Mirror’s Edge - This is a game I’ve been meaning to play for some time. A few years back I played the first couple of levels on a friend’s PS3 and recalled it being a fun experience. So when it went on sale for under £2 on Steam I couldn’t say no. It holds up exceptionally well for a game from 2008! The stylised graphics look beautiful to this day, and the gameplay manages to feel fresh and unique. Parkouring around the landscape soon becomes second nature - you feel like such a badass by the end of the game.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy - Sadly I missed out on the original games, but this trilogy does a perfect job of remastering them for the modern era. The animations and art style are incredible; It really feels like a lot of love has gone into this remaster. All three games are a joy to play. The first one is a classic - basic but fun, the second tries out some new ideas, and the third one perfects them. Each instalment is fairly short, so packaging them in a trilogy was a great idea.
RealMyst - Myst is regarded as one of the original, archetypal PC puzzle games and was very clearly ahead of its time. I think it’s the sort of game I would’ve appreciated a lot more if I’d played it 20 years ago (although there’s no way I could’ve beat it back then). Some of the logic jumps in the puzzles felt tenuous at best, though others were very cleverly designed. This was a frustrating game at times and I was pleased to get it over with, but I did enjoy the interesting world-building and innovation for its time.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Symphony of the Night is the only Castlevania game I’ve completed*, partially because it’s a bit easier than the others and partially because the music and graphics are so great that I wanted to see it through. Bloodstained continues this legacy and does an amazing job of it. Although graphically it’s no where near as nice as the pixel art of SotN, I still found the graphics to be quite charming. The soundtrack is amazing, gameplay is smooth (with a lot of customisation in terms of equipment and spells) and exploring the castle is a treat. As with SotN, in order to beat the true final boss you have to find some items that would be near impossible to locate without a guide. Despite that, this is well worth playing.
*Mostly completed
Skyward Sword - Although I owed a Wii, I never picked up Skyward Sword. I think you had to buy an attachment for the Wiimote, and either way I wasn’t a massive Zelda fan at the time. Since then I’ve played nearly every Zelda game and loved them all. So it was about time I got round to playing SS. Luckily a few years back they announced a Switch remaster which removed a lot of the clunky features from the original. Woo! I picked up a cheap copy and played though it late last year - And wow, this game exceeded my expectations. The dungeons in particular are some of the best I’ve played in a Zelda game (the time manipulation ones in particular stand out). Slashing around in specific directions is a neat mechanic, with the added benefit of now being able to do so by flicking a joystick. Surprisingly lengthy with a lot of great ideas! Give this one a go.
Spiderman (2018) - Not sure how I missed this one when it came out! I guess I’ve never really got into the Spiderman series. After watching the Spider-verse films though I decided to give this a try. And now I can’t wait to play the sequels! Insomniac did a incredible job making web swinging around the city feel fun. There’s plenty of side content littered over the map, which often side-tracked me on my way to a mission. The combat feels very similar to the Batman Arkham games, with lots of moves and tools to unlock. Whilst the story isn’t anything special, it kept me entertained and I was particular impressed by the facial capture and voice acting. All in all, this was a incredible experience throughout.
Would be interested to hear what everyone else thought of these games! I’ve still got quite a large backlog so I’ll continue onto the next ones :)
I replayed Mirror’s Edge a few days ago, with modern hardware in 4k, it still feels stunning! It has aged exceptionally well, thanks to the art style.
The only thing I did not like were the fights. They slow the gameplay and just felt tacked on as an afterthought, thankfully many fights can be avoided by simply running past the enemy.
Highly recommended!
I agree on all the fighting and a “no gun run” is the best way to play.
If I’m remembering correctly, the game was originally designed to have no guns available to the player, but the team was pressured into adding the shooter mechanics later on. Ignoring guns is definitely the way to go with this game.
Yeah it definitely takes away from the experience. It could have been an all time favourite if it didn’t have them.
I haven’t played much of ME Catalyst but the combat in that game is a nicer approach, with only hand to hand and no guns.
You’re right about the fights, although I did find it quite fun picking up the guns and blasting my way through. They’re all very beefy. For some reason it felt a bit out of character though - like using lethal weapons in Metal Gear.
Yeah but there’s something satisfying about taking down a bunch of enemies in a section you were clearly supposed to run past lol
It’s a shame they never made a sequel, and yeah I’m convinced the fighting is something they were forced to add to “broaden appeal” because it doesn’t really mesh with the rest of the game. I’ve played through that game too many times, and now I want to do it again. It’s crazy that no one has really taken the idea and done a modern game with it. Titanfall had some mechanics from it in the package of a shooter, but there’s never been a parkour focused game since I don’t think, except for that Catalyst thing that didn’t really care about it and just wanted money.
But they did make a more open world reboot/prequel
Nope. That’s not real. Mirror’s Edge isn’t an RPG where you have to unlock basic abilities.
My main issue with the game was actually just the grappling hook. For a parkour game. It felt cheap having to use one, and dumb that you could only use it in specific poibts rather than anywhere.
Otherwise, being open world makes it at least worth a play.
Yeah, the actions that can only be used in certain places is antithetical to the idea of the game. It’s free-running, so you should be free to use any action at any time, some give better results than others in certain moments. I saw that modding Catalyst has gotten fairly big recently, and one mod allows you to use the grappling hook anywhere. Obviously that totally breaks the game because you can get places never intended, but it looks really fun still. I may have to give it a go sometimes, with some other mods.
At the core there’s a good game in Catalyst. It was just absolutely screwed by a few small but hugely impactful decisions.
Ghost Runner has many of the same aspects, and definitely scratches the same itch for me. It’s much more combat focused, but the combat actually feels like it was an intentional part of the game, at least.