So far this year I have completed:

The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
As part of my favorite video game series, I am proud to add this to the list of TES games that I have completed/done a significant amount of the content of (since I guess you technically can't "complete" a typical TES game; completing isn't necessarily my main goal with them, but I like being able to say that I have done a lot of what is offered in each game). It has very clunky combat and movement, the camera doesn't always cooperate, and a couple puzzles were slightly obtuse. But it also has a fantastic story, was the beginning of the modern direction of TES lore, was an interesting location, and Cyrus is the man. I also left a review for it.

Divine Divinity
I was not expecting to have as much fun as I did with this game. It sucked me in right away and I immensely enjoyed it. I only spent US$0.89 on it due to a sale, but I honestly would've paid full price for it now that I know how excellent the game was. It's honestly one of my favorite 15 or 20 games, maybe even close to 10. Another one that got me to make a review for it.

Quake 2
Great game. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first Quake and a couple parts here and there were a bit boring, but it was an awesome experience overall. It is unfortunate the music is not automatically configured to work with it, but it was still kind of neat to play it without. But listening to the soundtrack afterwards...wow. Descent into Cerberon is my personal favorite. It would've definitely added a different dimension to the gameplay, but the game is great either way.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
Turok: Evolution was the only Turok game I had played before playing the original one, first playing it way back when I was a kid near the time it came out. It was fun, but I wouldn't necessarily call it good (although it has been a long time, so I'd have to play it again to definitely see). I was intrigued about playing the original when it came on sale, so I pounced on it. And what a great game! The music has got a nice style and it gets you pumped, the variety of weapons and enemies is good, and the level design was good too. Unfortunately, it suffers a bit from being too short, but I had a great time.

Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
This Turok, however, was immensely disappointing, and it seems that I am in a fairly small minority. It had its ups and downs at the beginning but was alright. Yet after about 2/3 of the way I progressively disliked it and by the end I hated it. The biggest issue that sinks this game is the level design. In Turok 1, when I had to go back to get some chronosceptor pieces I missed, it was always my fault that I went past it or easy to figure out where the pieces were if it wasn't. Turok 2, on the other hand, was so frustratingly tedious when it came to backtracking. The layouts of the levels were often really confusing and it was really hard to figure out what places I missed to get Primagen keys, sacred feathers, or talismans. Hell, even when I did remember seeing them the level design made it hard to remember how to get there, partly because a lot of each level looked so similar to other parts of the same level. While Turok 1 could have benefited from being a bit longer, Turok 2 took way too long due to having to run through levels again to find what you missed. The only level I didn't have to backtrack or run through again was The Lair of the Blind Ones. At least the weapons and enemies had an even better variety than in Turok 1, but it wasn't nearly enough to help. When I defeated the Primagen, I shouted in relief that it was over, not joy that I had conquered a great game. And the story...look, the story doesn't have to be anything earth-shattering or even legitimately good, but if you are going to go from little story to more story-oriented, at least make the story engaging.

Turok 2 does not hold up at all, in my opinion. If Turok 3 comes here, I still want to try it out. But if it has the same issues that plagued Turok 2, I may not even finish that game.

Mirror's Edge
Good and unique game, but way too short (just under 5 hours of playtime, and I'm not some elite gamer). At least it seems to have some measure of replayability though. The story is not anything spectacular, but it was decent and engaging. I also really liked the aesthetics of the environment. Worth the (short) amount of time I spent with it.

<span class="bold">Cursed</span>

Another HOPA game completed. Using those every time I have not enough time to play something "serious". Quite entertaining and relaxing, I'd say. This game has slightly darker atmosphere then most of HOPA games I've played (i.e. Artifex Mundi titles in general), which is OK, and is based on much easier and repetitive puzzles, which is not OK. Not even 3h of gameplay.

List of all games completed in 2017.

