The Games I Beat in 2023: Q1

My 2023 had plenty of ups and downs. A massive down was a continuation from 2022 in my unemployment. While I would eventually find employment by the end of September, I had a surplus of free time in the proceeding months. To keep myself sane between the nearly daily grind of job searching, I played a whole lot of video games, and subsequently beat many along the way. 

Inspired by Twitter user Vedran's (@Jamsch101) incredible thread listing the games he beat in 2022, I thought to make one of my own. Instead of doing the exact same thing, I wanted to add my own twist. So, in addition to mentioning the game, its developer, what I played it on, and a photo of the game, I included my playtime as long as that information was easily available, my rating for the game out of 10, and a short sentence or two review (however long I could get with Twitter's character count). 

So starting from when I got home from my early-to-mid January trip to Japan, I catalogued every game and DLC I beat on my Twitter (@AJSilver22). However, over the course of 2023, a certain manic billionaire threatened the stability of Twitter as a platform. Wanting to prepare myself for the eventuality that Twitter may collapse, I have been thinking of ways to preserve this thread outside of a personal Excel document. 

While I will continue to post on Twitter, I am going to post on multiple platforms. First of which being Bluesky (@ajsilver.bsky.social). The second place I will be posting is here on Blogger, with updates coming on a quarterly basis.

To give you taste on how these posts will be formatted going forward, I am posting the entirety of 2023's list, split into each quarter of the year and with a few corrections. So, I hope you enjoy my journey through this medium we all love, and either come back every three months or so to check out the new ones or follow it live on Bluesky and Twitter.

January

Game 1: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Developer: Insomniac Games
Played on: PS5
Release: 2021

Playtime: 14 hours 38 minutes
Rating: 9
Thoughts: Rift Apart does an excellent job of bringing Ratchet & Clank up to Sony's cinematic standards while maintaining the series' core sensibilities.

February

Game 2: Hi-Fi Rush

Developer: Tango Gameworks
Played on: Series X via Game Pass
Release: 2023

Playtime: 10 hours 55 minutes
Rating: 9.5
Thoughts: With its unique blend of rhythm and action, Hi-Fi Rush is the home run that Microsoft has sorely needed.

Game 3: Aperture Desk Job

Developer: Valve
Played on: Steam Deck
Release: 2022

Playtime: 37 minutes
Rating: 7
Thoughts: With its short length, excellent writing, and free price, there is no reason not to play Aperture Desk Job. Moreover, it's an inventive tutorial for the Steam Deck.

Game 4: Metroid Prime Remastered

Developer: Retro Studios
Played on: Switch
Release: 2023

Playtime: 13 hours 20 minutes
Rating: 10
Thoughts: 20 years has done little to take the shine off this certified classic.

March

Game 5: Pokemon Picross

Developer: Jupiter
Played on: 3DS
Release: 2015

Playtime: 62 hours 20 minutes
Rating: 7
Thoughts: Easily the most approachable and unique take on Picross. Unfortunately, the freemium model bloats the experience and kills the pacing.

Game 6: Ittle Dew

Developer: Ludosity
Played on: Steam Deck
Release: 2013

Playtime: 2 hours 26 minutes
Rating: 7
Thoughts: A short and sweet parody of classic Zelda. However, the humour can be hit or miss.

Game 7: VVVVVV

Developer: Terry Cavanagh
Played on: Steam Deck
Release: 2010

Playtime: 2 hours 2 minutes
Rating: 8
Thoughts: A challenging little platformer that is hard to put down.

Game 8: Mosaic

Developer: Krillbite Studio
Played on: Steam Deck
Release: 2019

Playtime: 2 hours 24 minutes
Rating: 7.5
Thoughts: If you're willing to play something that's more an experience than a game, Mosaic offers poignant social commentary on work and business.

Game 9: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC

Developer: Nihon Falcom
Played on: PC
Release: 2015

Playtime: 66 hours 5 minutes
Rating: 9.5
Thoughts: Despite being a little bloated in places, Sky SC has the strongest storytelling and world-building in gaming.

Game 10: Ittle Dew 2+

Developer: Ludosity
Played on: Steam Deck
Release: 2016

Playtime: 5 hours 17 minutes
Rating: 6
Thoughts: Despite the ambition, Ittle Dew 2, unfortunately, trades its predecessor's charm for superficial difficulty and frustrating dungeon design.

