September Check In, Plague Tale Innocence

 

Plague Tale Innocence team

Not a lot of gaming in August or September.  I am feeling some envy of those playing World of Warcraft the War Within but not enough to pay full price.  I know the price will go down soon enough and there isn't anything I need to do early (though my guild doing some minimal group content is something I'll likely miss out on).  I was also interested to see the Civilization VII announcement.  I got enough hours from Civilization VI that I might go ahead and buy it on release.  It is one of the few games (with World of Warcraft) that I'd rather play on PC than PS5 or Switch.  I tried the Switch Civ VI and it felt awful.  I have played every Civilization game including Alpha Centauri so I'm confident I'll enjoy this version as well.  I'm not sure how much it'll push my Dell G7 with and NVidia 1650.  We talked about getting my daughter a computer, so it might be a reason to get an upgrade and give this to my daughter.  It is almost exactly 5 years old, but it is still doing pretty well.

I am very glad I was able to finish Plague Tale Innocence.  I thought the setting was very well done and I don't think I've seen any other games set in the Middle Ages like this one.  The mix of realism and magic was well done too and I liked the use of the rats in the gameplay and they were suitable creepy.

One minor quible was with the difficulty.  The length was great (it took me 21 game hours) and it seems like a game that one could very well Platinum but I'm not inclined.  The ability to make potions and upgrade your equipment reminded me of The Last of Us but, in order to make the game easier, I probably used more potions than better gamers.  Because of that, I didn't have some of the components that would have allowed me to upgrade my sling and I believe that led to one of the later levels to be significantly more difficult.  I'm ok with rewarding exploration (I would have done more if I had to do it over) but because of the overlap between potion and upgrade materials, it ends up punishing you for using potions which feels like making it easier for those who are good at the game.

Otherwise, I thought the difficulty was pretty good.  There were a few areas where I looked up hints (and was glad for the built in hint system) and a several levels I had to repeat a few times but nothing illogical or unfair.  I know it's an older game at this point, but I am glad I finally got around to playing it and the PS5 controls were very good.

Now, I have no idea what I'll play next.

August Check In

 

Plague Tale Innocence (obviously don't undertand photo mode)

Happy last day of Blaugust for all who are participating!  I knew I wasn't going to post much this year so didn't want to join.  I stopped World of Warcraft as I expected at the beginning of the month and then had two weeks of vacation where I was travelling most of the time so I knew I wouldn't have much time to game.

I did complete the very short 'Visions of Azeroth' lead in to The War Within in World of Warcraft before my subscription ended.  I had already decided I wouldn't do any more of the Pandaria Remix because I felt like I had done it before and enjoyed it more with the farm.  I did use a free day that was given towards the end of August to try out the Radiant Echoes event on two of my characters which netted my warrior two levels and two large bags and two large gathering bags.  One can never have enough bag space.  The War Within can wait until there is more content and it has a discount.  I decided several expansions ago that I'd rather wait and see the content later.

I tried a few games briefly, but nothing really caught on.  I played a little of Dragon's Age Origin again after hearing that the new game is coming soon but I'm not sure I'll go back to it unless it comes to the PS5 or Switch.

I have had 'A Plague Tales Innocence' on my wish list for years and received Requim as a free game on PS Plus so I tried the Innocence demo and decided to buy the PS5 version for pretty cheap.  I'd guess I'm about 30% through so there is a pretty good chance I'll finish it.

I classify Innocence as mostly a puzzle game.  There has been some combat with a sling, but it is used more as a distraction and hiding is the primary method to keep from being killed.  The story is very intriguing and both of the main characters are quite interesting and the use of the Middle Ages in a more grim style is refreshing.  I'm looking forward to playing more.

I've been having fun watching my daughter play Dredge with the new DLC and Dave the Diver and I played both briefly but I don't think I'll be playing more of either.  I do look forward to playing The War Within when it goes on sale, I'm guessing it'll be over Christmas break.  I'm hoping Lego Horizon will appeal more to me and my daughter since Hobbit didn't catch on.

June/July Gaming Check In

 

Ellie, Joel and the giraffes in The Last of Us

I did go back and finish The Last of Us on the Playstation 5 in June.  It was very well done and there is good reason it is considered a classic.  The only real negative is that there did seem to be too much killing in some sections, though some of that might have been because I'm not very good a stealth.  There were a couple of sections where I used the hint feature and I'm grateful to have it.

