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Game List 2022 feature
2022.12.31

Game List 2022

Every year I try to compile a list of games, books, and movies I experienced. For the complete list, check the Ratings. Here we go (sorted alphabetically)!

This year my game library is over 1000 games. 1/3 I’ve never touched it. 1/3 I’ve barely played. So I can stop buying games for a while and still have a lot of fun.

Finished

  • 3 out of 10 Season 2 (7★★★★★★★): the same as the first season. Funny and awkward.
  • A Plague Tale Innocence (8★★★★★★★★): it’s a stealth game with beautiful production. Finally, played the whole thing. The supernatural mixes with religion, knights, and kings.
  • A Total War Saga: TROY (8★★★★★★★★): one of the Epic Store exclusives (for a time), it impressed me. I finished my first campaign, playing the Amazons. It takes so much that I prefer to play another thing. But it was good. The siege mechanism drags the game progress (it is accurate historically, but it does not translate well into gameplay).
  • Amnesia: Rebirth (5★★★★★): I did not like either the game old mechanics or the story.
  • Before Your Eyes (8★★★★★★★★): a sad and emotional story of a boy. The unique mechanism of blinking in front of the camera instead of using the mouse is gimmicky but works fine in the setting. It almost made me cry.
  • Blair Witch (7★★★★★★★): did not care much about the lore, but it’s a nice horror game. The dog is an enjoyable mechanic, and we get quite attached to him.
  • Borderlands 3 (5★★★★★): Not fun. I would like to tell you that. The humor is repetitive from previous entries, and the gameplay is also derivative.
  • Crying Suns (7★★★★★★★): very similar to FTL, with a delightful story and context.
  • Elex (6★★★★★★): praised by Mortismal Gaming as being a clunky but very enjoyable RPG, and I agree. The story is unbelievable, and the character progression is steep, to say the least. Unlike Morten’s review, I do not recommend it, despite the recent Elex 2 release.
  • GTA V (8★★★★★★★★): years after the release, I started to play when Epic Game Store gave it for free. I’ve never bothered to play the multiplayer MMO, just the main story. It’s a technical marvel to use 3 protagonists in different places in the city. It’s far better than previous titles and full of hilarious moments (both scripted and spontaneous).
  • If On A Winter's Night, Four Travelers (6★★★★★★): a small 2-hour long game with SO much story and ambiance.
  • Man Eater (8★★★★★★★★): a mockumentary about sharks. The player controls the sharks, and the narrator always follows you. It was a surprise for me.
  • Monster Train (6★★★★★★): very much like a board/card game made digital (no coincidence that the board game community loves it). Rogue-like go until you die makes every match a life-or-death dire. I finished one time at least! But the core loop asks for more.
  • Nex Machina (7★★★★★★★): shoot-them-all frantic gameplay. It is difficult. I can imagine fans speedrunning and replaying for all the achievements.
  • Northgard (6★★★★★★): Steam has offered for free for a single weekend. I manage to play and play to the very end. I was expecting an open sim, but it’s more like a WarCraft in rails. Each scenario is a very narrow puzzle.
  • QUBE 2 (7★★★★★★★): puzzle very similar to the Portal series. The story is mysterious with a nice twist.
  • Shadow of War (6★★★★★★): My saved game was corrupted by 2019, but due to the imminent debut of the Rings of Power TV show, I managed to play it all over again. This time, to the end. Very average. Too many systems that are not very relevant in the end.
  • Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (8★★★★★★★★): the best game in the series. 6 cases with somewhat similar mechanics and styles.
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (8★★★★★★★★): got in Amazon’s Gaming free January kit and I got very curious. It impressed me quite a lot. I even tried to get all possible achievements. In the end, you feel a very powerful Jedi. The story is cliché.
  • Star Wars Squadrons (7★★★★★★★): flying a ship from the Star Wars universe was always a fun proposition.
  • The Quiet Sleep (8★★★★★★★★): in this weird indie game, you play a guy’s mind during 3 life simulation scenarios. Decisions will generate stress, anxiety, and happiness, and the player has to chain them into the following process or decision.
  • Untitled Goose Game (7★★★★★★★): playing in two, with my wife. It’s a little puzzle game. Not all puzzles are obvious, but it was fun to explore the possibilities of being an annoying goose. It reminded us of our little dogs and the times they are nasty little creatures causing havoc around.

About to finish:

  • Beyond: Two Souls (8★★★★★★★★): start to play this story-driven with my wife. I bet it will be finished by the next couple of weeks. Heavy Rain probably coming next.

Not finished yet (for one reason or another)

Many projects barely begun. Installed to test, but mostly in limbo—WIP or collecting dust. Unfinished tales of exploration and hesitation.

  • Assassin’s Creed 3 (5★★★★★): it’s a big cut scene with some on-rails gameplay. Hated so far. :( Uninstalled and will hardly get into it again.
  • Astrologaster (8★★★★★★★★): indie small game. Crazy humor. I liked it very much so far.
  • Black Mesa (8★★★★★★★★): the official/unofficial Half-Life 1 remake. The original one I did not play at the time. This remake is superb! After finally playing Half-Life 2 (8★★★★★★★★) until the end of last year, I was curious to check what all the fuss was about HF1.
  • Cloudpunk (7★★★★★★★): weird visuals and relaxing gameplay. You are a taxi driver in a special city.
  • Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (7★★★★★★★): liked the first title, Deus Ex: Human Revolution (8★★★★★★★★), but this one is a far inferior game. The story is not nice and the gameplay is not fun so far.
  • Doki Doki Literature Club: not my style, but I heard so many good things about it that I’m intrigued. Played for just a handful of minutes.
  • Ghostrunner (7★★★★★★★): 3D puzzle game action game. Think about 3D Super Meat Boy in first-person. The control scheme is odd, but the visuals are amazing.
  • Gris (8★★★★★★★★): beautiful first level.
  • Heaven’s Vault (7★★★★★★★): highly anticipated game, played a bit and liked the story so far. As far I can tell, there is space for multiple run-throughs to explore all possible branches (not sure if I would do it tough).
  • Observation (7★★★★★★★): excellent storytelling, despite the clunky controls. While trying to install another game, I remove it to free up some space. After a couple of months, It’s going to be difficult to redo the narrative.
  • Supraland (8★★★★★★★★): from nowhere, this game is, to my surprise, harder and much longer than I anticipated. Still, I’m loving the sarcastic tone and the bucketload of jokes.
  • The Stillness of the Wind: installed.
  • Thronebreaker (8★★★★★★★★): a great RPG but using the core mechanics of the Gwent card game! Unique premise and a VERY fun game.
  • Unravel Two (8★★★★★★★★): still to finish with my wife. She struggles to use the joystick, but this game is quite forgiving, due to the slow pace. The light story allows infrequent plays.
  • While True Learn (8★★★★★★★★): logic programming puzzles. Amazingly fun and challenging for a programmer. The special bonuses for optimized solutions request multiple plays for each scenario.
  • Wilmot s Warehouse: it works. It’s all that I can tell so far.
  • XII: installed, played 2 levels. A first-person shooter with a unique visual comics-like style but old controls.

Not finished yet (still from previous years)

Yet, there are some games that I did not quit definitively, but they are still to be played (therefore, not yet fully rated). A few are installed even still.

  • Baba Is You (7★★★★★★★): played some levels. To the second or third “world”, if I remember. SUPER clever.
  • Shadow Tactics (8★★★★★★★★): I liked the thinking of this game. It’s definitively one that I will try to complete sooner than later.
  • Superhot Mind Control Delete (7★★★★★★★): played several levels already, yet to finish.
  • Surviving Mars (7★★★★★★★): played a couple of times but never could complete a single level. It’s dry.
  • The Pillars of the Earth: loved the book. I barely started the game, so maybe it should not be here.
  • War of Mine (8★★★★★★★★): I’m far in my third play-through, but I’m still to survive and see the game credits.

