Games Beaten - May 2021

After no completions for February, March and April, I finally beat a few games this month !

My first completion of the month was Anodyne. It's a nice little Zelda-clone game. It's very simple but it's well made. Overall it reminded me a lot of Link's Awakening and Final Fantasy Adventure. Here is my playthrough:



Then I beat No Time To Explain which is a little indie platformer. It was fine but felt more like a little Flash game had gotten a full release. It has interesting mecanics but it's missing that little something to make it better. Here is my full playthrough:



And finally I beat A Story About My Uncle which is a first person perspective 3D platformer. It has some great mecanics but I felt like the difficulty level was all over the place with some very easy parts and some very frustrating parts where I felt like I succeded with a lot of luck. To me, it felt like a 1st person version of a game like Celeste or something like that. You succeed but doing trials and errors and figure out what to do until you find your solution. The story was very basic. I had a good time with it. Here is my full playthrough:

Ace Attorney:Trials and Tribulations
Fantasy Life

Oh wow, ok... I played Rain on Your Parade's New Game+, though I beat the base game the month before. I also played entirely through Ori and the Blind Forest, a surprisingly delightful game.

I started Pillars of Eternity recently, but I haven't been in the right headspace for a slow-paced, text-heavy game, so I haven't touched it in like a week lol For better or worse, I think these games don't have quite the same "life another life in another world" power fantasy appeal that they did a few years ago :/

I also started Human: Fall Flat over the weekend and it's pretty fun. I beat all the base game's levels and started the first post-release level (they're all from free updates, yay). It's exactly the kind of gameplay I need after staying up past 1 AM and sleeping 5 hours. Though I might postpone it until the multiplayer is fixed to play it with a friend. So it's hopefully back to PoE for me XD

Managed to beat Super Mario 3d world and Bowser's fury, The Spyro reignited trilogy, Ori And the blind forest and just finished Ori and the will of the wisps today.

I recommend all of these games (Although Spyro is geared more towards less challenging games or people who want to feel the nostalgia like me).

Super Mario 3D world was a very nice Platformer and I really loved the idea behind Bowser's fury.

Both Ori games were SO GOOD. The first one was better story/setting wise, and the second improved upon the game mechanics and platforming tremendously.

Didn’t think I’d get a completion this month (even had a little meme ready for this thread), but I ended up getting one!

5/31 - Pokémon Ultra Sun (3DS) - 51h 4m

I actually beat some stuff this month too. Mostly short stuff but hey.

New Pokémon Snap: 23:16, April 29 - May 08
Earthbound: May 02 - 22
Kirby's Dreamland: 34m, May 23
Pikuniku: 2:37, May 22 - 25
Samorost: 16m, May 26
Samorost 2: 52m, May 28

Only two games this month, Paper's Please and Bulletstorm. I enjoyed my time with Paper's Please... I can't say the same for Bulletstorm.

I can't believe how many games I have beaten this month. I haven't played games for decades, so I'm thrilled that I'm getting into it again and I'm flying through the different games. I'm enjoying myself a lot. Anyways, here's my staggering roundup of 9 games of May 2021:

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity [Switch] 38h 04m (8/10) - May 1
Ori and the Blind Forest [Switch] 15h 15m (9/10) - May 9
Hyper Light Drifter [Switch] 7h 30m (7/10) - May 13
Luigi's Mansion 3 [Switch] 22h 10m (8/10) - May 18
Oxenfree [Switch] 4h 40m (7/10) - May 24
Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone DLC [PS4] 9h (9/10) - May 24
BioShock 2 [PS4] 10h 17m (7/10) - May 28
Bastion [Switch] 6h 05m (8/10) - May 29
BioShock 2: Minerva's Den DLC [PS4] 3h 22m (8/10) - May 31

May 02 - Final Fantasy V ~29h, but almost the entire game still in April
PC, 9/10

May 16 - Tales of Zestiria ~30h
PC, 7/10

May 21 - Metro 2033 Redux ~8h
PC, 8/10

May 25 - SEUM: Speedrunners from Hell ~3h
PC, 8/10

May 30 - Dungeons 3 ~19h
PC, 9/10

Got another completion after not getting one for April, although it's a really short one.

