Key

Even if 2016 wasn't a super great year, it was still a great year in terms of gaming. It was pretty much the same with gaming as it was with music. Lots of great things came out and it was really hard to narrow down my favorites. Even now I don't think I'm happy with my top 10 games, but I digress. 2017 is looking like it may be a great year for gaming as well, so I'd like to talk about a few that I'm really looking forward to.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands
It's been quite a while since I've played any Ghost Recon game, and I hope 2017 will be the year that it finally comes back into the limelight. Seems that Ubisoft Paris is taking on the development, so we'll see what happens. I don't have high or low hopes for this, but I do hope it's good regardless.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole
I never actually played South Park: The Stick of Truth but I've heard really really good things about it. I may try to get both that and this game this year and finally give them a shot. I've never really been hugely into South Park, but that's not to say I've never enjoyed it. Seems like the kind of over the top game that could take a few hours of my time. Hopefully this does well.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
There's been some criticism coming out about this because people feel Nintendo have lost a lot of creativity so they're going for a "bigger world." But honestly, every Zelda fan has wanted this game for as long as I can remember. I really do hope this game does well, because it's going to meet the needs of so many fans. Myself included. The artwork looks very much the same like Wind Waker but updated, which is another personal favorite. I have high hopes for this but of course, I'm skeptical. Nintendo isn't really a company to let people down, so this one should do well.

Yooka-Laylee
I'm so excited for this and I hope anybody that was hugely into Banjo Kazooie is looking forward to this. This game looks promising and the people involved have promised that it's going to be a lot like what we want from a "new age Banjo Kazooie" game. I have very high hopes for this and I'm sure it will deliver.

Outlast 2
I ****ing loved the first Outlast, so the fact that a second one is coming out has my horror game panties all excited. I've seen some footage of the demo that was released, and it looks like they're really going all out with this. I hope it delivers. Outlast on its own is still a fantastic horror survival game and I'd say that everyone that loves horror games should play it. Really looking forward to this.

That's really about it right now. But as we've learned from years past, there will always be surprises. It looks like 2017 will already be a great year for games, but we'll see what happens as the year progresses. I'll be posting in this journal regularly along the way as well. I hope everyone else is as excited for this year in gaming as I am. It's going to be a good one.

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard

i beat Outlast for the first time a few days ago so now I'm kind of hype for the sequel as well. the ending was poop though tbh.

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Key

The ending to me was definitely not what I was expecting, but the game as a whole is pretty good for what it is.

Key

Danny Baranowsky

You've probably seen on my last.fm that I have an artist known as Danny Baranowsky. Well, now you finally get to know who this is if you didn't know already.

Basically, this one man is behind the beautiful creations of video game music for several of the most fun games you'll ever play. And I had no idea which journal to put this in, but seeing as it is video game music, I'll throw it here.

So starting off with one of the best things he's ever done:


Crypt of the Necrodancer OST

Crypt of the Necrodancer is a rhythm based roguelike dungeon crawler. And for this style of game, the soundtrack is absolutely essential and has to be perfect. The soundtrack alone is what prompted me to buy the game, and let me tell you...the game is not only fun, but it's got a difficulty curve that makes me go back for more.

Standout track: Disco Descent


The Binding of Isaac OST

Of course, who can forget the original soundtrack behind the original Binding of Isaac. If you've never played the flash version of the game, I certainly think it's worth your time. It is once again a roguelike dungeon crawler but it is the spawn of what may be one of the best gaming series ever made. And with Danny Baranowsky as the composer for the music, it just makes it that much sweeter. I was disappointed when he wasn't part of the newer games, but I guess both him and Edmund had a disagreement. Shame.

Standout track: Atonement


Rocky OST

There's apparently a Rocky iPhone game and of course, who could expect anybody else to be behind the soundtrack other than Danny Baranowsky. I've never played the game, but listening to the soundtrack, I bet the game is a bunch of fun. Certainly worth checking out I think.


Super Meat Boy OST

Yeah I know, just hearing the name mentioned brings a shiver down your spine. If you aren't aware, Danny Baranowsky composed the soundtrack for possibly one of the most difficult platforming games ever made. Seriously, this game is hard as ****. Anyone that has played it knows that as fact. But what they also should know is that the soundtrack really gets your blood flowing allowing for an experience that hasn't been mimicked for quite some time. Certainly one of the top things Danny has ever done.

Standout track: Betus Blues

Check out his music here: https://dbsoundworks.bandcamp.com/

LoathsomePete

Kiii, did you play the Outlast 2 demo that was out in November?

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Last.FM
101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

Key

Nah, unfortunately I spoiled it for myself by watching someone else play through it. It looks insane though.

Key

It's coming near the end of January, and I feel I want to prepare for another theme month for my gaming journal. I'm not going to be doing one for my music journal for at least a couple more months, but I want to start the year off in the right direction.

So, contrary to the other themed months I've done in the gaming journal so far, this particular one won't have a set theme. Instead, I'm going to use every day in February and talk about a different game each day that I've either player, seen, or heard of that I feel are worth discussing. It'll work in the same fashion that the other themed months have worked in regards to the amount of content. But of course, I can't control what happens in the future, so I'll get out and plan as much content as I can.

All I know is, be excited for the next month because there's going to be a lot of stuff happening in the gaming journal. I may even post a few teasers just to get the ball rolling.

