Been playing DOOM 2 the last couple of nights. I barely remember these levels, apart from the first one. But I’ve managed to knock some rust off of this ol’ game to remember. I’m stopping on E1M7 for now. I’ll probably move onto something different for my weekend, and maybe even some big TV gaming! I pretty much have the place to myself tomorrow, and I can make dinner at the same time. Just need to contemplate what game is worthy of some big screen time?
Retro
OMG PLAYING METAL GEAR
Been playing MGS a bit on and off today, and in between my deck and desktop. I just finished chatting it up with Meryl before calling it a night, funnily enough I had the old disc case in easy reach for getting her number. 🙂
I also forgot how fun the VR missions could be! Today I got through all the Sneak Practice levels, and just started SOCOM training. This should come in handy as a fun break time distraction during my future lunch breaks.
Climbing Mt. Backlog: 2023
2023 was by far the most productive year of gaming I’ve ever had. During the work weeks I would always find time to at least play anywhere between an half an hour to a full one at the end of each evening, just to unwind a little before bed and MAYBE entice my imagination a bit for dreamland. Here is a list of games that I FINALLY got around to finishing, and possibly some ideas for any readers that happen to pass by.
Commander Keen: Episode 1
I’ve been wanting to play this handheld style for almost as long as I’ve been alive, and I only had to wait my whole life to finally achieve it. What’s really interesting is that it has Steam Cloud Support, meaning you can play this in between your other gaming PC’s. I made a custom config for saving, and using DOS commands with the touchpads. I’ve put this one off for far too long, but at least after all this time I can say that I finally finished it. I recommend it for those who have an interest in old school DOS games.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Some adventures are best with friends – Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is amazing both for couch co-op or with a friend elsewhere in the world. Apart from a few bugs it was fun to play! To celebrate finishing it we even made a video about it:
Shadow Warrior 2
This was another game I put off playing for a long time, but I savored every moment of combat and the large selection of weapons and elemental combinations you could put together. They added Photo Mode to showcase how beautiful the game is, something they would take away in Shadow Warrior 3… Overall I enjoyed it just as much as I did the previous installment. It had all of the elements of the Shadow Warrior reboot, with a little bit of Borderlands sprinkled into the mix. If you’re looking for an FPS with a mix of Hack n Slash you need not look any further.
Sayonara Wild Hearts
A birthday gift from a good friend! It was short, but sweet. It tells the story of a girl who fell out of love and goes on a musical journey to find it again after fighting all of her demons that prevented her from wanting to love. I had fun playing this one in between Desktop and Steam Deck. I still go back to it from time to time, the music in it is perfect to vibe to. It’s basically an interactive album.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
Bought in 2023, and finished in 2023 in a matter of months. This was one that scratched an itch after finishing Borderlands 2, and gave us the incentive to puck up Borderlands 3 again after we completed it. The ending was anticlimactic, but the journey along the way was as fun as it was photogenic.
Okami HD
Another game that took me forever to finish, mostly because it originally released on a platform I didn’t have. When Okami was announced for PC I was there on day one for it! But due to going between too many game worlds at the same time I never got around to finishing it until the Steam Deck. Thanks to Steam Cloud Saving I was able to play this delightful title between Desktop, TV and on the go. At the same time though, I’m glad I didn’t rush it. It’s an extremely large game, especially for the era it released in, but once I finished it I felt that melancholy sensation knowing that the adventure was finally over after all this time. One of these days I’ll have to return to it to get straggling achievements.
Cloudpunk
A gift from another good friend! This one I finished pretty quickly. It’s a great game to play when you just wanna chill, fly around and absorb an interesting story. It was also another fun game to play between the desk, couch and Steam Deck.
Abyss Odyssey
Another one I had fun with between Deck and Desk. When I first played this in the beginning I found the controls to be clunky, but after spending some quality time with it on Steam Deck, and playing other Metroidvanias I finally up’d my game enough to finish this one! At least on the Katriana playthrough. This one was a fun grind to play during my lunch breaks.
Shantae: Half Genie Hero
I mostly played this one on Steam Deck, and I even got the good ending! Shantae has been one of the Metroidvanias to really help get me into the series. I love the art, the sense of humor and overall creativity this one brings to the table! I even started Shantae and the Seven Sirens not long after finishing this one, maybe I’ll finish that one in 2024! 😛
It was a wonderful year for finishing games ranging from old to new, indie to AAA, and all from the comfort of wherever I happened to be at the time. What games will I finish next year? I can already predict a few…
Thy Time Consumed
I don’t think I ever properly finished Thy Flesh Consumed, but in case I didn’t I can now say that I have! It was brutal playing it on Hurt Me Plenty (to be expected) but I managed, maybe someday I’ll be brave enough to attempt Nightmare Mode. I’d be more likely to tackle DOOM II sooner though. Until then, there are always other plans. 😛
Some DOOM To Wash Away The Gloom
Haven’t been feeling too good today. I was going to get into some animating tonight, but I wasn’t feeling well enough to focus. So I made it a retro evening and played half of DOOM’s Thy Flesh Consumed, unwound a bit with some tea and now contemplating sleep.
Open Thread.
The Inferno Awaits
Completed Episode 2 of DOOM! (Again). Finding a lot of secrets that I missed what felt like centuries ago.
There’s just something nice about revisiting these old ones, something warming in the old graphics and music. Funny enough I used to play a lot of DOOM during the holidays, though part of that might be because of it releasing 30 years ago this month. 😀 More on that later…
My Evening Was DOOMed
Tonight was fun. I did some SFM camera work, a couple of us recorded voice lines, and then I played a bit of old school DOOM to call it a night. I’m most of the way through Episode 1. I’m playing the DOOM 3 version for the hell of it. It gives me an excuse to do a little achievement hunting. 😛
Seeing Stars
Twas feeling a bit on the retro side tonight. I played some old school DOOM… in DOOM 3. Made it to E1M1 to E1M9 in a little under an hour. :v . The original plan was for me to finish up in DOOM Eternal tonight, but my eyes were faaaaar too tired when gaming time rolled around. Nice to take a little trip down Nostalgia Ave.
Quakin’ It
Playing DOOM in Portal 2 the other night set me in the mood to check out the remastered version of Old School Quake, even got some achieve-o’s after a long day. I’m three levels into the first episode. I do like some of the accessibility features, like contrast, and disabling bobbing.
On another note: I read today that The Two Johns are reuniting for DOOM’s 30th Anniversary! Hard to believe it’s been that long… I feel old.
A Double Fine Weekend
Yesterday it was Brutal Legend, and today I switched over to Grim Fandango Remastered! With actual progress! Made it out of the city and to the edge of the petrified forest.
I also nabbed several achievements!Now that I’m onto a whole other chapter I’ll definitely have to return to this universe sooner rather than later. I’ll also need to do a replay of this sometime in the future… I missed a couple achievements in the beginning. Oh well… that’s one way to achieve replay value.