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Outriders - FAQ
Hey guys. So as we are slowly edging closer to release and the demo, in my boredom I've decided to create a simple FAQ as I find myself answering a lot of the same questions. Some of these answers are lifted directly from PCF, some are just info I'm aware of myself. I will try to keep it updated with any questions asked in the comments. Included are General questions, Demo info, Gameplay info, QOL info, and Crossplay/Multiplayer info. EDIT: All updated now, if I have missed anything obvious I'll update this when I'm made aware.. thearcan feel free to do with this thread as you see fit
GENERAL
- When will Outriders be released?
01 April 2021
- What Platforms will Outriders release on?
Outriders will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC (Steam & Epic). Outriders will be released on Stadia at a later date.
- What kind of game is Outriders?
Outriders is a 1 to 3 player, drop-in-drop-out co-op, third-person-perspective shooter set in an original dark and desperate sci-fi universe.
- Where can I watch the Outriders reveal trailer?
Right here. This is also on their official channel with plenty more in depth info on the game.
No. Outriders will only require a one-off purchase of the game.
- Is Outriders a Games-As-A-Service?
No - Outriders will be a complete experience out of the box.
- Will Outriders feature Micro-transactions?
No. However the pre order bonus will be able to be purchased separately afaik.
- Will Outriders support Smart Delivery on Xbox? Will we get a free upgrade to PlayStation 5?
Yes. Anyone who purchases the game for Xbox One or PlayStation 4, will get a free upgrade to Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 respectively.
- Will Outriders support Cross-Play?
Yes. Outriders will Fully support cross-play, meaning you will be able to explore Enoch with any of your friends on any other platform. You can play Outriders from start to finish with your friends regardless of what system they own.
- Will there be DLC?
At this time we don't know, if the game does well, hopefully we will see more of Enoch.
Final details have not been announced yet. But we know it will be the first few hours of the game.
- Will my demo progress carry over to the full game?
Yes - but there will be progress caps in place. At this moment in time we know there will be a level cap, world tier cap and story progress will be capped.
- Will the demo feature crossplay?
Yes
GAMEPLAY
- Can I play all classes?
Yes, you should have 6 character slots available.
- Will I have to replay the story for each class?
Yes, as far as we know.
- Does each class have multiple skills/powers?
Yes each class has 8 skills total. Only 3 can be equipped at one time.
- Why can we only play in groups of 3?
PCF found that groups of 3 hit the sweet spot for balancing, optimisation and visibility, especially with some much going on in battle.
- How does difficulty scaling work?
The game utilises a world tier system. There are a total of 15 World tiers. In essence the more you kill, the longer you survive, the higher the world tier you unlock. Each world tier increases difficulty, but also your rewards. This can be adjusted up (to the max you have unlocked) and down at any point.
- How does endgame work?
Endgame consists of 14 expeditions, all fresh content. In essence, get to the end as fast as you can on the highest difficulty you can for the most rewards. See more here
- What if I miss a loot drop?
There is an auto loot feature in game.
- Why don't enemies drop loot in expeditions?
They do. It all just goes to the chest at the end. See clarification here
- Does that mean if I fail an expedition I don't get any loot?
No, as per the previous linked comment, you still get this loot even if you fail.
The game will feature accolade system which is something in between achievements and battle pass. It will reward you for doing actions you would normally do in gameplay with small cosmetic rewards so if you need extra motivation to repeat few side quests and spend more time in the game here it is. The system will give only cosmetic rewards and there is no way to buy your progress, it is also completely optional but completionists can have nice fun with it.
From what we have seen you have Pistol side arms, and equip 2 primary weapons. So far we have seen Assault rifles, LMG's, Shotguns, Sub Machine guns and a variety of rifles including Snipers.
- Can I play the whole game solo?
Yes, the number of enemies etc scale depending on how many people are in your party. Expeditions are designed for 3 players, but should still be doable solo. See clarification here
- Is there PVP?
No.
QUALITY OF LIFE
- Will there be in game comms?
No - at this time there is no in built chat or ping system. See further explanation as to why this is here
- Will there be loadouts?
No, not at this time.
- Will there be a transmog system?
No, not at this time.
- Are there colourblind settings?
Yes, I believe so.
- What are the next gen upgrades for Xbox Series X and PS5?
Nothing has been confirmed yet, but we can expect some optimisation benefits etc. Suggestions that we should know for certain by the release of the demo.
- Do I have to be online to play?
Unless something has changed recently, I believe you have to be online to play.
- Is there a mass dismantle system in game?
Yes
- Is there an item protection system in game, such as item locking?
No.
- Will players be able to mod/hack their saves etc?
Alls saves are server side, so this shouldn't be theoretically possible.
CROSSPLAY/MULTIPLAYER
- Can I turn crossplay off?
Yes
- Is there a social hub?
There are hubs in game. However they will only be accessed by yourself and those within your matchmaking party.
-How does joining a friend work?
The game operates on a host based system. You join and play in the hosts world. Host migration systems should be in place if the host dc's. You can join any friend at any point once the prologue is complete.
- How does scaling work when I join a friend?
As you are in the hosts game, you play at the level and world tier setting they are at. So you will either feel OP or under geared if you join low/high level friends retrospectively. See more here
- How does loot work in a friends game?
Loot is instance based for each player. Loot drops depending on enemy level, which is in turn based on world tier. So if you are joining friends playing on substantially lower or higher world tiers. Loot drops in essence won't be much use to you.
- How will I invite cross play friends?
They have said they will utilise a friend code system.
- Is there a cross save system?
Only between similar systems - eg Xbox one to Xbox series x, or PS4 to PS5. You will not be able to cross save between platforms, eg from Xbox to PC, or Xbox to PS.
Yes. CDPR is vehemently against DRM, and the DRM-free nature of Cyberpunk has been confirmed by journalists. Whether it's Steam, GoG, or Epic Game Store, you will be able to run the game without any of them open, and YES, you can technically just copy and paste the game onto 20 computers if you wanted. That's just what DRM-free means, but PLEASE support the developers. Again, this obviously doesn't include stuff like consoles or Stadia which are inherently locked by nature.
--Difference between Steam and GoG?--
Ultimately, no differences. Both are DRM free, both have achievements, both will update at the same time. CDPR, the makers of Cyberpunk 2077, own GOG, so if you buy it from there the devs get 100% of your money. Every platform will get its own comic and on Steam you get an exclusive short story; they'll all probably be all over the internet in 5 seconds though, if you really care.
CDPR has been inconsistent with official support for their games. Their official word for Cyberpunk 2077 specifically is "not at the moment" because they want to focus on the core game, which I guess isn't a no. Witcher 2 actually had RedKit for official modding support, and Cyberpunk 2077 uses an upgraded version of the same engine, so it's possible a new RedKit will be released someday. However, even without modding support at the start, Witcher 3 still had a ton of modding. Most notably, the infamous nudity mods that gave gamers the world over the joy of seeing Geralt's buttery buttocks all the time instead of just in a few scenes, because no one cared about anyone else's buttocks, obviously. With the popularity of the game, though, CDPR would be bonkers to not officially add modding support, and honestly, the modding community probably won't care even if they don't. So that's kind of where we're at: A solid WE SHALL SEE.
--Next-gen Patch? How does it run on consoles?--
Note that CDPR hasn't said a single thing about FPS/resolution targets on any of the consoles either, sorry. IMO this is really something they should revealed already, but meh. Next-gen patch is planned for next year; CDPR has not given a date. The game runs a bit better on next-gen consoles, but will not have any next-gen features or graphical enhancements until this patch. Here is the official X Box One X and Series X gameplay. Here is the official PS5 and PS4 Pro gameplay. Note that outside of these videos, all gameplay has been on high end PCs, so please don't let your expectations get out of hand due to the trailers. No gameplay has been shown on the base models. CDPR says it runs fine, but, again, I'd seriously taper my expectations. Cyberpunk 2077 will offer a fee next-gen copy of the game for those who buy an old-gen version, so you don't have to buy the game twice. The game also features cross-saves between consoles of the same brand, detailed here for Sony and here for Microsoft.
--GoG Account Link Freebies?--
CDPR hasn't actually spoken about this, but they have mentioned there will be shirts and swords and other goodies if you own their prior games, and that it doesn't matter where you own them. Expect information this week, likely.
--Multiplayer--
This will be free for anyone who already owns the base game (so half the world, I guess). There's no release date, but it was expected in 2022 and may now release in 2023 instead. We don't have many details other than it's being headed by some MMO veterans and is a separate AAA project according to CDPR. For people asking, it's actually old news that it'll be free (sorry couldn't find the original interview), but I guess they could change their minds over the next 2 years, and the way they worded it makes it sound like you will also be able to buy it as a standalone, but we don't know for sure. Plenty of journalists have confirmed this. (random example).
--Reviews?--
Still no info. Many places expected to get review copies still haven't gotten them, including those that got to sample the preview (like ACG), however it's assumed the major places like IGN and Gamespot do have keys. No word on when, but probably next week.
--Rapidfire Answers for the Questions You Keep Asking--
Download size is ~70 gigs
There will be a day 1 patch; details unknown, but stop freaking expecting another 70gigs in total file size, yeesh. The final, patched game probably won't go above 80 gigs total at launch.
PS5 confirming preload on the 8th, the rest very likely to follow.
Level cap has been most consistently described as being 50, but nothing has been officially confirmed. We surprisingly don't know much about attribute/perk gains.
The game is almost entirely in first person, with third person only available in a very few cutscenes and while driving. This was done to be more immersive; the focus of the game is storytelling, not action.
Ciri is not in the game; devs has said it a billion times and one of the leads is very against it, so if she is, they're lying lilies.
This is supposed to be a dark game. You can turn off nudity, most explicit sexually suggestive stuff, and copyrighted music, but the game has earned its rating for a reason, so the toggles aren't going to lesson the excessive sexual and violence-based themes weaved deep into the narrative. These toggles are mostly intended for streamers and their fickle masters Twitch and YouTube.
There are multiple endings; it is not known if you can get them all using one playthrough as a base (Like Deus Ex's hilariously infuriating "pick an ending" buttons).
The 3 Lifepaths all ultimately meet at the same narrative point: V becomes a novice mercenary with nothing to their name and Johnny Silverhand eventually in their heads, though Lifepaths will continue to serve as a "history" that influences your character. They WILL NOT create 3 distinct play-throughs on their own outside of the prologue, but CDPR has said some quests and quest variations/options will be locked to a particular lifepath.
There are 4 (might have changed) difficulties: Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard. The old, brief PS4 leaked footage shows Story, Easy, Normal, Hard now and so do some previews, though a dev has mentioned very hard before. There's supposed to be a hardcore mode but CDPR hasn't talked about it recently.
CDPR will talk about the season passe and DLC after launch.
This game IS NOT like GTA, however the COMPARISON IS WORTHWHILE as they DO share many similarities on the surface. Beyond that, however, Cyberpunk 2077 is a complete RPG closer to Fallout than GTA. You have stats to manage, weapons have damage values, your health is measured in numbers and so is all the damage you deal, enemies have levels and zones have levels ranges too. So unlike a shooter, where all combat is often based on skill, this is more like a typical RPG, where a much higher level enemy will almost always destroy you unless you're cheesing.
The map is filled with tons to do; too much at once, some previewers felt. Both bigger, sprawling mini-story chains and small quick one-off stuff, and some side quests were described as being just as good as main quests.
CDPR hasn't given a time for completion, but one of their QA guys was at ~150 hours on a nomad run, highest difficulty, and said he wasn't close to completing it, but remember QA guys play differently than most people.
You can't join factions, gangs, or corporations; only fight against them or work with them.
Every lifepath is deeply tied to the city and has roleplay options for any kind of character. Yes, even nomads. The nomad clans are one of the most powerful factions in Night City and have tons of people in the city, so they're not really outsiders. They also have stuff like an entire clan of netrunners, so yes you can safely play anything on any lifepath "correctly" according to lore.
Nonlethal gameplay is confirmed. You can mod weapons to be nonlethal and spare bosses, as shown in the trailer while fighting Sasquatch. There's also a variety of damage types and bleeding/poison, possibly EMP-style afflictions too.
