Week of 02 Jun 2024
“These petty power squabbles barely register with me anymore.”
Achievements Earned In:
- Gatling Gears
- The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales
- Clash: Artifacts of Chaos
- Bramble: The Mountain King
As I was getting ready to go to bed very early Sunday morning, Neomaster became available to play through Gatling Gears in co-op with me on Hard… so I said screw it and stayed up. And, woof, what a time. Took us about 5 hours to work our way through the entire campaign, but it really only became even a little challenging right at the end. Specifically, mission 5-4 is a heck of a tough time, with enemies and bullets flying from all sides and little resources to work with. We struggled a good hour or so on this mission, and then came the final challenge: that end boss. We faced missiles, waves of enemies, a giant mech, and BUGS galore! At one point we got stuck inside the boss during the second phase of the fight, managed to do a lot of damage, then suddenly got annihilated by a laser. Another hour dedicated to this before we finally managed to struggle-bus our way through it and I could finally rest. I’m kinda shocked I managed to keep up with Neo running on almost 24 hours of being awake. But we did it!
Achievements unlocked: 12 (+2) | Completed
Mission accomplished. Let’s go get some rest.
As we transitioned into a new month, that means there was a new list of games leaving Game Pass released. The game that stuck out to me first was The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales, which I’d tested previously on my alt 'tag and found… intriguing. I love "weird” games that have odd ideas, and the plot of jumping into various novels in a near-future dystopian world where authors can enter and manipulate narratives. In this case, you enter novels to steal artifacts for a shady connection to lessen your probation sentence. When you’re in the “real” world, it’s a first-person adventure game around your apartment. Then, as you leap into a book (six in the game) it turns into an isometric viewpoint and a stylized art style. You mostly click around to find a way to get your hands on whatever item you’re there to retrieve, but then there’s this weird turn-based combat you’re sometimes forced into (and you have to find them all for an achievement) and it just doesn’t feel right, almost shoehorned in. Actually, the whole game is just missing… something, y’know? The story is interesting, and the concept is neat, but it never coalesces into a complete experience. Achievement-wise, it’s also pretty short and easy, and a post-launch chapter select helps in the one branching achievement you have to unlock in Book 2. There’s also a small overarching mystery as to the identity of a character in the game, but I called it almost by the halfway mark. I wasn’t exactly right (and I like the choice they made) but it was close enough. All-in-all, not something I’d 100% recommend, but I’m glad I got around to it.
Achievements unlocked: 37 (+37) | Completed
Turns out fire is hot in any dimension!
With my subscription to Gamefly running out and three “baby” games under my belt, I thought I’d try to rent and complete a “real” game. I went on TrueAchievements and sorted the games released physically by the least amount of counted players, then checked how hard/long they were to complete, and finally made sure Gamefly had them. This led me to Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, which turned out to be a third Zeno Clash game! The first two games in the series were first-person brawlers released on the XBLA platform set in the very strange world of Zenozoik. The art direction is like a fever dream and the world is just nonsense. In fact, I remember pretty much nothing of the story of those first two games (except for Father-Mother, which haunts my dreams) so I wasn’t sure what to expect from a new game in the series. Well, apparently a Soulslike set in the same world, with a heartfelt story of finding company in a lonely existence. The beats of this plot will definitely stick with me this time. But, yeah, I didn’t expect to be faced with the level of difficulty this sub-genre of game tends to bring to the table, but I was committed and dove in. At first, yeah, I hated it. The combat doesn’t feel quite polished enough to have that pinpoint accuracy needed for these types of games and I kept getting unfairly hit. Luckily, you’re given two chances with most encounters thanks to Pseudo having a “night form” that comes to rescue him when he’s knocked out. Most of the first two nights I played it, I was constantly struggling to make progress at any consistent rate. Namely, there was a giant boss you have to fight early on in the mountains that just wrecked me. Then I unlocked Projectile and WOW what a cheap freaking move. Many of the enemies are locked from climbing walls or even climbing stairs, so you can upgrade that move to its strongest and cheese A LOT of the encounters, especially the “nightmare” variations of each boss you have to beat for the true ending/final achievement. It was such an incredible relief when I started skating through the final areas of the game, those endgame cumulative achievements started popping, and then before I knew it I’d beaten the end boss (so easily) and watched the final scenes of the game. I jumped into this way too blind and that could have seriously bitten me good. I really hope Ace Team keeps ‘em coming!
Achievements unlocked: 21 (+21) | Completed
Well, the face-punching I’m about to give you can only help your whole… mouth situation.
The other title leaving Game Pass in this batch I wanted to complete is Bramble: The Mountain King, which is apparently one of those platforming kid murder games, a la Little Nightmares or LIMBO. That includes the difficulty that tends to come in these achievement lists, though this isn’t too bad, with the typical and seemingly obligatory “don’t die” achievement able to be done over multiple sessions. Because of this you can use save scumming to cheat death and make it much, much easier. But, that’s for later. For now I’ve only made it a few chapters into this dark fairy tale with plenty more to go and it seems alright so far.
Achievements unlocked: 5 (+5) | Completion: 17%
Highest ratio: 4.98
Jack of All Trades (The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales)
Lowest ratio: 1.00
Alternate Solution (The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales)
