What Games Have You Completed? (2024 Edition!)

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)

System Shock (2023)

I'm so glad this project worked out. I really appreciate the work nightdive do preserving old videogames and was a bit worried when this entered development hell. The end result is fantastic and a faithful remake of one of my all time favourite PC games.

System Shock is a cyberpunk immersive sim and the original might be the very first immersive sim. It is after all a genre named after the first passcode you need to figure out in this game (174 games). The remake is very faithful to the original with the same story, objective progression and very faithful map layout. As a result the game feels alien to most modern games. It's up to the player to piece together the next objective from audio logs so you really have to pay attention, something that might annoy people. Levels are labyrinthine and claustrophobic but I felt this only heightened the chaotic gunplay. In terms of negatives there's some backtracking that was in the original that feels a bit like padding as you are going back through levels that you've already cleared out and die to the size and complexity of the levels it can take a while to find where you are going. It also leaves in one of the most annoying backtrack puzzles. My advice:

Spoiler Warning

Once you take out the computer nodes on a floor make sure you take down the number that appears on the screen near them.

On a technical level the game looks incredible with a unique aesthetic. The lighting and detail is very modern but the game forgoes texture filtering to give it a retro computer look that really sells the cyberpunk vibe. The game drips atmosphere with some excellent sound design and a soundtrack that calls back to Greg Lopiccolo's iconic work on the original. The citadel is sold to the player as a lived in space.

Gunplay is feels fantastic. There's a wonderful assortment of weapons that all feel great to use and have multiple firing modes. You'll have to pick and choose what to use as there's very limited inventory. Enemies are relentless and take a beating but you have plenty of tools to bring them down. The cyberspace hacking is similar to the original but simplified. It plays like a descent clone with some trippy visuals. I'd have preferred a bit more complexity in this area of the game but they're still fun.

If there's one area I was disappointed with, it's the final area.

Spoiler Warning

In the remake it's like a sterile server room. In the original it's filled with biomechanical mass radiating from shodan to signify her transformation from a mere machine to something else. It's very creepy. Also the final fight is a big let down, the original had you fight SHODAN in cyberspace as she slowly hacks into your mind affecting your controls and vision.

Apparently this final area will be fixed for the console release and patched back in for PC.

I found System Shock to be an incredible remake and one of the best games released last year. Don't let this one pass you by, especially if you are a fan of the likes of Prey or Bioshock.

Weapon Shop de Omasse

This is the last 3DS guild game I had left to play. This one was at risk of not getting a release on the system due to the huge amount of text translation involved but ended up getting a late release on the system.

Omasse has you playing at running a weapon rental shop in a rpg. NPCs and main characters come to your shop and request weapons from you before they go out adventuring and you rent them out. You can follow their exploits via the 'grindcast', a text based live update of events.

To forge new weapons you have to play a rhythm based minigame were you strike the hot metal in time with the music. You also have to pay attention to how hot the metal is. Depending on how well you perform the weapon will gain extra stat buffs.

The disparate elements don't quite play off each other that well but the game has a lot of charm that carries it. The presentation of the game is that of a sitcom right down to the canned audience reactions and laughter. Some of the stories and writing did give me a chuckle. In the end I really enjoyed this game more than I thought I would. It's probably my second favourite of the Guild games.

It's just such a pity it has a really dumb ending that's totally pulled out of its ass and doesn't work on any level.

brianregan09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121584063#Comment_121584063

Knock Robocop and WWE2k23 off the list !!

da gamer

Final fantasy 16 - PS5

Guardians of the galaxy telltale - PS4

Dead Space - Xbox series S

Gamer Bhoy 89

Game || Gran Turismo 7

Platform || PlayStation 5

I can all hear you, "how can ya beat Gran Turismo" HEAR ME OUT!

The game contains a career mode, slowly unlocking everything as you play. You work your way up to the final championship and then the credits roll. Once you pass that, you have unlocked everything including endgame content. And I always said from the very beginning, if it has a dedicated end goal followed by end credits, it counts as beaten.

All that said, this is the best GT game since GT3. I fell off the series after GT4 and went to Forza. I've been a Forza fan ever since and it was only for my mate, a big racing nut, who incentivised me to buy GT7. Money well spent. I've gained a new love for the series.

Retr0gamer

Dogs

CastorTroy

Bayonetta 3.

Finished with a bronze trophy which doesn't add up considering outside of 4 bronze and 1 gold, I got the rest silver in the individual chapters.

Well, done anyway.

Luna84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121718738#Comment_121718738

I once brought Sligo Rovers to win the FAI cup in two seasons. Things like that don't go unnoticed which led Celtic asking me to manage their club.