The trunk of your car is linked to your apartment storage, so rejoice all you junk rats. Info came from one of the randamo tweets they do sometimes.
Barbers haven't been confirmed in the game yet, but I honestly don't see why they won't be present when even Witcher 3 had them
Police will react to you going on a rampage "realistically" using a notoriety system that's a bit more extensive and not quite as sharply dramatic as GTA's star system, but that should still give you a good idea of what to expect. Eventually, you'll be declared a cyberpsycho and Max-Tac, a legendary pseudo riot squad made up of borderline cyberpsychos, will hunt you down.
Most NPCs are killable (and I guess sparable by extension); children can't be harmed and seemingly despawn when you're in a car. This is unfortunate.
CDPR has said that nearly every component of the HUD can be toggled on and off individually, like the damage numbers above people's heads when you hit them. It's unknown if we can customize things further (like have different eye-optics that change HUD color).
CDPR wants to include a New Game Plus, but haven't talked much about it other than saying they want to do it but don't know how. They've been saying the same thing since 2018, honestly. It might not make it in for release and be later free DLC.
Not sure if I forgot anything but feel free to ask and I'm sure me or someone else will answer, and I'll add it if it's worthwhile. Hopefully this will cut down a bit on repeat questions as we ramp up toward release and more and more newer folk join us.
Watch Dogs: Legion doesn't have the main protagonist, instead we have a city full of oppressed and tired people with their own stories. Other than that this is the usual Watch Dogs game and fans of the first two should be pleased with what it can offer.
In the end, the London of Watch Dogs: Legion feels a mile wide but only a few feet deep. What promises to be endless variety in character choice and hack-driven gameplay options quickly boils down to the repetition of the same old gameplay and plot tropes.
Watch Dogs: Legion is incredibly ambitious, but the play as anyone system needs a little more work. The story suffers from the lack of a central protagonist, and it's hard to get attached to any of your characters when the character models and animations are stiff and robotic. Still, there's a lot of fun to be had in futuristic London.
After so much anticipation, Watch Dogs: Legion is finally here, failing to impress. Almost every single problem that prevented the 2 previous version to reach their full potential is still there, and the ability to play as all NPCs added even more issues to the game. Yes, the world is beautiful and you have all the freedom that you want, but as a game, Watch Dogs Legion is shallow and suffers from poor level and character design. A strong contender for the most disappointing game of the year.
Watch Dogs Legion is yet another open-world game like other Ubisoft's games, full of great ideas, but in action, they don't have enough depth and don't perform well in general. A soulless world with poor level designs and exhausting missions make a graveyard for the series's real potential.
Until now the story of Watch Dogs was an up and down, which doesn't change that much in Watch Dogs: Legion. The energy that went into the unique recruiting mechanic leaves a lot missing in the actual game world and the story, which makes the trip to london a bit cloudy, classic british.
Even though Watch Dogs Legion already gives you an impressive amount to do as well as a lot of options on how to do it, it’s still going to be growing. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next and how It is going to affect what’s already in place. I’m also looking forward to the multiplayer component, which I’m more than willing to write about when it comes out. So, come on. Join the resistance.
Watch Dogs: Legion's Play as Anyone is an exciting mechanic and post-Brexit Britain is easily the best setting yet. However, Watch Dog: Legion's brilliance is hidden behind a fair amount of smog.
Watch Dogs: Legion is a fascinating game, massively ambitious and crawling with technology that isn't just on the bleeding edge of what's possible, it's pure magic to see unfold. All of that may sound impressive but slick software and a bustling metropolis of people power can't hide the dull gameplay and shallow approach to the sandbox shenanigans of Watch Dogs: Legion. It's still a fascinating game to experience in short bursts, and it's going to be fascinating to see how Ubisoft evolves London to make it vox pop as a next-gen headliner.
One that is very English, packed full of wild and interesting characters, each with their own story to tell. It’s a huge step forward in that regard and one that should be celebrated as it shows a way forward for video game development.
What players will find when picking up Watch Dogs: Legion is a game that is prepared for a long post-launch game-as-a-service experience. The additional DLC announced so far leans into the strengths of the game and established ideas that the series does well. The beekeepers, paintball guns and magician tricks all bring a sense of playful humour to the series, but it is worth noting that anyone who is (rightfully) tired of Ubisoft's content approach to games is going to find this one a very content-driven game.
Watch Dogs: Legion offers an incredibly vast recruitment system that wonderfully complements its hacking mechanics while boasting the darkest story in the series.
Watch Dogs: Legion pushes through Ubisoft's generally noncommittal attitude towards storytelling and exploiting current events to create something that feels like a genuine shift, or at least the prototype of that shift. It might be a sloppy game in many regards, but Legion offers a novel way to experience an open world, with its interconnected NPCs and the introduction of permadeath to the genre.
Ultimately, while perfectly able to offer players a good number of hours of fun, Watch Dogs Legion fails to fully realize the potential of its basic concept, yielding to the flattery of an open world model that, at the end of the console generation, loudly requires more innovation.
Watch Dogs Legion mostly benefits from its rich game world in futuristic London. It's also fun to build a whole army of DedSec agents, using their special abilities within fight and stealth sequences or utilizing them on solving puzzles. It's not all roses concerning story or performance on current-gen consoles. Nonetheless it's the best part of Ubisoft's open-world hacker series so far.
I had really low expectations and Watch Dogs: Legion turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It’s a decent action game with some cool ideas and mechanics that yield several dozens of hours of fun, prvided you like wandering around virtual cities doing the same thing over and over again.
Watch Dogs: Legion lacks a soul. It's also a passive game, since there's no active push-and-pull. Albion took over London, and now you push them out one borough at a time.
On the one hand Watch Dogs: Legion is a revolutionary game with ambitious open world and thousands upon thousands of characters, probably created by some kind of neural network. The gameplay is fine, and if you love original Watch Dogs, you will feel right at home with this new title. But on the other hand Legion clearly lacks a strong narrative lead.
There are some fantastic ideas in the game which mostly work, but also require an element of metaphorically ignoring the stagehands and the suspension of disbelief may simply be too much for many players.
Watch Dogs: Legion throws out a decade of Ubisoft's cluttered-map open worlds in favor of exciting systems that deliver unique emergent moments consistently.
Watch Dogs: Legion struggles with tone at times, but its empowering message about unity and justice still shines in a game that is as absurd as it is impactful.
While it has its moments, Watch Dogs Legion doesn't have enough to feel like a fun place to escape to. The gameplay is too repetitive and too restrictive to allow for anything tremendously exciting over a long period of time. It's a game that shows all of its tricks within the first few hours and leaves you with nothing but jank for the remainder of your playthrough.
Watch Dogs: Legion is great, it features an intricately detailed open world London to explore where you can recruit basically anyone though the story could have been more intriguing and the performance while driving could have been better.
Watch Dogs: Legion is the most ambitious and innovative one in the franchise. You can play as anyone and finish your job in any way. The open-world of future London is so beautiful and so well-crafted that I always can find something interesting to do.
Legion royally shakes up Watch Dogs' open-world template with a Play as Anyone mechanic that just about outweighs any headaches left by its rough edges.
Watch Dogs: Legion is definitely the best game in the series so far- and dare I say, one of the most engaging and inventive open world games I have played in years.
Overall I'm having enough fun that I want to stop writing and go back to playing it, which is always a good sign. The recruit anyone system is working incredibly well, and it's super addictive. The simulation is impressive, even if I haven't determined how much of that simulation affects the gameplay yet. And the few design flaws haven't been enough to hinder my enjoyment after 16 hours. Here's hoping it remains that way as I continue working on my full review.
Watch Dogs Legion is not a bad game I just believe it was too ambitious for its time. The recruiting system could have been something great but instead its shallow and delivered cliche characters with no real purpose. Unfortunately, this does not help the gameplay and story much. There’s a lot of fun to be had here but if you start expecting more from it, you are going to be let down.
Watch Dogs: Legion suffers from a little jank in the tank, but the recruitment system is fantastic and there's just so much to see and do. The open world is full of detail, and the whole experience is full of heart.
The post-Brexit dystopian London is exactly the right amount of craziness and fun I was expecting from a Watch Dogs game. Even though the original recipe hasn't changed a lot in the past few years, you can see the progress they made with Watch Dogs: Legion, polishing the game with every iteration.
Watch Dogs: Legion's bold use of roguelike mechanics in an open-world action game pay off in interesting ways, making this visit to near-future London feel more varied than the previous two games.
Without a doubt, “Watch Dogs: Legion” ticks all the boxes required to be a true Watch Dogs game, embracing elements from both previous games while brining its own flavour to the table.
Watch Dogs Legion ‘play as everyone’ mechanic works brilliantly, this is a genre-defying feature and something that sets the game apart from its competition.
Overall, I feel as if Ubisoft has dug back into what made Watch Dogs enjoyable to play. With some improvements to the overall gameplay and tweaks as time goes by, I can see others enjoying the game.
A disappointingly tame vision of a near future dystopia, that represents a perfectly competent use of the Ubisoft formula but falters in its attempts to add anything new to it.
Watch Dogs Legion keeps the series' base mechanics while enhancing the whole formula thanks to the higher gameplay and tactical variety provided by the huge choice of agents available. This has the downside of making every character pretty forgettable though, keeping us from establishing an emotional bond with any of them.
Being able to Play As Anyone in Watch Dogs: Legion is impressive at first, but it becomes a detriment to the core experience that's in need of revitalization. The hacking and stealth infiltrations haven't changed a bit, and with repetitive mission design and numerous technical issues, this latest chapter finds DedSec in an identity crisis.
Watch Dogs: Legion is more of the same Watch Dogs formula fans of the franchise have come to expect. There are additional gimmicks and features that round off the product and it’s a great game to spend time in. The mystery plot and the intrigue around finding out just who exactly Zero Day is and putting a stop to him is great and will easily keep you entertained for 50 hours or more as you explore London.
The connected, living world here is a genuine revelation, and it's well worth exploring if you're willing to mess around and make your own fun. It's just a shame that some of the vibrancy and depth of Watch Dogs 2 has been lost in the process.
Richly realised systems and empowering abilities create a tremendously fun sandbox to dig into, but another toothless story ensures these flashes of brilliance never cohere, leaving Legion feeling less than the sum of its parts.
Watch Dogs: Legion is a game that has been able to maintain diversity and difference among thousands of playable characters. However, along with the dynamic and detailed world, the game suffers from weakness in the design of the stages and unfortunately becomes repetitive and boring over time.
While Watch Dogs: Legion does the basics well and has a refreshing change of scenery, it moves backwards from Watch Dogs 2 in terms of characters and storytelling. It's still quite enjoyable to get up to tech-based naughtiness in London despite that, but the underlying open-world template Ubisoft keeps using ends up feeling overexposed here.
And that’s the real issue here: the previous game was a story and a damned good one. Watch Dogs Legion is a playground and a damned good one. All it took was a shift in priorities to make the open-world feel less like a world, and more like… well, a game.
Watch Dogs Legion builds upon the solid foundation established by Watch Dogs 2 while adding its own ambitious twist with mixed results. Having literally every character playable is a gargantuan task, and from a gameplay perspective it works to cement Legion as the best Watch Dogs game thus far. Narratively speaking, however, it collapses under its own aspiration to offer an intriguing concept with spotty execution. Regardless, Legion is a triumph for making good on most of its lofty promise and a triumph for the series.
While I may not identify with any of my guerrillas and their grab-bag backstories, nor feel any sense of real investment in the fate of DedSec as a whole, I’m still attached to this strange band of possessed berserkers. We’ve had a good time together, in this nonsense dystopian playground.
The takeaway is this: Watch Dogs: Legion is an ambitious simulation which reliably fails whenever players push against its boundaries. Like the cargo drones which grant them the ability to freely fly, it hits an invisible ceiling that prevents players from soaring above London’s skyscrapers.
Watch Dogs Legion tries so hard to innovate the franchise, but in doing so, it feels like a product that was either rushed or there was no love for it. Ubisoft Toronto did their best to give us a whole new Watch Dogs experience, but when the second installment of the franchise is the benchmark, it’s hard for me not to nitpick on these issues I find in the game. I love the franchise, but this isn’t the kind of innovation I’ve expected Watch Dogs to have.