Trine (Clasic Edition)
It was underwhelming. It's not a bad game, but with all the praise it got, I expected something better. There's hardly any variety when it comes to opponents (skeletons, skeletons and even more skeletons) and puzzles and the game never got challenging. Besides that the three characters are very unbalanced. The thief is completely overpowered and you can complete 90% of the game just using her. For the last 10% you need the wizard (to summon crates, planks and platforms) and the warrior is completely useless and you will never need him at all.

Graphical design of the game is beautiful though, but sometimes it's hard to tell with which elements you can interact and which are just there as a decoration. Musics and voiceover are also great.

Complete list of finished games in 2017

Until Dawn (PS4)

This one turned out way better than my initial impressions suggested. At first I thought it was just going to be a long series of cutscenes followed by QTE sequences. But it turns out to have a few good points, enough that I played it a second time to get a better ending than the first play.

If you love B-Grade horror slasher movies, then this may be your game. It has the genre standard collection of dumb young adolescents (8 of them in this case). All of them are assholes that you would not want to know in real life, but suit the genre perfectly. Survive until Dawn. Your endings can vary from all of them dying to all of them living. I had three survive on my first play and got all of them to the end on the second. It's all linear and scripted, as you expect from this type of adventure game- yet choices you make can be critical to who survives. Most of the backstory is told by finding collectables like diaries and photo's like usual. The main story is mainly via cutscenes- again like usual for linear action adventure. I really liked the totem collectables...a collectable that gives you a very brief premonition that, if you pay attention, helps you make the right choices at critical times to get characters to survive. A collectable that actually serves a game play purpose!

It looked really nice. Very short- only 7- 8 hours for one play through. I've heard the game has performance issues on a standard PS4, but on the Pro the boost mode option seems to smooth the game play problems out...though I did notice frame drops in cutscenes. It was fun, but short- factor the short length into what you would pay for it.

So, I just finished all story missions in Destiny's base game and its first DLC, The Dark Below. I knew that Destiny was one big letdown to most people but damn, Bungie had literally NO idea what they were doing and now that I've finished the main game I can only shake my head in disbelief, considering all the promises they had made before release.

First off, the base game has a ridiculously small amount of content. You can basically finish all missions in a few hours. It took me just a few sessions in the late evening to get through it all, excluding one or two raids. Yesterday I reached the final mission and looked in disbelief, "wait, so that's it?". Yeah, that's it, kiddo, that's it. Single-handedly kill three guys in a pathetically easy bossfight and that's it. Some NPC says that I changed the universe but I don't really feel it, considering that the same enemies are still roaming the same areas. Nothing left to do but PvP matches and finishing the same stuff over and over again. Seriously, what did they do all those years?! It's not like adding a few more interesting scenarios on the existing maps would have blown up the budget too much, is it?

Anyway, so, as I said, Bungie just had no idea what they were doing. They sacrificed what they were pretty great at in favour of a number of things they frankly suck at. They were acting like Destiny was going to be that great shooter to end them all bla bla. Well no, it's not even a good Borderlands clone (unlike, say, The Division). It's great combat mechanics in a rather poor MMO. The moment it occurred to me that this wasn't going to be a great ride was when I first reached the main social hub, particularly when I first approached an NPC and he said some random blurb and the actual message was displayed in a text box. Seriously, the big revolution in gaming uses a cheap method introduced by MMOs more than a decade earlier? And of course the content of said box wasn't important nor interesting, there wasn't even a logical connection between any messages of the first NPCs I was tasked to talk to and where the waypoint would jump next to. Anyway, so the metagame is just your typical MMO crap where you don't really have to do anything but walk from waypoint to waypoint and get showered in popup boxes that you couldn't care less about. And then you go to the map from where you choose a quest and land on one of the planets and shoot stuff. Basically it's Phantasy Star Online. Yes, the one from the Dreamcast. It's the exact same format. Small social hub between missions where NPCs are just glorified vending machines and you choose the missions themselves from a list and unlock new ones as you go. Lo and behold, the great future of gaming uses a format used like fifteen years earlier.