Game 11: Gears of War: Ultimate Edition

Developer: The Coalition
Played on: Series X via Game Pass
Release: 2015

Rating: 6.5
Thoughts: Don't let the subtitle fool you, this remaster is held back by technical issues and horrendous AI. At least, the gameplay holds up well.

Game 12: Helltaker

Developer: vanripper
Played on: Steam Deck
Release: 2020

Playtime: 2 hours 18 minutes
Rating: 7.5
Thoughts: Helltaker sets a high bar among freeware games with great art, writing, and puzzles. However, the short length causes difficulty to spike quickly.

Game 13: As Dusk Falls

Developer: Interior/Night
Played on: Series X via Game Pass
Release: 2022

Playtime: 5 hours 37 minutes
Rating: 8
Thoughts: A gripping Choose Your Own Adventure that breezes by. Its only big stumble is the abrupt sequel-baiting ending.

Let's Talk: Bayonetta 3

Source: Eurogamer

It has certainly been a long time since I last posted here. Almost seven years, to be exact. In that time, I've become more of an editor and less of a writer. However, I do get the writing bug every once in a while. This time, I have some opinions about Bayonetta 3 that I need to get off my chest. Instead of doing the more traditional review, I want to do something more off-the-cuff. Thus, the title "Let's Talk". As such, this discussion will dive into heavy spoilers. With the admin out of the way, let's get talking about Platinum's newest — and possibly most controversial — game.

Despite there being five years from announcement to release, all the drama surrounding Bayonetta 3 was saved for the very last minute. From Helena Taylor's false claims on compensation, to a parade of glowing reviews, to criticism on the game's problematic implications on women empowerment and LGBTQIA+ representation, October was a wild ride for all discourse surrounding Bayonetta 3. Having completed the game just over a week ago, time to throw my hat into the conversation.

General Thoughts

Let's get this out of the way first. Bayonetta 3 is a very good game. Playing as Bayonetta is absolutely incredible. While I am nowhere near good at memorizing combos, I was able to combine weapon switching, demon summoning, and dodging into visually stunning combos. However, your mileage may vary on the other gameplay styles that Platinum introduces throughout Bayonetta 3. 

Although I enjoyed how the more open levels got me to explore every nook and cranny for collectibles and optional Verses, the act of exploring won't be rewarding for every player. The Jeanne side levels work better as a currency farming minigame, rather than an integral part of the story. And the unique mechanics for the major boss fights are hit or miss at best. Given Platinum's current woes and the game's secret level, the injection of multiple playstyles and gimmicks in Bayonetta 3 made me feel like I was playing a demo reel attached to finished game instead of a cohesive experience.

Now that I got the gameplay out of the way, it's time to talk about the two most contentious parts of Bayonetta 3: the story and Viola.

The Story

No matter the game, Bayonetta's story is just an excuse to move between increasingly more unbelievable action set pieces and fun little moments of levity. While there is a semblance of narrative progression and character development, you are not meant to take them seriously. Unfortunately, Bayonetta 3 never gets that memo. 

Outside of a few fleeting moments, the narrative takes everything with a straight face. However, doing so shines a light on all the flaws with the story — especially if said story contradicts previously established themes and characterizations. 

All these flaws are put on full display in Bayonetta 3's ending. 

From a gameplay and fan service perspective, playing the ending is fun. It is challenging enough to keep me engaged, yet not to the point of frustration. Plus, the moments where all versions of Bayonetta and Jeanne team up to fight Singularity and you control a fusion of the three main Bayonettas are excellent ways to honour the legacy of this series. 

Taking the ending seriously as a satisfying conclusion to this trilogy of games, it fails spectacularly. Chief among its failures is how the creators don't understand or maybe even respect the characters of this series. Yes, you can say that this is a multiverse story and these versions of Bayonetta, Jeanne, Luka, and the other returning cast aren't the same as the ones we grown to love from the previous two games. But that is incredible cop out to explain mischaracterizing Bayonetta and Luka to such a degree. 

In particular, Luka goes from the quirky comic relief character that has no combat capabilities to the most competent character in the series. Despite getting help from thousands of different versions of herself across the multiverse, Bayonetta NEEDS Luka to beat the final boss. Worse yet, there is no explanation for his newfound werewolf power. If you want me to take your story seriously Platinum, how do you not answer this one huge question in almost 20 hours of game? While I don't mind that Luka and Bayonetta end up as a couple — it is highly telegraphed through the very existence of Viola — having Bayonetta swoon over him and implying that it is fate for every version of Bayonetta and Luka end up together just feels like a character assassination.

While this mischaracterization of key characters is bad, I believe the handling of Jeanne's death is even worse. 

At the end of the Chapter 13, Jeanne is stabbed in the back by Dr. Sigurd, who turns out to be Singularity. My only explanation for this death is to galvanize Bayonetta to stop Sigurd's plans. However, it doesn't factor into proceedings as Bayonetta barely mourns her best friend and possible lover. On top of that, Bayonetta survives getting impaled through the torso by Wolf Luka's claw earlier in that same chapter. If Bayonetta can survive a severely worse wound, why does Jeanne die from something so insignificant? Like I mentioned earlier, it feels like the creators behind the game don't respect these characters, which is a shame because most of the audience does.

Viola

I may anger some people with this, but I don't like Viola. In fact, the pushing of Viola as the new protagonist of the series has left me completely uninterested in the future of Bayonetta.

Before diving into my reasons for disliking Viola, let's start with a few positives. Viola has a great design, her battle theme is a bonafide banger, and Cheshire is a fun demon companion. 

Unfortunately, everything else about Viola just doesn't work. The main offenders are her characterization and gameplay.

In terms of characterization, Viola takes far too many traits from Luka and not enough from Bayonetta. While she may look cool and punk when performing combos or completing Verses, she is anything but. From constantly spouting cringe-worthy dialogue to being a non-factor in action set pieces, Viola is made to look like a the fool more times than not. As a result, you get a joke character trusted into a major role.

When it comes to gameplay, Viola is never given enough of the spotlight for players to become familiar with her moveset; not that Bayonetta 3 does a good job teaching you it. Unless you played Metal Gear Rising or another game that relies heavily on parrying, you're not in for a good time. It doesn't help that the three chapters — barely a fifth of the game — where Viola is playable are built for Bayonetta. On top of that, you don't get to control Viola until about four hours into the game. So after all that time experiencing the pure bliss of Bayonetta and her expansive moveset, you are given the chance to play as Viola, who has a drastically new mechanic to activate Witch Time, a smaller moveset, and one demon to summon. Talk about a pacing killer.

These problems are compounded by Platinum doing a horrendous job in positioning Viola as the new protagonist for the series. Going back to my discussion on the ending, you may have noticed that I made no mention of Viola. That's because she plays no part in it — despite being present for a moment or two. Any time Viola tries to help, she is immediately sidelined due to weird multiversal shenanigans or Singularity literally swatting her away like a fly. So, instead of having a full family team up to best Singularity — and possibly avoiding the whole undermining themes of women empowerment criticism — Viola gets to fight shadowy, corrupted version of Bayonetta and a giant squid after the credits roll. 

This fight leads to a spectral Bayonetta giving Viola the right to the "Bayonetta" name, thus passing the torch to a new generation. However, that new generation is made to be vastly inferior to her predecessor in every way over the course of 20 hours. Thanks to this I have little to no interest in the prospect of  Bayonetta 4 or any spinoff starring Viola.

On the Cutting Room Floor: MinionsMania is Running Mild

Comic relief is an integral part of most narratives. It relieves tension and gives the audience a break to soak in important plot points and information. Sometimes, comic relief can take the form of a character, or in this case characters. As par for the course, these comic relief characters often become the standout stars of their respective movies. The Penguins from Madagascar, Shrek's Puss in Boots and the Minions of Despicable Me are just a few of these standouts that come to mind.

Since movie studios equate these characters' popularity to the success of their respective movies, standalone movies are made for them in order to capitalize on this supposed market. Sadly, the truth is these comic-relief characters just don't have the depth to hold people's attention for the length of a featured film. While the charming denim-wearing yellow Minions from the Despicable Me films may have the marketability, they fall under the same shortcomings.

Minions follows these titular creatures on their quest to find the evilest being on Earth to be their boss. Unfortunately, the Minions are unable keep one because their oblivious stupidity results in their boss' death. Sounds great, right? In actuality, only a small fraction of Minions is spent on the humourous dispatching of former bosses (much of which is already given away in the trailers).

The majority of Minions is spent jumping from one set piece to another without any intention on telling a satisfying story or developing the Minions as anything more than incompetent. Even the antagonists of the movie, Scarlet and Herb Overkill (Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm respectively), are an afterthought since they never amount to anything other than being the wacky psychopaths that are somehow more incompetent than the Minions.

How you enjoy the comedy of Minions will make or break the film for you. For me personally, there are some legitimate laughs in this movie; they just were few and far between. The kids in the screening with me ate up every word of gibberish and fart joke in the movie. For me, much of the comedy felt too childish to keep all ages laughing throughout.

Although it seems like I have been picking on Minions a whole lot, I believe it would have been better suited as a short film or weekly television series. There is some good material hidden in the movie; it is just stretched too thin in order to fill 90 minutes. Unfortunately, a movie will generate more money than a short film or TV show ever would.

As it stands, Minions doesn't have the heart or depth to stand on its own. While I don't recommend going out of your way to see it, Minions is a fine movie if you have nothing else to watch on Netflix.

On the Cutting Room Floor: Great Things Come in Small Packages

Welcome to the first edition of On the Cutting Room Floor. 

Sadly, not everything you write will be put into publication. Sometimes, extenuating circumstances can lead to some articles being left on the cutting room floor. Instead of having these articles sit on a hard drive to never see the light of day, I want to share them here for all to enjoy. 

This review was originally written late July, early August 2015 for the theatrical release of Ant Man. Unfortunately, I took too long writing and missed my opportunity to be timely. Considering the DVD comes out very soon, it seems like the right time to post it.

To say Ant Man had a troubled production is an understatement. Director Edgar Wright, best known for his work on cult hits like Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, left the film due to creative differences mid-2014 causing Marvel to scramble for a new director and rewrite the script. This tumultuous development has caused many fans and critics alike to fear the worst. Could Ant Man be the first flop for Marvel Studios?

No, quite the opposite. Ant Man exceeds all expectations despite being smaller in scale than recent Marvel movies. In taking a step back from the grander events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), this movie centres around an emotional core that establishes a brand new cast of lovable characters while perfectly planting seeds for upcoming movies, namely Captain America: Civil War.

Ant Man centres around Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), an ex-convict looking to fix his life after prison. When Scott comes across a peculiar-looking motorcycle suit during a break-and-enter, he will get the most unusual second-chance ever. With the help of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Scott is entrusted to become the new Ant Man and stop Hank's former protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) from using the super-shrinking Yellowjacket suit for militaristic purposes.

Forewarning: Ant Man starts off slow. Slower than most superhero/action films, in fact. Once you get past the plodding first 40 minutes, the movie moves at a wonderful pace that never lets up. In particular, the climax of Ant Man is nothing short of spectacular. The fight between Ant Man and Yellowjacket may happen on such a miniscule scale, but it is literally unlike anything ever seen on the silver screen. Thomas the Tank Engine and all.

Michael Douglas' performance as Hank Pym steals the show. Both Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are good in their roles, but it takes a while to establish them as likable characters. From the moment Douglas steps on screen, he looks comfortable in the role of Hank Pym—like it was made for him.

Unlike Age of Ultron's scenes of forced set-up, Ant Man naturally weaves its story with characters, events and themes from the broader MCU. The inclusion of the MCU is not a side-story that has no impact on the plot, it is a integral part of it. One pivotal exchange between Ant Man and a certain Avenger halfway through the movie perfectly encapsulates the MCU's importance to the plot.

For all that Ant Man does right, there is one glaring problem with it: Darren Cross. A villain doesn't get anymore one-note and generic than him—even his name sounds generic. In all seriousness, all the scenes setting Cross up as the villain are just painful to watch. Instead of coming off as threatening and unstable, Cross is wacky and cartoonish. Good thing the movie stops focusing on his development about a quarter into it.

