Games You Beat in 2025: Year of the Backlog

[TheFlyingGerbil]

On 7/12/2025 at 2:08 PM, danielpholt said:

I think it's probably a better game than I'm capable of experiencing, given that I suck at it. Looks and sounds real nice though.

 

I have felt this about a lot of games I've played but not articulated it. Thanks!

[toxicitizen]

Super Mario RPG Remake

 

Finished it a couple nights ago. This is another one that does an excellent job of looking and playing exactly how I remember the original. It was really fun to revisit it but it's very much baby's first JRPG, so it didn't blow me away or anything. It was just a fun little game to unwind with for an hour or two before bed. The soundtrack is an all-timer. Not much else to say about it beyond that.

[danielpholt]

20 hours ago, toxicitizen said:

Super Mario RPG Remake

 

Finished it a couple nights ago. This is another one that does an excellent job of looking and playing exactly how I remember the original. It was really fun to revisit it but it's very much baby's first JRPG, so it didn't blow me away or anything. It was just a fun little game to unwind with for an hour or two before bed. The soundtrack is an all-timer. Not much else to say about it beyond that.

 

The OG game is on my to-play list on the retro handheld. Just need to find the time. 

 

 

[TheFlyingGerbil]

I've been playing a newer mario RPG. and have finally finished Mario and Luigi: Brothership. When I first started I enjoyed it, and wondered about the middling reviews. I may have kept that opinion if it hadn't massively outstayed it's welcome. I was very ready for it to be over by about two thirds of the way through. Nothing was particularly bad, just very average and the writing isn't as good as it used to be to keep you interested.

Edited July 20 by TheFlyingGerbil

[toxicitizen]

Donkey Kong Bananza

 

Holy crap, this game is fantastic! Just rolled credits on the campaign, and while I still have to see what's going on in the post-game, the campaign was meaty enough that I feel like I've played enough to post my thoughts now.

 

This isn't just the best Donkey Kong game yet, I actually enjoyed it more than Mario Odyssey. Punching your way through everything in sight is just insanely fun. Nintendo were really onto something with this one. I really hope they'll keep this formula going and make follow-ups that don't completely reinvent the wheel because I definitely want more of this. 

 

The bananza transformations are all fun to use and give you some variety in how you can approach things. Near the end of the game, there were some sections that made you use them all together and I really hope there's more of that in the post-game because that was great and the main campaign could've used more of that. The campaign overall is a ton of fun but the last section in particular had me grinning from ear to ear the entire time. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave it at that.

 

The soundtrack is also great. The bananza themes in particular are so freaking catchy that I keep wanting to listen to them outside of the game. The only real issue I can come up with is how easy the game is throughout but the gameplay loop is so much fun that I never got bored by the lack of challenge. Besides, I'm sure that's what the post-game is for like with the last few Mario games.

 

So yeah, whenever you guys get around to buying a Switch 2 make sure to get this one. It's a must-play.

Edited July 28 by toxicitizen

[TCP]

Donkey Kong Bananza

Yeah @toxicitizen basically said it all. This game is fantastic. 

There's something really cathartic about turning on the Kong bananza and just smashing the shit out of everything.

[TheMightyEthan]

 

This game has a lot of really cool ideas that it executes really well on, but unfortunately also has some aspects that drag it down. The premise is you're trapped on an alien planet with a movable base that requires more than one person to operate, so you have to essentially clone copies of yourself who made different life choices, so they have different personalities and skills. The core concept works really well, and the interactions between the Alters are shockingly smooth, up there with like Mass Effect companion interactions. All that works great, as does the base management aspect. Where it doesn't work so great is the third person exploration of the world. You have to run around finding resources, putting down mining rigs, destroying anomalies, etc etc. It's not bad, it's fine, but it always just seems like it's a barrier to what I really want to be doing, which is the management side. It doesn't ruin the game by any stretch, but it does prevent it from reaching the heights it otherwise might. Still, I recommend the game to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting.

 

Grade: B+

[MetalCaveman]

Sekiro

 

After several restarts I finally finished this one lol, every time I played, I would stop for a bit, forget everything and then start again, this time I finally pushed through.

 

Easily my least favourite FROMSOFT game, and it's 100% on me, while I can see why it gets the praise it gets, specially the combat, it is also mostly not for me, I saw mostly because I did really enjoy the stealthy bits, going around a level, tracking enemies, taking them down one by one, running away to lose aggro, all that was cool, it's when you actually have to fight, specially during boss fights, that the whole thing comes crashing down.

 

Doesn't help that unlike other games, Soulsborne or otherwise, every guide for Sekiro is just "git gud" there's no other way lol, no builds, no shortcuts, there's a couple of cheeses (and I did use one for one of the last bosses lol), but mostly, the only advise is just "learn how to play, memorize each attack of each phase, then git gud!"  

 

The story, presentation, voice acting (played with JP audio) and music are excellent though.

 

Think I got the bad ending?

