COMPLETED GAMES THREAD (2025 EDITION)

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metaphor:ReFantazio | PS5
2. Ninja Gaiden Black | Series X
3. Still wakes the deep | Series X
4. Tactical Breach Wizards | Steam Deck
5. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | Series X
6. Avowed | Series X
7. Astro Bot | PS5
8. Thank goodness you're here | Steam Deck
9. Silent Hill 2 Remake | PS5
10. Star Wars Outlaws | PS5
11. Blue Prince | Series X

Blue Prince

Hard to know when this is "beaten" but I rolled credits on this, fantastic game and a real head scratcher. I loved it and the addictive nature of crafting the house. Would never have played it only for it was on gamepass.

JimBurnley

• 1. Indiana Jones & the Golden Circle (Series X)

2. Alan Wake remastered (PS5)

3. Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Series X)

4. Open Roads (Series X)

5. Botany Manor (Series X)

6. Planet of Lana (Series X) if Nintendo made Limbo this is what you'd get. Colourful graphics with Limbo's platforming/puzzle mechanics and horror back story. Enjoyable and fairly short, well worth a playful (on GP at the moment).

7. Death Stranding (PS5) this was my 2nd attempt at this game and delighted that I got really immersed in the mad world Kojima has come up with this time around. Enjoyed some of the busy stuff like fixing up roads, but the game really opens up and story with it half way through, vehicles, ziplines and all. Get a genuine feel of many many ways to complete each mission, whether its different routes or how you approach the BTs/Mules (blast them away, stealthy stealthy or run). The characters and voice acting are brilliant, maybe they should be with who's involved but still excellent. And there's a genuine wholesome message going on, of course its overdone to high heavens with all the cutscenes but that was to be expected. Looking forward to DT2 now this summer.

8. Life Is Strange: Double Exposure (PS5) does most things other LiS games have done, but nothing quite as well. Characters, plot, powers, music, all pretty good, but never coming close to matching the heights of the first 2 games in particular. Worth a playthrough if you're a fan of the series but best to wait until its cheap or on PsPlus/GP. If you don't like the earlier games I doubt this would be your cuppa tea.

9. Thirsty Suitors (Series X) leaving GP soon so thought I'd give it a bash. First turn-based combat game I've ever finished, altho its pretty basic I'm sure in that (which probably helped me) with a good bit of QTE thrown in to the battles as well. Part cooking simulator also, again, lots of (fairly simple) QTE. Also some skating which is fairly clunky tbh. The art style I loved. The story was a bit meh. The dialogue became a pain. Mixed opinions overall but another short one and handy to try on GP.

Necro

2025 so far:

Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3

Mass Effect Andromeda

Killer Frequency

The Plucky Squire

The Last of Us Part 1 Remastered (PS5)

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (PS5)

Final Fantasy XVI

The Casting of Frank Stone

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

Finished this a couple of days after the second tape dropped. It's a decent game if very very glitchy - being free on PSPlus is a huge bonus as I don't think I'd have bothered with it otherwise. Storywise it's a bit all over the shop as you switch from present day to the past controlling the one character - it's better than Frank Stone in how they handle this but as usual in these choice style games very little of what you do matters to the overarching story, it's just filler. It only really affects the end game and by that time you're sort of ready for it to be over.

I do like how they handle the video filming and collectables that way but some of the collections are made almost impossible to complete. It's a 6/10 game really but not a terrible way to spend an evening especially if your partner is into these type of games, mine really enjoyed watching along and made most of the decisions for me😁

da gamer

Alan wake 2 - PS5

Space marine 2 - PS5

Indiana Jones and the great circle - Xbox series S

Tomb raider 3 - PS5

Life is strange 2 - PS4

Higgo84

1. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle [Xbox]
2. Avowed [Xbox]
3. Snake Pass [Xbox]

Snake Pass

Good game. It was tricky collecting some of the collectibles but got there in the end. Managed to get the 100% achievement.

Retr0gamer

1. Wizardry Variants Daphne (Mobile)
2. Spiderman (2018) (PC)
3. Track & Field (Arcade)
4. Ace Combat 6 (XBox 360)
5. Mars after Midnight (Playdate)
6. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (PC)
7. Super Mario Wonder (Switch)
8. Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D (PC)
9. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
10. Thronglets (Android)
11. Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES)

Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse

The third entry in the Vania series goes back to the straight up platform action game format of the first game and flirting with RPG elements in Simon's Quests. Castlevania 3 was a very late 8-bit release when Konami were one of the best developers around.