Watch Dogs: Legion is an ambitious title. Perhaps a little too ambitious. As much as certain parts of the game shine, you can't help but feel that the game is too clever by half.
There’s some fun to be had in Watch Dogs Legion, but it becomes so repetitive that by the end of the game everything feels like a chore — one I was desperately wanting to be over hours before its credits rolled.
The best Watch Dogs game yet. While it's dragged down by long load times and some repetition, Legion is a hugely enjoyable game that offers players a level of freedom that is rarely seen in this genre.
Overall, Watch Dogs Legion is a ton of fun. There is so much to do and experience in this game and so many different ways to do it. The hacking puzzles are familiar but still fun and sometimes challenging. The real star of this game is the variety of characters you can recruit and the backstories that come with them.
Watch Dogs: Legion starts with some really intriguing background ideas, ideas that try to dig deep and to leave us with many more questions about the near future. The overwhelming control of a state willing to know everything about its citizens, however, does not prevent a few uncertainties about the gameplay, a sore note that prevents the game from shining as hoped. However, it remains an enjoyable offer, ready to satisfy the taste of lovers of the genre.
Watch Dogs Legion is a different type of sequel to Watch Dogs 2, contrasting in its approach to creating a hackable open world playground, but with no less impressive results. Playing as any citizen in London leads to some less-than-engaging story moments, but the web of relationships and activities that crop up as a result of the systemic design is mind-blowing. I rarely did the same thing twice in Watch Dogs Legion, and if I did, I wasn't doing it the same way twice. Watch Dogs Legion truly feels like a living, breathing world, and it's a world that I plan to revisit often, even though I've seen the credits on the main story roll.
Watch Dogs: Legion is a massive game with perhaps the biggest recruitable main cast of characters we’ve ever seen. With its varied gameplay and its tried-and-true Ubisoft open-world experience, it offers dozens of hours of entertainment and isn’t to be missed.
Watch dogs legion gives you freedom and it's accentuated in the new recruiting system which makes this title worth playing even before the release of next gen version.
The new "Play As Anyone" system is as impressive as it sounds on paper, creating a host of intriguing characters if you choose to dive into their backgrounds. Crafting your own version of DedSec is a ton of fun, especially early on. The problem is the gameplay of Watch Dogs Legion is mostly the same as its predecessors and the missions are quite repetitive overall. It's not a step back for the series, but the hacking and stealth core of the series does need an overhaul.
Watch Dogs fans and more die-hard anarchists among you might enjoy it more, but between the short storylines, underwhelming tech and mission types and the general “everything is on fire” vibe, it just doesn’t rate highly for me.
The ‘Play as Anyone’ feature is the game's biggest fault. There’s no way to really work as a team. Instead each individual is one part of a fully fleshed out protagonist that has now been cut into 20 different pieces and called upon to work without the other. A severed hand doesn’t make a hero.
Where the action comes alive is in the leaving behind of bodies altogether. Most missions involve breaking and entering, and the thrill lies in the absence of any breaking.
Watch Dogs Legion is a great step forward for the series, with enough experimental new gameplay features to complement the familiar mechanics. London is incredible, and exploring it is an almost visceral experience. It's just a shame that the story doesn't hold the same familiarity that the map does.
Although the recruitment system provides a few hours of entertainment, Watch Dogs: Legion feels like a series of systems masquerading as an open-world adventure game. Compared to the first two entries, Legion is a massive step backward, both in terms of story and execution. This is paint-by-numbers Ubisoft on autopilot.
With a surprisingly good narrative that excels thanks to the unique ability to turn anyone into a DedSec hacker, Watch Dogs: Legion is a damn good time
Watch Dogs: Legion is a departure from the typical Ubisoft brand, and it's better for it. The play as anybody system just works, there's a lot to do, and it's unabashedly political in a way that feels important in 2020.
My Year In Gaming: Pandemic Edition (34 Mini Reviews & Stats Because I'm A Nerd)
Over the course of 2020 I played 33 games. Not bad for a 27-year old who's married, with a house and 4 pets and is pursuing writing on the side. And I think we can all agree gaming provided a much-needed escape from the craziness of this year. If I picked it up once and never came back it didn't make the list because it didn't leave an impression on me. This will be LONG, as I'll talk at the end about my favorites and my disappointments. Also some stats because I'm an excel nerd. These are listed in the order they were played. Unless noted I finished/beat the game. Let's GO!
THE GAMES
Bioshock: Remastered (PS4) An enjoyable if dated shooter that drips atmosphere and prioritizes story and characters over gameplay. A very enjoyable experience even if the gameplay starts to wear thin towards the end and the final boss is a bit of the letdown. 4/5 Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (PC) Dated combat mechanics hold this one back from being considered a great in 2020. Both Mass Effect and Dragon Age are better. That being said, Bioware's always had incredible writing and characters, and KOTOR is no different. The combat ranges from infuriating to fun depending on where you fall in the story. Anything beyond Dantooine is typically enjoyable. Play for the story and choices, not the combat. 3.5/5 Kingdom Under Fire II (PC) Note: This was played over a Steam free weekend, and as such, I didn't finish it. A nice little mix of RTS, MMO, and action. Was fun over a free Steam weekend - may pick it up when it becomes cheaper. The epic scale ties everything together, even the small bit of story I got from the two days was entirely forgetful. No Score Unreal Tournament III (PC) This is like Doom 2016 before Doom 2016. Fast-paced, frantic fun. Just stay away from the single player. I'm glad I was able to find a few guys still playing online, this is a hell of a lot of fun, but just like the Doom multiplayer, it didn't snag me for more than an hour or two. 2.5/5 Undertale (PC) Note: I did not finish this game. No, just no. I didn't like the gameplay (to be fair, I haven't played many bullet hell games and that's almost entirely the combat) and the story, while quirky, didn't grip me. I just couldn't get attached to the characters. Fun music though. 1/5 Hitman (2016) (PC) A return to form for Hitman. The levels are massive, and while this lends to the openness of the game, it can also get overwhelming at times. I'd have preferred the gigantic maps being broken up by smaller ones throughout the course of the six levels, and the one in Japan kinda-sorta achieves this. Still, this is Hitman at its best, and stands right alongside Blood Money for top contender. Welcome back, 47. 4/5 Risk Of Rain 2 (PC) Note: This was played over a free Steam weekend. Enjoyed it! Addicting little game. Will certainly purchase despite never playing Risk Of Rain 1. Just needs a price drop. $14.99 or so? I'm in. Fast-paced fun. No Score Sea Of Thieves (PC) Played this one with the wife. It's not bad, it just doesn't hold my attention. Sure, sailing the high seas as a pirate is neat. But there's virtually no depth and nothing to hold your attention. 2/5 Democracy 3 (PC) I'd been in the mood for a political sim with everything going on in the news, and Democracy 3 isn't a bad game - but I remember it being better than it was. It just didn't hold my attention long. I like how in-depth the different focus groups can be and it looks like there's a healthy mod scene, but it quickly got repetitive and bored me. 2.5/5 Doki Doki LIterature Club (PC) A game that isn't anything close to how it appears. I'm not one for most anime-styled games, nor am I a visual novel fan. But the psychological horror elements contrast so well against what the game presents itself to be and when the shit hits the fan it doesn't let up. This game does things I've never seen a game do, and it excels at them. 5/5 Alan Wake (PC) Revisiting this one. First played it around release. Engaging, with solid if unremarkable third-person shooting (the flashlight mechanic is neat.) The episodic format really works well. This was my first time through the DLC - The Signal DLC is super fun - I really enjoyed the twist on the world and how it played on the concept of shining your light on words to make items appear. I almost wish at certain points it made you choose between items. This DLC also seemed a bit more difficult. Short, sweet, and too the point though. The Writer was fun as well, the hamster wheel/ferris wheel was fantastic, and it continued a great story, but I feel The Signal was just stronger overall. 4/5 270: Two-Seventy US Election (PC) A fun little waste of a few hours but once you understand the mechanics and start winning it loses a lot of its appeal. 2.5/5 God Of War (PS4) The best game I've played of the year so far. A fantastic story, great combat (the Leviathan Axe is amazing), and plenty to keep you coming back. The real challenge, though, is the valkyrie boss battles you can complete. Did I do them all? Yes, I did. But Sigrun alone took me a week. I became a man when I played God Of War. 5/5 Civilization V (PC) My second pass at this game. It's fun at the start, but never manages to hold my attention. I had a similar issue with another 4X game a few years ago (Endless Space 2) and I've come to the realization I just don't think these games are for me. 2.5/5 The Last Of Us: Remastered (PS4) A replay of a masterpiece. It's always nice to revisit The Last Of Us. The characters and story are fantastic, but I also really love the gameplay. It's gritty, realistic, and there's a lot to think about when you play through on hard like I did. 5/5 Call Of Duty: WW2 (PS4) Note: I only played the multiplayer. The multiplayer was alright for a Call Of Duty game. As with most Call Of Duty games, I played it for a bit then moved on. I don't feel a strong desire to check out the campaign, and the zombies mode was shut down minutes after firing it up for me. It feels like WW2 held my attention far less than other Call Of Duty games, but it is a nice break from the jetpacks and wallrunning that seemed to define the series this gen. 2.5/5 Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017) (PS4) Fun multiplayer. That being said, even with all the amazing progress that's been made, it feels unlikely Battlefront 2 will ever step out of the shadow of its launch state no matter how much free content EA poured into it. That being said, this feels like Star Wars - the battles, the sound effects, I love it. 3/5 Detroit: Become Human (PS4) Detroit: Become Human might just be the best Quantic Dream game. It has a lot going for it, I really enjoyed the many different paths the story can take. I was a little split on the flow chart at the end: on one hand, it kind of removes the mystery. But it also shows you, often times at mind-boggling length, just how far different paths can take you and how you can get locked out of entire sections. 3.5/5 The Last Of Us: Part 2 (PS4) A game that has an incredible first half, and a repetitious and uninteresting 2nd half. Though I think this game might just have my favorite combat of any game, the bland and overly-long sections where you're forced to play as Abby just didn't do it for me, and have killed any desire I have to replay the game. Ironically, I really wish now the game had shipped with multiplayer as I could dive into that amazing gameplay without feeling the slog of the back half of the game. Ellie's story, and parts of Abby's, are great. But the game should have been shorter. 2.5/5 Darkwood (Switch) Note: I did not beat this game. I only got an hour or two in. Interesting mechanics and imagery but couldn't hold my attention. Doubt I will return to it. Was hoping it would be more engrossing than it was. 2/5 Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered (PS4) It had an enjoyable campaign, with a few key moments. The missions that most hype up, ie "All Ghillied Up" didn't really do it for me. I vastly preferred the other missions. That being said, the gameplay doesn't hold up fantastically today. It's competent, but with a basic story. Nothing incredible. 3/5 Far Cry 3: Classic Edition (PS4) The open world is neat, the island definitely has personality. However the best part of the game is Vaas. With his death occurring just a little over 2/3 of the way through, it leaves the rest of the game with a considerable void. One I probably should've given up on sooner. Mechanics are good, but it feels dated and repetitive the more you play. 3/5 Pillars Of Eternity: Complete Edition (PS4) A good game that should've been great. Were it not for the bloated second act and lack of consequence, this game could've been a 5/5. Reminded me of Dragon Age: Origins in key points. Great worldbuilding and decent-to-good characters and companions. Lots of dialogue options, but they don't end up mattering much. 4/5 Doom (2016) (PS4) One of the best FPS games ever made. A return to the arena FPS games of yesteryear, Doom seamlessly blends fast-paced gunplay and tight mechanics with some serviceable leveling and a decent story. Make no mistake: the focus here is the gunplay, and it holds up incredibly well throughout the campaign. 5/5 Super Mario 64 (Switch) Note: I did not beat this game. A classic to be sure. But one I didn't end up sticking with past a few hours. This one does feel best left in my childhood. Playing it now, it doesn't grab my attention as much. The music is timeless though. 2.5/5 Resident Evil 2 (PS4) A wonderful return to survival horror, and my personal preferred Resident Evil game from this decade. 2 does so much right that it's so easy to look past its few shortcomings. Every encounter is tense, and the pace is kicked into overdrive once Mr. X shows up. Every enemy is a threat, the game drips atmosphere, and will leave you shook more than once. 4.5/5 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) (PS4) Note: I only played the multiplayer. Got pretty addicted to the multiplayer for a bit. I had fun with the added realism, the weapons sound phenomenal and handle great. But, as with all Call Of Duty games, I got to level 30 or 40 and hung it up. One of the best Call Of Duty games in a long while. 4/5 Ratchet & Clank (PS4) A fun little platformer that retains the series' signature wonky (and amazingly fun) weapons. There's nothing quite like using your Groovitron to send hordes of enemies into a dance mid-battle. Aside from the weapons however, this is a pretty standard platformer and the story feels incredibly safe. The humor works most of the time with how self-aware it is. 3/5 Spider-Man (PS4) The best Spider-Man game ever? It's certainly up there. With an open world full of collectibles, tons of side-quests, a fun take on the Spider-Man lore, and great gameplay, Spider-Man is everything one could want in a Spider-Man game. Yes, the combat can feel a little too Arkham-style at times, but the game doesn't overstay its welcome and it works incredibly well. 4/5 Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition (PS4) Note: I did not finish this game and I played it solo. I'm hot and cold on this one. On one hand, I literally could not care less about the story and that's good for pick-up-and-play sessions. But I don't feel compelled to return to it. This one will probably remain unfinished indefinitely. An okay looter-shooter. 2.5/5 Magicka 2 (PS4) Note: I did not finish this game and I played it solo. A fun little top-down action game, but I wish the levels allowed for the level of spell creativity that I thought it would. I ended up spamming familiar attacks instead of experimenting with new ones because I was playing solo. Definitely intended for co-op. However, the music and humor was pretty great and the game, while repetitious, didn't drag. 3/5 Halo 3 (Xbox One) Note: I only played the multiplayer. I always sucked at Halo multiplayer, but 3 takes me back to a more carefree time. I didn't stick with it, but the few hours I spent with it were fun. Remembering all of the old levels and times I used to play it was more fun than playing it now. The announcer's voice is still epic, though. 2.5/5 Gears Of War 4 (Xbox One) Note: I only played the multiplayer. The Gears Of War multiplayer is something you have to adapt to. As a Call Of Duty player, I tend to rush and you have to wallhug and be in cover 90% of the time to survive in this game. But there's a nice element of strategy to it and I love the executions and the lancer. 3/5
GAME OF THE YEAR
It's been a long, crazy, quarantine-filled year! But only one game can stand out amid all the others. And it is . . . God of War There's no argument. This game surpassed my high expectations and is now one of my top 5 games of all time. Let's go Ragnarok! Runner Up: Resident Evil 2 I honestly didn't know if I'd like Resident Evil 2. But after finishing it, I immediately played through the B scenario, and that is incredibly unusual behavior for me. Addicting and very well paced!
