The Batlord

Tbh you can chill on Saints Row. It's fine. It's like a 7/10 game but a 6/10 Saints Row game. I still like it and it's fun but you can wait for a price drop. Mechwarrior 5 though I'm totally obsessed with. The mechanics are weird to get used to if you never played a Mechwarrior game and the gameplay is repetitive but if that gameplay hooks you like it did me there's nothing else like it. I give my highest recommendation but I do not guarantee enjoyment because I think the mech game genre is inherently niche.

One left field rec I will give you is Operencia. First person grid based dungeon crawler with amazing atmosphere.

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Key

Thanks for the rec, I'll definitely have to check that out. Also roger that on Saints Row. That's unfortunate but it happens.

Key

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands - First Impressions
Developed by: Gearbox Software

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is one of those games I've had on my radar for quite a while since its release, and up until recently, hadn't jumped in to experience it for myself. All I really had to go on was a few screenshots, video clips, and some of the reviews that go along with it. And...well, if you go in solely based on the reviews, you won't be setting yourself up for a good time. Best to go in fresh and play the game when you feel the timing is right. And so that's what I did. And...well, I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands as far as I can tell follows a lot of the trends that we've come to know and love from the Borderlands games yet still manages to add a few twists and turns that make it its own. I mean, from the very start of the game you're introduced to yourself and your team that are all sitting around a table getting ready to jump into a fantasy ridden session of dungeons & dragons. And yes, you will be controlling your character that is going through this very dungeons & dragons adventure, but with that wonderful Borderlands / Gearbox style that we've come to know and love for so long. We're talking RPG elements, tabletop board game elements, random encounters, different enemy types and of course, guns!

I decided to run a class for my first playthrough that focuses on dexterity and arrow / crossbow based weapons, but even with the few hours that I've put in the game, you can still move away from your preferred weapon set and try out whatever weapons you choose to go with. And some come with some special effects much like you should already be used to with Borderlands in general. Ice based attacks, fire, etc etc. The big difference that I noticed right off the bat is the magic taking place of grenades and lemme tell ya, the magic spells are ****ing awesome. I'm still using one of the starter spells and when I shoot it out, it travels to 3 or more enemies at a time setting a freeze status effect on them. That combined with some clever melee attack maneuvers makes for some really chaotic and rewarding enemy encounters. And while the combat at first may seem like it doesn't work all too well, just give it a little bit of time to sink in since although it does share similarities with Borderlands, the combat system is still all its own and unique to Tiny Tina's Wonderlands which should be seen as more of a positive instead of a negative.

Now, I'll talk very briefly about this as I don't want it to take up most of the dialogue I'm going for here but, evidently, this game is different. Not in the way that takes away from the fun and fantasy of it all, but if you're expecting a full on new revamped Borderlands, put that expectation aside and go into this with an open mind. I think what happens is we get ourselves to expect certain things and then we are unable to accept new ideas. Gearbox is going for its own unique taste with this game and I think it should be rewarded and not flooded with negative reviews. However everybody is different and everyones opinion is valued however I think this game got a lot more flack than it deserves. At least in my opinion. Now back to the fun talk:

All the characters that I've met so far are either unique or fun to talk to, and while you go through the game whether it's in a mission or in the overworld map, you'll hear conversation exchanges between the other people sitting at the table which immerses you even more into believing that you are controlling a character in a dungeons and dragons game, which to me is really neat and something I hope Gearbox evolves on more. Sometimes you'll just pass by the conversation going on and sometimes it is really funny to listen to. But all in all, the most fun I've had with the game of course is the combat sections, most importantly the way the guns work etc, which is also fantastic.

