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Gris (PS5) by jp (Apr 20th, 2025 at 20:25:52) |
I distinctly remember Gris getting a "meh" review score in Edge magazine. So, I was expecting to be underwhelmed gameplay-wise though wowed visually.
And yes, I was wowed visually (and aurally too - playing the PS5 version that makes use of the speaker controller in a cool way)...and the gameplay was sort of meh - but, it got better and better the longer I played!
Not counting the "hub" area, the game has four zones/levels that each introduce a mechanic, as well as some in-world things to interact with. And so, the game really goes from less to more as later levels incorporate more in-world mechanics as well as require use of the character mechanics you unlock. It also all makes sense with the game's theme and story and balblabla (ludonarrative harmony is what my students brought up).
That being said, it's a pretty relaxing and flowing kind of game - nods to Journey in there as well - and there isn't really a fail state, though you can get stuck on puzzles and some dexterity-timing dependent puzzles. There's some swimming bits that are just glorious - as you dash from "water bubble" to "water bubble" (blocks of water in the air) - and I loved swimming up waterfalls.
What impressed me the most though were two things:
1. I kept on trying to "go the wrong way" and most of the time, it was the right way.
2. The onboarding and tutorials are really, really well done. You notice a thing, or do a thing, and then that's the thing you have to do later to solve puzzles and so on. It feels very natural and very normal.
So, I'm actually excited to try Neva now...
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Lost in Blue 2 (DS) by jp (Apr 18th, 2025 at 18:46:41) |
Perhaps the strangest thing for me about this game is that it's a bona fide survival game on the DS. In my mind, the genre is more recent than 2006! I'm thinking of all the indie survival games (craft stuff, gather food, don't die of hunger or thirst) and then ones on Steam..and here's this game - a sequel no less - and it's straight up THAT. Survival. And there's two characters to boot - and you can die (I did, pretty soon it turns out).
I guess I was surprised by how quickly I did die - and, from a novice perspective, it felt sudden and a bit unfair. As in, CLEARLY there was nothing I could have done differently to survive. I spent too much time exploring was probably the main problem, and I left the boy behind in a cave we found, and I'm not sure that's what you're supposed to do? You have to keep both of them feed, hydrated and energized, and I felt like I had my hands full with just the one character.
I think my biggest mistake was probably not getting the spear for fishing made sooner? But then, I'm not even sure how you're supposed to use it - and all the other food I kept scavenging wasn't really doing much. Like, you'd eat it and not see a huge effect. I'm guessing there's something I'm not understanding and it makes me wonder if a full reset makes the most sense? (instead of loading into a saved game that's already doomed/too heavily stacked against success).
Perhaps the strangest thing (for me) about the game is that there's a super simple mini-game for cooking! You collect stuff to cook and also stuff to use as spices and then need to sort of trial and error recipes - though I could set the boy (the character I was not controlling directly) to cook and he'd come up with his own stuff... it's weird.
And it's a sequel? I guess I should look up if this is a port to DS from someplace else? It would make more sense in a way - the game is also low-poly 3D as you wander around the environment. Still...I might just put it on the shelf.
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Phantom Abyss (PC) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 19:14:27) |
I'd heard of the game's hook (or gimmick if you will) as, everyday it's a different 1st person platforming game/run, and if you die - that's it. Play a different run later.
I'm guessing stuff changed along the way, though the concept is still here - it's a reasonably challenging rogue-like 1st person platforming game. I've had fun, you have a whip to help you climb and each level has different modifiers (the whip has an ability) and you can pick up boons in your run (if you have enough coins to afford them) and hopefully make it to the end. BUT, you see a bunch of ghosts for everyone else who played this level - if someone died, you can collect their spirit or something for a small heal! During each run you collect keys you can use to buy permanent upgrades, and so you go up the progression ladder of many roguelites...
Someone described this as first person temple run, which is close enough? I mean, the levels themselves are a lot more interesting than the "mere" reaction times that temple run goes for, here you can side-step/etc. stuff - and there are different paths, and in all you can be a bit creative for how you approach stuff...I've had fun so far - unlocked all the green levels and I've started on the blue ones!
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Cuphead (Switch) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 13:37:03) |
I only get to play this when my son comes around - and we play together and I realized, yeah - I need to either start practicing seriously or just give up. And, I enjoy playing it co-op, so there's not much sense in practicing, so I decided to give up.
We did make it to the 2nd island(?), and played some of the levels there - but I was clearly starting to see a steeper path to success. As in, it too us (mostly my fault) more and more tries to make less progress. He's already played it, beat it too? So, not much point for him really.
