You probably already know the deal with these things are.
Genuinely surprised it's taken me this long to actually finish something this year but at the same time not surprised at all.
No set goals this year but I'd like to finish as many games as I buy this year which I have so far... not done!
Finished on: May 23rd (True Ending) / May 26th (100% Clear)
Time to Finish: Save file shows a time of 34:27 / 100% Clear save file shows a time of 40:30
Pretty fun! Still gotta head back and finish all the other alternate endings and bonus scenarios.
Edit: Finished everything up! Still a very enjoyable game with the notable exception of the C[REDATCTED] scenario that I found to be a total slog. Even so, it was still kind of interesting just incredibly not the sort of thing that can keep my attention for long.
Finished on: June 2nd (Completed runs with several characters, Alpha Build) / September 29th (Completed the final episode with ~44 hours put into the release version of the game)
Time to Finish: <1 hour per run.
Been staving off my desire to get into all the Rogue-likes I've missed out on for the past few years for a while but I slipped up and got into a forthcoming one. Really entranced by the gameplay mechanics and design in this game, even in it's alpha state there's a very fun and solid game here. Gonna try and not play it until it's properly done but it'll be real tough.
Finished on: June 13th
Time to Finish: Games played through the Windows Store don't keep track of your time played so my estimate might be a little off, but I finished the game in 4 play sessions in ~9 hours and 30 minutes.
I'm not entirely sure I like this game very much or at all, really. I had a bit of a misunderstanding as to what the game's core loop and structure was but I stuck through it because by the time I realized I wasn't sure I wanted to play more of it I was already near the end.
Edit: Thought about it a bit and since I don't think I'm gonna expound on this elsewhere, I've come to the conclusion that I don't like VOid Bastards very much. I am not enamored by any one of its individual elements that I presume people might praise (the visuals, core gameplay loop, character quirks, sense of humor etc.) enough to forgive all the minor additive grievances I have with the game.
Overall, I found the game to be pretty dull in a way that the alternate restrictive play modes or harder difficulties couldn't seem to alleviate.
Finished on: June 19th (Normal) / June 22nd (Extra)
Time to finish: 4 hours (Normal game clear) / 5 hours (100% + Extra clear).
What an absolute delight. Genuinely wasn't expecting a fan-game based on a series I adore and heavily influenced by a game I have zero reverence for to dazzle me like Luna Nights did but...
Finished on: June 20th
Time to finish: ~2 hours.
Very succinct and incredibly cool puzzle game. Free of chaff and lots of very clever uses of its mechanics.
Finished on: June 24th
Time to finish: <30 mins (Normal 1CC).
It's probably been more than 5 years since I've been able to finish a Touhou game on any difficulty and I genuinely thought I wouldn't be able to beat any of these again. Warms my heart to find out that I realized I could do it with the first one I ever played.
Finished on: July 2nd
Time to finish: Clear save file shows a time of 17:20:26 and the Steam timer says 30 hours (Normal clear)/ 100% complete save file shows a time of 27:02:48 and Steam timer says 41 hours.
Very fun!
EDIT 1: I've written about this game elsewhere but I'm actually quite surprised I actually like this game considering I'm not fond of Symphony of the Night (the only 'vania in this style I've actually played) and that I played Bloodstained in an incredibly odd fashion (No-hit clearing every boss using a limited selection of shards and weapons). Currently cleaning up side-stuff while I listen to podcasts and still enjoying it!
Finished on: July 10th
Time to finish: Clear save file shows a time of 05:33:01 (Normal clear).
Will write some stuff later but... I don't think I like Ori very much.
Edit: So, to touch on it a little bit, the only parts of Ori that I actually enjoyed were looking at it (it's a very pleasant looking game!), listening to it, and the Bash ability. Playing Ori, by which I mean performing most of the platforming challenges, exploring the world and fighting enemies, was a fairly uninspiring process for a variety of reasons. Which is truly at odds with the story, visuals and music of the game.
Finished on: July 14th (Normal Ending) / July 22nd (True Ending)
Time to finish: Clear save file shows a time of 5:00:24 (Normal clear) / 100% clear save file displays a time of 08:09:23.
Will write more later but I enjoyed Timespinner quite a fair bit!
