My rating system is as follows (well known games as examples):

0: Dead - mainly dead multiplayer games, abandoned games, or stuff that just crashes on my PC. (eg. Deus Ex: GOTY)

1: Nope - Either it's just rubbish, or it's supremely frustrating; or I just hated it; not playing again. (eg. Dirt Rally 2.0)

2: Meh - Maybe I wasn't in the right mood/frame of mind, or not my kind of game, or it's just meh. These generally get a second go at some stage, but are at risk of deletion. (eg. Train Valley 2)

3: OK - Something that kind of grabbed me, that I'd play again if in the mood. (eg. DC Universe Online)

4: Good - This is actually a blurry category; some of these might be "OK", some border on "Excellent"; but these are the ones that I come back to (or want to) more than once, and they're good quality games with most of the rough edges knocked off (eg. Borderlands 3, Warframe, Relicta, Slay the Spire)

5: Excellent - These are the ones that just keep dragging me back. They're the games I'm thinking about while playing a different game. Right now that's Ghostwire: Tokyo.

These categories can change over time - Warframe went from Meh, to OK, to Good, to Excellent, back to Good.

Using this toot as an anchor point for the #Project365ONG reviews, and for the January reviews.

If you want to suggest a game, please reply to this toot.

#Gaming #Project365 #GrissGames

Jan 1, 2023 - Day 1 - Review
Total NewPlays: 1

Game: Ruiner

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Sept 26, 2017
Library date: April 28, 2018
Unplayed: 1709 days (4y8m4d)
Playtime: 30m

#Ruiner is a #cyberpunk isometric twin-stick shooter. I'm playing with keyboard & mouse. I've got a bit of a thing for cyberpunk themed games. I picked this one up in the #HumbleBundle April 2018.

I didn't read up on it before jumping in, and I'd forgotten everything about it. You're dropped straight into the action, with the prologue running you through the controls. Having not read up first, this meant the prologue twist took me by surprise.

It's very polished, with a good cyberpunk feel. Critically, for an isometric game, it gets movement with the WASD keys "right", something that another isometric cyberpunk game, #TheAscent, does not.

I'm giving it an initial rating of:

4: Good.

#Ruiner #Cyberpunk #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 1, 2023 - Day 1 - Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: 2

Game: Prey

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: May 5, 2017
Library Date: July 20, 2019
Unplayed: 1261 days (3y5m12d)
Playtime: 2.1h

I bought this on a whim when the Digital Deluxe edition was on special for about 75% off. Then I read a little more closely, and realised it was survival horror, and I don't DO horror.

Except... recently, I have started playing games I never would have touched before. I'm not sure why, but for the first time in my life I'm actually finding some enjoyment in that type of game, instead of uncontrollable anxiety.

I've also realised that I really seem to dig Arkane Studios games. I started playing Dishonored for the first time a few months ago, I've been playing through Deathloop, so I thought I might take Prey out for a spin for half an hour. 2 hours of jump scares, frantically smashing mimics, and trying to stay alive later, I saved out to write this up, and grab some dinner.

Can pretty safely rate it:

4: Good.

#Prey #Horror #Survival #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 2, 2023 - Day 2 - Review
Total NewPlays: 3

Game: Aegis Defenders

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Feb 9, 2018
Library Date: Dec 24, 2019
Unplayed: 1105 days (3y9d)
Playtime: 19m

This game came in a Humble Choice bundle, and it had two things going against it:

1. Pixel graphics
2. Platformer

1. I was there for 8-bit & pixel graphics the first time around. My first "gaming" computer was a PC XT clone with an amber monochrome monitor. Our only gaming was a pong clone.

I think these are the reasons I lack rose-coloured glasses for that era of gaming.

2. It's a 2D platformer. Like many #autistic folks, my fine motor control is not the greatest, nor is my hand-eye coordination. Platformers have been one of the major sources of frustration for me over the years, as I regularly mashed the wrong keys on the keyboard.

Which turned out to be a part of the problem.

