Superliminal, Sept 16 (Xbox Game Pass)-An interesting puzzle game about perception and perspective. It thinks it's quite a bit more clever than it is but it's still clever enough for a fun few hours.

Full List

In Cold Blood

A lesser known game from Revolution Software. It combines stealth, action and puzzle solving. The best thing about this game is that the puzzles are simple, yet logical. You play John Cord, a British agent that was sent to a VolgianMine in order to find a missing agent. Right away the game introduces you to the sneaking mechanic when your mentor Kostov tells you to evade enemies, not shoot at them to reach your goal. Each mission can be harder or easier, depending on your playstyle. I did mess up a few of them and loaded an earlier save because I didn't feel like continuing running through the corridors and shooting my way out. I really liked the detail when I sneaked behind some enemy and he would comment something, be it about no intruders being present, the reactor or who was winning in a football match. The game offered some funny dialogue, even if it was cheesy. The flying robot enemeis were sometimes a challenge and required strategic thinking to overcome them. The controls were sometimes a problem, I ran into walls many times when I was trying to turn for the door and Cord didn't always react to body search because I wasn't standing in the right spot.Through nine connected missions I needed 16 hours to finish the game and was quite pleased. Upon completion of a puzzle, a serene soundtrack starts, signaling your progression, which made me feel that I was doing something meaningful. I did some running around like a fool too,when I didn't know right away what to do next. Too bad the developers never made something like it again, not meaning by that a sequel since the story of this game has a clear end.

Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster, as novice to the series I chose easy difficulty, but still understands complains, that game is unfair. Atmosphere is good, but not so good as in Silent Hill 4 which is available here on gog. Main problem from my perspective is that game expects, that you will repeat some parts until you do it right. When you do not save your game and suddenly time limit appear, it is not so pleasant when you have only limited time to play video games, whole game took me 17,3 hours. Next time I would choose normal difficulty as enemies are not what makes game difficult most of the time. Cooperation among two characters is great idea creating some interesting puzzles, although sometimes I did exactly what was expected only a few pixel from right place… It would be great to see the whole series here, but to be honest I expected a little more. Nevertheless Zero is definitely better than average game.

The first Metal Slug. Far tamer than the other game I finished, Metal Slug 3, as well as shorter, but still as enjoyable, specially with infinite retries and playing with a friend.

I also finished Metal Slug 3 for the second time last week.

I've finished:
* The Multiree
* The Prestige Tree Rewritten
* The Prestige Tree Classic

And I'm ucrrently on track to finish The Communitree!, as I think I'm getting pretty close to the end.

Just in time Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. Over the horn. Played a lot of years ago. If an adventure game is perfect this is very closely. 9.5/10

Nobody Saves the World (XSX Game Pass)

Usually, these isometric fast paced action RPG's are not my favorite type of game- never been a huge fan of Diablo for example. But Nobody Saves the World was just awesome. This game takes away all the equipment grinding entirely, in fact there isn't even an inventory. Everything you do in this game is based around building your character and all of the classes that you can transform into. Then the world is really clever in the way it is crafted, not procedurally generated for a change- well the dungeon layouts randomize each time, but the overworld is fixed.

Each of the dungeons has themes that usually require you to fine tune your preferred transformation or select another entirely. Enter a dungeon prepared right and you will ease through- get your build wrong and some can be near impossible. You may want to grind some dungeons to level up your classes, but as I've always said- nothing against grinding when the mechanics are fun, and this game is fun. One of the most addictive game play loops I've encountered for some time.

The artwork also works really well, the story is serviceable. Highly recommended. It can be got on GOG as well.

Omno

I had never heard of this game before it showed up in last month's Humble Choice bundle, but I was positively surprised. It reminded me of games like Journey and RiME but it had enough of an identity on its own, and I genuinely liked it. Cute graphics, simple but beautiful story, pretty landscapes, relaxing atmosphere and some easy but satisfying platforming puzzles in small but open levels. It also didn't wear out its welcome for me, as it did for some other reviewers; I thought it had a fitting length. On the one hand it's true that each level repeats the same formula, but although I usually loathe repetitive gameplay, I even found some comfort in it here. Plus, the area design and puzzle challenges were different enough for me to not get bored. You also get some new moves over the course of the adventure that spice things up a little. I'd still recommend to not try and play it in one sitting, because I can see how that could wear a player out. I completed 1-3 levels every evening (which means I played 30-60 minutes) and that worked fine for me. All in all, it took me about 6 hours to finish (but I'm a slow player taking his time).

