – PC
I did get part way through the GDI campaign on this and get stuck. However I’d like to go back and finish that as well as play through the NOD one. Seems I should have an RTS on this list and since I’ve abandoned StarCraft now is the time.
9. Doom Eternal – PC
Almost forgot this existed, still haven’t got round to playing. I think I will play this year but I’m not completely set on what platform. Too much choice. I’ve set it for PC for now, but may change it up during the year.
10. Uncharted 4 – PS4
Another one I forgot I never played… Happy to put this on the list as I think it should be nice on the PS5.
2022 releases I’m looking forward too
God of War: Ragnarok – PS5
Can see this getting delayed again, but I’m keen to play it if it does come out. The first game was great.
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals
Again, loved the first game so was pleased to hear we were getting another. Not sure what platform I’ll play it on yet. Think the first one was on GamePass.
*these are affiliate links, I’ll get a small commission if you buy something.
Rounding out the year by finishing 4 (well more like 3) games. Finished with a more respectable total.
Games completed this month
Spider-Man: Miles Morales – PS5
Think I enjoyed this more than the main Spider-Man game. Granted it is much shorter, but also had a lot less of the open-world ‘busy work’ that I find tedious. Also helped that it’s all set in a snowy December, probably the first time I’ve really been impressed by ray-tracing, the night levels look great.
This* is the edition I picked up, it’s a bit more expensive than I found it for on eBay though.
Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series S & PC
I think I ‘finished’ this in November, but forgot I’d achieved the Hall of Fame space that marked the end of the story. Wanted to include it so it didn’t get missed altogether, but I will be spending more time with the game anyway.
A pretty short game, took around two hours to play through in one sitting. It’s a very satisfying “putting things away” sim, but with a lot of heart. Very much enjoyed my time with it, and it is definitely worth a look. Specially if you have GamePass.
After finishing Miles Morales I was ready for another Christmas themed game and this was on sale on the Switch eShop for less than a fiver. Another short one at only 4 or so hours, but it was a lot of fun.
Games played during December
Animal Crossing New Horizons – Switch
Played quite a lot throughout December, enjoying the snow and festive activity. After only managing one perfect snowman out of 5 attempts though I gave up on that part.
Had a bit of an itch to play the Christmas expansion pack for Duke, Nuclear Winter. I’d forgotten that it’s missing from the “Megaton” edition that came out a few years after this World Tour – 20th Anniversary one. So after firing up my Switch and discovering the version I have on there doesn’t have Nuclear Winter, I dug out my PS Vita and played a bit on there instead.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Switch
Of course it wouldn’t be Christmas without some local multiplayer and a few rounds of Mario Kart. Essential.
With all the Christmas going on, I haven’t been on the cabinet as much. I did play a fair bit of Super Pang for the Ten Pence Arcade game of the month, which is excellent. However I didn’t play enough to really improve my score so I’m going to be disappointed by the leaderboard I think.
December Pick-ups
Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol 1 – Switch
A Christmas gift from my sister, I’ve had my eye on this for a while. I loved my Neo Geo Pocket Color, receiving it for Christmas the year it launched in the UK. This compilation plays perfectly with 10 of the games that are not available to play anywhere else. The fighting games and Metal Slug ports are worth it, but had been available separately from the Switch store. The real star here for me is Neo Turf Masters, one of my favourite ever golf games.
Amazon link* if you were interested in this one, it’s a solid collection but it’ll help if you have some familiarity with the system already.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
Well look at that, I finished something, and also unsurprisingly played an awful lot of Forza Horizon 5.
Games completed this month
Control: Ultimate Edition – PS5
Pleased to say I managed to push on and finish this. There were only a couple of times I got stuck on a fight and they didn’t last for too long. There is still plenty to do if I want to go back, but for now I’m happy to have finished the main story. I do at least want to play through the Alan Wake content in the DLC, but that will be for the New Year.
The physical edition of the version I’m playing is available here from Amazon*, although I have it digitally. I think the Xbox and PC editions are solid too, although I heard the older consoles struggled a bit with the framerate.
Games played during November
Animal Crossing New Horizons – Switch
Played a bit with the new content to open my coffee shop but not the hours I was expecting. Bring on snow.
Back 4 Blood – Xbox Series S – GamePass
This was oddly disappointing. While it is no doubt a good game, and a worthy spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, it’s so close to Left 4 Dead, that I felt like I’d seen it all before. Glad I didn’t need to buy it, in no rush to play any more of it.
Here* for all the main platforms if you want to buy it. I wouldn’t though.
Quake – Xbox Series S – GamePass
This has been great fun. Playing through the expansion packs in online co-op with a mate. Still remains one of the best games of all-time.
Forza Horizon 5 – Xbox Series S & PC
This turned out to be almost everything I hoped for, and once again replaces the previous entry as my favourite yet. I’ve put quite a lot of time in already, my only disappointment (and I think many are sharing this) is that the multiplayer is still broken. It never really worked that well in Horizon 4, I hope it gets a robust update to repair that. I should push on and do the last couple of big races though to ‘complete’ the story.
A fantastic month on the arcade. The game of the month from Ten Pence Arcade was Lode Runner, which turned out to be great so I played that a lot. Also my buddy Ross managed to visit for a few hours, and along with taking it in turns for Lode Runner credits, we also played a few other games including Robotron 2084 and some two player Raiden II.
November Pick-ups
Miles Morales – PS5
Found a bargain copy of this on eBay, so I could play it once I finished Control. Looking forward to getting onto it next.
This* is the edition I picked up, it’s a bit more expensive than I found it for on eBay though.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
Another quiet month, although I did play quite a bit of a couple of games.
Games played during October
Animal Crossing New Horizons – Switch
Mostly just checked in with the Halloween event, expect to play a bit more in November with the new content. Looking forward to the coffee shop opening. Because Brewster.
Destiny 2 – Xbox Series S & PC
A friend brought me back to Destiny 2, and with all the expansions included on GamePass it was nice to have fresh content to play. Had a lot of fun for a couple of weeks getting through the new story parts while it feels like you’re making some progress. My appetite for the MMO grind appears to have left me behind though. Can’t bring myself to invest the hours.
Control: Ultimate Edition – PS5
Only just started this as something else to play on my PS5. Seems really good so far, but there have been a couple of frustrating fights. Very much enjoying the world and all the X-Files style story elements though. Hopefully I’ll stick with it but concerned I’ll get pulled away by other games soon.
What’s been on the arcade?
Another shocker from Ten Pence Arcade, the game was Frenzy and it was dreadful. I therefore just played some more Joust. Started planning a bit of an upgrade for the system. Mostly want to sort out the power solution, but also going to have another look at the sound system, maybe get a proper amp and speakers rather than the PC Speaker setup it has currently. Ideally I’d like to mount an external volume control too. Likely to be a January project I think.
October Pick-ups
Destiny 2 Season Pass
Mostly bought this as an incentive to keep playing. It worked for a bit but then I started playing Control, and Forza Horizon arrives 5th November. We’ll see how that goes.
Llamasoft: Everything, Everything Bundle – PC
Find myself less excited by Steam sales these days, but this was a nice drop. I already had 3 of the 5 games in the bundle, so it meant I could grab the two games I was missing, Moose Life and Minotaur Arcade, for £2. Bargain, and some more VR content for my PC.
Retired during October
Metro Exodus – PS5
Well I tried, again and again. I did get much further than on any previous attempts but the open world just kills it for me. Found I didn’t want to play it, and was actively avoiding my PS5 as this was the game I had in progress. Oh well, hopefully I’ll stick with Control.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
Didn’t play a lot of this during September, but just enough to make sure I caught all the fish and bugs that were new for the month.
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 – PS4 / PS5
Stumbled across this in my PS4 games while browsing the PS5 library for something to play, put a couple of hours in. It’s great fun but a bit overwhelming with the content which seems a bit wrong for pac-man. Think I preferred the more streamlined original Championship Edition.
Everybody’s Golf – PS5
Visited my mate for a week at the end of the month, we mostly played card & board games, but we did get in the obligatory couple of rounds of Everybody’s Golf.
What’s been on the arcade?
My patience for the Ten Pence Arcade monthly game change was rewarded, and this month we were playing the Williams classic from 1982, Joust. Love that game so have played a fair bit of it. Might keep playing for a while though, I’m so close to cracking 60k points (I’d really like to put up more than 100k).
August Pick-ups
Castlevania Advance Collection – Switch
A bit of a surprise release when this came out, it’s a collection of the three Gameboy Advance Castlevania games, and the adequate SNES version of Dracula X. It’s very much worth the cost of entry just for Aria of Sorrow, but as I have never completed any of the GBA games I thought now could be the time. I have at least played them all before, and discussed on the Castlevania episode of the Maximum Power Up podcast.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 – PS5
More of the same from one of the greatest puzzle games of all time. I had intended to get this on Xbox as it’s the only platform I don’t own the original game on, but it was 1/4 of the price on PS5 for a physical copy. Some new multiplayer stuff though so was happy to pick it up. Also amused me that this is my first physical PS5 game. Wonder if it has ray-tracing…
Not particularly cheap on Amazon atm, but you can get it here*. The do have it cheap on Xbox* at time of writing.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
