Backlog Conquering - Tearaway: Unfolded On PS4 - Part 2 - Learning To Jump

Right from clicking the game icon on my PlayStation4, Tearaway continued to impress me by putting me at the last checkpoint from Part 1, https://youtu.be/E3WqJ6MF2Rg. This was impressive because the game didn't ask to continue, there was no menu, all there was after clicking the game's icon was a loading screen and there i was in game. i included the end of that load,  as this is a PS4 so the loading took around 45 seconds.

In part 1, we never used jump because it didn't exist. the X button did nothing but raise a question mark above our heads. instead, the game was mostly designed around us not having it. tho there did seem to be a couple of places where it looked like we'd need it if we were out exploring. Thankfully we got it back and the game feels much better and less limited now. 

Jumping wasn't the only new thing we got access to. after creating clouds, we now are able to generate a gust of wind in any direction we want. we use this in a couple of interesting ways like blowing enemies when they jump or using it to generate or manipulate platforming. near the end of this part, we got access to throwing. our character #iota was able to throw, but now they can pass an object to us and with the motion controls and touch panel we're able to throw things much stronger and much farther.

Tearaway: Unfolded continues to be a fun game to play. the story isn't anything outstanding at the moment, but it's enough to get us to places. but the platforming, light puzzling areas, and even hidden collectables make it one of the most accessible platformers i've ever played. i'm looking forward to what comes next in part 3.

Cloud Monday - Marvel's Midnight Suns - Part 2 - Well Designed To Be Streamed From The Cloud

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing the PS4 version of Marvel's Midnight Suns via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

Right from Part 1, https://youtu.be/IZ948UHlLsM, the slower turn based pace of the combat and frequent auto saves and very accessible manual saves gave me a positive first impression of Marvel's Midnight Suns. In this part that didn't change. i felt at ease playing the game as i was secure knowing that if there were issues, saving wouldn't be an issue. i was able to focus more on the game itself and the story it was trying to tell.

And that brings up a different issue. Marvel's Midnight Suns may work great as a game in the cloud, but does it work great as a game. i chose to play the game with the focus on story so that's what i was expecting. but more and more fluff was being added into the game with little to no explanation how it relates to the game. the thing that triggered me the most was i gifted access to a social network with seemingly no explanation as to how that would benefit me or the story. it was yet another system being added. 

Again, with my focus being on the story and how grim things were turning. i expected the game to have a quicker pace, to want to deal with things. and yet i didn't get that sense of urgency from any of the other characters or in the pace of the game. i don't mind that combat takes time, i feel that the game's combat and mechanics are it's strongest part and i enjoyed the strategy challenge. It's just that in a story with the fate of the world at stake, it didn't feel like the fate of the world was at stake. Like, why do i have options to customise my room, surely this will all be over in a day or two?

The graphics are kinda an example of this ambivalence. Most of the big stuff and the backgrounds look great. even up close some of the stone work looks highly textured and great. and then you get the characters. at times i wonder if they look any better than some characters on #PS3. especially the faces, it's one thing to look emotionless but it's another to also look plastic.

Personally, i feel like Marvel's Midnight Suns needs a remaster or directors cut. something that'll focus it on it's two core things, it's story and it's combat. in a way, Marvel's Midnight Suns would've been perfect on a Pocketable Portable as it's likely a lot of the fluff would've been cut. plus the auto save would've worked great on such a system. the Marvel's Midnight Suns we got is bloated and that bloat feels disconnected from what makes it good. It's possible that it isn't fluff and that it all ties together. but they failed in these 2 hours to tell me that, which in itself could be telling of other issues.

as a game played in the cloud, Marvel's Midnight Suns is a great choice. but is it a game worth playing, that's up to you. i'm not too sure, but the fact it's part of PlayStation Plus and i can stream it and not buy it does help make it more worth playing.

Backlog Conquering - Tearaway: Unfolded On PS4 - Part 1 - A Good First Impression

This new Backlog Conquering game is being played on PlayStation 4 but it'll cover the PlayStation Vita version as well. on PSV, the game was released as Tearaway back in 2013 and i do have that version. Like this PS4 version, i haven't finished it either so this is my chance to tackle Tearaway twice! ( i know there are differences in the controls and how you interact with the games, but you know what i mean.)