I'm not always the greatest with first person shooters but I've always had a love for Borderlands because of how much fun they make the shooter aspect. And instead of it feeling like a Call of Duty close, Borderlands and the games following after it all felt fresh and new and just simply fun to play. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands still has all of that, for me anyway, while like I said, maintaining the ability to add new things into the old style that work in its favor instead of against it. I didn't really know how I would like the tabletop overworld type map but I've gotten used to it and actually find it quite interesting to traverse. So far each missions while feeling the same combat wise all have different vibes to level design and different rewards to get for completing them making it even more fun to just jump in and take on waves of enemies. As much as I was anticipating running through a vast world in the same way as Borderlands, I honestly do like the way this game does it since it absolutely fits well with the whole dungeons and dragons theme they are going with. I'm all for it.

I've also always thought one of the stronger points of Borderlands and now Tiny Tina's Wonderlands is the comedy and the way the developers are not afraid to make fun of pretty much everything in their games either from what enemies say while in combat to simply the names of NPC's you'll run into. It's all campy fantasy and my god it works so well in a dungeons and dragons adventure. I'm obviously planning to finish this game at some point as I'm really enjoying the time I'm putting into it right now. However I don't know if I will end up 100%'d it as there seems to be a lot of collectibles. But we'll see.

Key

2021 Games I Played / Didn't Play
...and what I think about them

It's sometimes hard to remember to play all the games you want to play in a given year, which tends to leave those games for years later. And although 2021 had a lot of banger releases, I still don't think I got around to all the ones I was looking to play. And...although I did play a lot of games in 2021, some of the 2021 releases were not as good of an experience, and I'm here to talk about that:

Halo Infinite
This one is a doozy because it sort of falls on both sides of the spectrum for me. On one hand, I want to reinstall it and finish off the main game and see what the game has to offer after that. On the other hand, the reason I installed it in the first place is because it occurred to me that it really isn't that great of a campaign to go through. It's also safe to say that there were a lot of things that make Halo Infinite great and worth playing, but unfortunately what sets it back, for me, is where you use these new ideas. The mechanics all work great and the moments where you shooting enemies etc are some of the most refined I've ever seen in a Halo game. However, the world itself is so dull that it often times feels like you're just slogging away trying to get from one waypoint to the next. No sense of wonder or mystery as the world doesn't necessarily work in that fashion. Instead of the game feeling massive and vast and endless, it ends up feeling very closed off and with little to no room for creative maneuverability. Don't get me wrong, being able to use a hookshot of sorts to create some massively quick jump maneuvers is really great, but it needs more to keep it fresh and fun. It is a solid mechanic that gets old kind of quickly. One day I may jump in again but I don't see that happening any time soon. And yes, I made this my game of the year for 2021 because it so genuinely felt like it was. Up until it didn't.

Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts 2 is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, I would even go as far to say that this game is fantastic in a lot of ways. But, unfortunately it sort of met the same fate as a lot of other games do, where I put in a couple solid hours of gameplay, then sort of loose the steam that keeps the game pumping. However, I would say that in this case, I could very easily reinstall this game and have a blast getting through the rest of it, but honestly I just have a lot of other games I want to play right now that it sort of got permanently put on the backburner. I'll finish it at some point. It is a great game and an amazing sequel to an already great game. Definitely check out both Psychonauts 1 and Psychonauts 2 if you haven't. They are both phenomenal works of art.

Outriders
I think i've done a post about Outriders in this journal before so I'll keep this brief. Game is great. Always worth going back to just for the sheer fun you have playing it. I enjoyed my time with it immensely and would love to jump back in when I have more time and not as many games to play.

Back 4 Blood
When I heard we would be getting a Left 4 Dead reboot of sorts, I was stoked. However, unfortunately given how things go sometimes, I have yet to actually play it for myself. I don't think I've really even seen that much gameplay about it, probably for the reason that I just still don't want to spoil it. I don't really know where the game is currently as far as player base, but I will check it out at some point. I love Left 4 Dead and have always enjoyed my time playing them, so this one would surely be as good. I hope, anyway.

Resident Evil Village
As much as I would like to say that I have a lot of experience with Resident Evil games, I don't. Though, when I saw that this game was coming out, I really did want to play it and almost did several times. I enjoy survival horror games and I love them even more when they are seen as really good, because it tells me that there's a lot that this game is going to throw at you. Plus, what I've seen of it in gameplay looks amazing just to play, so I just really want to see what it's like to play it.

Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart
I have many fond memories of absolutely loving the Ratchet & Clank series and I am excited for the day that I check this one out as well. I've always seen Ratchet & Clank to be of similar quality or better in some ways to the likes of Crash Bandicoot and Spryo. The gameplay in Ratchet & Clank games is always fun and satisfying to mess around with, and that mixed with the great graphics that this one seems to have, it must be a crazy fun experience to dive into. Hopefully if the PS5 stops being so god damn expensive, I'll jump into this one. But I don't think that will be anytime soon. Only time will tell I suppose. Looking forward to playing this one, whenever that may be.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl
I will always always always love playing Pokemon games, but unfortunately these remakes are of the same games that I actually did not enjoy that much. Diamond and Pearl for me, were the first DS Pokemon games I actually played, until I decided to jump into Black / White / Black 2 / White 2 and had a much much better time. All I really remember about playing Pokemon Diamond is getting stuck somewhere and not really having the motivation to figure out what I was supposed to do next. I think it was just the flow of how everything worked that just didn't work for me. I do want to play these remakes though and hopefully it will change my mind on them. But Diamond and Pearl are certainly not my favorites when it comes to Pokemon. Unfortunately.

Metroid Dread
I would very much love to say that I have both played this one for many hours and have played many other Metroid games for similar amounts of time, but alas, I have not. Metroid has always been on my radar but I never actually dove on and played any of them myself. I know and have known that they are great games and worth putting time into. But, just never got around to it. Most importantly, Metroid Dread did really well amongst the fans of the series and the general consensus seems to be that the game is good if not great if not very good. Which is nice, especially for those that have been waiting for this for a long time. I really like what I've seen of the game from footage etc. But again, most importantly it seems to be that the fanbase of the game series got what they were hoping for. And I'm happy they got to experience it.

New Pokemon Snap
I never really played a lot of the original Pokemon Snap though I know it is incredible beloved. I also know that much like Metroid Dread, people have been wanting a sort of reboot of the original Pokemon Snap for quite some time. When the news of a new Pokemon Snap got out, people were ecstatic. And I was excited for them because I know that people have been waiting for a reboot of this for a long time. And once again, the general consensus is that New Pokemon Snap is quite good. It met people's expectations and perhaps exceeded them as well. I have not played it for myself, but I know that it did get a pretty good standing as far as what people thought about it. I imagine there aren't many ways to ruin a game like Pokemon Snap, but I'm glad they didn't find a way to do that.

The Batlord

Never played Metroid?! Bro go play Super Metroid immediately.

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Key

Oh dude I know. It's a series that I have been wanting to get into for a long time. I've heard nothing but great things about Super Metroid as well. The games are right up my alley too.

Key

My Top 3 of 2022

2022 has certainly been an interesting year for gaming. There haven't been a large amount of standout games, though I would take back what I said about a lack of releases as there actually have been a lot. Though, I think I've really only played a few games that were released in 2022. Most of that is playing catch up with games that released years prior that I hadn't played yet, or simply...I just wanted to play another game for the 1000th time. Either way, that didn't stop me from having some really great experiences with gaming. Hell, I've had quite a few times this year where I was left nearly speechless with a game, in a good way. I'd like to talk about a few of those here:

#3: Despot's Game:
I did a piece on this already this month, but I wanted to reiterate my thoughts on this because when I look back to the games that I played this year, even though I got to it a little bit late and I was hesitant at first, I've ended up really enjoying my time with this game to an extent that it's become a regular play for me as of late. It's perfect for those times when you don't really know what else to play but it's also got the mechanics that I absolutely love. And with a killer soundtrack, the whole entire game blends together so well that it's hard not to give it positive feedback. I do recommend it very highly if you're looking for another great dungeon crawler / roguelike.