MOST SURPRISING
Sometimes a game hits you a way you didn't expect. This game got its hooks in me in a way I didn't think, or I wasn't expecting it to. Doki Doki Literature Club I will say no more on this other than you need to download and play it. It's free, it'll run on a potato, and it'll hook you hard. Runner Up: Pillars Of Eternity Look, I've played CRPG games before. But I've never finished one. I put over 90 hours into this game. That's the 3rd or 4th most played game ever for me, and it was one playthrough. This game did something right.
MOST DISAPPOINTING
And lastly, sometimes games you're amped/hyped for don't swing for you. And thus we have the most disappointing category. Undertale I literally sorted my Steam library by highest user rating. That's how I ended up playing this. I don't like anything about it besides the music. The humor didn't click for me, the characters felt off, it just wasn't for me and that left me with this "What am I missing?" feeling. Runner Up: Darkwood Man, this should've been right up my alley. An abstract horror game with graphic imagery and tense survival. But it wasn't. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I gave it fair spin. I might try it again in the future, but I doubt it.
STATS
For nerds like me who are interested in the numbers. I played 33 games this year. My average score was around 3.6 (which as an average is a little disappointing as I wanted to spend this year playing games I really loved but ended up being just "good".) My most played genre was FPS at 30.3%, followed by Action at 21.2%. Third-Person made up the majority of games' perspective I played at 41.4% (almost half!) followed by First Person at 31%. Not terribly surprising here - I enjoy both equally. I played most games this year on my PS4 at 48.5%, followed by PC at 36.4%. Overall, I favorited any type of Console at 63.6%. I was actually expecting this to be higher. I tend to bounce back and forth - I think it's because the bulk of the PC games were played in the first half of the year. I Beat 51.5% of the games I played this year. That might seem bad, but it's worth noting that 15.2% were games I only Played Multiplayer of, and and 6.1% were games that Had No End. Of games with an actual campaign, I Quit 15.2%, and I put 9.1% On Hold.
RECAP
Whew, that was a write-up! If you made it this far, thanks! I think I'll keep my excel sheet going into next year. I tracked a ton of stuff I didn't even mention like secondary genre of games, the year it came out (to try and average what generation I was playing the most in), whether I have a desire to return to a certain game, etc. It's been a hell of a year. I've no doubt thanks to the virus I've played more games than usual. But I've had some really fun times this year, and I've been more active on this sub which makes it even more enjoyable. Thanks for reading!
Check this, Swinger! For my final play through of 2020, I decided to play the automotive dog-fighting sim Interstate '76. I originally played Interstate '76 (I'll date myself here) back in middle school when it dropped, and loved the hell out of it, but spent my time in Melee mode, and never completed the story. Time to change that! Interstate '76 is the original 3D vehicle combat game. You play as Groove Champion, auto vigilante cruising through west Texas and New Mexico on a quest to avenge the death of your sister Jade. You accomplish this quest by driving your Packard Piranha (Barracuda analog) modded out with armor, guns, missiles, landmines, and cannons and dog-fighting various baddies "Somewhere in the southwest....". All to a hi-def 70's funk soundtrack. Once you get the game patched up for modern computers, it is absolutely fantastic. The soundtrack is incredible, and the graphics (though limited to 1024x768) are still charmingly simple. Actually, this game is now my number one choice for "Game that needs a remake/remaster." There isn't really another way to put it: dog-fighting in a 60's/70's muscle car is just rad af. The game's physics are surprisingly good, and vehicle weight and things like flat tires actually cause noticeable performance changes. there are a number of other really cool mechanics that make the game much more than just an arcade shooter like the later Vigilante 8 or Twisted Metal series as well. Firstly there is a Battletech-esque salvage system where you acquire upgrades by stripping them off of your vanquished foes. This is then repaired by Skeeter, your mechanic on your loadout screen where you manage your car's armor and armament, and handle repairs where you have to budget your time. If you're good, you can use your .45 once a vehicle is in the red to kill the driver and recover salvage in better condition. I prefer just blowing the car up and repairing myself. The weapons are really surprisingly different and varied, and you can tweak your setup between variety, or double up and link like weapons (such as 2 .50cal MG's on the roof) to double your damage output. Your loadout and armor settings actually matter a lot and vary mission to mission. They included some other cool mechanisms such as shutting your engine off and coasting to thwart guided missiles and gimbal turrets. This leads to a couple "stealth" missions, which one doesn't think of normally when thinking of big block Hemi engines, but here they are! And they actually work quite well and add some really intriguing variety to the missions. Your map is hand drawn for each level on a piece of paper, sometimes the paper liner from your Whataburger tray, which adds some era-correct immersion. Interstate '76 is a pretty quick play. It took me a couple days to beat, but I've seen the play time listed at 5 hours, and I'm pretty sure I could hit that time now since the levels are pretty short. But wait! Arsenal also comes with the Nitro Pack, which is the expansion set. This set adds a scenario for previous supporting cast: Jade, Taurus, Skeeter, and a magical mystery cast member you unlock after completing the other three (shhhh). The expansion pack actually adds a lot, and adds a bunch of new cars for use in Melee (on or offline) mode as well. There surprisingly is a small but dedicated I76 community that still plays multiplayer, but I haven't had an opportunity to play it yet. For $5 (or less!) this game is a steal, a true classic gem! Enjoy some screenshots, ya dig? https://imgur.com/gallery/y3AFQ09 ISSUES AND FIXES (This game is somewhat of a labor of love to get running, but hey... welcome to gaming in 1997) Interstate '76 has been re-released on GOG as the Interstate '76 Arsenal which was the initial bundle of the game plus the Nitro Pack expansion. Punchline up front: it's available for 5 bucks on GOG, on sale usually for $1.50, and if you're willing to take 15 minutes to install the unofficial fan patch (more on this below), it's absolutely worth it. I also highly recommend a controller or joystick. That being said, you have to map the controllestick like you would in 1997: by button number. I use an Xbox controller, so the buttons aren't numbered, but I've linked a button map below that lays them all out by number. I also found one for the PS4 controller, but I can't attest to weather its useful or not. I also have a screenshot of my preferred controller scheme to stave you some time and get you in game. Its kinda of a pain, but that was gaming back in the day. PATCHES: Interstate '76 was originally released in 1997. In 1997, if you wanted to play a 3D game in silky smooth 1024x768, you had your choice of a 3Dfx chip-set (which went out of business and was bought by NVIDIA), an ATI (which sold off to AMD), or a brand spanking new 4MB NVIDIA Riva 128 (which was a beast that could accelerate 2D AND 3D graphics). It was the early days of 3D games, and the programmers used instruction sets that are long since obsolete. This causes Interstate 76 to run abysmally straight off GOG. But this is PC Gaming, and modding/fixing busted stuff is kinda our thing, so... enter the AiO (All in One) patch! A fan made unofficial patch that makes the game compatible with modern Windows OS's and hardware! There's also a dgVooDoo2 patch that allows you to play the game at native resolution, but it is VERY buggy, and I uninstalled it after about 20 minutes. AiO works flawlessly though, and I highly recommend just sticking with it even though it's limited to 1024x768. https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/1349-interstate-76-nitro-pack-aio-patch/ CONTROLLER: Firstly, a controller makes this into a completely different game, and I highly recommend it. That said, you're going to have to set up the controller like you would back in 1997... by button number! I play on an Xbox controller, so the buttons aren't exactly numbered. But follow the number guide below and you'll have your controller mapped in no time. Yes it's a pain. Welcome to gaming in the 90's. I included a screenshot of my config in the imgur link. Of note: The game recognizes the D Pad as "Hatswitch". The game also doesn't recognize the analog triggers as buttons, but it will recognize them as Axis 5. I had no use for a 5th axis so I just didn't map them. I also have Special 1 mapped to the Y button. This is so I can put Nitrous Boost into Special 1 on my car and have a button for it on the controller. XBOX: https://joytokey.net/en/posts/button-mapping-for-xbox-controlle PS4 (I have no way of testing this for those of y'all who use PS4 controllers, but it looks legit) https://www.reddit.com/Unity3D/comments/1syswe/ps4_controller_map_for_unity/ My control scheme: https://imgur.com/a/ix1dQ7e Whew. Well congrats! You made it to the end of the review! Press C in game if you're bored or driving down a long lonely stretch of road somewhere in the southwest...
In other words, Squadrons has a somewhat limited audience. I’m terrible at dogfights, but I’m motivated to get better. They’re a ton of fun, but they’re brutally tough. If that doesn’t appeal to you, best you learn it now, rather than later. For those of you starving for a proper Star Wars flight combat game, this is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. Otherwise, you’re in for a rough ride, albeit an exciting one, with Star Wars: Squadrons.
Both the campaign and the multiplayer mode of Star Wars: Squadrons are a whole lot of fun and both feature full VR support on PS4 and PC. Another thumbs up goes to the great cross play functionality on all systems. Sadly, the multiplayer of this otherwise great experience only offers two game modes, eight ships and half a dozen maps. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the developers with expand this offering in the near future.
The single-player campaign teaches you the ropes, but achieves little else. Multiplayer is always fun and is exactly what it needs to be to wow Star Wars fans
Despite its lack of epicness, Star Wars Squadrons is a pleasant surprise. Whether you're a Star Wars fan or not, you have a good chance to enjoy what this Space Opera game has to offer, which is a great achievement for Motive Studios.