I've been looking for then next PS5 game and tried out Jedi Fallen Order and briefly opened up God of War but neither are compelling me to play.  Watch my daughter platinum Dredge. It was fun to watch pieces of it, but I think I've seen what I need to there.  I saw the preview for Lego Horizon and since both my daughter and I have enjoyed the Horizon games I think it would be a fun way to play together but it isn't available yet.  I downloaded Lego Hobbit and Lego Harry Potter as other co-op games but after playing Lego Hobbit with my daughter some I think we'll just wait to play Horizon.

Possibly the last of my Dragonflight Achievements

I decided to resubscribe to World of Warcraft early in the month thinking I'd like to try the Pandaria remix and see the last of the Dragonflight quests.  June was successful in both but I did a lot less of Pandaria than I expected.  After playing some I decided to go back to Kanter and work on finishing off the achievements above, all of which I enjoyed.  I played briefly on my Warrior and might work on the side quest achievements with him.  I did keep my subscription for July but have already cancelled it in August so I can't forget.  At this point I have a pattern of waiting until the first discount (as long as I have time) for the expansion and plan to do the same for The War Within.

After I finished Unicorn Overlord on the Switch, I downloaded both 13 Sentinels (from the same developer, Vanillaware) and Celeste.  Celeste definitely isn't my kind of game (I've never really played platformers).  13 Sentinels was fun but just not as much fun as Unicorn Overlord so I put it aside.  I haven't played Animal Crossing since starting Unicord Overlord so I think I'm done with that.  We'll see if something new brings me back to the Switch but I haven't played it for weeks at this point.

Really nothing is pulling me in right now on any of the platforms.  That happens but it'll be nice when there is something new (or old) that brings me back.

May Gaming Check In - Unicorn Overlord

 

Alain Crowned King in Unicorn Overlord

Hello!  I actually finished a game in May, Unicorn Overlord so most of this post will be about that.

I had seemed some good reviews of Unicorn Overlord over the last few months including a nice post from Tipa.  Then it went on sale just enough that I decided to buy a physical Switch copy.  I debated whether to buy it on PS5 but the graphics were fine for the Switch and I thought it might nice to use it portably.  It seems like it was a good decision since I was able to play pretty consistently and finish an almost complete experience in around a month.

I just wrote this whole post and it wouldn't save so now it'll be an abbreviated version.

Unicorn Overlord is a tactical RPG.  There are 70 characters you can recruit, six of which I missed (Nina, Hilda, Aramis, Gloucester, Gammel and Mandrin, for my records).  It is most like Fire Emblem of the games I have played.  The only Fire Emblem game I completed was Awakening and I would rate it slightly higher right now.

I played on story mode saw the 'True' ending out of three and tried two choices of the maiden, Scarlet, the pretty obvious expected choice, and Primm, a character I enjoyed.

I still need to finish the Last of Us.  I also have recently start Advance Wars, a Gameboy game I always wondered how it would play since I was into turn based strategy for quite a while.

April Gaming Check In

 

The Last of Us Part 1

I see I never posted in March but I haven't done a lot of gaming the last two months.  I had played about half of the Last of Us remastered for PS4 a few years ago and decided I'd like to play both parts since one of my daughter's really enjoyed it.  I figured if I was going to start over, I might as well play the PS5 version that was on sale.  I am now past where I was in my first playthrough.  It is welldone and you could probably see the difference in the image above in the earlier versions of the game but, fundamentally, it is the same game and it is probably difficult to justify paying again.  I'm sure the TV show was justification for both and the PS5 remake for Part 2.

I keep thinking I'm done with Animal Crossing but I still play it almost every day.  I need a recipe to be able to make a robot which requires 30 parts I've managed to collect from saving the shipwrecked captain among many other part.  The only way I see to get one of the recipes is from a rare island so I've been visit Katrina in hopes of getting good luck in belongings so I get a rare island in hopes that I get the star island that can have the recipe.  I don't have the recipe but I do have more rare ingredients for other recipes.  Reminds me a little of rare MMO drops.

I also purchased the Katamari Damacy remake for the PS4 thinking it might be something my non-verbal autistic daughter might like.  I haven't showed it to her yet but I did play it some myself.  I'm a little worried the use of both sticks might not be that easy for her but we'll see.  I had played it some back when I had my PS2 but never played it much.

