PixlBit

The dreaded stealth gameplay got to me again in several new games I tried out this week. But I finished Doom Dark Ages, discovered some new Atari games, and got sucked into an old classic again. 

Balatro - I just tried a few rounds. I really want to play this on my phone but you can't stream through the Xbox App. You have to bring up a browser, sign in on xbox/play. Another sign-in is enough to keep me away. However, if I find a moment, I may log in on a library computer a play it there and get rewards points for playing on PC. I haven't had a working PC in a while now. I just haven't felt the need to get one these days. I do so much on my phone now. 

Doom: The Dark Ages - I 100% completed all the achievements in about 46 hours. I took my time because if you were focused on achievements from the start you could probably do it in less than 20. It was not a very difficult achievement set. It was a blast though. When the DLC level drops, I may return. 

Clicker Heroes - Just chugging along trying to unlock that next achievement. I'm relying on my mercs to turn up a relic for one such achievement. Meanwhile I'll gather loot enough to get me another ascention. I could explain but what it comes down to really is just clickin' and a'watchin'. Casual doesn't even describe it. More like, Comatose gameplay. Haha. 

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - Most of these games are playable for me through Game Pass Ultimate. This one is by Wolfenstien: New Order dev Machine Games. I was excited. It looks great and plays great but there is entirely too much sneakin', and just like Golem in Ralph Bakshi's LotRs films, I am insulted to be labeled a "sneak". As soon as I tried to use guns, a Machine Games speciality, I got myself very dead. Man, there's just so much crouchin' and a'crawlin' I want to do in a game, and it was about 5 hours worth here. I loved hunting for treasures and solving puzzles though. Fisticuffs was fun too. 

Atomfall - This feels a lot like Rebellion game's Fallout. It seemed really good until I was forced to sneak around every person I came across. Doesn't anyone negotiate anymore? It's like, "There's a stranger! Kill him!" Come on. I only got 30 minutes in before I realized I was going to have to sneak past everyone. Yuk. 

Hunt: Showdown 1896 - This is a FPS survival game. Pretty cool, but a half hour in told me I'd be sneakin' around a lot again. Enemies are like zombies and bull rush you on sight or sound. Take a dynamite in the mouth zombie! Boom! Took me out too. That'sssss about it for me. 

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga - I'm knocking off minikits I missed level by level. The game makes it really easy to get hints and then play the appropriate level. I'm having fun hunting them down. I almost have them all but there are challenges to do too before I'm done. 

Retro Classics - They have daily challenges I've been doing - a quick three games set to a special challenge that usually doesn't take but a few minutes at most to complete. There are other challenges to do to for medals and currency to buy gamer pics. I tried to play several of the point-and-click games but as much as i love the idea of these story/puzzle games, I always get stuck really fast. Can we not make every answer be as about as obscure as we possibly can devs? Still, I'm discovering some new Atari games that I'd like to get physical copies of sometime like: Crackpots which is kind of like a simplified Plants vs. Zombies. 

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornoby - Another 30min and out for me. It's a survival game and a cool one but one of the missions I got was pretty complicated. Something about avoiding radiation from a sensor probe I had to plant at a spot already full of radation. I was unsure how to complete it. 

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged - I jumped back into this but in my first time trial race, I really struggled. I think the controls for this are much better than the first game, but for whatever reason, I was just clumbsy as heck that day and had no patience for it. 

Ad Infinitum - I bought this on a sale to go with my early 20thc theme last month. This takes place in WWI from the German side. A soldier has been wounded and returned home only to discover rather creepy goings on in his family. He also has flashbacks to the trenches where he has to avoid devlish creatures. So you bounce back and forth from exploration, puzzle solving, and stealth gameplay. It was cool for a few hours until I got stuck on a morris code puzzle. I think my slightly drifting right controler stick made it impossible for me to complete it. I may have to get another cheapo wired controller soon (my favorite kind). 

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered - Finally 2 1/2 hrs of this, and I'm in love again. This looks gorgeous now and the fighting is quicker. I chose my character stats randomly. I'm an Imperial with the Tower Sign and a Mage. I did several of the first missions, closed an oblivion gate, and am presently escorting Martin to Weynon Priory. I'm still level 1 though. I thought you just slept and you leveled? I wonder what I'm doing wrong because I should have leveled by now.

Anyway, earlier I came out of The Imperial City and went to the stables as usual, but this time i just asked the Orc owner for a horse, and surprise, surprise, she just gave me one and armored too! I never thought to ask before because I didn't have the money. Who knew? [in retrospec, I think my diplomacy/charisma is naturally really high]. I love riding my horse across Cyrodiil, as I do in most games with horses. I can't shoot an arrow or swing a sword from a horse, though, I don't think. That's kind of stupid.

Anyway, more to come of this. Maybe I can actually get to the end of it this time.