Star Wars: Squadrons offers an exhilarating take on dogfighting in a galaxy far, far away, which helps elevate a functional single-player story and provides a strong foundation for a focused multiplayer experience.
There’s a lot to be excited about with Star Wars: Squadrons. It not only meets all of my expectations, it wildly exceeds them. VR support for the entire game instead of just a single mission taste makes this the game we’ve always dreamed of so many years ago. It truly is the sequel to all of those great early PC games so many years ago, but with all of the modern bells and whistles. Put simply, if you are a Star Wars fan, it doesn’t get better than this.
Star Wars: Squadrons is an excellent aerial combat game and a pleasing return to the franchise roots. No gimmicks, no cons, no messing around: anyone who ever dreamed of being a fighter pilot in the Star Wars universe needs to check this out, asap.
Squadrons faithfully delivers Star Wars space combat experience, but it lacks more variety in game modes, starships and levels. The whole game is VR compatible, which makes it one of the best experiences we had with this technology.
Star Wars: Squadrons' single-player campaign tells an entertaining story, while its flight controls hit a sweet spot between accessibility and nuance – and it's made even better by VR and HOTAS support.
With a solid story, tough but rewarding and immersive gameplay, and dynamic multiplayer modes, Star Wars: Squadrons stands out from every Star Wars game released over the last decade.
From inside my HTC Vive Pro, I feel totally immersed in the action. I'm surrounded by cockpits that look just like they do in the classic films. My ears are filled with familiar Star Wars sounds that I can immediately recognize, and Squadrons' excellent binaural audio brings it to life all around me. I can look in any direction, moving my head as fast as I want without the game struggling to keep up with me. Even while boosting, rolling, and turning to keep a bead on other players during multiplayer, I always felt in control.
It's easy to argue that Star Wars: Squadrons doesn't offer quite enough. Players get what is essentially an eight-hour tutorial which acts as a prelude for the game's multiplayer, a limited but fun offering of modes with some potential for great staying power.
Star Wars: Squadrons manages to stand out by not trying to be larger than life. Simultaneously a franchise cash-in and love letter to the classic LucasArts PC space combat games of the 1990s, Squadrons sticks to its mission and comes out the other side of a warp-speed jump successfully.
Board the X-Wing or Tie Fighter and journey to a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars: Squadrons is good shooter focused on multiplayer mission-based objectives.
Star Wars Squadrons has taken an impressive first step in revitalising the Star Wars fighter pilot game. With a tale that feels like a genuine part of the galaxy far far away, and space combat that gives you the tools to be an X-Wing or TIE fighting ace, it's going to be interesting to see how the Squadron community puts all of that to use.
Star Wars Squadrons gives you a decently-sized single-player campaign, an enjoyable albeit limited multiplayer and VR support for all modes on PS4 and PC, and all for $40. If only there were a few more maps and one or two game modes, this would have been near faultless.
Squadrons feels like more than the sum of its parts. Most importantly, it does exactly what it set out to do – and does it very well indeed. It’s EA’s smallest-scale console Star Wars title yet – but also its best
There are also some links within the first link that discuss indie local multiplayer games and upcoming indie games as well. Note that previous lists were not themed solely around platform games. Introduction We're all familiar with the Shovel Knight’s, A Hat in Time’s, and Celeste's of the world. These are some of the indie platform games that hit the big time. Of course, for every one of these games, there's 100 other indie games that have been glossed over, relegated to a spot in a digital store few people will ever find themselves in. I wanted to bring attention to some of these lesser known indie games once again. Platformers from Previous Lists I’m going to list the platformers that were in the previous three lists. None of them will reappear on this new list. 1-6 are from the first list, 7-11 are from the second list, and 12-14 are from the third list. They are as follows: (1.) Four Sided Fantasy, (2.) Daggerhood, (3.) Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, (4.) Biolab Wars, (5.) Gravity Duck, (6.) Penarium, (7.) Cursed Castilla (Maldita Castilla EX), (8.) Hayfever, (9.) Duck Souls+, (10.) Cybarian: The Time-Traveling Warrior, (11.) Verlet Swing, (12.) Valfaris, (13.) Primal Light, and (14.) Tamashii. Note that both Biolab Wars and Valfaris are listed as run & guns, but they have platforming elements and are considered platformers by some people. Hayfever and Valfaris were my favorite games for their respective lists and are some of my favorite games in the genre. These 14 games listed range from puzzle platformers, precision platformers, action platformers, first person 3D platformers, Metroidvanias, run & guns, etc. There’s also Flat Heroes from my 10 local co-op recommendations list found as a link within the first post. Guacamelee is on there too, though it doesn’t qualify as an overlooked game. Details About the List All 9 games available on Steam are currently on sale. When this post is 17 hours old, the sales for these games will be over.Genre is going to be more like a short descriptor of the game for this list since these are all platformers. I’ve also included games with local co-op mixed in with solely single player games, including one built around the co-op experience for this list (before I did separate lists for single player only and games that included local co-op). I'm going to order them according to Metacritic Critic Ratings. One of the games towards the bottom has a pretty low rating (60%) that I personally disagree with, but it's only fair that you hear from more than just me. Since Steam has 9/10 of the games on the list (Switch has 8 of them, Xbox One has 6 of them, PlayStation 4 has 5 of them, and Wii U has 1 of them), I will be using the Steam Metacritic Critic Rating of each game, except for #9, where I will use the PlayStation 4 version, since that’s the only version of it available currently. I’m going to list 5 2D and 5 3D platformers for this list. For the purpose of this post, I’m just going to stick with saying “achievements” and “getting all achievements” instead of “trophies” and “platinum trophy” since Steam has 9 of the games on the list. You can basically substitute these with “trophies” and “platinum trophy” if you’re a PlayStation gamer. I will make mention of the two games on here that don’t include a platinum trophy however. Platforms will include a link to the U.S. store page of the game for each platform. Price is in U.S. dollars. 1. Levelhead
Description: Levelhead is a drag and drop maker game with a robust set of tools, cross functionality between all platforms, and cloud saves. The most obvious comparison is Super Mario Maker, and on consoles the UI and tools for creating levels are very similar (D-Pad to cycle through items, analog stick to place). However, Levelhead brings a number of elements to the table to make it way more than just a budget clone: near instant respawns upon death, a marketing department to advertise your levels, more advanced switches and logic systems, more mixing and matching between backgrounds and music, etc. Levelhead fixes a persistent problem found in nearly all maker games: many levels are simply dead in the water as soon as they’re pushed out. In Levelhead, the more levels you play, the more marketing currency you earn that can be in turn spent to push your levels to the top. It’s a kind of “play for play” scenario that cuts out the middle man, social media, and integrates it all into the game.
Description Continued: Levelhead also has some unique items that make it standout – in particular, the powerups. There are seven of these and they can really transform the platforming. The Zipper, for example, will teleport your character four tiles ahead through everything but lead blocks. The local co-op allows for up to four players to both create and play levels, including the campaign (known as “Training” in the game) that helps introduce you to the items and tools of the game. There have been a number of updates since its initial release in April 2019 and Community Spotlights on the Steam page of the game.
Completion Time: ~5 Hours
Extra Content: There are over 75,000 community levels to play, with more being added every day. This game could potentially last you hundreds of hours. Achievements are very difficult and would likely require you to make high quality levels to get them all, as some are dependent on the number of people who have played your level.
Description: It’s no surprise a group of ex-Rayman developers went on to create another fantastic platformer (not to be confused with Unruly Heroes). The main hook of Splasher are the three liquid abilities you find that influence how your character moves and jumps. Red paint will allow you to stick to surfaces and run on walls and ceilings, yellow paint will bounce you to new heights, and water can be used to undo the effects of either and rescue other splashers trapped by the paint. The game is fast paced, so knowing when to use which is as important as jumping at the right time. You’re eased into each new ability for a few stages before getting a new one so it’s never overwhelming.
Description Continued: Each level has six other splashers to rescue that each spell a letter of the word “Splash.” These act as an expanded test of your platforming abilities. There are also one to three segregated zones per level – these are single screen areas you must survive or win to rescue one of the other splashers. Making these optional zones that exist outside the regular level is a great touch because it allows the game to keep its fast paced “always be moving” approach while still allowing for greater variety in gameplay. You’ll typically either need to defeat a certain number of enemies or platform around the room to release the splasher. There’s only one boss that comes at the end of the game – the rest of the time you’ll be running, jumping, and painting.
Completion Time: ~5 Hours
Extra Content: I only rescued 2/3 of the splashers my first time around, so it will likely take a couple hours to save the rest. In addition, there’s a time trial mode that rewards you three different medals based on your time, as well as online leaderboards that measure your time against the rest of the world.
Description: This comes from many of the same people who worked on the Marble Blast series from the early 2000s. The most mainstream comparison to this game would probably be Super Monkey Ball, though unlike that game you control the marble directly here rather than the stage. Your marble can jump and user powerups, and many times you’ll have to use the momentum to overcome the obstacles in front of you. Levels are usually linear, though there are many levels that tasks you with collecting gems in a more open area. There’s a great sense of speed to the levels, and with the proper timing of a good jump this allows you to forge your own path in many levels. Since each level is timed, you’ll see that many of the top players have found a way outside the expected path to the finish. This is great for speedrunning enthusiasts, though it’s still a fun time even if you’re not looking to climb the leaderboards.
Description Continued: Medals are awarded based on your completion time of each level, and the fact that they’re pretty short makes them highly replayable. There are also trophies to find in each level that allow you to unlock more marbles. You can choose between 100+ different marbles to play as. The game leans on the easier side – frequent checkpoints, large platforms, no time-outs, etc., but you’ll likely still die a few times before finishing a level. There are a few nice quality of life features I also appreciate: you can switch music tracks on the pause screen, use either the shoulder buttons or face buttons to jump and use power-ups, hide the timer if fast moving numbers intimidate you, reset the stage with a push of a button, and rewind time in practice mode.
Completion Time: ~4 Hours
Extra Content: You can try for the platinum medal on each level, find the collectible trophy in each level, participate in the daily challenges, and try to top the leaderboards. There are also over 100 unique marbles to collect that are awarded for doing the aforementioned challenges. The Steam version also has Steam Workshop support, which allows you to create and play custom user created content.
Description: This is the sequel to the original 2D PC exclusive from 2017, with another 3D sequel currently in production. If you care at all for the story, it’s recommended you play or at least read about what happened in the first game. Spark 2 actually follows Fark, another jester. Spark 2 emulates many of the high speed moments found in 3D Sonic games, but brings a few ideas of its own. In particular, action is a bigger focus in this game, though platforming is still the priority. Enemies are easy enough to run past with a few exceptions for mini bosses at the end of some levels and the nine main bosses. In addition, enemies can also add to your score.
Description Continued: In addition to Fark’s expanded move-set in combat, he also has the ability to double jump, dash, and wall jump. The jumps give you a lot of air time, lending more leniency to the platforming, and the dash is great for building momentum. There’s quite a bit to explore in each level too – jumping off ramps in the middle of loopdeloops will sometimes result in you finding the game’s main collectible, floppy disks. Fark can also acquire four additional costumes found within the levels that offer some variation in abilities. The game offers five difficulties at the start, with it recommending the second easiest option, Normal, as the default way to play your first time through. Bosses on this difficulty are fairly easy provided you’re competent with timing when to use your shield, though I did lose once or two against a few of them.
Completion Time: ~3 Hours
Extra Content: The game measures both your time and score for each level and rewards you with a gold or platinum medal depending on your performance. Getting all the medals for each of the 14 levels and nine bosses add a few hours to the game. There’s also a Tour Mode that tests you with specific challenges, like beating the whole game with only five lives. In addition, there are 109 floppy disks to find that unlock art. I only found 18 on my first playthrough. You can also replay the game on one of the higher difficulties. The game requires you 100% complete all of this for 100% achievement attainment.
Description: Never Alone centers around an Inupiat girl and a fox and tells a story based on Inupiat folktales. The Inupiat are an Alaskan Native people. The entire game takes place in this icy climate, with the story revolving around the girl finding the source of a blizzard sweeping away her village. This is a slower paced platformer and tends to lean on the easy side of things. The game is built around the co-op experience much like Untravel Two, Putty Pals, and Biped. However Never Alone assigns a unique role to each of the two characters. Only the fox can wall jump and bring visibility to spirits (who act as platforms), while the girl can push crates and throw magical beads.