Although the events of Ant Man may seem microscopic in comparison to the world and even universe-spanning adventures of recent Marvel movies like Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, it stands among the best movies Marvel has ever produced. While it doesn't have the big names or explosive spectacles that make most summer blockbusters, Ant Man is a movie that you shouldn't overlook.

Passing on the Season Pass

It's surprising that the concept of downloadable content (DLC) has been around for 10 years now. Starting with the launch titles for the Xbox 360, DLC has become a major part of the industry as it gives the player more things to do in the game and keeps them from trading it in for something else. This need to keep gamers from trading in their old games has forced every major AAA title nowadays to have a plan for DLC or risk fading away into obscurity. With the industry's dependence on DLC, packaging all the DLC together in one purchase called a season pass has become a standard practice for every game big and small. What first started as a great deal has more commonly become a money gouging strategy by publishers.

The two most recent season pass offenders are Star Wars: Battlefront and Rainbow Six: Siege.

It has become common knowledge that Battlefront has great gameplay, but DICE clearly skimped out when it came to the content. Looking to make up for the short-sight, or what I like to call, "We need to get this game out now, better add this stuff later," DICE has provided 20 weapons, 16 maps, four playable heroes and villains, four new game modes, and an exclusive emote that players can buy in a season pass. The content seems reasonable until you look at its 70 dollar price tag. Seriously, 70 dollars! What does EA think they will achieve? They're scaring people away, rather than enticing them to pay for extra content. EA may be arrogant enough to believe severely overpricing their season passes is an acceptable practice, but it will come back to haunt them when gamers skip on the initial release of their games to wait for the inevitable Game of the Year version.

If you though Battlefront's season pass is bad, well the season pass for Rainbow Six: Siege is on a new level of exploitation. Spending 30 dollars on this season pass nets you seven day early access and instant unlock of eight new operators (which you can unlock free of charge by playing the game), weapon skins, 600 credits for additional in-game purchases, five per cent Renown boost, and two more challenges a day. I can't think of a worse way to spend 30 dollars. Outside of the minor boosts and cosmetic additions, everything contained in this season pass can be unlocked through regular play, meaning this pass only exists to gouge money out of Rainbow Six fans. Is Siege a AAA title or a freemium game, Ubisoft? Because how you treating it with this abomination of a season pass and the addition of unnecessary microtransactions are telling me otherwise.

Not all season passes are bad. Witcher III's expansion pass and the Mario Kart 8 DLC bundle price are two examples of great season passes. Just most of the recent offerings have been giving this option to buying DLC in bulk a bad name. Making new content for a game, no matter its size, can be costly especially with the ever-rising price of video game development, but that doesn't give publishers justification to gouge money out of the consumer that already pays close to 100 dollars for one title. Instead of enticing more people to buy more content for their games, these underhanded practices are good ways to keep people from buying DLC altogether.

Bit by Bit: October 2015

Sometimes, you can't think of anything interesting to write as a lead for an article. This is one of those times.

I've been trying to put together this edition of Bit by Bit for a couple weeks now, but I blank every time I sit down to write an introduction. A lot happened during October; sadly I can't seem to find a way to put it into a cohesive thought. Maybe that's how the working life goes: everything just blurs together.

Well, enough of my introspective look at introductions. Let's get to what you read Bit by Bit for: the video games!

Game of the Month
If a game's quality was solely based on its graphics, Yoshi's Woolly World would easily be one of the best titles of 2015. Good thing it plays just as well as it looks. Yoshi's Woolly World is the closest Mario's dinosaur companion has come to reaching the quality of its first solo outing in Super Mario World 2.

Although Yoshi games have never been known for their challenging gameplay, Woolly World challenges the player in different way. Each level has tons of collectibles for you to find and the process of tracking down everything in one run can be very difficult. The great thing about the collectibles are the rewards. Collecting all the wonder wool in a level gives you a brand new Yoshi to play with. Also collecting all the flowers in a world opens up a secret level, which are easily the most difficult levels in the game.

Speaking of Woolly World's levels, the level design in the game is superb. From directing a Monty Mole through a maze of traps to transforming into various vehicles, each level in Woolly World has a different hook to keep you engaged. It also helps that the controls feel spot-on. They are easy enough to learn for beginners, but offer enough depth and nuance that seasoned players can pull off some great feats of platforming.

