Just posting this to say I'll be out of town for a week, I'll add challenges you all suggest when I get back.

I missed out on the 2024 challenge so I'm excited to participate for next year's. I like almost all of these challenges, so I don't have a ton to add.

I agree with Sobequ that the retired game challenge maybe isn't the best. One because the only game I've retired is one that has unbearable technical problems, I wouldn't have fun with it. And two, I don't actually have any retired games right now because the game in question (Tomb Raider 4) is getting a remaster so it's currently off my retirement list. So that challenge would be incompletable for users who don't have any retired games.

22. A game that takes place after a timeskip (5+ years)

I was also just about to ask for clarification about the timeskip one but it looks like GreenStarfish just barely pointed it out.

29. A game that has no business being in its series

A few of the challenges seem pretty tough to plan for. How will I know if a game doesn't have any business being in it's series without playing it first? This challenge is somewhat subjective and therefore hard to plan ahead for.

That's all I can think of for now, I'll try and think of some more.

I agree with Sobequ that the retired game challenge maybe isn't the best. One because the only game I've retired is one that has unbearable technical problems, I wouldn't have fun with it. And two, I don't actually have any retired games right now because the game in question (Tomb Raider 4) is getting a remaster so it's currently off my retirement list. So that challenge would be incompletable for users who don't have any retired games.

That's why the challenge says retired or shelved, you don't have to play a game you retired, just one you put down at some point for one reason or another.

22. A game that takes place after a timeskip (5+ years)
I was also just about to ask for clarification about the timeskip one but it looks like GreenStarfish just barely pointed it out.

The challenge means a timeskip after the last game, not within the game.

29. A game that has no business being in its series
A few of the challenges seem pretty tough to plan for. How will I know if a game doesn't have any business being in it's series without playing it first? This challenge is somewhat subjective and therefore hard to plan ahead for.

I have to disagree with this one being tough to plan for. There are a lot of games known for being different than the rest of the series whether that be in tone, gameplay, or story. Chances are, if you're into a series you'll know if it has a game like this. Games like Resident Evil 6-8 would count for this because 1. Resident Evil 6 is basically full action with no survival horror, and 2. RE 7 and 8 have completely different gameplay with few story ties to the other games. This challenge also extends to games that weren't originally in the series until something happened such as Super Mario Bros. 2, which was famously a different game repainted to be Mario, or Commando, which was retconned to be in the Bionic Commando series. It can also be something like Civilization Beyond Earth which shares the usual gameplay, but is themed differently and doesn't feature historical figures. My point is that there are a lot of games that apply to this. It is definitely one of the harder challenges, but it is manageable.

I agree with the others that some of these challenges seem a little too specific, limiting the number of games available. The ones that stood out to me we these:

14-3. A game with no recorded completion times

I think this one is a bit too restrictive since if a single person plays a game, this one goes out the window. If you want to include something similar, then you can replace it with the red time one that's in the current challenge.

22. A game that takes place after a timeskip (5+ years)

Is this supposed to mean that the game takes place after a time skip earlier in the series or from a time skip within the game? If it's the latter I think it would be quite limiting.

30-1. A game from a yearly franchise or one that was released when the series was a yearly franchise

There aren't that many yearly franchises out there at least with the common series this term is used for. Does this definition also include series where just two or more games were released in back-to-back years?

14-3. A game with no recorded completion times
I think this one is a bit too restrictive since if a single person plays a game, this one goes out the window. If you want to include something similar, then you can replace it with the red time one that's in the current challenge.

This challenge is optional, if you don't want to do it you can do 14-1 "A game with over 1k completions" or 14-2 "A game with under 100 completions". This is sort of the hard mode of these two challenges.

22. A game that takes place after a timeskip (5+ years)
Is this supposed to mean that the game takes place after a time skip earlier in the series or from a time skip within the game? If it's the latter I think it would be quite limiting.

It means a timeskip after the last game not a timeskip within the game.

30-1. A game from a yearly franchise or one that was released when the series was a yearly franchise
There aren't that many yearly franchises out there at least with the common series this term is used for. Does this definition also include series where just two or more games were released in back-to-back years?

There's more than you might think at first, let's define a yearly franchise as a period where a series got at least 4 games within 4 years counting spinoffs. That opens it up to things like the Mario series (a new game came out every year from 2009-2012), Halo (2009-2014 counting Combat Evolved Anniversary), Yakuza (2009-2012 counting Dead Souls), Final Fantasy (1999-2003), and many others if you do your research. Just play a game from within that 4 year window and you're good. I'll update the challenge to reflect this.

I mostly agree with what’s already been said, especially the point that some challenges are simply too limiting, effectively forcing you to play a very specific type of game (e.g., the "play as a bug" task from this year).

That said, there are a few challenges in the new list that I don't like, namely:

#15. A game you previously retired or shelved

If I 'retired' a game, it’s likely because it was boring, poorly made, or didn’t work on my system. I don’t really see a reason to revisit such a game just to check off one challenge from the list.

#26. A shovelware game

This is somewhat related to my previous point. I don’t think it’s a good idea to incentivize playing bad games made with little care or effort.