Description Continued: While the game is built around the cooperation of the two players, it can still be enjoyed in single player, with the player being able to switch between both characters when playing solo. There are a few set-piece moments I don’t see in a lot of 2D platformers that really adds to the feeling of being on a long journey far away from home. The music is also appropriately ambient and reflects the desolate wintery environments. When playing through the game you’ll come across collectibles called “cultural insights,” which are videos that tell you more about the Inupiat culture.
Completion Time: ~4 Hours (including the 1 hour Foxtales DLC bundled with the Arctic Collection)
Extra Content: You can try to collect all the cultural insights and find all the secrets. Getting all achievements will require you to do so. There is no platinum trophy for this game.
Description: Searching developer Dead Mage’s website for Children of Morta DLC updates exposed me to one of their earlier works – an action platformer reminiscent of Shinobi and Strider. Among a sea of pixel art 2D platformers, Shadow Blade stands out with its 3D characters and backgrounds. And the gameplay complements the modern work – your character has a number of moves at his disposable: wall jumps, wall slides, a downward jump attack, a dash, throw shuriken, etc. Getting in the flow of a level and being able to string all these moves together with the right timing feels really good.
Description Continued: While there are boss fights and times where you’ll be locked in a room forced to dispatch enemies, the game leans much heavier on its platforming elements. Many enemies can simply be evaded, though dispatching them can also increase your score at the end of each level. In addition, there are collectibles and a constant timer that also weighs in on your performance at the end of each level. The game is a bit easier than most 2D platformers, but getting a perfect grade is a difficult thing to achieve. Cutscenes are presented in the style of a comic book. While the story itself isn’t particularly novel, the presentation lends it a more unique flavor.
Completion Time: ~3 Hours
Extra Content: You can try for a perfect grade on each level. There is also a separate Challenge Mode that has specially designed levels that are of a greater challenge than what’s found in the main campaign with leaderboard rankings. There are two higher difficulties that can be unlocked. In addition, the Steam version has Steam Workshop integration with a level editor and custom levels to play. Getting all achievements would be very difficult. There is no platinum trophy.
Description: This is a 3D platformer that reportedly takes inspiration from both MediEvil and Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. There’s about equal amounts of platforming and combat in this game. While the combat is relatively simple, you’re given a variety of weapons that all feel unique. The levels have a good amount of variety within them – you’ll jump between ships on a ferry ride, ride an undead horse through the sky, play a few mini games as a headless Jack, and fight a boss at the end of each of the six levels. Both the combat and platforming are relatively easy – platforms are typically large and Jack has an edge grab that helps tremendously, and smashing the many destructible objects around the levels increases your health.
Description Continued: This game takes the linear adventure approach, with a number of collectibles sprinkled throughout the levels: crow skulls, presents, and gramophones. Some areas are more open and allow you to choose the order in which you do certain tasks. The game has a decent amount of dialogue in it, which does an effective job of giving some character to Jack, his two animal companions, and the rest of the cast. The visuals and soundtrack are particularly great, especially if you’re into Halloween themed media.
Completion Time: ~4 Hours
Extra Content: There’s collectibles to back for – I got about 2/3 of the collectibles on my first playthrough – skins to unlock – which are purchased with the collectibles you find in the levels – and you get to start a second playthrough with all the weapons already unlocked at the beginning. You’ll also be able to return to any level you want via the level select menu. Getting all achievements is contingent on collecting all the crow skulls, gramophones, and outfits (presents were added in a later update and so aren’t required for 100% achievement attainment).
Description: Unbox takes heavy inspiration from Banjo Kazooie and other collectathons of the fifth generation but has levels far larger than any Nintendo 64 platformer. Fortunately your customizable character can cover huge amounts of ground very quickly via the unbox mechanic, which is basically a super jump you can use up to six times before you need replenishment via item pickups or checkpoints. Both the jump and unbox mechanic are tied to the shoulder buttons, which takes some getting used to but is ultimately one I’m in favor of, as it allows for camera control without removing your thumb from the jump or unbox buttons. The high speeds you can travel make for some great exploration, but the game is still able to disable your ability to unbox by giving you a “fragile” item, allowing for more carefully considered platforming sections.
Description Continued: Each of the three major worlds have four major collectibles: 200 gold tape, 10 caged zippies, 18 stamps, and 1 super stamp rewarded upon defeating the boss of the world. There is also a hub world that has just 200 gold tape to collect. The 18 stamps are the jiggies or stars of the game, and they’re primarily what you’re after to advance the game. 9 of them are hidden across the world, while the other 9 are given by NPCs upon the completion of a task: Digi will ask you to take an item from point A to point B with some platforming in between, Dash will ask you to complete three races around different areas of the map, Superbox will ask you to destroy 20 enemies in X amount of time, etc. The other collectibles simply unlock more cosmetic options for your character.
Completion Time: ~7 Hours
Extra Content: The game only requires you collect 2/3 of the stamps to beat the game. If you want to collect all the stamps, zippies, and gold tape, this could more than double your playtime, as the worlds are massive and finding all the gold tape is a daunting task, though they do make a distinct noise when you are near them once you’ve collected half of them in a level. Your friendly companion Bounce will also give you visual clues on where to find whatever collectible you might be stuck on. I was able to find all the collectibles in the first world but three gold tape with next to no issues, though Bounce helped me with the remaining three. I really have to commend the developers for their inclusion of both audio cues and visual guides built within the game to guide you to collectibles – it makes collecting every last thing a lot less tedious. The high speeds of your character allow you great traversal of the world, which also helps with collecting everything. The achievements require you to collect everything. There is no platinum trophy. In addition to the single player campaign, there are quite a few local multiplayer modes for up to four players – these include Boxing, Collect, Thief, Oddbox, and Delivery. The developers go into more detail on each mode here.
9. A Tale of Paper
Platforms:PlayStation 4, [Steam version planned for 2021]
Description: A Tale of Paper takes direct inspiration from Little Nightmares, sporting the same sideview camera angle and minimalist narrative. It’s a little less creepy, has a bit more platforming, and it has the interesting twist of transforming into a variety of different origamis on the fly: from a little alien creature, to a frog, to a ball, to a paper airplane, etc., all with the push of a button. You’ll use a combination of different origami shapes to overcome the obstacles in the area, and you’ll be accompanied by some gorgeous sceneries in the process.
Description Continued: The gameplay is pretty easy in both its platforming and puzzles, making it an easygoing, movie-esque kind of game. While the story is minimalist, it results in a satisfying conclusion, and it really feels like you’ve been through quite a journey even with the short runtime. The game evokes the feeling of being a tiny specimen in a larger-than-life world – Toy Story 2 is probably the most apt comparison I can make. Outside of Little Nightmares, I haven’t played another game quite like this.
Completion Time: ~1.5 Hours
Extra Content: I got seven of the eight origami collectibles in my first run through the game. The trophies also only offer a few extra things to do, but I’d recommend reading the list of trophies before you play the game if you want to get the relatively easy platinum trophy.
Description: While this game is definitely inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog, the pace is a lot slower - no high speed loopdeloops or anything like that. You're never going at a speed where you can't anticipate the obstacles in front of you. That said, it has a similar visual design, the same kind of ball roll, and a similar level design philosophy, along with some new ideas: turning into a ball allows you to perform a ricochet wall jump, collecting 10 diamonds (the equivalent of rings) fills your hearts from 1 to 6 depending on how many you have, and the gems you collect allow you access to Three Heart Palaces that increase your number of heart containers from 3 to 6. The Heart Palaces also challenge you with a unique speedrun level before you get the heart container increase. Power-ups also have a little extra utility, in that some must be used to access certain hidden areas where gems lie. It also incorporates a smaller Super Mario World style overworld map that allows you to sometimes take different routes.
Description Continued: There are 36 levels spread across 11 worlds, with a good amount of level variety and a sizable number of bosses. There are some cool ideas with the bosses too - like hitting a boss upwards to the top of the screen on a vertical level as he constantly tries to force himself downwards. Bosses generally can be attacked at any time, in contrast to many other pure platformers that require a boss to exhaust his moves before becoming vulnerable. This comes from the same developers as Clash Force – a Mega Man inspired action platformer – Spicy Gyro Games and Shiny Dolphin Games, but Polyroll is a significant improvement over their first game.
Completion Time: ~5 Hours
Extra Content: There are 96 gems to collect – three per 32/36 of the levels. Collecting all of them would add a few hours to the game.
Special shoutout to Levelhead which is my favorite game on the list and one of my favorite level creation games ever. Have you played any of these games? What are some other overlooked platform indie games?
Introduction We're all familiar with the Hotline Miami's, Hollow Knight's, and Celeste's of the world. These are some of the indie games that hit the big time. Of course, for every one of these games, there's 100 other indie games that have been glossed over, relegated to a spot in a digital store few people will ever find themselves in. I wanted to bring attention to some of these lesser known indie games. I'm going to order them according to Metacritic Critic Ratings. Some of the games towards the bottom have a pretty low rating that I personally disagree with, but it's only fair that you hear from more than just me. While the reviews are low for some games, this is partly due to how few reviews there are for some games. #19 on the list has a 49% for the Xbox One version of the game due to it only having two reviews, while the PlayStation 4 version has a 90% rating due to it only having one review, despite both versions being functionally the same. This high level of variance usually occurs when a game only has a few reviews. Price will include a link to the U.S. store page of the game. Price is in U.S. dollars. 1. Inertial Drift
Includes a Separate 2 Player Local Competitive/Versus Multiplayer Mode
Description: Inertial Drift's distinguishing characteristic is its employment of the right analog stick for drifting. This takes a little getting used to, but it feels great once you get the hang of it, creating some exhilarating moments when perfecting corner turns. The game has 10 unique tracks + 10 reversed tracks, 16 vehicles, and four separate story arcs. Each story arc is only a couple of hours long and features a different protagonist with a different vehicle. Since you’ll be racing on the same track a few times, there are a few gameplay variations that differ from just reaching the finish line at the end, such as racking up a certain number of points that are acquired through longer drift times and other means. There's quite a bit of dialogue between races, and in the races themselves characters will frequently dish out positive commentary on your performance in the form of text in the top left hand corner of the screen. The game's aesthetics are a fusion of anime and synthwave. I've heard many fans liken the game to the manga Initial D, though I'm unfamiliar with that series myself.
Completion Time: ~3 Hours (for 1/4 Story Arcs)
Extra Content: There are a number of different modes including a Story Mode, Challenge Mode, Grand Prix Mode, Arcade Mode, two player Split-Screen, and Online, as well as a Tutorial. Completion of challenges in Challenge Mode allows you to unlock new vehicles for the other non-Story Modes. Grand Prix Mode allows you to race using different characters/vehicles through a connected set of challenges, while Arcade Mode is for one-off races. I wouldn't recommend this game for online play as the user-base is pretty small (hence it being overlooked) and you're unlikely to find a match. Getting all the achievements is fairly difficult.
Description: This is an action platformer that emulates arcade games from the latter half of the 1980s, but it is probably most reminiscent of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. The creator, Locomalito, states that the soundtrack uses the true arcade sound of the YM2203 chip. The game is hard, but the checkpoints are never more than a minute or two apart, and the lives' system/continue system has no penalties outside of locking you out of achievements. This is a very boss dense game - in the ~4 hour run-time it takes to complete the game, you fight 19 bosses. The handful of weapons and items you pick up helps lend variety to the combat, and no two boss fights feel the same.
Completion Time: ~4 Hours
Extra Content: The game has two endings. Most players will get the bad ending the first time around and be locked out of the final stage (which is the longest stage in the game). You do have to play through the game again to get the good ending, but you'll likely do it in half the time. If you want to see all the major content on your first go around, I recommend looking up how to get the good ending before you play the game. If you do achieve the good ending on your first playthrough, the completion time is probably closer to six hours. As far as achievements are concerned, 100% completion is very difficult to obtain. If you like an extreme challenge, this one's for you.
