Video Games of February 2023

 February was pretty busy and I didn't really have much of window to sit down and play something big. Tactics Ogre ended up producing the bite-sized play I mostly was looking for. Towards the end of the month I wanted to play something a little more interactive and responsive and so I started poking Hollow Knight again.

My top five games (by play time) for February were:

1. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - I spent quite a while being foxed by a mission that I just couldn't beat. Then I finally read a walkthrough that suggested I go and grind money by going on a hunt and I've throughly enjoyed myself. Also hopefully made a ton of money to give me the stuff I need to beat the mission I got stuck on. The level cap is a good addition, but it does cut down on the smashing through stuff that sometimes you just want.
   
   
   
   


2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Replay is going along at a fairly good pace, although the days have been pretty busy so I haven't settled to play much. Pushing through ignoring sidequests really does make the main plot more engaging, and the reduction in weird bad guys who are just hanging out reduces the number of questions about what's going on.
   
   
   
   


3. Hollow Knight - I've now played a lot of Hollow Knight, despite having not finished it ever. This time however I feel like I'm finally getting good enough to really get somewhere. I've been replaying the last 10 hours or so and now I'm finally setting out into the unknown again.
   
   
   
   


4. Sea of Stars (Demo) - Sea of Stars certainly looks like Chrono Trigger if it was made in the year 2023. I wasn't sure if it was an honestly good game or just something satirical (which I've had the impression that Messenger - the dev's previous game - is), but while the demo was definitely fourth wall breaking the rest of the game felt pretty good and it seems like the game itself is going to be fun to play. The RGB "puzzle" was a really neat inclusion.
   
   
   
   


5. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - Vroom vroom.
   
   
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for February:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Games of January 2023

For a bunch of reasons, January just hasn't been a time when I've really wanted to sit down and play much. I've mostly been poking at Tactics Ogre and picking up Xenoblade Chronicles more when I've wanted to play something with more story and activity.

My top five games (by play time) for January were:

1. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - I'm a sucker for Ogre Battle stuff, what can I say. The game is pretty satisfying, although I do wish it has an easy mode just to make moving through some of the game a little easier.
   
   


2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - I'm enjoying the replay and trying to get through doing as little side content as I can. Doing all -- most of -- the side quests and stuff was really important to the world building, but as with all of the Xenoblade games it really ruins the pace, so now that I'm seen everything I'm hoping to get a better feeling for what the story feels like when you're keeping your pace up.
   
   


3. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - Vrooom vroom.
   
   


4. Super Mario World (Nintendo Switch Online)I had 10 minutes to spare and wanted to play something quick, responsive and fun. Super Mario World is one of the best feeling games I actually have installed on the switch.
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for January:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Games of December 2022

Apparently this is was the year of being pretty focused on one game at a time and this time up it was Tactics Ogre.

My top five games (by play time) for December were:

1. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Given how bad I often am at tactics games and how hard I bounced off Tactics Ogre when it came out on PSP, I'm a bit amazed at how much I'm enjoying it now. I'm not necessarily doing super well, but I'm certainly having fun. There's something about the flexibility of the different units and the customization of weapons and skills that makes the game perpetually interesting.
   
   


2. Tunic - My partner and I agreed to play this together. The exploration element and the mystery of the instruction booklet is really cool. As the person with hands on the controller I ended up getting seriously smacked around by the second boss and that kinda dampened my enjoyment. I think the approach to accessibility, adjustability isn't quite right.
   
   


3. Rune Factory 5 - I figured I should check out at least one farm sims in the year of farm sims.  It's no where near as good as Stardew Valley on any criteria you'd choose to name. It has no internal consistency in design, narrative or game play. It's also not interesting, far to into anime tropes (or maybe memes), no balance of challenge, no fun in the farming or crafting. It also has really frustrating slowdown and jank. Disappointing and it sounds like that's indicative of the year of farm sims.
   
   


4. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Replaying has been fun, the little I've done. They tied in a lot of things that you don't see until later. I am a little disappointed that there's not too much to do in a new game+, but there's still enough that I'll finish the second play through at some point soon.
   
   


5. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - Vrooom.
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for December:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Games of 2022

Considering that I'm not always the best at going out and playing new games, this has been a pretty new year for me. I've played eight new games and while some where maybe a little more up my alley than others, all of them had something to recommend them. They're all Switch games because I really need to get off my butt and do something about my poor old PC.