And of course the other portion, the action, is kind of a Borderlands clone which itself is a first person Diablo clone. HOWEVER, I actually DO have to praise Bungie here. The combat is really well done. The guns feel powerful, high skill is rewarded in that you can land headshots and those actually are extremely satisfying. Enemies do differ a lot in their appearance and behaviour and the Halo is strong in this one, kudos. The only problem is that there are comparably few enemy types, neither type poses much of a threat, and there's an utter lack of challenges that do not involve avoiding projectiles while landing headshots. And vehicles are fun to use and add some diversity but are heavily underused.

The biggest problems are clearly related to all the CRPG stuff, however, which sadly also held back the level and challenge design, both of which are a lot worse than in either Halo game. I've only taken my first steps with two of the three classes but already it seems clear that one big problem is that the classes don't differ that much and fail to give players different roles in a party. Secondly, the loot is utterly pathetic. Equipment improves very linearly. Basically it's all just rising numbers without really interesting effects and bonuses. Woohoo, I finally got this legendary gun which has 10 points more damage than my previous rare one but is otherwise identical, woohoo. But the biggest problem is probably that all equipment looks the friggin' same. My level 30 Hunter looks like my level 1 hunter just with different colours. Even in The Division, which was widely ridiculed for its loot (a new beanie hat for clearing a gangsta stronghold!) was more regarding in this regard, not to mention any game Blizzard has ever made. Oh yeah, and the quest design is bad as well. The quest lines are as linear as the loot system and every mission feels the same, go from waypoint to waypoint and kill everything and everyone. Borderlands had a lot more to offer in this area. Heck, even Dead Island, whose biggest flaw was its shitty quest design, had more diverse quests than Destiny. And Destiny should be capable of much more than Borderlands and Dead Island since each story mission takes place in an isolated instance.

And what about that big feature that was supposed to make Destiny really standout, this half singleplayer half MMO thingy? Well, while doing missions you sometimes stumble upon random players in the same area. You may end up fighting a tough enemy together but most of the time you will just pass them on your way to your objective. Raids with actual matchmaking are a different story altogether and I had a lot of fun playing those. Funnily I always end up playing with level 40 guys (a lot more XP than me) who have no skill whatsoever and keep dying on me (I presume those guys got that level from the Taken King DLC for free - I decided not to use that free upgrade to level 40). Anyway, going on raids together is hardly something novel but still, it's clearly the best part of Destiny as that's where the challenge lies and teamwork is a must.

So, I've already written enough. I will now continue playing the second DLC and soon approach the big The Taken King DLC which, I've been told, is bigger and better than the entire base game. Hope those guys were right. And I guess I will finally try to play the game with a colleague who's been playing it for a long time and still loves it.

I had a similar reaction. I've heard the games improve a lot if you play them in co-op, but since I almost always play single-player I couldn't verify that.

Victor Vran (base game, here on GOG).

Disappointed. I've played a couple of Diablo-like games (but never Diablo itself unfortunately), like Torchlight or Van Helsing, but Victor Vran was the most disappointing of them all...

It's not that it isn't a nice game, visually it's satisfying, but I could never get myself accustomed to the controls and especially the targetting system. The last boss was especially infuriating as it was more like a bullet-hell shooter than anything else.

Still, the game has qualities,like a funny writing, corny jokes and cameos (special thanks to the dancing skeletons). But I was happy to finish it, which is normally not a good sign when I'm playing a game ^_^

So far in 2017: https://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2017/post15

Escape Goat

It's a puzzler, featuring a goat and a dungeon. I liked it. The main game didn't take long, and is great to play while you are ignoring the TV. Bonus content is more of the same, and I finished the game feeling like I was well and done with the concept, but also not worn out from the game. I like the fact that paying attention and experimenting reveal the solutions, and then it is just execution and timing. Overall it was a solid experience, and I regret waiting so long to try it out.