Description: Valfaris acts as a continuation of Slain - the developer's previous work - but it’s not necessary to play Slain first to understand the story of Valfaris. While Slain was mostly just a slightly above average action platformer, Valfaris is one of the best run & gun games I've ever played. You play as Prince Therion who returns to his home planet of Valfaris on a quest to kill his father. It's themed around a fictional planet and has a gross alien vibe coupled with heavy metal music. The music doesn't override the other audio in the game, and it does a nice job of upping the ante when you're fighting a boss – of which there are many. You're equipped with a primary gun, a more powerful mana-based gun, a sword, and a shield that can block with mana or parry.
Description Continued: There are a number of weapons to acquire throughout the game, and the guns in particular do a great job of feeling different. You’re able to upgrade your weapons with Blood Metals. Some Blood Metals are found in plain sight, others are rewarded for defeating a tough enemy, and some are given for going off the beaten path. These upgrades typically just up the firepower but will sometimes introduce a secondary move to your weapon. There are checkpoints every two minutes or so, and most bosses will have a checkpoint just before them (only the weaker bosses come after a gauntlet of enemies). The game is a little hard at points, but overall it strikes a nice balance of feeling accomplished for overcoming the challenges without getting overly frustrating.
Completion Time: ~8 Hours
Extra Content: There are a few secrets to find throughout the game that are off the beaten path, though I was able to find 2/3 of them on my first playthrough. I found all but one weapon as well. The replayability comes from New Game+, which allows you to take all your upgraded weapons into a harder version of the game. Since the weapons all function a bit differently, this can be lots of fun. There are also some achievements that test your skills further, like finishing the game in two hours or beating the game with 10 or less deaths.
Description: This is a 3D platformer that reportedly takes inspiration from both MediEvil and Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. There’s about equal amounts of platforming and combat in this game. While the combat is relatively simple, you’re given a variety of weapons that all feel unique. The levels have a good amount of variety within them – you’ll jump between ships on a ferry ride, ride an undead horse through the sky, play a few mini games as a headless Jack, and fight a boss at the end of each of the six levels. Both the combat and platforming are relatively easy – platforms are typically large and Jack has an edge grab that helps tremendously, and smashing the many destructible objects around the levels increases your health. This game takes the linear adventure approach, with a number of collectibles sprinkled throughout the levels: crow skulls, presents, and gramophones. Some areas are more open and allow you to choose the order in which you do certain tasks. The game has a decent amount of dialogue in it, which does an effective job of giving some character to Jack, his two animal companions, and the rest of the cast. The visuals and soundtrack are particularly great, especially if you’re into Halloween themed media.
Completion Time: ~4 Hours
Extra Content: There’s collectibles to back for – I got about 2/3 of the collectibles on my first playthrough – skins to unlock – which are purchased with the collectibles you find in the levels – and you get to start a second playthrough with all the weapons already unlocked at the beginning
Description: Pato Box follows an anthropomorphic duck boxer on an adventure through a stylistic noir comic book world. “Pato” is a Spanish word that translates to “Duck” in English (the game was developed by a Mexican studio). The boss fights are heavily inspired by Punch-Out’s gameplay, but there are levels outside of these fights to help differentiate it. Most of the levels can be selected in any order you choose and typically serve as a leadup to the boss fight. Bosses are usually introduced by a cutscene followed by some dialogue taunting Pato Box. The levels play entirely differently from the fights, but the themes of the level match those of the bosses. The levels will employ various elements of evasion, stealth, exploration, and a few time-based mini-games. The casino level, for example, will have you walk around the casino looking for chips and punching the slot machines to earn enough to pay entrance to the fight, while the food factory has you evading stompers, sawblades, and butcher knives as you work your way through the level.
Description Continued: There are variety of things to find throughout the levels: tokens for decorations in Pato Box’s room, backstory on the boss of the level and the world, and tips on how to win the upcoming fight. The fights themselves lock Pato Box in the middle of the screen, allowing you to block, juke left or right, and perform a low or high jab to the left or right. Bosses are dynamic and have a number of different phases to fight through. The game foregoes a HUD in favor of a visual representation of your health via scars on your body, which I thought was a nice touch. While the levels and bosses play pretty differently from each other, they’re weaved together by a dark and intriguing story that follows Pato Box’s quest for retribution against an evil corporation.
Completion Time: ~7 Hours
Extra Content: There’s an Arcade Mode that lets you replay boss fights and some collectibles to find in the main campaign. The achievements are very difficult, and many ask you to beat a boss without taking a single hit.
Description: Ultra Hat Dimension follows Bea through a series of rooms in a palace on a quest to undo the magical spell that has made the mythical Spluff creatures want to attack one another. There is a little bit of backstory via one sentence thoughts from Bea in between levels, but nothing major here. The gameplay revolves equipping four different types of hats and using them to evade or push Spluffs around to retrieve the key and reach the door. Each Spluff dons one of four different hats which effects their behavior towards other Spluffs and you. You will be punched one tile back by every Spluff unless you’re wearing the same hat as the Spluff. Spluffs interact with one another differently depending on what hat they’re wearing in a rock, paper, scissors kind of way – they may punch a Spluff back one space, get into a scuffle that allows you to get close to them without wearing a hat, or they may temporarily disable them in a way that allows you to access the space the Spluff consumes within eight moves. There are undo and reset buttons included that allow you to quickly rewind mistakes. There are some clever puzzles accompanied by catchy tunes and a charming pixel art aesthetic. The difficulty is about average.
Completion Time: ~3 Hours
Extra Content: Since this is published by Ratalaika Games, getting all the achievements can be obtained after only clearing 2/3 of the levels. There are a few custom maps on the PC version of the game but no additional content on consoles.
Description: Usually with Metroidvanias, I expect a long, difficult game that's difficult to navigate. Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a counter to those ideas while still maintaining the exploratory nature of the sub-genre. The plot is pretty simple and doesn't feature a ton of story, but there are a few NPCs you talk to throughout your quest. The combat is also fairly simple, but the boss fights you engage in are all great. Without much weapon customization, it's stripped to the basics of dodging enemy attacks while trying to get a hit in. It makes for a game that's easy to get into and instantly start enjoying. All of the areas are visually appealing, some more than others, and each of them lasts shorter than you'd expect. The game is only around 3-5 hours, but it feels like you've played so much more in that time. Some games only really start to take off by the time this game finishes.
Completion Time: ~4 Hours
Extra Content: Getting 100% map completion should only take an hour or two of cleanup. I did miss an optional boss on my first playthrough. There are also items to discover, and the achievements give fun challenges to extend the life of the game. One cool thing I liked was that beating a boss without getting hit at all gives you a useful item. It also features New Game+, allowing you to carry over most of your items, making the game more difficult, and changing up enemy placement.
Description: The Count Lucanor’s story is very fairy tale-esque – more like a classic fairy tale as it can be pretty dark and grotesque at times. On his 10th birthday, Hans chooses to leave his mother in a quest for wealth. After some walking and conversation with NPCs you find along the way, you stumble upon a large mansion and find that the count of this mansion is looking to pass his wealth onto an heir who can prove himself worthy – “worthy” in this case being the one who can figure out the count’s name. From here, you are tasked with adventuring through the mansion and solving environmental puzzles in a nonlinear way to acquire the letters that spell the count’s name. There is a survival horror element to the game, as you are unable to attack the enemies in the mansion and instead must crawl under tables and find other ways around them. You can place candles around the mansion to light it up to help you better evade enemies, but your usage is limited (though you can find more).
Completion Time: ~4 Hours
Extra Content: There are five different endings and some puzzles/rooms you don’t even have to do. This could double your playtime – maybe even more if you don’t use a guide. You have to get all five endings and do some other miscellaneous stuff to get all achievements, but it has a relatively high completion rate.
Description: If you liked Detroit: Become Human or Until Dawn, Late Shift will be right up your alley. This game is a bit different from both those titles in that it's an FMV, with the gameplay solely consisting of the choices you make. You receive prompts at key moments in the story on what you want your character to do next, and this effects the outcome of the game. It plays more like Black Mirror's Bandersnatch, though this game came before it. The story follows an everyman who gets tangled up in London's criminal underground just as a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Completion Time: ~1.5 Hour Completion Time*
Extra Content: There are 180 choice points and 7 different endings. I only got 4 out of 21 of the achievements on my first playthrough. There are a number of different routes to take with the game.
10. Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure
Includes a Separate 4 Player Local Competitive/Versus Multiplayer Mode
Description: Unbox takes heavy inspiration from Banjo Kazooie and other collectathons of the fifth generation but has levels far larger than any Nintendo 64 platformer. Fortunately your customizable character can cover huge amounts of ground very quickly via the unbox mechanic, which is basically a super jump you can use up to six times before you need replenishment via item pickups or checkpoints. Both the jump and unbox mechanic are tied to the shoulder buttons, which takes some getting used to but is ultimately one I’m in favor of, as it allows for camera control without removing your thumb from the jump or unbox buttons. The high speeds you can travel make for some great exploration, but the game is still able to disable your ability to unbox by giving you a “fragile” item, allowing for more carefully considered platforming sections.
Description Continued: Each of the three major worlds have four major collectibles: 200 gold tape, 10 caged zippies, 18 stamps, and 1 super stamp rewarded upon defeating the boss of the world. There is also a hub world that has just 200 gold tape to collect. The 18 stamps are the jiggies or stars of the game, and they’re primarily what you’re after to advance the game. 9 of them are hidden across the world, while the other 9 are given by NPCs upon the completion of a task: Digi will ask you to take an item from point A to point B with some platforming in between, Dash will ask you to complete three races around different areas of the map, Superbox will ask you to destroy 20 enemies in X amount of time, etc. The other collectibles simply unlock more cosmetic options for your character.
Completion Time: ~7 Hours
Extra Content: The game only requires you collect 2/3 of the stamps to beat the game. If you want to collect all the stamps, zippies, and gold tape, this could more than double your playtime, as the worlds are massive and finding all the gold tape is a daunting task, though they do make a distinct noise when you are near them once you’ve collected half of them in a level. Your friendly companion Bounce will also give you visual clues on where to find whatever collectible you might be stuck on. I was able to find all the collectibles in the first world but three gold tape with next to no issues, though Bounce helped me with the remaining three. I really have to commend the developers for their inclusion of both audio cues and visual guides built within the game to guide you to collectibles – it makes collecting every last thing a lot less tedious. The high speeds of your character allow you great traversal of the world, which also helps with collecting everything. The achievements require you to collect everything. In addition to the single player campaign, there are quite a few local multiplayer modes for up to four players – these include Boxing, Collect, Thief, Oddbox, and Delivery. The developers go into more detail on each mode here.
Description: This is the sequel to the original 2D PC exclusive from 2017, with another 3D sequel currently in production. If you care at all for the story, it’s recommended you play or at least read about what happened in the first game. Spark 2 actually follows Fark, another jester. Spark 2 emulates many of the high speed moments found in 3D Sonic games, but brings a few ideas of its own. In particular, action is a bigger focus in this game, though platforming is still the priority. Enemies are easy enough to run past with a few exceptions for mini bosses at the end of some levels and the nine main bosses. In addition, enemies can also add to your score.
Description Continued: In addition to Fark’s expanded move-set in combat, he also has the ability to double jump, dash, and wall jump. The jumps give you a lot of air time, lending more leniency to the platforming, and the dash is great for building momentum. There’s quite a bit to explore in each level too – jumping off ramps in the middle of loopdeloops will sometimes result in you finding the game’s main collectible, floppy disks. Fark can also acquire four additional costumes found within the levels that offer some variation in abilities. The game offers five difficulties at the start, with it recommending the second easiest option, Normal, as the default way to play your first time through. Bosses on this difficulty are fairly easy provided you’re competent with timing when to use your shield, though I did lose once or two against a few of them.
Description: Remothered: Tormented Fathers feels very old school in its design philosophy - no weapons outside a few self defense items and distraction items. You go back and forth in the mansion and have to learn the layout and where things are to proceed. You have to manually select the key item from your inventory to use on triggers (but a key icon is still shown to guide you a little). The sounds in this game do a great job of evoking tension, and I appreciate that the stalkers don’t seem to teleport, so if you can get away from them, you’ve earned your freedom for awhile. This is the first game in a loosely connected trilogy. The second one - Remothered: Broken Porcelain just released last month, but I've heard it's pretty buggy at the moment and not recommended in its current state.