#2: Steel Rising:
It seems to be a trend lately that I've been enjoying the hell out of souls-like games ever since I played many many hours of Elden Ring, and it still held true with Steel Rising. While it did bring some of its own unique gimmicks to gameplay and the world building etc, I still feel like this was is a hidden gem that I don't think enough people appreciated. I think it certainly had a lot to do with the fact that people were a little burned out with souls-like given that Elden Ring took up a lot of people's time. Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves with Elden Ring so it's no surprise that people weren't necessarily quick to try another one so soon. But, I have certainly enjoyed my time with Steel Rising and still plan to finish it at some point.

#1: Elden Ring:
And of course, the behemoth itself, Elden Ring. I said this back when I talked about Elden Ring, and I'll say it again, this is my game of the year. Even with the games that I have played since Elden Ring, nothing has come quite close to achieving what that game did for me. I never really played a lot of souls-likes before this one. I mean I played the original Dark Souls for a few hours and the same with Sekiro, but I couldn't get past the difficulty wall. Couldn't figure out mechanics, etc etc. Elden Ring gave me and I'm sure others that opportunity to take time to understand how souls-like mechanics work and how people seem to keep themselves alive long enough to take down bosses. While also doing this, it also managed to capture my imagination immensely to the point where I felt like I was really adventuring across this land. The absolute beauty that this game brought with its world is something I have never seen in video games before it, maybe with a few exceptions. But Elden Ring is not only mechanically strong, but is an absolute joy to both play and look at. I still want to go back and do a third playthrough but I really want to let it sit for a while so that I can go in fresh and new. I have seen everything the game has to offer and I still feel the need to go back and experience more of it. I love this game and am happy it got received so well, from both veteran souls-like players and people like me that really wanted to play a souls-like but just couldn't quite grasp it. Everybody can feel included with this one. And man it is a great way to spend a weekend, I'll tell you what.

Well, I certainly would have never anticipated my game of the year and follow up to both be souls-likes, and of course I did anticipate that my 3rd choice would have been in the roguelike/dungeon crawler genre as I did play quite a few good ones this year. Still not too sure what I'm ranking as my #4 and #5 hence being a top 3 at the moment. However, it is nice to have experienced the games that I have this year because it has been a nice escape in a lot of ways. I love playing games and hope to never have to stop.

Key

Gunfire Reborn - First Impressions
Developed by: Duoyi Network

It's a roguelike. It's a first person shooter. It's got cool graphics and fun music. It's got guns. Elemental weapons, etc etc. Gunfire Reborn is exactly as I said, a roguelike first person shooter. There have been games before this one that have done this formula well, yet Gunfire Reborn still feels unique and its own and does a good job at what it's going for. I jumped in for the first time today since it just got released on Game Pass and I didn't expect to sit there for over an hour, but alas some of the best experiences with gaming happen that way. Those "before you know it, it's midnight" type nights. I can certainly see why people love this game, as I hadn't realized that it has been released a year ago now. Why I haven't played it yet, I don't know. However I am glad I did now because it's really really fun.

I've had two runs where I got to the final boss in the first floor of sorts, and while it does take a lot to take down the boss, it does definitely seem possible with nearly any weapon you go in with. Though it's recommended to use lightning based weapons due to its shield. Something for me to remember anyway. I play to do many more runs after this so maybe i'll start to get really good at taking down this boss, so that I can see what the game looks like after it as it is only the first floor of the game.

The difficulty certainly ramps up as you progress but you can get upgrades in your runs as well as after your run when you level up your character with permanent upgrades that go with you for every run afterwards. The feeling of progression is definitely there and it really works well in this setting.

I honestly have not seen much of the game yet given my short playtime but I really do feel like I'm going to put countless hours into it. The gameplay is just so smooth and fun that it's hard not to play a few runs before calling it a night. I call it the Dead Cells spell.

Anyway, this is a good one.

Key

And with that, I'm gonna call that a wrap and deem Video Game Month 2022 officially at its end. I wrote about nearly everything I wanted to write about and I'm honestly happy with how much I talked about certain things and that my thoughts carried over to words well enough for them to make sense.

see you in the next update, whenever that may be.

Key