CV3 might just be their best NES game. The first game is a fantastic example of the platform action game and 3 takes that foundation and goes wild with it. Level design is excellent with some wonderfully inventive stages. It does some really interesting things using its advanced memory mapper. A few stages use acid dropping from the ceiling to dissolve parts of the stage while another has you fight a boss and halfway through he runs away, destroying the stage and setting off a flood. This leaves you having to move through the rest of the stage while the water level rises before catching up to the boss.

There's a lot of content here as well. There's 3 different routes through the game to take. There's also 3 secondary characters you can pick up that play very differently to each other. Grant can climb on the walls and ceiling and in the japanese version comes with a throwing knife. Sypha is a glass cannon that takes more damage that Trevor Belmont but whose sub weapon magic melts enemy bosses and has interesting environmental effects like freezing water. And then there's the first appearance of Alucard who is no where near as cool as SoTN's Alucard but has a very weak spread fireball and can fly by turning into a bat.

The overall package here is one of the all time great action games, not only a good shout for best game on the NES but a contender for best action game of all time. It's looks good, sounds incredible and has heaps of fun stages to play and multiple ways to play it. A real all time classic and it's no wonder Koji Igarashi said it was his favourite of the series.

A bit about how to play the game. In Japan the cartridge used Konami's state of the art VRC6 memory mapper that allowed for more memory, better scrolling and had additional sound channels. Nintendo would only allow their own mappers to be used in the west. When it came to the western launch the game had to be reprogrammed for Nintendo's MMC5 memory mapper. Unfortunately the NES couldn't support the additional sound channels and the music suffered. As a result there's two versions of this game, a western release that has the difficulty tuned very high and has worse sound (but still sounds impressive), and the japanese release with some incredible music and is a bit less mean when it comes to difficulty. I played a Fan translation of the japanese version.

Necro

2025 so far:

Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3

Mass Effect Andromeda

Killer Frequency

The Plucky Squire

The Last of Us Part 1 Remastered (PS5)

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (PS5)

Final Fantasy XVI

The Casting of Frank Stone

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

Oblivion Remastered

Not sure one can exactly 'finish' this sort of game but completed all the main questlines, a metric sh1t tonne of side quests and the DLC.

I liked the polish to the graphics but overall it still is the same game. It definitely feels it's age and the questlines are mostly pretty short. Wife was blown away with Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean providing voices for some characters which gave me a bit of a giggle. I suppose the best thing I can say about Oblivion Remastered is that it gave me a hankering to replay Skyrim, and that's what I am doing currently as a result, with a Hogwarts Legacy replay completely waylaid as a result😂

The Fighters Guild story is probably my favourite, and I remember being a little disappointed with their replacement in Skyrim.

Overall I definitely enjoyed my re-run through Oblivion though, and the mechanics do produce some very funny moments at times, especially when you commit crimes and the guards turn up as if jumping through portals.

Retr0gamer

1. Wizardry Variants Daphne (Mobile)
2. Spiderman (2018) (PC)
3. Track & Field (Arcade)
4. Ace Combat 6 (XBox 360)
5. Mars after Midnight (Playdate)
6. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (PC)
7. Super Mario Wonder (Switch)
8. Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D (PC)
9. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
10. Thronglets (Android)
11. Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES)
12. Metal Wolf Chaos XD (PS4)

Metal Wolf Chaos XD

Just a note not to buy this game on PC as it has an unfixed memory leak making it effectively a broken game.

Metal Wolf Chaos has had it rough. A Japanese only XBox title developed by From Software, it seemed to be squaring up for a western release that never happened. There were reviews of the japanese release in magazines and the entire game is playable in English with all voice acting in English and only some menus in Japanese. I'm pretty sure it could have become a cult hit in the West.

The game got some notoriety from early Internet Let's Plays, and to be fair the sheer craziness in this game makes it great for a riff tracks type approach. 1up's Broken Pixels episode is probably the most memorable and worth a watch to get an idea of how bizarre the game is.

However, I feel that the Internet riffing of the game, especially the cheesy dialogue and acting, kind of glosses over the fact that the game is a hilarious and on the nose satire of American jingoism and exceptionalism during the Bush era. The dialogue is so silly and delivered with such over enthusiastic sincerity that it's pretty obvious everyone was in on the joke.

Devolver Digital would often joke about publishing a remaster of this game and then a few years ago they put their money where their mouth is and actually did it, which is the version I played.

So on to the game. The game has you play as the 47th President of the United States of America (not the realm one thank God...) as he tries to reclaim America from a coup d'etat by the vice president. He goes about this in the most efficient way possible, using a 12 foot tall armoured power suit carrying a battalions worth of fire power.