Arthurian Legends. One of the more obscure entries in the retro FPS movement, which is unfortunate because it's pretty good. It's a melee-focused one that takes after Witchaven more than anything, but it's actually a better game than Witchaven all around. There's a bit more sense of feedback in the combat, you can do shield bashes or dual-wield certain weapons, in addition to using potions and magical runes. Want to go through a door but it's locked? If it's made of wood, just get your axe and chop it open! It's a dark, bloody game, but there's some Monty Python humor in it, too. Enemies often explode into a gory mess, and then you can kick their decapitated heads around.

The biggest issue is that it's really buggy, to the point that I almost had to quit when my save on the next to last level became corrupted, which apparently is a very common issue but the game is a one-man operation and it looks like the one man may have moved on to other projects. Fortunately, I was somehow able to complete the level and get the final one loaded without any glitches occurring. Maybe the developer is just working on fixes and will have a big update coming soon...

AI The Somnium Files, Sep 22 (Xbox Game Pass)-This game was like 999 and Virtue's Last Reward if instead of a Saw/escape room type plot it was a murder mystery. I'm having a hard time deciding if which plot type I like better because they were both very good. Again I really liked slowly unraveling the mysteries through the branching paths encountered during gameplay. There were a lot fewer branching paths in this game which is a minor knock against it. The voice acting was again excellent and this time it was 100% voiced compared to the Nonary Games where the puzzle rooms were silent. The story for this game was wrapped up nicely with no real unanswered questions unlike the Nonary Games which left me wanting more. That seems like both a good and bad thing. I think I'd rate this game slightly ahead of 999 and slightly behind Virtue's Last Reward. It is one of my favorite games played this year.

Full List

OPUS: Echo of Starsong (XSX Game Pass)

This one is a space exploration VN with a story based heavily on the Chinese concept of Feng Shui. It's a Taiwanese game. It plays like a modern Fighting Fantasy book- in that you choose where to go next and the game will resolve the outcome which can be modified depending upon items you can find in the game. There isn't much chance of any true failure however, as this is primarily a sad philosophical sort of narrative experience.

I enjoyed the experience, though I did have problems with one of the games main gameplay elements- the song recordings. These are sound based, and I could never really get the hang of them and just solved all of them by random stick jiggling and button mashing- which worked well enough and never took very long. You unlock some developer commentary after completing the game and it is even mentioned that some people have trouble with those types of audio puzzles- so I guess I'm one of those. The game does mention that you should play with headphones, which I did not- that would make those audio songs easier I'd imagine.

The Procession to Calvary, Sept 22 (Xbox Game Pass)-Ehh what can I say? Its got some classical music and classical paintings and some humor. Its short but still manages to overstay its welcome. Other than that its immensely forgettable.

Full List

DC League of Super Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace (XSX Game Pass)

Rail Shooter and a pretty easy one at that. Control either of two super dogs, Krypto or Ace whilst shooting up Lexbots. I think it's clearly aimed at kids, but it's also quick enough that it could be fun for anyone to just blast through it for some stress relief. Like most rail shooters you can play the missions to get better scores. Overall, it doesn't match the Panzer Dragoon games- nor do I think it was ever intended to.

Crown of Creation (NWN EE)
Review here

Insania Fabula + Puppet Masters DEMO (NWN EE)
Review here

Dying Light
Resident Evil 6-8
Cyberpunk 2077
Disco Elysium
Halo 5
Crackdown 1-3
Elden Ring
Mass Effect
Far Cry 6
Persona 5
FF7 remake
FF15

I got a working PSP last christmas and I've been trying to find games I missed out on back then. I played most of the major well known titles as they came out, but so far I've played

coded arms
motorstorm
little big planet
killzone liberation
toy story 3