Tag: PS Plus

Noob’s Top 10 Games Experienced in 2022

The year is almost over! Since I don’t make a habit of playing many brand new games on release I don’t often have a lot to add to the Game of the Year conversation. I do however track all of the games that I play within a given year. Since I missed so many titles throughout my life, I am very fortunate to experience many amazing games for the first time all year around. I want to celebrate that, so here are my Top 10 Games from this year!

Here is a chart of the release year of all the games I experienced this year!

10. AI: The Somnium Files (2019)

It was very difficult narrowing this list down. I have played so many good games this year that could make my top 10 for so many different reasons. After much back and forth, I have chosen AI: The Somnium Files as number 10. Despite not enjoying everything about it, I have to acknowledge that I loved the core mystery. Not only did the game deliver a murder mystery that kept me guessing with so many wild yet somehow plausible theories, it managed to bring it all together to a satisfying conclusion. When an ending falls flat it can often dampen my memory of the rest of the experience and that could very easily happen with a story so full of twists and turns. Thankfully, they nailed it!

If you would like to hear more about my mixed feelings on this crazy game, you can read my review here.

9. God of War (2018)

God of War felt like my first delve into the best that cinematic gaming has to offer. I felt like I was playing a blockbuster and because that is so rare to me, it was pretty damn awe-inspiring. I think the reason that this game doesn’t make it further up the list is becasue when something shines so much, the rough edges feel a little rougher. Slight issues with pacing, invisible walls and certain character arcs occasionally took me out of the experience and stopped this from being up there with my favourites. However, the fight choreography, the mythology and the characters themselves were so much fun, it was overall a fantastic experience.

8. Yes, Your Grace (2020)

I almost missed this one so I am so glad that I got to play it before it left Game Pass. The tough choices every day, the looming threat and the never knowing whether we would get through the next week created an extremely stressful and melancholic atmosphere in which I personally felt the weight of the kingdom on my shoulders. Yet somehow that is not all I remember. I remember the charm of every character being recognisable despite their pixel forms. I remember the nerves when someone returned to the palace, and the joy when they were saying thank you (and bringing me supplies). I remember the shenanigans of my daughters that elevated the game from a management sim to a life sim. It can be sad, it can be stressful, it can be buggy, but it is very worth playing.

7. Astrologaster (2019)

Having zero expectations helped as I discovered how much of a total delight Astrologaster really is. The music, the history, the choices, the relationships, the consequences – that is what the game is all about. It is all delivered with a sense of humour that couldn’t be nailed by just anyone. The passion and heart from the devs is palpable. If you are having a bad day, I couldn’t recommend this enough to get at least a few giggles. For how simple the game is moment to moment, the production value shines and makes this a stand out indie title.

6. Zero Time Dilemma (2016)

Finishing the Zero Escape series was the end of an era for me. I played the entire series for YouTube and each one was as wild as the next in their own way. It took me a while to adjust to the third and final game having such a new style, but once I got used to it I grew to love it. The janky animations added character as much as anything else, and the new flow of gameplay made a lot of sense in terms of the story. As I reflect, this game and Virtues Last Reward keep trading places for my favourite in the series, and that was very unexpected considering how much I enjoyed VLR.

If you would like to hear more of my feelings on this game, not only can you watch my series in the video above but I guested on the Left Behind Game Club podcast where we talked in a lot of depth. You can find more information about that here.

5. Elden Ring (2022)

One one hand, it almost feels wrong to put Elden Ring on this list as I am not even sure I am half way through yet. On the other hand, I HAD to put Elden Ring on this list. I have quietly enjoyed the souls games from a distance for a few years, but never thought I could actually play them. I wanted that sense of exploration but I don’t have the patience required for the combat. Then Elden Ring came along. It is like Dark Souls had a child with.. well.. me. Every change they made and feature they added feels tailored to my enjoyment and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game so far, knowing I have many more hours of joy, discovery, fear and fascination to go. This was my onlyday one gaming splurge this year and I am so glad that I did it.

