I'm not one for "New Year's resolutions", but I am one for overly ambitious projects.
For 2023, Project365 is "One New Game Per Day".
Given that I have 634 unplayed games in my Steam account and {mumble} unredeemed bundle Steam keys, there's a reason my unplayed collection is tagged "Pile of Shame".
I'll pin this to my profile, and give a brief summary here each day (or x, if I miss x days due to work or stuff).
I'll play 15-30 minutes of (at least) one new game I've never played before (or played less than 15 minutes of). I'll give every game at least 15 minutes, even if I hate every minute of it.
I'm also open to suggestions; if you reply to this thread with a game, I'll schedule it, or tell you what I thought of it.
One of the things that's come up is that I have a bunch of games that I've played once, and not touched again.
December 31, 2023 - Day 365 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 398
Game: Beyond: Two Souls
Platform: Steam
Release Date: Jun 18, 2020 (PC)
Installation Date: Dec 19, 2022
Unplayed: 377d (1y12d)
Playtime: 24m
Beyond: Two Souls is a third-person... interactive movie?
I picked a doozy for my final primary NewPlay. The game starts by presenting the option to play in the "original" non-chronological order, or the "remix" chronological order.
I picked "original", and then found myself in a cutscene with a mo-capped pre-transition Elliot page, and then an unexpected Willem Dafoe, setting up an interesting premise.
Whoever Jodie is, she's dangerous.
After the cutscene, I found myself playing as child Jodie. This was where I ran into my first issue with the game. I'd picked mouse & keyboard to play with, but given that this was originally a console release, it really isn't designed for mouse & keyboard, and the controls just felt weird.
Switched to controller, and things started to make more sense.
The hard part of trying to provide more of a review is this: explaining what happens next goes into spoiler territory, and so... I won't.
Because the game relies on mocap, and was originally released in 2013, prior to Elliot Page coming out as a trans man, I found playing as adult Jodie in the next section somewhat disconcerting, and in a way that I really can't quite put into words. Not enough to make me not want to play, but enough to break immersion.
This is not a critique of the game, rather an acknowledgement of how events in the real world can affect my perception of a game.
I really enjoyed (and completed!) one of Quantic Dream's other games, Detroit: Become Human, which is what lead to me buying this and Heavy Rain in a bundle last year.
Based on past experience, I'm interested in continuing this playthrough of Beyond: Two Souls; so far, it's: