February 2019 Wrap-Up
February – you better work! Here’s what I played during the second month of 2019:
Timespinner (PS4) A cute Metroidvania time traveler. The only negative I can come up with about this game is the endless fetch quests and grinding for drops, though, the RNG in this game is nowhere near as shitty as the one in Destiny 2 so the grind isn’t as bad. Very excited that this game also has a New Game+ feature which I will enjoy revisiting at some point in the future.
1st session: 4 hours +7 trophies
2nd session: 1 hour, 26 minutes +0 trophies
3rd session: 3 hours, 35 minutes +2 trophies
4th session: 5 hours, 17 minutes +17 trophies (beaten Feb 6)
The Spectrum Retreat (PS4) A first person puzzle game with a very sad story. Worth noting that if you want all the trophies, two playthroughs are required. Switching your save game will not net you the trophy for multiple endings (I know because I tried)
1st session: 4 hours, 7 minutes +9 trophies
2nd session: 2 hours, 40 minutes +5 trophies (beaten February 8)
Shape of the World (PS4) Relaxing and entertaining but it tries too hard to be like Journey. Also, I hate pastels.
1st session: 1 hour, 10 minutes +8 trophies (beaten February 8)
SteamWorld Dig 2 (PS4) More of the same as the original but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like this one was a bit shorter than the first, but then again I did marathon the shit out of it over 3 days.
1st session: 2 hours, 50 minutes +4 trophies
2nd session: 4 hours, 52 minutes +6 trophies
3rd session: 6 hours, 20 minutes +13 trophies (beaten Feb 10)
Play time 13 hours, 12 minutes. 20 Deaths. $18,764. 91% Secrets.
Octahedron (PS4) Grab a handful of your hair and rip it out. That’s how frustrating this game can get at times. Awesome visuals and soundtrack though.
1st session: 31 minutes +1 trophy
2nd session: 2 hours, 16 minutes +2 trophies
3rd session: 1 hour, 57 minutes +1 trophy
4th session: 1 hour, 42 minutes +1 trophy
5th session: 3 hours, 30 minutes +2 trophies (beaten Feb 11)
Infernium (PS4) This game makes no effort to teach you how to play after the opening “tutorial” area nor does it offer anything in the way of guidance or a map and there isn’t any kind of character screens that I have found though the trophy list suggests that there are abilities that you can acquire throughout the game. I had high hopes for this one but it’s probably going to end up being a complete disappointment like ‘n Verlore Verstand. Addendum: after playing and beating the game (with enemies turned off) it’s probably the least worst of the artsy fartsy games I’ve played recently. Did a ridiculous about of back tracking and getting lost in the darkness. I also have no idea what the story behind the game is since I stopped reading the walls after a certain point.
1st session: 45 minutes +2 trophies
2nd session: 7 Hours, 17 minutes +7 trophies
3rd session: 2 hours, 52 minutes +2 trophies
4th session: 4 hours, 57 minutes +8 trophies (beaten Feb 15)
The Night Journey (PS4) This one is a tough nut to crack. There doesn’t seem to be a way to “finish” the game (that I can tell from reading the trophy list) so I’m not sure I can count this as beaten or complete until I get all the trophies. On top of that, this game is equal parts weird, relaxing, tense, terrifying, curious and strange. It’s like a mixture of dreams all in one: dreams where you are flying, wandering old buildings, swimming, seeing/hearing people that aren’t there, seeing through someone else’s eyes, and on and on and on. Definitely a very artistic game and highly abstract, which is probably why it’s been rated so low on the PlayStation Store :-\ I do have to say that after my experience with ‘n Verlore Verstand, Infernium and this game, my time with buying and playing abstract artsy fartsy games is at an end.
1st session: 37 minutes +3 trophies
2nd session: 53 minutes +3 trophies
3rd session: 1 hour, 40 minutes +7 trophies (beaten Feb 17)
Tesla vs. Lovecraft (PS4) A fun, campy twin stick shooter where you play the role of famous inventor Nikola Tesla as he uses his strange inventions to do battle with famed horror writer H.P. Lovecraft and his imaginary horrors.
1st session: 3 hours, 46 minutes +16 trophies
2nd session: 6 hours, 44 minutes +1 trophy
3rd session: 5 hours, 5 minutes +2 trophies
4th session: 1 hour, 24 minutes +0 trophies
5th session: 3 hours, 39 minutes +2 trophies (beaten Feb 19)
Luigi’s Mansion (3DS) I LOVE how Luigi sings along with the background music and I think Professor E. Gadd’s “voice” is really funny. The Game Boy Horror in game camera shows that a lot of love went into crafting the mansion. I also like how each room of the mansion is gated by progression and the map on the lower screen of the 3DS clearly shows where to go next. Saving is thankfully frequent. The inclusion of motion controls to aim the flashlight and vacuum up and down takes a bit to get used to and can be rather irritating at times. The cut scenes when unlocking a door are very reminiscent of Resident Evil adding a nice touch of suspense to the game.