The start caught me by surprise as the game starts it's narrating before it's even revealed all the developer logos. It's a bit long, but it's uniqueness works for me and it gets to the point where the narrators interact with "you" and thus begins the events at the start of the game.

another thing the game does well is it's tutorial. it's impressive how it manages to balance telling us how to something whilst giving us the chance to use it with some imagination. One of the better features is the "Squirrel" as this guide will pop up if it thinks you're struggling to offer advice. so many games don't offer help after the tutorial and just leave it up to the player so it's nice that this game will try and help. It doesn't make Tearaway: Unfolded feel too easy either, but it's nice to have regardless.

It takes time, when playing the game, to get used to not having a jump button. i could see places i wanted to reach and for most of this video my first reaction is to press X for jump. as i played, what i learned is that there are ways to get anywhere if you're meant to get there. this often takes shape as ramps, flowers, and spring jumps. part of the puzzle is seeing somewhere you want to go, maybe there's a collectable present you want to get, and working out how the environment is set up for you to get there.

I really enjoyed what i've played so far so i will do a few more parts at least. i'm curious if the game does anything fun when you come back to the game. i'm also wondering if there'll be any more fun interactions with the controller. i know that we're able to backtrack with our current abilities so i may give that a try in part 2 as in this part i already found a white mystery and later in this part i was given a tool to deal with it.

Cloud Monday - Marvel's Midnight Suns - Part 1 - A Good First Impression, Auto And Manual Saves Too

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the #PS4 version of Marvel's Midnight Suns via the #PlayStationPlus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

This game, from developers Firaxis Games, is one that was seemingly well received from reviewers but not necessarily the public at large. I've heard quite a lot of non specific praise about playing it but also reports on how poorly it sold, either in general or when compared to expectations. Thankfully, the point of this series is to talk about how suitable the game is as a game being played in the cloud. And i can say that it makes a great first impression.

Much like the previous game i played, The Wild At Heart https://youtu.be/Cg0q3nv-E58, this game starts with a choice on how you want to play it. i went with a focus on story, but there's also normal mode. If you've played one of these before, streaming the other from the cloud is a great option to have as this game is a fairly sizeable download around 32GB. I also chose to do the tutorial mission. 

I couldn't say where the tutorial mission ended and the game started. they did a great job incorporating the tutorial into the story. admittedly, playing a strong super heroes and being limited because of the tutorial could've been delt with better, like with a side comment that these are just henchmen so don't go all out just yet as someone stronger may come later. But after it, i did feel mostly confident that i understood the systems taught to me.

As well as the tutorial and options, the game's story also makes a great first impression. it's always made clear who is talking and when someone new is introduced there's a quick little banner to say who they are. about half way into the video i explore the save system and it's clear that at this early point in the game the auto save system has been working quite frequently and not overwriting one auto save. there are 4 auto saves the game makes and we can do manual saves, too. this sense of security means i can focus on the game instead of worrying about when or if i can save next.

In this part, the connection to the cloud was mostly fine. early on there were a couple of moments of macro blocking, where instead of fine details there are larger squares of color. but this was never an issue with gameplay. a lot of the text, characters, and pictures are quite big so were still legible. Later on there were more incidents of Stream Tearing, where there's grey on screen, and these do get in the way of gameplay. thankfully, there were no audio issues nor controller issues so i was still able to continue and understand what was happening. 

I'm looking forward to part 2. it'll be interesting to see how the game holds up on the PS4, especially when there are more effects and more enemies on screen in the first mission of the game. the card battle system we've played so far is slow enough that i always felt in control, again a good fit for being played in the cloud. But there were some hints that the PS4 was being pushed hard by this game.

Online Saturday - Foamstars - Normal And Hard Squad Missions

For Online Saturday i'm back with Foamstars, from Square Enix and Toylogic. Foamstars is out across PS5 and PS4. I'll be playing the PlayStation 4 version of it. 

For this video i wanted to try out the online Squad Missions. These take place on specific maps and have a team of 4 players work together to defeat 10 waves of enemies. i tried out the Sunny Funny Factory, Rap Wrap Scrapyard, and Bath Vegas Marina Bay maps in Normal difficulty and i also tried out the Lucky Funky Street, twice, in Hard difficulty.

when you finish your attempt, you're awarded points towards the current season, i went up from 3 to 6 during this video, your own personal level, i went from 19 to 21, and Miracle Dust. This dust is important as you use it to level up your stats, that are used by any character you play with. I didn't realise this so my first attempt at Hard Difficulty didn't go well. but that's also down to the stats of my team mates. to upgrade your stats, head to the "Upgrade Energy Core" section, to the right of Squad Mission, and chose which stats you want to upgrade. during this video i put everything up to Lvl 1 and then a few others up to Lvl 2.