When I got to grips with an Xbox controller to play Forza Horizon 4, it was an eye-opener, not just in terms of racing, but also for platformers.

Aegis Defenders is a 2D platformer mash-up with a Tower Defense game. Explore, find the target, defend it, upgrade, rinse and repeat. It remains to be seen whether I'll want to come back to it repeatedly, so for now I'm giving it a rating of:

3: OK.

#AegisDefenders #2D #Platformer #TowerDefense #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 2, 2023 - Day 2 - Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: 4

Game: SOULCALIBUR VI

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Feb 9, 2018
Library Date: Nov 30, 2019
Unplayed: 1129 days (3y1m3d)
Playtime: 29m

SOULCALIBUR VI was the headliner game for the last "Humble Monthly Bundle" before it became the "Humble Choice" bundle in December 2019, which also lead to the odd side-effect of getting two December" bundles that month.

Unfortunately for SOULCALIBUR VI fighting games are just below platformers on my "categories of games I do not play", and the game went unplayed.

Again, hand-eye coordination is at play, as well as "remember this string of buttons you need to press". I know the Konami Code exists, but I couldn't quote it to save my life.

But here I was loading it up this morning, and... it has a storyline? Character development? Not just punch punch kick kick punch duck block?

I actually enjoyed it enough to reinstall Injustice: Gods Among Us to see if I still hate it as much as I did the last two times I tried playing it.

SOULCALIBUR VI gets a rating of:

3: OK.

ps. I don't actually hate Injustice as much as I did. Go figure.

#Soulcalibur #Fighting #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 3, 2023 - Day 3 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 5

Game: Outlast

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Sept 4, 2013
Library Date: Sept 22, 2017
Unplayed: 1929 days (5y3m12d)
Playtime: 15m

I have absolutely no idea why I own this game. It's exactly the kind of horror game I hate, and *still* won't play.

Unlike the survival horror of Prey (at least so far), this is visceral gore and jumpscare stuff.

...and there's no way to fight back.

So, no... no thank you. While searching for the date in Steam, I also found I own Outlast 2. Why???

Outlast gets a rating of:

1: Nope. (NopenopeNOPENOPENOPE)

#Outlast #Survival #Horror
#Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 4, 2023 - Day 4 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 6

Game: Marvel's Midnight Suns

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Dec 2, 2022
Library Date: Jan 3, 2022
Unplayed: 0 days (see below)
Playtime: 2.4h

I use gg.deals to keep track of all the games I want, for when they go on special at historical lows. Yesterday I woke up to an alert for Midnight Suns. It's currently 41% off on Green Man Gaming, and 33% off on Steam.

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to jump on it, and loaded it into my cart, and at the last minute, I balked. Literally sitting there with my finger over the mouse and the mouse pointer on the purchase button.

FOMO vs NOMO. Somehow FOMO won. I didn't click the button. I'm certain. Almost certain. In any case, I found myself staring at the "Purchases" screen.

[shrug] Now I own Midnight Suns. Started downloading it immediately, and got stuck in.

The reason this says "Unplayed: 0 days." is that I started playing just before 10pm, and finally realised I had to log out and get some sleep after midnight, or I'd be playing until ridiculous o'clock.

I'm not sure quite how to describe it. A tactics-RPG-roguelike? With an undercurrent of snarky MCU-style humour.

Anyway, I love it. I'll love it more when they patch some optimisations in for the occasional stuttering, but Marvel's Midnight Suns still gets my first "Excellent" for 2023.

5: Excellent

#MidnightSuns #RPG #Tactics #Roguelike #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Supplemental: One of the big unexpected turns (I hadn't read a lot of the reviews about it), is how the main character ("The Hunter"), is customisable, and you can choose to play as a male or female hunter, and can customise how you look.

It might seem like a small thing, but the ability to align an in-game character that I'm playing closer to my sense of self really helps me get into the game.

Prey, AC: Odyssey, & Valhalla, (just as examples) all let you choose between a male or female protagonist, instead of defaulting to male.

But when games like Cyberpunk 2077, and now Midnight Suns not only let you pick a female protagonist, but customise her look, these are great steps towards inclusivity in gaming, particularly as a #trans person.

