Don’t Think, Just Jam
I started a screenshot album for my virtual adventures. Check it out if you’d like.
Just checked with G1 and 2, the issue is still present for both. The reason it works like this, I think, is because both games can be played entirely with keyboard which makes sudden turns a bit of a pain compared to the mouse. It’s pretty much an assist feature if you will.
But yeah, regardless of the reason for its existence it’s still there.
First clear of 2026! Gothic is a game I played many times in the past but never really finished - until now. It still plays and feels really good and I’m pretty happy with it for the most part, I did however completely forgot how unfinished it is. Very limited side content which doesn’t really expand past chapter 2, a bunch of partially implemented or just empty areas, characters that seem like they should have something going on with them. There’s a lot but it didn’t really affect my enjoyment.
I played the game using OpenGothic, project technically focused on Gothic 2 Night of the Raven but it does support the first game as a bonus. Having the ability to play natively on Linux is pretty cool and the whole thing was rather promising early on but the longer I played the more issues cropped up. Some of the problems I’ve encountered include:
I’m not sure how many of these have to do with OpenGothic in general and what’s the fault of me playing G1 rather than 2 (as I said, support for the first games is just a bonus). I’m sure some of them were also present in the original but I don’t remember enough from G1 to pick them out. Thankfully, none of these problems were game breaking but I think I’ll play Gothic 2 the normal way (whenever that happens).
All in all, it was a fun ride but it also reminded me why I spent waaaay more time with the second game in the past.
After writing my end of the year recap I thought it could be fun to try and come up with the first completion date for as many games in my library as I can. I have a spreadsheet with all of them already so all that was left is to try and figure out the dates. It was easy with some and harder with others but I managed to come up with results for 151 games, with the oldest completion date going as far back as 2003.
Why bother? It’ll make another recap easier to write, simple as that. I also like organising things so the process was fun in its own way and gave me a chance to look back at my gaming habits throughout the years.
Didn’t know about SourceHut though it would have to wait until I find a job. GitLab on the other hand could work. I’ll keep those in mind at least, thanks!
The question however is: where should one move then? I’m genuinely asking since moving away from Github is something I’ve been meaning to do for a while now but didn’t have the time to search for alternatives.
The only one I know about is Codeberg, which could work for most but not all of my projects (for now at least). Anyone here knows other tried and tested platforms worth looking into? Preferably free as I’m not in a position to pay for this stuff at the moment.
It would be a perfect way to familiarise new players with the city alongside V in a more curated way instead of just dumping us into the city right after the life path intro. Also, more importantly, it could make Jackie’s death actually impactful since he’s suppose to be like family to V, while we as players spend with him maybe an hour or two. The only thing that elevates his death scene is the voice acting and even that can only do so much without everything else.
I love the game but the start is a huge fumble in my opinion.
Just to be clear, I don’t know if it added more reading on top of combat or as a potential alternative since I didn’t play it yet. I just heard there’s more of it (though I wouldn’t say no to improving the ratio between peaceful and combat scenarios).
All’s well that ends well then. Congrats on the move!
My problem wasn’t that serious (I enjoyed the combat and only dislike the large battles) but I can see how it can be a run killer. I’m not sure if that’s of any help but I saw mentions that Hong Kong has more reading than the two previous titles, I’m definitely looking forward to that.
I think posting can wait when set against real life (still, nice to have the thread), hope things went well.
I finished the game. As a whole it’s a better experience than the previous title, with slightly more interesting writing (both are great), better balance and an expanded format of acting as a shadowrunner. There’s only one issue that really affected my enjoyment throughout and that’s the amount of large combat scenarios (waves or rooms with 10+ enemies attacking at the same time). They weren’t a majority thankfully, but they were common enough to get a little tiring, to say the least.
I like Shadowrun in its small scale and more personal form, anything big (important jobs with tons of enemies, epic stakes) and I lose interest pretty quickly. I don’t know why games feel the need to end with saving the world or equally important scenarios but it’s the most boring direction a story can go for me at this point. Dragonfall did manage to put a reasonably interesting spin on that at least and I think it did it slightly better than Returns so kudos for that at least.
