Games Beaten 2020

[PartridgeSenpai]

Partridge Senpai's 2020 Beaten Games:
Previously: 2016 2017 2018 2019
* indicates a repeat

1. Invisigun Reloaded (Switch)
2. Human: Fall Flat (Switch)
3. Shantae: The Pirate's Curse (3DS)

4. Darksiders: Warmastered Edition (PC)

I played through this for the 2010 Retro TR theme this month, as it's a game I tried but just never got back to a few years ago. Going back to it now, I remember all the ways I felt about it back then, and I still feel them now and can articulate them better. Let's just say it's probably something I would've put down and let stay down once more had it not been the TR encouraging me XD. It took me around 13 hours, according to my in-game clock, to beat the game on normal mode and getting very nearly all the collectibles. I also played the whole game with a Steam Controller, and it worked surprisingly well (although there was one puzzle where it seemed my lack of a right analog stick might make it impossible, but it was only quite difficult instead XD).

Darksiders is a series about the four horsemen of the apocalypse doing individual quests (usually) during/leading up to the apocalypse. This first game stars War, who is confused as only he is summoned to intervene in an unexpected final war between Heaven and Hell. He is defeated by the forces of Hell and the Council (who control balance between the worlds and have the horsemen as their law enforcers, basically) task him with bringing whoever is responsible for destroying the world to justice in order to clear his name. The game itself is often described as a Zelda-clone, in style, but I would say it takes just as much, if not more, from God of War as it does from Zelda.

The story is pretty pants. It's paced really terribly, with an okay setup but barely anything through most of the game until the last hour or so when you get a TON. Given the premise, it seemed like it was going to be something like "dark and light are two self-serving sides of the same corrupt coin", but it's far less interesting than that. Other than some unintentionally entertaining really badly directed cinematics every once in a while, the story takes itself too seriously to be campy fun, and it's far too shallow to get much value from on the more serious side of things. It's got some nice character designs, but everything about the game's presentation is fairly lackluster on the whole. It really could've done with being a bit more silly or a bit more daring in trying to frame its serious aspects, but it lands squarely in the middle and ends up being forgettable more than anything else.

The gameplay is at times Zelda-y and at times God of War-y. For combat you have a standard weapon and two subweapons, a range of utility/ranged combat weapons (like a grappling hook), as well as consumables, passives you can equip, and money you can earn to buy more moves with. It's ultimately pretty shallow though. The moves you can buy aren't actually valuable because the enemy variety is pretty low and the strategy needed to defeat any of them never really gets beyond "mash X and dodge sometimes". Your combos also don't go together between your main weapon and your subweapons, so there's really never much reason to use anything but your main sword and sometimes your ranged stuff for far away things. Only one of the ranged weapons is actually worth using anyhow. The game has a TON of combat arenas and lots of spongey enemies, considering how bland the combat is, and it drags the whole pace of the game down that much further. The game isn't terribly hard, but enemies do hit quite hard, so you do need to keep dodging if you wanna live. Overall, the combat felt a bit half-baked, and I would've preferred if there was less of it or if it had been more engaging to actually play.

On the more Zelda-y side of things, there are dungeons to explore, chests to find full of health, mana, and keys, as well as hidden collectibles to hunt down as well. Heck, the game even has heart containers and an end-game Triforce hunt (in all but name), just in case you didn't think it was Zelda-y enough. The dungeons range from mid-tier Zelda to mid-tier God of War, and are often okay but occasionally outstay their welcomes or have really arduous parts in them. There's a portal gun you get at one point and that dungeon goes on for AGES. Someone REALLY thought they had the inspiration for Portal 2 on their hands at the time, because that puzzle mechanic gets used way more than any other. The boss battles also range from "confusingly short" to "oh my god can this just be over already". Those two states of mind sum up a lot of the different aspects of the game, to be totally honest XP

Verdict: Hesitantly Recommended. I didn't exactly love my time with Darksiders, but I didn't really hate it either. It's just so video games that the only strong feelings i really have about it are "I probably could've played something better" XP. It's not a bad game, and if you're a really big fan of Ocarina of Time-style Zelda games, you'll probably enjoy it more than I did, but the whole thing is a bit half-baked, and your time is probably better served playing the games it's doing an only okay job of copying.

[BoneSnapDeez]

The story is pretty pants.

I-is this an expression I'm not familiar with??

[MrPopo]

Yup, because you're an old man who doesn't get the young people.

[prfsnl_gmr]

The story is pretty pants.

I-is this an expression I'm not familiar with??

“Pants” is basically the opposite of “fetch”.

[pierrot]

I'm relatively certain that "pants" is a Briticism, like how "fanny" doesn't refer to one's butt. I was told, maybe back in 2004 or so, that's it's something like shitting one's pants: It's bad.

[marurun]

Well, pants also refers to undies, doesn’t it? Like what Americans think of as pants are trousers.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Well, pants also refers to undies, doesn’t it? Like what Americans think of as pants are trousers.

Y'all are right in that it's a British thing. Sorry about that ^^;. I've watched British Youtubers for many years at this point, so a lot of lingo gets jumbled up around in my head on when it's appropriate to use it XP. I don't know the logic behind the phrase, I just know it's more or less a synonym for "it's fairly crap"

[alienjesus]

This conversation is hilarious.

[PretentiousHipster]

Beat the first Legend of Zelda game. It aged well, and this is coming from someone playing it the first time. I will go into more detail of my praise of it in a video review, but I will mention my two gripes with it here.

My first gripe with this is the lack of variety with minibosses, and the balancing issues. Manhandla is EASILY the hardest boss and miniboss in the game, and the blue darknuts are also incredibly annoying. Everything else is practically a joke, but for example the 7th dungeon contained both of them and it was incredibly challenging. It turns out in many dungeons, the easiest enemy there is the boss itself. The later ones just recycle the first few bosses. They were a joke the first time you saw them, but when you come at them when you are even stronger it's just pathetic with how easy it is.

Another gripe I have with this is how obtuse it is. You will need a guide to find the extra stuff, but that I'm fine with. Sure, it makes the game a hell of a lot easier, but it's extra things. Eventually, it reaches the point where you have to go through every nook and cranny to get to a boss. You will have to bomb walls to try and find the next room. It is REQUIRED. Sure, if you have access to the map you will eventually realize that the only one to get in is by bombing, as you will go around that room and find that there's no way to get there through a door, but it's still frustrating. The second last dungeon is where it is at its worst. The dungeon is hidden in a bush! That is just ridiculous as they don't even provide a direction of where to find it. It does come across as it being obvious as a bush is in the way, but when I first came across it I just thought it was blocking the way instead of being required.

Still, an awesome game, and I will go into more detail of its praise when I gather my thoughts and make a video review of it. I'll give it an 8/10. First I gotta do my review of Euro Truck Simulator 2. It'll be my longest review of a single game, and my most challenging one since I'll have to convince people that it's great.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Yeah Zelda is fantastic.

But I was certainly never able to beat it until I got the NES Game Atlas way back when.