May 25th - Donut Country - 3 h 6 m - (100%) 8/10

Pros: The gameplay was simple yet engaging and the art style was nice. The story was pretty basic but it did get more interesting near the end. All of the achievements were easy and self-explanatory on what you have to do. They also contained some small hidden bonuses I didn't expect.

Cons: The only downside I can think of is the game's length and that the gameplay was a little too simple. I got the game at a discount, but I think the game should've been a little longer at full price. It would've been nice if they had added one more gameplay mechanic, maybe some puzzles to do with cement or water.

Not many completions this months due to very heavy school workload, but that doesn't mean that there wasn't anything good.

01/05: Persona 3 FES - The Answer 8.5/10
11/05: Persona 3 Portable 10/10
25/05: Pyre 10/10

Best one: honestly, despite how much of a Persona 3 fan I am, I gotta give it to Pyre. The entire game is one long immersive ride that pulls you in and never lets you out, it's absolutely fantastic. Persona 3 Portable, while still being Persona 3, lacked the emotional investment that I had with FES and ended up being more grindy as well, mostly due to my unhealthy completionist attitude.
Worst one: Persona 3 FES - The Answer, not because it's bad but because it just objectively ahs the least content and the least enjoyable gameplay out of the three games I beat this month. I still liked it a lot, just not as much as the others, that's all.

In May I played "Small/Short Games". Games that according to howlongtobeat.com should take less than 6 hours to complete, and I also managed to compete "Anachronox" - a fine oldie RPG which I played over the last few months.

02-May-2021 - Anachronox (PC) - 41H39M
03-May-2021 - The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (PC) (100% Achievements) - 2H54M
08-May-2021 - Moonlight (PC) - 1H16M
10-May-2021 - Chronology (PC) - 3H52M
18-May-2021 - LEAVES - The Journey (PC) - 6H06M
22-May-2021 - The Turing Test (PC) - 6H30M
25-May-2021 - Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (PC) - 1H02M

Most of the games this month were very decent. "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit" was a free game that is kind of a showcase of what "Dontnod Entertainment" is all about. I got "Life is Strange" on my backlog and I'm looking forward to playing it.

"Moonlight" was lovely little fun - and a great achievement by a one-man effort. Like it - "Choronology" was also a charming puzzle-platformer, and while polished, was nothing more than a quick passing joy.

"Leaves - The Journey" was a tougher puzzle game - and took me much longer than what "howlongtobeat.com" predicts. Some of the puzzles are hard, and I guess that people give up and use walkthroughs. I made it my business to work through it, and it took me almost double the time predicted. The game got a nice art direction but doesn't offer anything that I haven't seen before.

The only game I didn't like was "Dear Esther". I thought it was a pompous attempt at selling an uninteresting story disguised as a game. It's a shame - as the music and graphic are outstanding, while the gameplay is so boring and the delivered lines so artificial that they are an insult to the artists and composers of the game.

For the best game this month I'm torn between "Anachronox" and "The Turing Test". Those are two different games from two different eras. "Anachranox", twenty years old, is a fantastic romp in space RPG with unique characters and a zany storyline, while "The Turing Test" is a much more polished and modern puzzle game "Portal" style. I feel "Anachranox" would have had the edge if it wasn't for its age showing and the bumpy play on a newer computer but both were very enjoyable.

To keep my backlog under control I decided not to buy new games until I bring my backlog under 100 games. I finished this month on 98 and immediately went on a mini shopping spree during May Sales - which means I'm starting next month with 109. My next month theme is "Made in Japan" – which are games that were.... made in Japan! I don't expect to finish many, most of them are very long, but there are some shorter options like "Binary Domain" and "Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes."

My Game Size Guide:
Tiny (0-2 hours), Small (2-6 hours), Medium (6-14 hours), Large (14-30 hours), Huge (30-62), Epic (62+)

19 - The Binding of Isaac: Repentance
25 - Subnautica: Below Zero

Repentance basically shook up everything that had become "understood" in Rebirth. That annoyed a lot of people but I was mostly ok with the changes. There were of course a few elements of questionable design decisions in there but considering the scope of the expansion compared to other dlc additions, and the proportional quantity, it still ended up more good than bad. That said, I do hope they stop toying around with the game here though, I do feel like they are reaching the limits on what they can get away with in this game without completely switching genre. This should be the high note to end on.