4. Guardians of the Galaxy (2021)

I am not entirely sure why it took me so long to play Guardians of the Galaxy. I had access to it for a while but the timing never felt quite right. Now that I think back, it is like it was for a reason. In an extremely stressful time in my life, this game gave me a wonderful place of respite. It is another that felt designed for me on a few different levels. The character interactions and small details were fantastic and the levels were very fun to explore. I even enjoyed the combat which isn’t usual for me. The only hype I really heard about this game were the few who were championing it saying it is underrated, and I whole-heartedly agree. I always hope for more people to play it because I’m sure there will be many that have as much love for it as I do. It is funny, colourful, bold, emotional, and so worth your time.

3. Stray (2022)

Stray was everything I needed it to be and more. To this day I see people calling it ‘that cat game’ but that feels so reductive to me. In my review I went into detail about why I believe this game worked so well, so instead of rehashing that, I will leave a link here. What I do want to say is while this game will not be for everyone, I am so happy that there is a space for games like these to be made. Not everything has to be a blockbuster, but I do believe games need some sort of substance. This is a short game that is bursting with atmosphere, gorgeous visuals, small moments, world building, and feelings; perhaps even more impressive considering all of the characters are animals and robots.

2. Persona 5 (2016)

This game took over my life in a way that I didn’t expect. At a time when I was creating a schedule – forcing in some mandatory yet reluctant rest time – P5 became part of my evening routine. Having never played a story based JRPG before (unless Pokemon counts) I wasn’t even sure what to expect, let alone whether I would like it. But after playing the first couple of hours I was completely sold. It was a totally new experience and I was entirely on board. The further in I got, the more I loved the characters and the more excitement I got from new mechanics, new story beats or discovering new elements of the game. This game is a masterclass in style and I couldn’t get enough. I lulled in the middle which isn’t unusual for me during a long game, but overall, Persona 5 took a place in my heart. Maybe even stole it? A hugely enjoyable experience that I will remember for a long time.

1. Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)

The award for favourite game that I have played this year goes to – Return of the Obra Dinn! All I knew going into this game was that there might be murder mysteries and puzzles, and that I was slightly off-put by the art style. It is so interesting how thoughts like that can 180 so hard that it becomes one of your favourite game experiences to date. As soon as I felt the game in motion I knew I had it wrong. This game is art in every sense. Not only the visual aesthetic, but the music, the audio design, the pacing of every reveal, the setting, the characters, the story, the clues, the unravelling. It is crafted to perfection.

In puzzle books my favourite pages are the logic grid puzzles. I had no idea this game would basically be a huge, sprawling version of those. Except for a couple of tiny niggles, this game ‘hit’ on every level for me. My only regret is not being able to experience it for the first time again.

Looking back over my list and writing this post is pretty magical. These games are outstanding and were one of the saving graces of a tough personal year for me. And the best part? I know there are 1000s more where they came from, just waiting to give more fantastic, wild, emotional, challenging, thoughtful, hilarious, *insert all other adjectives here* experiences, and the library just grows and grows.

For anyone else like me – people who want to experience everything there is, Indie and AAA alike – we will never be able to play all of the games that we would like to before we die. There literally aren’t enough hours. On one hand, that could be a reason to be super selective. On the other, how many games have clicked with you on a level that you never expected or could not have predicted? For me, that number is pretty high. The conclusion – be adventurous. Go with your gut. Listen to others, but not too closely. Curious about something? Give it a go! Not really feeling anything? Try absolutely anything! Games are more accessible than they have ever been, what better way to celebrate that then.. well.. playing games.

If you would like to see more of what I played this year, I have a Twitter thread with initial thoughts of every game I played here. I also have a more concise visual list on GGApp that you can view here.

Happy gaming and all the best for 2023!

top 10 games experienced in Other years

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A Noob’s Review – Moonlighter

Moonlighter is a game in which you hunt for treasures by night, and sell them by day. Both of these jobs create two different modes which construct the daily flow of the game. The dungeons you pillage are randomized in a rogue-like fashion. The further you get into a dungeon, the more valuable loot you will find. Kill the main boss to complete the dungeon and unlock the next one, with a new biome and new loot. Throughout the journey you will be fighting creatures, finding notes and organizing your bag in order to maximize your haul. What is the catch here you may be wondering? Well.. If you die you lose the majority of the loot that you have collected that night. It becomes a game of deciding whether you dare go into the next room. There may be enemies that could kill you, but there also may be a healing pool or something worth everything you have already collected combined. Do you want to risk it all? Or are you satisfied to come back another day.

The second half of this game is managing your shop. Almost everything that you find is sellable. Your job is to figure out the optimal price to sell these items. Price them too low and you are missing out on valuable cash, but price them too high and they will not sell or customer demand for said item will plummet. The game kindly provides you with a book that updates automatically to allow you to focus on pricing up the new goods while quickly selling old ones. Another catch? A lot of what you find are also materials that you will need to upgrade your equipment, so you have to make some decisions – managing money vs benefit when it comes to what you sell. My advice? Prioritize upgrading every time. It makes a huge difference as you can spend longer in the dungeons, allowing you to bring even more valuable loot home. And thus, the loop continues.

+ A Good Podcast Game

My favourite thing about this game is that it is a great podcast game. By which I mean, once you are used to the mechanics and know what you are doing, you can easily put on your favourite podcast and listen away.

– The Combat

I am so hit and miss with combat that anyone would be forgiven for taking my opinion with a grain of salt. However, I found the combat to feel really clunky. Hitboxes were strange, it didn’t feel super responsive and I never really got the hang of it. The first thing that I did was rebound the controls (excellent feature I am always happy to see) to feel more familiar which helped some, but the further I got it never felt better. The only thing that helped me make progress was upgrading my equipment. Of course, that is to be expected, but I never felt like I was improving as a player. I was still feeling as frustrated by the end as I was at the beginning. By the fourth dungeon I ended up turning down the difficulty because I just wasn’t having fun with it. Granted, I am used to playing The Binding of Isaac where you can attack in a different direction than you are facing. You can’t do that here and I felt it a lot. It resulted in lots of running into enemies while trying to face them, taking damage in the process.

+/- The Progression

This being a pro or a con really depends on how much you enjoy the core loop. I did enjoy the loop, but I was excited to see how it was going to progress as I unlocked new areas and facilities in the town. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t enjoy the direction it took. The best way that I can describe it is – more of the same but with a few added annoyances. The dungeons and your gear upgrades all follow the same patterns with a couple of changes here and there. That was fine. It was the shop progression that I had a bit of an issue with. As an example, the larger your shop grows, new mechanics are introduced. One of them is a bird flying into your shop. You have to chase it around and catch it by pressing X. It startles the customers and everyone freezes until you catch it. The first time this happened was fine, but it happened around the same time every single day, with the bird flying in the same predictable pattern. It wasn’t a challenge or a delight. It was just a thing that happened to give you something to do and it didn’t add anything. In fact the opposite, it developed to be quite annoying. I do enjoy how the variety of customers grows as your shop does, but I hoped for more in the shop itself. 

+ The Ease of Use Features

Simple mechanics such as moving everything to and from chests, easily being able to pick up individual items or stacks, sorting via price, getting rid of items mid dungeon, automatically updating my price book, being able to see my price book easily mid looting, and having a wish list option that highlights crafting materials you need as you find them, were all very gratefully received by me. Often when I thought ‘I wish I could do this’ my thought was cut short because the game had already given me a way to do it.

– Valuing items becomes finicky

To create more challenge and variety, your book doesn’t store item price data if the item is in high demand when it is sold. That means that you can charge more than normal for profit, but the number doesn’t get saved. I wish there was a separate section for recording this data. In addition, it doesn’t save the price for certain customers. This can result in an attempt to figure out the best price of a particular item thwarted because some rich or interested dude bought it. This then gets frustrating becasue you not only have to remember the item and price range that you were working with, but find it again and try another day where it is just as likely to happen again. By the third dungeon I would say around 95% of my prices were not getting recorded and it was really frustrating because figuring out the price boundaries was my favourite part of the game. I loved testing the boundaries, slowly testing the maximum I could get without being too cheeky. This aspect was completely taken away due to the progression of the mechanics and instead turned into annoying robbers and just trying to sell everything as fast as I could. It improved slightly in the fourth dungeon but by then I felt defeated. It had me questioning whether my game was bugged, a question I still don’t know the answer to.

– Some Minor Technical Issues

Every time I pressed X – from entering a dungeon to reading a note – the game would switch my weapons. Which would mean I would run up to punch an enemy only to slowly shoot an arrow in their face because I didn’t realise it had switched. This isn’t game ruining at all, but it was an annoyance that added onto previous ones. I also had some chugging and framerate drops occasionally which felt a little strange in a 2D top down game like this.

+ The Familiars

You can happen upon eggs in the dungeons that after a few days hatch into little friends that aid you during your dungeoneering. I loved this addition. They were cute and had some legitimately interesting perks.

– The Notes

There are notes you can find throughout the dungeons and every time I found one I felt excited. They are there to give the player some hints and add some flavour. I just wish they were a bit more interesting. It didn’t take long at all for them to start repeating and I found them to be quite generic. Occasionally it would be a hint for something that I figured out 2 dungeons ago, and it just ended up feeling very disappointing.

Ultimately, the first couple of hours of was my favourite part of the time that I spent with this game. Where I thought it was going based on those first hours and where it actually went turned out to be a little different, which was unfortunate for me. My favourite part of the game was gradually made worse by strange mechanics rather than staying the same or improving, to the point that I pretty much gave up on it. I started my first few hours wanting to craft every weapon to the highest level, but by the end I was just trying to finish the game. It could be that it is just not for me, but what I really think happened is the niggles that I mentioned above wore me down. The later the game, the more niggly mechanics were added which added to the wear down. I think it is a fantastic, fun core concept for a game that was brought down by a few small things. That all being said, if you go in with the expectations set by everything written above then it is a nice game to keep your hands busy while you listen to podcasts.

+ A Good Podcast Game

– The Combat

+/- The Progression

+ The ease of use features

– Valuing items becomes finicky

– Some minor technical issues

+ The Familiars

– The Notes

If you would like to see my first few hours with the game then you can here!

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A Noob’s Review – My Time at Portia

My Time at Portia is a game with many flaws, but if you can look past them then it can be an absolute delight. I feel like Portia is ideal for the people who love Stardew Valley/Harvest Moon type games but find the farming tedious after a while. These aren’t the only type of people who might enjoy this game, but if that resonates with you then it could be worth a shot! Not only through the first few hours but throughout my entire playthrough, I was constantly surprised, confused and amused by the stuff I would find and the things that would happen, leading to the affectionate nickname of ‘My Weird Time at Portia’.

– Doesn’t know what it wants to be

When I first started playing My Time at Portia, I got the sense that it didn’t know what it wanted to be. Games like Stardew Valley have a lot to do. You can farm, craft, cook, mine, forage, fish, create relationships. I feel that all of these things are key to the slice-of-life farm sim genre that these games are part of, which is already quite a lot of things to do. Portia is similar in that sense, except, add a main story, side quests left right and centre, dungeon crawling, named boss fights, a full on skill tree with three entirely seperate sections to go down, a photo menu, a workshop manual, a research system, a fluctuating economy, social mini games, regular mini games, festival mini games. It is a lot, and for a while the main thought going through my head was ‘What on earth is this game’.

+ Something for everyone

Though the absolute muddle of things to do and potentially overwhelming vibes this game gives out, the bright side is there is probably something for everyone. If you are like me and enjoy the systematic collection of things and ticking things off lists, you can do that. If you like making friends with everyone in town, you can do that. If you like spending your time decorating your home rather than completing commissions, you can do that. If you like dungeon crawling and fighting for loot.. I can’t say that I recommend it but it is there. More on that later!

– The jank

Before you even think about playing this game there is something that you have to accept. This game is Janky. And I mean Janky. Sometimes characters speak out loud, sometimes they dont, when they do it is generally awful. Sometimes they will say the right words, sometimes they will say something entirely different, sometimes they won’t actually be there while they are talking. Sometimes the camera will focus on weird things. NPCs are constantly stuck on the environment and will occasionally teleport. Photo quests break often. Mounts become unmountable. The game does a lot and generally it works, but with love, I do have to say that it can be quite a mess.

+ The jank

On the other hand, if this game didn’t have its Jank then I don’t think it would be half as memorable than if it were perfect and smooth. If you have a mount they are going to be running around in the background of every cutscene. When you get past how awful some of the cutscenes are they become hilarious and you look forward to the next one. When creating my character I couldn’t figure out how to change her name on console so she ended up being Linda. I gave her some pink cheeks that looked nice in the character creation menu. As soon as we got into the game though, it turns out those pink cheeks basically glow. Every day in game, something in the world is going wrong and it was a constant source of glee for me. A lot of the Jank is graphical or in the animations, and they can be the best.

– The combat

Okay… if there is something that I have to give my biggest criticism in this game, it is the combat. I don’t enjoy combat at the best of times but I can usually appreciate it if done well. It isn’t the end of the world since this game isn’t about combat, but you have to do it often enough that it can become frustrating and tedious. There is no feedback, or at least it tries to give you feedback through visual effects, which in the end just feel like a mess on the screen. I genuinely cannot tell when I am getting hit. There are numbers popping up but there is no feeling to it at all. Sometimes you can hit through or be hit through walls. Sometimes the enemy ends up in the air and doesn’t come back to the ground. Timing doesn’t feel like it matters much and when it does it can be frustrating. Hit boxes are hit and miss. AI companions will run at enemies and agro them when you are trying to draw them out one at a time. Thankfully, if you die during a boss fight you will respawn without their health being replenished. This is a mercy that I am grateful for, but it almost feels like confirmation of an awareness that the combat isn’t the best. Throughout the main story you will be put into multiple combat scenarios. As long as you keep plenty of health replenishing items in your inventory then you can tank your way through without too much pain. It can be a huge drag though.

+ Low stakes

I think what I love the most about this game are the low stakes. Sure, there are optimal ways to play and you can min/max if that is how you like to do it. But if not, there aren’t really any punishments for going slow. The only things that are timed are daily commissions (which you can choose to do) and very few quests/side quests. Other than that.. go nuts. Fancy spending an entire week in the mines? Go for it. As long as you have set your machines away there is really no reason to come home at night, so you can pass out at 3am doing whatever you were doing and wake up with full stamina the next day without losing anything. This all makes it really easy to pick this game back up even if you haven’t played for a month. I really appreciate it when I compare it to say, Stardew Valley, where I don’t want to boot up my game without my notebook in hand because I need to stick to my plan.

+ Crafting

I believe Crafting is a really clever way to solve the problem that I mentioned in the intro. By the end, I usually find farming really tedious in these games. Having to water everything every day, plant them at the right time, harvest and replant, then if you miss the window you have to wait an entire year. I always pray for rainy days so that I can go and do other things. Instead, in this game you have to gather materials and process them, to then craft them into different items. Different materials can be processed in different ways, so it is up to you to manage what you have, what you need, and that is the loop rather than plant, water, harvest, repeat. It is much more flexible and, for me at least, enjoyable.

+ Progression

The fact that I already enjoy the crafting is doubled when paired with progression in this game. Throughout the main story you will get many different commissions to help make the city a better place. If there is something I love in a game, it is an environment that evolves over time. Not only does Portia do that, but it only does so thanks to your efforts. Building bridges will allow you to access new areas. Building busses will unlock fast travel. You will build buildings and areas that from that moment onwards will be a permanent part of the town. It never stops being satisfying. On top of this, the crafting progression itself also feels nicely done and natural to me. Once you are able to build everything available, you know that you will then need to upgrade your equiptment to unlock more options. If you have options available that you dont yet have the materials to build, you know that your next quests are going to unlock an area that allows you to access new resources. It is a cycle that repeats throughout the game and works very well.

+/- Relationships

I don’t really know where to place relationships here. There are things I really like and things that I really dislike about them. On the positive side, relationships bloom themselves as you progress through the story, which I think is very naturally done. As you help improve the town, the townsfolk will like you more. As you do commissions for individuals they will like you even more. Then as you grow relationships with them you will start to get cute little side quests which I found to be a nice touch. Becoming friends with certain vendors will get you discounts, and you will occasionally receive gifts from your buddies.

The relationship system is let down in two ways in my opinion. Firstly, I don’t think it’s very fun. There is the traditional system of giving the person daily gifts that they like which isn’t bad, but it isn’t great. Then there are some more unique systems, most of which didn’t land for me. Some characters have their own minigames you can play, some can spar (see combat above to explain why this doesn’t hit) and once you become their friend you can go on playdates (or proper dates if you are romancing). After I had done two dates I was already bored of the system and just wanted go back to old fashioned gift giving. Secondly, when it comes to romance, I don’t feel like there are many good options, specifically for husbands. I didn’t really want to marry anyone. Six of the options are identical. Having kids is as far as you can go down the family route and they don’t grow up from being a toddler. So relationships in general in this game are a really mixed bag for me.

+ Attention to detail

The attention to detail in this game is great. While some systems feel unnecessary, there are others that add to the overall charm of the game. My favorite thing is that anything you are holding, your character will be holding it in their hand. If it’s big they will carry it over their head. Most accessories that you can wear for stats you can also see on your character. They didn’t have to do these things but it really adds to the experience, and it will always be funny running along carrying a giant poop above your head.

– Navigating crafting

Navigating the crafting systems does not flow well, and while you do get used to it, it could be better (and I believe they may have solved this in the sequel). For example, if you are assembling a big product, having the ingredients in your inventory will not do. They have to be directly in your hand to place them. Eventually you get some automation options but it is so late in the game and unintuitive that I have to mark the game down for it. When I don’t play for a while, the hardest part is reacquainting myself with all my stuff since I need to know where to grab things from.

+/- Festivals

Something else to watch out for in this game are the festivals. Many slice-of-life games have them.. But none of them have them quite like this.

++++ Pinky

And the final positive point of this game, saving the best till last. Pinky. 

There are a lot of reasons to like this game and many surprises along the way. As long as you know that you are going into a very imperfect experience and are open to some fun, there is such a good time to be had. If you like what you heard above then you should definitely jump in. If you claim the free games on the Epic store you may already own it, or it is currently on the PS Plus Extra Tier and Xbox Game Pass. The Sequel ‘My Time at Sandrock’ is in Early Access right now so it is the perfect time to jump into the series.

  • – Doesnt know what it wants to be
  • + Something for everyone
  • – Thejank
  • + The jank
  • – The combat
  • + Low stakes
  • + Crafting
  • + Progression
  • +/- Relationships
  • + Attention to detail
  • – Navigating crafting
  • +/- Festivals
  • + Pinky
I did stream my first few weeks in Portia, I’ll leave this here in case anyone is in need of misadventures.

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Saying Goodbye to my Ps Plus series.

Hi guys, I hope everyone is doing well!

Some of you may have noticed that I am extremely behind on my Ps Plus series. I have made the difficult and sad decision to stop. I know that no-one really followed it intently and most people will just think ‘ok cool’ or ‘do what you need to’ and move on, but I just wanted to explain the decision as it is super disappointing to me – even if it is the right thing to do – and what that means for the channel going forward!

There have been a few things that have lead me to the conclusion that stopping the series is best for me and my channel.

Firstly, I have been struggling to keep up with the number of games that we are getting. One extra game may not sound like a lot, but I struggle to get them all done in one session. I like to make sure I play each game for long enough that I get to see what it is about, for some this requires a couple of hours. That could mean 6 hours a month just recording the games. I don’t want to cut corners so I wait till I have time, which sometimes never comes and makes me behind (with the added stress of a broken capture card and some mental health problems I ended up months behind).

The playlist of my very first year of covering the Ps Plus games, 2019!

The same applies for my Monthly Round Ups. I love doing these, they feel like a marker to remember what happened each month. However, when I first started, I intended for them to be more heavily edited, interesting, fun videos. As I’ve gotten more into gaming and especially streaming (as well as doing video editing as a day job for a while), I lost the passion for the editing and it became a chore. I also started having more thoughts on the games and the industry as a whole, which I don’t think is a bad thing, but when you add that to 3/4 games per month, it makes the edit longer and longer. I feel like the quality declined in what I wanted to do and that tells me it is time to take a break.

By the time I have recorded all games and the Round Up, edited, scheduled, created thumbnails and made a social media write up, it adds up to a lot of hours and instead of catching up or doing something else, my YT Channel has just come to a stand still. I used to keep clips of all the funny things that have happened to make highlights, make a yearly video, rank the games etc. And as time has gone on, I have done less and less of that. I hate that I have done that because I still think it is a sound idea, but I feel that if I am not mentally all in then I should probably dip out.

The playlist of my second year of trying all of the Ps Plus games, 2020!

My third reason requires a bit of background. I had a few reasons for starting this series. It was back when I was a total noob (can you imagine me being even more of a noob than I am now? Jeez) and I didn’t own very many games. I had already been doing my Ps Plus coverage but in writing, so moving onto video seemed like a natural progression. It was an opportunity for me to get to experience all different types of games, and share that with others, bringing in a new perspective. Since then though, I have experienced MANY games. Back then I knew what I definitely liked, and knew what I definitely disliked, but not a lot in between. In the mean time, I have developed as a person and a gamer.. in no small part to this series might I add. This is a great thing, but on the other hand, there are now many games that crop up that it almost feels pointless doing a video for. Fighting game? Sport Game? Racing Game? More than likely I am not going to be into it. Horror game? I’ll quit after 10 minutes. FPS? Ill enjoy what I play but not feel compelled to go back. Third person open world adventure/shooter? I have either played it, am planning to play it or have watched someone else play it. Indie Game? Puzzle Game? Adventure Game? I probably want to stream it blind it so I don’t really want to make a video. Sequel? How do I even make a video for that? There are lots of patterns in the games given with Ps Plus and all of the above have happened many times. Occasionally there will be a game that I will add to my to play list which is great, but when my to play list is now already 100+ games long, it makes trying out all of these other games feel like it is probably not the best use of my time.

Here is the playlist for all of the Ps Plus games that I tried in 2021!

It is not all negative. I have 100% gotten what I wanted out of the series. I have tried some games that I was sure I was going to love that I decided not to play, like Control and The Witness. Equally, I have found some games that I never would have thought of picking up that I really want to play, like Days Gone and Hollow Knight. That was a huge part of what I wanted to achieve, and I am so glad that I know I have helped others achieve this along the way too.

This is a playlist containing all of the Monthly Round Ups I did!

I’m going to be so sad to see this series end. I love all of the random little moments that it has caused, I love the joy I hear from people when I try out a game they love, or a game that is most certainly not a ‘Noob game’. Maybe in the future I will be able to pick it back up, and of course if there was a demand for it I would love to keep doing it, but as it stand I think this is the best call for now. I do have a new super exciting project coming up with a really great friend of mine so please keep your eyes open because it will be starting in the next couple of months, and I am really looking forward to continuing my Indie Showcase series, as well as starting some Let’s Plays that have been on the cards for a looooong time.

And to finish, have some laughs with my Highlight video from last year 😀

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PS Plus – September 2020

September 2020 is here with a new line up of games! I asked for variety. I guess that was kind of answered? We haven’t had a fighting game for a while. In fact, I don’t think we have had one at all since I started covering PS Plus! After having lost of shooters and just coming from Fall Guys which is a variation of Battle Royale, PUBG is a little less variety.

Street Fighter V is going to be divisise, as I feel the Fighter genre is either one that you like or you don’t. There isn’t a lot in between.

I am not a fan of fighters, but as far as fighting games go, it feels like a good one! Lots of different game modes equals something for casual and serious players alike, and extra story modes add another motivation to play. The downside of this is that I was routing for UFC 3 to be a free game and it seems less likely now. Having said that, lately PS Plus has no worries about giving very similar games in quick succession.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is to my knowledge one of the first of the Battle Royale genre to blow up. but it is also one of the only ones that is not free to play.

For a more detailed breakdown you can check out the Let’s Try or the Round Up, but in short, I like the idea of it, but I found it quite hard for beginners to understand. Considering there are so many other options for the Battle Royale experience that are free, I feel like I would rather have had something a bit different. However, I am glad to now be able to say I have tried PUBG, and it will be a boost to their player base.

Overall, this is not the best month for me, but lots of room for discussion. I am finally caught up in time to be able to start doing predictions again! So here is my official prediction for October 2020. Man of Medan.. and Watch Dogs 2.

Playlist contains all monthly games!

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Let’s Play – Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Back in the day when I was just a baby noob, I played Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. Fun fact – that was my second ever Let’s Play series! I had never really played a game like it and it showed. Three years later, it is finally time to dive into Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Since then, I have had bits of shooter experience through my Ps Plus series, but mostly, I am in full on adventure mode right now. I cannot wait to see what the game that is widely regarded as the best in the series has to offer!

Full playlist available on Youtube!

PS Plus – August 2020

Overall, August 2020 was a strange month in PS Plus terms. The fact that we got another Call of Duty game just two months after the last, and that it was single player only was completely overshadowed by the release and success of Fall Guys. And that in itself makes it a great month.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered is our second Call of Duty game this year and third in 18 months. Although it is regarded a great campaign, I – among others – am feeling the Call of Duty burn out.

