September was an incredibly busy month, including me changing jobs and sitting a formal exam for a professional qualification. Won’t actually know how I did in the exam until the end of November, but at least I can look at what games I managed to play.
Games completed this month
Vermintide II – PC
This was quite the achievement, being the first game completed in co-op with my ‘semi-regular’ online gaming foursome. We rapidly discovered we weren’t up for the harder difficulties, but we had a lot of fun playing through the base game. I think we’ll look to pick up the DLC on sale and maybe come back to it later.
PS4 version on Amazon*
Games played during September
Tetris 99 – Switch
A surprise update to Tetris 99 added a few new features, including daily quests to earn ‘tickets’ that can be used to purchase additional themes for the gameplay modes. It worked as intended, and so far I’ve played everyday and have completed 100% of these daily quests. I’m still yet to get a 1st place, but it is starting to feel like just a matter of time.
If you’re in the market for a Switch Lite, the Tetris bundle* is obviously the way to go.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 – Switch
Had a great time with this for the first few hours. I have hit the difficulty wall pretty hard though, and am struggling to level my characters up to progress. Probably just need to read some guides but I’ve put it on hold for now. I do quite fancy the Season Pass if it goes on sale, the appeal of more characters is strong.
Physical edition on Amazon*
Tesla vs Lovecraft – PS4
Inspired by some of my friends playing this, I decided to go back and gradually work towards picking up the Platinum Trophy. Still a ways to go but very much enjoying having a twin-stick shooter in my gaming rotation again.
No Amazon link for this as it’s digital only, but this Lovecraft & Tesla comic* looks great…
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – Xbox One
Mentioned this one a few times on here, it was in my games to play this year plan, and I also covered it in my EGX Rezzed post. As mentioned in my Top 5 Metroidvania post I had originally intended on picking it up on Switch, but the performance issues with that port had left me in a bit of a quandary with which version to get. Fortunately this was resolved by the game being added to GamePass. I’ve been playing it on Xbox One, but while I still don’t like the graphics (and tbh the shine on the character models and the water effects look terrible to me) GamePass also included the PC version, and I’ve had a quick go on there and it seems to look much better. Just trying to decide if I can be bothered to restart it. Game is great fun though, no complaints about the gameplay.
If you haven’t already, please do check out the Castlevania episode of Maximum Power Up I recorded with Phil. Still one of my favourite episodes, 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 though, I’d skip the Switch version unless you don’t have access to the other platforms
Life is Strange 2: Episode One – Xbox One
Another game I fired up on GamePass. It’s still good, and I’m looking forward to continuing the game. I don’t quite like the characters as much as Max and Chloe though, and it’s probably telling that this is the first episode I didn’t play in one sitting. Hoping it’ll start to grab me more as the story progresses.
September Pick-ups
Tetris 99 DLC
As mentioned above I’m back on this, and the new patch convinced me to pick up the paid Big Block DLC. At £9 I felt quite happy with the purchase, as I’ve already played around 30 hours of Tetris 99. Oops. Not sure if it was just a time limited offer, but buying the Big Block DLC meant I also got DLC Pack 2 when it came out, which added some local multiplayer modes.
Physical retail edition* includes this DLC and 12 months of the Nintendo Online service
SNES Games – Switch
Already covered this in my Ten Reasons I Own a Nintendo Switch post, but September also saw the addition of SNES games to the Switch online offering. Super Metroid can finally happen!
Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns – Nintendo Switch
Really enjoyed the original game back on Xbox Live and the Nintendo DS, but unlike several of my friends, I never did finish it. I’ve also had some fun with the mobile Puzzle Quest games, like the Marvel and SEGA ones, but the mobile trappings of the Free 2 Play model always end up putting me off. I was very pleased to see this version come to the switch, particularly as it bundles the original DLC along with some fresh new content for this port. I probably should play something other than Tetris.
Konami Arcade Anniversary Collection – Nintendo Switch
Much like the Castlevania collection I picked up back in May this year, this line up for this collection is pretty solid. Some great games, and Haunted Castle… These were back on offer, so I thought I’d grab this one too. I almost picked up the Contra Collection to complete the set, but as discussed on the Run N Gun Podcast episode, I find the difficulty gets in the way too much with that series.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.