Tag Archives: steam deck

April Games

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Ticked off a couple of completions and played a few games. Most importantly though, my lightguns arrived so I can start feeling guilty that I’m not playing with them enough considering what they cost…

Games completed this month

Alan Wake II - January Games

Alan Wake 2 – PS5

As suspected / definitely already known last month, I finished Alan Wake 2 at the start of April. What a fantastic game, the blend of live action and music to the game hasn’t been so well done since 7th Guest. Mildly tongue in cheek perhaps, but the technology has come quite a way since I was playing on the Philips CD-i.

Hades – Xbox Series X

I completed my first run on Hades last month. I played a few more hours, but didn’t clear it again. Seems I’m a bit inconsistent with the various weapons. Unlike with Dead Cells, Hades doesn’t have me itching to keep progressing though, and I lost interest. Very much enjoyed myself getting that far, but I’m done now.

Games played during April

Sea of Stars - April Games

Sea of Stars – Xbox Series X

Made a bit of a start with this after wrapping up Alan Wake 2. I do like the setting and combat, but hasn’t quite got its hooks into me yet.

Diablo 4 – Xbox Series X / S

My girlfriend and I have started playing this in co-op. I’m playing a necromancer and her a druid. We’re not all that far in and enjoying it so far. I’m glad it’s on GamePass though, not sure I’d have paid for it.

Forgive Me Father – SteamDeck

I haven’t spent long with this, but have picked it up a couple of times for a quick bash on the SteamDeck. It’s good fun if a little simplistic. Probably wouldn’t play if it wasn’t for the theme, and I’ll see if I stick with it before I decide to pick up the sequel.

Dredge - April Games

Dredge – Xbox Series X

This was also an April pick up, but I’ve already played it quite a bit so should include it here. Another Lovecraftian game, this one a much better game in its own right. Fishing up eldritch horrors has never been so much fun.

What’s been on the arcade?

Sinden Light Guns – Arcade

Well my guns arrived! I’ve barely used them yet though. Dabbled with one on my main pc just to test, and had it playing nicely with House of the Dead Remake. I can already tell it’ll be a faff to use them regularly on my PC though, since it’d mean changing the display settings everytime I want to play. Next project is setting them up on my TV.

April pick ups

VR Bundle - April Games

VR: Mysteries and Mayhem Humble Bundle – PCVR

Grabbed this for 7th Guest VR & Firmament which were both kind of on my wishlist. I’m not sure how I feel about VR going forward, but these should work with my existing setup I’ll hopefully at least get to play them even if I don’t continue to invest in the hardware.

Alex Kidd DX - April Games

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX – Xbox Series X

Don’t think this was very well received when it came out, but I adore the original game and it felt worth the gamble for a couple of quid on sale.

Sea of Survivors - April Games

Sea of Survivors – SteamDeck

Vampire Survivors via pirate ship? I’m in. Also didn’t hurt that it was only £2.

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

March Games

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Seem to have spent quite a bit this month, and played some too. Nothing completed yet though.

Games played during March

Alan Wake II - January Games

Alan Wake 2 – PS5

Got to the point of no return in the campaign, so confident I’ll finish this in April. Given I’m typing this in April, I may have insider knowledge. The game is incredible, and I think I need the full soundtrack.

Hades – Xbox Series X

I know I’m very late to this party, but craving something like Dead Cells it seemed time to give this a proper go. I bounced off when I tried it some time ago on GamePass, so I picked up a used physical copy to try again. At least I could trade it back in if it still didn’t click. I needn’t have worried, I immediately put 20 hours in and am having a great time. I don’t think it’s quite as slick as Dead Cells, and I certainly needed some space between playing the two.

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! – Steam Deck

Haven’t played the deck much recently, I suspect the above game is to blame for that. I did play a bit of Doki Doki though. It’s still compelling but I’m not sure if I’ll go through it all again.

What’s been on the arcade?

Arcade - January Games

Haven’t been into anything specific on the cab this month, dabbling with some random stuff and thinking about the eventual upgrade to my Pi5.

March pick ups

Sinking City Deluxe – Xbox Series X

Heard very mixed reviews on this one, but a couple of podcasts I’ve listened to recently made me want to give it a try. The complete deluxe edition popped up very cheap so definitely the time to do it. Or at least add it to the library to never get round to playing.