Subnautica: Below Zero, again, pretty decent. More Subnautica which is great. It was fairly disappointing though, it's a shadow of it's former game, but it just happened to cast a pretty good shadow. The game is much smaller in scope, doesn't add that much new stuff and what it does add isn't too impressive. Where it succeeds though is just in the general atmosphere, world building and mystery / intrigue. Wish it was better but glad it exists.

Been a bit behind in these posts. This month -

Sunblaze - Cute precision, puzzle platformer in the style of Celeste (only completed in Zen mode)
Skul: The Hero Slayer - 2d pixel art, platform Rouguelite. Sunk 90 hours into this. I love it.

Started back up on my playthroughs of the Resident Evil series with 2, 3 and Code Veronica. While each game has had a part of it that I'm very frustrated by, those moments are getting less and less frustrating as I become more familiar with the franchise and as my love for the nonsense of it all grows.

1604. Lion Quest Infinity - 5/7 [5/10]
1605. New Pokemon Snap - 5/7 [8/10]
1606. Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken - 5/8 [6/10]
1607. Wipeout 2048 - 5/8 [7/10]
1608. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz - 5/9 [6/10]
1609. flOw - 5/9 [6/10]
1610. Lone Survivor - 5/10 [8/10]
1611. Joe Danger - 5/11 [7/10]
1612. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X - 5/12 [8/10]
1613. Resident Evil 2 Remake - 5/19 [8/10]
1614. Tokyo Jungle - 5/22 [6/10]
1615. Under Night In-Birth - Exe:Late - 5/22 [6/10]
1616. Resident Evil 3 Remake - 5/24 [9/10]
1617. Tower of Heaven - 5/25 [8/10]
1618. Beat Saber - Interscope Mixtape - 5/28 [6/10]
1619. Resident Evil Code: Veronica X - 5/28 [8/10]

Best goes to Resident Evil 3 Remake. That's right, I enjoyed it more than REmake 2. I wrote about it here.

Worst was Lion Quest Infinity. I received a code for this via my Steam curator page, and it was okay. I'd never have expected I'd say this about a game, but the platformer sections of the game leave a lot to be desired, and the visual novel portion were fun. I don't necessarily regret my time with it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

This month I'll be continuing my Resident Evil marathon. Zero is kicking my ass right now. I don't see a lot of games pulling me away from the series, aside from the new Ratchet & Clank. Can't wait for that game.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - Not a Hero (PlayStation 4) - May 05, 2021 - 1h 53m 25s - Time was taken from the Results screen, so it may not be entirely accurate. - Normal difficulty. Antique Coins: 6/10. Files Obtained: 9/9. Restarts: 7. Item Box Opened: 8. Attacks Deflected: 19. Healing Items Used: 8. Stabilizers Used: 0. Steroids Used: 1.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - End of Zoe (PlayStation 4) - May 06, 2021 - 1h 30m 36s - Time is from the "Save File" before the final boss fight, so it may not be entirely accurate. - Normal difficulty. Restarts: 5. Times Saved: 9. Punches Thrown: 630. Stealth Kills: 8. Healing Items Used: 13. Boxer Effigies Obtained: 11. Champion Effigies Obtained: 6.

Resident Evil Village (Xbox Series X/S) - May 11, 2021 - 12h 23m 46s - Time was taken from the Results screen, so it may not be entirely accurate. - Standard difficulty. Goats of Warding destroyed: 17/20. Files collected: 45/47.

Battlefield V (Xbox One) - May 20, 2021 - Hardcore difficulty. Did all 4 War Stories (Under No Flag, Nordlys, Tirailleur, The Last Tiger). 46/46 Letters collected. 18/40 Challenges completed. Last few Letters collected via Chapter Replay.

