Played quite a bit on a small number of games, and managed to spend even more money than last month. Oops.
Games completed this month
Octopath Traveler – Switch
Finished this off properly in July as planned. That said I didn’t do *everything*. The last round of optional bosses for the final side quest requires an inordinate amount of grinding to achieve and I wasn’t prepared to invest that time. Very much enjoyed the game though, clocking in at around 93 hours played.
I bought the digital edition to use up some store credit, but you can get the physical one from Amazon*
Mario Golf Super Rush – Switch
I know this game was disappointing for many who were hoping for a full golf RPG like the earlier Mario Golf games. I would have preferred that too, but it is still a lot of fun and I did enjoy the short story mode. Golf Story is a much better option if you want a bit of RPG with your golf though.
This* is the physical edition if you’d rather not get it digitally
Games played during July
Hotshot Racing – Xbox Series S
A very enjoyable tribute to classic Sega racers such as Daytona and Outrun 2, Sumo Digital had a hand in making it which explains how close it feels to those games. Had a good time with this for a couple of hours, but the rubber-banding on the AI does make the harder difficulties feel unfair. It’s on GamePass though, so an easy recommend for a fun time playing through all the courses on standard mode.
Animal Crossing New Horizons – Switch
Yes I’ve returned to this, took a bit of an effort to get back into the routine, but I do want to finish collecting all the fish and insects. I stopped playing around this time last year, so by starting now I should get to play the seasons I didn’t experience last time round. It’s still as charming as ever.
What’s been on the arcade?
Pretty much abandoned the podcast games this month, I didn’t have the patience to learn the patterns for Mr. Do and decided I couldn’t be bothered with MAME on my PC. If it won’t run on my arcade machine I don’t want to play. My cabinet has been playing a lot of X-Men: Children of the Atom this month. I’m not even sure what made me load that up but I’ve been having a good time with it.
July Pick-ups
PlayStation 5 – Disc Version
After talking myself out of wanting one of these, I did crack this month. I stopped actively looking for one months ago, but during a particularly heinous work day I received the email from Currys informing me that I had ‘won’ their VIP sweepstake. (Basically back in March or something I registered on their site, and every time they are allocated stock they randomly select people from that list to be allowed to buy one). So I pretty much went to buy it to cheer myself up. Still took three weeks to arrive, but I’m glad to have it.
A big part of wanting the Disc version of the console was to replace the PS3 I was still using to play DVDs and Blurays, and the 4k upscaler built into the PS5 is great. Even breathes a bit of life into the aging DVD format. I got a second pad in the bundle (mostly because you weren’t allowed to just buy the console alone, I guess Curry’s don’t make enough money per unit…). In terms of games, thanks to PSPlus I already have Bugsnax, Astro Bot and Control Ultimate Edition, and after a bit of a faff to get the DLC to work, I also have the free upgrade to the PS5 version of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, using my PS4 disc.
Metro Exodus – PS5
Although I tried this previously and abandoned it back in October 2019 old blog, I did intend to go back to it but the open world elements put me off. I fancied trying it again on the PS5 with all the fancy 4k Raytracing etc. that they have added so here I am. I haven’t got far yet but it does show off the machine graphically, and I have made it passed where I gave up on PC so optimistic I’ll stick with it.
I grabbed this digitally in a sale, but you can get the complete edition is available physically from Amazon*
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2 – PS5 Upgrade
The only other pick-up I made for my new console was to pay the £10 to convert my physical PS4 edition to the PS5 one. Pretty happy with that, it runs super smooth, looks great and the load times are basically non-existent. I’m not any better at it though.
*As usual, these links are affiliate ones, which may earn me a small commission if you buy something.
