Everreach: Project Eden

Everreach: Project Eden definitely wasn't the most glorious start for this year's gaming -- and to be my 100th perfect game on Steam. Wishlisting and buying a title just because I saw a youtuber make a funny video about it, is probably not the wisest course of action, especially considering that Oboeshoesgames tends to play games of wildly varying quality. At least this one was really cheap, but even so, it is absolutely not worth one's time.

Days Gone

Sony's exclusive first-party console games from the late 2010s started making their way to PC at the turn of the decade. Days Gone was not the first of them but it was the first to make it onto my backlog. The game's reception was lukewarm and maybe that's why Sony declined the pitch for a sequel by Bend Studio. Overall Days Gone is an extremely solid production; its weakness lies in its plot premise and writing. The game does however cast a delicious sequel hook at the end, and people who've gotten that far do seem to want to see where a second game would go.

Control: AWE & The Foundation

Control Ultimate Edition was on Prime Gaming to claim, about two years ago now. I did just that (for free too with a trial, I think) because I wanted to play the game's downloadable content. I have to say that I was surprised how girthy both of the expansions were -- I had expected them to be maybe two hours at max each but instead they were several. I replayed the main game too -- and couldn't tell if anything was different (other than better performance on a more powerful GPU) -- because I didn't feel like figuring out if the game pass saves would work with the GOG version.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Since Crystal Dynamics were busy, after having been tasked -- punished -- by Square Enix to make Marvel's Avengers, was the final Tomb Raider Survivor trilogy game developed mainly by Eidos Montréal instead. They didn't really take any risks and Shadow of the Tomb Raider turned out pretty much what I would've expected had it been made by just Crystal Dynamics. The gameplay felt instantly familiar, even down to keybindings. There are however some differences that I think show the Deus Ex prequel studio was handling the reins in this one.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Mass Effect to be remastered had been requested by fans for quite some time as I recall, although I think the wish was really more for just a re-release so that playing the game on newer consoles would be easier or even possible -- on PC that was never a problem. EA did eventually jump on the remaster bandwagon and BioWare got to put together Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

Control

There are not many game developer studios making big PC/console titles in Finland. Remedy Entertainment is one of the few, known in the past for their Max Payne and Alan Wake games. In 2016 they released Quantum Break which has basically TV show episodes mixed in. I don't like that. Games are an interactive medium; passive entertainment should be kept separate. That's why I haven't been interested to try it. Neither have I played Remedy's other games, simply due to lack of interest.

Just Cause 4

Just Cause 4 is a good example how multiple game launchers on PC might lead to half-assed releases. It was one of Epic Games' weekly freebies: finally one that I wanted to check out (to a degree). Just Cause 4 hadn't been well received on Steam so I wasn't expecting much but even having gotten the game for free didn't stop me from feeling disappointed.

ReCore: Definitive Edition

While looking at ReCore: Definitive Edition at a recent sale, I realized the only reason I wanted it on Steam was to get its stats added up to my profile's achievement showcase. I came to my senses and instead decided to play it were it was cheapest, which still was on the Windows Store with the Xbox Game Pass for PC. Especially since the pass remained 1€ even though it had said 4€ per month after the first. Maybe its counter reset when I canceled my subscription.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Of all the possible days to to have Rise of the Tomb Raider released on, Square Enix chose Nov 10, 2015, which happened to be Fallout 4's release date as well. Surely that cost them at least a few copies sold at full price. The game was also a timed exclusive on the Xbox but I guess Microsoft made that worth it.

Mass Effect: Andromeda

I found the music choice for Mass Effect: Andromeda's launch trailer -- Human by Rag'n'Bone Man -- to be highly amusing. With early access and review copies having already been around awhile to showcase the game's lack of quality, to me the trailer felt like BioWare Montreal saying they had tried their best and apologizing the state Andromeda would come out.

Just Cause 3

I was seriously considering of getting a refund for Just Cause 3 while I was still under 2 hours of playtime. I bought the XL Edition during Steam's Autumn sale at a pretty steep discount but still, even at 75% off I felt the game's many problems made it not worth its price. In the end I decided to continue playing, however, and beat the game at 100% completion after 70 hours. Time often simply flies while screwing around in Medici -- provided the game lets you actually play it.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

I managed to beat my game backlog and got to search for something yet untouched in my steam library. The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, a third person shooter I got with the Humble 2K Bundle in 2014, is what I ended up on. It had actually been on my backlog list earlier but I had removed it because of its mixed reception.

Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol is the first non-sequel game by Obsidian Entertainment I have played thus far. It is interesting in that regard because it came out while Obsidian was still continuing to make sequels to existing franchises. I wonder if was the developer or the publisher, Sega, who was behind the idea to create the game.

Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider (2013) was bit of an odd purchase for me as I had not ever played any game from the franchise. I guess the decision to buy it had something to do with me having the assumption it was developed by Eidos Montreal. As it turned out, the game was made by Crystal Dynamics, and only the publisher, Square Enix, was the same as with the newer Deus Ex games. But I did play through the game, and I did not totally hate it.

Spec Ops: The Line

Spec Ops: The Line is not quite the type of game I would buy based on its genre. But after having heard about its exceptional narrative, I did pick it from a Steam sale. I went into it quite skeptical, though. I tend to be wary of the popular opinion.

Just Cause 2

Various recommendations and cheap price made me pick Just Cause 2 off Steam's holiday sales few months back even though it did not look that interesting to me -- not my favorite genre with the lack of swords and sorcery. I guess it turned out to be a worthwhile purchase, however, as I now have around 80 hours clocked in the game.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is a third person shooter/action game from Relic Entertainment. It has a linear and predictable storyline, though that is to be expected from a Wh40k title; no plot twist should surprise you in this game. Just sit back, smash them up, and enjoy the blood splatter and shiny particles spraying everywhere.

Mass Effect 3

BioWare has been getting a ton of crap thrown at them for Mass Effect 3. People felt like BioWare/Eletronic Arts was selling an incomplete product, and to get the whole game one should also buy From Ashes, a Day 1 DLC. Since the DLC was included in the Digital Deluxe edition, I did not mind all that much. The second issue came up when people finished the game and its ending was not what they thought it should have been. But I will get onto that later in this post.

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 begins with a gripping intro, in which SSV Normandy SR-1 gets destroyed. Commander Shepard is killed, but not before he/she saves the crew. Death is not final, however, at least not when an infamous group, Cerberus (whose existence I had completely forgotten), and its mysterious leader, the Illusive Man, think you are the most important person in the galaxy.

Mass Effect

It is so very convenient how all the races of the galaxy happen to speak English. The Canadian RPG makers, the people of BioWare, probably thought so too when making their elevator simulator, which some may know as Mass Effect.