Man I’ve been playing so much lately. And still I feel there’s just never enough time for everything.
Had started replaying the mgs series and many of Grasshopper’s games side by side. Even just after going through the two versions of mgs1 and then Sons of Liberty, it’s surprising I’m burnt out already on them and I’m not even motivated to play my favorite, Snake Eater. Maybe sometime soon.
In comparison it’s been easier to go through GHM games just because of the variety. Started out with my least favorite ones, Lollipop Chainsaw and Shadows of the Damned, and feel I have a new appreciation for them. LC, maybe not quite as much, I love the style and characters and silly writing and all, but I still feel a lot of the gameplay is kind of jank and gets worse as more features are added. In contrast, probably because I have far more experience now, SotD was not quite as difficult as I found it years ago, and with the context of the details about its troubled development now as well as the level in Travis Strikes Again, I kinda get the feeling Suda managed to get at least some meta narrative now where Paula and her repeated deaths represent the many iterations of the project, Fleming is EA and Garcia is Suda feeling guilt for basically sacrificing this idea just to publish it. At least that’s my take now.
For Killer is Dead, I’m a bit surprised my feelings on it haven’t changed too much on it…maybe a little deeper, but not by much. Likely because it’s more fresh in my memory, and after getting all the achievements in the 360 version I didn’t feel the drive to do it again in this PC release. It runs very smoothly but unfortunately had to deal with some annoying crashes until I found a fix on the steam forums. I enjoyed it a lot otherwise, but just by virtue of very obviously being a spiritual successor to Killer7, it kind of falls short in many regards unfortunately. It feels a bit forced and not quite as unique in comparison.
Before I go into Killer7 again itself I’ve decided to play through the No More Heroes remake on ps3 again. I’d just played the first two games on Switch as well as the spin-off just before 3 came out, but for some reason feel compelled to play the first one again. I really don’t know why because I don’t think this version is all that great save for some of the jobs that were added. Funny thing is even though I’ve already got the platinum, the trophies are popping up again and I have no idea why.
Something also made me want to play through the Red Dead games again. First one has just stuck in my memory so well after going through it maybe 3 times already, though this is the first time I think I’ve done all stranger missions. The California one I think is probably the saddest and even the most relatable, just losing sight of such a simple goal after so long.
Really happy I’ve got the sequel to work on my laptop, mostly high settings and ultra textures. The first time I played I certainly took a while to get through it but still felt a rush to finish it before I saw spoilers or had to go back to work lol. Now I’m actually taking my time to explore and do and find more stuff, even just to hang out at camp and in towns. The first game is great and in a lot of ways I appreciate its simplicity, but the second one just adds so much more that it almost feels like it could be a Shenmue in the wild west. I get the same feeling I do from Banjo-Tooie or Pokémon Gold or Majora’s Mask, where they just took the great stuff from their predecessors and just expanded on it exponentially. I’m not far in but feel like I’ve already done so much more.
Edit:
Forgot to mention I’m also going through Undead Nightmare for my first time…well, I’d started it before, but never got too far, probably the whole thing with the Sasquatch and the zombies in cochinay freaked me out as a youngin lol. Even now it kinda makes me feel the same way Fatal Frame 5 did for me some months ago. Never went back to clear the Ayane part…
It’s still been fun, and it’s more of a goofy kind of setup, but some parts do seem to come off as more serious which maybe makes me take it more seriously in turn. And just knowing it only takes one or two mistakes to really mess up here is the worst. RDR2 is creepier than the first for sure, and I know the first game too well by now, but even going through tall trees just with the music in the main game creeps me out still. So I guess I should be glad I’m down in Mexico now in Undead Nightmare, maybe close to the end.
So far I’m enjoying it for the most part, the only thing I really don’t like is the micromanaging of the settlements…really just wish it was permanent. But I guess they have to give it longevity somehow for completionists. Thing is, after so many and the waves seemingly getting longer, I’ve let a few just get overrun and lost survivors which only kinda demoralized me. Doesn’t help I’ve taken to just making rounds on the fire horse during these instead of wasting all my ammo, that’s my fault for taking the slow cheap way but still.