Spoiler

Gave the divine heir the dragon tears, and then Sekiro took the place of the sculptor, made me think the whole thing is a time loop.

I have no desire to play through again for the other endings though.

 

 The way the final boss fight ends

Spoiler

With Isshin all "Do it!" ready to die, Sekiro striking him down with the mortal blade,

 was really cool. \m/ \m/

 

Some of the bosses were amazing to look at, the design of these things is awesome, even if the actual fights were hell. Except for the

Spoiler

Divine Dragon

visually impressive, but one of, if not the easiest boss in the game.

 

Overall, I'm glad I played it, I can see why people like it so much, but I also don't want to play through it ever again.

 

Grade: B+

[TheMightyEthan]

Dead Take

 

This is a cook indie horror game that the creator describes as a reverse escape room. Basically you're exploring/unlocking this creepy mansion belonging to a Hollywood producer using escape room style puzzles, while learning the sinister things that happened/are happening there. It's really fuckin weird, and uses a lot of FMV. It's almost like Alan Wake x Immortality. It's cool though, I recommend it.

 

Grade: B+

 

And Roger

 

This is a cool short indie game about a girl with some kind of mental health problems. I can't really say more without spoiling it. It's only like an hour long, but super moving.

 

Grade: A

[TCP]

Donkey Kong Country

My friends had this game when I was growing up and I feel like we played it all the time. But half way through, the levels stopped feeling familiar. Clearly, no one ever beat it. However, on Sunday, I started and beat it in one evening. I don't feel like it's a great platformer but it certainly has it's charm. I can't help but wonder now that Xbox is going third party or something, would Rare still have these assets? An HD remaster would be really interesting. 

 

Donkey Kong Country 2

Hey another game I beat in one night (plus about 30 minutes the next evening). This game, I think, is a much better platformer than DKC1. However, by the last few worlds there's definitely some parts that feel unfair. Say what you want about the difficulty in Tropical Freeze but it's always fair. Anyways, finished every level as Dixie Kong, the best Kong. I feel like we don't talk about her as one of the defining guitarists of the 90s and that's bullshit. 

 

 

I did beat Donkey Kong Country 3 as a kid and I think once more maybe on the Wii Virtual Console, so I don't really feel like going back to that one even if, hot take, I think it's the best of the three. 

[TCP]

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

Behold! Another SNES platformer that I, previously, had never finished (despite being very familiar with the first few worlds)

At times, this is the best Mario game. At other times, it's kind of frustrating.

Allow me to explain with some random thoughts:

First, the bad. I think most of these levels are way longer than they have any right to be. You could trim some of them down by 50% and they'd be much better. Not every level, but more than a few. I don't know how you go from SMB3 with short, perfect levels and then two games later end up with levels that never end. And then when they do end, some of the time, they just kind of peter out. In Super Mario World I feel like I could always tell when the level was about to end by the way everything intensifies. Now that does happen here but not all the time, often I was surprised by the ending circle.

Also, I think the music is a big step down from the rest of the franchise at this point.

Lastly, what's up with the racism? Holy shit I know it's 1995 but still, for the only depiction of indigenous people in Mario/Nintendo don't do them like that. 

All that said, this game has some really cool ideas and fun levels. The skiing, the boss fight that is obviously an inspiration for Galaxy, the psychedelic effects, and plenty more. When it's good, it's some of the best Mario platforming there's been. When it's getting long in the tooth? Well that's when it stops feeling like Super Mario World 2 and starts feeling like the first of series of platformers that Nintendo never bothers to develop themselves again.

This game is beautiful too, sprite gaming perfected. It's really too bad the push for 3D games stopped Nintendo from making games in this style. It's ridiculous how much better this game looks than virtually every N64 and PS1 game that came after. I still can't believe Mario Maker 2 didn't have this style in it, talk about a wasted opportunity.

And can we talk about this BULLSHIT ending?

Spoiler

Ok so, the entire game it's feeling like an origin story for the entire Mario/DK universe. Why was Donkey Kong (Cranky Kong) so hostile towards Mario? Because when Donkey Kong was just a young chimp, Mario, via Yoshi, decimated his whole monkey clan. Makes sense. When you start thinking of it from Yoshi's Island -> Donkey Kong Bananza, this is a saga that spans decades. But then they ruin it by having Mario and Luigi get dropped off by a stork to a house in the Mushroom Kingdom. Ex-fucking-cuse me? Do you think I'm stupid? How does that make any sense. They need to grow up in New Donk City ...or Brooklyn, whichever. How does it make any sense that their family is from the Mushroom Kingdom?

I know a lot of this sounded negative but I really did like it a lot. Also: Poochy, one of the great Mario characters. Give him his own game, Nintendo!

[TCP]

Final Fantasy IX

Spoiler

So I guess Vivi fucks?

No but seriously. As I said in the discord, this game is fantastic. Maybe the best in the franchise? Great characters, great story, great combat... just the perfect Final Fantasy. Give me that remake, now!