Demo Play Thursday - Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog On PS4

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the PlayStation 4 version of Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog from developers Space Colony Studios.

This was an example of me seeing cool icon art and deciding to download because of it rather than me reading what i was about to play. so i was taken aback when this turned out to be a visual novel. But i wasn't deterred from playing it because it's a visual novel.

I'm going to be upfront and say that i stopped playing the demo because it broke. i reached a point where the demo would not progress and nothing i did would fix it. you can hear me talking through the button presses i was trying. Unfortunately, whilst this was a demo breaking issue it wasn't the only one i came across. right near the beginning i found navigating the option menu nearly impossible due to the lag in the controls. you can hear me say when i've pressed a button and a second or more later see it replicated on screen. The menu area and parts of the game also had an issue where pressing a direction on the controller once could mean it's done twice in game or not at all. safe to say this demo is a buggy mess to the point where i can't recommend it on PlayStation 4.

That's not to say there was nothing good about this. far from it. the music is fantastic and the artwork was amazing. when it came to setting the scene and story telling, i was hooked. i would've liked the option for bigger text and for the game to offer to automatically progress the story, but this is a demo and i haven't tried the final version. It's a shame their website doesn't list a way to buy the soundtrack because after playing the demo i'd like to get it.

As a demo it's not good because not only does it have issues but it also broke to the point where i couldn't continue. But this also makes me concerned that the game itself might have issues when it's released. there are hints of a cool story that i was really getting into, but i don't even know if my save from the demo will carry over or not. there was a real lack of communication in the demo. so overall i can't recommend the demo nor the game. but i would say it's one to watch out for. if reviewers say it's fixed then it could be something cool to try out.

Cloud Monday - The Wild at Heart - Part 2 - It's Brilliant Save Systems Make This Game Even Better

This week's Cloud Monday video is part2 of playing the PS4 version of The Wild at Heart, from developers Moonlight Kids, via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

Part 1, https://youtu.be/00DYIf7y46g, was one of the smoothest experiences i've had with a game on this service. that's not just in terms of how well it's suited for being streamed from the cloud but also because of how well the streaming went. Part 2 wasn't as smooth, but it didn't really take away from my enjoyment with the game.

throughout the video i had small little nitpicks and suggestions on how things could've gone a little better, but in the grand scheme of things they're not that important. it's just because a lot of the game is so good, it really it just the small things that are noticeable. 

for the majority of this video there were no issues with the streaming. there were only a couple of moments of stream tearing, where grey would appear on the screen, and a connection warning. I live in an apartment building so these issues usually appear when streaming a PS4 game. what's important is that i wasn't concerned nor worried because of how frequent the game auto saves. i knew that if there was a disconnection, i wouldn't have lost much progress if any.

Personally, i do think my choice in part 1 of setting the difficulty to "Wanderer" was the correct choice for me. i'm enjoying playing for the story, one that i don't know where it's going to go. i feel that "Adventurer" might've pulled focus away from the story and exploring and made the game into something else. But it's great that such a choice exists. if you played The Wild at Heart at one of the difficulty levels, trying out the other via streaming the game is a great option to have as you get to try it without having to download it.

So The Wild at Heart is definitely a highly recommended game from the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service.

Cloud Monday - The Wild at Heart - Part 1 - Auto and Manual Saves Make This A Good Streaming Game

This week's Cloud Monday video is part1 of playing the PS4 version of The Wild at Heart via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

This game, from developers Moonlight Kids, isn't one i knew about. The Icon on the PSN drew my attention but it was watching the trailer that made me interested in playing the game. i was impressed that the game looked like the icon and whilst the gameplay shown looked like Pikmin, there were extra ideas that seemed cool. So i was keen to play this game to see if it played as well as it looked.

A great idea at the start is we, the player, get to choose our style of playing. i went with a story focused style, but if i wanted a challenge i could've chosen the second style. i prefer this more than just a simple difficulty slider. I do think it made a difference as i never felt like difficulty or challenge was getting in the way of the game telling me it's story. i was happy to make regular progress.