I’ve heard that it is one of the best stories, which is a great thing because this game doesn’t have any online multiplayer.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout – There is no denying that it was a rough start for the servers. However, I think the majority will agree, it was totally worth it.

The amount of delight that can be had from this game is just exactly what the world needs right now. Putting it on PS Plus was a genius move from the devs, giving us an instant player base in this 60 player Takeshis Castle mayhem Battle Royale. If there is any game from any PS Plus month that I could recommend to pretty much anyone and everyone, it would be this one. I’m very happy for the devs and excited to see where they go with it, as well as what other games arrive in the future because of it, as clearly there is a market for absolutely daft fun.

Personal opinion, Fall Guys not only rescued this month, but made it a month that I will not forget.

Playlist contains all monthly games!

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PS Plus – July 2020

July 2020 marks the 10 year anniversary of PS Plus. To celebrate, they gave us an additional game Erica, on top of the regularly scheduled line up of NBA 2K20 and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

NBA 2K20 is a basketball game, made to simulate the complete basketball experience.

I can’t tell you whether it is a good basketball game or not, as I don’t know anything about basketball and I don’t play sports games. But the atmosphere was pretty good!

Rise of the Tomb Raider – I was considering not doing a video for this one as I still haven’t played Tomb Raider 2013.

I’m glad I did though. The Tomb Raider series is on my list of next Action Adventure games to play once I have finished Uncharted. It’s beautiful to look at, the action felt fun, and I’m actually pretty interested in the story. All that and I didn’t even reach a proper combat section yet.

Erica is an FMV game that takes around 2 hours to complete, which made it the first full FMV game that I’ve ever played!

Based on my one play-through, I find it a little hard to recommend as I feel I have more questions than answers to the story. However, how much of that will be solved with a second play-through to see the multiple endings is yet to be seen. The cinematography was great and the characters were fun to try and get to know.

Overall, I cannot let my saltiness at sports games alter my opinion. This was a solid month. Maybe not 10 year celebration worthy, but if every month was like this one we couldn’t really complain.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xoSsXyQ3CFehB0k55zHC9

Playlist contains all monthly games!

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PS Plus – June 2020

After the relaxed month of May, June turned out to be all action. While it technically shouldn’t have been ‘my month’, it turned out to be probably the most fun month I have had since I started this project.

Call of Duty: WWII almost had my interest before I played but not too much. I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this setting more than the more modern and sci fi takes, and I wasn’t wrong.

There was so much to love. The game play was fun, the cut-scenes looked like an actual WWII movie, the game was gorgeous. Then there is both the single player campaign and online multiplayer, not forgetting zombie mode. As someone who doesn’t enjoy FPS, I wasn’t mad at this game.

Star Wars Battlefront 2, as I understand, isn’t considered to be one of the best Star Wars games. I can only give you my opinion from the perspective of an online multiplayer noob as well as a Star Wars noob.

This game was fun. I found the single player campaign boring as far as I played, but online? Oh my gosh. Epic battles with floods of characters. I only really played one mode but I am so glad I chose that one. I have never watched Star Wars but I did genuinly feel like I was in an epic Star Wars battle. It was epic. Epic.

A terrible month for my game play skills but a fantastic month for laughs.

Playlist contains all monthly games!

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PS Plus – May 2020

This month was the month of chill. Or simulation/management games to be exact. A lot of people weren’t happy. These were both games that I wanted to try but didn’t want to buy, and that makes it the best type of PS Plus month in my opinion

Cities Skylines is a game that I had already tried on PC but did not get very far. I did manage to get further this time, but alas, I don’t think this game is for me.

Farming Simulator 19 was the second game of the month. Another game that I really wanted to try. I was happy with the time that I spent with it, but I have no desire to pick it up again. I had so many ideas that would make this game so much more fun. In my opinion if they took a few years off the yearly schedule and instead focused on one ultimate, game they would be onto a winner.

Do you think this month PS Plus were trying to replicate the Animal Crossing vibes that everyone was having at this point in time?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2HuXp6IxsqW1H1JvI2R4iV
Playlist contains all monthly games!

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