Sephiroth_dude

Trails of cold steel IV - ps4

The forth entry in the cold steel arc, very good game, very cringy in parts but I loved it all the same.

Gamer Bhoy 89

Game || Hyrule Warriors

Platform || Nintendo Switch

Originally played it on and off when I first bought it. Despite being a massive fan of Dynasty Warriors, the gameplay in all of these licensed instalments felt too simplified.

Having said that, I dove back into it yesterday and it finally clicked. Definitely one of the better ones they've released. Beat the final boss. 😁

Gamer Bhoy 89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121718738#Comment_121718738

I also want to stress GT7 literally does have an end credits sequence 😂

newmember2

Prince of Persia - SNES

Aeon Flux - Xbox - I never saw the MTV series and never knew there was a movie until I saw an excerpt lately which looked completely dire, but the game was great!

Penn

1. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (PS5)
2. Tekken 8 (PS5)

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS1)

Not entirely sure what came over me, but decided to revisit this series. I know I played this one 25+ years ago, but never played any of the sequels and always thought this was a great game, yet remembered next to nothing about it. Pretty sure I did finish it (thank you cheats magazine which had a full walkthrough guide in it) and I definitely remembered the last boss fight, but everything else I may as well have been experiencing for the first time again.

It is incredibly well designed, from the environments, puzzles, traversal. Even looking back on it now you can feel it was ahead of its time. That said, boy it sure does make you appreciate modern control schemes and camera. There wasn't even an option in the menu to invert (or not invert) the Y-axis which made swimming sections an absolute pain in the jacksy. Plus there was one boss battle where you had to jump from small column to small column which took me forever because trying to line up the jump and not oversail it (especially as the spacing of the columns seemed to be more designed for when the columns had different heights in the spectral realm).... the boss may as well have not even been there because I was just instantly killing myself by falling the water before he'd even attack. Using the shoulder buttons to rotate the camera too was like inserting a USB, I never got it right the first time.

But you still can't help but be impressed with the scale of the game and what they were able to achieve. The writing in the game is also just pure poetry, and the music in most parts is incredible. And even though I finished it, I did so seemingly without exploring everywhere, as I know there were powers and stuff I should have been able to find and use that I never did, and warp rooms I seem to have completely missed.

Still though, enjoyed my few hours with it (bar the aforementioned boss fight with the columns which can f*ck right off) and will continue on with Soul Reaver 2 and then Defiance.

Retr0gamer

I tried to go back to it but it's ages a lot worse than I expected. Still a good game but there's just so many block pushing puzzles.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121727838#Comment_121727838

Yeah the puzzles are well designed, but they do mostly consist of pushing blocks, at least until nearer the end when you get the ability to run around an object and turn it, but it's the last ability you get and a bit too late in the game that it's not really used to its full potential. But even just using the ability to switch between the material and spectral planes and how that's incorporated I think is done really well and is pretty intuitive too, without the modern icons of a big item flashing or covered in yellow paint.

Gamer Bhoy 89

I miss owning a notepad so I bought one and loads of pens for the **** and giggles. Gonna do this more often. OLD school

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121743129#Comment_121743129

OLED school

Mr Crispy

It's the use of Roman numerals that's the real flex.

Gamer Bhoy 89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121747309#Comment_121747309

I love using them 😂 I'll do it at any given opportunity over natural numbers

CastorTroy

Jedi Survivor done.

May just do a couple more wee things in it but already did the temples and hunters.

Liked it. But as someone who has no interest in cosmetics, it was pretty annoying going an alternate route and doing some difficult platforming or fighting multiple enemies would usually result in cosmetic items or even the ingame currency which was mainly for cosmetics as well, rather than upgrades.

TinCanMan

Assassins Creed Origins [PS5] - This game really surprised me. I went in with no great expectations but loved everything about it. From the side missions to the main quest they really nailed it with this one. Set in ancient Egypt you play the role of Balek out to avenge the death of his son and on the way he discovers a sinister group who had a hand in this. The game looks amazing and plays at a smooth 60FPS on the PS5. I highly recommend it. 

Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition [PS5] - Heard this described as a hidden gem so decided to give it a go and all I can say is wow, it’s amazing. It’s like a mix of GTA\Yakuza\Mafia. You play as an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the Triads in Hong Kong. Soon he becomes divided between his police loyalties and his criminal friends. It’s a mission based game with plenty of side missions to keep you occupied. The melee combat is amazing and gunplay passable but it’s mostly melee. It may be 12 years old at this stage but this is a must play for any gamer especially if you like any of the GTA\Yakuza\Mafia games.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)

Kirby's Adventure

Kirby's Adventure is a very late NES release (1993). Following up Kirby's Dreamland, it took that games simple move set up inhaling and enemies and using them as projectiles and added the ability to absorb an enemies abilities by swallowing them. This game established the Kirby formula that hasn't changed in years with the copy ability defining the character ever since.