Is there an equivalent of the Moguri Mod for FFVIII?

[Thursday Next]

VII and X remain my favourites. Probably driven as much by nostalgia for my school years as actual technical brilliance.

[TheMightyEthan]

Of the 5 Final Fantasy games I've finished, 4 have been some variation or spinoff of 7, and the other was 15, so out of those FF7 Remake Intergrade is probably my favorite. Possibly FF7 Rebirth depending on the day.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

I got two endings for The Talos Principle (no chance of getting all the stars for the third ending). I thought it was OK, a bit "I'm 14 and this is deep" and there were a few too many puzzles with too little variation so I got a bit bored by the  end. I do also have the DLC but played the first level and it was so convoluted rather than just challenging i turned it off with no intention of going back.

[TheMightyEthan]

That game hit me hard, not cause it was deep, but just because I guess the mental space I was in at the time had me going "you're right, game, what even is the point of anything?" 

 

[Mister Jack]

Got two RPGs under my belt recently!

 

Metaphor: ReFantazio

This one is like a combination of Persona and SMT with difficulty somewhere in between the two in my opinion. Like Persona, I cared about the characters and the story and got really invested in this fantasy world, though it takes some crazy turns near the climax. Like SMT it uses the press turn system rather than Persona's One More system, emphasizing the importance of not only exploiting weaknesses but manipulating agility since missing attacks takes away two turns and having attacks blocked or reflected takes away all of them. It sounds bad, but this works for both you and your enemies so you can exploit it if you know what you're doing. There's also a job system which I really like, though the requirements for some of the advanced jobs are pretty difficult to meet and require grinding. Really solid game overall, though there is a massive difficulty spike right near the end and the final boss is FOUR phases that take a VERY long time to get through. If they ever re-release this one like they do with the Persona games I imagine some of these issues are likely to be addressed.

 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

I have mixed albeit mostly positive feelings about this game. I like the combat system and the characters and world, though at the same time it feels like there are some really obvious QoL features missing here that would have made it much better. There's no restart battle option so if you screw up really bad at the beginning of a fight then too bad, you just have to limp along until the enemy finishes you off before you can start over. You also can't swap out party members in battle so if you happen to have the wrong element in your lineup for a particular enemy then too bad, you can't fix it. You also have to memorize enemy weaknesses and I've been spoiled by Persona (and Metaphor right before this game) keeping track of that for you once you discover them once. There's a lot of trial and error with battles too. Enemies hit so hard that you're likely to just eat shit on every first time enemy and boss encounter while you learn how their attacks work so you can parry them. I guessed about 2/3 of the plot before it was fully revealed but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Just means they foreshadowed it properly. Still, that did also mean that the revelation didn't blow my mind like it probably did for most people. Oh well. Still a pretty solid story. There's more wheeee than whooooo in here. Real ones know what I mean.

[TCP]

Hollow Knight

Hey I know I'm like, seven years late on this but, yeah this game? It's pretty good. Solid A+, really. Tons and tons of content. Though, it wasn't always clear what was the main game, what was optional, and what was DLC... but everything is pretty rewarding, unless you wait too long to fight the Mantis Lords like I did....

There was some times, especially in my first 20ish hours, where I wanted to throw my Steam Deck out the window thanks to some boss fights. But the more you keep up with it, the more strategies you try, the better you get at the game. Not to mention unlocking upgrades... by the end it only took me two tries to beat the (default) final boss. Yeah, I did the default ending. Apparently there's another and I could do that but it would require a bunch of platforming so...

I mean, maybe one day. 93% though, I feel pretty good with that. For now, I've gotten my full.

 

I did buy Silk Song, to support the devs and to see what it's like but I don't think I'll actually play it yet... who knows though. As always, I reserve the right to change any of my non-Uncharted 3 opinions.

[TheMightyEthan]

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

 

This game is great. It's a beautiful side-scrolling action game that's not a metroidvania or a roguelike! Huzzah! I like both those genres but I get a little tired of every side-scrolling game having to be one or the other.

 

I definitely recommend this game. The art is gorgeous, the combat is fun, every boss except the last one is great, it's a reasonable length, it has everything! There's even a demo so you can check it out for yourself.

 

Grade: A (was going to be A+ except the last boss was bullshit)

[Mister Jack]

Those devs really seem to know how to take those old Genesis franchises and make them feel new again. They did great with Streets of Rage 4.

[danielpholt]

I finished Wuchang Fallen Feathers. A game I completely bounced off twice before returning to about a month ago. I loved it. Yeah.

 

I dunno. Sometimes I need to be in the right frame of mind to fully enjoy a game, and eventually I got to that point and I allowed this one into my heart. Is it the best Soulslike ever? No, but it's a very worthy entry into that pantheon and something I'd be tempted to revisit if I ever found myself with a few months of free time (I won't).

 

Far more Souls than Sekiro, which I think will please a few of you here as well. 

 

The best part? I finished it just in time to cancel my Gamepass sub. Perfec'