From Software were well known for their Mecha games with armoured core but Metal Wolf Chaos is more a straight up action game than a Mecha simulator. It has modern twin stick controls which I believe Armored Core still hasn't implemented. It's pretty much the control scheme that would later be used in the Souls games. Metal Wolf can 8 weapons, four in each weapon pod, that hilariously pop out on a rail when you hit the toggle weapon button. There's range from handguns, miniguns, shotguns, missiles, sniper rifles, bazookas etc. it's kind of funny seeing a massive mech carrying oversized weaponry that a soldier would normally use.

It's a short game with only a handful of missions but what is here provides varied environments and objectives. You can be fighting against the clock to take out a superweapon in Alcatraz, fighting a super carrier near the space shuttle launch sight before taking on a team of stealth mechs in a spaghetti western town in Arizona. What sets metal Wolf chaos apart is the sheer level of destruction you can cause in the game. The game leverages to power of the Xbox litter the screen with explosions and debris and it's funny to see the destruction you have caused to the area at the end of a level. Even the poor PS4 isn't able to keep up with some slow down evident. It ties in with the theme of America bringing "freedom" to a country yet causing untold damage to that place and America itself. The game predates Team America by a couple of months.

Metal Wolf Chaos isn't the best game ever but it's a really fun game that you can blitz through in 6-8 hours while having a. Absolute blast. It's also fun to play with friends as the dialogue is deranged, the action ridiculous and the voice acting on the right side of corny. Causing the deaths of thousands of US troops has never been so exhilarating and hilarious.

https://youtu.be/yG1HahKYZzc?si=CAbx0u3R5nVuzAnf

JimBurnley

1. Indiana Jones & the Golden Circle (Series X)

2. Alan Wake remastered (PS5)

3. Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Series X)

4. Open Roads (Series X)

5. Botany Manor (Series X)

6. Planet of Lana (Series X)

7. Death Stranding (PS5)

8. Life Is Strange: Double Exposure (PS5)

9. Thirsty Suitors (Series X)

10. Little Kitty Big City (Series X) simplistic almost kiddy platformer, you're the cat looking for fish to build your strength up so you can climb back home to your apartment. Some decent humour, easy puzzles and more traditional platforming. I'm way more a dog person, but it was very short, about 2 hours, so was a good palate cleanser in between acts of DG.

11. Days Gone Remastered (PS5) credits rolled for me for the 3rd time last night. You either love or hate this game is the consensus. Well I love it, my favourite and most importantly most enjoyable game from PS4, so had a great time playing through this again. The remaster is the best version, although I'd be lying if I said it was really needed vs the PS5 boost version of the PS4 original, but gave me a great excuse for another playthrough. Definitely glad I didn't do a NG+ as the difference of doing stealth near the start and then going more gun-ho near the end gives the longevity of the game with less repetition and more variety. The music is really a big part in this game too, setting the ambiance of the atmosphere so well. The B movie story I find good craic, cheesey lines and all. But the biggest thing for me is I can't get enough of the missions, whether it be main story or side tasks, and more than anything else has that "just more mission before bed" hook.

12. Still Wakes The Deep (Series X) Brilliant horror game based on a Scottish oil rig. There's zero combat, much more a survival game searching for route out and running like hell with a tiny bit of platforming too. Really enjoyable story and atmosphere, and relatively short too, around 4-5 hours I think. Highly recommend, on GP at the moment.

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metaphor:ReFantazio | PS5
2. Ninja Gaiden Black | Series X
3. Still wakes the deep | Series X
4. Tactical Breach Wizards | Steam Deck
5. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | Series X
6. Avowed | Series X
7. Astro Bot | PS5
8. Thank goodness you're here | Steam Deck
9. Silent Hill 2 Remake | PS5
10. Star Wars Outlaws | PS5
11. Blue Prince | Series X
12. Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 | Series x
    

Clair Obscura: Expedition 33

Has to be up there along aside metaphor for my GOTY so far. Amazing story, visuals and combat! Was absolutley engrossed in this for the last few weeks. For any rpg fan cannot recommend enough. The music is amazing too!

TinCanMan

Return to Monkey Island [PS5] - An old fashioned point and click adventure game starring a somewhat incompetent wannabe pirate called Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood on his adventures. There is a lot of humour in this game and those that remember the older games from the 90’s will know what to expect.

GRIS [PS5] - A puzzle/platformer and an absolute visual masterpiece with some amazing art design, along with beautifully soothing music. This game is a pleasure to play and whilst not overly challenging it is a must play if you need something to relax to.

Golf Club Wasteland [PS5] - I got this game for €1.49 and what a hidden gem it turned out to be. A 2D side scrolling puzzle golf game set on post-apocalyptic Earth with an amazing soundtrack and background radio narrative. The story is engaging and quite moving, especially as the game progresses. The crazy golf style of gameplay is both challenging and fun but the story is what really cements things.