But of course, you can also reference this post if you get lost, or if you feel like waiting until the end of the month to sit back and read all the posts.

Index:
Stardew Valley
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl
Redout
GoldenEye: Source
Runescape
Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
Okhlos
Papers, Please
Rocket League
Fallout 4
Dirty Bomb
Planet Coaster

Key

Welcome to Ki's Picks
(a few days early)

If you're keeping up, I've decide to dedicate the month of February by talking about games that I have personally played and enjoyed. None of the games here will be games that I have not played, and none of the games here will be games that I ended up not liking. These are strictly games that I love and potentially still play to this day.

To start things off on the right foot, I'm going to talk about a game that I have fallen in love with more and more over the past week or so:


Stardew Valley

When Stardew Valley was released for PC, I went ahead and bought it because a bunch of Youtubers were raving about it and talking about how much fun it is. It even made some of their game of the year lists with it taking the #1 spot. I was in a different spot than they were upon playing it for the first time because I really wasn't into the whole idea of the game...at first.

Since it's release, the game has been sitting in my "uninstalled" list for a while catching dust, up until I decided to install it again and play it. And boy I'm glad I did. Stardew Valley brings you back into the world of gaming that revolved around the likes of Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, and throws it all into this wonderfully beautifully created world where there is absolutely no limit to what you can do. You can go into town and meet random strangers and converse with them, you can give them gifts, and you can buy and sell your goods for extra money. You can also take care of your farm, and have a cat or dog on your farm to keep you company while doing so.

The main draw that I have noticed with this game is that you end up spending so much time in this cute little world that you forget that you aren't actually living there. It's one of those things where you'll sit and think "yeah, i'll play for about 10 minutes", and before you know it, 2.5 hours have gone by. Although I've been working a full time job lately, I've manged to throw around 4 hours into the game, and I have not even gotten started or even gotten close to cracking the code as to what this game has to offer. Best part is, the creator of this game (yes, one guy) is continuously updating it with new and original content to make the gun seemingly last forever.

If you were a fan of the Harvest Moon era of games which I imagine most of us were, Stardew Valley is the spiritual successor in all ways, and will probably always hold a special place in my heart and others people's hearts for years to come. I can only imagine the amount of money the creator of this game has made since its debut, seeing as everyone has attached to this game like flies. Rightfully so though, as it is a lot of fun, and it's got the right amount of relaxation mixed with fun events to keep you going with little to no frustration.

My only gripe with the game would be that some things should be streamlined a little bit, like watering your plants with a water bucket, but I know that you can install sprinklers to make that easier. Unfortunately that also requires you to find the materials you need and get the proper crafting level. It's fair enough that the game has a difficulty curve, I'm not saying anything negative about that. My point is that you probably won't completely understand the base game as soon as you pick it up. But from experience, it took me about...45 minutes to really see what this game is all about. Once that clicked, I found myself really enjoying it.

Graphically the game is perfect. It's exactly the right amount of pixel art and animation that really does the genre well in regards to Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. The music is also original and fantastic and helps fit the mood several times throughout your play through. I expect to put in at least 100 hours of my time into this game somewhere down the line, mostly because it seems like there's literally so much content that you pretty much have to end up getting somewhere between 100-200 hours before you get even close to finishing the game.

As someone that didn't give this game a chance at the start, I would definitely say you should give it a shot if this is the kind of game you like.

Key

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl

You ever get that wonder feeling when you find a game in the same region of other games that you absolutely love? Well, S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl fits that bill when it comes to games that are like Fallout, but old and somewhat better. People at this forum know fairly well by now that I'm a humongous fan of the Fallout series, specifically Fallout 3. The apocalyptic nature and the barren wasteland made for a fantastic first time experience not too long ago. Now, as much as I like that game, it does come with its glitches and faulty hardware due to it being so old, but god damn it's good. This of course prompted me to be on the lookout for games much like it, and thus S.T.A.L.K.E.R made its way into my Steam library.

I think it was through the video game thread that Batty was saying he was playing this game, and of course knowing him and how he rates his games, I took his advice seriously when he was telling people to play it, and god damn it's good. You get placed right at the beginning already needing to figure out how to fend for yourself, and if you aren't aware of the difficulty of this game, it becomes abundantly clear in the first mission. I can safely say I probably died around 10 times before I figured out the right maneuvers and formula in order to take the enemies down. And of course, me being me, I was offered help on this mission but I was like "nah, it's the first mission, how hard could it be?" Boy was I wrong. You learn really fast that if you can get the help, take it, because you're going to need it.

I take the game for what it is because much like Fallout 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R is an older game, so it doesn't meet the standards of today's games graphically. However, everything else the game has to offer holds up really well. The combat is enticing, the overall feel of the game is depressing enough to make you feel like you're truly alone. It's very easy to control, and it's nowhere near as broken as one may think. It's tough to say whether or not a lot of people would enjoy this game, because as I said earlier, it comes with a pretty high difficulty level that catches you off guard. You wouldn't even think for a second that the first few missions would be difficult, but damn they are. But it just makes it so much more rewarding when you figure it out.

I'd say if you're in for a challenge, give this game a go.

The Batlord

And if you don't like ammo management then this game is not for you. Firing anything other than your pistol is pretty much an investment.

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