Finally, I purchased a relatively new game, Unicorn Overlord, when it went on sale.  Tipa had recommended it and I did really enjoy Fire Emblem Awakening on the DS even if I didn't get into the other Fire Emblem games as much.  So far, I've been able to stick with it.  I debated whether to get it on the PS5 or Switch but opted for the Switch for the portability and as a possible replacement for Animal Crossing if I ever actually stop playing it.

February Gaming Check In

 

Blanc was a cute, fun game

Not a lot to report for February but I would like to keep this up.

I received Blanc for my birthday and played it cooperatively with my daughter who gave it to me.  It is a very cute, sweet game about a fawn and a wolf cub who have to work together to join back with their packs.  It was nice how they each helped each other and most of the puzzles were interesting but not too difficult (though I did look up a couple of hints).  Pretty short, but also not very expensive so worth it if you like artistic games like this and like to play cooperatively with someone.  It is nice to have finished a game.

I am still not playing World of Warcraft and still playing Animal Crossing.  It's possible the pre-patch for War Within might bring me back for a month or I might just go back to buying the expansion once it goes on sale.  I do like that they have a patch for which they aren't revealing much (10.2.6), but it isn't enough to bring me back.  I'll probably follow along to see what it is.

My current goal for Animal crossing is to build the Robot.  I had collected the 30 rusted parts from the pirate that washes up on your land but didn't realize I would need star parts that drop from a rare island you visit by taking the boat with Kapp'n.  I learned that you can guaranteed to get a rare island by checking on your luck with Katrina if you have luck with belongings.  So far I haven't been getting luck with belongings very often but I do find the gameplay loop relaxing so it's enough to keep me coming back daily and building up my bells and tickets.

I tried Millenium when it was free to play and, although it's not as obscure as most Paragon games, I decided after playing the demo, I'd rather just play Civilization.

On the Playstation, I've decided I don't like the Undertale minigame that determines your success and so I'm dropping it.  I got it for free with Playstation Plus extra and at least I have an idea how the game works.  I'm thinking about going back to the Last of Us since I got around half way through it.  I'm trying to decide if I want to buy the upgrade since it's been about a year and it might be better to start over anyway.  I'm not paying $60 for a game I already have but maybe I'll pick it up when it goes on sale.

January Gaming Check In

 

My Animal Crossing Birthday Celebration

As mentioned in my previous post, I let my World of Warcraft subscription expire this month.  I was able to finish the Necrolords quests on Kantro before it expired.  I just happened to see where you could purchase 60 Covenant renown so I didn't need to wait for that, just finish the different quests offered primarily by Baroness Draka.  I'm not sure why I couldn't start the quests until I was level 60 (seems like a poor limitation) but I went ahead and completed all the Necrolords ones and was level 63 at the end.  I considered doing more in Dragonflight (I haven't done many of the quests after The Waking Shores) but I had seen the main story and decided to leave it alone.  I'm guessing I'm done with Shadowlands even though I didn't see the Revendreth or Bastion storylines.  I might go back to Dragonflight before or after The War Within but I'm hoping they handle it better than Shadowlands once it comes out.

In other gaming, one of my daughter's was back from college and I started Baldur's Gate 3 with her.  We found Lae'zel and the Owlbear cub, two things that we missed in my plan with other daughter but neither group has left chapter 1.

For my birthday, one of my daughters purchased Blanc on the Switch for us to play together.  We played quite a bit in the first session.  I saw it is supposed to be pretty short so it'll be interesting to see how much we have left.  It'll be nice to finish my first game since Horizon Forbidden West.

One is never really finished with Animal Crossing New Horizons but I still think I'm close to being done.  I've now seen all the seasonal events with Christmas and New Years (I purchased it for myself at Christmas 2022) and even had my birthday celebration.  One of my daughters bought me some of the Animal Crossing Amiibos, and it has been fun to invite them to coffee and I might invite one to the camp when a villager asks to leave.  I would like to finish the art gallery but I'm not sure I'll keep playing like I have been (see my December post).

I believe that is all I'm actively playing right now.  I'd still like to finish up some games, particularly on the PS5 but we'll see.  I'm considering getting a Playstation Portal since I looks like a good way to play in the house without having to be in front of the television.

Happy New Year!