Quest Log: January '22
- Mel
- Jan 26, 2022
- 7 min read
New year, new podcast season, new quests! Happy New Year Readers! We hope that your 2022 is off to a banging start. We have been trying out a bunch new games already. Here are some we love and some we could do with out.
Clay:
Sp!ng: Finally beat every level and obtained 3 stars in all of them. The Lab levels were a triumph in game design and I adored playing through them. Brutal but satisfying. If you have Apple Arcade, just download this. It's bite-sized gaming perfection.
Tales of Arise: Playing this for an upcoming video project of mine, and boy has it been a happy surprise! The combat is fun, the characters are interesting, and the game is gorgeous if you don't mind the cel shaded art style it utilizes. The story is a bit too "by the numbers" for my taste but I'm still somewhat early on in context to the lengthy playtime, so that might change. Still, if you're a sucker for the classic JRPG formula of having a band of heroes get together to save the world, I think this is one you shouldn't miss.
FFVII Remake: Two of my closest friends have recently played through this so I started a fourth playthrough recently, and the game is just a masterpiece. I cannot say enough how special this creation is, and how it is a complete package rather than a part of something incomplete. I wish I had time to play through all of it at the moment, but I have too many other games to play instead. But I love it enough that if I played it through all the way right now it would be my game of the year...again lol
Gloomhaven for PC: What an experience this is. A difficult, frustrating, but fun and satisfying experience! Board games often get translated in a flat way when it comes to video game versions, where it literally feels like you are engaging with a digital recreation of the board, cards, pieces, etc. This takes the idea of translating tabletop into video game to a whole new stratosphere. Not only does it feel like it could be its own thing, it transcends the board game for me in every conceivable way. If you like puzzles, gritty fantasy settings, and combat focused dungeon crawls, there are much worse ways you could spend $35
...it transcends the board game for me in every conceivable way.
Dale:
Man, what a month it's been already. Here's What I've been playing:
Storybook Brawl: This game is excellent, and you should be playing it. I've qualified for a tournament on Jan 29th, so I have to get a bunch of reps in before then. In fact, I'm watching other people's playthroughs of this on YouTube while I write this. I may have a problem.
Metroid Dread: I finished this one on stream, and it's great. Like Brodie's review said, there were a few points of frustration, but otherwise it's a very excellent experience. Also, my favorite game is Super Metroid, so this felt like coming home.
Outriders: I heard that they made a bunch of changes to this, so I booted it up. Which is another way of saying I made a mistake. I should have been tipped off when I couldn't connect to their servers the first 3 times I tried, but then I was able to get in. I did one run of the drop pod recon missions in the end game (in about 9 minutes), and then as I was picking up the loot at the end it disconnected again. Don't buy this, don't play this. It is not worth your time.
Don't buy this, don't play this. It is not worth your time.
Vampire Survivors: I'm really digging this game. So much in fact, that I've got a video about it in the pipeline. Make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel, so you don't miss it. Anyway, this is like if Geometry Wars and Castlevania had a baby. It's weird, fun, and reminiscent of "I Made a Game with Zombies in it". It is also only $3 on Steam, so give it a shot.
A Fold Apart: I needed a new mobile game after beating Rocket League: SideSwipe, and I've heard great things about this. It's a heartwarming tale about a couple dealing with a long-distance relationship. So far, it's a fun spatial puzzle game with a great narrative, and a really interesting take on how heartache can affect different people. if you have Apple Arcade, this is worth a try.
Brodie:
Final Fantasy XIV: As Yoshi P says, "The Journey Never Ends." MSQ is done, but my time here is far from over. Switched from Dancer to Bard so I can keep leveling. I've been running more ACTUAL CONTENT than I ever have and I'm falling back in love with all the dungeons and raids. Bard is an interesting class because it has a little bit of the procs of Dancer, but adds some interesting maintenance elements and a burst DPS phase. Most importantly, it does some decent actual damage in addition to having support buffs. When I'm not leveling this, I've been messing around still in the Eureka exploratory voyages (despite them feeling like a different game within FFXIV) and trying to work on weaving, alchemy, and Blue Mage.
Shovel Knight Puzzle Dungeon: Yep, you guessed it. I still love this. Despite getting unbelievably close to completing a run with Treasure Knight on the charity stream, I have yet to actually do so - but not for lack of trying. I've been really digging into some of the other characters like Plague Knight that give some other interesting offensive options.
Yep, you guessed it. I still love this.
Minesweeper: What started as a goofy joke between core team members made me remember how much I absolutely love Minesweeper (and how old I am lol.) Not much more to say here.
Nobody Saves the World: Latest title from Drinkbox studios (Guacamelee, Severed) that's an ARPG focused around form-shifting. Getting rave reviews, and it's on GamePass, so this was a no-brainer. Pretty early in this one, but it's a neat little dungeon crawler that reminds me graphically of Swords of Ditto a little bit. Fun so far.
Too Many Bones (Tabletop): I received this game as a Christmas present in 2020 and was really excited to give it a shot. The excitement didn't last long as the game's brutal difficulty and luck swings quickly soured me on it. I am a member of a tabletop discord who has decided this is their favorite game, so I'm determined to give it another shot and see whether maybe I was playing it incorrectly/missing something or if the game is ultimately not for me. It's been out on the table for a few days now and I've played a few of the events. I really want to like this game, we'll have to see whether that's possible.
Gannon:
Metroid Dread: Inspired by Dale's recent stream I decided to pick this game back up. I put it down originally because I was worried about blitzing through it and definitely made the right decision. I've put in too many hours over the last 48 hours. Really enjoying the gameplay but boy does it make the old ticker beat fast when those E.M.M.I's are chasing you.
...boy does it make the old ticker beat fast when those E.M.M.I's are chasing you.
Final Fantasy IX: Will I finish this game? Probably not.
Final Fantasy FXIV: I've stepped into the world of savage raiding at the current content and I can proudly say.... I'm not good enough yet. It's a whole new skill set and makes me realize how poorly my rotations have been! I've gone back to my first job, Ninja, and am really pushing to be a sufficient damage producer.
Zombiecide Invader (Tabletop): Bridget and I started this after purchasing a card table so we can safely leave a game up in our office and have really enjoyed the co-op elements!
Mel:
As I stated in one of our episodes, 2022 is going to be the year of the backlog. I'm going to TRY to go through as many games in my steam library as possible. 'Try' is the main word here.
Fights in Tight Spaces: Yooo, if you haven't seen our video on 'Fights in Tight Spaces' you really need to check it out. This game is so much fun! The deeper you get into this game; the enemies get harder and the scenarios you are in gets trickier. I attempt at least one playthrough a day and so far, it's worth the money.
Dorfromantik: You know how the guys have one game they play before they go to bed? This one is mine. If you are looking for a really cozy puzzle game, this is it.
Slime Rancher: Ever since we did that 2022 Preview episode, I couldn't help but to check out what Slime Rancher is all about. Talk about a super cute and relaxing game! I love the little faces on each of the slimes and the sounds they make. It's just so... CUTE! UwU At the end of the game, I found the game to be a bit grindy, but I had a nice time playing it.
It's just so... CUTE! UwU
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice: I had no idea what this game was when I started it and I didn't realize how much of a doozy it was going to be. For one, this game was emotionally taxing so I could only play it for a couple hours at a time. The plot of this game dives deep into the main character's psychosis and how the people around her handles her and her disorder. A lot of the game mechanics feels like it revolves around how individuals with psychosis would perceive the world. Secondly, I didn't expect it to be as scary and disturbing as it was, so there was a few spooky moments. Fighting in the game is a bit wonky, so I just enjoyed the game for its storytelling. I give it a 8/10.
Nobody Saves the World: This has been my off-stream game with my husband and what a delight this game has been. I don’t want to spoil it so just play the damn game.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance: I started this game on stream and I have been missing out. It’s a great RPG with so many outcomes to certain quests. The amount of freedom you have in this game to play out certain scenarios has been fun and challenging to figure out. You can tell the devs really care about this game because the historical accuracy in its storytelling is top notch. I cannot wait to play more!
Cookie Clicker: C is for cookie and cookies are for me.
If you want us to try out some games, comment below or join our Discord. See you all next month!
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