Played this month – January 2024

Between Midgar and PNF-404

3rd February 2024

update

Welcome to the first “Played this month”. This will be, as the name suggests, a series where I give some brief personal opinion about the games I played during the month that just ended. In January I tried a few new games (new at least for me), but only two of them really got my full attention and dedication. Here’s what I played:

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Action RPG / PS4

The first part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy was the first game I finished this year. It’s focused in Midgar, where the original game starts, giving to the city a gigantic facelift with detailed graphics, for the most part, and spectacular cutscenes, in classic Square Enix fashion, and introducing a new action focused combat system. Overall it was a great experience, but not without a few flaws, like some lackluster side quests, to give an example.


Pikmin 4

Real-time strategy / Nintendo Switch

As a Pikmin fan, this was a game I knew I would have a great time with, even before starting to play it. After almost 40 hours of gameplay and 100% completion, it managed to not only match my high expectations but even surpass them. I will keep it short for now, as I will do a full review of Pikmin 4 soon.


Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Tactical RPG / Nintendo 3DS

My quest to find a Fire Emblem game that I like more than Three Houses is yet prove to be fruitless. Echoes: Shadows of Valentia was the closest I got from that, but even so, I didn’t have the drive to keep playing it until the end. My save file was abandoned for almost an year, much like my Nintendo 3DS. I decided to do a quick battle, just to try to get back in the game, but I forgot completely the story so far and many of the characters. I may need to watch a recap before playing more.


Very Very Valet

Casual / Nintendo Switch

A few weeks ago in a company retreat I had, I tried a few casual multiplayer games whose names I can’t even remember, but one of them stood from the crowd to me. Very Very Valet combined the Overcooked-like co-op strategy with some crazy driving mechanics, in the same style as Micro Machines or R.C. Pro-Am, to deliver an hilariously chaotic experience.


Shin Megami Tensei V

RPG / Nintendo Switch

After enjoying Persona 4 and 5 so much, I decided to try the series that started it all, just to realize how brutally difficult it is, to the point that on my third regular battle, I was presented with the Game Over screen. SMT V is what can be described as a true “hardcore” experience. It didn’t convinced me in the same way as its more successful spinoff, as so, I will put this game on hold for now. The only thing I truly enjoyed during my brief time with it, was its soundtrack. Seriously, it seems like Atlus simply can’t make games without some bangers.




And that’s all for January. For next month, one thing I know for sure, it will be all about the new Persona 3 Reload. See you next time!


<< More posts