games ive played past few weeks #1

hello everyone cool and curious who is visiting here i am blog 👋

the past few weeks ive been playing a lot of games because i 

1. like games

2. got a steam deck

so i wanted to talk about them because a lot of them were really cool and i have many thoughts about a lot of them!! everything on the list is something that ive completed and i am currently playing some titles that ill 100% wanna write about later but thats for another time! blog time

Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139:

played on pc

full price: $60 USD | price i got it for: $21 USD | historical cheapest steam price: $23 USD

this is the first game in a WHILE that has left me in a special kind of awe after completing it... parts of it were predictable and other parts were totally out of nowhere, but the experience as a whole felt extremely tight and feels like a perfect example of using games as a form of art. it has easily one of the strongest soundtracks ive had the pleasure of listening to, has an extremely gripping sense of immersion that keeps you totally invested in these stellar characters, and sinks you into a world that has become my new favorite interpretation of post apocalypse; yet despite all that, the story is still the most jaw dropping and exceptional gift nier has to offer. the game overall feels like such a focused and totally entrancing experience despite its flaws due to it's ability to use all its aspects combined to provide gut punch after gut punch after gut punch in its story, with everything from the music to the graphics to the several endings you get throughout the game in order to form a full and informed view of the experience and to hypnotize you into Yoko Taro's world. a few aspects of the game were not the best decisions "game" wise, but they still managed to add to the experience beyond contributing to it as "just" a video game, and really, in a sense, it feel like it has transcended it's form of media, but in reality it just showcases how much video games can really do when you allow yourself the liberty to think past industry standards and expectations. it is very difficult for me to write about nier because its hard to make comments on a game that makes you FEEL so much of it rather than "giving" you what it has to offer, and can only truly be understood by you allowing it the time to simply tell its tale. many automata fans seem to treat this game with disdain but i think the story this game executes is something truly special and has cemented itself as a new personal bar for video game storytelling.

i have a lot more to say about this title but ill save that for a separate blog!

i'd give nier replicant a amazing poetic peak masterpiece 9.5/10

20 Small Mazes:

played on laptop

full price: free!

when i was putting together this blog i didnt have this game in mind but as i was scrolling through my steam to grab games ive played lately i was reminded of this one and i think its worth talking about! 20 small mazes is shockingly a game about 20 small mazes. you have to complete them all and then you win. it took me like, 40 minutes all together, and thats including being interrupted by a customer (i was playing @ work 😇) but this game was totally worth the time. i know me totally forgetting about it isnt a great look for it but after remembering it, i can recall nearly every puzzle from my short time with it a month and a half ago, and many of those were genuinely unique and fun experiences, so honestly theres nothing here for me to not recommend. the game is 30 minutes, free, and reminds me of a time when i could still log into Kongregate and find a pointless game to spruce up my afternoon many years ago.

id give 20 small mazes a cool and collected 7/10

Astral Party

played on pc

full price: free...

this game sucks

id give astral party a DUMB 3/10

Yume Nikki

played on laptop

full price: ALSO FREE !!!!!!

yume nikki feels like itd be another game that i had to sit down and process for a while due to how heavy it feels playing it, but i think it that is very far from my reality with this game. this game is probably the most experimental ive played and reaches heights i would not expect from any game. similar to nier, this is absolutely a game that pushes its medium and manipulates it to accomplish new things, and i would argue that yume nikki's strongest aspect is it's story. while you may think it has no story due to lack of any dialogue whatsoever and no real defined characters, the blank slate it creates allows you to learn about both the main character, madotsuki, and about yourself by letting you project your life, your experiences, and your interpretations of the inner workings of madotsuki's mind in order to make sense of a truly foreign world with many nooks and crannies. this absolutely should be a game with zero substance and nothing special about it, but the game defeats that fate by inviting you to have a conversation with yourself and open up by working to understand madotsuki. despite how educating and heavy the game may feel, i was left with something resembling a personal satisfaction upon completion rather than an emptiness due to this "conversation" the game encourages; it does not feel like a bombshell upon you, but rather, it feel like you coming to terms with an existing part of yourself. this isnt a game i would recommend to everyone in the world, but if you think you can respect this game and give it some time to ask you the questions you have for yourself, i think it is another totally unique and irreplaceable experience that should be played.

i think this is another game i will write a seperate blog about but im not totally sure!! keep watch!!

id give yume nikki a gobou-licious 9/10

(the) Gnorp Apolouge

played on pc

full price: $7 USD | price i got it for: $7 USD | historical cheapest steam price: $5.60 USD

i fucking LOVE clicker and idle games and PEOPLE DONT GET THEM!! i slaved many many hours away on cookie clicker deep in the pandemic and played the absolute shit out of it for very long and discovered its many layers of gameplay depth, planning, feature exploitation and have genuinely hit jackpots of cookies that made my week. since then, ive been trying to chase that high of an engaging, funny, deep clicker/idle game ever since and have been disappointed time and time again by the absolute slop the market puts out for this genre, taking all the flair and basic gameplay elements of cookie clicker and emulating it, either failing to miss what made the game so good or trying to complicate it far too much in an effort to make it more "interesting". after giving up my noble search many months ago, i saw the gnorp apolouge pop up in my steam recommendations, and it instantly called out to me. i tried to ignore it because of my history with the genre, but it looked so colorful and interesting and eventually i threw down the 7 bucks and gave it a shot. unlike most of this list, i havent actually beaten this game yet, however, i have absolutely gotten my moneys worth. instead of replicating cookie clicker's glory by just copying it's gameplay, it actually tried something unique with it's collection system; instead of instantly reaping the benefits of your clicks and automation, you have to hire different types of workers to collect your resources. on top of this, some workers actually have methods of rerouting their gains back over to the damage dealers in order to produce even more resources. there is also elements in the game that add multipliers or deal damage over time in order to keep your damage high, and finding the best way to inflict these elements is another hurdle to cross. although this game is hardly a clicker due to the lack of things youre able to do while actively playing, the high build diversity in the game makes it one worthy of being called a true idle game, and i respect the hell outta my hard working gnorps.

id give (the) gnorp apolouge a gnorpish 8/10

Owlboy

played on steam deck

full price: $20 USD | price i got it for: i borrowed it :) | historical cheapest steam price: $7 USD

i decided to peep this game on a super whim cuz i was bored at work one day and i was finishing up some of the other games coming up in the list and wanted something to pad out my time with them, but that didnt work out too well because i actually finished this game in one sitting. owlboy was a super solid experience and playing it on the deck seemed like a pretty fitting way to experience a game in it's style, but what i did not expect from owlboy was a strong, emotional story addressing abuse and generational trauma in gut wrenching and realistic ways along with a pretty fun adventure with some spectacular art to detail it. the game took me about 7-8 hours, 5 or 6 of which were me laying in bed, and while i think this was a good runtime for the game, i think it felt pretty rushed and left a few too many unanswered questions. this is most likely due to the fact that many grander plot points in the world of owlboy are locked behind a "true ending" that requires some collectable hunting to experience, which is an idea in games im not super fond of. besides that, there were some other points i didnt feel super great about, these mainly it's core gameplay and world design. in the game, you interact with the world by teleporting 1 of 3 of your friends into your arms and using their abilities to defeat enemies and solve puzzles. while this is a really solid idea on paper, the main issue comes with the character youre expected to use the most. this guy has NO FUCKING SWAG and generally feels pretty bad to use, but he is your primary interaction with most objects and the "best" option to use is most combat situations, but he just does not feel good to use, nor do any of his upgrades improve the experience of using him. this control issue extends into the main character, otus, and how he feels in the air as well. its not experience breaking by any means, but he just did not feel great to control while flying on a controller. the environments you control him through are beautiful though, and i dont think they are designed poorly either; many of them are actually pretty cool and some puzzles were my favorite parts of the game. the issue with the world design is that owlboy does not take advantage of it's fantastic setting. the game takes place many miles in the sky, however you are flying through somewhat cramped caves for a good 70% of the game. these areas are still fun and look great, but i expected a more sky-inspired setting from a game that takes place in the sky. otherwise, this game is brilliant. the art is amazing, i loved the story, the music was pretty good, the characters were extremely memorable, and the experience nearly brought me to tears once or twice. overall a really solid experience that couldve been in a higher league with a bit more care and better design. 

id give owlboy an soaring (but at a reasonable altitude) 8/10

The Hex

played on steam deck

full price: $10 USD | price i got it for: i dont rmbr... | historical cheapest steam price: $1.50 USD

the hex was a fairly short but pretty good experience with a very interesting and fun plot to be followed. i dont even remember HOW i got this game but i think it just popped up in my library one day as a calling to me. the basic premise is you playing as six different video games characters created by the same man that each serve as a commentary on different parts of the video game industry and the value of art, especially what its worth in the hands of it's artist. ill be honest, most of this game is pretty ugly, but the style works and it grew on me over the course of the game to the point i kind of liked it by the end credits. there are lots of secrets to be found that expand on different parts of the characters in the game, and even extend as far as other games that are hidden on the steam store, but as for the package this game is as is standalone, i think it accomplishes its goals and provides a story with some surprising twists and funny, "darker(?)" humor. the controls were not perfect on the deck but they were definitely good ENOUGH and despite them, the game was a treat to play. i dont have a whole lot of thoughts on the game overall and it wasnt anything spectacular to me, but simply put i enjoyed my time with it and i think it was very cool and if you can get it on the more discounted end, its definitely worth checking it out.

id give the hex a good and quaint 7.5/10

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

played on deck

full price: $40 USD | price i got it for: Borrowed USD | historical cheapest steam price: $27 USD

this was the first game i actually played on my deck and noone can convince me it wasnt developed specifically for it and i will accept zero arguments. this game is BEAUTIFUL on the big bright OLED screen and feels exactly how a JSR spiritual successor should. its gameplay is very close to halfway between tony hawks pro skater and JSR/JSRF, and there no fancy words i can really use to say besides its fun as hell. i dont have an incredible amount of things to say about this game but to put it bluntly it was a great experience front to back. it had a story that totally caught me off guard by not being totally boring. the skating was super fun at first but did feel a bit stale later on; however, exploring new areas and tagging harder and harder locations was still an absolute treat, and the entire experience was wrapped up and decorated neatly with a beautiful, fun soundtrack by some amazing artists. i could totally see myself getting back on it again in the future for an hour or two to hit some more tagging locations and start getting even more collectables, and do have some interest in exploring its "diverse" modding scene. i think this game is totally worth the time and if youre into THPS, JSR, or any related skating games/funk, rock, electronic and club music, this is a must play FOR SURE !!

id give BRC a whoooooppiiiiing 8/10

Lunacid

played on steam deck

full price: $14 USD | price i got it for: $7 USD | historical cheapest steam price: $7 USD

i *kind* of have a history with this game and the first grand battle i endured before any enemies i actually fought with my blade: actually getting into the game. ill be very honest, the first time i played this game, i was VERY confused and not impressed. the controls felt shit for the sake of being shit, the weapons were trash, the environments were all murky and felt boring, and i virtually had no faith in this game being anything respectable any time soon. i had hopes and trusted myself to get back into it eventually, but i never really did and totally forgot about it. UNTIL i got my deck! i saw someone mention this title on one of their top deck games and i was curious about what they possibly saw in the game and wondered how playing it on the deck made their experience any better, so it was actually the second title i sat down to try out. and man. this game fucks so so so hard......

so lunacid is a big grand old dungeon crawler with role playing elements, and was inspired by the same source that the souls franchise was, Kings Field. you pick a race (has predetermined strengths, weaknesses and some allotted skill points (and SOMETIMES special abilities)), and you are dumped into a great cavern full of sickness, weakness, and hell incarnate known as the Great Well. while i was very off the mark with my initial judgements of the game, i was slightly correct about the start of the game being bleak and gray, and it may have served as a proper judgement of it. if i had played for like, another hour?? i wouldve have been met with some jaw dropping, colorful environments that the great well contained within it. lunacid is the complete opposite of owlboy in this regard; it gave me a setting that sounded fine, but worked against all my expectations and actually provided to me some of the most memorable locations ranging from beautiful forests with nature based demons, lava caves containing secrets of ancient civilization, and extremely fun and secret littered dungeons across the entire great well, all filled with awesome loot and fun stories to tell. lunacid's secret is simply just being the best dungeon crawler it can be. the point of this genre is to explore, fight, plan, struggle, and come out on top with your progress and gained experience as trophies proving your might. as an RPG, it is just as great. i played as a vampire in my save, making me extremely weak to light and fire, but made me fare well against other inflictions. this also meant dealing damage allowed me to suck the blood of my enemies, giving me healing over time, and also gave me the benefit of being able to use the Blood Wine item as a secondary healing potion. armed with this knowledge, upon arriving at the Castle Le Fanu, a castle in the mid game containing much of the great well's vampire population, i "instinctually" knew the vampires greatest weaknesses and slayed much of my own kind in order to progress deeper into the well for my own purposes. within the castle, there were many blood fountains that served as healing locations for myself, and as a vampire, i was even welcomed into certain parts of the castle without requiring the keys associated with them. i never forgot about my race throughout the entire game due to how involved it is throughout many parts of it, and served as another hook for immersing me into this deep and rich world that lunacid crafted. overall, this game has become one of my recent favorites, and i highly recommend anyone that enjoys games like the soulsborne franchise or the TLoZ franchise to check this game out. but if you do play it, do NOT play it on a keyboard and mouse!! CONTROLLER!!! I LOVE THIS GAME!! PLAY IT!!

id give lunacid a lun9/10

thats all the gmaes for now. if u guys have any recommendations or wanna talk about any of these or wanna see if ive played your favs id love to hear about all of the above.. i love u USA RAAAGHH 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