Planet of Lana [PS5] - A puzzle adventure game where you embark on an adventure with a cat companion to aid you on the way. Your planet has been taken over by evil machines intent on taking all the inhabitants prisoner. You must work through many environmental puzzles avoiding danger as you try to rescue a friend and save the planet. Think along the lines of Limbo or Inside, although not quite as dark in atmosphere as those two. Well worth a playthrough.

da gamer

Alan wake 2 - PS5

Space marine 2 - PS5

Indiana Jones and the great circle - Xbox series S

Tomb raider 3 - PS5

Life is strange 2 - PS4

Tekken 8 - PS5

Retr0gamer

1. Wizardry Variants Daphne (Mobile)
2. Spiderman (2018) (PC)
3. Track & Field (Arcade)
4. Ace Combat 6 (XBox 360)
5. Mars after Midnight (Playdate)
6. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (PC)
7. Super Mario Wonder (Switch)
8. Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D (PC)
9. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
10. Thronglets (Android)
11. Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES)
12. Metal Wolf Chaos XD (PS4)
13. Tomb Raider 2: The Golden Mask (PC)

Tomb Raider 2: The Golden Mask

I wasn't that interested in the expansion packs to the original TR games until I saw a video about how good they actually are. These expansion were formally only available on PC and added to rereleased of the games but are now available as part of the TR trilogy releases.

The Golden Mask doesn't disappoint. It's 4 stages that rank as some of the best stages the series has to offer. There's fiendish traps, some interesting set pieces and visually it's very interesting, especially the later stages and their flowing rivers of molten gold.

There's a fifth bonus stage that takes place in Las Vegas. It's a bit janky and garish. It was obviously the designers pushing the engine and having a bit of fun with some ideas that didn't make it to the full game and a nice little extra.

If you have the trilogy then don't miss out on these expansions. I've not played the TR3 one but it's meant to be even better.

Gamer Bhoy 89

GAME: Streets of Rage

PLATFORM: SEGA Mega Drive

TinCanMan

Return to Monkey Island [PS5] - An old fashioned point and click adventure game starring a somewhat incompetent wannabe pirate called Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood on his adventures. There is a lot of humour in this game and those that remember the older games from the 90’s will know what to expect. 

GRIS [PS5] - A puzzle/platformer and an absolute visual masterpiece with some amazing art design, along with beautifully soothing music. This game is a pleasure to play and whilst not overly challenging it is a must play if you need something to relax to.

Golf Club Wasteland [PS5] - I got this game for €1.49 and what a hidden gem it turned out to be. A 2D side scrolling puzzle golf game set on post-apocalyptic Earth with an amazing soundtrack and background radio narrative. The story is engaging and quite moving, especially as the game progresses. The crazy golf style of gameplay is both challenging and fun but the story is what really cements things. 

Planet of Lana [PS5] - A puzzle adventure game where you embark on an adventure with a cat companion to aid you on the way. Your planet has been taken over by evil machines intent on taking all the inhabitants prisoner. You must work through many environmental puzzles avoiding danger as you try to rescue a friend and save the planet. Think along the lines of Limbo or Inside, although not quite as dark in atmosphere as those two. Well worth a playthrough.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider [PS5] - The third in the series and a shorter game than the first 2. You play as Billie Lurk, a lesser character from the previous games. Your goal is to kill the entity known as the Outsider. There are various ways to approach this game from brutal force to stealth. You have less powers available than in the other games. I enjoyed this but I'm saddened as we'll likely never see another Dishonored game, a series which I love. 

da gamer

Alan wake 2 - PS5

Space marine 2 - PS5

Indiana Jones and the great circle - Xbox series S

Tomb raider 3 - PS5

Life is strange 2 - PS4

Tekken 8 - PS5

Warhammer 40k boltgun - PS5

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metaphor:ReFantazio | PS5
2. Ninja Gaiden Black | Series X
3. Still wakes the deep | Series X
4. Tactical Breach Wizards | Steam Deck
5. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | Series X
6. Avowed | Series X
7. Astro Bot | PS5
8. Thank goodness you're here | Steam Deck
9. Silent Hill 2 Remake | PS5
10. Star Wars Outlaws | PS5
11. Blue Prince | Series X
12. Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 | Series x
13. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black | Series X

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black

Another game beaten on gamepass. Can't deny the value of gpass. Beat the original in 2008 and enjoyed this remaster, thought the tuned down enemies was a bit dissapointing on the stairs level. I remember my xbox 360 going to single FPS on the original due to the amount of enemies on screen. Enjoyable though, rolled credits within 9-10 hours.