Kirby is a really technical showpiece for the then aging NES. The game looks gorgeous, it's use of bright pastel colours separates it from the majority of NES releases and gives it a unique look. There's plenty of graphical trickery on display with parallax and animated backgrounds, massive sprite bosses, rotating towers etc. Unfortunately the game pushes the NES a little too much and there's frequent bouts of slowdown when there's too many sprites on screen which can also lead to inputs getting eaten by the lag. Despite the issues with lag the game mostly plays great and Kirby is a joy to control.

Kirby's Adventure is a real top tier NES platformer. There's just so much variety and playfulness in the game's level design. The abilities that kirby can copy are fun to use and discover and I was surprised at just how many and varied they are. The game might be quite easy but there's loads of secrets to uncover as well as hidden minigames you can uncover on most worlds (and are required for a 100% save file if you are a completionist). There's lots of great boss fights as well.

By the time Kirby's Adventure was released the Megadrive and SNES had already been well established and out for months. I still remember Nintendo making a big push for this game with adverts on early morning TV where it looked incredible. The NES was never popular in Europe but started selling well as the console for families that couldn't afford a SNES or Megadrive. The only other game I remember Nintendo pushing so hard on was Super Mario Bros. 3.

Anyway Kirby's Adventure is just wonderful and a perfect way to spend some lazy weekend evenings.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)

Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways

Now this is how you do DLC content. I really enjoyed the base Resident Evil 4 Remake. It was a great take on one of my all time favourites. Just like the other Resident Evil remakes, it differentiates itself enough from the original game that it gives you essentially a brand new experience without negating the original.

While Resi 4 remake followed the plot of the original quite closely and added new stuff, there was some stuff on the cutting room floor. Well all that stuff is in Separate Ways. The cut boss fights are here. The cut set pieces. And there's tonnes of brand new stuff as well. The Separate Ways storyline crosses over with Leon's campaign really well and there's also a lot more cheeseball Wesker.

Basically if you liked the Resi 4 Remake then this is essential and at 10 euro it's an absolute steal for what is in there.

TinCanMan

Assassins Creed Origins [PS5] - This game really surprised me. I went in with no great expectations but loved everything about it. From the side missions to the main quest they really nailed it with this one. Set in ancient Egypt you play the role of Balek out to avenge the death of his son and on the way he discovers a sinister group who had a hand in this. The game looks amazing and plays at a smooth 60FPS on the PS5. I highly recommend it. 

Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition [PS5] - Heard this described as a hidden gem so decided to give it a go and all I can say is wow, it’s amazing. It’s like a mix of GTA\Yakuza\Mafia. You play as an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the Triads in Hong Kong. Soon he becomes divided between his police loyalties and his criminal friends. It’s a mission based game with plenty of side missions to keep you occupied. The melee combat is amazing and gunplay passable but it’s mostly melee. It may be 12 years old at this stage but this is a must play for any gamer especially if you like any of the GTA\Yakuza\Mafia games.

White Shadows [PS5] - A 2D puzzle platformer set in a beautifully rendered although very dark themed monochrome world. Think along the lines of Limbo\Inside\Little Nightmares. It’s not a long game and deals with some very dark themes in true Orwellian fashion. I really enjoyed it but be warned that it’s mood can be quite dark.

Luna84

Somerville [Xbox]

Good short game. Weird as well as you have no talking in the game so have visually see what to make of the story.

Luna84

1. Starfield [Xbox]
2. Somerville [Xbox]
3. Planet of Lana [Xbox]

Planet of Lana

Great game it is a side scroller with amazing graphics. Puzzles not too difficult.

Retr0gamer

1. Megaman V (GB)
2. Liberation Maiden (3DS)
3. The Starship Damrey (3DS)
4. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
5. Doom Eternal (PC)
6. System Shock (2023)
7. Weapon Shop de Omasse (3DS)
8. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
9. Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways (PC)
10. Princess Maker Refine

Princess Maker Refine

This was a game that was more interesting that great, although I still had some fun with it. Princess Maker Refine is a remaster of a game originally made for Japanese PC's. It pretty much kickstarted the Raising Sim craze in Japan. This game and it's sequel were so popular in Japan that the games creator, Gainax, apparently made Neon Genesis Evangelion off the profits from the game.