Command and Conquer Ultimate Collection – PC

EA finally released the missing games from this series onto Steam. I grabbed them so I can completely remove EA’s launcher from my memory. Already can’t remember what it was called, but I haven’t had it installed for years anyway.

Xbox Series S

Xbox Series S

Picked up a pre-owned Series S this month for my girlfriend. Great that she can access my existing library and GamePass subscription games easily enough, but also so we can continue co-op games together whether we’re at her place or mine.

Seventia Collection – PC

Bit of a random one, but my friend tipped me off that this bundle of two shmups was solid for less than a quid, so I’ve picked it up. One of them looks good for the steam deck too. Which is nice.

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story – PC / Steam Deck

This was right up my street when it was announced, and a must buy. I haven’t spent time with it yet though, want to clear some time to do it all justice. I did rewatch Bedrooms to Billions though in preparation.

Forgive Me Father – PC

This originally passed me by, but a sequel came out and caught my attention. Went looking for the first game and found it for a couple of quid. Result.

Pre-ordered during March

Sinden Light Guns – Arcade

I’ve been thinking about spending the money on one of the modern light gun solutions for a while. There are a few options, and a community for each type explaining why each one is the best / worst. I liked the sound of these Sinden ones most. It looks like I should be able to have a standalone Raspberry Pi4 setup on my TV with most of my favourite gun games easily enough. Then longer term the goal is to have them hooked up to the arcade cabinet. One way or another.

They’re on back order anyway, so probably at least a month or so before they ship. I’ve gone for two guns, player 1 in blue with recoil, then a red one for player 2 without the recoil module to save a bit of cash and because it’ll probably get used less. I also ordered the holsters for mounting on the side of the arcade machine eventually too. I’d have liked to add a pedal for Time Crisis as well, but they’re more than twice the price of the basic gun. Maybe another day.

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

February Games

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After a January that went on forever, February went by as a blink of the eye. Managed to complete something though, and play some others.

Games completed this month

A Little to the Left – Xbox Series X

This popped up on GamePass, and is broadly a ‘tidy up’ sim. It’s not quite as satisfying as “Unpacking” but it’s in a similar style. Was a mostly relaxing couple of hours anyway.

Games played during February

Alan Wake II - January Games

Alan Wake 2 – PS5

Made a decent chunk of progress on Alan Wake II. I find I prefer playing as the FBI Agent rather than Alan, so I charged on and did all the Alan content until it forced me back to Saga, so I could chill out a bit and solve crimes.

Brotato – Xbox Series X

Although I was playing this on Steam Deck last month, I restarted on Xbox as it came to GamePass. It’s not my favourite of these clones but it is fun.

Renfield - November Games

Renfield – Steam Deck

Still my most played game on the deck, although I daresay I’m burning out a bit on these. Probably just needs a new vampire survivors expansion to bring me properly back though.

Arcade Paradise – PC

This is weird. I’ve played a fair amount but I’m not sure if I’m enjoying it. I like the bit where I’m arranging arcade machines, but it seems to be more doing laundry. It’s on GamePass though so I might carry on.

Wipeout Omega Collection

When Everybody’s Golf didn’t work (see below) we jumped back to Wipeout for our pre-Super Bowl game. It was great fun, and surprisingly there were other people online so we managed a few decent races. Another incredible IP that Sony seem happy to let die. Oh well, I’m sure there will be another single-player, third-person action game along any minute.

What’s been on the arcade?

Arcade - January Games

We’re still playing Super Fantasy Zone, we’ve been close to that 1cc a couple of times but not quite managed it yet.

February pick ups

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus – PC Epic Store

I played the original Doki Doki Literature Club ages ago, I did fancy playing this ‘Plus’ addition with extra content, but didn’t want to pay £15 for it. Fortunately it was free on Epic Games during February though, so I should get round to it now. Works on the Steam Deck too. If you do fancy checking it out, just be forewarned it’s not what it appears, has some horror themes and deals with potentially disturbing topics. (I’d urge you to check out trigger warnings first if you think you might be sensitive to this stuff)

Geometry Survivor – PC / Steam Deck

Another month, another Vampire Survivors clone. This one mashes it up with one of my favourite games though, Geometry Wars. An obvious day one purchase. Looks pretty good but a bit light on content. Hopefully they’ll build it up a bit.

