Monthend Video Game Wrap-Up – January 2017

Holy crow, 2017 is already flying by. It seems like it was just New Year’s Day, and already we’re in February. It’s gonna be Switch Day before we know it!

And that’s about the extent of my small talk abilities. That’s why I spend so much time playing video games alone instead of socializing with humans.

~ Game Over ~

Layers of Fear (PS4) – Appropriate that the first game I beat in 2017 is yet another spook-em-up walking simulator. I think I may have found my sub-genre. In an effort to try to toughen up a bit, I started playing with the lights off and headphones on. That lasted for half the game, at which point I simply could not take it any more. Anyway, I really liked it, and played through twice to get all the trophies.

Layers of Fear: Inheritance (PS4) – A DLC half-sequel for the game listed above. It was good, but much less frightening and also I needed to play through it three times for all the trophies. Though that’s really not such a big problem when the game can easily be run in under an hour.

Resident Evil 7 (PS4) – I was so excited for this scaled-down take on RE, and then about two hours in, I realized “oh, this is just a backwoods version of Alien: Isolation.” But then it quickly got much better and I got completely sucked in. Loved it. Can’t wait to play it again.

Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PS4) – There couldn’t have been a better time to accidentally subscribe to PS+. This was one of the free games for January, and though I own the original game, I haven’t played it in, oh, 20 years? It was wonderful to relive, and looked gorgeous on my giant HDTV. Absolutely perfect bit of nostalgia.

Shovel Knight (3DS) – I played Shovel Knight again. Surprise, surprise. But I did play New Game+ this time, which is v difficult.

Dino Eggs: Rebirth (PC) – I was having fun until the game started throwing frustratingly difficult levels at me. At which point, I decided that just playing the main story levels was enough. So yeah, not crazy about the massive, complex stages. The smaller puzzle levels are much more satisfying.

Witch and Hero II (3DS) – I really liked the arcade (but grindy) action of the first game, and was very excited for the sequel. Having to control two characters at once is a little too taxing for my simple mind, however. Still very fun.

Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins (GB) – Starting the year off right, with some quality portable Mario action. I love its weirdness. I want to write more about it. Perhaps another day.

Ape Escape 2 (PS2) – I wish I could say that I liked this game, but the controls are so slippery and the camera is a huge pain in the butt. Otherwise it’s not all that bad, just tedious. Of course, I still have to beat it again, because I want the easy platinum trophy. #TrophyWhore

~ Now Playing ~

Drakengard 3 (PS3) – Almost finished the main storyline. So far, it’s lived up exactly to my expectations and then some. A little rough around the edges, but very cool and very violent. Really makes me miss the PS4 controller’s headphone jack, though.

Harvest Moon: A New Beginning 3D (3DS) – I was getting the faming simulator itch from Stardew Valley, but I decided that instead of buying that, I’d just play the Harvest Moon game that’s been loaded onto my 3DS and unplayed for about a year now. The weird thing about this one is that it lets you accumulate cash very quickly (I had well over 10,000 G by the end of the first week), but doesn’t give you much to do with it, as the features are rolled out one at a time, very slowly.

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (WiiU) – Started playing this after vanilla Shovel Knight, when it occurred to me that I’ve only played it once.

F-Zero X (N64) – On a whim, I purchased this game on Virtual Console, and honestly I could not be happier. I’m terrible at it, but I understand now why people are so upset that Nintendo hasn’t made a new F-Zero since GameCube. So good! The comic book/rock ‘n ‘roll aesthetic is just icing on the cake.

Let it Die (PS4) – Freemium roguelike from Grasshopper. I’m a sucker for exactly one of those things, and I try to avoid the other two like the plague. However, having another game on my PS4 seemed worth the download time, and I actually quite like it. I’ve poured many hours (but no dollars) into it.

Minecraft (PC) – It’s been so long since I last played PC Minecraft that I’d forgotten how to build stuff. I was jamming sticks into the grid in all sorts of combinations because I could not for the life of me remember how to build a fence.

Stardew Valley (PC) – You know, it may be a shameless clone of Harvest Moon, but at least it does a darn fine job of it. It actually almost feels like there’s too much to do, in fact. Thank goodness the whole “socialization” aspect is still as shallow as ever.

Super Mario Run (iOS) – Played a little. Still mostly just Toad Rush. I’ll play the actual stages someday, I swear.

Pokémon Sun (3DS) – And now my pokédex is 100% complete.

Double Dragon II: The Revenge (NES) – One of those rare NES classics that I have never played before. It was pretty fun until it introduced rooms that were filled with nothing but cheap deathtraps. Probably going to give up on this one.

Maniac Mansion (C64) – I don’t know if this really counts, as it’s included in Day of the Tentacle, and I fiddled around with it just long enough to earn a trophy. But I’ve never played Maniac Mansion before, so that’s something. I don’t intend to play it fully.

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