01. King's Quest 4
02. King's Quest 5
03. Loom
04. Legend of Grimrock
05. Left 4 Dead
06. Left 4 Dead 2
07. Ultima VI - The False Prophet
08. Fallout 4
09. Leisure Suit Larry - Reloaded
10. Leisure Suit Larry 6
11. The Witcher 3
12. Samurai Warrior - The Battles of Usagi Yojimbo
13. Return to Arkham - Arkham Asylum
14. Return to Arkham - Arkham City
15. Baldur's Gate

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen

Whoooa easy there, champ! ;P

Kindergarten, Steam

I got this for cheap during the sale, and don't regret it. You play as a kid in a sort of Groundhog Day scenario, reliving the same Monday over and over again (there is no in-game explanation for this). The only thing that normally carries over from day-to-day is money (but you can only accumulate ten dollars) and collectable cards you can find, but the real point is to accumulate knowledge and experience. Follow someone's questline and get a game over because you didn't have a certain item? Never mind, with a little care you can make sure to have it next time around. Every kid (and your teacher) has a questline, and you get an item that you get to keep permanently when you complete one. One of the quest-lines, to figure our what happened to a missing kid, is clearly the "main" one, and is gated off to the end by requiring items that can only be gotten by beating the other quests, but the game doesn't provide in-game instructions*; mess around and see what you can do.

The game is very, very South Park-esque; kids (including you, if you screw up) constantly die violently, all of the characters but one (two?) are remorselessly awful, and there's plenty of crude humor, but by a miracle, it manages not to feel forced or wanna be edgy. I played it for six hours, according to Steam, and got more than my money's worth.

* This is sort of a lie, because there's an extensive hint system, but you have to access that via the menu if you want use it, so I don't really think of it as being in-game. You mostly shouldn't need it, although I used it for card collecting

Little Nightmares, Hollow Knight and Rain World.

Little Nightmares is short but sweet, Hollow Knight is one of the best metroidvanias ever made and Rain World is my current goty. It's the year of the indies.

Yesterday I finished Ico, specifically the HD remake on PS3. Usually when a game gets this much praise and develops such a following I end up being highly critical. I am proud to say, that, much like the Silent Hill games, Ico is a classic that deserves every bit of praise it gets. And I guess the reason I mentioned the Silent Hill series out of all games here is that like the latter, Ico instantly feels like the kind of game that some truly passionate souls literally poured themselves into.

It's a remarkably unusual game. Even though it can be compared to many other games which have improved many aspects of this kind of gameplay (better 3D platforming, better combat, better AI and of course much better graphics) Ico remains insanely playable and could easily be a new game developed by an ambitious and highly talented indie studio (well, excluding the outdated graphics). It's quite hard to put all my impressions into words. The story, albeit simple, is very touching and the ending was insanely rewarding and there were some truly emotional moments towards the end. The puzzles were generally a tad easy (although there was one frustrating moment that made me look up the solution on YouTube) and especially the platforming challenges could have been a lot more developed but all in all the gameplay was hugely satisfying, reaching a new area was always rewarding. The game's biggest feature must be its uniquely melancholic atmosphere, though, with almost no music, only this constantly humming wind. And when actual mood changes happen (like two times throughout the entire game) it's an insanely big deal. The game's biggest flaw must be its repetitive environmental textures that make almost every part of the castle look like a dirty bathroom but it's hard for me to complain even about this aspect as it hugely contributes to the atmosphere and makes the world only feel so much more uncanny and alien.

Anyway, Ico is really interesting. Gameplay-wise it doesn't really do anything remarkable that we haven't seen in many other games since but as an experience it remains truly unique and powerful.

Also: I'm fairly certain that I will play through New Game+ soon enough.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Walking sim done right. Extremely pretty / fluffy / shiny; crappy ending tho. Occasional sticky corners, no bugs that's force a reload, nothing gamebreaking whatsoever. 4 hours blind.