Gamer Bhoy 89

Bare Knuckle 2 || Mega Drive

Went specifically with the Japanese port of Streets of Rage 2. Purely because absolutely nothing was altered for Western audiences, and just to see Mr. X smoke his awesome cigar.

I'll be doing the same for SoR3 - Bare Knuckle III is vastly superior to the port we got.

Gamer Bhoy 89

Bare Knuckle III | Mega Drive

It's just not as good as SOR2, but it's still not a bad brawler all the same.

da gamer

Alan wake 2 - PS5

Space marine 2 - PS5

Indiana Jones and the great circle - Xbox series S

Tomb raider 3 - PS5

Life is strange 2 - PS4

Tekken 8 - PS5

Warhammer 40k boltgun - PS5

Broken sword 2 remastered - Steam deck

JimBurnley

1. Indiana Jones & the Golden Circle (Series X)

2. Alan Wake remastered (PS5)

3. Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Series X)

4. Open Roads (Series X)

5. Botany Manor (Series X)

6. Planet of Lana (Series X)

7. Death Stranding (PS5)

8. Life Is Strange: Double Exposure (PS5)

9. Thirsty Suitors (Series X)

10. Little Kitty Big City (Series X)

11. Days Gone Remastered (PS5)

12. Still Wakes The Deep (Series X)

13. Before Your Eyes (PSVR2) an interesting experience more than a game. A large number of scenes you replay in a seemingly coming of age story, but each scene ends when you blink. And then there's a twist to the tale. I'll say no more to avoid spoilers. Easy played in one playthrough, worth a go if you can get it on the cheap (was on Plus upto last month but now left the service).

14. The Precinct (PS5) I loved a lot of this. Essentially playing an old GTA style game as a cop. Plenty of driving, shooting, catching crims, etc. Unfortunately the gameplay loop of playing through day shift after day shift to accumulate evidence (which is randomly given to you after solving crimes) gets a bit tedious near the end. There are a few occasions when the game steers away from this loop, shame they didn't explore more ways of dong this imo. Also the driving is quite loose feeling and annoyingly woeful driving from your colleagues who you can call in as backup! I'd still recommend folks give it a bash who were keeping an eye on it, just temper expectations and maybe wait for a sale. And lets hope they fulfill the potential for a Precinct 2 in a few years!

15. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (Series X) The most visually stunning game I've played. Sadly the gameplay, combat, story all lack compared the original, becomes quite the chore near the end despite being relatively short (8 hours ish). And the audio that was such a massive part of the first one doesn't have the same effect either. Still, really is beautiful.

Gamer Bhoy 89

DEVIL MAY CRY || PC

After trying numerous times to get into these games and failing over the past 10 or so years, I finally tried again with the original DMC to see if it stuck, and it finally did.

The combat was so satisfying and the story was pretty decent.

So I'm playing through the DMC HD Collection and I'm torn on whether or not to jump straight into 2, or skip it for 3, because I've heard DMC2 is pretty crap, and easily skippable, but I'm feeling like if I skip 2 I'll miss something plot-wise.

I'll sleep on it and see how I feel. But that was fun.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123521811#Comment_123521811

DMC2 doesn't exist and if you do find a game called DMC2 then don't play it. DMC 2 takes place way in the future of the series and has been reconned out and I'm pretty sure DMC3 is a prequel to the first game.

Retr0gamer

1. Wizardry Variants Daphne (Mobile)
2. Spiderman (2018) (PC)
3. Track & Field (Arcade)
4. Ace Combat 6 (XBox 360)
5. Mars after Midnight (Playdate)
6. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (PC)
7. Super Mario Wonder (Switch)
8. Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D (PC)
9. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
10. Thronglets (Android)
11. Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES)
12. Metal Wolf Chaos XD (PS4)
13. Tomb Raider 2: The Golden Mask (PC)
14. Gimmick! (NES)

Gimmick!

Well when I say this was on the NES it's actually the sunsoft rerelease on PC.

Gimmick! was a very late game for the system by Sunsoft. It's one of the best looking games on the system with some incredible sprite work and backgrounds as well as massive boss enemies. It's also a technical marvel in terms of programming, the game features a physics engine that applies to objects, the player and enemies while also featuring sloped surfaces. Might not seem that amazing but a lot of modern games like Hollow Knight don't even bother with slopes due to how hard they are to program yet this is on the NES. The music is incredible, making full use of the extra sound channels provided by the advanced mapper the game uses.

