Demo Play Thursday - Ys X: Nordics Demo On PS4

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the PlayStation 4 version of Ys X: Nordics Demo from Nihon Falcom.

Ys is a series that i've heard about but not one i've ever played before. so trying out this demo wasn't just for the site, it was for me too. i was curious about soo many aspects and hoped that the demo would let me know if i want to get the game or not.

Unfortunately, my time with the demo got every increasingly frustrating and i didn't enjoy my time with it. nearly every aspect of the game felt outdated or that it was built for a different console, whether that's the #Switch or maybe if the initially started planning this on Vita. graphically, the PS4 version feels like a downgrade. the lack of shadows make certain items in the game look like stickers, but there's the opposite problem where there are shadows that make characters look like they have scars.

The artwork for buildings looks so bland, and the draw distance is so close to the camera that later on islands in the background started to blend in with the sea so it looked like a wall of a single color. the characters were the best looking thing in the game, but don't look to closely as their mouths don't sync up with their speeches. 

I also found the game's story wasn't syncing up with what i was doing and that was probably the most frustrating thing as it meant i was having to pick what to say from a choice of something that makes no sense or something that makes only a little sense. very rarely did the game offer me something to say that i, the player, wanted to say.

The demo also hit a technical issue where i had single digits of frames. this started with the dual battle with the "Princess" and maybe a combination of luck and low difficulty setting meant we could defeat the wolves even if nothing was moving on screen.

Unfortunately, i can't recommend the PS4 version of the Ys X: Nordics Demo, and as my experience with the game was so negative i can't really recommend people getting the game. it felt like it's only for the hardcore fans who are maybe used to the outdated designs and complaints i had through most of this video.

Backlog Conquering - Poison Control On PS4 - Part 4 – Once More Into The Second Circle of Hell

Welcome to Backlog Conquering. This is a series were i play a game from my backlog that i may or may not have played before. the goal isn't necessarily to finish the game, the goal is to play it. that way, i can have an opinion about it.

In Part 3, i got stuck in the first major "Dungeon" of the Second Circle of Hell. i tried twice and was defeated twice, right at the end of the Dungeon. so going into this part i thought that would be my first goal. Unfortunately, i seemed to have forgotten to manually save after recording Part 3 so when i started the game for this recording, i realized that i had to basically re-do Part 3 all over again. 

Thankfully i was able to defeat the dungeon, which had previously bested me, on my first attempt. This lead the the story twist that i didn't see coming. previously, our goal had been to collect stickers. we get stickers by solving personal hells. with 5 of them, we're able to get to heaven. well, by finishing the dungeon today i got all 5 and headed off to the shop to redeem them. that's when it's revealed that 5 stickers are needed to get 1 Gold Sticker, and it's 5 Gold Stickers that are needed to get to heaven. so our goal, and the amount of videos in this series for this game, as now grown. 

I am still enjoying the story and the gameplay is mostly fine. the camera tends to fight me now and then and sometimes the lock-on seems to be aiming at ghosts or just off the enemy. thankfully the story is keeping me going so i am looking forward to the next couple of videos at least to see where things are headed.

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/zYr-gRR3IOc

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/DNYEIWBChQA

Part 3 - https://youtu.be/zT1rBNYyQjk

Switch Funday - Blast Corps - A Frustrating Nostalgic Return

Welcome to Switch Funday!

This week's game is Blast Corps and this isn't my first time playing this N64 game. back when it came out, my sister either rented or borrowed this game and we played it a little. the problem was, we only played it a little because we got stuck. my hope about revising Blast Corps is to try and make progress but also to understand why i probably got stuck as a kid.

As ever, some of the journey with N64 games on Nintendo Switch is working out what the controls are, how they've been brought over to the Pro Controller. unfortunately, i think that even after my time with the game, i still didn't fully understand all the controls. i understood enough, but for example i couldn't work out how to do the dump truck drift.

The controls throughout were always a little weird, not just in how they've been brought over to the Pro Controller, but in how responsive they are in game. at times, i was impressed with how responsive and accurate it was. then there were times where i kept getting stuck on buildings as the controls didn't quite work as expected. 

out of the different modes i played, i enjoyed the timed destruction ones the most. having a set level, a time limit, and a target was nice and was like a puzzle. it did feel like there was only one answer to this puzzle, but it was mostly fun and a nice way to try out each of the machines you can control. Racing had potential, but i think the course design didn't match well enough with the vehicles and the short cutting mechanic. the second race i did came close. but other than that, i didn't really enjoy the other game modes.

I came away from Blast Corps with the feeling that this was an XBLA game before such a thing existed. for me, there's not enough here for a full game release. not just in terms of gameplay, but also with the menus, music, and basic lack of any information. 

Mobile Friday - BLEACH Soul Puzzle - A Fun Polished Match 3 Game That's Refreshingly Simple

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out BLEACH Soul Puzzle from KLab, on my iPhone 14 Pro.

I'm a fan of Bleach and have been for a long time. i've played a few games from Bleach, like the PS3 game Bleach: Soul Resurrección https://youtube.com/shorts/2ml6Ik5EuqI, and KLab's Bleach: Brave Souls on PS4. looking at the screenshots, i knew that it was going to be a Match 3 game, but because it was Bleach themed i wanted to try it so that's why i gave it a go this week.