Resident Evil Village (Xbox Series X/S) - May 25, 2021 - 8h 28m 49s - Time was taken from the Results screen, so it may not be entirely accurate. - New Game+. Hardcore difficulty. Goats of Warding destroyed: 20/20. Files collected: 46/47. Ethan fully upgraded by cooking all of the meals. - REPLAY

Mainly a Resident Evil month except the Battlefield V.
Still haven't finished the Banned Footage Vol. 2 DLC, because of the 21 Survival+ mode, which was giving me some trouble due to the RNG nature of it, so I put it on hold, so I could focus on the Not a Hero and End of Zoe DLCs before Village came out, and enjoyed them immensely, they were really good fun and expanded the lore and both of them differed in gameplay. After that Resident Evil Village came out and man that game is so much fun to play. A great mix between RE4 and RE7. Battlefield V on the other hand, I did not enjoy as much, at least the Campaign that is. I love the multiplayer, but the single player not so much. At least not on the Hardcore difficulty. On that difficulty AI can see you so quickly and from such a long distance and then kill you from that distance with pinpoint accuracy in seconds and most of the time you can't hide, when you're in a really open environment and the guys already triggered the alarm and coming towards you from every side. The more linear levels weren't bad, but the open ones were infuriating at times.

Happy gaming for June!

May 1 - Persona 5 10/10

May 2 - Rayman Legends 8/10

May 16 - Chrono Trigger 9/10

May 20 - Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 7/10

May 23 - Shadow of the Colossus 8/10

Persona 5 and Chrono trigger are among the best games I've ever played, Shadow of Colossus didn't engage me like I expected, however this game is clearly unique, being a completely refreshing experience, Rayman Legends was great surprise, I liked the way the game encourages you to explore the levels more, distinguishing itself from other 2d platforms where you just rush throughout the level, Digital Devil Saga was a great game, still I felt that the game's story focuses more on establishing the characters for DDS 2 than telling a great story by itself.

Portal Reloaded (2021)
Hitman (2016)
Moons of Madness (2019)

This month i didn't complete any games sadly.

Still playing morrowind.

I beat

Skate 3
Payday 2: Scarface Heist DLC
Payday 2: The Biker Heist DLC
Payday 2: The Bomb Heists DLC
Payday 2: The Diamond Heist DLC
Payday 2: Hotline Miami DLC

This month's games, hell yeah

May 7th - Persona 5 Royal, PS4
May 24th - Spore + Galactic Adventures, PC
May 27th - X-Note, PC
May 29th - Mad Max (2015), PC

May total: 5
Year total: 34

Not too good but certainly could be worse. :D

This month I managed to beat the following

Forza Horizon 4: LEGO Speed Champions DLC Xbox One
Returnal PS5
Gears Tactics Xbox Series X

All very enjoyable but the highlight was definitely Returnal...I'm tempted to give it another playthrough.

A fairly productive month for me. In addition to playing Oceanhorn and NieR, I also got the platinum in Persona 5 Royal, though I'm not counting it as a completion because it took less than an hour for me to go back and get that one missing trophy.

05/03 Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas (PS4) • 15:04
05/30 NieR Replicant (PS4) • 36:20

Both games were pretty good. Both had some glaring flaws. But the winner is undoubtedly NieR.

May 2021

5/01/21. Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies (PS2). 7,5/10.
5/07/21. Deadly Skies III (PS2). 2,5/10.
5/08/21. Fuel (PS3). 8,5/10.
5/08/21. Gunstar Heroes (PS3, from Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection). REPLAY. 4/10.
5/14/21. Red Faction: Armageddon (PS3). REPLAY. 7,5/10.
5/15/21. Monster Jam: Path of Destruction (PS3). 6/10.
5/16/21. Pac-Man & the Ghostly Adventures (PS3). 5/10.
5/20/21. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2). REPLAY. 8/10.
5/22/21. Altered Beast (Arcade) (PS3, from Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection). 2,5/10.
5/25/21. Thomas was Alone (PS3). 3,5/10.
5/27/21. Intelligent Qube (PS). REPLAY. 9/10.
5/29/21. Drakengard 3 (PS3). 8,5/10.
5/31/21. The Evil Within (PS3). 3,5/10.

I beat the story for Spider-Man Miles Morales. And while I beat the story for Spider-Man Remastered in April I finally got the platinum trophy last week. Both on PS5.