Continuous playing

I play them eventually. Most of them, are strategy games.

  • Cities Skylines (8★★★★★★★★): my friend mentioned that he has lost hours and hours designing his hometown. I reinstalled it and started to lose hours and hours too! :P
  • Democracy 4 (8★★★★★★★★): it was special to play it while running for congress! Great game and a formidable educational tool. I have some contact with the developer, Cliff Harris.
  • Endless Legend (7★★★★★★★): I install and play from time to time. The region/country approach to territory instead of individual hexagons is nice.
  • Hidden Folks (7★★★★★★★): Where is Wally/Waldo?-like is a success with small kids and non-gamers alike.
  • Overcooked 2 (8★★★★★★★★): my family loved it, and I’m trying to play the campaign with my wife.
  • RimWorld (8★★★★★★★★): MUCH more complex than Prison Architect, offered a great variety of procedural content. I did not finish even a single play-through, but it’s really special. There is a dedicated fan base.
  • Rome Total War (8★★★★★★★★): I played a lot last year. But it’s quite a long game. Once I finish it once, I might close it once and for all. The Troy is heavier but ultimately better in every aspect.
  • Scythe (9★★★★★★★★★): the award-winning board game that I still have to give a beginning-to-end match.
  • Skyrim (9★★★★★★★★★): Because I’ve never finished the game, I was always tempted to replay it. After watching some hilarious videos of The Spiffing Brit channel exploiting its mechanics, I was convinced to restart. I installed a dozen mods to enhance visuals and UI. It’s much better.
  • Stelaris (7★★★★★★★): slow-paced super broad space strategy. The sense of exploration is still amazing.
  • Terraforming Mars (6★★★★★★): an award-winning board game that I played a couple of matches solo. Did not click on me, but I will still give it another try, maybe multiplayer.
  • Ticket to Ride (9★★★★★★★★★): one game that I play online with family and friends. My wife and I love it. Always a success.

Next games on my radar

Finally, here is a list of games that I already have in my collection that I plan to play in the next months.

  • Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: hope to be better than the 3.
  • Battlefield V (9★★★★★★★★★): I played B1 last year and loved it. Now it’s time to play the next in the line.
  • Ghost of a Tale: I’ve followed the development process for quite some time because it was made using Unity3D. I never played it, and it is now in my collection. It looks adorable.
  • Heavy Rain: I will play this critically acclaimed story-driven game from Quantic Dream with my wife.
  • Hitman: I’ve never finished Contracts, but just because I was obsessed with being perfect. I hope to play more relaxed this one.
  • Shadow of the Tomb Raider (6★★★★★★): Like Battlefield 5 above, it’s the next Lara adventure to experience.
  • We Are There Together: I bought to play with my wife using the family feature on Steam (she shares all my games). However, it is not included in the Play Together, so I am required to buy it twice. :/ Maybe trying to convince another soul to play with me.
  • XCOM2: XCOM 2 received praises in the past few years. It’s time to take a look at it.
Movie List 2022 feature
2022.12.31

Movie List 2022

Every year I try to compile a list of games, books, and movies I experienced. For the complete list, check the Ratings. Here we go (sorted by rating)!

Slow year, I assume.

  1. CODA (10★★★★★★★★★★): a heart-melting story about a girl that wants to be a singer. Her parents, however, are all deaf and need her to manage work and fit in. It was my favorite movie for the 2022 Oscars.
  2. Being Ricardos (8★★★★★★★★): very interesting movie about the production of the “I Love Lucy” TV show that I did not know. Both Nicole and Javier are superb, deserving acting award nominations.
  3. Dune (Frank Herbert) (8★★★★★★★★): I read Dune to prepare myself as I did with Foundation. But unlike Asimov’s weird adaptation, this Frank Herbert novel movie is phenomenal. It’s just part 1, which leaves several subplots opened, still: gorgeous, fun, and well-written and acted.
  4. Marighella (7★★★★★★★): the first black leader against the military dictatorship in Brazilian history.
  5. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (7★★★★★★★): lighthearted MCU movie. Funny characters and a fun story. One of the best comic MCU movies. Yet, it’s not my cup of tea.
  6. King Richard (7★★★★★★★): the story of Serena and Venus Williams’ father and their beginnings in the tennis world. Nice performance of Will Smith (not my pick for the best actor performance, like at the Oscar), but the character is so annoying that I got annoyed.
  7. The Menu (6★★★★★★): my first movie at the theater. Nice thriller.
  8. The Matrix Resurrections (4★★★★): meta meta meta. And boring. Despite the very first movie, the Matrix franchise is a big disappointment.

Documentaries

No one this year :(

Animations

  1. Forky Asks A Question (10★★★★★★★★★★): holy molly… I laughed out loud at this Pixar mini-series.

TV Shows

  1. Ted Lasso (S2) (9★★★★★★★★★): showrunners tried to innovate the formula by telling whole episodes from the perspective of secondary characters. Not all that great. Still, among our favorites.
  2. Bad Sisters (S1) (9★★★★★★★★★): A Rotten Tomatoes recommendation, it was a blast. The Prick is a prick. Recommend.
  3. This is Us (S1) (8★★★★★★★★): great premise and lovable characters. Themes of adoption, family bonds, and personal differences. I cried in several episodes. Great start.
  4. Sandman (S1) (8★★★★★★★★): I loved the comics. I read exactly the amount of the source material that was used in this season, so I knew the references. Very well produced. The side stories are odd at first but then we get the overall arch, just like the comics.
  5. Succession (S3) (7★★★★★★★): the worst season so far. It tries to give at least one full episode for each main character, but many episodes are fillers. Also, the number of cataclysmic events that are just ignored in the next episode is getting old. Unlike “Game of Thrones”, no one will die. One day the audience will not care because nothing is really at the stake. Kendall is too annoying for my taste.
  6. The Devil's Hour (S1) (6★★★★★★): Thriller about a woman and her boy having some kind of paranormal abilities. Murders and police investigations are in the mix. A Rotten Tomatoes highly rated that did not click for me.
  7. Foundation (S1) (4★★★★): I loved the book, but this adaptation drifted from the source material to the point is unrecognizable. I could not pass the 4th episode.
Wingspan feature
2022.11.29

Wingspan

Stonemaier got famous when the owner, Jamey Stegmaier, blogged every aspect of his first Kickstarter campaign. People felt confident with his struggles, thoughts, and solutions.

After some success, Stonemaier created another hit. This time the game was not designed by Jamey but by newcomer Elizabeth Hargrave. Wingspan (which is currently at the high tier in BoardGameGeek) lets you collect birds that provide special powers, that accumulate turn after turn. I bought it as the last year Christmas gift for my wife last year, and it became one of the most played games in our collection.

Little eggs

Positives

The components and art, OMG, are all high quality and adorable. The board, the cards, the dice tower, the eggs… ohhh… don’t even mention the colorful eggs. The colors do not have any gameplay meaning, but they are adorable. People always react when seeing those little eggs.

The care in creating each bird card is astonishing. The flavor text is rich in details, and most of them have a real implication in the game itself. Bird size, breeding pattern, type of food… it’s all grounded in reality!

There are birds objectively better than others, but the external objectives and bonuses may increase the usefulness of birds in each play. Considering also the huge number of cards, at least for the sake of replayability, it’s a major plus.

The core value of this game is the engine-building mechanism. Each time you get a new bird, its powers will be used in later turns. So by the end of the match, some super powerful combos will be created. It’s very satisfying to activate a multipoint machine!

Wigspan components

Negatives

This game is a multiplayer solitaire: while you can somewhat manipulate resources and face up birds a bit, it is best to be occupied to “do your best”. My nephews were hooked all the time, but mostly commenting about the birds’ looks and imagining their next moves.

It is very difficult to keep track of other people’s boards. So it is really hard to counteract. None will take mental notes tracking other players. But for those who do this, it could represent a major strategic advantage.

The abilities are fun but require a lot of reading to understand. While the texts are not long, the font is a bit small.

The dice tower, despite being cute, is prone to damage over time. I already not using it in my sessions, to preserve it.

Wigspan components

My Rating: 9★★★★★★★★★
Books From 2022 (So Far) feature
2022.07.08

Books From 2022 (So Far)

Every year I try to compile a list of games, books, and movies I experienced. Here we go.

I continue to read (listen, in fact) almost every day for the past few years. It’s in my daily routine when I walk the dogs. It’s a very different proposition from laying down and dedicating some time to read them. I have an urge for a secondary task when I am performing a no-brainier routine, just like.. walking the dogs. Otherwise, I feel wasting my time by just like walking and not thinking.

This is the list of this year’s books that I ingested. These lists are -definitively- not comprehensive ones. Since I’m not updating my GoodReads personal records nor writing about them in this blog, they are just the ones I remembered. I may edit this post if I remember other items.

  1. Piranesi (Susanna Clarke) (9★★★★★★★★★): Piranesi lives in a fantastic place. He has a memory issue but keeps detailed notes. A great mystery.
  2. The Well of AscensionThe Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) (Brandon Sanderson) (8★★★★★★★★): just after the events of the first book, the protagonists now have to maintain the power they acquired. Fascinating.
  3. Steal Like an ArtistSteal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Austin Kleon) (8★★★★★★★★): great super-short book about the creative process. He incentives people to leap forward in creative work disregarding self-judgment. Get inspired and try to copy the work of others to practice and find one’s voice.
  4. Keep GoingKeep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad (Austin Kleon) (8★★★★★★★★): another small but very motivational work from Austin Kleon. Do not stop creating. Do small iterative work until it’s done.
  5. Show Your Work!Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered (Austin Kleon) (8★★★★★★★★): another small piece of Austin. Create a blog, Twitter, Instagram, or Tiktok account and show people what you are working on. Even hobbies stuff, like sketches. Eventually, it could become your masterpiece.
  6. Parable of the Talents (Octavia E. Butler) (8★★★★★★★★): is the sequel of the excellent Parable of the Sower (Octavia E. Butler) (9★★★★★★★★★), telling about the protagonist is her daughter.
  7. The President Is Missing (James Patterson, Bill Clinton) (7★★★★★★★): modern cyber terrorism thriller. Very believable. Tips and checks are done by no other than Bill Clinton!
  8. The Power of HabitThe Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (Charles Duhigg) (7★★★★★★★): a modern classic self-helping book. It starts preaching the power of understanding and controlling habits. Then it exemplifies, chapter after chapter, the different facts of habits interfering in our decision-making. Very good.
  9. DifferentDifferent: Escaping the Competitive Herd (Youngme Moon) (7★★★★★★★): essay about the competitive advantage of being different in the market. Curiously enough, in the second half of the book, she acknowledges that being different might not be important depending on the situation and market. Good book.
  10. Communication Skills TrainingCommunication Skills Training: How to Talk to Anyone, Connect Effortlessly, Develop Charisma, and Become a People Person (James W. Williams) (7★★★★★★★): comprehensive discussion about communication skills. Nothing fantastic. But very good.
  11. JusticeJustice: What's the Right Thing to Do? (Michael J. Sandel) (7★★★★★★★): several philosophical aspects, situations, and approaches of what is justice. It does not, however, present definitive answers about anything.
  12. The 4-Hour BodyThe 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman (Timothy Ferriss) (5★★★★★): several tips about a proper workout, diet, and routines to get the body you want.
  13. The 10x RuleThe 10x Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure (Grant Cardone) (4★★★★): salespeople kinda talk. Super aggressive, alpha behavior about using all your power and will to achieve goals and success. I tried to focus on the core messages and occasional motivation in his words, but it’s hard to not get pissed with the alpha male dominant attitude.
  14. Think Sex and Grow RichThink Sex and Grow Rich: How to use the power of your sex drive to succeed in business (Marcus El) (4★★★★): it tries to sell the idea that we are driven by sex and we should channel this constant desire towards business goals. It starts fun, then became very tedious.

From the second part of 2021 that was not on the mid-2021 list

  1. Dune (Frank Herbert) (8★★★★★★★★): read in 3 nights to watch the movie. Loved it.

For more books, you can check my online read list on GoodReads.

edited in 2022-07-14 because I forgot some books. Quite sure there are more.

Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order feature
2022.01.31

Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order

Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order is a mouthful sub-titled titled title. I don’t particularly like this cascading naming convention, but it’s rather common in big franchises. Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, and Pokémon all suffer from this.

So, EA published another Star Wars game. The default expectation is a TRASH game loop with microtransactions and paid loot. Battlefront 2 and FIFA will not let me lie…

But this one was… good!

I got it “for free” in the Amazon Prime deal. My original intention was to get both “free” shipping and streaming service for a fixed and low monthly fee. But they do give some video games for free too. And they are eventually good games. After activation in the yet-another-game-launcher Origin launcher, I decided to give it a try.

TLDR: it has all the mediocre elements of recent games. But the visuals and gameplay hooked me. I liked it very much.

How to parry in star wars jedi fallen order feature.jpg

Characters

The main protagonist is bland. Another white impetuous generic dude. The amnesia trope was also employed here. The guy, once fully skilled, now have to relearn everything.

The companions, however, are much more varied. They are never very relevant to the plot, nor do we participate in their journeys, but they add a great flavor to the story. Particularly the pilot Greez: funny, warm-hearted but scared little creature. And, of course, your droid companion. The villains are good. Some are visually memorable like the Ninth Sister. Some are, like Malicos, those type that appears, brags, and dies. Next.

The general assortment of goons is the stars of the show. From low-rank troopers to big machines, monsters, and fallen Jedis, the list is varied throughout the whole game. They provoke fear and anxiety and relaxation. They generally do not talk or express any particular personality, but all portray a very specific role.

The appearance of iconic characters is definitively a high point to mention. But no spoilers here.

Fallen order dathomir.jpg

Visuals

Not much to add beyond what you can see in screenshots and trailers. The game is gorgeous. EA at least has to be praised in this regard: despite being bad games, all recent SW games are visually stunning. Squadrons, another Amazon free game that I’m still playing, is also amazing.

Gameplay

The main core loop is great. In the Metroidvania style, maps are presented but inaccessible until the player acquires some special ability. It implies that, when acquired, the player must revisit the same areas over and over again. There is a kind of fast travel mechanism, but the travel points are sparse and will still require some time traversing.

The combat is challenging. Being a Jedi presupposes being a god-like fighter. The game gives the player enough abilities to make one feel powerful but not overpowering. Even on late levels, it’s possible to lose health fighting goons. Health is important to face bosses and harder enemies.

Boss encounters do not change the general gameplay in any big way, which is a plus. You fight using the same muscle memory developed until it. There is always the annoying pre-cutscene that will be played over and over if you die a lot in these fights.

Visiting 5 different planets gives the scenery a great variation, even being particularly different regarding the traversal challenges. Ice planet, fire planet, vegetation planet, futurist planet/installation, underground… And all are beautiful to look at.

Star wars jedi fallen order review 9.jpg

Final

I got it for free, but I would pay for it if necessary. The game is fun, front and foremost. The story is a bit lacking, and the protagonist is definitively lacking but when I finished, I even tried to complete some extra objectives to extend the experience.

My Rating: 8★★★★★★★★
Metacritic: 81
Bruno MASSA