#27. A game that takes place at the same time as another game in the series

I find this challenge overly restrictive.
I’ve played almost 1,000 games on Steam alone, and I can honestly name only one pair that fits this criterion (i.e., RE2 and RE3).
Sure, maybe some gamers could list 3 or 4 such pairs, but even then, I still think it’s extremely difficult to find a valid game for this task.

-
TLDR: I believe challenges should encourage exploration and creativity, not funnel participants into very specific niches or unfun games.

#15. A game you previously retired or shelved
If I 'retired' a game, it’s likely because it was boring, poorly made, or didn’t work on my system. I don’t really see a reason to revisit such a game just to check off one challenge from the list.

The challenge says retired or shelved, the spirit of this challenge is just to pick up a game you put down for one reason or another and beat it. I'm sure there are a couple of games you didn't finish because life got in the way, just play those instead of a game you retired.

#26. A shovelware game
This is somewhat related to my previous point. I don’t think it’s a good idea to incentivize playing bad games made with little care or effort.

Fair enough, I'll switch it to "An indie game"

#27. A game that takes place at the same time as another game in the series
I find this challenge overly restrictive.
I’ve played almost 1,000 games on Steam alone, and I can honestly name only one pair that fits this criterion (i.e., RE2 and RE3).
Sure, maybe some gamers could list 3 or 4 such pairs, but even then, I still think it’s extremely difficult to find a valid game for this task.

You're probably right, but I like this challenge too much to get rid of it so I'm making it an alternative to "A game that takes place after a timeskip". That way it's optional.

Played through the game this week and had a blast with it! It's been a while since I've played 2016, but I think I like this more. The shooting is a lot of fun and the soundtrack is incredible. The only things I didn't like were the platforming, the constant tutorials, and the story. It's not that the story is bad, I just think it's too complicated for a Doom game. Most of them are just "Demons? Not anymore." but this one involves multiple planets, godlike creatures, and a lot of backstory for the slayer. On a side note, I did think it was neat that he's called Doomguy in the subtitles during the flashbacks. I just hope the next game is a return to form.

I heartily agree with the challenge tiers or medals idea. I essentially did this for myself in the 2024 challenge since I knew I wasn't going to come anywhere close to completing 50+ games, so I set my personal challenge at 25 games. Setting up some "official" tiers would just make that more user friendly and might get more participants.

Not even taking into consideration the excellent points bgalon makes about available time and commitment to gaming as a hobby, there is the obvious point that the challenge list incentivizes shorter and easier games. I like the idea of a challenge list structure to get me out of my comfort zone a bit and get me trying new things, but I really don't like the idea of a challenge funneling me away from the 30+ hour RPGs I tend to enjoy just so I can get more game completions and fill out the challenge checklist. Once again, a challenge tier structure solves this and invites more participants of different gaming stripes.

All of that being said, the word challenge is right there in the title. I get it. We're supposed to be completing a challenge, not earning a participation trophy. However, what's challenging for person A is a walk in the park for person B. I think we can pretty easily accommodate different gamers with some flexibility on the sheer quantity of the challenge.

Maybe the first 5-10 challenges could be "core" challenges required for all tiers in order to be considered complete (probably the broadest categories), but past that each user can customize which challenges they select and the tiers could be based upon their target quantity as bgalon suggested.

Maybe the first 5-10 challenges could be "core" challenges required for all tiers in order to be considered complete (probably the broadest categories), but past that each user can customize which challenges they select and the tiers could be based upon their target quantity as bgalon suggested.

I think we should just keep the tiers to quantity. It's still a challenge and chances are people will do those broad challenges anyway.

I can additionally comment that I do also believe 50 games is an unrealistically high number. This year I have played more different games than I have ever before, but despite that I did not reach that amount even considering I was not playing any specific types of games to fit any challenge. "Age like milk" is such a universal and common phrase that I find it bizarre that someone is unfamiliar with it, but that specific wording of a game relating to George Romero made me unsure on what you specifically meant despite googling who he was. Games starting with the letter Q might additionally also be a bit too limiting, but maybe there are ways to make that work.

Games starting with the letter Q might additionally also be a bit too limiting, but maybe there are ways to make that work.

It's a challenge because of how uncommon it is, but I made it alternative rather than its own challenge so it's completely optional. It's definitely one of the harder ones on the list, but it's easy to research so it should be manageable.

So this is probably going to be the first year I will finish the challenge. I participated for the last 4 years or so, but this year I will actually complete it.
 
Mind you, I didn’t enjoy it, and in its current form I will probably not participate in it next year. I also noticed it’s more or less the same people doing it, and I think there is a good reason for it.
 
Last year, when reading through the “your year in review” that Steam compiles for each member at the end of the year, I noticed that the median number of games an average Steam user completes in a year is 4. Only 4!
 
Now, why does that surprise me? I’m not sure, but the truth is that asking anyone to complete 50 games is too much. Even at an average of 10 hours a game, that is 500 hours. Assuming someone who has a job, family, social life, or anything else, can spare an average of 2 hours a day for gaming, we are asking players to spend 250 days in a year playing games. That is simply way too much and can only be accomplished by seriously die-hard gamers.
 