That's not to say there aren't issues with gameplay. it does feel like the game is lazy when it comes to tutorials. an example early on is how it just puts on the screen use the left stick to climb. that could've easily been taught to us through gameplay at the start if we had to climb down from a bunk bed for example. there are a few moments where stuff is put on screen when it could've been an in-game example. other times, i feel like  the game could've offered hints, the one that i didn't work out for a while is that our vacuum can be used to collect the spritelings too.

In the hour i played, most of these felt like missed opportunities rather than deal breakers. what i played was good and it had a fantastic soundtrack accompanying it. The game also has a great save system that helped make it be one of the better games to stream from the cloud. not only does it make frequent auto saves with a clear icon when it does, but you're also able to make manual saves. there is a slight cravat tho in that when you reload that save it'll put you either at camp, if you saved there, or at the entrance to the area  you entered. But this is all explained by the game, something that is rare to see.

I look forward to part 2. in this part, there were only a second or two of issues due to the game being streamed. i felt no delay in the controls, the audio was fine, and the video quality was high with no dips in the bitrate of the video being streamed to me. so far, streaming The Wild at Heart from PlayStation Plus seems like a great way to play the game.

Demo Play Thursday - SaGa: Emerald Beyond On #PS4

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the PlayStation 4 version of SaGa: Emerald Beyond, developed by Square Enix.

I've known about the SaGa series of games for a long time. But the only game in the series i know i played was Unlimited Saga on PS2, and even then i don't think i played too much of it. This recently released demo is a great way for me to check what a new game in the series looks like.

SaGa: Emerald Beyond does a poor job of presenting itself as a demo and what is included. near the start, at the character select screen, i didn't know if i was limited in character because it's a demo of it's a game where you need to unlock characters. I don't know how big the demo is in general and it doesn't say. so i don't know if i came close to the end or not.

A big highlight from playing this demo was the fantastic music from Kenji Ito. i really enjoyed listening to it and there are periods in this video where i'm not talking mostly because i'm listening to the soundtrack. The second highlight for me was the battle system. Whilst it wasn't explained the best, i did find the game's timeline based party focused combat system to be fun to engage with and by the end of the demo i was trying to add strategy to the commands being issued to make best use of it's timeline system. But it was the other systems related to combat that the game did a poor job in conveying and the commands available really needed a more in-depth explanation as to what each did. As did the level up system as i never really understood how it all worked and the game never explained it.

There were a few little frustrations with SaGa: Emerald Beyond but for the most part i could live with them. The one that annoyed me the most, and i complained about the most in this video, was the story taking place in the latter third. It was unrealistic, even for a fantasy RPG, and honestly came across as cheap. my character is an alien and yet no one treated him like one. the world was engulfed in ice, but the way my character talked made him seem callous like he only cared about his mission. it was like two stories were taking place at the same time and little to no effort was made to combine them into anything looking realistic. 

For me, the highlights of this demo weren't enough to get other the lows. It's a poor demo and i don't think it shows off the game great. there are too many unknowns as to whether this is just the game we were playing or if certain parts of the game have been removed from this demo. If you're interested in this game, maybe you've played one of the earlier games in the series, or maybe you're interested the battle systems, then this demo is worth playing. But for most others it's not one i recommend trying out.

Backlog Conquering - Papo & Yo On PS3 - From Start To Finish

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is the long awaited playthrough of Papo & Yo on PlayStation 3 from start to finish. I played this game back in 2023 and completed it across 5 parts, which you can watch below. One reason i didn't combine all the parts back then was because this playthrough wasn't seamless. there are many times where i look around, make mistakes, and then understand what i need to do. At the time, i didn't think that would be satisfying to watch. I'm more content with how this playthrough went nowadays than back then but when i combined these parts i did cut 2 or 3 longer diversions where i was making a lot of mistakes and unfortunately those cuts are easy to spot. But please do enjoy watching the game and the story it's trying to tell. The music is fantastic, too, so maybe sit back and enjoy the soundtrack as i play. Or you can check out the credits at the end of the video.