The game was meant to be sold as an advanced NES game that could compete with the next gen games on the SNES and Megadrive but very few retailers took notice. It would have remained a Japanese only obscurity except that a small Scandinavian publisher released some copies for the PAL NES in that part of the world. Both versions are very rare and sell for stupid amounts of money so it's nice to be able to pick it up cheaply, although the emulation is a bit ropey in some places with some visual artifacts not in the original release.

Gimmick! would be your standard NES platformer but it does a lot of things differently. The physics system feeds into the game quite a bit. Your form of attack is a star that you generate above your head and can hurl at enemies. It bounces off the ground and walls and if you jump on top of it you can even ride it and carry out some advanced techniques. You can play the game normally but if you want to see the secret level and true ending you have to collect the hidden treasure on all levels and finish the game without continuing. Carrying out this task will require you to get very creative with the physics engine.

What sets Gimmick! apart is the amount of variety in its locations, set pieces and gameplay. Being a late NES game with an advanced mapper meant there was plenty of memory available and it's used to ensure there's very little repetition in stages and visuals. I'd like to add that the game is one of the more challenging platformers on the NES although it has a very fair challenge. It gets a lot more difficult if you try for the true ending but it is possible. It's a real hidden gem and one of the best games for the NES/Famicom.

https://youtu.be/BAIderjHiW8?si=GMHECcSuZSQPORzL

Mr.Saturn

Games Beaten 2025

1. Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door (Switch)
2. Pokemon Emerald Legacy (GBA)
3. Metroid Dread (Switch)
4. Oxenfree (Switch)
5. Super Mario RPG (Switch)
6. Yakuza 6 (PS4)
7. Yakuza: Like A Dragon (PS4)
8. Like a Dragon Gaiden: Man Who Erased His Name (PS4)
9. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (PS4)
10. Astro's Playroom (PS5)
11. Astro Bot (PS5)
12. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5)
13. Marvel's Spider Man 2 (PS5)

The first two Sony Spider Man games were fun romps, but 2 feels like Insomniac fell in love with the smell of their own farts. Everything about it is dragged out and still somehow ends up being surprisingly glitchy, especially given the polish of the first two. It wasn't uncommon to clip out of bounds and have to restart, amongst other niggling issues.

Mr.Fantastic

1. Metaphor:ReFantazio | PS5
2. Ninja Gaiden Black | Series X
3. Still wakes the deep | Series X
4. Tactical Breach Wizards | Steam Deck
5. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle | Series X
6. Avowed | Series X
7. Astro Bot | PS5
8. Thank goodness you're here | Steam Deck
9. Silent Hill 2 Remake | PS5
10. Star Wars Outlaws | PS5
11. Blue Prince | Series X
12. Clair Obscura: Expedition 33 | Series x
13. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black | Series X
14. Doom: The Dark Ages | Series X

Doom: The Dark Ages

This wasn't too long of a game and really fun. Music and combat was gret played it on ultra nightmare which I found challenging enough. A bit slower than Doom Eternal but fun with the new mechanics and weapons. Wasn't overly gone on the mech stages.

Retr0gamer

1. Wizardry Variants Daphne (Mobile)
2. Spiderman (2018) (PC)
3. Track & Field (Arcade)
4. Ace Combat 6 (XBox 360)
5. Mars after Midnight (Playdate)
6. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (PC)
7. Super Mario Wonder (Switch)
8. Dragon Quest 3 HD 2D (PC)
9. The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
10. Thronglets (Android)
11. Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES)
12. Metal Wolf Chaos XD (PS4)
13. Tomb Raider 2: The Golden Mask (PC)
14. Gimmick! (NES)
15. Faselei! (NeoGeo Pocket Colour)

Faselei!

The poor neo geo pocket. The system only lasted 18 months but those 18 months gave us a library filled with portable classics and an lost of exclusives that would make the PlayStation 4 blush in embarrassment. It just didn't have a chance against the unexpected juggernaut of Pokemon.

Faselei was created by Sacnoth, a developer made of former squaresoft employees and set up by the composer of Secret of Mana, who then quickly left after creative differences arose. Sacnoth are better known as the developer of the Shadow Hearts games but before those they made games for the Neo Geo Pocket. Faselei was a very late release for the system just as SNK were sold and the new owner Azure pulled the plug on the NeoGeo Pocket. Only a few English language copies made it out in Europe while I'm the US the cartridges never hit the shelves despite review copies being sent out. This makes it one of the rarest and most sought after games on the system.

It's shame this game is so rare because it's fantastic and one of the highlights of the NeoGeo Pocket. It unfortunately never appeared on the recent NGP collections due to licensing but it can be emulated.