I loved the side character story arcs - small, personal, some more tragic, other ending happily. Advancing them after every run was one of my favourite parts of the game. I wish such mundane and unimportant story beats played a bigger part in RPGs in general.
After finishing two games I think I’m ready to say I really like this series, WAY MORE than I ever expected to. I had some reservations initially, both due to the setting (not because the idea is bad, I just wasn’t feeling it) and jumping in after a long break from isometric RPGs but these games managed to win me over.
I just wish they had more unofficial content. All I have left is Hong-Kong (with its DLC campaign) and 2 user campaigns for Dragonfall (one of them being a remake of the SNES Shadowrun) - once that’s done I’m out of modules. Cant’s say I’m looking forward to that moment.
It’s an indie tactical(ish) FPS made in EDuke32 engine. It has decently feeling and sounding weapons with really nice sprite work, nine levels (of varying quality) and unique hand drawn cutscenes.
Game aims for a more grounded approach, with relatively low health, reloading, aim-down-sights mechanic and 4 weapon limit. Oh, there’s also localised damage system for enemies (well… head shots), simple squad mechanic (with voice acting for combat barks!) and a stealth system.
Enemies are rather brain dead and have trouble aiming when approached from slightly elevated position - they can still tear through your health if you’re not careful though. Levels are a mixed bag, some parts look pretty good, some are a bit undercooked (simple design, broken lighting on certain models, occasional lack of skybox etc). Heck, one of them might cause some Max Payne’s nightmare level related PTSD flare ups due to its design and pixel perfect platforming. On a more positive note, various map elements have pretty cool damage effects, you can really see the your handiwork after more chaotic encounters.
Outside cutscenes some story segments are displayed as dialogue boxes at the bottom of the screen. Unfortunately, these disappear pretty quickly which paired with their tendency to show up in the middle of the action make them easy to miss. It might not be the best story ever but it would be nice to have a chance to enjoy it.
It’s a neat if amateurish project but it’s fun enough way to spend 3-4 hours with. If anyone’s curious about the game it’s free on Steam.
It’s the final thread of the year so I thought I’d write a short recap. I managed to finish 16 games (that I properly remember) last year, 9 of which were bought this year - I was thinking this kinda puts a dent in the idea of backlog clearing but regardless of their tenure on my “to play” list, the end result is still better than the last few years combined. Backlog is shrinking, if only a little.
Anyway, here are the games I finished in 2025:
There were also other things like visual novels (if you’re interested in those feel free to join us in the [email protected] community) and some smaller indie titles whose names escape me at the moment. All in all a pretty decent number, I’d say.
Can I beat it next year? Probably not but I’ll give it a shot. There are still a lot of titles waiting for their turn so even this pace means a few years of work just to get through everything. I’ll be happy as long as I can finish the year with a slightly shorter backlog than I started it with.
Regardless of their differences it was still tied to the first game, not making use of this connection doesn’t make much sense. At least it wasn’t the case of (new) Prey where they forced the name of a completely separate game to bump up the sales.
Wait, it wasn’t? It’s a genuine question as I got into the series way past its prime.
Yeah, PE2 can be like that. I vastly prefer the first one as well but I also think that the sequel isn’t bad, it’s just not necessarily what I’d like from a follow up. That’s why I think it’s worth suggesting anyway - some people might find it to be more enjoyable than I did.
Heck yeah, Parasite Eve recognition! It’s a fantastic RPG and one of the more unique ones thanks to its setting and gameplay - I wish later games kept the latter at least. If you didn’t play PE2 it might also be worth a shot. It’s a bit different, both in terms of story and gameplay, but it’s still a solid and enjoyable title.
I’m not sure if it’s actually the case or if I’m just trying to justify my own inability to proceed but I feel like the game fails to properly convey how to proceed at certain points. Things are relatively easy to figure out once I know what I’m looking for but getting to that point can be hit or miss.
That said, these hit or miss points vary with each playthrough for me so I’m leaning towards my brain failing to figure things out.