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/lHHf-56b7Xs

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/Oh94XuK5U_k

Part 3 - https://youtu.be/ihIQ3nFTKdE

Part 4 - https://youtu.be/2AmtDoudYak (You can skip this, it's just me stuck on one puzzle)

Part 5 - https://youtu.be/XxqXfOpqvfY

Cloud Monday - Black Knight Sword - Part 2 - Easy Is Better, But Saving Is A Pain

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing the PS3 version of Black Knight Sword via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

From Part 1, https://youtu.be/xdaueEIkV_M, we learned that this is actually the whole game and not just a DEMO like the store page says. we also learned the the Normal difficulty level is surprisingly hard, and the biggest thing we learned is that the game has a weird save system.

The fact that the game only saves at checkpoints continues to be it's biggest issue. I played Part 2 on easy and found it a much more normal pleasant playing experience. The amount of enemies and how much is needed to kill them feels right, like either this was the default normal difficulty and they decided to make the game harder or they did an amazing job rebalancing the game for an easier difficulty. I was able to progress through the levels quicker and it almost made up for the checkpoint only saves. But when i did die, it wasn't as much fun having to redo what i've already done as it was going forward and making progress. so whilst it is better, it's still not ideal.

The biggest surprise i stumbled upon is that there is a story, of sorts. it's just that you have to leave the game on the home screen for a little bit for the game to show it. So that's why i included it at the start of this video as i imagine many people, like me, might've not known about it nor even seen it.

But the story and better gameplay can't make up for how this game saves. It looks good and has some interesting ideas. but Black Knight Sword's save system is a fundamental issue so bad that it mostly negates all it's good points, as a game being streamed from the Cloud. This makes it hard to recommend, especially for those interested in the challenge that hard mode brings. Black Knight Sword isn't easy to play legitimately outside of the Cloud so that is a positive reason to give it a go. it's short length does work in it's favor. But the first time you're disconnected from the service and find you have to play through several minutes of enemies, platforms, and traps is probably when you should put it down and move on.

Online Saturday - Foamstars - Season 3 And Chloe Noir Gameplay

For Online Saturday i'm back with Foamstars, from Square Enix and Toylogic. Foamstars is out across PS5 and PS4. I'll be playing the PlayStation4 version of it. 

Season 3, MYSTERIOUS SWING, has just started so i went back into Foamstars to check it out. In this video i was able to try out the new character Chloe Noir, she can be bought as part of the Season Pass or can be earned in-game for free by reaching Season Pass level 31. Everyone can use her in the Extreme Party Mode and i played 4 games of 4 Vs. 4 where everyone is Chloe Noir!

Other than that, i warmed up with a couple of Smash The Star games and once again tried Rubber Duck Party in my attempts to win that mode but once more my teammates and i failed to win it. it is still the only mode i've played where i've yet to get a win.

Cloud Monday - Black Knight Sword - Part 1 - It’s Not A DEMO, It’s The Full Game!

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS3 version of Black Knight Sword via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

I have know Black Knight Sword was on the Cloud Streaming Service and even when it was #PSNow. But it's always been listed as a DEMO, and if this is true for you too please mention it in the comments, so i've never tried it. I didn't know anything about it either, other than that i've always liked the artwork in the icon. So this video, and part 2, is me being curious if it really is a DEMO or if it's the full game.

I can say that yes, it is the full game. in this part i earn a couple of trophies, something you can't earn in a DEMO. so the listing is wrong, out of date at best, and probably a hang over from the PS3 PS Now days.

it's hard to say what Black Knight Sword is as there's no story to guide us. it bleakly starts and hints that maybe we're dead, but doesn't answer were our suit of armor comes from nor what's happening in the world around us. It all looks good but at times i want the screen to zoon in a bit more. The screen is surrounded by theatre style curtains and the game comes across as some sort of performance. But again, there's no context for any of it, the game just wants us to play.

Black Knight Sword is quite fun to play. i started on normal but i think i would change that to Easy and would recommend people to start there. on normal, whilst the combat is fun and easy, the enemies do seem to be sponges and seem to take more hits than you would think to be defeated. A nice aspect of the game is how wide the levels are. it feels like there is often more than one way to get across a level, and with collectables to find it does feel like it's designed to be played through a couple of times.

As a game being streamed to me, i had no issues with the controls. i felt no lag and they felt very responsive. there were no graphical issues either. like many PS3 games, streaming Black Knight Sword was a pleasant experience. But, and it's a big asterisk, there are no manual saves nor are there specific save points. It's all tied into the games checkpoint system and there doesn't seem to be any visual cues as to where or when it happens. So in the event of the service giving us a 20 second warning before disconnection, there's nothing we can do but hope that the last save wasn't too far from where we currently were.