In all honesty, Yoshi's Woolly World is one of the best platformers of the year and yet another great title for the Wii U. Don't let the cute exterior fool you, Woolly World isn't a game just for children. It offers entertainment and challenge for all ages.

Most Anticipated Movie of the Month
I may be the only person on the planet that isn't excited for any of the huge AAA titles coming out this holiday season. I will admit that Fallout 4 and Star Wars Battlefront look phenomenal, but I don't need to pick them up for myself right away. That's what siblings are for, right?

But when it comes to movies, I am stuck on the Star Wars Episode VII hype train with no way of getting off. Everything Disney and Lucasfilm has shown for The Force Awakens looks absolutely incredible without giving away too many plot details. I haven't been this excited for a movie in a long time.

Just watch the final trailer! It was worth enduring a few painful minutes of Monday Night Football to see live.

Video of the Month
Kids born in the '90s may remember the slew of cartoon shows based on your favourite video game characters. Mario, Sonic, Earthworm Jim and Mega Man are just a few of the video game cartoons that people may have watched during the '90s. One cartoon I remember was Donkey Kong Country, a CG-animated show based off of Nintendo's tie-wearing gorilla, which aired on Teletoon here in Canada. All I can remember about the show is its catchy theme song, but a show with a catchy theme must be good. Right? Right?!

No, Donkey Kong Country is, for lack of a better term, bat-shit crazy and not in a good way. While I may not be able to remember the finer details of the show's insanity, ProJared's newest video does a great job of capturing Donkey Kong Country in all its glory. Watch the video to see DK at his worst.

First Byte: Yo-Kai Watch

Back in 1998, a small portable called Pokemon hit the gaming scene and ignited a phenomenon. Who knew catching, trading, and fighting adorable pocket monsters would become and stay popular among children and young adults for over 15 years? Many titles have tried their hand at usurping Pokemon off of its throne, but most have failed. Well, until recently.

Yo-Kai Watch, a multimedia franchise similar to Pokemon just replace monsters with ghosts, has blown up in Japan. Created by the well-respected Japanese game developer Level-5, Yo-Kai Watch has gone on the spawn games, toys, manga, anime, other forms of merchandise. Considering Yo-Kai Watch is such a hit in their home country of Japan, Nintendo and Level-5 are looking to recreate that success here in North America with the simultaneous launch of the toys, anime, and game.

To entice gamers to pick up the Yo-Kai Watch game upon release, Nintendo has a demo up on the eShop for all to enjoy. Funny enough, it had the adverse effect on me.

The demo gives the player one quest to complete: defeat three mischievous yo-kai and report back to the quest giver. Spoiler alert: turns out the quest giver is a yo-kai as well, and it's up to you to beat it or fight until the demo ending cutscene triggers. Outside of the quest, you are given a small section of Springdale to explore where you can talk to NPCs, find and fight wild yo-kai, and pick up random items (even though the demo doesn't allow you to use them).

Coming out of Fan Expo, I had a few reservations with Yo-Kai Watch, but was mostly pleased with the 10 minutes I played. The game has some unique systems in place when it comes to tracking down and fighting wild yo-kai that differentiate it from Pokemon, although not enough to stop comparisons from being made. After playing through the demo twice now, Yo-Kai Watch feels too shallow for my liking. While it may be easy to get into the game, there isn't anything beyond the surface. Simply, it lacks depth.

My problems with Yo-Kai Watch's lack of depth stems from its combat. Fights take place in real time, which means you have no direct control over what your party does. You only have control over switching your party mid-battle, who they target, and whether to unleash a special move or cure an afflicted party member. Using special moves and curing party members triggers one of three touch screen minigames: tapping the screen, rubbing the screen, or tracing lines. Thanks to the touch controls and minigames, I spent the majority of fights staring bottom screen. There were times I wouldn't even notice that a battle ended until I was booted back to the overworld.

This lack of agency during battles soured my impression of Yo-Kai Watch as a whole. I'm not going to spend 20 to 40 hours with a game, especially a RPG, if it's combat is this shallow. I might be wrong and Yo-Kai Watch adds plenty of depth the farther you get in the game, but I'm not spending 50 dollars just to find that out.