I've sorted all eight new games into rough categories based on how much I liked them.

The Alright

• Mario Strikers Battle League

  

  With some updates, this might be better than it was when I played it. It's a well put together game, and in multi-player it might be great to play, but playing single player was just boring.

• Rune Factory 5

  

  Given how great Stardew Valley is, the question feels like "can a studio make a farming sim game with that much quality?" Rune Factory 5 is a pretty strong indication that no, they can't. At a very high level there's some fun to be had here, but honestly the low production quality makes it pretty hard to really have fun with. The game has technical problems and design problems and world building problems and story telling problems. It hasn't felt like a game that would reward playing too much, but it's pretty and good hearted.

The Good

• Nintendo Switch Sports

  

  If you have the time to play and want to move, this is a nice modern version of Wii sports. It has a very Wii, fun, cozy vibe (you get to play volleyball in a bookstore), and it does a lot to get you up and moving. We played once or twice and never really got back to it which is why it ends up as "Good" in my estimation.

The Very Good

• Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope

  

  There's a lot to really like in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. I think it's a fantastic sequel and moving tactics games off of the grid works really well the way they've implemented it. My only complaint, such as it is, is that there hasn't really been a reason to pick one team over another and to upgrade any character one way over another. I haven't played as much as I might have, so that might not be a real problem as you go later in the game.

• Triangle Strategy

  

  As I've said in my monthly updates. This game is slow. Overall I think it's a wonderful modern tactics game, but I can be in and out of a mission in Tactics Ogre in 15 minutes and here it's way longer. You have to jump through multiple cut scenes for every story mission. The story is really well written, the art is beautiful and the mechanics are great and inovative. Overall it should a great or excellent game, but it just feels like a wonderful concrete block in my life.

The Great

• Tactics Ogre: Reborn

  

  I'm probably *slightly* overselling Tactics Ogre: Reborn, just becuase it's my current obsession as I write this, but it hits all of the things I love in a tactics game and something about it has just felt really, really satisfying. It also has all the trappings of Ogre Battle which I love, possibly without reason. I barely remember the PSP version of Tactics Ogre, but this seems to have all of the ease of use of a modern game, and it moves so much faster than Triangle Strategy.

• Tunic

  

  Tunic has been great. It's stylish and charming and the dynamic of putting together a 8-bit era manual is really really cool. My partner and I have been playing through it together and for the most part it's been an absolute gem. My only complaint is that either the combat is tuned really hard or I just suck at it. It might be a side effect of being the person who does the controls and wanting it to be fun for the puzzle solver, but it really kicked me out of the game when the second boss completely stomped me.

• Xenoblade Chronicles 3

  

  I really do love XBC 3, especially the characters. The mechanics are very good and the story is very good, but at the end of the day I spent as long as I did playing it because of how much I love the main six. I think, honestly, the game would have been better with even more focus on them and less on the big plot. As I've said before the Eunie and Sena Show really sold me on the game and it elevates the rest of an already great game.

Games of November 2022

November was a little more normal, but I spent a lot of recovering from the nonsense from October. I did finish Xenoblade and started a New Game + playthrough.

My top five games (by play time) for November were:

1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Starting a replay has been really rewarding. There's a lot of things I didn't recognize on my first playthrough that I hadn't seen or noticed or understood. It's also reinforced just how awesome Eunie and Sena are.
   
   
   


2. Ogre Battle 64 - Snow ... but also, the second half of the game still has some pretty interesting parts. It's always a nice game to chill out with.
   
   


3. Tactics Ogre: Reborn - Way back, when it came out on PSP, I picked it up, found it really hard and kinda gave up. Getting to revisit it on the Switch has been good so far.
   
   


4. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope - I drifted off of Mario + Rabbids a little faster than I thought I would. I still think it's great, but it just didn't have a time it fit into during the month.
   
   


5. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - Mario Kart felt into a bit of the same as Mario + Rabbids. Not much time really to play it, and honestly, much as I love it, if I had time there was something more appropriate to play.
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for November:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Video Games of October 2022

I'm not sure there's been a month before where I've only played 3 games, so that's novel. On top of that, between being sick and some other things, I almost totally lost track of what I did play so this is by far the roughest estimate of play times ever. That being said, my time in the tracker is almost exactly the same as my time on my Xenoblade 3 play-through so I must be kinda close.