Faselei can be best described as a mix of front mission and the classic board game Robo Rally. It looks like a standard tactical RPG with a twist. You can control a mech, and in some scenarios are joined by an AI companion. Every turn you have to program in each of your actions. Moving forward, turning, firing. Each action needs to be selected in sequence and once input all mechs on the field will carry out their actions in sequence. You have to second guess what your enemy will do otherwise you could end up running into a mech or attacking when there's no enemy in range. It works really well although often fights boil down to slugfests. The game has some difficulty spikes but these are mitigated by setting your mech up properly. You need to ensure you go into battle with a backpack with enough repair kits and weapon reloads. Nothing worse than getting to the final enemy and all your guns are empty. It's a wonderful system and there's nothing else like it.

It's a great looking and sounding game. The battlefields and Mechs are packed full of detail. The story is told with some beautifully drawn stills. The story is more melodrama than politics but it has its moments and a few laughs. It's a short game for a RPG, clocking in at 8-10 hours and it left me hungry for more, which is more a mark of the quality of the game than a bad point.

Faselei is a wonderful game that through some unfortunate circumstances didn't find the audience it deserved. It's one of the very best games on the NeoGeo Pocket, which is high praise when that system has classics like card fighters clash, SNK vs Capcom and metal slug 2nd mission.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123361130#Comment_123361130

1. The case of the golden idol (Xbox): A point and click puzzle game. Originally started it in late 2024 to tick the box for the xbox achievements, but I really enjoyed this. I added the 2 DLCs (The Spider of Lanka and The Lemurian Vampire), and finished these off last night. The DLC wasn't as good, and some of the puzzles were overly complicated to the point of relying on guesswork, but the main game was excellent with a quirky humour too. There is a sequel to the game (The Rise of the Golden Idol) which I believe is free on mobile with Netflix, so I'll have to take a look at that.
2. Spider-man Remastered (PC/Steamdeck): I played this on the PS4, but really enjoyed this playthrough on the steam deck. Ran perfectly most of the time and the gameplay is great. Swinging around New York is very satisfying. The voice cast here is excellent too. Played the 3 DLC stories too (Under the banner of The City that Never Sleeps). Moving onto Miles Morales game now.
   
3. The Rise of the Golden Idol (Android): This is the sequel to the case of the golden idol and I really enjoyed this too. It's free on Android if you have a Netflix account and playing this on a tablet was a much better experience than playing the first on Xbox. The first game is also on Android via Netflix games, so I'd go that route if you want to play either. Like the first, there is a quirk sense of humour and there is an overall story tying the various scenarios together. Also like the first, some of the puzzles are so complication that you kind of have to just guess, but it's good fun all the same.
   
4. Call of Duty - Black Ops 2 (Xbox): Towards the end of last year I played Black Ops 6 which I really enjoyed so I decided to go back and play the older titles. I enjoyed Black Ops 1 too, but boy did I not like this game. The story is split between the past and future (although the future was 2025, so we are the future now) and I just didn't enjoy it. I didn't care about the story and I found the mechanics a little bit clunky. I don't know, just wasn't for me. I have started Black Ops 3 now (I picked up both games at same time in CEX) and it seems better, so I'll probably play through that next.
   
5. Spider-man Mile Morales (PC/Steamdeck): I loved the original Spider-man, so figured this would be good too. It was at times, but I found it hard to get stuck into the story. I like how the mechanics are deliberately not as smooth as Spider-man (because Miles is still learning), but it was only okay. I put this game down ages ago, and only because I'm down with the flu decided to pick it back up this week to finish it. No interest in going back to do all the little side-quests to 100% it which is telling.
   
6. Botany Manor (PC): Thanks to @JimBurnley and their recommendation I downloaded this last week and finished it just now (it leaves gamepass at midnight so just got it in). Lovely little puzzle game where you wander around a manor potting flowers and making them grow. The difficulty wasn't too high and logic made the puzzles okay to follow. Completed it with all achievements too.
7. Descenders (Xbox): This isn't a game you "complete" really, as it's a prodecurally generated downhill bike game. But I did get through the full course from start to finish which triggered the credits so I'll take it. Quite a fun game, not much to it, but something that is great to stick on for like 15/20 mins. I had been struggling to find any game to get into for ages, but enjoying this and still tipping away at it.

TinCanMan

Return to Monkey Island [PS5] - An old fashioned point and click adventure game starring a somewhat incompetent wannabe pirate called Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood on his adventures. There is a lot of humour in this game and those that remember the older games from the 90’s will know what to expect.

GRIS [PS5] - A puzzle/platformer and an absolute visual masterpiece with some amazing art design, along with beautifully soothing music. This game is a pleasure to play and whilst not overly challenging it is a must play if you need something to relax to.