To meet the challenge I had to completely plan my free time around it, reduce sports and social activities, and plough through even when I had enough.
 
Of course, nobody is forcing me to do this, but the truth is that it’s not fun, and if one of the mottos of the challenge is to have fun, we need to make it accessible to more casual players—or at least those who want to have a life as well. As it stands, we are barring all except game addicts from the challenge.
 
My proposal is to make a few slight changes that I feel are very important:
 
1) The HLTB gaming challenge will have 3 tiers: Bronze for those who complete 20 games, Silver for 35, and Gold for 50. This way, you can tell the world you are aiming for Bronze and join the community as a bonafide challenger.
 
2) Use simple language and terminology that everyone understands. Don’t assume people know American pop culture, English, or even famous people. Things like “A game that would make George Romero roll in his grave” or “A game that aged like milk” really need to be avoided (I don’t know who George Romero is, and just for a test, I asked 20 different people at my workplace —only 1 knew). Why can’t we simply say “a game with zombies” or “a game that didn’t age well” (I assume that’s what you meant—I’ve never heard the term “aged like milk” before)?
 
3) Categories need to have a wide option of games to choose from. Looking up and down the list suggested above – I think it is mostly okay. Last year, “play a cat or dog” or “play a bug” were very limiting and offered players very little option. Wouldn’t it be simply better to combine them into “games that you play an animal”? If you can’t come up quickly with 30 games to cover a category, it’s probably not wide enough.
 
Another example from last year was the category “games that are a cornerstone to gaming culture.” Seriously—there are VERY FEW games that are cornerstones to gaming culture, and most of them are quite old (which means older players probably already played them).
 
4) Choose categories that you can find games in advance for. A category like “Game that surprised you” or “Game that was harder than you expected” don’t allow any planning. Honestly, there are years (and I’m probably older than most people on this forum) that I finish the year thinking, “Gee, games offer no surprises anymore.”.
 
5) Don’t assume people have favourites! I don’t have a favourite composer, or developer, or artist. I only have favourite games. I rarely know the people behind the games or keep tabs on them. In fact, most casual gamers are the same. (Ask your friend who likes to play FIFA or Assassin's Creed if they know who Yoshi-P is.).
 
Happy to hear what other people think. I’ll be even happier if someone new reads this and gives their opinion.
 

1) The HLTB gaming challenge will have 3 tiers: Bronze for those who complete 20 games, Silver for 35, and Gold for 50. This way, you can tell the world you are aiming for Bronze and join the community as a bonafide challenger.

That's a good idea I hadn't thought about, I'll add it to the rules.

2) Use simple language and terminology that everyone understands. Don’t assume people know American pop culture, English, or even famous people. Things like “A game that would make George Romero roll in his grave” or “A game that aged like milk” really need to be avoided (I don’t know who George Romero is, and just for a test, I asked 20 different people at my workplace —only 1 knew). Why can’t we simply say “a game with zombies” or “a game that didn’t age well” (I assume that’s what you meant—I’ve never heard the term “aged like milk” before)?

Fair enough, I thought George Romero was more well known and I thought the term "aged like milk" was more popular, I'll make them clearer.

3) Categories need to have a wide option of games to choose from. Looking up and down the list suggested above – I think it is mostly okay. Last year, “play a cat or dog” or “play a bug” were very limiting and offered players very little option. Wouldn’t it be simply better to combine them into “games that you play an animal”? If you can’t come up quickly with 30 games to cover a category, it’s probably not wide enough.

Another example from last year was the category “games that are a cornerstone to gaming culture.” Seriously—there are VERY FEW games that are cornerstones to gaming culture, and most of them are quite old (which means older players probably already played them)

I mostly agree with you, challenges should have a large range of games to chose from and the "play as a bug or aquatic creature" challenge from last year was awful, I only got it by accident. I have to disagree about "a game that's a cornerstone of gaming culture" though, that's a challenge I can easily think of 30+ games for ranging from the 70's to late 2010s.

4) Choose categories that you can find games in advance for. A category like “Game that surprised you” or “Game that was harder than you expected” don’t allow any planning. Honestly, there are years (and I’m probably older than most people on this forum) that I finish the year thinking, “Gee, games offer no surprises anymore.”.

5) Don’t assume people have favourites! I don’t have a favourite composer, or developer, or artist. I only have favourite games. I rarely know the people behind the games or keep tabs on them. In fact, most casual gamers are the same. (Ask your friend who likes to play FIFA or Assassin's Creed if they know who Yoshi-P is.).

Completely agree with you, those challenges were a pain in the ass and I made sure to exclude them.

Hello and welcome to the 2025 Game Challenge!

I've started us off with about half the list, feel free to post your challenge ideas or any criticism toward these ones!

Rules:
1. The game needs to be finished in 2025.
2. A game can only be put towards one challenge prompt with the exception of the Bonus.
3. Some challenges have a '-' in them such as '20-1' and '20-2'. These indicate that you can choose one or the other, or if you're feeling up to it, both!
4. You do not need to 100% a game to mark it as complete. Completing a game has a different meaning for everyone. Some may complete a game when they are done with the main story. Others may complete a game when they've had their fill, whether that be before or after the credits roll. This does not disqualify a game, once you decide that you are through with the game experience you can count it towards a challenge.
5. At the end of each month post your list and outline your progress. The collections feature is helpful in showing off challenge progress!
6. Have fun!