1st session: 30 minutes
2nd session: 1 hour, 13 minutes
3rd session: 31 minutes
4th session: 46 minutes
5th session: 39 minutes
6th session: 26 minutes
7th session: 34 minutes
8th session: 1 hour, 17 minutes
9th session: 23 minutes
10th session: 53 minutes
11th session: 35 minutes (beaten February 7)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) This was kind of the Zelda experience that I was looking for when I played Breath of the Wild. I like the traditional Zelda formula of ‘do a dungeon, get a new ability/item’ and Breath of the Wild just isn’t like that but it’s a great game on it’s own merits. That being said, the camera in this game is rather irritating but for its time I’m sure it was pretty revolutionary. Navi is the worst thing EVER! She just doesn’t stop with the nagging and constantly trying to “help”. And Princess Ruto (as a child) is a cow! Carry you through a dungeon? Get over yourself! I can see why people think the Water Temple is difficult. If not for the guide I used I’d have been in there forever. Being able to fast travel in this game the same way you can in Link to the Past would have been very helpful, instead of using the Ocarina to teleport from place to place. Seeing locations and characters used in other Zelda games is very cool and exciting (such as The Temple of Time, the Sheika and Impa). I see where they drew a lot of inspiration from when making Breath of the Wild. I can see why, for some people, this is their favorite Zelda game, but it will never take the place in my heart that Link to the Past still holds. If the part where Sheik is actually Zelda hadn’t been ruined for me a long time ago, that would have been one hell of a reveal.
1st session: 58 minutes
2nd session: 1 hour
3rd session: 50 minutes
4th session: 20 minutes
5th session: 1 hour, 5 minutes
6th session: 23 minutes
7th session: 22 minutes
8th session: 47 minutes
9th session: 34 minutes
10th session: 47 minutes
11th session: 1 hour, 45 minutes
12th session: 50 minutes
13th session: 16 minutes
14th session: 12 minutes
15th session: 32 minutes
16th session: 48 minutes
17th session: 1 hour, 33 minutes
18th session: 48 minutes
19th session: 4 hours, 42 minutes
20th session: 3 hours, 28 minutes
21st sesion: 9 hours, 55 minutes (beaten Feb 26)
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch) Port of the Wii U game with a few extra bells and whistles. Super Luigi U can just get fucked, I still ain’t playing that.
1st session: 2 hours, 12 minutes
2nd session: 32 minutes
3rd session: 1 hour, 14 minutes
4th session: 31 minutes
5th session: 51 minutes
6th session: 4 hours, 2 minutes (beaten Feb 27)
Crackdown 3 (XBO) I’m having flashbacks of the first 2 games and the last Saints Row game while playing this game, not that that’s a bad thing. Knowing that the voice actress for the main bad guy in this game is the same one that plays Mara Sov in Destiny 2 was a treat. I kept expecting an angry Awoken to come out of nowhere and murder me at every possible turn.
1st session: 5 hours, 33 minutes +23 achievements
2nd session: 45 minutes +0 achievements
3rd session: 3 hours, 27 minutes +3 achievements
4th session: 6 hours +11 achievements
5th session: 50 minutes +0 achievements
6th session: 2 hours, 13 minutes +7 achievements (beaten Feb 23)
Games carried over to March: 5 (from January)
Total Games Beaten for February: 12
Total Games Beaten for 2019: 21
Total Trophies Acquired (February): 131
Total Achievements Acquired (February): 44
Status of Carry Overs From January: Incomplete
Carry Overs (January)
Theseus (PSVR) – still no interest in trying to complete the irritating stealth section. There is no guide online so I’ll just have to wing it.
Let’s Go Pikachu (Switch) – haven’t tried to progress any further since the initial sessions. Fixing that starting today.
Soul Calibur 6 (PS4) – still haven’t picked up a fighting stick. Getting one next paycheck.
Super Life of Pixel (PS4) – haven’t gone back to see if I can access the higher tier machines yet. Google searches haven’t been fruitful, but investigation continues.
Returner 77 (iOS) – still trying to solve the final puzzle. In retrospect I kinda hate this game and wish I’d never bought it or started it.
See you in March!