Another year down, and I’ve managed to be as bad at getting through games as last year. It’s a big shame and I love my games, but time and money do not help with getting through things and sometimes, just sometimes, well, maybe more than sometimes, I can fall off a game, which happens from time to time, and that’s fine. If for whatever reason you don’t get hooked by a game or what was keeping you hooked seems to fall away and you want to move on, then do it, what matters is enjoying yourself, and with services like Game Pass and PlayStation Plus dropping games has less of an impact on things like your wallet, which is the biggest issue when dropping a game, it’s all about that sunk cost fallacy.
I’ve still managed to get around to finishing several games both on and off-stream and I have done a few reviews, though less than previously, which is more of a shame than the lack of finishing games as it’s something I enjoy – along with streaming- and really wish I had been able to put the time and money into it. Hopefully next year I can again. Anyway, here are a few games this year I played through and my thoughts.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
OK, this is cheating a little as while I finished this in January I played most of it in 2023, but I did only finish it during 2023 so, it counts… It does! The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a follow-up to Breath of the Wild. A truly wonderful game and for me a game I preferred to Breath of the Wild. BotW was great, but I felt the fatigue of the Open World, and I didn’t get that with TotK, which is surprising as it’s the same world with more and more added to it. If you enjoy open-world games and love Zelda then check out TotK, then again, you more than likely have if you feel that way. I hope that for the next entry, Nintendo go to a more traditional style of Zelda title as I really miss the smaller world with amazing dungeons.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
Oh, how I love a good Metroidvania, and Castlevania is one of the best, generally speaking. Of course, Castlevania games have 2 varieties Action and exploration, but Dawn of Sorrow is of the latter variety. It was originally on the Nintendo DS and Konami rereleased this along with two other NDS titles in the Dominus Collection. DoS follows on from Aria of Sorrow and has you play as Soma heading back to Draculas Castle to make sure he does not become the Dark Lord. It’s a fantastic game and I prefer it to AoS, which may be the unpopular opinion, but it’s the right one, as my opinion is best, haha.
Redfall.
Redfall is a game that was harshly criticized on release for being a lacklustre release with issues and glitches aplenty. I can’t comment on any of that as I played it much later, but there were some glitches and I’ll be honest, by the time I got to it, to be honest, the game was alright, I know the developer – Arkane – are renowned for amazing games, and maybe that plays a part in many’s disappointment, but for me, I had an enjoyable time with a mediocre game, maybe the co-op helped, and frankly, it more than likely did, but I had some fun, which is no bad thing.
Astro Bot.
Astro Bot is the 3rd game in the series and a bloody good series to boot. Astro Bot’s VR game is the best in the series, but this is a damn close second. I actually did do a review for this because I enjoyed it so much, there’s loads to do and lots to collect and the Developer has been adding free updates with actual content including new levels since launch. You need to play this if you love a good 3D platformer or just good games altogether.
Divinity: Original Sin.
I played this game in co-op with my missus. It’s a game I thought I’d enjoy and she would hate, but it turns out we both loved it, bar some frustrating times of us dying in combat. It was great to finally get to D:OS but to play it with my other half and have her enjoy it just as much as me was magical. Honestly, I think she enjoyed stealing and murdering people more than anything. It would be hilarious as I’m trying to work something out and then suddenly we are fighting the guards due to her sticky fingers. We’re currently playing Divinity: Original Sin II and her thievery has calmed down somewhat but we’re both still having a blast, again, when not getting our arses handed to us in fights. I would recommend this to people who enjoy RPGs as I had a blast.
Final Thoughts.
Well, that was my 2024. It wasn’t extremely exciting, nor did I get a ton played, but what I did play I enjoyed, even Redfall to an extent, Hopefully this year I’ll pull my finger out and actually get to doing things as I genuinely love to do these reviews and streams and podcasts, but it’s time and money, but I’ll keep getting things out even if they aren’t as regular as I would like. Let me know how your year was either commenting here, on Bluesky, Mastodon or popping into my streams. Let’s all hope 2025 will be a good year, eh?