Bronze - 20 challenges completed
Silver - 35 challenges completed
Gold - All challenges completed
Platinum - All challenges completed + All optional challenges completed

Challenge List (work in progress):
1. A new game (released within the past year)
2. An old game (released 10+ years ago)
3. A really old game (released 20+ years ago
4. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago)
5. A time sink (50+ hours)
6. A quickie (less than an hour)
7-1. A remake or remaster of a game
7-2. A demake of a game
7-3 A version of a game that is wildly different to every other version
8. A game with 6+ endings
9. A collection of games
10-1. A game that’s title starts with a number
10-2. A game named after the main character
10-3. A game that starts with the letter Q
11. A game from a genre you don’t normally play
12-1. A game adapted from another medium
12-2. A game adapted into another medium
13-1. A game with a short title (4 letters or less)
13-2. A game with a long title (8+ words or a word with 13+ letters)
14-1. A game with over 1k completions
14-2. A game with under 100 completions
14-3. A game with no recorded completion times
15. A game you previously retired or shelved
16. A replay
17. A game that’s been a Game of the Month
18. A game chosen by the HLTB randomizer
19. A game with a real or fictional religion
20-1. A “threequel” (third part of the series)
20-2. A spin-off
21. A cornerstone of gaming culture
22. A game where you play as an anti-hero or villain
23. A game heavily featuring zombies
24. A game that hasn't aged well
25. An indie game
26-1. A game that takes place after a timeskip (5+ years)
26-2. A game that takes place at the same time as another game in the series
27. A sequel that's more famous than the original
28. A game that has no business being in its series
29-1. A game from a yearly franchise or one that was released when the series was a yearly franchise (a period where the franchise got 4 games within 4-years counting spinoffs)
29-2. A game from a franchise that rarely gets new games

Bonus Challenge:

(TBD)

Coming from someone who is just a causal when it comes to Hitman, I'm wondering what makes Hitman Codename 47 and Silent Assassin better than Absolution? Absolution is certainly inferior to Blood Money but from what I've seen of Codename and what I've played Silent Assassin, they both seem like worse games than Absolution. I really never understood this gaming community mentality of, "disappointing sequel is somehow worse than awkward if not outright bad early entries". Sure the story of Absolution is pretty bad from what I remember, but I don't recall 47 being anything more than an avatar for the character to do the kills and having a cool look. I don't think it's as hilariously out of character as Max Payne going full on John McClane played by Nick Cage in Max Payne 3.

I'm just curious. I'm just asking and saying all this because I've seen Hitman fans say stuff like that over and over again.

There's an argument to be made that Codename 47 is worse just due to the lack of checkpoints and the general jank of it being the first game in the series, but they had the formula mostly figured out by Hitman 2 and it comes together pretty well with the only real hiccup being that running makes you suspicious to guards. The reason Absolution is in my opinion the worst in the series is because it's the fifth game in the series, yet it does a lot of things worse than even Hitman 2. The disguise system is a core part of Hitman's gameplay in every game so when it's as fucked up as it is in Absolution, it's not a good time. Story isn't that important in Hitman so I don't hold it against this game too much, but my issue with this game is how story-focused it is. Most Hitman games feel like they chose the locations first and then wrote a story. This is the opposite and it leads to a lot of the levels being in pretty samey environments. Then of course not being able to save when you want is just the cherry on top that makes things that much worse and tips it over as being the worst.

November Update

So... none of the games I beat this month work for the challenges I have left. I have figured out what games I'm going to play in December to finish this.

04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago): The Legend of Zelda
08. A game you've been wishing and waiting for: Silent Hill 2 (don't have yet but will soon)
12. A game recommended to you by someone else: God of War (recommended to me by Tiamat 4 years ago)
13. A game whose title could describe your life: Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (I'm scratching the bottom of the barrel here)
29. Another person’s favorite game: Bayonetta (Mockturtle)

and then for the bonus I already beat Emio - The Smiling Man, Silent Hill 2 applies to both this and challenge 8, and then I'll play both Balatro and Cryptmaster.

54/59

Collection

01. A new game (released within the past year): Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
02. An old game (released 10+ years ago): Resident Evil Revelations
03. A really old game (released 20+ years ago): Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago)
05. A time sink (50+ hours): Fallout 4 (138 hours)
06. A quick completion (less than an hour): Deer Drive (36 min)
07. A game you got for free: LISA: Definitive Edition
08. A game you've been wishing and waiting for
09-1. A remake or remaster of a game: Resident Evil (2002)
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release: Live a Live
10. A game with 6+ endings: Star Fox Command
11. A collection of games: Zone of the Enders HD Collection
12. A game recommended to you by someone else
13. A game whose title could describe your life
14-1. A game with an alliterative title: Custom Robo (Known as Custom Robo: Battle Revolution in Japan)
14-2. A game whose title contains the name of a color: Severed Steel
14-3. A game whose title starts with a number: 911 Operator
15. A game that heavily focuses on flight: Zone of the Enders
16. A game from a genre you don't usually play: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
17. A game that is themed around dogs or cats: While True: Learn()
18-1. A game that features multiple genres, or is a mashup of different genres: Alpha Protocol (Third-Person Shooter, RPG)
18-2. A visual novel or text-based game: Hotel Dusk: Room 315
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
20-1. A game set in a historical time period: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (The Wild West)
20-2. A game set in the far future: Deus Ex (Takes place in the 2050's)
21. A game with a female protagonist: Medal of Honor: Underground
22. A game without any humans: Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
23. A game where you play as a robot or an alien: SteamWorld Heist
24. An arcade-style high score game: Centipede: Recharged
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with: Batman: Arkham Asylum
26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature: Black Widow: Recharged
27. A game that was adapted from another medium (book, movie, etc.) or a game that has been adapted into another medium: XIII
28. A game you watched someone else play first (partially or in full): JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eye's of Heaven
29. Another person’s favorite game
30. A game with a diverse cast: Sunset Overdrive
31. A cornerstone to gaming culture: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
32. A game that starts with the same first letter as in your username (if your username doesn’t contain letters, pick a random letter): Final Fantasy VII
33-1. A “threequel” (third part of a series): Resident Evil 3 (2020)
33-2. A spin-off game: Metal Gear Solid VR Missions
34. A bright and cheerful game: New Super Luigi U
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
36. A game that heavily features either fire or ice: Insurmountable
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics: Who Wants to be a Millionaire (2020)
38. A game with a subtitle: Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure
39. A game that surprised you: Quake II
40. A post-apocalyptic game: Anarchy Reigns
41. A game with a short title (4 letters or less): DUSK
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher): Barbie's Dreamhouse Party
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on (artist, developer, musician, voice actor/actress, etc.): Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (Hideo Kojima)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold: Undertale
44-2. A game that you have beaten before and are replaying: MadWorld
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List: Dead Space (Palipilino #35)
46-1. A studio's very first game: Paradigm
46-2. A studio's most recent game (at the time when you started playing the game): Teardown
47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it (color indicates the amount of submitted playtimes, red = low amount, gray = zero): Bejewled 2
48. A game that has been a HLTB Game of the Month: Pony Island
49. A game listed on the HLTB stats page, or the stats page filtered for a single platform: Batman: Arkham City (Best Reviewed for Xbox 360)
50. A game chosen by the HLTB randomizer: Valkyria Chronicles

November was full of Hitman for me. Hitman HD Trilogy and Absolution were all I needed to finish my PS3 collection so I can finally play something else.

11/6 Hitman: Contracts (PS3): 9:19:10 7/10
11/11 Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360): 7:43:56 7/10
11/12 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (PS3): 12:16:26 7/10
11/18 Build-A-Bear Workshop (DS): 0:24 4/10
11/18 Hitman: Blood Money (PS3): 12:8:19 8/10 - BEST
11/18 Hitman HD Trilogy (PS3): 33:44:5 7/10
11/23 Hitman: Absolution (PS3): 17:7:40 4/10 - WORST
11/27 Resident Evil 5 (PS4): 12:15:43 6/10
11/30 Doom Eternal (PC): 10:30 8/10

Hitman Blood Money was a game I tried to beat a few years back and I hated it. I now realize me from a few years ago was a dumbass. I don't blame him too much, the game can be pretty hard to get in to, especially if you haven't played the previous games. But as soon as Flatline ends, this game gets really good. There's a lot of depth to the stealth which I really like, and the combat works great. This is probably my favorite story in the entire series, the way it ties into Contracts blew my mind. My only complaints are that the coin is damn near useless due to its shit range, and Till Death Do Us Part is one of the worst missions in the entire series.

Hitman: Absolution was awful. It probably didn't help that I played the game on hard, but I feel like I would hate this game even on normal. The worst part about this game is the stupid fucking disguise system. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to make it so that people sharing your disguise can see through it? There are some missions with only one disguise so you're just fucked. This one change ruins the whole game. They also decided to trade a traditional save system for checkpoints. This leads to you being forced to repeat large sections because there aren't any checkpoints in the area. I could've easily saved 3-4 hours if they didn't change the system. There's also some small things that are in here for no reason too like not being able to close doors. It's just... why‽ The story sucks too, all the characters are pretty one-dimensional and 47 acts seriously out of character. I'm just glad Hitman (2016) went back to how Hitman is supposed to be.

- Reworked date display code. Allows year, year/month, day/month, year/month/day. Short and long forms of month depending on usage.

I noticed date added has been changed to just a year/month format. I really think it should be year/month/day, that's a category that could use the more specific date.

October Update

Only two new additions:

09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release: Live a Live

This is technically the remake and not the original, but I'm still counting it.

25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

Police Chases in real life? Not fun, has consequences, lives at risk. Police Chases in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit? Extremely fun, no consequences, everyone walks away okay. Cars even have built in power-ups.

The last challenges are really tough. I have ideas for numbers 4, 8, and 12 (the 30+ year old game, a game you've been waiting for, and a game recommended to you by someone else), but I'm stuck on: 12 and 29 (A game that describes your life and someone else's favorite game)

54/59

Collection

01. A new game (released within the past year): Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
02. An old game (released 10+ years ago): Resident Evil Revelations
03. A really old game (released 20+ years ago): Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago)
05. A time sink (50+ hours): Fallout 4 (138 hours)
06. A quick completion (less than an hour): Deer Drive (36 min)
07. A game you got for free: LISA: Definitive Edition
08. A game you've been wishing and waiting for
09-1. A remake or remaster of a game: Resident Evil (2002)
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release: Live a Live
10. A game with 6+ endings: Star Fox Command
11. A collection of games: Zone of the Enders HD Collection
12. A game recommended to you by someone else
13. A game whose title could describe your life
14-1. A game with an alliterative title: Custom Robo (Known as Custom Robo: Battle Revolution in Japan)
14-2. A game whose title contains the name of a color: Severed Steel
14-3. A game whose title starts with a number: 911 Operator
15. A game that heavily focuses on flight: Zone of the Enders
16. A game from a genre you don't usually play: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
17. A game that is themed around dogs or cats: While True: Learn()
18-1. A game that features multiple genres, or is a mashup of different genres: Alpha Protocol (Third-Person Shooter, RPG)
18-2. A visual novel or text-based game: Hotel Dusk: Room 315
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
20-1. A game set in a historical time period: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (The Wild West)
20-2. A game set in the far future: Deus Ex (Takes place in the 2050's)
21. A game with a female protagonist: Medal of Honor: Underground
22. A game without any humans: Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
23. A game where you play as a robot or an alien: SteamWorld Heist
24. An arcade-style high score game: Centipede: Recharged
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with: Batman: Arkham Asylum
26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature: Black Widow: Recharged
27. A game that was adapted from another medium (book, movie, etc.) or a game that has been adapted into another medium: XIII
28. A game you watched someone else play first (partially or in full): JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eye's of Heaven
29. Another person’s favorite game
30. A game with a diverse cast: Sunset Overdrive
31. A cornerstone to gaming culture: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
32. A game that starts with the same first letter as in your username (if your username doesn’t contain letters, pick a random letter): Final Fantasy VII
33-1. A “threequel” (third part of a series): Resident Evil 3 (2020)
33-2. A spin-off game: Metal Gear Solid VR Missions
34. A bright and cheerful game: New Super Luigi U
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
36. A game that heavily features either fire or ice: Insurmountable
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics: Who Wants to be a Millionaire (2020)
38. A game with a subtitle: Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure
39. A game that surprised you: Quake II
40. A post-apocalyptic game: Anarchy Reigns
41. A game with a short title (4 letters or less): DUSK
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher): Barbie's Dreamhouse Party
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on (artist, developer, musician, voice actor/actress, etc.): Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (Hideo Kojima)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold: Undertale
44-2. A game that you have beaten before and are replaying: MadWorld
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List: Dead Space (Palipilino #35)
46-1. A studio's very first game: Paradigm
46-2. A studio's most recent game (at the time when you started playing the game): Teardown
47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it (color indicates the amount of submitted playtimes, red = low amount, gray = zero): Bejewled 2
48. A game that has been a HLTB Game of the Month: Pony Island
49. A game listed on the HLTB stats page, or the stats page filtered for a single platform: Batman: Arkham City (Best Reviewed for Xbox 360)
50. A game chosen by the HLTB randomizer: Valkyria Chronicles

I beat a surprising 8 games this month. I say surprising since Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit took forever, and then I spent a week procrastinating starting Darksiders only to retire it once and for all after three and half hours of gameplay.

10/4 inFamous (PS3): 12:40:55 8/10
10/9 Metroid Dread (Switch): 12:10:42 9/10 - BEST
10/11 Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? - Game Time (Wii): 52:53 4/10
10/14 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PC-Steam): 6:51:20 9/10
10/18 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (PS3): 17:46:05 7/10
10/26 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (PC-Epic): 2:50 6/10 - WORST
10/29 Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3): 10:36:52 8/10
10/31 Live a Live (Switch): 20:04:57 9/10

Metroid Dread is the first Metroid game I've completed and it was a ton of fun. I felt like I was constantly making progress and I enjoyed going to earlier areas and finding secrets. The storyline was really interesting too, the twist at the end caught me off-guard even though it probably should have been obvious based on gameplay. If the other Metroid games are as good as this, I might play through the whole series.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is just really boring. I don't care about any of the characters, there's barely any real gameplay, and the game had a funny habit of just not working sometimes. The environments looked pretty cool, but that's my only real compliment for this game. It's not bad, but it's very boring. At least I had some fun laughing at how bad Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? - Game Time was, I felt nothing the whole time playing through this game's two hour campaign.

I'll nominate Hitman: Contracts

I just got through Resident Evil 7, and what a game. The decision to make this first person instead of third like in other Resident Evil games was such a great choice. This is probably my second favorite game in the series (4 is just more fun).

At the start of the year I wanted to beat all three Max Payne games. I haven't made any progress on that, but I'm hoping to do it in December.