Maybe i'm a little jaded with Match 3 games, but going in i wasn't expecting too much from BLEACH Soul Puzzle. it does make a nice first impression. i thought that it's tutorial was simple but effective and it got across the basics of gameplay. the graphics looked HD and appropriate for Bleach, and while the music was repetitive and a little generic it also felt appropriate. BLEACH Soul Puzzle didn't feel like a match 3 game that was reskinned to be Bleach themed.

the biggest surprise, in a nice way, was how simple BLEACH Soul Puzzle was. Match 3 games tend to add mechanics to try and differentiate themselves from each other. whether that's challenge mechanics, score mechanics, or something with the power-ups. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, as long as their tutorials are decent enough to get it all across then i have no issue with them. But BLEACH Soul Puzzle has none of that. it's goal is simply erase a set number of things, whether that's a gem, gems, or other stuff on the game grid. 

As the game's tutorial is solid, the goals are explained, and the overall presentation being polished, BLEACH Soul Puzzle works very well. i'd even recommend it to Match 3 fans, who like myself, may find the simplicity of the experience refreshing. 

BLEACH Soul Puzzle does have one or two issues. the game did have an extra download. it wasn't huge, 107 MB, but i wasn't expecting there to be one at all. i also think the game should explain some of the menus, like collection and gallery, before they're unlocked, and that the Exchanges menu should be locked until a little later in the game. as there's no icon for a Store, the game should direct players to the coins.

With BLEACH Soul Puzzle being based on the current Thousand Year Blood War and that series not being finished, i feel that this game is going to be around for a while, maybe even years. once that series is finished, it's possible they'll rebrand the game for the next story arc or even go back to previous arcs. BLEACH Soul Puzzle is well worth playing now and it could be a game you return to on and off for a lot longer.

Version 1.0.4 Played.

Backlog Conquering - Poison Control On PS4 - Part 3 – Entering The Second Circle Of Hell

Welcome to Backlog Conquering. This is a series were i play a game from my backlog that i may or may not have played before. the goal isn't necessarily to finish the game, the goal is to play it. that way, i can have an opinion about it.

Things got more difficult in Part 3. i was able to get into the second circle of hell, but i failed to beat the first dungeon there twice. you can see that in each attempt i get to what seems to be the final fight, but i was unable to successfully clear away the poison whilst defending myself from the never ending swarm of enemies. 

It's a shame as this video starts with a new character, some new questions being asked, and there was a nice boss fight. i  wanted to beat this dungeon to see what would happen, would this have been enough to get us to heaven.

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/zYr-gRR3IOc

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/DNYEIWBChQA

Switch Funday - The New Denpa Men - My Second Hour

Welcome to Switch Funday!

Last week i checked out the free to play game The New Denpa Men, https://youtu.be/8VjQxmvSxrY, but after my first hour with it i wasn't sure the game had showed me enough of what it is. The New Denpa Men is a slow game and it's mechanics and design feel old so i came back for a second hour thinking this would be enough time for the game to fully show me what it is.

My second hour with The New Denpa Men added little, if anything, to the overall game. it continues to not detail how to do things, i guess how to do the fishing after some annoying tries, and the big new addition of decorating felt poor, more so when you compare it to other games that came out on the 3DS. I tried out a couple of special events towards the end of the video and whilst it was nice to have something different to do, i got jewel pieces and there's meant to be someone on my island to give them to, but there wasn't. 

Whether it's the jewel pieces or the fishing, it's frustrating that the game hasn't cornered off these aspects of gameplay until it's ready for us to deal with it. Many games will curate the start of the game in such a way that it feels random but in fact it's been designed so we're introduced to each gameplay mechanic. in The New Denpa Men, it feels like the start of the game hasn't been curated, it feels like it's been left as open as possible for all players to engage with. so i've been put into a scenario where there's a fishing mechanic that's not been explained and i have items to give someone on my island, but they're not on my island.

It was nice to get access to more Denpa Men in my party and i felt that it made the combat a little more easier. but it's still frustrating that the game doesn't specify what each of their abilities until they're used in combat. You can only do combat whilst on a mission. so if there's someone in your party that's not needed, you have to either finish the mission or quit. 

The New Denpa Men continues to not be very accessible to new players and this second hour reinforces my statement that this is perhaps designed more for fans of the series rather than new ones. It's design feels like it was initially made for phones and was ported to the Switch, maybe Nintendo changed their mind. when starting the game i had to download additional game data which updated the game and it restarted. i had, earlier in the week, updated the game from the Switch home menu. this behaviour of downloading data to update itself is again something more common on mobile games than consoles and not a pleasant experience.

Version 2.1.12 played

Online Saturday - Disney Speedstorm - Season 10's First Weekend - Nightmare Before Christmas

Welcome to Online Saturday.

For today's video i'm back on Switch. It's been about a year since i last checked out the Switch version of Disney Speedstorm. https://youtu.be/8az0B7vEXGs. This weekend is the first weekend with Season 10. this season is themed after The Nightmare Before Christmas.