Edit: Really wish people expended as much effort to sell this game as a throwback to a founding game in the genre (which it is, no doubt) as they did to mention the casually and comfortably queer writing, world-building and cast of characters.
Messing around with the Orbs in combat, spells and passive abilities is fun but felt a bit too restrictive for me to engage with most of it for the main game.
I tried to mix things up for the post-game content/cleanup but still settled into a select few items very quickly. Still fun to mess with though.
Finished on: July 19th
Time to finish: Completion screen shows a time of 07:28:39 (Normal mode).
Guacamelee 2 feels a lot more like a Guacamelee+ even though they already made a Guacamelee+ several times. Even so, it's as enjoyable as it's predecessor. Still the only game of it's type with combat that I actually enjoy doing and don't consider a simple means to an end.
Finished on: July 30th
Time to finish: Completion screen shows a time of 14h59m (Normal mode).
Can't remember the last time I bothered to finish an immersive sim (Dishonored?) but I really enjoyed Prey! Didn't really enjoy any of the combat (especially any of it that happened in zero-G) but I adored the level and world design.
Finished on: August 28th
Time to finish: Save file shows a time of 02:49:41 (Bad Ending) / Post-game save file shows a time of 03:17:59 (True Ending + 100% Map completion)
I dig the art style (it reminds me of mid 2000s doujin games) and the gloomy vibe but I wasn't engaged by the setting or characters. Even looking at the key art for the entry on this list, I couldn't even tell you half of the characters are...
Also didn't really like the feel of the melee combat but that is, unfortunately, par for the course for these sorts of games.
EDIT: After getting the true ending and completing the map my feelings have not changed.
Finished on: September 7th
Time to finish: ~80 minutes across 3 play sessions (4 Albums) + ~20 minutes (1 Single).
It's such a shame that most games aren't even a fraction as cool as Ape Out.
Finished on: September 10th
Time to finish: Post-game save file shows a time of 5:11:32 (87% completion).
So, two things I like about this game: the art and the chaindash you can do by timing your dashes correctly.
I am not exaggerating when I say this is maybe the quickest I've gone from thinking "Oh, this game could be cool." to thoroughly disliking every moment spent playing it. I only powered through it in one sitting well into the A.M. because I knew if I put it down I would never want to play it again. And I figured, what with the way some of the equipment in the game works, that maybe I would find some combination of items that would help me enjoy the game more.
I did not.
Finished on: September 12th
Time to finish: ~5 hours across 4 play sessions (Main story) + ~3.5 hours to reach the alternate ending (96% completion).
An incredibly joyous game and I'm not even a huge fan of pinball!
Finished on: September 18th
Time to finish: Post-game save file shows a time of 16h32m (Ending B) / Post-game save file shows a time of 17h53m (Ending A + 100% completion).
The weight of the Mea Culpa carries a heavy burden, one that I do not perceive as a vital essence but shoulder in partial discontent.
Even so, journeying across Cvstodia, bearing witness to its many penitent inhabitants, exhuming its withered grounds has left my guilty heart blessed by its unyielding Miracle.
Finished on: September 23rd
Time to finish: Post-game save file shows a time of 19:06:08.
A game clearly built for co-op that is doable when played solo but not necessarily... enjoyable. A game with near limitless potential afforded by its interesting worldbuilding that always finds an opportunity to take safe and uninteresting steps throughout. Plenty of fascinating mechanics and about twice as many completely baffling design decisions.
The amount of times I've gone "Wow, that's pretty cool!" was eclipsed by the times I've gone "Wow, this sucks!" by the time I was through with it.
Finished on: October 23rd
Time to finish: A little under an hour (59:25 to be exact).
A very pleasant trek through a flavorful little island.
Finished on: October 23rd
Time to finish: ~30 minutes.
This is most definitely a video game.
Finished on: October 29th
Time to finish: 2 hours for my first clear on my first run on Normal mode.
The only contender in the wide field of rogue-like deckbuilders that I've actually played. I enjoy it quite a bit! Difficult to tell if it'll have the staying power you'd associated with these sorts of games though.
Finished on : November 8th
Time to finish: 23 hours with near total completion.
Had a pretty good feeling about this one and didn't end up disappointed with it.
Finished on: December 4th
Time to finish: Completed save file shows a time of 62:48:26. Steam says I've played for 83 hours.
This is most definitely a video game.
