Over the course of 2020 I played 33 games. Not bad for a 27-year old who's married, with a house and 4 pets and is pursuing writing on the side. And I think we can all agree gaming provided a much-needed escape from the craziness of this year.
If I picked it up once and never came back it didn't make the list because it didn't leave an impression on me.
This will be LONG, as I'll talk at the end about my favorites and my disappointments. Also some stats because I'm an excel nerd.
These are listed in the order they were played. Unless noted I finished/beat the game.
Let's GO!

THE GAMES

Bioshock: Remastered (PS4)
An enjoyable if dated shooter that drips atmosphere and prioritizes story and characters over gameplay. A very enjoyable experience even if the gameplay starts to wear thin towards the end and the final boss is a bit of the letdown.
4/5
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (PC)
Dated combat mechanics hold this one back from being considered a great in 2020. Both Mass Effect and Dragon Age are better. That being said, Bioware's always had incredible writing and characters, and KOTOR is no different. The combat ranges from infuriating to fun depending on where you fall in the story. Anything beyond Dantooine is typically enjoyable. Play for the story and choices, not the combat.
3.5/5
Kingdom Under Fire II (PC)
Note: This was played over a Steam free weekend, and as such, I didn't finish it.
A nice little mix of RTS, MMO, and action. Was fun over a free Steam weekend - may pick it up when it becomes cheaper. The epic scale ties everything together, even the small bit of story I got from the two days was entirely forgetful.
No Score
Unreal Tournament III (PC)
This is like Doom 2016 before Doom 2016. Fast-paced, frantic fun. Just stay away from the single player. I'm glad I was able to find a few guys still playing online, this is a hell of a lot of fun, but just like the Doom multiplayer, it didn't snag me for more than an hour or two.
2.5/5
Undertale (PC)
Note: I did not finish this game.
No, just no. I didn't like the gameplay (to be fair, I haven't played many bullet hell games and that's almost entirely the combat) and the story, while quirky, didn't grip me. I just couldn't get attached to the characters. Fun music though.
1/5
Hitman (2016) (PC)
A return to form for Hitman. The levels are massive, and while this lends to the openness of the game, it can also get overwhelming at times. I'd have preferred the gigantic maps being broken up by smaller ones throughout the course of the six levels, and the one in Japan kinda-sorta achieves this. Still, this is Hitman at its best, and stands right alongside Blood Money for top contender. Welcome back, 47.
4/5
Risk Of Rain 2 (PC)
Note: This was played over a free Steam weekend.
Enjoyed it! Addicting little game. Will certainly purchase despite never playing Risk Of Rain 1. Just needs a price drop. $14.99 or so? I'm in. Fast-paced fun.
No Score
Sea Of Thieves (PC)
Played this one with the wife. It's not bad, it just doesn't hold my attention. Sure, sailing the high seas as a pirate is neat. But there's virtually no depth and nothing to hold your attention.
2/5
Democracy 3 (PC)
I'd been in the mood for a political sim with everything going on in the news, and Democracy 3 isn't a bad game - but I remember it being better than it was. It just didn't hold my attention long. I like how in-depth the different focus groups can be and it looks like there's a healthy mod scene, but it quickly got repetitive and bored me.
2.5/5
Doki Doki LIterature Club (PC)
A game that isn't anything close to how it appears. I'm not one for most anime-styled games, nor am I a visual novel fan. But the psychological horror elements contrast so well against what the game presents itself to be and when the shit hits the fan it doesn't let up. This game does things I've never seen a game do, and it excels at them.
5/5
Alan Wake (PC)
Revisiting this one. First played it around release. Engaging, with solid if unremarkable third-person shooting (the flashlight mechanic is neat.) The episodic format really works well. This was my first time through the DLC - The Signal DLC is super fun - I really enjoyed the twist on the world and how it played on the concept of shining your light on words to make items appear. I almost wish at certain points it made you choose between items. This DLC also seemed a bit more difficult. Short, sweet, and too the point though. The Writer was fun as well, the hamster wheel/ferris wheel was fantastic, and it continued a great story, but I feel The Signal was just stronger overall.
4/5
270: Two-Seventy US Election (PC)
A fun little waste of a few hours but once you understand the mechanics and start winning it loses a lot of its appeal.
2.5/5
God Of War (PS4)
The best game I've played of the year so far. A fantastic story, great combat (the Leviathan Axe is amazing), and plenty to keep you coming back. The real challenge, though, is the valkyrie boss battles you can complete. Did I do them all? Yes, I did. But Sigrun alone took me a week. I became a man when I played God Of War.
5/5
Civilization V (PC)
My second pass at this game. It's fun at the start, but never manages to hold my attention. I had a similar issue with another 4X game a few years ago (Endless Space 2) and I've come to the realization I just don't think these games are for me.
2.5/5
The Last Of Us: Remastered (PS4)
A replay of a masterpiece. It's always nice to revisit The Last Of Us. The characters and story are fantastic, but I also really love the gameplay. It's gritty, realistic, and there's a lot to think about when you play through on hard like I did.
5/5
Call Of Duty: WW2 (PS4)
Note: I only played the multiplayer.
The multiplayer was alright for a Call Of Duty game. As with most Call Of Duty games, I played it for a bit then moved on. I don't feel a strong desire to check out the campaign, and the zombies mode was shut down minutes after firing it up for me. It feels like WW2 held my attention far less than other Call Of Duty games, but it is a nice break from the jetpacks and wallrunning that seemed to define the series this gen.
2.5/5
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017) (PS4)
Fun multiplayer. That being said, even with all the amazing progress that's been made, it feels unlikely Battlefront 2 will ever step out of the shadow of its launch state no matter how much free content EA poured into it. That being said, this feels like Star Wars - the battles, the sound effects, I love it.
3/5
Detroit: Become Human (PS4)
Detroit: Become Human might just be the best Quantic Dream game. It has a lot going for it, I really enjoyed the many different paths the story can take. I was a little split on the flow chart at the end: on one hand, it kind of removes the mystery. But it also shows you, often times at mind-boggling length, just how far different paths can take you and how you can get locked out of entire sections.
3.5/5
The Last Of Us: Part 2 (PS4)
A game that has an incredible first half, and a repetitious and uninteresting 2nd half. Though I think this game might just have my favorite combat of any game, the bland and overly-long sections where you're forced to play as Abby just didn't do it for me, and have killed any desire I have to replay the game. Ironically, I really wish now the game had shipped with multiplayer as I could dive into that amazing gameplay without feeling the slog of the back half of the game. Ellie's story, and parts of Abby's, are great. But the game should have been shorter.
2.5/5
Darkwood (Switch)
Note: I did not beat this game. I only got an hour or two in.
Interesting mechanics and imagery but couldn't hold my attention. Doubt I will return to it. Was hoping it would be more engrossing than it was.
2/5
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered (PS4)
It had an enjoyable campaign, with a few key moments. The missions that most hype up, ie "All Ghillied Up" didn't really do it for me. I vastly preferred the other missions. That being said, the gameplay doesn't hold up fantastically today. It's competent, but with a basic story. Nothing incredible.
3/5
Far Cry 3: Classic Edition (PS4)
The open world is neat, the island definitely has personality. However the best part of the game is Vaas. With his death occurring just a little over 2/3 of the way through, it leaves the rest of the game with a considerable void. One I probably should've given up on sooner. Mechanics are good, but it feels dated and repetitive the more you play.
3/5
Pillars Of Eternity: Complete Edition (PS4)
A good game that should've been great. Were it not for the bloated second act and lack of consequence, this game could've been a 5/5. Reminded me of Dragon Age: Origins in key points. Great worldbuilding and decent-to-good characters and companions. Lots of dialogue options, but they don't end up mattering much.
4/5
Doom (2016) (PS4)
One of the best FPS games ever made. A return to the arena FPS games of yesteryear, Doom seamlessly blends fast-paced gunplay and tight mechanics with some serviceable leveling and a decent story. Make no mistake: the focus here is the gunplay, and it holds up incredibly well throughout the campaign.
5/5
Super Mario 64 (Switch)
Note: I did not beat this game.
A classic to be sure. But one I didn't end up sticking with past a few hours. This one does feel best left in my childhood. Playing it now, it doesn't grab my attention as much. The music is timeless though.
2.5/5
Resident Evil 2 (PS4)
A wonderful return to survival horror, and my personal preferred Resident Evil game from this decade. 2 does so much right that it's so easy to look past its few shortcomings. Every encounter is tense, and the pace is kicked into overdrive once Mr. X shows up. Every enemy is a threat, the game drips atmosphere, and will leave you shook more than once.
4.5/5
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) (PS4)
Note: I only played the multiplayer.
Got pretty addicted to the multiplayer for a bit. I had fun with the added realism, the weapons sound phenomenal and handle great. But, as with all Call Of Duty games, I got to level 30 or 40 and hung it up. One of the best Call Of Duty games in a long while.
4/5
Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
A fun little platformer that retains the series' signature wonky (and amazingly fun) weapons. There's nothing quite like using your Groovitron to send hordes of enemies into a dance mid-battle. Aside from the weapons however, this is a pretty standard platformer and the story feels incredibly safe. The humor works most of the time with how self-aware it is.
3/5
Spider-Man (PS4)
The best Spider-Man game ever? It's certainly up there. With an open world full of collectibles, tons of side-quests, a fun take on the Spider-Man lore, and great gameplay, Spider-Man is everything one could want in a Spider-Man game. Yes, the combat can feel a little too Arkham-style at times, but the game doesn't overstay its welcome and it works incredibly well.
4/5
Borderlands: Game Of The Year Edition (PS4)
Note: I did not finish this game and I played it solo.
I'm hot and cold on this one. On one hand, I literally could not care less about the story and that's good for pick-up-and-play sessions. But I don't feel compelled to return to it. This one will probably remain unfinished indefinitely. An okay looter-shooter.
2.5/5
Magicka 2 (PS4)
Note: I did not finish this game and I played it solo.
A fun little top-down action game, but I wish the levels allowed for the level of spell creativity that I thought it would. I ended up spamming familiar attacks instead of experimenting with new ones because I was playing solo. Definitely intended for co-op. However, the music and humor was pretty great and the game, while repetitious, didn't drag.
3/5
Halo 3 (Xbox One)
Note: I only played the multiplayer.
I always sucked at Halo multiplayer, but 3 takes me back to a more carefree time. I didn't stick with it, but the few hours I spent with it were fun. Remembering all of the old levels and times I used to play it was more fun than playing it now. The announcer's voice is still epic, though.
2.5/5
Gears Of War 4 (Xbox One)
Note: I only played the multiplayer.
The Gears Of War multiplayer is something you have to adapt to. As a Call Of Duty player, I tend to rush and you have to wallhug and be in cover 90% of the time to survive in this game. But there's a nice element of strategy to it and I love the executions and the lancer.
3/5

GAME OF THE YEAR

It's been a long, crazy, quarantine-filled year! But only one game can stand out amid all the others. And it is . . .
God of War There's no argument. This game surpassed my high expectations and is now one of my top 5 games of all time. Let's go Ragnarok!
Runner Up: Resident Evil 2 I honestly didn't know if I'd like Resident Evil 2. But after finishing it, I immediately played through the B scenario, and that is incredibly unusual behavior for me. Addicting and very well paced!

MOST SURPRISING

Sometimes a game hits you a way you didn't expect. This game got its hooks in me in a way I didn't think, or I wasn't expecting it to.
Doki Doki Literature Club I will say no more on this other than you need to download and play it. It's free, it'll run on a potato, and it'll hook you hard.
Runner Up: Pillars Of Eternity Look, I've played CRPG games before. But I've never finished one. I put over 90 hours into this game. That's the 3rd or 4th most played game ever for me, and it was one playthrough. This game did something right.

MOST DISAPPOINTING

And lastly, sometimes games you're amped/hyped for don't swing for you. And thus we have the most disappointing category.
Undertale I literally sorted my Steam library by highest user rating. That's how I ended up playing this. I don't like anything about it besides the music. The humor didn't click for me, the characters felt off, it just wasn't for me and that left me with this "What am I missing?" feeling.
Runner Up: Darkwood Man, this should've been right up my alley. An abstract horror game with graphic imagery and tense survival. But it wasn't. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I gave it fair spin. I might try it again in the future, but I doubt it.

STATS

For nerds like me who are interested in the numbers.
I played 33 games this year. My average score was around 3.6 (which as an average is a little disappointing as I wanted to spend this year playing games I really loved but ended up being just "good".)
My most played genre was FPS at 30.3%, followed by Action at 21.2%.
Third-Person made up the majority of games' perspective I played at 41.4% (almost half!) followed by First Person at 31%. Not terribly surprising here - I enjoy both equally.
I played most games this year on my PS4 at 48.5%, followed by PC at 36.4%. Overall, I favorited any type of Console at 63.6%. I was actually expecting this to be higher. I tend to bounce back and forth - I think it's because the bulk of the PC games were played in the first half of the year.
I Beat 51.5% of the games I played this year. That might seem bad, but it's worth noting that 15.2% were games I only Played Multiplayer of, and and 6.1% were games that Had No End. Of games with an actual campaign, I Quit 15.2%, and I put 9.1% On Hold.

RECAP

Whew, that was a write-up! If you made it this far, thanks!
I think I'll keep my excel sheet going into next year. I tracked a ton of stuff I didn't even mention like secondary genre of games, the year it came out (to try and average what generation I was playing the most in), whether I have a desire to return to a certain game, etc.
It's been a hell of a year. I've no doubt thanks to the virus I've played more games than usual. But I've had some really fun times this year, and I've been more active on this sub which makes it even more enjoyable.
Thanks for reading!

Quick start, slow finish [January Report '21]

I: Much studying, little free time (+ quick thoughts on some games)

Hey everyone, hope you had as good a start to the new year as possible. As always, looking forward to reading all of your progress posts for this month. At the start of the month (and in the last week or so of December), I've managed to play "a lot" and beat 4 games, so I thought this might be another double-digit month in regards to completions. Little did I know that most of my days would be spent studying for the exams coming up. Most of my free time I've either spent on my family or on "CS:GO Investing", believe it or not. I did find the time to play a bunch of Slime Rancher with my little brother, some Yakuza 0 alone and some CS:GO, Apex Legends and Elder Scrolls Online. I'll speak a bit about those experiences now and move on to the actual completions in a little bit.

