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August Games

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Still no completions, although hopefully closing in on a couple. I was away in Scotland for a week though so I can blame that for the lack of progress.

Games played during August

Octopath Traveler II - 2023 in Games

Octopath Traveler 2 – PlayStation 5

Now in that sweet spot where my characters have got the majority of their skills and starting to specialise. Coming up to the “endgame” by which I mean I’ll hopefully roll credits in about 10 hours or so more gameplay, and I’m about 50 hours away from actually finishing it. So far, so JRPG. I have gone off on a bit of a side quest tangent though, so we’ll see.

It’s on Switch and PS4 as well, which may suit. I was glad to get another reason to play some PS5 though, and picked up this physical edition*.

Animal Crossing - June Games

Animal Crossing New Horizons – Nintendo Switch

Dropping into my island regularly, feel a bit like I’ll be trying not to buy fake art for the next 10 years though…

Surely you’ve got this already, but it’s here if not*. (And yes I will call you Shirley.)

Humanity - PS5

Humanity – PlayStation 5

The first of two games I played while visiting a friend in Scotland, that I want to play more and have added to my wishlist. This is an absolute gem of a puzzle game, a bit like the old Lemmings games, but done well in 3D. I haven’t bought it yet though so it may be a while before I get to play it again. I almost grabbed the PC version as it felt like it might be good with a mouse, but then I read it makes great use of the fancy PS5 controller, so I’ll try to stick to that I think.

The Eternal Castle - August Games

The Eternal Castle – PlayStation 5

This is very odd, but surprisingly engaging. We spent a couple of hours clearing levels. It’s graphics are entirely in the style of early 80s CGA. As such it looks very dated, but still atmospheric and remains playable. Gameplay is comparable to the classic Prince of Persia and Another World/Flashback games or the more recent Limbo and Inside. I fancy picking up the Switch version of it though, as it’ll definitely be a nice fit for that.

Quake II - August Games

Quake II

Much like when the original Quake got rereleased in 2021 they’ve repeated the process with Quake II. Again it’s come straight to GamePass which is a nice touch, and as well as giving it an overall polish and running it at 4k, they’ve included the expansion packs Ground Zero and The Reckoning, the Nintendo 64 game and another new campaign from Machine Games, Call of the Machine. Unlike the original Quake, I don’t think I ever finished the main campaign for Quake II, so I’m enjoying plugging away at it.

Akka Arrh - August Games

Akka Arrh – PlayStation 5

My first couple of goes I kind of bounced off this, not really ‘getting’ what I was supposed to be doing. However when a friend was round and we were flicking through some games I loaded it up to at least show off the graphics and for some reason it finally clicked. In Jeff Minter we (still) trust.

Airborne Kingdom - August Games

Airborne Kingdom – PC GamePass

I originally played this back in February 2021, while recovering from vertigo. At the time I had bought it on the Epic Game Store, and very much enjoyed it. The game has just been released on GamePass though, so I thought I’d have a look and see if it had new content. It does look like there is some extra stuff I could do, but a really nice touch was it loading my existing save game, and giving me all the achievements I would have acquired.

Two Point Hospital - August Games

Two Point Hospital – Steam PC

I only vaguely recall buying this at some point over the past few years, but never got round to trying it until now. I don’t know if I’ll finish the game, as although I’ve really enjoyed 20 hours or so with it, it is now feeling very repetitive. I’ve had a good time with it anyway and it very much scratched the Theme Hospital itch.

September Arcade

What’s been on the arcade?

The ten pence arcade game for the month was Thunder Hoop. I didn’t really take to it, and have instead been playing some Mega Drive games on it. Namely Mega SWIV, Elemental Master and Super Fantasy Zone.

Pick ups during August

Call of the Sea - August Games

Call of the Sea – Xbox Series X

A friend recommended this to me as a fun Lovecraftian adventure, grabbed it on sale with the end of some xbox credit I had on my account.

Xenotilt Hostile Pinball Action - August Games

Xenotilt: Hostile Pinball Action – PC (Steam Early Access)

A new pinball game from the guys behind Demon’s Tilt. In much the same way that the Crush Pinball series had Alien Crush and Devil’s Crush doing the sci-fi and occult themes respectively, Xenotilt is the sci-fi to Demon’s Tilt’s occult here. I’ve only had a couple of goes but I already love it.