Jan 5, 2023 - Day 5 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 7

Game: Homefront

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Mar 15, 2011
Library Date: Dec 8, 2017
Unplayed: 1854 days (5y28d)
Playtime: 25m

Not to be confused with "Homefront: Revolution" (which is, apparently, a "re-imagining"), Homefront is a FPS set in a apocalyptic post-invasion America in 2027, after North Korea has re-united with South Korea, and Korea has become a superpower.

The montage showing North Korea's movement from pariah state to world superpower, includes a "OMG 6 MILLION DEAD FROM AVIAN FLU!", which at the time of release probably felt apocalyptic, but with 6.7M dead of COVID, and counting, feels both a bit on the nose, and also a bit "and?"

The initial setup with one scene that would require a CW if I described it; once things kick into motion, so far it's a pretty average run & gun shooter; the AI seems to like one-shotting, so it's kind of slow making forward movement.

Apparently there's a serious storyline, but I didn't manage to progress far enough through the prologue to find out. Ehhh. I might go back to it.

My initial rating for Homefront is:

3: OK

#Homefront #FPS #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 6, 2023 - Day 6 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 8

Game: Gardens Inc. - From Rakes to Riches

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Mar 26, 2014
Library Date: Sept 23, 2017
Unplayed: 1931 days (5y3m14d)
Playtime: 3.9h

I've looked at this game sitting there in the 2017 group a few times, and bounced each time.

"A gardening game?" Another day. Today was that day. It's an almost nine year old game; classed as a "casual strategy" game, when they go into 800x600 and get blown up to full screen, with no options for high res, you know you're going to have a bad time.

I figured I'd suffer for the 15 minutes, and then write up the review.

[4 hours later]

I can't believe it sucked me in like that.

It's got a typical casual/mobile game cheesy storyline, with staged levels feel. You're running against a clock, and you've got to fix a few things in each garden, and you need to do some upgrades, and managed resources, and I'll just play this level one more time to beat it.

My initial rating for Gardens Inc. is:

4: Good

The only thing that stopped this cartoonish casual game getting an "Excellent" was the low-res graphics and resolution shift.

#GardensInc #Casual #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 7, 2023 - Day 7 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 9

Game: The Metronomicon: Slay The Dance Floor

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Mar 29, 2016
Library Date: Mar 12, 2018
Unplayed: 1762 days (4y9m26d)
Playtime: 36m

It looks like I picked this up in a Fanatical BYOB deal, and added it to my collection. I quite like rhythm games on my mobile.

It then sat there unplayed for almost five years.

It's very colourful, and a little bit cheesy. Almost feels like someone came up with the play on words for Necronomonicon and thought "That should be a game!"

However, trying to set this up to play almost felt like a speedrun of the five stages of grief.

Denial: Why isn't this working with a controller?

Anger: Who puts a game like this out for it not to work with a controller??

Bargaining: OK, I'll turn off Steam's controller management and set it up in game, like the steam discussion says.

Depression: This is terrible to play with a controller.

Acceptance: I'll use the keyboard.

Once I used the keyboard, things made a lot more sense.

It's definitely "I'd need to be in the mood" game, but it scratches an itch nothing else in my Steam library does.

The Metronomicon: Slay The Dance Floor gets a rating of:

3: OK

#Metronomicon #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 7, 2023 - Day 7 - NewPlay Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: 10

Game: Gardens Inc. 2: The Road to Fame

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: May 23, 2014
Library Date: Sept 23, 2017
Unplayed: 1932 days (5y3m15d)
Playtime: 36m

In a world where game sequels can take years to be released, it's a breath of fresh air to see a sequel released [checks notes]... 58 days later.

OK, it's a casual game, and they seemingly decided to cash in on the popularity of the first one. The sequel suffers from the same "fixed resolution forced to full screen" as the predecessor, but does have a couple of small quality of life changes that improve upon the formula.