Challenges (36/50)
Bonus (0/5)
Alternatives (2/9)

Games beaten in September:
✅Inside 28. A game you watched someone else play first (partially or in full)
✅ Timespinner 30. A game with a diverse cast
✅MOLEK-SYNTEZ 40. A post-apocalyptic game
✅Tadpole Treble 26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature
✅Just A To The Moon Series Beach Episode 43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on (artist, developer, musician, voice actor/actress, etc.)
✅[Alternative] Marco & The Galaxy Dragon 46-2. A studio's most recent game (at the time when you started playing the game)
✅WarioWare Gold 37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics

Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I'm playing some really fun games, and lots of cool stuff is going on in my life. This may be a bit early, but for the 2025 gaming challenge, would someone else like to take the role of hosting the thread and creating a list of challenges? I've done it two years in a row, and I'm a bit busier nowadays. Happy gaming!

Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I'm playing some really fun games, and lots of cool stuff is going on in my life. This may be a bit early, but for the 2025 gaming challenge, would someone else like to take the role of hosting the thread and creating a list of challenges? I've done it two years in a row, and I'm a bit busier nowadays. Happy gaming!

I've done it twice before and I wouldn't mind doing it again

September Update
52/59

I only really have the very specific challenges left. I have some games in mind, but there's others I've got nothing for. The main one I'm not sure about is another person's favorite game. So what is your guys' favorite game? My favorite game is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater so there's my contribution.

01. A new game (released within the past year): Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club

18-1. A game that features multiple genres, or is a mashup of different genres: Alpha Protocol (Third-Person Shooter, RPG)

Collection

01. A new game (released within the past year): Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
02. An old game (released 10+ years ago): Resident Evil Revelations
03. A really old game (released 20+ years ago): Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago)
05. A time sink (50+ hours): Fallout 4 (138 hours)
06. A quick completion (less than an hour): Deer Drive (36 min)
07. A game you got for free: LISA: Definitive Edition
08. A game you've been wishing and waiting for
09-1. A remake or remaster of a game: Resident Evil (2002)
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release
10. A game with 6+ endings: Star Fox Command
11. A collection of games: Zone of the Enders HD Collection
12. A game recommended to you by someone else
13. A game whose title could describe your life
14-1. A game with an alliterative title: Custom Robo (Known as Custom Robo: Battle Revolution in Japan)
14-2. A game whose title contains the name of a color: Severed Steel
14-3. A game whose title starts with a number: 911 Operator
15. A game that heavily focuses on flight: Zone of the Enders
16. A game from a genre you don't usually play: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
17. A game that is themed around dogs or cats: While True: Learn()
18-1. A game that features multiple genres, or is a mashup of different genres: Alpha Protocol (Third-Person Shooter, RPG)
18-2. A visual novel or text-based game: Hotel Dusk: Room 315
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
20-1. A game set in a historical time period: Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (The Wild West)
20-2. A game set in the far future: Deus Ex (Takes place in the 2050's)
21. A game with a female protagonist: Medal of Honor: Underground
22. A game without any humans: Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
23. A game where you play as a robot or an alien: SteamWorld Heist
24. An arcade-style high score game: Centipede: Recharged
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with: Batman: Arkham Asylum
26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature: Black Widow: Recharged
27. A game that was adapted from another medium (book, movie, etc.) or a game that has been adapted into another medium: XIII
28. A game you watched someone else play first (partially or in full): JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eye's of Heaven
29. Another person’s favorite game
30. A game with a diverse cast: Sunset Overdrive
31. A cornerstone to gaming culture: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
32. A game that starts with the same first letter as in your username (if your username doesn’t contain letters, pick a random letter): Final Fantasy VII
33-1. A “threequel” (third part of a series): Resident Evil 3 (2020)
33-2. A spin-off game: Metal Gear Solid VR Missions
34. A bright and cheerful game: New Super Luigi U
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
36. A game that heavily features either fire or ice: Insurmountable
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics: Who Wants to be a Millionaire (2020)
38. A game with a subtitle: Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure
39. A game that surprised you: Quake II
40. A post-apocalyptic game: Anarchy Reigns
41. A game with a short title (4 letters or less): DUSK
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher): Barbie's Dreamhouse Party
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on (artist, developer, musician, voice actor/actress, etc.): Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (Hideo Kojima)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold: Undertale
44-2. A game that you have beaten before and are replaying: MadWorld
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List: Dead Space (Palipilino #35)
46-1. A studio's very first game: Paradigm
46-2. A studio's most recent game (at the time when you started playing the game): Teardown
47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it (color indicates the amount of submitted playtimes, red = low amount, gray = zero): Bejewled 2
48. A game that has been a HLTB Game of the Month: Pony Island
49. A game listed on the HLTB stats page, or the stats page filtered for a single platform: Batman: Arkham City (Best Reviewed for Xbox 360)
50. A game chosen by the HLTB randomizer: Valkyria Chronicles

Surprisingly great month for me, I beat 7 games (technically 6 and a DLC)

9/1 Deus Ex: Human Revolution - The Missing Link DLC (PS3): 3:30, 5/10
9/2 Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut (PS3): 22:31, 8/10 - BEST
9/6 The House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii): 2:50, 7/10
9/20 Alpha Protocol (PS3): 12:24, 8/10
9/21 Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club (Switch): 8:55 6/10 - WORST
9/25 Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3): 10h, 5/10
9/28 Resistance 2 (PS3): 9:38, 6/10

Deus Ex was a lot of fun. The open-world did a good job looking dystopian, it really felt like I was in Detroit. The story was good, I liked the connections to the first game, and the gameplay was a lot of fun.