April Fools! - God of War: Ascension - Downloading And Installing The Game

No Switch Funday Today!

It's April 1st, so i thought lets show how to download and install God of War: Ascension from the PS3 PSN. 

Here it is, uncut, from start to finish.

Online Saturday - Hawked - Unique Bugs Stopped Me From Even Starting A Game

For Online Saturday i wanted to play the free to play online game Hawked on PlayStation 4. unfortunately, as you'll see in this video, i came across two bugs. the first one left me stuck in the options menu and i was forced to exit the game and restart it. the second bug meant i couldn't even start a game because the on screen commands said that X was both select and cancel. So pressing it Cancelled and nothing Selected. i couldn't start a game! In both situations, i went through all the buttons on the controller before giving up.

I have sent an email to the publishers, My.Games, and will leave a pinned comment if they have a solution to this issue. i'd rather it be something fixed in-game rather than something i have to solve by going through PS4 settings. I'm fairly sure it's because of the unique situation i'm in. I have a launch model Japanese PS4, where the O and X are switched when compared to American and European commands, and i imagine this game hasn't been designed correctly to deal with this. the best example is at the end when i can't start a game, the in-game graphics say X is Cancel whilst other in-game assets say X is select.

Version 1.12 Played

Backlog Conquering - Teslagrad On PS4 - Part 4 - Continued Platforming Frustrations

This is part 4 of playing the #PlayStation4 version of Teslagrad, from developers Rain AS, as part of Backlog Conquering. 

In the 3 parts i've recorded so far, what i've enjoyed the most was learning about the world and trying to understand the story. sometimes the game told it's story via theatre productions, other times it was like looking at cave paintings. Unfortunately, this doesn't appear to be the main focus of the game. in Teslagrad, the puzzle platforming seems to be the focus and it's this that i've enjoyed the least. 

Across the previous 3 parts and this video, i've often felt that the puzzles are doable but the platforming itself isn't good enough for what the game is often requiring you to do. It feels like a control issue as it's hard to replicate things when they happen as planned but also difficult to replicate things when they don't work as expected. this makes learning the puzzles really difficult as it's hard to know what works, what doesn't work, and why. so in all 4 videos there are moments when i'm stuck trying to do something basic because i can't work out what's going wrong or what's going right.

It's a shame that this game is let down by it's controls. some of the level design has come across as filler whilst other aspects are poorly telegraphed, if they are at all. These are minor in comparison to the control issues, but all together they've sapped away my enjoyment from playing the game to the point where it feels like i'm playing more out of stubbornness than actual enjoyment of Teslagrad.

At the moment, i'm undecided about continuing. i may check to see how far i am, and if i'm close to the end i may give it a go. but if the end isn't near, it's possible this part, Part 4, will be my final video playing Teslagrad.

Online Saturday - Foamstars - Ranked Party TribeVibe Mode

THIS IS FROM VERSION 1.6 OF FOAMSTARS

(I recorded this before the 2.01 update came out but decided to share it nonetheless as i enjoyed trying out a Ranked mode, something i very rarely do)

For Online Saturday i'm back with Foamstars, from Square Enix and Toylogic. Foamstars is out across PS5 and PS4. I'll be playing the #PlayStation4 version of it. 

I rarely play ranked modes in multiplayer games but with #Foamstars i was curious how it would work. Overall, i found the whole experience not as clear as i wanted it to be. for example, i was surprised that there were two modes being used, Smash The Star and Happy Bath Survival. i don't remember it ever being clear that this was the case. I thought progression was interesting in that you play 3 games, earn a score from them. If you have enough, you can take that score and use it to play 2 games that you have to win to rank up.

Backlog Conquering - Teslagrad On PS4 - Part 3 - Frustrated By Puzzle Platforming

This is part 3 of playing the PlayStation4 version of Teslagrad, from developers Rain AS, as part of Backlog Conquering. 

In Part 2, https://youtu.be/IeRdNjMTaLU, I battled through some tough puzzle platforming and got a new power up. i had hoped that this would open up the game and perhaps bring a change to the puzzle platforming. It didn't really change anything and just added a new element to the puzzle part.