Princess maker has you as the hero that saved the kingdom from an evil overlord take on the task of raising an orphaned 10 year old girl until she is 18. How you do this is by setting a schedule for her of three tasks each month. Theses range from jobs to raise money, education in various areas or even a whole JRPG adventure to take part in. Each task will raise the stats of the girl in different areas (and some will take some away) and these stats will determine your ending at the end of the game. Those endings range from the extremely tough to get where the girl becomes the Princess or Queen, a more normal member of society, or some of the less desirable ones, like becoming the kings bit on the side or a Prostitute. Being a Japanese PC game, the game had some skeevy nudity in it which has been removed from the steam version thankfully.

I wanted to give this a go because some people on twitter who I trust about games said that Princess Maker 2 is one of the best games ever made. I was also warned that the first game is a little rough and they were right. The JRPG section is RNG horribleness with the girl failing to trade attacks with enemies due to being scared constantly. I also found that the girl became sick at an alarming rate. Sickness status means that the girl will fail near every task that month as well as dropping stats every day. This has the effect of wiping out about 3 months progress.

At the end I got a middle of the road ending, the girl became a decent scientist. I could go back and game the system but I'd rather move to the sequel. Playing the game optimally will mean gaming the systems and save scumming while engaging in the horrible JRPG mode a lot more.

While this game didn't grab me it is interesting to see the beginnings of a videogame genre that still persists today in Japan as well as indie games (God Save the Queen being a recent example). I can see how this game became such a big success. There is something addictive about making those numbers go up as well as trying to optimise the system or see all 50+ endings. There's also one big reason that this game was successful, it works really well in a window. I can imagine this game was very successful with bored japanese desk workers.

Sephiroth_dude

Trails of cold steel IV - ps4

The forth entry in the cold steel arc, very good game, very cringy in parts but I loved it all the same.

The legend of heros trails into reverie - ps5

Granblue fantasy relink - ps5

Mr.Saturn

Games Beaten 2024

1. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS)

2. The House of the Dead Remake (Switch)

3. Dragon Quest VIII (3DS)

4. Dragon Quest V (DS)

5. Paratopic (Switch)

That happened, I think I enjoyed it?

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metroid Prime Remastered -Switch
2. Baldurs Gate 3-PS5
3. Tekken 8-PS5

Baldurs Gate 3

A phenomenal game, I really wasn't pushed getting it until my friends at home pushed me to try it.

Absolutely loved it found ACT3 to be a tad weak in areas but overall a fantastic game. The amount of agency you have as a player , the different classes, its an unbelievable achievement. Will go back one day and do an evil run. But doing this would be difficult as the companions feel like real people due to the writing and stellar VA. Tied for game of 2023 for me with AW2.

Tekken 8

Finished story mode on this had some nice set pieces and was very animey ish, but Highly enjoyable really good fighting mechanics aswell.Also had a few friends over and we duked it out for a few hours like the old days. Have a few character sidestories to finish up but will blitz them, only complaint is in the Oceania theatre its hard to get matched.

TinCanMan

Assassins Creed Origins [PS5] - This game really surprised me. I went in with no great expectations but loved everything about it. From the side missions to the main quest they really nailed it with this one. Set in ancient Egypt you play the role of Balek out to avenge the death of his son and on the way he discovers a sinister group who had a hand in this. The game looks amazing and plays at a smooth 60FPS on the PS5. I highly recommend it. 

Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition [PS5] - Heard this described as a hidden gem so decided to give it a go and all I can say is wow, it’s amazing. It’s like a mix of GTA\Yakuza\Mafia. You play as an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the Triads in Hong Kong. Soon he becomes divided between his police loyalties and his criminal friends. It’s a mission based game with plenty of side missions to keep you occupied. The melee combat is amazing and gunplay passable but it’s mostly melee. It may be 12 years old at this stage but this is a must play for any gamer especially if you like any of the GTA\Yakuza\Mafia games.

White Shadows [PS5] - A 2D puzzle platformer set in a beautifully rendered although very dark themed monochrome world. Think along the lines of Limbo\Inside\Little Nightmares. It’s not a long game and deals with some very dark themes in true Orwellian fashion. I really enjoyed it but be warned that it’s mood can be quite dark.

The Gardens Between [PS5] - an innovative puzzle game where you play as two friends over a number of levels which are set on individual islands. As you move forward, time moves forwards and affects objects around you. If you move back, time reverses and the effects are reversed. Also there are sections where you can influence individual objects and move those forwards or backwards in time alone. This truly is a unique puzzler with a few real head scratchers thrown in but nothing unfair. It’s relaxing and very rewarding when you work out the puzzles. The graphics are also very easy on the eye. Definitely a recommendation from me.