CS:GO: As I said, I've gotten into investing in CS:GO skins and other items, which seems to be a thing that can be done. So most of my time when I did play CS:GO was in order to grind stars to spend on skins (long story) but I did play a few rounds alone and with my brother as well. It's actually a fun game but I'll probably stop playing it once the operation that is currently running ends.
Apex Legends: Only played 2 rounds and I'll probably uninstall it soon. Not a fan of battle royals in general but this one I particularly disliked.
ESO: I'm really in the mood for ES VI but we'll have to wait quite some time for that, so I thought I'd give ESO a try. And while it looks like something that I would have spent 1k+ hours on a decade or so ago, I'm more into single player RPGs and didn't really enjoy my time with this. There is ridiculous amount of content in this but doesn't look like MMOs are for me anymore.

And now onto the usual stuff :D

II: Games I've Quit | 5

Call of Cthulhu
Far Cry 5
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Resident Evil 6
The Witcher

Call of Cthulhu is a game that I've actually tried a few months back, never continued and decided to not bother again at the end of December, which is why I put it here in this report. I didn't play it for more than 30 minutes but I wasn't impressed at all with any of the mechanics and visuals. With time being more limited I'm not going to force myself through this with a bunch of more interesting looking games on my backlog.
Same thing (kind of) goes for Far Cry 5. Played it a while back with a friend but we actually put about 10 to 15 hours into this before never playing again. Easily the worst Far Cry I've played. The story is just absolute garbage and feels so contrived. All antagonists just keep talking and talking and try to say anything meaning- or impactful but end up repeating the same things over and over. And I couldn't count how many times the game knocked you out so you would land in a cutscene with one of them. Poorly paced as well. Gameplay is basically like other Far Cry games but at least those had side characters who had interesting missions once or twice. Going around shooting bulls for a dude who needs eggs for an egg fest (and similar missions) was just dumb I thought. Plus we had a major bug during a main "boss" mission and a bunch of other smaller ones. As always, your mileage may vary.
I wouldn't say Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a bad game at all, it's just that I don't think playing this game for 30+ more hours is something I'm really excited for. If you're into roleplaying games that pays A LOT of attention to detail, you'll love this but I don't think it's for me that much.
Last year, I beat Resident Evil 5 in coop with my brother and we've (re)started playing Resident Evil 6 after dropping it over 5 years (!) ago. We played it for a few hours and thought we'll just grind through while laughing at the (unintentionally) hilarious parts of the game. After a few hours and the Deborah boss fight (which was, without a doubt, the worst kind of boss fight there could ever be in a functioning video game), we checked HowLongToBeat and yeah, suffice to say, we won't go through 20+ hours of this garbage. I guess the shooting is somewhat OK but literally everything else in this game ranges from boring to absolutely cringeworthy, mostly the latter though. I'll try Revelations, which is also in my backlog and I'll definitely play the newer games (2,3,7) but damn, 5 and 6 are terrible games.
I've only played a few hours of The Witcher and the story itself might have pushed me through but it just didn't age very well and instead of pushing through, I'd rather go "straight into" The Witcher 2 (straight into meaning some time this year :D).
----------

III: Games I’ve Added | 8

Cave Story+
Cyberpunk 2077
Guacamelee! 2
Night in the Woods
Psychonauts
Resident Evil 3
Satellite Reign
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

I've gotten three games via Trade, Guacamelee! 2, Psychonauts and Satellite Reign. I don't know when I'll get to them or if I'll actually finish them but I had more interest in these games than the ones I gave up for 'em.
My brother, the legend, got Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Resident Evil 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 on PC since my end of year post, all of which I can play through Steam Family Sharing. I don't think I'll get into RE3 for a while. Similarly to how I felt after completing RE5, I need a break from that series after playing the shit show that was RE6. I will however for sure play Wolfenstein II this year. I loved the first game when I played it a few years ago and I don't know how I still haven't gotten into the second game.
As most of you will probably know, Epic gave away 15 free games and out of those, I've added two games to the backlog, which I will count as being added in 2021. These games are Cave Story+ and Night in the Woods. I've also added a few more after that, including Battlefront II, but I won't include those because as of now, I have no interest in them or their single player components.
----------

IV: Games I've Beaten | 4

A quick overview of all the games I've beaten this month. Reviews are in alphabetical order. (Bold = Game of the Month)

Batman: Arkham City
Mafia: Definitive Edition
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters
Youropa

Mafia: Definitive Edition

Owned Since: September 30th, 2020
Beaten: December 25th, 2020
Platform: PC
Playtime: 10 hours
While I know next to nothing about the Mafia, I really enjoy playing Mafia themed games, watching Mafia themed movies and reading Mafia themed books from time to time. So I was very excited to hear the news about the Mafia remake, even though I didn't enjoy my experience with the original years ago much. The game didn't age well mostly (obviously) but I also didn't think the story was anything special. In fact, I thought it was just reusing the same tropes in every medium that has to do with the Mafia ever. "It's the Mafia, at the end of the day, so what do you expect?". Right. Nothing wrong with that, you're free to enjoy this game very much of course. I'll just go ahead and explain my thoughts on the story in this review.
To me, the story is the main attraction in anything that is about the Mafia, so I'll briefly go over everything else the game had to offer. I personally liked the new music and voice actors. The VAs especially add a lot to the experience in comparison to the original, though if you're someone who played the original multiple times, having different voices attached to the characters might sound wrong in your ears. Same goes for the music of course.
The graphics look amazing imo and also add much to the experience. This was really a well made remake overall. They've added a lot of mechanics from Mafia 3 (driving, combat...) and it works really well. I don't have a great rig (1060 3GB + i5 6600k) but I've had a consistent 50 FPS with high graphic options. I'd say that's fair.
Now to the story and my main reason for the rating (which is a solid 6 still):
Games as a medium have an advantage over books and movies that this games story, in my eyes, doesn't really take advantage of. Now, the original is 18 years old, so I guess there were limitations to what they were able to do but what I personally would expect out of a good Mafia story doesn't really have anything to do with the technical side.
Books have the advantage of time as well. They are hundreds of pages long and can go very in depth in terms of describing characters, describing scenery and telling stories. Movies, of course , have the advantage of bringing these stories to life on your screen. They are however limited to a few hours at most, so they have to prioritize characters that they want to focus on and develop.
Games have the advantage of combining both the length of books and the visual aspect of movies. This game is 10 hours long, so more than 3x longer than the Godfather. Now, the Godfather is obviously amazing and it wouldn't be fair to compare Mafia to one of the best movies of all time but it's just to demonstrate that games can do something movies can't. And it's a big factor in Mafia themed media in my opinion: They can go in-depth when it comes to connecting the player to the "family" aspect of the Mafia.
You do a bunch of missions with Sam and Paulie, you meet Frank, the consigliere, Don Salieri, Vincent and even the mechanic, Ralphie. So the game has a bunch of interesting characters that you could potentially meet and connect more in-depth with than any movie, apart from the best ones, would allow. Yet, all is just so shallow. There is no depth. After beating it, you know a little bit about Sam (and I mean just a little bit), you know a bit more about Paulie, you hear a couple things about Don Salieri's past but ultimately, I forgot about almost everyone of these characters since playing the original a few years ago and I'm sure I'll forget about them in a couple years from now as well.
The game sets its focus on Morello and the "bad bad guys". This makes sense, as a game is interactive and has to give you reasons to kill people. Unfortunately this means less time is being spent learning more about all the members of your 'family'. You get to share a couple moments with Paulie and Sarah but even those are very few and far between. You never really know about anyone's motivations for joining the Mafia and their pasts apart from a few times where other characters tell anecdotes. But you do get to hear a lot about Morello and his lot.
So yeah, I feel like the game doesn't really manage the balance between scenes with family and enemies. They've even added a few scenes with Sarah, so I guess the devs kinda agree with that sentiment (maybe I'm just reaching).
Regardless, I had my fun with it. The scenes where everyone would meet up and talk about the upcoming mission were very nice and the times where the game would delve a bit deeper into some of the characters were definite highlights. I also will definitely be getting Mafia 4 whenever it releases because even average to below average Mafia stories like this one are fun to experience.
Rating: 6/10

Batman: Arkham City

Owned Since: October 29th, 2016
Beaten: January 1st
Platform: PC
Playtime: 16 hours
This is what happened during the final minutes of me playing this: I was in the middle of playing it and just like that, it was over.
I legit was like "IS THIS IT?". And I still don't know how to feel about it. On the one hand, the ending was sick and even for me, who is not the biggest Batman fan out there, was a very meaningful moment. Batman carrying out Joker's body is the part I'm talking about. At the same time, the final boss fight sucked ass, very much unlike the rest of the game's boss fights (more on them in a bit). I feel like the ending also left a big plot hole by not answering one question: What happened to all the people in Gotham, who were also poisoned by Joker? I know Robin was sent to check the hospitals to see who had the poisoned blood in them but did they ever get the cure? Didn't Joker destroy the vial with the antidote in it? Maybe I've missed something.
The story, other than that question mark that I still have in my head, was solid. I thought the game was going to destroy the sense of urgency a la most open world games these days but, apart from those few hundred riddles by the Riddler and a few side missions, the open world wasn't bloated with a bunch of activities. I don't care for the riddles but the side missions I did were enjoyable.
Speaking of the open world, I definitely prefer Arkham Asylum's smaller space. In both games, you mostly enter specific locations and explore them before moving on to the next one, so all the open world has done is increase the amount of time it takes to move from A to B for me. It also wasn't as smooth to glide through the city as in 2018's Spider-Man game for example, though that one is obviously 7 years younger than Arkham City.
I do think an open world Batman game can be much more enjoyable, though for that 1) gliding has to become smoother, 2) Batmobile must become available, 3) there needs to be more interesting and engaging side activities (Spider-Man did this extremely well) and the outer areas need to be actually utilized in the story. Apart from some parts of the Wonder Tower and a few small fights outside, almost everything I remember took place indoors (which is what I preferred in both Arkham games as I said, this just would make me enjoy an open world experience more).
So I'm intrigued by what Arkham Knight has to offer, though I've already heard countless times how using the Batmobile is a pain. Everything else about the game has the potential to be really enjoyable, so I'm optimistic. Updated graphics obviously help matters as well.
Ah, I mentioned the boss fights at the start, didn't I? I'll end this review with my favorite part about the Arkham games so far: The villains and how they're being utilized. I haven't played a game that does it much better. That's either 1) because the focus isn't on villains like in the Batman series, 2) because their villains suck or 3) they just don't know how to use them properly. I'd put a game like Far Cry 4 in the 3) section. Yes, the game is about exploring Kyrat but the story is also about helping Amita and/or Sabal, two characters I had forgotten even existed until I saw some Far Cry 4 gameplay recently again. Pagan Min is obviously the main event of the story and apart from a handful of cutscenes and a dozen or so phone calls, you don't see him. And I feel like he had so much potential as not only a very interesting antagonist but also as a character you'd talk about for decades when talking about best gaming villains.
(Same goes for Far Cry 3 and Vaas, who you see even less than Pagan Min if I remember correctly. And then you play something like Far Cry 5, where they shove the siblings down your throat with interruptions and never ending monologues. Never seen people who talk so much, yet end up saying nothing at all. So maybe the way Far Cry 3/4 did it was the better way :D)
Anyway, all villains in Batman Arkham City are well presented, they all are enjoyable to fight against (Ra's Al Ghul being my personal highlight) and they all contribute to the story in little and major ways.
So yeah, very good game :D
Rating: 8/10

The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters

Owned Since: September 2nd, 2020
Beaten: December 28th, 2020
Platform: PC
Playtime: 6.5 hours
I won't go so in-depth with this review because I feel like I went a bit crazy with the other two games prior :D.
I didn't play the first game, which might have improved the story experience by a little bit but I had a lot of fun with this game regardless.
It's a Korean horror game, in which you play Mina Park, who's a student and gets trapped in the "shadow realm". In that world, you're being followed by one of your teachers and some other monsters trying to kill you, while you solve puzzles, collect notes and try to get the fuck out of there.
The game has 6 chapters, or 6 different areas rather. In each, you do very similar tasks and have to avoid the monsters by running away and hiding. You can hear your teacher's footsteps when she gets pretty close and they get louder, as she gets closer to you. I loved this. She didn't get close to you constantly (like in Alien: Isolation for example) but every time she did, it was unnerving and kind of scary as well, without being a cheap jump scare or anything.
The auditory horror mechanic - I guess you could it that - is really well done. Next to that, you have to constantly dodge bodies falling from the ceiling, monsters lying on the ground trying to strike you and some venomous plants releasing their toxins when you get near them.
As I said, all 6 chapters play very similar but the gameplay is so fun that I didn't really feel the game being repetitive or at any point boring. I'd even go so far as to say that this is the best horror game I've played so far, only rivaled by the first Outlast game and probably something like the older Silent Hill games, of which I have very little memories left, though.
The story is OK. It's nothing worth talking about much but for a horror game, it'll do. The real deal in this game is its gameplay and horror elements, so if you're looking for one to play, give it a shot. Or at least think about it when looking for games to play in October.
Rating: 7/10

Youropa

Owned Since: September 2nd, 2020
Beaten: December 30th, 2020
Platform: PC
Playtime: 10 hours
I've beaten this "in coop" with my little brother. By coop I mean that I had the controller mostly but I let him have a try for a few hours as well. He'd mostly just goof around but he also surprisingly solved a few puzzles on his own. He's 3 years old, mind you.
And if you have a child or a sibling at a similar age, I'd definitely recommend this game. There are 2 kinds of monsters, both of which my brother just laughed at, but other kids might possibly get a little scared by them.
Youropa is a puzzle platformer and what makes it unique is that you can actually stick on a pathway, so that you can actually stand upside down. This is a key mechanic used for most puzzles and it's implemented really well. The game somehow manages to make these puzzles easy enough that a 3 year old can solve some of them, yet be difficult enough at times to even make me think harder in order to solve them.
You start by not being able to do anything but walk and with every completed section, you learn how to jump, kick, sprint and more. My brother's eyes would open wide whenever we'd get a new skill and he'd immediately grab the controller to try it out. Some levels even add unique items that you can use (pogo sticks, motorcycles, cars) to do puzzles, which my brother also had A TON of fun doing. There are a lot of other cool things to do and the game manages to really keep fresh for the entire playthrough.
I don't know how I've never heard of it but this is another game I can wholeheartedly recommend, even to anyone without a young child/sibling, if you're into puzzle platformers.
Rating: 7.5/10
-----------------

V: Currently Playing

Yakuza 0: Probably only put about 5-6 hours into this in January but I'm sure once I get done with my exams, I'll play it for a lot more. I've played for 2 hours or so today and just got into Chapter 6 after about 35 hours total. It's an insane game but one of those that I want more free time for to enjoy with more of a "relaxed mind".
Cyberpunk 2077: Abandoned it after 8 hours or so because I recognize there are a lot of bugs still, features missing and poor optimization. Do I think all of these things will be fixed with that big February patch? No but I'll definitely delay playing this any longer because 1) I'm busy anyway and 2) I'd like a more clean first experience. The parts I did play however were very promising, especially any main story scene with some of the characters. The presentation in those is top notch and the atmosphere in general, apart from braindead NPCs, is insane.
Slime Rancher: Just got to a door that needs a bunch of plorts to open and we also opened up the lab, so progress. It's a neat game and my brother loves it but I doubt I'd play it on my own.

Playstation 4

Horizon Zero Dawn: At the start of January I had a crazy open world game itch, so I started HZD form the beginning for the fourth time or so. I'll give it more time after exams but I'm not feeling it so far. The world is unique, yes but gameplay doesn't seem that great after 5 hours or so (or about 15 hours after 4 restarts). The story might go somewhere and will be the main thing that decides whether I'll finish this or not but based on gameplay I doubt this will be that much different to something like Far Cry 4 in terms of repetitiveness. Also the side missions so far have sucked, so I'm hoping those improve as well. And I feel like Aloy's voice actress, who's very accomplished for a good reason, is overacting soo much in so many scenes. It just feels unnatural.

Xbox One

Assassins Creed: Origins: As I said, I was really in the mood for open world games, especially for the newer AC games for some reason, so I restarted this and got about a dozen hours into it. I have to say, Ubisoft has done an amazing job with this game. Apart from the same thing that hurts all Ubi open world games (repetitive side content), and the world being way too large, the attention to detail here is commendable. Bayek is an interesting protagonist with an intriguing backstory and someone who's revenge story I really like following. The voice acting of Bayek is also amazing. Especially in the assassination scenes, where you can feel all the emotions that were boiling inside of him just spilling out. I also like how some side objectives actually deepen Bayek's relationship to characters further. A lot of characters are forgettable after the fact but it helps establish Bayek's place in this world and what he means to the people around him. So far I've enjoyed doing most of the side objectives as well. Though that might change after another 10+ hours or so because they are mostly the same after all. But I'm really positively surprised by how much effort went into this. It's also the first time that I'm not cringing at the dialogue in an AC game 9/10 times.

Nintendo Switch

Nothing: Nintendo games just cost way too much, man.

------------------

VI: 12in12 original list | 2/12 completed

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood
Batman Arkham City | COMPLETED
Cyberpunk 2077
F.E.A.R.
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
Layers of Fear 2
Mafia: Definitive Edition | COMPLETED
Metro 2033
Observer
Persona 5
Transistor
Yakuza 0

I'm determined to beat these 12 this year. Yakuza 0 will be done in a month or two and I'm interested in playing another horror game, so something like Layers of Fear 2 might be done next month as well.
------------------

VII: My Stats

Games Added: 8
Total Price: 0 €
Games Removed: 5
Games Finished: 4
Games Left in the Backlog: 85

0 € paid for those games thanks to all the freebies + having a brother who's buying a lot on Steam. Not bad. Though when I'll get to any of these I have no idea.
Hope you enjoyed reading my post. Best of luck to you all for next month :)

Gaming Year in Review 2020

So I finally got around to finish my reviews of my accomplished games of yesteryear and I know its a bit late for posting but nothings ever too late for this sub so here goes my somehow short reviews of the 29 games I finished in 2020 (2 games not included since automod is harrassing me despite being in line with the rules)
The Darkness II, PC
Fast paced gory goodness. An action packed title that reaches the full potential of its concept through its crazy fast paced gameplay and mechanics. Combat is exhilarating as you are imbued with the power of the darkness which makes you a walking mutilation machine to anything unfortunate enough to come across your path. The game makes the most use of your powers through quad wielding as if two weapons werent enough making you a force to be reckoned with. With the many ways you can annihilate your opponents, my favorites will always be with the classic tendrils that can perform a variety of executions. There is an odd satisfaction for me whenever Im playing gory games and this one definitely scratches the itch. The levels are designed a little bit too compact for such a chaotic game but nonetheless it suffice. Storywise, it's nice I thought the mobster settings was pretty cool and the exploration of the darkness' history was good especially with the flashback stage. The characters are likeable as well. This game also employs a cel-shaded artstyle which, of course, makes it unique, I cant discern much if it was used effectively though but in my experience I didnt had too much issue with it. To sum it up, the darkness 2 is a decent game with its intense gameplay, good story and unique artstyle.
Hitman: Absolution, PC
A good game but perhaps it was great to some. I played this game with a wrong mindset even though stealth games is one of my favorite genres, I approached this game like how I would approach CoD which is mindless shooting. I didnt really have the patience that time to play through the whole game the way it was meant to be played thus not having experienced the whole hitman experience and I believe its a shame but nonetheless I had fun in my unorthodox guns blazing approach. The point shooting mechanic is highly addictive even though it was supposed to be used strategically I spammed the hell out of it even going so far to download a trainer. The gunplay in combination with the slow mo mechanic is really good that it completely erased the word stealth in my vocabulary. But I didnt play the whole game like that of course, I always try to do a stealth approach first but the number of times I need to restart became tedious hence leading me to just shoot everybody I see towards the rest of the level. Doing a perfect no detection run is still the most satisfying imo. There are other great gameplay mechanics in place especially with the environment interaction which is widely varied, you can kill someone via a loose object hanging overhead of your target, you can add poison into your target's coffee, you can sabotage a piano, and a whole lot more. It was fun exploring them but I barely utilized them since I just opted to use my guns as a simple solution. I know it had the potential to be a great game objectively but I was just too braindead at the moment to find it. Still had fun tho.
Binary Domain, PC
The narrative is a strong suit, an age where AI has evolved to a point where they are essentially the same as humans, but better. They look, behave, react and get this, even reproduce the same. Flesh and metal bound to an indistinguishable level. I wanted this concept to be explored more in game, delving deeper to the ethical, moral and psychological aspects at the societal level, yet the story focused more on the grander scale of things, keeping you in a scenario where there is action instead of slow segments where you immerse yourself with the world in which I wouldve appreciated more. This is understandable considering its an action shooter game anyway. The narrative's potential is strong yet has been set aside after telling the campaign's story as there hasnt been any extended universe outside this game. I felt like the plot could make sense in a -recently released cdpr title- type of game scenario. Now discussing gameplay, combat is fun and engaging, the enemy bots feel realistic especially with their armor and limbs chipping away when hit. You are able to choose different persons from your squad prior to engagement, allies feel helpful at least. I love the close mounted camera perspective for third person games the most and I completely adore the one used here, it adds a bit more to the immersion. There's a trust level system mechanic but its very basic, you just need to choose the good sounding options as opposed to the obvious bad which is a no brainer, granted there's a bit of a challenge in raising it whilst in combat scenarios. In conclusion, good game, engaging combat, nice camera pov, realistic feeling AI and a strong narrative. Though I can not remember as well now, I believe there were some cringey parts in game that I would just like to add since I only praised the game in my review. That's all.
Outlast, PC
I dont play horror games since I'm a wuss and I dislike jumpscares but I appreciate a horror setting and its elements. This led me to play the game with god mode enabled and infinite batteries since I just wanted it to cross it off my backlog and it was just a breeze as expected. This was a major detach from the horror experience and wasnt how the game was supposed to be played but I digress, its a game that I own anyway. Even though I failed to see how glorious of a horror title it was, I appreciate the ideas that went behind this that made it such a compelling experience. My only critique is that the story at the end is kind of wack, they ruined an already immersive experience with some supernatural bs, I only wished they stayed more grounded to reality which was what made it effective in the first place. I don't look forward to playing the sequels.
Shadow Warrior (2013), PC
Ahh yes asian doom. I believe this was my first ever steam game having gotten it from a giveaway which was a nice welcome in my first days of steam. Fast paced, gory and chaotic, the combat is very satisfying especially with the variety of abilities you have in your arsenal. The story is actually pretty good, I liked the backstory behind your demon friend. Its a game that doesn't take itself seriously and I love it, its wacky and humorous. Overall, a really good game. I love this game, such a shame with the path they took with its sequel, instead of embracing doom they became borderlands. But at least the third sequel is going back to its roots.
The Stanley Parable, PC
Short and charming. Definitely a memorable indie title. I adore this game very much. It doesn't take itself seriously, its wacky, unique, and funny especially narrator man is hilarious. I vibe with the guy. It was fun trying to get all the different endings. This game's quirkiness really shows how sometimes videogames are also a platform to create art. I wish I can say more about this game but I currently cant recall much having played this game in the 1st quarter of yesteryear. Needless to say, indie games truly are a space for less formulaic more creative concepts and Stanley Parable is an exemplar of that.
A Short Hike, PC
A short and sweet adventure. Such a charming little game. The game's goal is fairly simplistic, you play as this bird whose main objective is to reach the summit of a mountain to get better phone signal. While it might seem straightforward, the world will captivate you enough to stray away from your goal for quite a while. The world is pretty interesting and cute, you have a small map to explore with various npcs that have their own little activities to them where at first you cant do much but as you progress you are now able to fulfill their demands it just gets more satisfying after finishing each task. There are various activities to do like racing, gliding, and some platforming segments that require you to backtrack and as you do, you explore and unlock more of the world. There's even an addictive beach volleyball(?) minigame that I really took the time to beat. The traversal is really fun complemented by the fun movement mechanics as you are able to spread your wings and glide around then there are these collectible feathers that allow you to increase your max altitude and duration. I like the way they implemented your character's movement mechanics so that you can't just fly your way up, it requires a bit of a challenge to maneuver and traverse the environment, some requiring you to backtrack and or hunt for more of those collectible golden feathers. The story is pretty sweet, thats all I can say to it. I finished the game, finished all the optional objectives and collected all the collectibles. Its a worthwhile experience, short but it's cute, chill, charming, and fun.
Abzu, PC
There is little much that I can say about Abzu granted that I didn't really fully realize my experience back then as I was on a spree to finish as much games as possible which definitely impacts the overall potential of a game's experience hence the case with Abzu. I know the good qualities that make Abzu great, of course I played it so I should be aware but that is the problem, I only know but failed to understand. Playing this game, I didnt just speedrun it, my approach was slow paced and to explore every bit of the levels, I believe I took the time to savor the calm moments it had while observing the spectacular aquatic scenery, yet it wasnt still as memorable as some reviews would have pointed out to be. I understand that some games are just not for some people but if a game this great just flew over my head after experiencing it, I cant help to ponder if I just did the game such a disservice with the way I played. Recalling this game of memories past might also have impacted this review of mine since I'm reviewing games a year later but then I really struggle to remember memorable moments with the game which further grounds my review. Anyway, in summary, I sing the same praises the game has already received from its calm inducing atmosphere, gorgeous scenery, relaxing vibe and chill soundtrack, objectively a great game but subjectively not much of a memorable title for me.
A Story About My Uncle, PC
An alright platforming game where its strongest asset is in its movements. The only bliss I got from a game's movement mechanics is from Titanfall, this is the second time I got to experience the same feeling. Concept is good especially considering they were first conceptualized by students before being developed into a full game. The world is kinda weird but cute in a way that fits its narrative. I didnt knew at the time that this was an indie game so it kind of impacted my view on the game a bit as I was expecting a bit more but now I unable to readjust my views since since I fail to recall the game's context anymore, I wish I took notes back then. This leads me to not understanding why it has very high ratings on steam as I believed it wasnt that much phenomenal to deserve such ratings but I wish I understood more of the context as to what made it great.
Inside, PC
A great platformer with an interesting story and unique concept. Playdead really hits the spot with how they craft platformers in a grim setting. Having played Limbo, it doesn't stray much away from the formula with the controls controlling the way its been and the endings always leave you perplexed. It's just such a charming game with the way it just controls and feels, with the narrative executed the way it is without dialogue and context yet steadily painting a picture of the whole scenario while you try to piece out what's happening as you progress. Overall, a solid title that's more than just a puzzling platformer.
An Old Man's Journey, PC
Unique short puzzler platformer. Its a point and click adventure with an emphasis on moving layers of the level to traverse, it is a unique concept that is primarily what you spend most of your time solving, besides that there's really not much that you can do but it didn't need to anyway considering its just a very short campaign. The scenery is calm and beautiful to look at, the artstyle is good that just incites calmness while the animation makes it look cute. But despite its calm and endearing feel, the end of your journey is quite saddening, you really feel for the old man : ( . All in all, a nice and sweet experience.
Portal, PC
Fun unique short charming puzzler. Portal is a household name in gaming but I just finished it last year. What I thought was simply going to be a straightforward puzzle game had plenty of surprises which is easy to see why it garnered such praise and became such a classic mainstay in gaming history. Though at the time I was playing I wasn't much in awe but viewing this from a decade old standpoint I can see how this is such a groundbreaking title at the time, especially in the context back then that I read once in this sub. Now in gameplay, this game literally got you thinking in portals. The unique concept is complemented by good puzzle designs and it just conveys itself very well regardless of age. I'm proud that I was clever enough to finish the game without using any walkthrough. The humor is also on point too especially with the narrator GladOS which reminds me a lot of the Stanley Parable. Graphics still manage to hold up well in the current decade granted you run it on max which is a simple task for modern machines. Overall, Portal is a lovable game full of flair and oozing with personality that offers plenty of surprises with an excellent execution of its concepts and mechanics. I'm looking forward to what Portal 2 has to offer.
Batman: Arkham Origins, PC
The series that just keeps on getting better. An upgrade from the previous game, if I thought Arkham City couldnt get any better I thought wrong. At first I was kind of wary since not a lot of people were too keen on this game but after quite some time I couldnt see any reason to hate it, in fact it didnt do anything wrong, every aspect was an upgrade. Satisfying combat as always with new mechanics, combos and weapons. Story is pretty nice, Im not much of a critic as long as I get to play as the Bat I'm sold. Boss fights a plenty, perhaps the most number of bosses in the series yet iirc. Side content is pretty great, nice amount of variety that it was actual not much of a bore to do. To sum it up, a great game, I dont have much negative to say that I can remember only praises. Can't wait to play Arkham Knight!
Doom (2016), PC
Ahh Doom, what can be further said from all the praise this game has garnered. I haven't been born in the early age of gaming hence this was my first doom title and I'm just in time for the modern remake. The extremely satisfying, tense, gory, fast paced and chaotic combat is easily doom 2016's best aspect, the level design, weapon progression, collectibles, secrets, and tiny bits of lore are all just icing on top that complements the already magnificent gameplay. I find it funny how I used to be scared of the zombies at the beginning when they were just one-hittable fodder later on. One minor gripe I only had was there were far too few bosses for a game that's this satisfying. Solid title, I'm looking forward to rip and tear Eternally.
Kingdom Rush, Mobile
A classic tower defense title. I tried to complete every stars for each level and I think I only missed 2 levels since I was too lazy to complete it. A fun and challenging game, I loved the variety of troops that you are able to use especially the way you can upgrade them. Even the hardest challenges aren't too difficult to finish but the completionist within me always restarts a level when even 1 enemy slips through since I wanted to have a perfect run to nab those stars, tedious and annoying at times but I'm glad I tried the harder difficulties since it made me strategize better which in turn should make me a better gamer. I always force myself to play on hard difficulty to change my behavior to play better otherwise I would just resort to lazy and mindless approaches. Continuing, the game is neat and I'm interested in playing other future titles in the series.
Battleborn, PS4
I love the hero shooter genre and this was a no brainer to try especially that it has a campaign. I love each of the popular hero shooter games line up during the peak of the genre, namely Paladins, Overwatch and Battleborn. I'm a simple guy that can appreciate anything in everything so I really do not understand the hate towards the non-overwatch games even when they are absolutely decent titles, more so with battleborn being a complete experience and having more content than overwatch. It's been said many times before I'll just reiterate, it's a shame that battleborn was released the same time as overwatch, it was one, if not the leading reason that led it to be dismissed and ignored which eventually led to its downfall, and after 4 years of living off its life support it is finally being laid to rest this month of January 2021. A true shame for it had a lot of personality, a lot of soul and love that went into making its universe, the naysayers are the ones to be shamed for they fail to see how much of a great game this is compared to the competition. With Gearbox being the developers, the game is as wacky and humorous as their other well known title Borderlands and that's what I love about their games. There are a lot of unique characters and mechanics in game, an in-depth system is in place which adds a ton of variety with your playstyle, the same way why I adore Paladins as well. The only thing I hate about it is how they made this an online only title, live service is the bane of my existence.
Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, PS4
A game I was disappointed at first but grew on me the more I go. Coming from the previous title Garden Warfare 2, I came with plenty of the same expectations in tow; local coop gameplay modes, hero variants, a big home battlefield map with the same amounts of hidden secrets and whatnot, and then some. I instinctively searched for these features upon booting up the game but what I got was a small home battleground with no layers of exploration and secrets, no hero variants, and at the very least not even local coop gameplay modes. I thought 'wow I was scammed' for purchasing a game with very lackluster features. But as it turns out this was an entire new game thus entailing new features and approaches. It wasn't that the game was lacking in content, I just didn't knew where to look and every gripe I had was quickly resolved as I came to discover more of the game. Brimming with content as much as its predecessor with quests, side activities, game modes as well as a brand new class progression, they stand toe to toe with each other that its difficult to see which one is superior. I loved the hell out of Garden Warfare 2 but I also appreciate this new one, a worthy successor to GW2. Its just sad the last update hit for the game that was just 2 yrs of age, sucks to be an online only game.
Suicide Squad Special Ops, Mobile
I counted this as finished despite there not really being a story since I figured I unlocked all of that there is to the map anyway and that was the main objective I set to accomplish. Its an alright endless wave shooter mobile game yet of course severely lacking but I can not really judge this the same way as a full game. Anyhow for what its worth, the gameplay is basically fun which is what matters, the core gameplay is very meager you just run in circles killing bad guys while your weapon auto shoots and then every 5 wave or so an upgrade box drops and you can incrementally upgrade your stats, very basic but its decent enough for a mobile game. You are able to swap to any squad member and each have their own thing to them, I kinda wish they programmed more characters and more gameplay but you can't really hope much for these types of movie tie-in games. Graphics are nice, just goes to show how much potential there is to create a console like experience on mobile but sadly there isn't much interest. The whole experience was just alright, nothing was great and considering the type of game it was and the platform, theres really nothing too bad to say, it sufficed to say the very least,
Scribblenauts Remix, Mobile
A game where the limit is your imagination (or your vocabulary). The first game in the series, the concept is unique and the art style is both charming and cute. It is a puzzle game first and a sandbox game second. Puzzles are quite easy, only getting challenging when you attempt to do multiple playthroughs to get a red crown from a level which is an optional task. It was fun solving them since there's a myriad of ways you can approach each problem, especially when you let your creative juices flow like riding a pterodactyl or using a jetpack in lieu of using a car to cross a bridge normally. Sometimes I hit a roadblock despite a rather simple objective since sometimes there are specific items that I do not know of. Overall, a neat and fun cute puzzle game. I'm interested in playing the sequels.
Dead Cells, Mobile
Surprise hit of the year. I cant really recall what led me to play this game in the first place since I wasnt too keen on playing indie games but I'm really glad I did. This game changed my perspective on indie games, it doesn't need to be 3D or have good graphics to be a great experience. I wasnt a fan of pixel graphics and merely dismissed every pixel looking game that I have come across, but now I'm actively looking for pixel games haha. This was also my first roguelite, a genre Im also not entirely keen on since the concept of restarting all over again was something absurd but after experiencing it in this game, it wasnt all too bad. Gameplay is challenging, especially on harder difficulties in which I'm still trying to break away from the first boss cell. This game got me really addicted, even if it was somehow repetitive the gameplay always had me coming back for more. Experimenting with builds, hunting for blueprints, grinding, speed running, and or just general fucking around, theres a lot of ways to have fun in this game. My only regret was not playing in the superior PC version since I played this on mobile which is behind in updates which leads me now in a quite a dilemma, to wait for an update that may never come on mobile or to finally begin anew in PC.
My Friend Pedro, PC
Short, wacky and satisfying unique side scrolling platformer shooter with an interesting narrative. Gunplay is satisfying and awesome, its one of key selling points in this game as seen on the trailer and I remember the hype surrounding it back then. Game mechanics has several unique innovations such as the ricochet mechanic and skating which is really fun. There are two ways to approach this game, you can either go guns blazing as I believe the game is supposed to be fast paced anyway but the existence of the slow mo mechanic also allows for calculated plays but I find going pew pew is the most entertaining and satisfying. There's a degree of skill needed to master the gunplay but I didnt spend enough time to master it unfortunately. There are some platforming segments which I find is the weakest part of the game since it takes you out of the action and what is my friend pedro if you're not max payne bullet time 360 spinning dual wielding your pistols shooting 2 bad guys at the same time as you swap to your sniper then roll and kick a knife into a bad guy as you take his weapon then ricochet the bullet onto another bad guy all done in the span of 10 secs? Story wise, the revelation in the end was pretty nice. The banana character is pretty lmao with deadpool-like wackiness. Some of the soundtrack is pretty cool making you feel like John Wick at times. To wrap it up, My Friend Pedro is an extremely fun game and an even enjoyable combat with an interesting story, it innovated on many areas which makes the game more entertaining and unique making it a memorable indie title. A worthwhile purchase.
Left 4 Dead 2, PC
Best zombie shooter game of all time. The OG. We have all played this game one way or another. Extremely satisfying, tense and chaotic zombie shooting. I love the variable paths and rng looting valve has implemented with the AI director, it makes the next couple of playthroughs feel less static. The AI director also controls zombie behavior and it does a very good job at it. This game's zombie AI is top tier, they flank you, surround you, special infected hide when spotted and wait for a better opportunity to attack, and they even strafe while running towards you to make them harder to shoot. After finishing the campaign, I wanted more challenge and played on realism and I'm glad I did. It went from mindless zombie shooter to tactical zombie shooter. There is a big emphasis on teamwork, resource management and strategy in this mode or harder difficulties, its a mode for the big boys. It beats your ass a lot of times but once you reach that safe house, its a better feeling than sex, and you cant change my mind.
The Walking Dead S1, PC
Classic. Finished this for the third time but this time on PC since my previous playthroughs were done on android. Played this again since I had the walking dead collection installed and I been meaning to play S2 for so long now. Still the compelling narrative I know and love, as intense and heartbreaking as my first playthrough. It hit harder when youre older though. I loved the dialogue the most in this game, it let me learn a bunch of new phrases and I appreciate every opportunity that I get to improve my english skills. While you don't really play this for the gameplay but it suffice for the type of interactive narrative they were going for which, love it or hate it, is the telltale formula. Now onto the next installment.
The Walking Dead S2, PC
Finally the moment to answer all my unresolved thoughts has come. It was kinda pathetic how they just threw the OG group away in favor of the new cast, which I don't really vibe with, there were only a few selects I liked. OG group still the best group, perhaps I haven't spent more time with these new ones but I'm open to change my mind in future replays if I'm in the mood. I'm glad atleast one of the original members and my main man in the previous game Kenny came back. I was extremely hyped af the first time seeing him, but seeing him gradually change for the worst to his inevitable downfall as I didn't choose to side with him in the end was really heartbreaking. And that Lee flashback had me feeling like clem, i just want my father figure to come back and protect me from this cruel world. The narrative in this one wasn't as strong to the S1 but this was interesting and a rather nice experience despite some flaws. There was less interactivity here which results in even lesser dialogue in comparison to the first and that bummed me out as I liked exploring every clickable object and exhausting every dialogue opportunity before moving on to the next. Good game but not as great. I'm not as excited to play the next one since I'm not sure if my little bb clem is going to be the star since she's the only one I only care for now.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, PC
Played on a whim since I wanted to play all the decent spidey games available on PC being a spider-man fan and I'm glad I really played this one. One word that I can say about the entirety of this game is that its AMBITIOUS and they nailed it absolutely right. They nailed every ambitious concept they have, from the playable spider-men, unique level design, amount of bosses to the gameplay mechanics. Really an amazing experience despite the clunkiness of old gen.
World War Z, PC
GOTY. Can't believe they just give away this AAA for free. I used to be a skeptic since I heard it has a lot in common with Left 4 Dead and I never really bothered to check more into it but after the Epic giveaway I figured why not and I'm glad I did. Phenomenal level design, gorgeous graphics, quality production and most importantly, solid gameplay. The addition of classes and weapon progression brings a lot of replayability after finishing the main game. The swarm engine that they use is very fascinating, it's baffling how they managed to cram 1k zekes in a single instance without my system not even breaking a sweat! Mad props to Saber Interactive on this one.
Halo Reach, PC
My last game of the year. Decided to download the Master Chief Collection and finally start my journey in the world of Halo. Only reason I played reach first is because it is the first in chronological events and the first title in the MCC menu so I thought why not this will serve as a primer for the main games, but that was not the case. As far as I'm concerned, gameplay and storyline is solid. Though, gunplay felt weak for me, feedback on the enemy getting shot is poor i cant tell if they were even getting hit or not while on the other hand ammo runs out rather quickly for these bullet sponges. Graphics are great looking in its high definition glory. This is my first foray into the world of Halo and I should've played the earlier games first before this so at least I was initiated as to what the hell is going on, nonetheless I still enjoyed it albeit not the full experience I couldve gotten. It doesnt help that there isnt any subtitles in game so I was pretty clueless as to what the hell is going on currently. Playing on Heroic was a mistake since I was in it for the story with the gameplay coming second, despite being extremely frustrated with the annoying AI and one hit explosives I managed to finish it anyway. Due for replay soon once I managed to finish the main games. Also, this is basically star wars rogue one.

Clitche topic/unpopular opinion: PS Plus is big downside in terms of value for money for some people

PlayStation Studios: List of Confirmed, Leaked, Rumored Games

Due to current lack of notable news regarding the PlayStation 5 and how long it passed since a detailed overview on SIE's current and future line of games here, I decided to lump all them together and gather all notable information, confirmations, reports and rumors we've been hearing over the past 2-3 years.
There are so many repetitive question posts, console warring and the like. So consider this just a nice little ('little') post to go through until we'll have new stuff and interesting news in the coming weeks. I hope this will be informative and organized enough.
In case you have more sources, links, credible tweets and the like, don't hesitate to share them so they can be added to this list.

SIE Worldwide Studios - Projects

Naughty Dog
After over three years of anticipation, fears, doubts, delays and controversies, Naughty Dog finally released The Last of Us Part II back in June to critical acclaim and high sales.

Naughty Dog's next big project still seems to be lightyears away, and according to vice president and creative director Neil Druckmann mentioned in a June interview with him that at the time he is still unsure what will be Naughty Dog's next project; it could be a third installment in The Last of Us franchise, or it could be an entirely new IP - which would be ND's first new IP since the original The Last of Us in 2013.
Naughty Dog has been reported (and later confirmed in a tweet) to be working on a successor to "Factions", the multiplayer mode of The Last of Us. The Last of Us Part II was Naughty Dog's first game since Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007) to not include a multiplayer mode at launch, partly to focus most of the resources into the single-player campaign, and partly to fully realize Factions' own ambitions as its own thing. Recently, we also had leaked footage of what appears to be the game in progress.
Finally, and take this with a massive grain of salt given the source, a post originating on 4Chan and later getting reposted on both Reddit and ResetEra claims that Naughty Dog is already working on a new IP, tentatively called Stray's Cross. This game is rumored to be some post-apocalyptic, Steampunk title with first-person perspective, a departure from Naughty Dog's usual third-perspective style. The rumor also mentions that the two leads are a female scientist and a male fugitive. An even earlier rumor (dates to October 2018) by a man called Daniel Richtman (who is apparently correct with his leaks on entertainment stuff) mentions details of one of the leads' casting preferences, of a black/African-American man in his 40's-60's, with a picture of The Walking Dead actor Chad Coleman. Whether this casting refers to the new IP (whose 4Chan rumor came a year later), or something TLOU-related remains to be seen.

Insomniac Games
At the time of this post's writing, Insomniac Games is the most recent member of the SIE Worldwide Studios, having been acquired in 2019 after decades of close relationship with Sony and the PlayStation. Having shipped 2018's Spider-Man to critical acclaim and extremely strong sales, Insomniac Games was one of the first studios to have its rumored PS5 projects shown in June's Future of Gaming event.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales were unveiled during the Future of Gaming event. The former has been either speculated or rumored for a while and is built around the PlayStation 5's SSD to allow its unique dimension-hopping design, and features new playable character in addition to series protagonist Ratchet. The latter is a standalone spin-off to 2018's Spider-Man and has been compared in scope and style to Naughty Dog's Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Miles Morales was also said to be a "complete story" and character arc, and offers a performance mode of 4K / 60 FPS.
Miles Morales, however, is not the only Spider-Man game in works it seems. The first game left several open plot threads for a more proper sequel, and Insomniac Games recently promised that they have plenty to tell regarding Peter's story.
Also just to clear some things about Sunset Overdrive and an hypothetical sequel: Insomniac Games stated they would love making a sequel for the game. As of 2019, Sony - having acquired Insomniac (who owns the rights for the IP) - is now the owner of the Sunset Overdrive IP. However, former SIE Worldwide Studios head Shawn Layden said that the IP is not a priority for Sony at the time of the interview. Whether this will change or has changed after Layden's departure is to be seen.

Guerrilla Games
Guerrilla Games experienced some sort of new breakthrough with the PS4 generation, releasing the beloved Horizon Zero Dawn to great success and creating the acclaimed Decima game engine which was used for Until Dawn (2015) and Death Stranding (2019) in addition to Horizon and 2013's Killzone Shadow Fall.

Horizon Forbidden West was speculated & rumored for a while and was all but confirmed before its full announcement in the Future of Gaming event. It was rumored to have originally started as a PlayStation 4 project before shifting away entirely to Sony's upcoming console. It is slated for a 2021 release and will feature new Machines to take on.
This might be a given, but another pre-announcement report claims that the IP has evolved into a trilogy and Horizon III is all but guaranteed at some point after the second game's launch.
It also seems that Guerrilla Games is working on another project outside the Horizon series (or maybe related to them?); as early as May 2018, the studio has began recruiting for a new unannounced game, which was about to begin full production. It could very well line up with the aforementioned Forbidden West, but perhaps also with another IP. By October of the same year, Guerrilla amassed talent of Rainbow Six: Siege veterans, among them is director Simon Larouche, who previously worked on the universally acclaimed Killzone 2 (2009). The obvious identity of that game might be a new Killzone game, but some rumors claim the game in question is a revival of SOCOM (which otherwise is said to be developed by SIE San Diego).

Sucker Punch Productions
Sucker Punch Productions just shipped its latest game Ghost of Tsushima so it seems like their next project is still years away. In comparison to some of Sony's other studios, it's a somewhat smaller team, with less than 200 employees. Either way, Ghost of Tsushima's ridiculously high sales and positive reception prove they're not going anywhere.

The most obvious candidate to Sucker Punch's next game would be a sequel to Ghost of Tsushima. There is little to say about it that is not speculation, but it is a very likely project to tackle after Ghost of Tsushima sold over 2.4 million copies in three days, becoming Sony's fastest-selling PS4 IP. It should be noted that the Mongol invasion of Japan resumed in 1281), which could be used as the setting of a sequel.
Elsewhere, Sucker Punch renewing the domain of the InFamous site sparked some speculation about the studio returning to its previous series.
Finally, perhaps Sucker Punch will choose to expand on Prophecy, the intriguing tech demo/unreleased game whose footage was leaked during July 2020 and was developed around 2014.

Polyphony Digital
Sony's resident racing game studio, Polyphony Digital is dedicated to the Gran Turismo series. And this isn't going to change any time soon in my opinion. The studio's latest release was 2017's Gran Turismo, which despite being the lowest-rated title in the main franchise, was still a major commercial success and gradually received warmer reception as Polyphony added new content.

Gran Turismo 7, obviously. Even before its official announcement, the game was heavily rumored and its logo was even accidentally leaked back in May 2020. Current release date is unknown.

PixelOpus
This is gonna be a brief one. PixelOpus is Sony's smallest internal studio, and to this date only shipped two games since its inception in 2014. The latest one was 2019's Concrete Genie, which got favorable reviews even if it wasn't a massive sales story. Whatever the studio is working on nowadays remains a mystery, as they finished support for their latest title.

Media Molecule
Media Molecule is Sony's most unique studio in terms of its projects, aiming to push player creativity and interactions more than any other developer under its umbrella. After nearly a decade, the team finally released its latest project Dreams in February 2020 as yet another critically acclaimed platform for creators and designers.

It feels obvious that Media Molecule will primarily focus on Dreams for a while, which in the past was said to be designed for support for a decade and even more. They recently added VR support to the game and creative Mark Healey mentioned that a PlayStation 5 edition of Dreams is the "next big step".
It's currently unknown if Media Molecule is involved in some capacity in Sumo Digital's continuation of its LittleBigPlanet franchise, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, announced during the Future of Gaming event. It should be noted that the studio was involved in LittleBigPlanet 3's early development, which was also primarily developed by Sumo Digital.

SIE Japan Studio
SIE Japan Studio is Sony's biggest studio and its flagship development place. It is a wild card responsible for multiple games of different genres, styles and scope, and tends to collaborate with other developers just as much as it develops its own in-house productions. Some of its most notable games during the PS4 generation include Gravity Rush 2, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission and the Knack duology, as well as co-productions on Bloodborne, The Last Guardian and Shadow of the Colossus remake.

Current known projects include Astro's Playroom (developed by ASOBI Team) as a pre-installed game for the PlayStation 5 and the heavily rumored Demon's Souls remake in co-production with Bluepoint Games, both were unveiled during the Future of Gaming event in June 2020. The former will serve as a presentation of the DualSense controller, and was recently shown by game presenter and gaming personality Geoff Keighley; the latter was said to offer two performance modes based on fidelity or frame rate. Astro's Playroom will launch with the PlayStation 5 during Holiday 2020; no release window for Demon's Souls has been provided.
Due to the nature of this studio it's unknown what else they're working on aside from a few speculations and rumors. Back in January 2017, right around the release of Gravity Rush 2, creative director Keiichiro Toyama (Silent Hill 1, Siren, Gravity Rush) mentioned he'll begin a new project after GR2, while everyone's favorite smiling executive Shuhei Yoshida mentioned that SIE Japan is working on multiple games yet to be announced.
The biggest rumor surrounding this studio is Silent Hill. The rumor apparently dates back to ResetEra, where user KatharsisT claimed that a new game is in development with the aforementioned Toyama as well as series artist Masahiro Ito and series composer Akira Yamaoka, a claim which was apparently verified by the mods there. A fellow 'insider'/'leaker'/whatever you like called Dusk Golem (who got himself caught in controversy recently but I'm sure the majority of you are aware of it) later claimed that it is internally developed by SIE Japan Studio as part of a licensing deal between Sony and Konami. Given Dusk's recent behavior, whether you want to continue to believe his addition to the rumors is up to you.
While from the leaks it sounds like Toyama will be very busy for the coming years, he expressed his desire to make a third Gravity Rush game, though it will likely wait for the now-announced PlayStation 5.
In December 2017, SIE Japan was noted to have trademarked something called Ray Space. What exactly this game is, is unknown. But apparently it's a very ambitious science-fiction game with rumors and hints dating all the way back to 2014.

SIE Bend Studio
After over a decade of working on handheld titles, Bend Studio finally returned to home console AAA development with 2019's Days Gone. It didn't get the rave reviews some other big Sony games got, but players absolutely loved it and the game proved to be a surprise hit with pretty solid sales for a new IP by a somewhat obscure team.

Days Gone ended with a sequel hook, so it's likely that their next project would be a sequel. As of October 2019, the studio was already working on pre-production of their next title and began recruiting new talent. By April 2020, the studio was still recruiting new talent for their next project.

SIE Santa Monica
Santa Monica Studio stands as one of Sony's most acclaimed teams, and is responsible for God of War. After a very uncertain time between 2011 and 2016, including the disappointing results of 2013's God of War: Ascension, lay-offs and the cancellation of an ambitious sci-fi IP, the studio found its footing again with 2018's reimagined God of War, ushering a new dawn on the once-troubled studio.

Let's get this out the way; a fifth God of War game is inevitable. The game has a few open plot threads and is ripe for an even grander sequel after the smashing success in reviews and sales. Hell, director Cory Barlog even said he has ideas for five more games. Cory also suggested he would NOT direct the next game, and a tweet by him from January 2020 mentioned Eric Williams; is he gonna be the director of the next game?
As for other projects, it's been hinted that an entirely new game is in works at SIE SM. Cory already mentioned that he pitched (couldn't find the original tweet, it's buried under two years of tweets and retweets) a new idea to Sony, and since then we've been given cryptic tweets and other hints about this mystery title. Film director Duncan Jones tweeted about what's next for Barlog, and Barlog himself dropped some weird tweet that caused wild speculation. Either way, SIE SM apparently assembles a second team.
Finally, could SIE Santa Monica ever revive their high-profile, cancelled sci-fi game Internal 7? Santa Monica's canned PlayStation 4 exclusive was in development for about three years before lay-offs hit the studio and Sony pulled the plug on the science-fiction game.

SIE London Studio
SIE London primarily focuses on experiences revolving around the PlayStation brand's different applications and accessories. However, after years of being in the background, the studio got the spotlight upon delivering Blood & Truth, a VR shooter that shocked everyone thanks to its quality and production values.

SIE London already began recruiting for a new project by late 2019. As with Blood & Truth, this title is likely to be VR-based. Given the way Blood & Truth sets itself up (see the pattern here?), a sequel is very likely to happen.

SIE San Diego Studio
Like Polyphony Digital, San Diego is best known for doing one flagship series, MLB: The Show, though unlike the former San Diego Studio has ventured into other IPs in a more frequent rate.

MLB: The Show 21 is obviously coming in 2021, though the most interesting aspect about it thus far is that starting with this entry, all future MLB titles will be multiplatform as a result of a new contract between Sony and the MLB association. So expect to see those future games on Xbox and likely the Switch as well.
Also, remember that SOCOM title from Guerilla's part? There is some speculation that the actual developer of the title is not Guerrilla, but San Diego Studio. Given the studio's relatively recent relocation to a new building and a slight revamp to their logo, the studio might work on a new project separated from the MLB series; their last non-MLB games were released in 2017 as collaborations with third-party studios, so there is a notable gap here.

Sony's Secret Studio in San Diego
More or less an open secret by now, Sony founded a new development studio in San Diego circa 2018, within the Visual Art Studio Group of Sony. And for the past two years, it's been recruiting talent from various places, including ex-Naughty Dog environment artist Zack Oliver and Red Dead Redemption 2 senior animator James Martinchek, with senior game designer Quentin Cobb apparently leading the team.

Their first game's identity is yet to be confirmed, though from what I've seen the chief speculation is an Uncharted continuation. The only things we know right now is that the game is probably a third-person action/adventure game and will be in collaboration with another Sony-owned studio.

External Developers - Confirmed, Announced Games

With the exception of Wild, the following titles were announced during Sony's Future of Gaming event.

Demon's Souls remake (TBC) - Bluepoint Games (Shadow of the Colossus remake) in collaboration with SIE Japan Studio (co-developer of the original game and the provider of the original pitch)
Sackboy: A Big Adventure (TBC) - Sumo Digital (LittleBigPlanet 3): A successor to the LittleBigPlanet featuring protagonist Sackboy in a 3D platform style in contrast to the original series' focus on 2.5D levels. Will include co-op mode.
Destruction AllStars (TBC) - Lucid Games (Travel Bug, PlayStation Vita Pets: Puppy Parlour): A vehicular combat video game with apparent focus on multiplayer. Trailer indicates arena fights in which the player can fight on foot in addition to using a vehicle.
Returnal (TBC) - Housemarque (Super Stardust, Dead Nation, Resogun, Alienation, Matterfall): A third-person shootesurvival-horrorougelike title which features an astronaut on a hostile alien planet, stuck in a time loop that relapses every time she dies. The studio had a pretty rough time in recent years, with a decision to stray away from their traditional arcade shooters due to the genre's lackluster footnote in sales. The studio announced its plans to work on an AAA project and licensed the Unreal Engine 4 for the project, putting its other project on hold. It will make extensive use of the DualSense's features.
Wild (TBC) - Wild Sheep Studio: Sony's ambitious yet uncertain survival game was announced all the way back to Gamescom 2014, but has been missing ever since. The latest we heard about the game was regarding some old art resurfacing this year a few months ago. Whether the project has been scrapped or moved to PlayStation 5 is unknown at the time of this writing.

External Developers - Confirmed, Unannounced Games

Suppermassive Games, best known for their development of the 2015 game Until Dawn, mentioned that they are working on "several" unannounced PlayStation titles. Don't expect a direct sequel to Until Dawn, though.

External Developers - Rumored Games & Other News

Impulse Gear, developer of the VR shooter Farpoint, is hiring for its next VR project, said to "redefine AAA VR gaming". Whether this new project is partnered with Sony as a publisher is unknown.
Kojima Productions which developed 2019's Death Stranding has secured enough funding for their next project thanks to their first project's commercial performance, though a recent project has been shafted. Studio head and game director Hideo Kojima expressed his desire to work on a horror game after Death Stranding, and was in talks with actor Norman Reedus (previously collaborated on both the cancelled Silent Hills and Death Stranding) for a future project. Kojima also expressed that he wants to work on a VR game, but at the time of that statement he was not free enough to pursue that project. It's unknown if Kojima's next project will be partnered with Sony as publisher.

------

While Other Ocean Emeryville shot down rumors about a remake of MediEvil 2 (originally developed by the now-defunct Guerrilla Cambridge), the composer of the first game's 2019 remake noted that the game did well commercially. Whether it will manage to warrant a continuation remains unknown.
Sanzaru Games expressed desire to work on a fifth Sly Cooper and finally resolve the cliffhanger of 2013's Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, though they confirmed in December 2019 that they were not working on the project and said that fans should let Sony know they want another game. If a fifth game will ever get made, however, it won't longer come from Sanzaru, which was acquired by Facebook in February 2020.
Ready at Dawn likewise expressed their own desire to make a sequel for its 2015 polarizing game The Order: 1886. And just like Sanzaru, chances for a continuation by the developer are close to zero with the acquisition by Facebook in June 2020. It should be noted that rumors about a sequel to The Order IP formed in January 2020. If such project indeed existed, its current situation is uncertain.
FromSoftware president and creative director Hidetaka Miyazaki said back in late 2019 that his favorite game to work on was 2015's Bloodborne. However he also more or less stated that Bloodborne 2 has yet to be materialized and he is "not the one to decide" about its future. It should be noted that Miyazaki is currently busy with Elden Ring.

Beyond what's written here, there have been many, many rumors, speculations and other stuff about other Sony-related projects:
Rumors about Sony acquiring the likes of Kojima Productions or Remedy Entertainment (Max Payne, Alan Wake, Control). Rumors about an unannounced multiplayer-focused game by Remedy for the PlayStation 5. Rumors about Bloodborne and Dreams coming to PC alongside God of War and the Uncharted PS3 trilogy. Rumors about Horizon Forbidden West including a co-op mode. A fake 'leak' about Spider-Man 2's plot and gameplay details. Rumors about Kojima making up with Konami to revive Silent Hills. Rumors about Sony acquiring Konami's top three IPs. Etc, etc.
I did like the rumor about Castlevania getting a Bloodborne-esque revival.
That's it for now. If you guys have any other substantial or reliable information to add to the post; some worthwhile rumors or leaks, don't hesitate to share so I can update, correct and improve this list.

Next-gen console buying guide - a detailed look at the next generation consoles

Hey /IndianGaming !
A new generation of gaming is nearly upon us, and for those us who aren't PC gamers, that means weighty decisions about which machine to pick as our primary gaming rig for the next six or seven years. Now that we know pretty much everything about the Xbox and PlayStation, let's compare the two to try and discern which console would offer you the best gaming experience and value. I'll do the Xbox first because the difference between the two consoles is larger than with PlayStation.

PS5 vs Xbox - Hardware

Xbox
The Xbox brand has come a long way in the past seven years. The release of the Xbox One was disastrous, plagued by always online, intrusive DRM, high pricing because of Kinect, and a bunch of other silly decisions from clueless execs who were completely out of touch which what gamers wanted. But ever since MS fired Don Mattrick and replaced him with Phil Spencer as the head of the Xbox division, Phil has slowly turned things around, coming up with many new innovations in an effort to get the xbox back up to competing with the big boys.
Their hardware team too went from creating a prohibitively priced but technically weak console, to the most powerful console of this generation. For next gen, they've gone with an even more ambitious vision, creating two consoles at different price points targeting different output resolutions, but hoping to achieve the same level of performance. That's quite the goal! Let's check out the specs.

Component	Xbox Series X	Xbox Series S
CPU	8 Core AMD Zen 2 @3.8Ghz/3.6GhzSMT	8 Core AMD Zen 2 @3.6Ghz/3.4SMT
GPU	AMD RDNA2 GPU 52CU's @1.825 Ghz	AMD RDNA 2 GPU 20 CU's @1.565 Ghz
GPU Power	12.15 Teraflops	4 Teraflops
RAM	10GBGDDR6@560GB's / 6GB@336GB/s	8GBGDDR6@224GB's / 2GB@56GB/s
Storage	1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD w/Velocity	512GB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD w/Velocity
I/O Throughput	2.4 GB/s Uncompressed / 4.8 GB/s Compressed	2.4 GB/s Uncompressed / 4.8 GB/s Compressed
Performance Target	4k UHD	1440p
Disc Drive	4KUHD Blu-Ray	No Disc Drive
Price	₹49,999	₹34,999

Whoo! These are quite beefy machines. The current generation of consoles were actually quite dated even for their time. Not so this time around, these consoles are high end gaming rigs, with the Series X even beating most PC's that took the Steam hardware survey.
Before we go any further though, let's untangle this alphabet soup of tech specs and try and translate it into something readable(tech geeks bear with me, there's a lot of oversimplification here, I know!)
SMT - Stands for Simultaneous MultiThreading. Simultaneous multithreading allows different processes to utilize the same core, allowing for greater efficiency. Basically, a CPU core that could normally only do one thing at a time now spends less time sitting idle, as it works other things while waiting for instructions to finish processing. Sometimes this means way better performance when code is specifically optimized for it, other times it doesn't really matter because code has to wait on a previous operation to finish before starting a new one.
Teraflops - Short for Trillion Floating Point Operations per Second. A floating point operation is basically a standard arithmetic operation(multiplication, division etc) involving decimal numbers(floating points). So the 4 Teraflop Series S GPU, for instance, can do 4 trillion of these a second. Phew!
PCiE/NVMe - Short for Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, PCIe is just a connector standard that transfers data across components. These connectors have various lanes of traffic, so the more lanes a component utilizes, the faster information will flow, like on a road or highway. NVMe(Nonvolatile Memory Express) drives use more lanes than SATA drives probably used by your computer, which means way faster speeds. It's planning a road layout and choosing to use a highway instead of a normal road to make things faster.
Xbox Velocity Architecture - Fancy marketing term for a collection of technologies that aim to increase rendering and texture streaming efficiency i.e squeeze as much juice out of the hardware as possible. It incudes stuff like Sampler Feedback Streaming(tech that allows the hardware to load only the mipmaps that are necessary, reducing I/O because less data has to be sent to RAM to load a frame), improvements to DX, and of course a fast SSD(although less powerful than the one on the PS5). It also enables stuff like Quick Resume.
So what does this all mean for gaming? Well, the Xbox Series X is a way more powerful machine across the board, aimed at hitting a higher performance target. It needs higher specs because it's outputting 4K images as opposed to a target of 1440p on the Series S. Microsoft says the Series S specs have been neatly scaled so the only difference between the two consoles is resolution. Don't take them at their word though, there are bound to be other small differences , resolution will just be the biggest differentiator. So that means both consoles are equipped with technologies like Raytracing, Variable Rate Shading, Sampler Feedback Streaming, all that good next-gen stuff.
But wait...
What the F is Ray Tracing?!
Arguably the defining feature of Next-Generation graphics, Ray tracing is a radical new way to render realistic graphics on-screen. In order to understand how it works, let's think a bit about how graphics are rendered.
The real world is complicated. Very complicated. Trying to recreate that in a game requires the use of various algorithms to simulate various parts of the real world, like a physics engine to handle various forces and collisions, a shadow and reflection maps to handle shadows and reflections, a light map to handle the lighting of a scene, and of course a virtual camera viewport to simulate your eyes. There are a ton of things game developers do to try and recreate the real world as accurately as possible with the processing power available to them, and you can see them if you've ever opened up a game graphics menu where it allows you to toggle certain settings, or 'tricks' on or off, that were developed to make scenes look more realistic.
So where does ray tracing come in? Well, Raytracing is meant to replace 'fake' methods of rendering stuff like lighting and shadows by attempting to realistically simulate the way lighting and shadows actually work in the real world. If you've ever taken a high school physics class, you'll know that light travels in the form of rays - reflecting, refracting, getting absorbed etc ad infinitum. Ray tracing is the process by which computers attempt to simulate this in an effort to make scenes look more realistic than what can be achieved by artificial tricks.
For instance, check out Raytraced minecraft
Wow! Quite the quantum jump there, right? While minecraft's graphics were never technically very impressive, with raytracing everything looks so much nicer. Water actually looks like water and not blue lines, dark caves actually look dark and not just black, lava actually behaves like lava instead of looking like someone spilled some red paint on a light source, everything just looks that much more realistic.
It's achieved by each pixel, both inside and outside the scene(traditional rendering methods typically only consider pixels inside the scene for lighting and shadows) casting off a ray of light, the path of which is then traced around the scene until it hits a light source or an artificial limit. This eliminates the need for manually providing lightmaps or reflection details, because those can be simulated in real time and look even better. As you can imagine, it's very computationally intensive, which is why we haven't really see it go mainstream in gaming until now. Even with the monsters that are this-gen consoles, they probably won't be able to hit their performance targets with full RT. From what we can see so far, the Xbox Series X will likely run at 4k30 with RT, and the Series S will run at 1080p30 with RT.
Alright that's enough about Raytracing for now, back to the console comparison.
Some quick FAQs

Is there any benefit to getting the Series X if I don't have a 4k TV? - Yes, but probably not a 15k difference. The Series X will still be processing higher resolution textures and might even give you better framerates in games, but the primary reason to get a Series X over the S if you don't have a 4k TV will probably just be to future-proof yourself in case you ever do decide to buy one in the future
Why would I need Quick Resume? - A strange question, but one I have nevertheless seen asked a fair number of times. To clarify, you don't really 'use' quick resume as you benefit from it. Just opening a game will take you right back to the state it was in when you last closed it, so you don't need to sit through loading screens, menus, or studio logos to get in the game. It also persists across cold boots.
What are the PC equivalents to the Xbox Series X specs? - The Series X GPU lies somewhere between the RTX 2080 Super and the RTX 2080 ti as far as raw performance is concerned. As for the CPU, the closest PC equivalent would probably be the AMD Ryzen 7 3700x, or a less than an Intel i7 9700k.

PS5
Arguably the more highly anticipated console, the PS5 succeeds the PS4, which absolutely crushed the Xbox One this generation in terms of sales and games. Fueled by phenomenal exclusives like God of War, Spiderman, Bloodborne, TLOU2 etc, the PS4 juggernaut's got quite a bit of momentum going into this generation. Sadly as we all know, it hit a bit of a legal hiccup coming to India so it'll be delayed. We also don't know as much about it as we do the Xbox because Sony hasn't actually sent out any units to Influencers/Reviewers yet, so all we have to go on are the specs, demos, and teardowns that Sony themselves have provided.
This generation, Sony's offering two variants of the PS5, but in contrast to Microsoft's strategy, both their consoles are equally powerful and offer basically the same gaming experience, the only difference being that one plays discs while the other doesn't. The price difference between the two consoles is also 10k as opposed to 15k with the Xbox.
Because the consoles share identical specs, I won't be comparing them with each other. Instead, let's compare them to the Xboxes. Here's the same table again, except with PS5 in the middle this time.

Component	Xbox Series X	PlayStation 5	Xbox Series S
CPU	8 Core AMD Zen 2 @3.8Ghz/3.6GhzSMT	8 Core AMD Zen 2 CPU varfreq* upto 3.5GhzSMT	8 Core AMD Zen 2 @3.6Ghz/3.4SMT
GPU	AMD RDNA2 GPU 52CU's @1.825 Ghz	AMD RDNA 2 GPU 36CUs varfreq upto 2.23Ghz	AMD RDNA 2 GPU 20 CU's @1.565 Ghz
GPU Power	12.15 Teraflops	10.3 Teraflops	4 Teraflops
RAM	10GBGDDR6@560GB's / 6GB@336GB/s	16GB GDDR6 RAM @ 448GB/s	8GBGDDR6@224GB's / 2GB@56GB/s
Storage	1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD w/Velocity	Custom 825GB SSD	512GB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD w/Velocity
I/O Throughput	2.4 GB/s Uncompressed / 4.8 GB/s Compressed	5.5GBs Uncompressed / 8-9 GB/s Compressed	2.4 GB/s Uncompressed / 4.8 GB/s Compressed
Performance Target	4k UHD	4k UHD	1440p
Disc Drive	4KUHD Blu-Ray	Optional Disc Drive	No Disc Drive
Price	₹49,999	₹39,999/₹49,999	₹34,999

*varfreq = variable frequency
On paper, the Xbox Series X is the most powerful console, then the PlayStations, with the Series S coming in at a distant third. The Series X has a slightly faster CPU, a significantly faster GPU, and slightly faster RAM than the PS5. Meanwhile, the PS5 has the edge in I/O throughput, which is about twice as fast as that on the Series X when it comes to raw numbers.
What do these numbers actually mean for games? Well, we just don't know yet, because multiplats have yet to be benchmarked on the PS5. Sony seems to be playing their cards close to the vest, and haven't given their hardware to any reviewers to try. It's a safe guess to say that games will probably look slightly better on the Series X with maybe slightly better performance, but the difference is unlikely to be significant and probably won't matter to most casual gamers. Meanwhile, the difference in I/O throughput could mean that the PS5 will possibly load worlds and start up games faster than the Series X. It will probably be most noticeable in exclusive first party titles that are coded to specifically take advantage of the SSD.
Let's discuss hardware value by price. When it comes to price, the best value hardware wise is clearly the PS5 DE. For merely 5k more than the Series S you're getting 3-4x the processing power. If you have a 4k TV at home, it's probably not worth considering the Series S, just the PS5 and the Series X. Maybe when the Series S is more reasonably priced in India according to the $1 = ₹100 rule it could be a contender, but as of now, it's my personal opinion that the Series S is just not good value in India for those who have a 4K TV at home and the budget to afford one.
But of course there's more to a system than just hardware. Now that we've drawn up some specs comparisons, let's get down to the software side.

PS5 vs Xbox- Software

For most gamers, this will be the real meat of the comparison. The power differences between the PS5 and the Xbox Series X are probably not significant enough on their own to decide a purchase, so for most casual gamers, software is what will decide it.
Xbox
By far the biggest difference software side on the Xbox is Xbox Game Pass. Love or hate Xbox, you can't deny that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is quite simply the best value in gaming right now. Following this guide from the subreddit , you can get 3 years of it for as low as ₹7500. In case you've been living under a rock, here's what you get with Xbox Game Pass.

Xbox Live Gold (Multiplayer and Games with Gold)
Access to a growing and rotating library of ~350 games(as part of PC+Console. Console only - ~250 Games)
Perks - This can sometimes include cool stuff like the presently included 3 months of Discord Nitro, but so far for the most part I've not found it to be of too much use unless you play a lot of free to play games like World of Tanks or Warframe.
xCloud - Not really relevant in India right now, but if you go the 3 years of gamepass route it might be a nice bonus down the line. It's possible to access xCloud right now with a VPN, but it's not a great experience.
EA Play - Game Pass will also soon include access to EA Play, the basic tier of their subscription service, including very popular games like FIFA, Battlefield, Sims, etc. It also includes trials of the latest EA games.
A 20% Discount on buying the games included in Game Pass, if you decide to buy them to keep.

It's also worth noting that all future Xbox Games Studios games will land on Xbox Game Pass Day 1, which is a really good value considering that Xbox now has 23 studios making games. While most of them are a ways off, it looks like a good lineup, especially if you're into RPG's.
Game Pass is pretty much the USP of the Xbox right now. For gamers on limited budgets, it's just tremendous value. For ₹700 per month(It's regionally priced too!), you get to play way more games and have much more fun with your console than you could have had without the service. For many, this could possibly be the decider.
The second big difference, of course, is in the exclusives. Here's what the upcoming Xbox exclusive lineup looks like -

Halo Infinite
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Senua's Saga - Hellblade 2
Avowed
Fable
Everwild
Forza Motorsport
Starfield
The Elder Scrolls VI

It's also worth noting that all these games will still go on PC Game Pass Day 1. If you have a PC capable of running these games when they come out, then missing out on Xbox games shouldn't really be an issue or a deciding factor.
The third big difference is in backwards compatibility. The Series X and S will be compatible with every single Xbox One game, a lot of the most popular Xbox 360 games, and some of the most popular OG Xbox games. Here's the full list of 607 supported titles. It's great if you're already invested in the platform or are nostalgic for old titles like Burnout Revenge, Red Dead Redemption, Black Ops 2, Fallout New Vegas, etc. Probably won't be a big thing for most people, but for those it will help, it can make a purchase.
there's also a bunch of conveniences like quick resume and play anywhere. Quick Resume works like a save state where the console just loads back to where you last were when you quit the game instead of starting the game afresh. It works with multiple games at a time and persists even if you pull the plug on the Xbox. Play Anywhere works with some titles where your saves carry over from Xbox to PC. Nice to have, but not anything major.
Finally, an important note - unlike the PS5, even Free to Play games need a subscription to play online. So yeah, you can't play stuff like Fortnite or Warzone without a live gold or game pass ultimate subscription. If you spend a lot of time playing F2P games and can't afford game pass, this is a significant downside that might even be a dealbreaker, depending on how much time you spend playing F2P and how broke you are.
Quick FAQ's
Will future Bethesda Games be Xbox exclusive? - We still don't have definitive confirmation on whether future Bethesda titles will be exclusive, but it's highly likely that they will be, considering that Minecraft excluded, no other Microsoft first party studio currently develops games for other platforms. Phil Spencer also recently went on record to say that they're not worried about losing out on PS sales. Keep in mind that games like DOOM, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, will sell many Xboxes if they go exclusive. So while we can't claim anything definitively either way, don't buy a PS5 expecting to play these games for sure.
What's the best deal on Game Pass? - Currently it's the 3 year gold conversion deal. It probably won't last forever, so don't pass up the opportunity. Follow the guide linked above.
Are PC and Console Game Pass the same? - No. They are similar services but have different libraries. While all Xbox Games Studios games will release Day 1 on both platforms, major third party titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 are not likely to hit PC game pass.
PS5
Software wise, the biggest reason to buy the PS5 are for its exclusives. So far, PS4 exclusives blow Microsoft's out of the water. God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man, The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, time and again Sony has proven that they have some of the best studios out there. The PS5 will certainly have some spectacular games. Here's what the upcoming PS5 exclusive lineup looks like -

Spider-Man : Miles Morales(Launch)
Demon's Souls (Launch)
God of War - Ragnarok
Ratchet and Clank : A Rift Apart
Gran Turismo 7
Sackboy - A Big Adventure
Godfall
Final Fantasy 16 (timed)
Deathloop, Ghostwire(timed)

The majority of these games will most likely only be playable on PlayStation i.e they won't be coming to PC, so that's another thing to keep in mind when deciding which system to buy. They'll all mostly be phenomenal games, Sony titles usually are, especially first party ones.
On the downside, great games can be quite expensive. As you've heard, Sony has confirmed that all PS5 first party exclusives will be 4999 going forward(no regional pricing). So if you care about playing Ratchet and Clank/God of WaGran Turismo at launch, be ready to shell out the cash. Personally I don't believe 5k for a single player game is worth it in India, but of course it depends on your personal finances.
To alleviate this somewhat we have PS Now and the PS Plus collection, Sony's answer to Game Pass. The PS Plus collection includes a lot of popular PS4 exclusives and some third party titles like Arkham Knight and Fallout 4. It's a really good deal if you're jumping into the PS ecosystem for the first time, but those who already own PS5's will probably already have played most of the games on there and will only benefit once they grow the service.
Sony also a bunch of conveniences in the UI like activites, which let you jump right into a certain part of the game. It's also rumored to have some sort of quick resume, but nothing's been confirmed in that regard yet.
As for Backwards Compatibility, Sony has confirmed that the PS5 will be BC with nearly all PS4 titles, but PS1,2,and 3 games will be left to history. Regrettable, but probably not a dealbreaker for most people.
So on the Sony side, we have some killer exclusives but not as much value with highly priced games and no game pass.

Verdict

So, for the most important question, which one do you get? Well, even after 21,000 words I won't really pretend to have an answer. There are too many variables to consider. How invested you are in a particular ecosystem, your personal financial situation, the type of games you like, etc. That said, I have some broad recommendations -

If you have already have a 4k TV and have/plan to buy online - The PS5 DE is the way to go. The asinine pricing of the Series S in India makes this particular situation an easy call in my opinion. Yeah games will be expensive, but if you have the budget to buy a 4k TV maybe you can afford it. If not, you could always wait and pick up the games later when they go on sale. Kind of a bummer, but you'd still be playing on better hardware and actually putting your 4k TV to good use, instead of wasting its potential on the Series S. Maybe this will change if the Series S ever comes down in price, but for now this is the easiest reco to make.
If you don't own a 4k TV and are strapped for cash(maybe you lost your job during rona), get the Series S. The Series S gets a lot of flak from hardcore gamers but IMO it is still a great gaming machine. for those upgrading from the Xbox One/One S/PS4/PS4 Slim it will still be a huge upgrade. Don't get carried away by 4k Marketing. 1440p gaming still looks great, and if the Series S can keep its promises of 1440p 60fps or even 1080p w/ Raytracing, games will look gorgeous and play great. Game Pass is also phenomenal value, and you get to play way more games for cheaper than on the PS4.
If neither of these statements are close to your use case, don't consider the Series S or the PS5 DE. The PS5 DE might be a tempting buy for those who own discless collections and want to save money, but that would be a mistake. You're probably going to be playing on this console for at least 5-6 years, and are going to buy many games in that time. With PS5 games priced as highly as they are, you're almost certainly going to make up the difference and more buying expensive non-regionally priced games. The PS5 might cost more, but buying physical will save you a ton of money over digital purchases.
XSX vs PS5 is kind of a toss-up. XSX is compact and more powerful and is overall better value with Game Pass, but doesn't have many next-gen games to play at launch(most Xbox heavy hitters are landing much later). Meanwhile the PS5 has Demon's Souls and Miles Morales which comes with Spider Man Remastered. Personally I would go with an XSX in this situation because it's better value and will probably have more exclusives down the line(I don't mind waiting), but if you're eager to get on the next-gen hype train as soon as possible or are already invested in the PS ecosystem/you just love PS games that much, the PS5 is also a pretty good purchase. Definitely the hardest call to make.
If you are much into WRPGS, go with Xbox. Microsoft has a solid lock on western RPG's this generation, with titles like Fable, Avowed, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and Starfield. Given that Sony doesn't really make these sorts of games themselves and there aren't that many big WRPG devs left(CDPR and BioWare are pretty much the only ones I think?), you're better off going with Xbox if you're a fan of these sorts of games.

Closing Thoughts

Phew! This write-up turned out to be a lot longer than I had initially expected. It was quite a bit of work writing it, and I did quite a bit of research to ensure that it's as accurate as possible. I'm still human so I've probably made some mistakes still, so please feel free to correct me if you spot an error.
And of course, these are ultimately just my thoughts on the matter as someone who owns and plays on both consoles right now, as well as PC, and will probably end up getting both new consoles down the line. I've tried to keep this as unbiased as possible, but if you feel I've misrepresented something or left something out, do weigh in in the comments and help other people out.
Tl;Dr - Consoles good, console war bad.

Oh so you like minecraft?

Name every title screen splash
Ok
As seen on TV!
Awesome!
100% pure!
May contain nuts!
More polygons!
Moderately attractive!
Limited edition!
Flashing letters!
It's here!
Best in class!
It's finished!
Kind of dragon free!
Excitement!
More than 500 sold!
One of a kind!
Heaps of hits on YouTube!
Indev!
Spiders everywhere!
Check it out!
Holy cow, man!
It's a game!
Made in Sweden!
Uses LWJGL!
Reticulating splines!
Minecraft!
Yaaay!
Singleplayer!
Keyboard compatible!
Ingots!
Exploding creepers!
That's no moon!
l33t!
Create!
Survive!
Dungeon!
Exclusive!
The bee's knees!
Closed source!
Classy!
Wow!
Not on steam!
Oh man!
Awesome community!
Pixels!
Teetsuuuuoooo!
Kaaneeeedaaaa!
Now with difficulty!
Enhanced!
90% bug free!
Pretty!
12 herbs and spices!
Fat free!
Absolutely no memes!
Free dental!
Ask your doctor!
Minors welcome!
Cloud computing!
Legal in Finland!
Hard to label!
Technically good!
Bringing home the bacon!
Indie!
GOTY!
Ceci n'est pas une title screen!
Euclidian!
Now in 3D!
Inspirational!
Herregud!
Complex cellular automata!
Yes, sir!
Played by cowboys!
OpenGL 2.1 (if supported)!
Thousands of colors!
Try it!
Age of Wonders is better!
Try the mushroom stew!
Sensational!
Hot tamale, hot hot tamale!
Play him off, keyboard cat!
Guaranteed!
Macroscopic!
Bring it on!
Random splash!
Call your mother!
Monster infighting!
Loved by millions!
Ultimate edition!
Freaky!
You've got a brand new key!
Water proof!
Uninflammable!
Whoa, dude!
All inclusive!
Tell your friends!
NP is not in P!
Music by C418!
Livestreamed!
Haunted!
Polynomial!
Terrestrial!
All is full of love!
Full of stars!
Scientific!
Not as cool as Spock!
Collaborate and listen!
Never dig down!
Take frequent breaks!
Not linear!
Han shot first!
Nice to meet you!
Buckets of lava!
Ride the pig!
Larger than Earth!
sqrt(-1) love you!
Phobos anomaly!
Punching wood!
Falling off cliffs!
1% sugar!
150% hyperbole!
Synecdoche!
Let's danec!
Seecret Friday update!
Reference implementation!
Kiss the sky!
20 GOTO 10!
Verlet intregration!
Peter Griffin!
Do not distribute!
Cogito ergo sum!
4815162342 lines of code!
A skeleton popped out!
The sum of its parts!
BTAF used to be good!
I miss ADOM!
umop-apisdn!
OICU812!
Bring me Ray Cokes!
Finger-licking!
Thematic!
Pneumatic!
Sublime!
Octagonal!
Une baguette!
Gargamel plays it!
Rita is the new top dog!
SWM forever!
Representing Edsbyn!
Matt Damon!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Consummate V's!
Cow Tools!
Double buffered!
Fan fiction!
Flaxkikare!
Jason! Jason! Jason!
Hotter than the sun!
Internet enabled!
Autonomous!
Engage!
Fantasy!
DRR! DRR! DRR!
Kick it root down!
Regional resources!
Woo, facepunch!
Woo, somethingawful!
Woo, /v/!
Woo, tigsource!
Woo, worldofminecraft!
Woo, reddit!
Woo, 2pp!
Google anlyticsed!
Now supports åäö!
Give us Gordon!
Tip your waiter!
Very fun!
12345 is a bad password!
Vote for net neutrality!
Lives in a pineapple under the sea!
MAP11 has two names!
Omnipotent!
Gasp!
...!
Bees, bees, bees, bees!
Jag känner en bot!
This text is hard to read if you play the game at the default resolution, but at 1080p it's fine!
Haha, LOL!
Hampsterdance!
Menger sponge!
idspispopd!
Eple (original edit)!
So fresh, so clean!
Slow acting portals!
Try the Nether!
Don't look directly at the bugs!
Oh, ok, Pigmen!
Finally with ladders!
Scary!
Play Minecraft, Watch Topgear, Get Pig!
Twittered about!
Jump up, jump up, and get down!
Joel is neat!
A riddle, wrapped in a mystery!
This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be!
Welcome to your Doom!
Stay a while, stay forever!
Stay a while and listen!
Treatment for your rash!
"Autological" is!
Information wants to be free!
"Almost never" is an interesting concept!
Lots of truthiness!
The creeper is a spy!
Turing complete!
It's groundbreaking!
Let our battle's begin!
The sky is the limit!
Jeb has amazing hair!
Ryan also has amazing hair!
Casual gaming!
Undefeated!
Kinda like Lemmings!
Follow the train, CJ!
Leveraging synergy!
This message will never appear on the splash screen, isn't that weird?
DungeonQuest is unfair!
90210!
Check out the far lands!
Tyrion would love it!
Also try VVVVVV!
Also try Super Meat Boy!
Also try Terraria!
Also try Mount And Blade!
Also try Project Zomboid!
Also try World of Goo!
Also try Limbo!
Also try Pixeljunk Shooter!
Also try Braid!
That's super!
Bread is pain!
Read more books!
Khaaaaaaaaan!
Less addictive than TV Tropes!
More addictive than lemonade!
Bigger than a bread box!
Millions of peaches!
Fnord!
This is my true form!
Don't bother with the clones!
Pumpkinhead!
Made by Jeb!
Has an ending!
Finally complete!
Feature packed!
Boots with the fur!
Stop, hammertime!
Testificates!
Conventional!
Homeomorphic to a 3-sphere!
Doesn't avoid double negatives!
Place ALL the blocks!
Does barrel rolls!
Meeting expectations!
PC gaming since 1873!
Ghoughpteighbteau tchoghs!
Déjà vu!
Déjà vu!
Got your nose!
Haley loves Elan!
Afraid of the big, black bat!
Doesn't use the U-word!
Child's play!
See you next Friday or so!
From the streets of Södermalm!
150 bpm for 400000 minutes!
Technologic!
Funk soul brother!
Pumpa kungen!
日本ハロー！
한국 안녕하세요!
Helo Cymru!
Cześć Polsko!
你好中国！
Привет Россия!
Γεια σου Ελλάδα!
My life for Aiur!
Lennart lennart = new Lennart();
I see your vocabulary has improved!
Who put it there?
You can't explain that!
if not ok then return end
§1C§2o§3l§4o§5r§6m§7a§8t§9i§ac
§kFUNKY LOL
Big Pointy Teeth!
Bekarton guards the gate!
Mmmph, mmph!
Don't feed avocados to parrots!
Swords for everyone!
Plz reply to my tweet!
.party()!
Take her pillow!
Put that cookie down!
Pretty scary!
I have a suggestion.
Now with extra hugs!
Now Java 8!
Woah.
HURNERJSGER?
What's up, Doc?
Now contains 32 random daily cats!
That's Numberwang!
pls rt
Do you want to join my server?
Put a little fence around it!
Throw a blanket over it!
One day, somewhere in the future, my work will be quoted!
Now with additional stuff!
Extra things!
Yay, puppies for everyone!
So sweet, like a nice bon bon!
Very influential in its circle!
Now With Multiplayer!
Rise from your grave!
Warning! A huge battleship "STEVE" is approaching fast!
Blue warrior shot the food!
Run, coward! I hunger!
Flavor with no seasoning!
Strange, but not a stranger!
Tougher than diamonds, rich like cream!
It swings, it jives!
Cruising streets for gold!
Take an eggbeater and beat it against a skillet!
Make me a table, a funky table!
Take the elevator to the mezzanine!
Stop being reasonable, this is the Internet!
/give u/a hugs 64
This is good for Realms.
Any computer is a laptop if you're brave enough!
Do it all, everything!
Where there is not light, there can spider!
GNU Terry Pratchett
More Digital!
doot doot
Falling with style!
There's no stopping the Trollmaso
Throw yourself at the ground and miss
Rule #1: it's never my fault
Replaced molten cheese with blood?
Absolutely fixed relatively broken coordinates
Boats FTW
Javalicious edition
Should not be played while driving
You're going too fast!
Don't feed chocolate to parrots!
The true meaning of covfefe
An illusion! What are you hiding?
Something's not quite right...
Thank you for the fish!
All rumors are true!
Truly gone fishing!
Rainbow turtle?
Something funny!
I need more context.
Ahhhhhh!
Don't worry, be happy!
Water bottle!
What's the question?
Plant a tree!
Go to the dentist!
What do you expect?
Look mum, I'm in a splash!
It came from space.
Awesome game design right there!
Ph1lza had a good run!
10 years of Mining and Crafting!
Ping the human!
In case it isn't obvious, foxes aren't players.
Buzzy Bees!
Minecraft Java Edition presents: Disgusting Bugs
Wash your hands!
Soap and water!
Support local businesses!
Stay home and play games!
Stay safe!
Stay strong!
Cough or sneeze into your elbow!
Don’t touch your face!
Support elderly relatives and friends!
Prepare, but don’t hoard!
Gamers unite – separately in your own homes!
Save the world – stay inside!
Shop for your elders!
Hang out with your friends online!
Honey, I grew the bees!
Find your claw!
Everybody do the Leif!
<3 Max & 99 & Ducky!
Bushy eyebrows!
Edit is a name!
From free range developers!
Music by Lena Raine!
Aww man!
#minecraftfarms
And my pickaxe!
Envision! Create! Share!
Fabulous graphics!
Also try Minecraft Dungeons!
Vanilla!
May contain traces of citrus!
Zoglin!?
Black lives matter!
Be anti-racist!
Learn about allyship!
Speak OUT against injustice and UP for equality!
Amplify and listen to BIPOC voices!
Educate your friends on anti-racism!
Support the BIPOC community and creators!
Stand up for equality in your community!

[REQUEST] [CONSOLE] [PH] Nintendo Switch Lite (Old or Cheap New)

Hello GoG, I'm Marco. I've only started using my Reddit regularly recently because I'm a busy college student and I never had time to start acting freely again because of the pandemic. I thought I might as well start using Reddit again because I don't really know what to do with my free time other than study.
So here's my story. I'm feeling emotional so please, bear with my extremely long post. Even if nobody gives me the console, it would make my day if someone actually read this through.
I've always been a gamer guy, playing strategy games on PC like Command and Conquer: Generals (my first game), LotR: Battle for Middle-Earth, Civilization, and FPS games like Counter-Strike, Black Hawk Down, and the first two Call of Duty games (it's the PH so all of these games were pirated lol). These games became part of my childhood and really shaped my interests growing up.
I grew up in a conservative and strict household. My parents divorced when I was 3. Of course as a child, I never really thought about it too much because I don't really remember anything except when I got my hands on an old computer my dad bought. I had a lot of fun and I felt like I had everything I needed; I had my dad who would play the games with me occasionally and I had the video games that I enjoyed playing.
Things changed when my dad got married again.
She really didn't like me and dad started becoming distant. She always ridiculed me and kept me away from the computer and dad. I only found solace in sleeping in my grandparents' room (we lived in their house). When they moved out because of fighting, they forgot to bring the computer. It was the first time in years since I got to play and when we got home from church, I booted up Spider-Man and played the hell out of it not only because I missed playing the game, but I also wanted to keep myself busy from the drama.
Growing up, I've always been bullied and ridiculed by my classmates and relatives because I wasn't the "ideal" kid who played sports or music, just a kid who loved playing video games. I wasn't the academic kind either, always barely getting into the honors list because I talked more about games rather than school subjects (Asian parents sigh). My parents really hated that I talked to my half-brother about games (the one thing that really bonded us to this day) as if I was a virus infecting their children. I at least had a small circle of friends who also played video games a lot, but they always made their parents proud and happy so they never really felt the way I do. Even my half-siblings get the stuff they want because they're their ideal kids. They get gifts, I don't. They get love, I don't. I'm the black sheep.
It really escalated when I didn't take a science high school curriculum exam because I was sick. My dad was super disappointed and sent me to regular high school. I thought it wouldn't be too bad but I was an immature brat back then. It was the worst 4 years of my life, away from my friends and I had to go through school being alone because I had nothing in common with anyone. Everyone was the "normie" stereotype, athletic and social and all that. That was the time I started playing Adventure Quest Worlds and League because at least online gaming had some sort of social interaction, some I still talk with to this day.
In my 9th grade, I got a failing grade on a subject and my dad unloaded on me. He blamed gaming for turning me into what I became. That day changed me because I realized what I've lost, also because I stopped playing League because of how I'm stuck in limbo with my rank. I started becoming more of a normie (without the athletic qualities of course). I started trying in school and making friends. I even had a somewhat-girlfriend and it was probably the best days of my junior high school life. When I graduated high school, I was able to get a scholarship with my grades (no money but I'm fully paid which is awesome)
Life was good.
Was.
I'm now studying in a course I half-like and half-dislike. I wanted to be a geologist but the program wasn't available locally, and my parents were unwilling to support me outside. I love what I'm doing because I know it can buy me out of the depression I feel and I can start a new life away from all of them, but I hate it because I've become lonely and all the friends I made are away again. I lost my girlfriend because I was socially inept and stressed. Worst of all, I'm playing into my parents' hands again and I never got to make the choices I wanted to make because, without support, they're out of my reach.
What made me realize this? RPGs.
With the scholarship, we got student laptops. Of course, with college being so strict and everything, I never got to play all the online games I used to play nor the strategy games I grew up playing because they just stress me out even more. I needed something to unwind. While looking for games on Google, I found Fire Emblem: Awakening (a strategy RPG). It was one of the best games I've ever played (Others might not share the sentiment because it's too easy, but as a newcomer to the series, it was awesome.) College was strict and limiting, so it took me like a week to even finish the game (I would play the most on Saturday nights)
From there, I started delving into other RPGs (mostly ones where I can create my own character) that my laptop could handle like FE Fates, Skyrim (surprisingly), Trails of Cold Steel, Fable 3, Dragon Age Origins, Fallout 3, and even other games that kind of branch out the RPG genre but still have that "I'm the character" feel like the Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires and WWE Smackdown HCTP. My love for video games had been reinvigorated.
What drew me towards these games? Living a life where I can decide how I want to live it. These games made me realize that I'm not in control of my own life. That I'm letting others decide what I want to do with it. I've come to envy the lives of the characters I've played in these games because they get to have happy endings while I envy that my life isn't all that liberating. I would sleep late because I would think deeply about life (Watching Oregairu didn't help either.) I've reverted back to the person I was proud of being, but I was also sad because I don't have the hardware to play the newer games.
It didn't help when Fire Emblem: Three Houses got released.
I saw the trailer while I was binging Youtube and I thought it was alright. After playing Fire Emblem, I would definitely love to play the game. The graphics, the gameplay, the new stuff, everything. I would avoid spoilers every darn time if it meant getting the most out of playing the game if I ever did. My problem is that I don't have a Switch and I don't have money (nor allowance) for one. I've saved up like 2K pesos (40 USD) with my quarantine savings for the past year but I know it will be a while till I actually get one, which I can't wait for anymore because we're already moving towards the next-gen and I have only ever played a few current-gen games like Trails of Cold Steel III and Civ VI, games I can hardly play because they crash my laptop midway or their performance turns me off.
One year later, I was sent back to my painful household due to quarantine protocols. I'm not being ridiculed as I used to when playing these games but I doubt they really care about what I do anymore. I replayed all my RPGs and old games but that's not as fun as playing new ones so I usually just stare at my screen nowadays, and now and I'm going back to college for laboratory classes. I'm going to be stranded at school with so much work and no time for myself, and only doing school stuff would kill my brain.
My birthday is coming up next week and I am once again spending it away from home. I know it's a long shot but it would mean the world to me to get a Switch. I could use my savings to get Three Houses, Civ VI, and maybe a game one of y'all could recommend to me. I could finally call something I want my own, and it would be the greatest feeling ever.
I don't have a gaming account since I've always pirated games, so I suppose Reddit will have to do.
https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/nintendo-switch-lite-handheld-unit-i390272225.html
Thank you to anyone who actually read this through.

pc games free play online spider man video

KidzSearch Free Online Games for Kids. Features the Best Learning and Skill Games. Ultimate Spider-Man is a high quality game that works in all major modern web browsers. This online game is part of the Adventure, Action, Emulator, and GBA gaming categories. Ultimate Spider-Man has 418 likes from 466 user ratings. If you enjoy this game then also play games Ultimate Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic ... Play free online Spider-Man games for kids and families, including exclusive games, puzzle games, action games, racing games & more on Marvel HQ! There are 40 Spiderman games on 4J.Com, such as Spider Warrior, Spider-man Hidden Stars and Spiderman And Elsa Kiss. We have picked the best Spiderman games which you can play online for free. All of these games can be played online directly, without register or download needed. Spider-man Games to play online on your web browser for free. KBH Games Favorites Home New Games Best Of New Action 2 Player Puzzle Shooting Sports Arcade Fighting Racing RPG Retro Multiplayer Funny Run Skill Educational Simulation Platformer Strategy Casual Word Card Board Car Bike Soccer Animal Cartoon Sonic Mario Minecraft Star Wars Lego ... Spider-Man 3 April 12, 2017. Updated: February 9, 2021. Are you ready to play Spider-Man and have fun with the net? Disable your enemies with your agile moves. Marvel Comics' friendly neighborhood wall-crawler makes his 3D debut with Spider-Man for the PlayStation. Bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter Parker (a.ka. Spider-Man) has super-human strength, the reflexes and agility of a spider, the ability to stick to walls and most other surfaces and Spider-Sense, which is an internal sensor that warns him of pending danger. Play Spider-Man Games online in your browser. Play Emulator has the largest collection of the highest quality Spider-Man Games for various consoles such as GBA, SNES, NES, N64, SEGA, and more. Start playing by choosing a Spider-Man Emulator game from the list below. Free Online Games Jeu-Fille Free Girl Games Mahjong Flash ... Spider-Man. All Games » Kids Games. PLAY GAME. The Amazing Spider-Man. The Amazing Spider-Man. 9 / 10 - 4517 votes . Played 945 223 times. Kids Games. New York is facing a rising crime rate and is in great need of the superhero powers of Spider Man to clean Manhattan of all these ... Spider-Man's attacks can be including weapons and it has made pistols, machine guns, bombs, grenades, blanks and famous secret weapon spider, spider web over throwing everything he wants. Friv-games.com team wishes you increase the game and invites you to try each Spiderman game that we add every day superhero dedicated to this category.

Spiderman Games Online (FREE) - Play-Games.com

pc games free play online spider man

pc games free play online spider man - win

My Year In Gaming: Pandemic Edition (34 Mini Reviews & Stats Because I'm A Nerd)