Same frustratingly addictive gameplay loop that keeps me coming back to replay the level to try and beat the clock and get the gold award, but I consciously made the decision to not let it eat up my entire Saturday.

Again, the fixed-resolution-forced-full-screen is the only thing keeping this from an "excellent".

4: Good

Edit: In an odd twist, there are two more sequels (3 & 4), but not available on Steam, only through Big Fish Games, or on mobile. 1 & 2 aren't available on mobile. I thought they felt like mobile games, and they are *very* suited to the iPad screen.

Oh no...

#GardensInc #Casual #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 8, 2023 - Day 8 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 11

Game: Brütal Legend

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Feb 27, 2013
Library Date: Nov 24, 2017
Unplayed: 1871 days (5y1m15d)
Playtime: 22m

[Press Play]

...and FMV with Jack Black.

Anyway, we heard you like metal, so we put metal in your metal.

The lead character is a roadie voiced by (and apparently modelled on) Jack Black, so if you like Jack Black, you're off to a good start. Fortunately, I like Jack Black.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure how to categorise this game. It's a heavy metal road trip that was apparently first released in 2009(!) on console, before being ported to PC and released on Steam in 2013, and in some ways, it really doesn't really feel like a game that's 16 or even 10 years old. The design style helps with that, and the gameplay is fun so far.

I'm rating Brütal Legend four horns.

4: Good

#BrütalLegend #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 9, 2023 - Day 9 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 12

Game: Edge of Twilight - Return to Glory

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Sept 26, 2016
Library Date: Jul 22, 2018
Unplayed: 1632 days (4y5m18d)
Playtime: 36m

I'm not sure where to start with this. There's just so much to say about this game.

I hated it so much, I set up a new WordPress install, and spent more time writing a review than I spent playing it.

https://reviews.grissallia.com/2023/01/09/review-edge-of-twilight-return-to-glory/

TL;DR: Edge of Twilight is rated:

1: Nope.

#EdgeOfTwilight #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 10, 2023 - Day 10 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 13

Game: Q.U.B.E. 2

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Mar 14, 2018
Library Date: Jan 7, 2019
Unplayed: 1464 days (4y3d)
Playtime: 30m

A couple of my personal guidelines for this project:

1. I don't read up on the game first. A lot of these games came in bundles, and I figure if I can't remember the game, and I haven't played it, I don't want to end up with preconceived ideas about the game. I never would have played Outlast, for instance. I had no idea what Q.U.B.E. 2 is about.

2. I'm not going to play/review sequels if I've got the original game. If unplayed, I'll play that, and if played, I skip the series.

It looks like this came in a bundle, and I don't have Q.U.B.E.

Puzzle games definitely scratch a particular itch for me, and knowing there's a solution there, and I just have to find it can keep me playing for hours on end.

Portal, Portal 2, Relicta, Portal Reloaded, most recently: The Entropy Centre. They're all variations on a theme: Solve 3D physics puzzles (or with Portal Reloaded, add "time travel" to the mix).

Q.U.B.E. 2 is another first person puzzle along these lines, and I'll definitely end up staying up too late to solve one of the puzzles within.

My initial rating for Q.U.B.E. 2 is:

4: Good

#QUBE2 #Puzzle #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 10, 2023 - Day 10 - NewPlay Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: 14

Game: The Surge

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: May 16, 2017
Library Date: Aug 27, 2018
Unplayed: 1597 days (4y4m14d)
Playtime: 2h20m

I'm picking through games at random that I haven't played. Again, with no idea what I'm getting myself into.

"OK, sci-fi. Cool... WHOA!"

The whole vibe of the intro was that things were going to go sideways, I just didn't expect it to happen in quite such a visual way.

Apparently, this is a "soulslike" sci-fi game. My last "soulslike" was Elden Ring. That went so badly, I got a refund.

It could be that I didn't really grasp the gameplay loop. I did here, though, because it was making me quite cross at first.

I think I've got enough of a handle on it that I might even given Elden Ring another shot, at some stage.

Anyway, the plan was to play for 15-30 minutes, and almost 2.5 hours later, The Surge is good.