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Sonic Rush (DS) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 13:34:08) |
I started playing this from the saved game - with new(?) character Blaze on "area 2" (I don't remember the exact name). And, I just could not beat the level - it was set in the casino world, and everything was moving super fast and on "automatic" - so, you just press move and the character zips along, bounces, etc.
It's actually quite boring! Because you just do this, at some point you hit an enemy (very few enemies in the game!), lose your rings, and then carry on. But, I'd lose because I'd fall into a bottomless pit, lose three lives and then out.
I'd say it wasn't so much frustrating as it was a disappointment. Yes, the point of Sonic is that it's "fast" - that's it's thing. But I find that there's little interaction to the game for most of the levels - you just "go along with the direction". It's neat when sometimes you get bounced around automatically, but for the most part I like to control the character.
So, I deleted the save file and started a new one, this time with Sonic in the equivalent of green hill zone. This level has two areas and then a boss. So, it's like 3 levels make up a level.
And, the experience was pretty similar - run on automatic for a while, lose rings suddenly or die, repeat with a bit more caution...etc. I did make it all the way to the boss fight - which I almost beat one too many times, and I just realized - ok, this is dumb - at least the boss fights have more gameplay ( you dodge, make an attack when the weak spot is open, etc.) - but it's still a pretty boring/uninteresting platforming experience.
So, off to the shelf it goes!
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GameLog hopes to be a site where gamers such as yourself keep track of the games that
they are currently playing. A GameLog is basically a record of a game you started playing. If it's open,
you still consider yourself to be playing the game. If it's closed, you finished playing the game. (it doesn't matter
if you got bored, frustrated,etc.) You can also attach short comments to each of your games or even maintain a diary (with more detailed entries)
for that game. Call it a weblog of game playing activity if you will.
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2286 registered gamers and 3257 games. 7789 GameLogs with 13266 journal entries. 5110 games are currently being played.
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most recent entry: Saturday 26 January, 2008
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(gamelog 2, part 2, for CMPS 80K)
GAMEPLAY
After my second round playing Shadow of the Colossus, my appreciation continues to grow. Having fought and defeated many different Colossi by now, I am beginning to gain a better sense of how to do so. However, as my technique becomes more advanced, so do the Colossi I am pitted against. Each Colossus requires that the player adopt a new strategy or problem-solving method. Several are made easier when the player is comfortable riding Agro, and a few actually require the player to make use of the extra speed that is only attainable while the character is on horseback.
Often, the game will grow rather frustrating. In one instance, for example, the Colossus I was required to defeat was hidden at the bottom of an underground lake deep inside a cave, the entrance to which was extremely well hidden. Once a Colossus has been found, defeating it is often just as much of a challenge. On occasions where I got stuck, the on-screen hints were a valuable source of information, and since they are relatively vague I still felt as if I was accomplishing something with every problem I solved correctly.
DESIGN
As I mentioned before in my last entry, the designs of each of the bosses – these giant and menacing Colossi – is distinctly unique, and serves the dual purpose of creating diversity in both characters and gameplay, since each Colossus' physical attributes play a crucial role in its defeat. This further advances the differences in battle-strategy in even the simplest elements, since a Colossus who moves around quickly and is difficult to latch onto will require that the player employ a completely different method of attack in order to vanquish it.
However, the strategy dimension that is added to the gameplay is partially and illusion: a Colossus may be defeated using a path that is directly and actively chosen by the player, but the fights are directed in such a way that the strategy itself is more or less the same. For example, the player may be required to lure the Colossus into a certain area first, an event which can only be achieved if the player triggers it via the appropriate action. How the action itself is executed, however, is a direct resultant of the player's level of skill and control.
As a broader variety of tactics are honed, so are other elements of the game. As the player is required to go farther and farther afoot in his or her mission of search-and-destroy, the broad expanse of this diverse yet eerily-empty terrain is opened up.
Best accomplished, perhaps, is the sense of loneliness and isolation which the game's environment evokes. Coupled with a creeping sense of foreboding that is established with the advance of the plot, Shadow of the Colossus delivers a unique and complex tone that is achieved through subtle shifts rather than dramatic dialog. With the event of every Colossus slain, Wander is besieged by a visible, tangible darkness which renders him unconscious, and continues to plague him each and every time he awakens.
What is most interesting about the design, however, is that there is no evident reward structure. Instead, the player is simply encouraged to move on to defeating the next foe. As the avid explorer will realize, though, it is possible to receive a sort of power-up for Wander's grab ability by returning to the spot where each Colossus was defeated and eating the tails of small lizards that now reside there.
Overall, I found Shadow of the Colossus to be a very well thought-out and designed game which is incredibly innovative and original, and is only further enhanced by truly breathtaking graphics.
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