I was already finding it difficult but what made Part 2 feel good to play was that i got a couple of important pieces of story and some good world building. it felt like there was a payoff for it. But in this video, it's one frustrating section after another with no payoff at the end. There's no environmental story telling to help out, no smart Ai seeing that i'm in trouble and adjusting things. This game is very much leaving it to me to figure out.

I don't mind that concept and there were times i was genuinely happy i solved the puzzle. But when platforming is involved, the controls had better be good and in all 3 parts of playing Teslagrad so far, the platforming controls haven't matched the platforming they've been tasked to do. In this part, the level design also got in the way of the platforming more than once. Our character is able to look up and down, but not far to the right or left. so at the start we're faced with a blind jump to the left because we can't see what's on the other side. nearer the end of the video there's a section i get stuck on because i couldn't tell that what looked like a section fenced off is actually a fenced off section i can move behind when i use a move.

At the moment, i'm in two minds about doing a part 4.

Backlog Conquering - Teslagrad On PS4 - Part 2 - Hard Platforming And A Bird Pooping Bird Bombs

This is part 2 of playing the PlayStation 4 version of Teslagrad, from developers Rain AS, as part of Backlog Conquering. Part 1, https://youtu.be/0VcP1mdl1rs, got a little rough towards the end as i was seemingly stuck in a loop.

So in this Part 2 my first goal was to head back to the start. this was the right move as along the way i found where i needed to go next. This meant the first half of Part 2 went really well. there were some tricky platforming that required several deaths to pass, but what was a first for this game was that it took time to try and tell a story. there were special, almost, theatre rooms where on stage we're shown 2 parts of the story of Teslagrad. it's the kind of world building that had been missed so far. the only story we had was right at the beginning of Part 1. since then, we've only seen pictures but with no context.

The Boss battle of this part was weird but in a good way. Part 1 had a boss, too, and it felt the same. both were difficult, both required a little strategy, but in a way both felt easier to beat than some of the platforming sections. I hope this continues, but i fear things may get more difficult. The weird part of this battle was that the "bird" we were fighting would poop out smaller flightless birds that would explode. this required careful management as they would destroy the stage.

The final part is getting a new power-up. even in Part 1, it was clear that we didn't have all the abilities we needed to continue. the pictures on the walls teased others who had the same arm as us but who were also wearing different clothes. Well, we got it and it immediately opened up the game and tho i didn't try it in this video, i could think of sections of the game where i could use it.

I ended this part at the start of a new section, a section that looked like it uses our new ability but also requires hard platforming. I'll tackle that in part 3.

Online Saturday - Foamstars - Smash The Star, Happy Bath Survival, Rubber Duck Party, And Extreme Party PVP Modes

For Online Saturday i'm back with Foamstars, from Square Enix and Toylogic. Foamstars is out across PS5 and PS4. I'll be playing the PlayStation4 version of it. 

Foamstars got a 1.05 update today and has had a couple since i last played it so i was curious if i would be able to notice any differences. One thing i noticed quickly were the free gifts i received. i don't think these are for those who played in the launch week, i think these are available for anyone who plays in this launch window.

I focused on some PVP modes today and was created with the message about a new mode. thankfully, i was able to try out Extreme Party in this video. Unfortunately, the only thing that made it extreme was that everyone was invisible. it wasn't that much harder than the real modes as everyone went to the middle and shot out a lot of foam or used their super modes. only a couple of times did someone sneak behind or i noticed a team mate doing that same strategy. The more interesting difference was that the winner was the team to chill the opposing team 10 times.

Smash the Star is the default mode for Foamstars and it's fine. today was the first time i became #MVP and it was exciting. we didn't win that match but i do get a win in Smash the Star. i didn't win in either Happy Bath Survival or Rubber Duck Party. i don't mind about Happy Bath Survival as i already have a win, and the trophy for doing so, from the Online Weekend. But i've now played Rubber Duck Party and lost each one. One of the losses today was 100% to 0%!

As for the Patch, there was nothing major i could point to and say that had changed. waiting times were often long, but that's typical for online games. only Splatoon 3 seems able to have consistent short wait times, tho even that has it's off days like last week's #Splatfest. i was playing as The Baristador and if i had to guess, it felt like his attack had more range and would last longer between reloads. thinking about it, maybe the enemy foam slowed me down more too.

Foamstars continues to be a fun free to play game and it's still one i would recommend anyone with a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 try.