Emio was a letdown, the marketing made it seem way more interesting than it was. My big issue is the lack of actual detective work we do. I knew it was a visual novel, but I thought we'd get to question people L.A. Noire style and see multiple endings. The twist at the end was also pretty lame, I think if they played it straight and Emio killed more people then the story would've been more interesting. Also, there were a surprising amount of times where I genuinely had no idea what to do to progress the story. I'd just have to try every option until something worked. There was also this one part where you get softlocked if you don't remember a name that popped up once since the whole puzzle hinges on you reading the kanji on a certificate. At least, I think that's how you're supposed to progress if you don't remember it. I just had to look it up, but it was really annoying.

I'll nominate Doom 64, I've been meaning to play it for a while.

I'm sitting at 466 right now; 301 physical and 165 digital. I'm a little embarrassed about how long it's gotten, but it was at 505 at the start of this year so I'm making progress.

Today on Finnedorb…



Dead Space 2 (PS3): 9:16

Story: After the end of the first game, Isaac was captured by the Earth Government. He’s been in and out of cryosleep for 3 years. Eventually, he wakes up on the Sprawl, a space station in Saturn’s moon Titan. It’s been completely overrun by Necromorphs thanks to a new marker. It’s up to him to destroy it while also dealing with the Earth Government, and his guilt over what happened to Nicole.

Characters: Early on, Isaac is contacted by a lady named Daina, but she turns out to be a Unitoloigist who was trying to capture him to make her own marker. She’s killed by the Earth Government as soon as we get to her. He eventually meets another captive of the Earth Government, Nolan Stross who allegedly killed his wife and son. It’s never confirmed if he actually did, but he tries to kill us and another side character late in the game so it wouldn’t surprise me. The final major side character is Ellie. She’s a CEC pilot who’s just trying to get out of here. She’s probably my favorite side character in the series since she has great chemistry with Isaac. Speaking of Isaac, he’s voiced now. It took a while to get used to, but I think it works for this game since it’s slightly more cinematic than the last. The main villain of the game is Hans Tidemann, the leader of this station who’s trying everything in his power to kill Isaac.

Gameplay: The standard gameplay of the last game is still here, now with some new weapons I didn’t end up using since all the weapons from the previous game are here too. The biggest change to the game are the zero-gravity sections. No longer are you forced to jump around to very specific spots, now we can fly! This is a great change, and I’m happy they fixed my biggest gripe with the first game. Suit upgrades are a little different this time too, instead of upgrading the engineer suit throughout the game, we switch through different suits with their own bonuses. I like this change, I think it adds a little more strategy to how you play. Although, I think they could’ve gone farther with this idea than what they did.

While I like the gameplay in this better than the first game, the first game still has the better atmosphere. It’s hard for me to say which is better, but one thing's for certain; this is a good game. 8/10

I know I didn't have much to say about this game, but I have a lot more to say about the next.

Pretty good month for me

8/10 Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Wii): 53:58 7/10
8/11 The Forgotten City (PC-Steam): 5:42 7/10
8/12 Severed Steel (PC-Epic): 2:46 8/10
8/13 Barbie: Dreamhouse Party (Wii): 0:58 5/10 - WORST
8/13 Black Widow: Recharged (PC-Epic): 2:42 6/10
8/14 Centipede: Recharged (PC-Epic): 2:19 6/10
8/20 Dead Space 2 (PS3): 9:16 8/10 - BEST
8/26 Dead Space 3 (PS3): 11:18 7/10

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn was a massive disappointment for me. I think it did a bad job following up Path of Radiance's story and I wasn't a fan of the game being split-up into parts. This game was also significantly harder than the previous, purely due to how dogshit the Dawn Brigade is. I don't think there's been a weaker mc than Micaiah, and the Jagen Sothe sucks too. I'm still a fan of the gameplay because I like Fire Emblem, but this is almost my least favorite (it's lucky FE Fates: Conquest has such a terrible story).

Dead Space 2 was a great sequel to Dead Space. I loved the improvements to the gameplay and the side characters. It's hard for me to say whether this or the first game are my favorite in the series.

I can't say the same for Dead Space 3. This is not a Dead Space game, it's a generic Sci-Fi shooter. The tone is nothing like the previous games to the point where it isn't even a horror game. The side characters are awful, especially Nolan and Carver. I wasn't a fan of how crafting replaced the store system since it just leads to having too much ammo and health. Every shot mattered in the first two games, I can waste 70% of my ammo in this game and be fine. The redesigns for the necromorphs suck too. The first two games really made you feel like you were fighting twisted and corrupted corpses, but they just feel like generic aliens in this one. The game feels fine to play, just nothing special like the first two.