Completion Time: ~6 Hours
Extra Content: There are some collectibles you can go back for, but not a whole beyond that. You’ll probably get most of the achievements – if not all, except the collectibles one - on your first playthrough.
Description: The premise of the game is a fusion of side scrollers and oldschool fixed screens that teleport you to the opposite side of the screen when you pass through one side - think Pac-Man, arcade Mario Bros., or Balloon Fight. You will find obstacles in your path that are impenetrable in a typical side scroller, but can be overcome by holding a button to turn the screen into a fixed screen that allows you to pass through one side and out through the other end. This is a totally unique take on a puzzle platformer I haven't seen before, and all five worlds bring something new to the table. For example, World 2 will flip you upside down when you pass through a screen, allowing new types of challenges as a result. There's more emphasis on the puzzle elements than the platforming.
Completion Time: ~2 Hours
Extra Content: There is a New Game+, but from what I could tell from the beginning it wasn't a whole lot different. Still, there's an achievement for completing New Game+ and some other fun achievements.
Description: SINNER is a Soulslike boss rush - there are no levels and only small area before each boss to practice your moves. There are eight bosses, the first seven allowing you to fight in any order, each representing the seven deadly sins. You are equipped with everything the game has to offer from the beginning (except for the New Game+ weapon they give you), and instead of becoming more powerful, you gradually lose things with each boss you defeat, hence the “sacrifice” in the title. It’s like a reverse RPG. Each boss has a different sacrifice associated to it – one may deplete your throwing items’ usage, while another will deplete your health and stamina. Picking the best order to fight them in adds a little strategic thinking to the game, as you may be more dependent on your large health and stamina bar more than your throwing items’ usage, for example. The game is fairly difficult, so your victories over each boss feel very gratifying when they do come.
Completion Time: ~5 Hours
Extra Content: There is New Game+ that offers you an additional weapon. The achievements task you with a few things you have to pull off in battles, and getting all the achievements is pretty easy to obtain.
Description: Reportedly inspired by obscure Japanese games from the late 1980s and 1990s, Tamashii blends puzzle platforming together with an oppressive atmosphere. The introduction starts with the character being willed into existence by a godlike character that tasks him with destroying the macabre forces that have taken control of and corrupted his chambers. Your character is able to spawn three inanimate clones of himself which is the primary source for most of the platforming and some of the boss fights – you’ll use them to trigger switches and open up new paths. There’s about an even mix of puzzle solving and platforming, and there’s a whole eight bosses in this short adventure (though one is a secret) that are probably the most visually interesting moments in the game. The creatures and backgrounds are effective in selling the dark presentation of the game. The difficulty is about average – maybe slightly easier than most indie puzzle platformers. There is a sequel currently in the works.
Completion Time: ~2.5 Hours
Extra Content: There are a few obscure secrets to discover. You can also play through the chambers again with a score meter, and there are certain achievements associated with getting a good score. Getting all the achievements isn’t too difficult, but you’ll probably need a guide for some of the secrets.
Description: Verlet Swing’s aesthetic is as intriguing as its gameplay: you are tasked with grappling and swinging yourself across these vaporwave styled levels without hitting anything. The levels are all very short, but you’re likely to play many levels dozens of times before even finishing it… just to get a 1/4 rank. The ranking system is actually very cool, in that it encourages you to find alternative paths or sometimes just building up more momentum to get to the end faster. Most levels do seem to have a set path, but at the same time, with the proper grappling of the mechanics, you can forge your own, which is a game in itself.
Completion Time: ~7 Hours
Extra Content: There’s an in game challenge menu that mostly recycles a lot of the base game content – though there’s a particularly funny one that switches the perspective to third person to play as a knockoff Spiderman. You can also go back and try to get the best possible time for each level. Getting all achievement is extremely difficult.
Description: Warlock’s Tower’s puzzles are built around the movement of the player. There are numbers on the ground for the player to pick up – either 3 or 5 – and this gives the player a set number of steps before they die. Your goal in every level is to make it to an exit, and you’ll have to acquire the numbers in an order that gets you there. It is a bit easy in the beginning but eventually works up to be a challenge in the later levels as more elements are introduced: enemies, teleporters, conveyors, and even controlling two characters at once that share movement usage. The game has a very believable GameBoy aesthetic and sound effects to accompany it, and it works for this slower paced tile-based game.
Completion Time: ~6 Hours
Extra Content: This is published by Ratalaika Games, but surprisingly enough, you actually have to beat the game and find a few NPCs hidden in certain levels to get all achievements. There are optional levels in each world that don’t have any achievements attached to them, and this should add a few hours to the game.
Description: The Bunker is an FMV point & click adventure, meaning it features real actors and environments just like a live action movie. Many of the actors involved have been in high profile movies/TV shows as well, including The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and Penny Dreadful. The game takes place in a fallout shelter and follows the last survivor as he tries to find a way outside following the death of his mother, after living 30+ years in the bunker. The gameplay has you solving puzzles and finding ways to proceed to the next area. The story is the focal point of the game though, and it frequently switches between the past and the present to tell its story. There’s a good juxtaposition between the lively past and the lonely present that makes you question how the protagonist ended up as the last survivor. There’s only one narrative choice to make in the game, and it comes at the very end. The game also works in handheld mode with touchscreen functionality if you'd prefer to play it that way.
Completion Time: ~2. Hour Completion Time*
Extra Content: You can replay the game and try to find all the collectibles. Most of them give more background on the story. You can trigger the ending you did not choose the first time around by simply reloading the last checkpoint, so there is no need to play through the whole game again to unlock it. Getting all the achievements is fairly easy.
Description: Hayfever is a precision platformer that revolves around a mailman propelling himself using a number of different allergens that act as power-ups. A lot of the platforming is aerial and typically has you catching allergens mid-air to perform maneuvers in quick succession. It's not an easy game by any means, but it has oddly relaxing music to accompany the rather intense platforming. There are also letters to collect in each level to steepen the challenge and some secrets to discover too. It takes an hour or so to get used to the aerial platforming, and this is one of the few 2D platformers played better with the analog stick rather than the D-Pad. But letters that seemed unattainable to me at the beginning of the game became much simpler by the end, as I had mastered the controls and physics of the game. I’ve played a ton of 2D platformers, and this is one of my favorites.
Completion Time: ~8 Hours
Extra Content: It'll take another 8 hours or so to collect all the letters and probably about 6 hours or so to beat the Hard World, which features an additional 28 remixed levels. There are also secrets to uncover, but they don't net any in game progress and only work towards your achievement completion. Finding these secrets will probably vary more in time because they are hidden, but expect them to take a few hours to find. Just to clarify, letters are an expanded test of your platforming skills and are all in clear view of the screen, while secrets are a test of your observational skills and take a little more digging to finish. Attaining all achievements is a fair and rewarding challenge that took me about 25-30 hours to get.
Description: Cybarian has an interesting yet simple combat system that distinguishes itself from most action platformers. Instead of mashing the attack button, you have to press it once, wait two seconds for the animation to complete, press it again, wait two seconds for the animation to complete, and then press it again to complete a full combo. It sounds like something that's easy to get down quickly, but I found myself still occasionally going too quickly in the intensity of a boss fight. The game punishes you by not fulfilling the attack if you button mash. After each boss fight, you unlock a new move that will be required to fell some foes in the next stage. Conversely, you can play Hard Mode which unlocks all moves right from the get-go, but you'll have to beat all four stages without dying. "Hardcore Mode" would've been a more apt description of this difficulty setting, I feel.
Completion Time: ~1.5 Hours
Extra Content: Just like with Ultra Hat Dimension and Warlock’s Tower, this is a Ratalaika Games published game, so getting all the achievements can be achieved in under an hour. It would've been nice if they pushed you to beat Hard Mode, but you'll just have to settle for internal gratification instead.
Conclusion My top 5 on the list in order would be the following: (1.) Hayfever, (2.) Valfaris, (3.) Cursed Castilla: (Maldita Castilla EX), (4.) Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight, and (5.) Pumpkin Jack. Have you played any of these games? What are some other overlooked single player indie games? See my post below for some upcoming indie games to look out for.
can you play multiplayer between xbox one and ps4 video
The latest high-profile game to get cross-play is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), which you can play across PS4, Windows PC, and Xbox One. Activision calls it "the first time in Call of Duty... In order to cross-play Minecraft you need to; Create a free Xbox account. You don’t need Xbox Live unless you play on an Xbox. You now need to link the Xbox account to the Minecraft account that you will be playing with. This needs to be done on the device that you’re playing on. For the PS4: Open Minecraft on your console, and select the ‘Sign in for free’ option that you see. Sign in with the Xbox account that you created. Fortnite now allows for cross-play between PC, PS4, and Xbox One as well, letting you take part in the scavenge, shoot, and build gameplay loop of its fast-paced battle royale game. Though for... No, World War Z does not support crossplay on PS4. Crossplay has become available for Xbox One and PC, but it’s yet to be implemented for Sony’s console. Although this is disappointing for PS4... Microsoft is announcing a big new feature for Xbox owners today: cross-network play. It's something the software giant has hinted at for years, and now it seems the reality of PS4, Xbox One, and PC... Even with the existence of Epic Online Services, which provides the developers access to tools like cross-play and cross progression, it is not yet known if Rockstar Games will enable cross play in GTA 5. So for now, players from PC, Xbox and PS4 platforms can only match with players of their respective platforms. In case you don’t have friends who have the same platform as you, don’t worry. You can easily discover and make new friends through GTA Online. You never know, a co Cross-play is the ability to play an online video game across more than one platform. It is an increasingly popular feature in multiplayer games, for obvious reasons, as it allows users on PS4, Xbox, PC, and even mobile devices to play against and alongside each other on the same servers. Microsoft has issued an open invitation to developers to make gamers be able to play online against everyone, regardless of whether they are playing the title on Xbox One, PS4 or a PC. Nothing is set in stone but the announcement came yesterday on the official Xbox news site from Chris Charla, Director of ID@Xbox, in discussing new announcements related to feedback from developers. The potential for maximizing the multiplayer for titles like Well, unfortunately, Maxis and EA don’t seem to agree with players. There is no multiplayer nor co-op within The Sims 4 on PS4 or Xbox One. It’s a wholly single player experience where you will be... Microsoft mentions cross-platform multiplayer between the Xbox One and Windows, but you can also expect support for PlayStation gamers as well given that the current version of Rocket League
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Xenoverse 2 PS4 & Xbox One Crossplay Now Possible But ...
Ever wondered how to play PS4 games on an Xbox One? Well, I've got a tutorial showing you how you can do that. It definitely works, but it will take a tad bi... As always thank you guys for watching I hope you guys enjoyed this Xenoverse 2 PS4 & Xbox One Crossplay Now Possible But Should It Happen video talking about... If you guys enjoyed this video! Make sure to hit that like button for more! Also don't forget to subscribe!:DVOTE HERE! - http://www.strawpoll.me/13755528Wou... In this video, I show you how to play multiplayer freeon PS4 without the need of PS PLUS.Twitterhttps://twitter.com/PancakenGamenKHCentralhttps://www.youtube... ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE: https://goo.gl/WzFOM0100 Likes for WiiU Master race v( ‘.’ )v - Subscribe: http://goo.gl/db1vMQ In this video iCrazyeddy Playing PS4 Ga... Hey all. I get a lot of questions about which platforms can play with which, so I wanted to make it perfectly clear! EDIT: It looks like at least 1/3 of peop... This video shows you how to play Rocket League Cross-Platform between Xbox One and PS4. It is a very simple and easy tutorial.Subscribe to TheParkkilaShow: ... In this tutorial video I will show you how to setup a split screen configuration for any game on PC, Xbox, Playstation or any console. Many modern games don’... Thanks for watching the video. If you liked what you saw consider subscribing and checking out other videos linked below. Get Life Made Easy Merch Here: http... We really need this for the community...I dont know why 2K hasn`t added this to their games yet[Social Media]__PSN: iTzReaseTwitter: https://twitter.com/iTzR...