Games retired this month

Tell Me Why - August Games

Tell Me Why – Xbox Series X

Pretty much forgot I was playing this, and haven’t felt the urge to go back so I’ll call it retired to get it off my list. Maybe that’ll make room for another story adventure game soon.

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

July Games

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Well I didn’t finish any games this month, but managed plenty of gaming. Also made it up to Newcastle for one of my favourite gaming events, and attended NERG 2023. Lots of arcade games and pinball were played there.

Games played during July

Octopath Traveler II - 2023 in Games

Octopath Traveller 2 – PlayStation 5

Properly into this now and progressing nicely. Was a bit worried for a while that I was going to struggle getting back into it but all is well.

It’s on Switch and PS4 as well, which may suit. I was glad to get another reason to play some PS5 though, and picked up this physical edition*.

Hollow Knight - July Games

Hollow Knight – PlayStation 5

I was helping my mate with the hornet boss fight, and started a new playthrough to get back into the controls. Ended up playing quite a bit, don’t think I’ll finish it again but it was a lot of fun. I do wish they’d crack on and release the new game, Hollow Knight: Silksong.

Tekkens

A Variety of Tekken

My Newcastle trip involved a lot of Tekken, various editions of the game on multiple platforms. All of them involving my “Paul” smashing my friend about. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy the game.

Animal Crossing - June Games

Animal Crossing New Horizons – Nintendo Switch

Still playing a bit everyday, trying to complete more collections but also doing some island improvements.

Surely you’ve got this already, but it’s here if not*. (And yes I will call you Shirley.)

Pinball FX3 - July Games

Pinball FX 3 – PC & PS5

Thanks to playing a bunch of pinball at NERG, I found myself getting back on this when I got home.

Vampire Survivors - July Games

Vampire Survivors – Xbox Series X

I noticed they’d added a few more achievements in another free patch, so I spent a couple of hours mopping all those up to maintain my 100% completion.

Mario Kart 8 Booster

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Nintendo Switch

Another wave of the expansion pass courses came out last month, and I have been enjoying playing the 8 new tracks. I still maintain that the gaps between the releases have been much too long, but I do enjoy the prompt to go back to the game when a new set of tracks appears.

Rollers of the Realm - July Games

Rollers of the Realm – PlayStation 5

Not sure how much of this I’ll play really, but I started replaying it on my PS5 just because I’m on a pinball kick. It’s fun but not really very polished.

What’s been on the arcade?

Guitar Hero Arcade

Didn’t spend a lot of time on my own cab, but thanks to the trip to NERG 2023, I did play a lot of arcade and pinball games. Definite mention of Guitar Hero Arcade, for being great fun and reminding me how much fun those games were back on the 360.

Pick ups during June

Tekken 7 Deluxe Edition - Xbox Series X

Tekken 7 Deluxe Edition – Xbox Series X

Obviously prompted by all the Tekken we played, I grabbed this in an Xbox sale. Just need to find time to play it online with my mate now.

Humble Bundle - At Home Arcade

Humble Bundle “At-Home Arcade” Bundle – PC

A few games that I largely own on my consoles, that I was mostly grabbing for potential future use in an arcade machine. The bundle included Mortal Kombat 11, House of the Dead Remake, Redout 2 and a couple more games, but also included the Indiana Jones table for Pinball FX3 and Pinball FX. The Indiana Jones table is one of the digital replicas of the real life machine, a table that I played a bit of at NERG. Very pleasing.

Wrath of the Elder Gods - Pinball FX

Pinball FX tables – PlayStation 5

I grabbed the Williams bundle 1 and Wrath of the Elder Gods tables on PS5. I mostly prefer pinball on my PC with my pinball controller, but wanted a few tables on PS5 so I could high score chase with my mate.

Arkanoid Eternal Battle - PC

Arkanoid: Eternal Battle – Xbox & PC

Another friend suggested this was a fun game for a couple of quid. It plays very well with my Spinner too.

Halls of Torment - PC

Halls of Torment – PC

The best Vampire Survivors clone I’ve played since the actual game. This is still in early access, so I’m looking forward to it gaining more content, but it is already very promising. It plays as a cross between Vampire Survivors & Diablo. Very well done indeed.

God of War: Ragnarok - July Games

God of War: Ragnarok – PS5

Criminal how long it has taken me to get this, but I traded in a couple of games at CeX and managed to get this without spending any money. Only thing is I want to finish Octopath before I start it…

Amazon link*

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

June Gaming

June Games

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Feels like a good month for gaming, and a good or bad month for buying, depending how you look at it.

Games completed this month

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - June Games

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 – Xbox 360

Could have included this in this month’s pick-ups, but since I did a 1 credit completion I decided to count it here instead. I loved the first Tekken Tag Tournament and always meant to spend more time with the sequel. I previously bought it for the PS3, but having it backwards compatible on the Series X is much more useful.

Games played during June

Dragon Ball FighterZ - June Games

Dragon Ball FighterZ – Xbox Series X

Finally got to play a bit of this with my mate, in a break between Street Fighter 6 rounds. It’s absolute chaos. I think I was enjoying it, but even less of an idea what is going on than at the height of the Marvel vs Capcom games. Can’t see me playing it more on my own, but think it will continue to be interesting for occasional local multiplayer matches.

Octopath Traveler II - 2023 in Games

Octopath Traveller 2 – PlayStation 5

Progress continues to be slow, but I’m still enjoying it. A couple of other entries this month have been sapping my time, at the moment I have been managing an hour or two a week on this though.

It’s on Switch and PS4 as well, which may suit. I was glad to get another reason to play some PS5 though, and picked up this physical edition*.

Street Fighter 6 - June Games

Street Fighter 6 – Xbox Series X

Yes this is everything I hoped for. Having a blast, I still kinda suck at ranked online, but hoping to at least get back to Silver like I was on SFV, if not pushing for Gold. Most of my time will hopefully just be spent playing against my mate though, once he gets used to using his new arcade stick*.

I also spent £3 on in-game currency so I could buy the classic costume for Ken so I don’t have to pay the dire World Tour mode. A bargain.

Now it’s been out a few weeks, Amazon have the physical edition* for a more reasonable price.

Call of Duty War Zone

Call of Duty: Warzone – Xbox Series X

Had a couple of goes of this now in the three player modes, with my Nephew and my usual Street Fighter buddy. It is entertaining, but largely just my Nephew killing everyone while attempting to keep us alive, or at least able to respawn. We’re getting old.

Animal Crossing - June Games

Animal Crossing New Horizons – Nintendo Switch

I didn’t expect to be getting heavily back into this, but here we are. My girlfriend is playing as well so it’s great to be able to make use of the co-operative elements. Animal Crossing is still very much a great place to spend time, although I find myself wishing for a new game and wondering how many years Nintendo are away from doing that. Suspect it’ll need a new console release from them before it’s even thought about.

Surely you’ve got this already, but it’s here if not*. (And yes I will call you Shirley.)

Railway Empire 2 - June Games

Railway Empire 2 – PC

I think the only game I’ve really played on GamePass this month, but it is great. Also nice to be playing something on PC. I’ve pretty much just done the tutorial so far. I love the idea of train games, but they can quickly get overly complex. This feels quite accessible though, so looking forward to playing some more. Did I mention I was getting old?

What’s been on the arcade?

September Arcade

I’ve kind of neglected the cabinet for gaming this month, I had a couple of goes on Dr Toppel’s Adventure, the Ten Pence Arcade choice for June, but it didn’t really take. I’ve been tinkering a bit with the software on it, and thinking about other improvements I could do…

Pick ups during June

The Quarry - June Games

The Quarry – PS5

This was very cheap in CEX, so I’ve bought it just to pop on the shelf for when my girlfriend and I have finished with the Dark Pictures Anthology.

Seems out of stock on PS5, but the various editions here on Amazon* are also on offer at time of writing.

Streets of Rage 4 - Xbox One

Streets of Rage 4 and DLC – Xbox Series X

After having a lot of fun playing 3 player Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge in the previous month, I wanted to get back to this the next time there were 3 of us. I originally played SOR4 on GamePass, and although it was no longer on that service, it popped up for half price. I’ll have that thank you very much!

I do generally prefer to get things digitally these days, but if physical is your bag, Amazon have it* for the main systems.

Akka Arrh - June Games

Akka Arrh – PlayStation 5

Had been meaning to pick this up for a while, but wasn’t sure which system to get it on. I noticed it was on sale on the PS5 though, so I grabbed it there. Haven’t played the game much but it’s from Jeff Minter’s Llamasoft, so a must buy.

Games retired this month

Castlevania Advance - Switch

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon – Nintendo Switch

As predicted, I didn’t play this again once I got back from holiday. Oh well I had fun with it for a bit.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - June Games

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Xbox 360

And similarly I gave up on this again too. I was enjoying it when I played it, just never felt myself drawn to play when sitting down at the consoles. A pity, but we move on.

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

2019 in Games

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A quick glance over the 2018 post shows an almost complete failure to stick to the plan. I’ll just have a quick review of the few I did play from the list, then come up with a new list for 2019. I’m going to roll some forward, but still give it a refresh.

Played in 2018

1. Gears of War 4 – Xbox One

I think I’m slightly less than half way through this now, playing in co-op with my usual Gears & Halo buddy. Pretty sure we’ll wrap it up in 2019, and hopefully make a start on something else. Maybe Halo 3.

2. Skies of Arcadia Legends – Game Cube

I made a start on this, but wasn’t really in the mood. I’ve dropped it back into the ‘one day’ pile, and will consider it again at some point when I’m in the mood for an epic JRPG.

3. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus – PS4

Hurrah, a game from the list I played and completed during 2018! Loved it too. I think the next game, Wolfenstein: Young Blood, has the potential to be really good too, but I don’t expect I’ll get to it this year.

10 games for 2019

1. Super Metroid – Wii / SNES

One I’ve rolled forwards from last year. I think it was a bit soon after finishing Axiom Verge (and playing so much Castlevania for the podcast) to play this last year, but I think we’re getting there.

2. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void – PC

Another one carried over from 2018’s list. I know I’ll be hooked once I make a start but I just need to be in the mood for an RTS. I did already buy the remastered original game though, so I’ve got that to look forward to as well at some point.

3. Riven – Saturn

I scrapped this from a previous list due to difficulties getting it to run well on PC. All the MYST games have recently been re-released digitally, and may well now run much smoother. However, I picked up a mouse for my Saturn last year, so I have scraped Myst III from the list for now, and reinstated the Saturn version of Riven. Excellent.

4. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow – GBA

Enough time has passed since the Castlevania episode, I think I’ll get to this soon. Good to have a handheld title on the list too.

5. Fable Anniversary

Picked this up a while ago and keep forgetting I’ve got it. I loved the second and third games but have somehow never played the original. This may be the year I sort that out!

6. Indigo Prophecy: Fahrenheit – PS4

Really intended to get to this last year, having bought the same game repeatedly and never played it.

7. Marvel’s Spider-man – PS4

The only game on my list that I don’t own already, I plan to buy this once I finish God of War. Hopefully won’t be too much longer on that. Comparisons between this Spider-man game and the Batman Arkham games are reassuring.

8. Quantum Break – Xbox One

Also from last year, I’m still looking forward to playing this.

9. The Last Express – PC

Last one on the list that I’ve brought with me from last year. Gotta have a train game!

10. The Witcher 3: Game of the Year – Xbox One

Only just picked this up during December. Not sure if I’ll take to it, but I plan on at least giving it a go during 2019.

2019 releases I’m looking forward too

This section was a bit of a washout last year, with only the Street Fighter Anniversary collection really catching my attention. Metro Exodus should be out in 2019 though, so I’ve kept it on the list for this year. Given the demise of Telltale, it’s unlikely Wolf Among Us 2 will ever appear.

1. Metro Exodus – PS4

I’m still worried that a shift to open world may ruin the tight experiences of the first two games, but I really like this world so I’m trying to be optimistic. Will keep an eye on the reviews before picking it up though.

2. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – PS4

I’m all in for this spiritual Castlevania sequel, hoping it lives up to the promise.

3. Doom Eternal – PS4

The previous game was a masterpiece, really looking forward to more of the same. Early footage has been promising.

4. Warcraft III: Reforged – PC

As you may imagine from my All-Time Top 5 RTS Games post, I’m pretty excited for this. I’m hoping to replay the full campaign again, and with a bit of luck, maybe play some multiplayer too.

5. Animal Crossing – Switch

Yeah I know. If one game can sell me a new Nintendo system though it’s a proper Animal Crossing game. Will see how the game looks when it comes out, but this is probably the only thing that could sell me a Switch at this point.