For bonus points, I was looking in my email to see when I got it, and discovered I also got The Surge 2 in a bundle that I haven't even activated. Yet.

My initial rating for The Surge is:

4: Good

#TheSurge #Soulslike #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 11, 2023 - Day 11 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 15

Game: Loot Rascals

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Mar 8, 2017
Library Date: Oct 28, 2017
Unplayed: 1901 days (5y2m14d)
Playtime: 24m

As soon as I started this game, I thought "I'm going to hate this." I was wrong.

I don't love it but I don't hate it. It drew me in, but then crashed and kicked me out.

It's a hex-turn-based-roguelike-deckbuilder, and has quite an odd design style to it.

It did intrigue me, but crashing out at random threw me off. I'll probably poke at it again at some stage.

Loot Rascals gets a rating of:

3: OK

#LootRascals #Roguelike #TurnBased #DeckBuilder #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 12, 2023 - Day 12 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 16

Game: Breathedge

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Feb 26, 2021
Library Date: Dec 12, 2022
Unplayed: 31 days (31d)
Playtime: 3.5h

I have a love-hate relationship with survival games, and a big chunk of that is probably down to "is it multiplayer PvP?" (ugh), and is "there some kind of objective beyond build random stuff?"

Rust, and V Rising: Meh.
Subnautica: Excellent.

I'd seen Breathedge described as "Subnautica in space", which is kind-of true, but it has its own wild humour that you'll either love or hate.

So far, I love it. At 10pm last night, I thought I'd play it for half an hour. I logged out at 1:30am.

If a game can get me hooked like that so deeply that I lose track of time, that's an excellent game.

So Breathedge gets rated:

5: Excellent

#Breathedge #Survival #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 12, 2023 - Day 12 - NewPlay Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: 17

Game: The Wolf Among Us

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Oct 11, 2013
Library Date: Aug 1, 2017
Unplayed: 1990 days (5y5m11d)
Playtime: 68m

Telltale Games seem to pretty much do one thing, and they do it well; however, a lot of that depends on the source material.

I have a LOT of Telltale games that I've racked up over the years (thanks, bundles!), and every time I played them they frustrated me.

Turns out that playing a game that is designed for a controller, with a mouse and keyboard, will do that to you.

My previous hyperfixation on trying to play every game with mouse/keyboard may have cost me some great gaming experiences over the years.

Playing TTG's games with a controller has been a revelation, and I've finally been able to get through enough of a game without have to think about the controls to realise that they're basically just playable movies.

The Wolf Among Us is based on a DC comic of the same name. The storytelling is excellent, but it's very much going to be based on whether I'm in the mood or not.

The Wolf Among Us is rated:

4: Good

#TheWolfAmongUs #TelltaleGames #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365

Jan 12, 2023 - Day 12 - NewPlay Bonus Review
Total NewPlays: 18

Game: Wings! Remastered Edition

Platform: Steam PC
Release Date: Oct 18, 2014
Library Date: Sept 23, 2017
Unplayed: 1937 days (5y3m20d)
Playtime: 19m

In 1990, my best friend from school moved into the small village I lived in, in the NSW Southern Highlands.

As Commodore computers were banned in our house, this was the first time I encountered a Commodore Amiga. What a glorious machine.

I was at his place frequently, just so we could play games together. One of the games I was obsessed with, was Cinemaware's "Wings!"

This was also the first time I encountered an arcade flight game, and nothing ever quite scratched that itch the same way.

So when Wings! Remastered Edition went on sale, in September 2017, I snapped it up... and then promptly forgot about it.

The question for me was: "After all these years, having played countless flight games, both arcade and simulation, would the gameplay hold up?"

Yes. Yes it does. It's not going to win any awards, and it doesn't really compare to modern flight battles, but it's just some nice, arcade-style, World War I shooting and flying.

I suspect that it might get very samey, playing all the way through, but it's an OK way to scratch that particular itch.

I'm giving Wings! Remastered Edition a rating of:

3: OK

#WingsRemastered #Flying #Gaming #Project365ONG #Project365