Decided to give it another shot (third or fourth so far), ended as usual - played through about half of the game and got stuck. I’m obviously missing some logic here but things just aren’t coming together, no matter what I try.
Oh well, see you again in another year or two.
I wasn’t really planning on playing it right after Returns (don’t want to burn myself on the series or play style) and mostly installed it to see the difference between the two. Started playing anyway.
I like it so far. I miss being a solo in a new place and the new hub doesn’t feel as cosy as the Seamstress Union but it isn’t bad. Having a proper story related team does make things different enough to keep things interesting. Tone of the writing is pretty different, more “standoffish” and grey than in the first game.
I wasn’t full sold on the updated UI initially but it managed to win me over. I do however have way more issues with miss-clicks in this game. I’m not sure exactly why and while I recognise that it’s my own fault it didn’t make the resulting consequences any more painful unfortunately.
Enemy encounters seem to be a bit more balanced than in the first one and everything feels like an improvement for the most part. That said, there are some scenarios that were… not exactly unfair but definitely weren’t as fun as the rest of the game. It’s fine when there’s an option to scatter and run but that’s not always possible and it did end up affecting my enjoyment at times.
Besides starting the base campaign I also looked into unofficial modules. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit disappointed by my research (there’s only handful of them and most are unfinished) but I did find 2 that might tide me over if I want more after finishing the story. I’ll take what I can get at this point.
So far so good, I’d say. There are some things that turned out better than in Returns and some that don’t really hit the mark but as a whole it’s a pretty good follow up to the first game. I can only hope it sticks the landing as well.
I’m almost done with Shadowrun Returns - all that’s left is the grand finale. Looks like my breaks for Unbeatable didn’t affect my progress as much as I thought they would.
I’m still surprised by the balance between dialogue (or non-combat gameplay in general) and combat - the former is the more interesting part of the game for me so the current state of things is right up my alley. Not that combat is bad, I actually enjoy it way more than I thought I would, but talking with characters is something I always look forward to the most. This is even more highlighted here as I also love the feeling of community in the “Seamstresses Union”, the main hub of the game - there’s not much to do there nor is there a huge amount of interaction with characters but what’s there is enough to make the place feel like home away from home. It’s great.
Writing is pretty engaging for the most part. There were a few less interesting parts but they didn’t really affect my enjoyment though I can’t say I’m a fan of the last minute swerve into the “gotta save the world” narrative. It’s “fine” but I would simply prefer the game to stay with the small(ish) personal stakes instead. I did end up liking pretty much all of the side characters at least (and even some of the random mercs which have no character or conversations at all).
I was worried about two things when I started this playthrough:
The only issues I have with the game are the fact that some etiquette options are pretty much useless in the campaign and that for some reason game always starts on my second monitor, with a borked resolution. Both issues are a bit annoying but they not game breaking so whatever. Other than that nothing stood out in other negative ways.
All in all, I had a great time and can only hope most of my remaining backlog will be just as entertaining. Time to search for another pick.
Edit: Just finished the game. Final section was my least favourite part of the playthrough - it wasn’t terrible, just kinda “meh” compared to the rest of the game. Still liked the game overall and will be happy to play the other two I have.
Yeah, that was my main issue with the writing as well but I treat it as a remnant of the times. Not that it makes it any better mind you, it’s just where the industry (and culture at large to some extent) was back then so I can look past it, even if I don’t like it.
It is what it is, at least now I know I can safely skip the other titles when looking for point and clicks to play.
I don’t mind the writing that much since not everything has to be up my alley and, more importantly, it’s a remake of a game from 1987 - different time, different industry. I do however think they could update it a bit more in terms of gameplay at least. Maybe not completely reworking the moon logic behind some puzzles but getting rid of the option to hard lock your progress would be enough to improve the experience quite a bit, at least for me.
I’m mostly focusing on my backlog for now (except for already mentioned Unbeatable) but I’ll keep this in mind. Thanks for letting me know about it!
No, you can post as a non citizen or “other” (someone from US working on the Inkscape Project used that).