Games retired this month

The Knight Witch - Xbox Series X

The Knight Witch – Xbox Series X

After my third time losing a decent amount of progress due to some dodgy collision detection, I decided I’ve had enough of this one. There is a really good game in here somewhere, but I’m done.

Everybody's Golf

Everybody’s Golf – PS4

My mate and I went to have our usual round on here before the Super Bowl and discovered the servers had been turned off at some point since we last played. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. We’ll have another game whenever you’re ready please Sony.

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

January Games

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Progress! A decent winter break (including 3 weeks of garden leave while I changed jobs) gave me time to get on with some games.

Games completed this month

Octopath Traveler II - PS5

Octopath Traveler 2 – PS5

Yes! Finally completed this epic after 111 hours. I haven’t quite got the platinum trophy though. One optional boss fight for 100% completion. It’s a bit much though so I’m parking it for now to play some other stuff.

Vampire Survivors Emergency Meeting - Xbox Series X

Vampire Survivors Emergency Meeting DLC – Xbox Series X

As long as they keep releasing DLC for Vampire Survivors, I’ll keep clearing them. This was a log of fun, even if all the Among Us references were entirely wasted on me.

Games played during January

Fortnite - January Games

Fortnite – PC

Didn’t really play much, but after watching my niece play over Christmas I was at least interested enough to install it. Thought I might play more but I haven’t been back.

Alan Wake II - January Games

Alan Wake 2 – PS5

I’m playing my friend’s copy of this. Really enjoying it and want to continue. It’s a bit scary though and my progress is really slow. Keep hiding in safe rooms instead of actually moving forward.

Humanity - PS5

Humanity – PSVR2

Spent a bit of time playing with my friend’s PSVR2 setup. First thing I tried was my own game, Humanity. I’d heard a lot about how transformative VR is supposed to be for this, but to be honest I was a bit disappointed. It’s still an incredible game, just better played on the TV.

Beat Saber - January Games

Beat Saber – PSVR2

At least my first time playing one of the stand out VR titles of recent years didn’t disappoint. I like the PSVR2 hardware but not convinced it’s essential. If I do go for a new headset I think it’ll be the Quest 3 standalone one for the wireless streaming from my PC.

The Knight Witch - Xbox Series X

The Knight Witch – Xbox Series X

Made some progress on The Knight Witch, I am enjoying it though some of the collision detection seems a bit harsh. A few times where I’ve died and not been convinced bullets actually hit me. Does deliver on the promise though, it’s a bullet-hell, twin-stick shmup, metroidvania. If those terms mean anything to you, you’ll know exactly what to expect. If not, maybe just go look at some gameplay footage.

Renfield - November Games

Renfield – Steam Deck

Spoiler for the pick ups section, but playing this game last month kinda pushed me over the edge into buying a Steam Deck. The whole genre of Vampire Survivor clones is perfect for the Deck, and I’ve really embraced it.

20 Minutes Till Dawn - January Games

20 Minutes Until Dawn – Steam Deck

Another Vampire Survivors clone that I picked up last year and played a bit of. Enjoying it much more now I have the deck.

Half-Life - PC

Half Life – Steam Deck

Valve released a free update for the original Half Life to improve how it runs on modern machines, and to optimise it for the Steam Deck. Perfect time to replay it and revisit the glory days of 90s fps games as I’ve recently been back to Quake 1 and 2 as well.

What’s been on the arcade?

Arcade - January Games

Towards the end of the month I got it into my head that I’m going to 1cc Super Fantasy Zone on my cabinet. Since it’s a mega drive game it would make more sense to do that on the actual console but here we are. Annoyingly if I was playing on console I’d have proper hardware rapid fire which makes some of the bosses a breeze. As it is we’re sticking with the game’s own auto-fire setting.

January pick ups

Steam Deck

As mentioned above, this was the main gaming purchase for Jan. Thankfully a friend sold me his second-hand for a good price. It’s the mid-range of the original model, very happy with it so far.

God of Weapons – Steam Deck

Another Vampire Survivors Clone that I’d heard good things about and wanted for the deck.

Brotato – Steam Deck

See above.

Moons of Madness – PC / Steam Deck

Had my eye on this for a while, and managed to get a Steam key for a couple of quid. Not sure yet if I’ll play it on the Steam Deck or the PC.

Aggelos – Xbox Series X

Friend recommended this Wonder Boy type game as it was on sale for ridiculously cheap. Looks nice so will hopefully get to it.

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