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).
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