Golf Club Wasteland [PS5] - I got this game for €1.49 and what a hidden gem it turned out to be. A 2D side scrolling puzzle golf game set on post-apocalyptic Earth with an amazing soundtrack and background radio narrative. The story is engaging and quite moving, especially as the game progresses. The crazy golf style of gameplay is both challenging and fun but the story is what really cements things.

Planet of Lana [PS5] - A puzzle adventure game where you embark on an adventure with a cat companion to aid you on the way. Your planet has been taken over by evil machines intent on taking all the inhabitants prisoner. You must work through many environmental puzzles avoiding danger as you try to rescue a friend and save the planet. Think along the lines of Limbo or Inside, although not quite as dark in atmosphere as those two. Well worth a playthrough.

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider [PS5] - The third in the series and a shorter game than the first 2. You play as Billie Lurk, a lesser character from the previous games. Your goal is to kill the entity known as the Outsider. There are various ways to approach this game from brutal force to stealth. You have less powers available than in the other games. I enjoyed this but I'm saddened as we'll likely never see another Dishonored game, a series which I love.

The Callisto Protocol [PS5] - A third-person survival horror game set on Jupiter's moon Callisto. Think along the lines of Dead Space but shorter and more linear. You try to escape a maximum-security prison where the inmates have turned into hideous creatures and in the process try to uncover what is actually happening. This is graphically stunning and I loved it. I prefer shorter, more linear games as I just don’t have the time for longer games these days.

dulpit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123552657#Comment_123552657

1. The case of the golden idol (Xbox): A point and click puzzle game. Originally started it in late 2024 to tick the box for the xbox achievements, but I really enjoyed this. I added the 2 DLCs (The Spider of Lanka and The Lemurian Vampire), and finished these off last night. The DLC wasn't as good, and some of the puzzles were overly complicated to the point of relying on guesswork, but the main game was excellent with a quirky humour too. There is a sequel to the game (The Rise of the Golden Idol) which I believe is free on mobile with Netflix, so I'll have to take a look at that.
   
2. Spider-man Remastered (PC/Steamdeck): I played this on the PS4, but really enjoyed this playthrough on the steam deck. Ran perfectly most of the time and the gameplay is great. Swinging around New York is very satisfying. The voice cast here is excellent too. Played the 3 DLC stories too (Under the banner of The City that Never Sleeps). Moving onto Miles Morales game now.
   
3. The Rise of the Golden Idol (Android): This is the sequel to the case of the golden idol and I really enjoyed this too. It's free on Android if you have a Netflix account and playing this on a tablet was a much better experience than playing the first on Xbox. The first game is also on Android via Netflix games, so I'd go that route if you want to play either. Like the first, there is a quirk sense of humour and there is an overall story tying the various scenarios together. Also like the first, some of the puzzles are so complication that you kind of have to just guess, but it's good fun all the same.
   
4. Call of Duty - Black Ops 2 (Xbox): Towards the end of last year I played Black Ops 6 which I really enjoyed so I decided to go back and play the older titles. I enjoyed Black Ops 1 too, but boy did I not like this game. The story is split between the past and future (although the future was 2025, so we are the future now) and I just didn't enjoy it. I didn't care about the story and I found the mechanics a little bit clunky. I don't know, just wasn't for me. I have started Black Ops 3 now (I picked up both games at same time in CEX) and it seems better, so I'll probably play through that next.
   
5. Spider-man Mile Morales (PC/Steamdeck): I loved the original Spider-man, so figured this would be good too. It was at times, but I found it hard to get stuck into the story. I like how the mechanics are deliberately not as smooth as Spider-man (because Miles is still learning), but it was only okay. I put this game down ages ago, and only because I'm down with the flu decided to pick it back up this week to finish it. No interest in going back to do all the little side-quests to 100% it which is telling.
   
6. Botany Manor (PC): Thanks to @JimBurnley and their recommendation I downloaded this last week and finished it just now (it leaves gamepass at midnight so just got it in). Lovely little puzzle game where you wander around a manor potting flowers and making them grow. The difficulty wasn't too high and logic made the puzzles okay to follow. Completed it with all achievements too.
   
7. Descenders (Xbox): This isn't a game you "complete" really, as it's a prodecurally generated downhill bike game. But I did get through the full course from start to finish which triggered the credits so I'll take it. Quite a fun game, not much to it, but something that is great to stick on for like 15/20 mins. I had been struggling to find any game to get into for ages, but enjoying this and still tipping away at it.
8. Spray Paint Simulator (PC): These games are objectively boring. Just move your mouse about for an hour to spray paint a van. But they really scratch an itch, cleared it just now. The bridge level was rough though for anyone who has gotten through it already.