So that being said, good riddance to October 2022.

My top five games (by play time) for October were:

1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Having realized how much character means to me in stories and games, I've really been able to lean into "The Ongoing Adventures of Eunie and Sena, Plus Their Other not as Funny Friends". I'm not sure that I played any "main" story at all during October, but the quality of the side stories has been really high. I have a couple of complaints about the coupling of the side stories to the main story and just mechanically I've been so high levelled for such a long time that the bulk of the gameplay has kinda stopped.
   
   
   
   


2. Mario + Rabids: Sparks of Hope - A fantastic game, that is exactly what it needs to be. The tactical combat is fun, interesting and low stakes enough that it's easy to throw yourself at something and see if it works. Breaking off the grid for movement has also been great, so I hope the folks working on XCOM (or Marvel Midnight Suns) are taking notes. The story is also charming and perfectly supports everything that's going on.
   
   
   
   


3. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - You know the story here. Push button, receive serotonin.
   
   
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for October:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Video Games of September 2022

October has been a wild month, so I'll be honest that I don't really remember what my thoughts were about games back in September. That being said, September was definitely dedicated to Xenoblade 3, so really there's not to say anyway.

My top five games (by play time) for September were:

1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Back in August I mentioned how much I find characters to be the thing that ties to me a story and honestly the characters in Xenoblad 3 haver really hooked me. Eunie's the boss and Sena needs you to remember to use your mouth-words.
   
   


2. Hollow Knight - I've enjoyed messing around with Hollow Knight. I feel a bit like I may need to "git good" to really get everything out of it, but honestly, just wandering through Hollownest is a lot of fun.
   
   


3. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - As always; Push button, go fast, shiny colours.
   
   


4. Triangle Strategy - It's maybe not fair, but my quest to get the "good ending" is getting hung up on the game being just hard enough to require me to pay attention and my general irritation at how slow the game is.
   
   


5. Super Mario World (Nintendo Switch Online) - I've really been looking for quick games I can quickly play and which feel really good. SNES games don't *quite* feel like that for the most part, but Mario World is maybe the best.
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for September:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Video Games of August 2022

I set out to really invest time in Xenoblade Chronicles 3 this month and did that fairly well. I took a day off just before it got busy and it was nice to pick up something I could just play. Since then I've tried to play an hour or so at the end of the day and I think that's been a good way to play and it's helped me to structure my mind and life.

My top five games (by play time) for August were:

1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - I bought the first Xenoblade Chronicles during "Operation Rainfall" and played a little bit. I bounced off because what was then the MMORPG style didn't appeal and the story didn't really grab me. I ended up watching Chuggaconroy's Let's Play which was really impressive and touching and later I watched his Let's Play of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Neither game was for me, and I bought 3 mostly because it was the big JRPG coming out this year and people really liked it.

   

   As it's turned out, I'm really enjoying it. The story is interesting, I'm enjoying the combat and I love the characters. This year I've realized how much loving the characters in a game or book or show is the real indicator as to whether or not I'll love the media overall. I recognize that with JRPGS it's a matter of when, not if we'll have to fight God to save the universe, but the journey seems like it will be worth it.



2. Loop Hero - Loop Hero has continued to have a lot of interesting moments. I don't think I love the game (I don't love the characters for one thing), but it has a lot of combinations and moments that are engaging. I find generally with rogue likes there's an issue with the difficulty curve feeding the interest curve, but I think Loop Hero really has that nailed down.
   
   


3. Hollow Knight - The more I play the more invested I am in the story of Bug Knight. The developers have done a huge amount of environmental story telling and the difficulty (so far) has been just right to keep me picking it up. Doing a fresh play through I'm able to do so many things I couldn't the first time and the game really rewards taking the time to practice and gain skills.
   
   


4. Triangle Strategy - I'm still chugging along with Triangle Strategy. I hope that this will be there move games following this one, either in the series or out. I think a lot of the things in this could be better, but everything that's in it is good.
   
   


5. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe - Push button, go fast, shiny colours; what's not to love? (Actually, I really miss the beautiful specularity that the original game had that seems to be missing from the crazy DLC package, but that's pretty minor over all.)
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for August:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month: