Monthly in a Month #24: The Brutal Edition

I think I'm gonna give this a try!

Not sure if I will be capable of doing this but I will give it ago will start with :

Yakuza Kiwami 2
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

Im gonna pick every game from January 2016 Humble Monthly #3, because i didn't played any and it's simpler this way

im gonna start with Mushroom 11, looks simple enough
Edit: 6/7 but the last level is pain

1. Mafia Definitive Edition - [A Life of Crime] https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197973803229/stats/1030840/?tab=achievements
2. Henry Stickmin Collection - [Ending:SSR] https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197973803229/stats/1089980/?tab=achievements
3. Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Heart of the Forest - [An Old Friend] https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197973803229/stats/1342620/?tab=achievements
4. Paradise Lost - [Acceptance] https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197973803229/stats/982720/?tab=achievements
5. Everhood - [Adventure Continues] https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197973803229/stats/1229380/?tab=achievements
6. Owlboy - [Ancient Memories] https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197973803229/stats/115800/?tab=achievements
   There is no achievement for beating Owlboy but that is the closest one and the screenshot shows I visited a location only available after finishing the game
   https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197973803229/screenshots/?appid=115800&sort=newestfirst&browsefilter=myfiles&view=imagewall

1. voidigo - Entry Denied
2. titan souls - Titan Soul
3. the hex - The Hex
4. guts and glory - Crown of Glory
5. little nightmares - The Lady's Quarters
6. smile for me - The way back home

Nah, 6 games in 1 month is too much for me.

I am a bit late, but I think I will give it a try and see if I can make it work in this short time!

Thought Eliza is a nice little game for the end
The Talks about the AI were really interesting, but the counseling and the social talk inbetwene became boring fast.

Do the games have to be on steam? I have X-Morph on GOG but not Steam, for example.
Also, does this apply to games that have already been beaten? Because I beat Kingdom Come a while ago.

I just finished "FRAMED Collection" and it left me thinking... what counts as played when the thing consist of multiple games? One? All of them? The very last one? There are several like this... for example, "Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, "Shenmue I & II", "Spyro Reignited Trilogy".

Wait, do you really need to have not any play time at all? Well I'm out then, I play all of my games.

Gotta go fast

1. Bee Simulator/ The Exodus
2. Paradise Lost / Acceptance
3. Crash Bandicoot
4. The Messenger / The Fake Ending Was Better
5. Through The Darkest of Times / Caretaker
6. The Henry Stickmin Collection / The Story Ends

I'm back after many months. Thanks Cjcomplex for still hosting this great challenge :)

1 Katana Zero - achievements

It's a good game, somewhat similar to Hotline Miami but my lack of reflex and hand/eye coordination left me frustrated maaaany times. Story was surprisingly good, got me hooked till the end. 7/10

2 Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure - achievements

Really decent point and click game. Hard boiled noir detectives are so overused nowadays, but if you decide to use it, better use it right. Lacuna does, I quite liked the banter between characters and the sci-fi setting was okay too. Puzzles were a bit of a let down though. I'm surely going to check out next game from Lacuna's devs. 7.5/10

3 Undertale - screenshot from last boss confrontation

Unique experience, let's just leave it at that. Undertale/10

4 Mafia I Defintive Edition - achievements

Good grief that was a massive let down. I loved Mafia back in the day, it showed different to GTA path that 3D action game with [semi]open world could explore. Graphics are decent, new voiceacting is a clear upgrade and gameplay overall is probably better than in original. But you can't compare Definitive Edition to 2002 game, you have to compare it to modern games. Gun combat is really clunky and annoyingly unforgiving on classic difficulty, the feeling is much worse than in Mafia 3 ( which had other problems in gameplay loop but I enjoyed playing it nevertheless). My biggest issue was the story. I hoped to see some tweaks there e.g. putting more emphasis on camaraderie between Tommy and Paulie and Sam, expanding the role of Sarah, Salieri's betrayal etc. but it's still sketchy at best just like in original - just some missions with a bit of a (skipable) banter while driving with characters without any personal growth whatsoever. Mafia 2 is still my favourite part, I might replay it soon 4/10

5 Simulacra 2 - achievements

Good follow-up after Simulacra. FMV games are something of a guilty pleasure for me :D Best ending is really hard to get without walkthrough so the bad one must suffice to me, but I'll probably play it once more. 7/10

6 Retrowave - achievements

Simple, relaxing* game. I have a thing for 80s esthetics so I enjoyed the synthwave music while driving. 6/10

• Unless you're going for some of the achievements :P

Bit of a weird month for me with some off days and some troubleshooting PC issues, but it's done.

Games for January:

Titan Souls (February 2016)

Achievements - "Titan Soul"

Titan Souls has some clear inspirations, some of which are right in its name. Still, the game manages to make its combat feel unique with the twist of "one shot, one kill" - with some asterisks for later bosses that of course have much more brief moments of vulnerability. Despite the lo-fi pixel art style, the developers did an admirable job of making the environment and the whole tone of the game hauntingly beautiful, like an abandoned city, much like Shadow of the Colossus did so long ago.

Desert Child (December 2019 Choice)

Achievements - "Root Vegetables"

Desert Child has the feel of an art-house indie film that can't quite put it all together, but looks good doing it. The environments and imagery, even in its highly "old-school adventure game" style, exemplify a deft vision of a not quite bleak, but not quite utopian space future.

Perhaps the biggest letdown is the actual racing gameplay, where it can be hard to finish the final race without some luck. After that, the ending feels like a nothingburger, but I wasn't really expecting anything major there.

Dropsy (February 2016)

Achievements - "The Longest Hug"

Despite its lack of text and speech in its storytelling, which I usually dislike, Dropsy has some surprisingly relatable moments and Dropsy the clown himself is a surprisingly relatable character. He does what I feel like I want to do: helping people by giving them random stuff, then hopefully getting a hug (or fist bump or acknowledging smile).

I did feel like the way the ending played out and its tone somewhat detracted from what the game was seemingly building up to, but I understand there is room to interpret that ending differently.

Black Future '88 (October 2021)

Achievements - "IT'S ABOUT TIME"

From an audiovisual standpoint, Black Future '88 nails the cyberpunk aesthetic, and the overall theme of cybernetics and curses also finely dovetails with the greater cyberpunk concept. The platforming and combat can feel awkward at times, or at least it's a bit hard to get used to the control scheme while you're worried about not letting ammo fade away into the floor and powering the machinery of the living tower you are trying to destroy.

With Assist Mode enabled, I don't quite know what it does, but it does seem easier overall. It's still difficult, but forgiving enough that some decent luck and knowledge of the game can carry you to your first won run.

That stands in stark contrast to...

A Fistful of Gun (January 2016)

Achievements "Bye Bye Boon"

I have to apologize to GARAGE: Bad Trip, which I played in January, because A Fistful of Gun hands-down outclasses it as the most frustrating game I have played for Monthly in a Month.

As one Steam review suggested, having 11 playable characters, all with different control schemes, speak to perhaps an example of wild indie development concepts gone awry when development is not properly focused into a simpler but more cohesive product. The game's suspect movement mechanics, high enemy counts and bullet-hell-inspired combat form a recipe for an arduous meat grinder for all but the most elite or the most fortunate of players. Arcade mode does seem a little easier, but it's the story mode we're after for this challenge. Ultimately, as with most difficult roguelites, it was a lucky draw that won the day.

The game does encapsulate the feel of a western film with its imagery and music, and there are some intriguing and wacky mechanics at play as you try to survive each screen. There is plenty to like in the little things A Fistful of Gun does, but it is a shame the core gameplay turned out the way it did.

Planet of the Eyes (August 2016)

Achievements - "The End"

A pleasant short and simple puzzle platformer to end a challenge on. The environments look fabulous in their minimalism, although some objects can have large black outlines that slightly detract from the immersion. Some of the platforming can get slightly tedious, especially at the end, but it's hard to fault such a short game for an occasional issue like that especially when the checkpoint system is usually generous.

Done with the challenge

Mafia: Definitive Edition (January 2022) A Life of Crime
Minoria (January 2021) Saint Alice
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (April 2018) Pacifist
Late Shift (March 2019) The Frenzy
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince (February 2021) To Recover a Prince
Elex (March 2021) Visionary

Done

Hey, I noticed you haven't replied to my entry, let me know if anything is wrong or unclear and I'll try to clarify! Apologies if you missed it, no rush in that case.