Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC) (2004)

Overview: An open world pirate game. This game is the 2004 remake of the 1987 game of the same name.

---

20231218:
I tried playing this game today, but I didn't get into it.

Setup:
Mouse.

Steam Game Time: 56 minutes

---

Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Very thematic

Neutral:
~ Learning curve; lack of initial clear objectives [apparently part of the appeal of the game is that you can play it how you want]

Con:
- Possibly repetitive gameplay

Rating: 3.0/5

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC) (2004)

Relevant Links:
Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004 video game) (Wikipedia.org)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (steamdb.info)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (Steam Store Page)

Path of Exile - Affliction

Overview: Affliction was a Path of Exile challenge league. The primary mechanic consisted of Wildwood ascendancy classes: Warden of the Maji, warlock of the Mists, and Wildwood Primalists. Each ascendency class had its own set of items: tinctures, corpses, and charms, respectively. The league started on 20231208 and ended 20240326.

---

20231208:
Leveling Caustic Arrow Ranger, and transitioend to Scourge Arrow of Menace Pathfinder.

---

Gameplay Log:
20231209: Made it to maps. Played 18 hours, 51 minutes, and 4 seconds; Died 28 times; Killed 44531 monsters; 6/115.
20231216: Reached level 91. Played 2 days, 0 hours, 36 minutes, and 40 seconds; Died 61 times; Killed 145669 monsters. 78/115

20231222: Reached level 92. Played 2 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes, and 12 seconds; Died 70 times; Killed 185136 monsters. 108/115
20231226: The last day playing the league.

---

El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (PC) (2020)

Overview: A (non-violent) spaghetti-western stealth game.

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20231124:
I played this game for the first time today. So far it has some standard stealth mechanics but with a western theme. While first played with a keyboard, I think the game would be better with a gamepad. However, gamepad or not, I'm not yet pulled into the game (~20 minutes of gameplay).

Setup: Keyboard.

Steam Game Time: 23 minutes

---

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Decent artwork and potentially good story

Cons:
- Seemingly boring gameplay

Rating: 1.0/5

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (PC) (2020)

Relevant Links:
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (Wikipedia.org)
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (steamdb.info)
El Hijo - A Wild West Tale (Steam Store Page)

---

Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (PC) (1997)

Overview: Help Putt-Putt retrieve items from the present which have been sent to different eras in the past.

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20231120:
My son and I played through some of this game. He generally explores and I help every now and then.

Gameplay Log:
We are in the western time area.

Game Setup: We use a little wireless mouse that is more manageable for his smaller hand.

Steam Game Time: 21 minutes [second]

---

20231202:
Gameplay Log:
After clicking around the western time area for a few minutes, Ben left for the medival times
Eventually Ben left the medival times to the future times.
Smile. "Artifact"

Steam Game Time: 78 minutes (cumulative game time) / 57 minutes (session game time)

---

20231206 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 103 minutes (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20231206

---

Thoughts:
None at this time

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (PC) (1997)

Relevant Links:
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (Wikipedia.org)
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (steamdb.info)
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time (Steam Store Page)

Sid Meier's Civilization VI (PC) (2016)

Overview: Develop a civilization.

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20231101:
Every so often during the past few months, I thought about getting into the Civilization series. Technically, I once tried to get into the series and played the tutorial of Civilization V for over ten hours. Today I finally went ahead and tried the tutorial for the latest in the series.

Setup: Bumped up all the graphics. 4K resolution. Very important to also scale up the UI otherwise text is too small to read.

Ready to leave the tutorial, I tried to build up a small army and launch an attack. The enemy AI, however, had some strong units prepared.

Steam Game Time: 106 minutes

---

20231107:
Today I started an actual game, but I was so sleepy that I couldn't really focus and do much.

Setup: Standard Rules, Random Leader (Pedro II), Prince, Standard, Continents, Small. Random resulted in Brazilian Empire with Pedro II. It seems the Aztec Civilization Pack is also enabled.

Steam Game Time: 2.2 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.4 hours (session game time)

---

20231108:
I continued the campaign today and I think I was just continuing from an autosave which may be a few turns short of where I left off, because I re-encountered Cleopatra. In any case, I'm not sure if it's my inefficiency, but the feeling of building units taking so many turns is mind numbingly slow. I think the only way to counter this is to rush settlers and risk attack by Barbarians. Speaking of settlers, perhaps I should start a new campaign because I lost my first settlers that were left unescorted and killed by another unit. While for the moment I've pressed on, I feel the delay could have detrimental ripple effects.

On a different topic, combat feels unintuitive and neither is there good in-game documentation on it. In my mind, a range unit should be able to fire from afar, but my slingers still need to be one unit away. It seems the only bonus here is that they can attack without being retaliated on.
One of the elements that adds to the game moving slow is the speed (or lack of speed) at which units move across the map. However, perhaps the game is balanced around that movement.

For a city center to be the limiter on building is very different than the feel of production in an RTS like Warcraft III or Starcraft.
Steam Game Time: 3.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.1 hours (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
None at this time

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

Sid Meier's Civilization VI (PC) (2016)

Relevant Links:
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (Wikipedia.org)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (steamdb.info)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (Steam Store Page)

The Last Faith (PC) (Demo)

20231019:
When I was younger I played many Castlevania games and now that I'm older I've played Metroidvanias here and there but I think I'm getting too old for them. Either I don't have the patience or the reflexes I once had. In any case, I mostly liked this game, and I think it would have been a better experience if I had used a gamepad instead of a keyboard. For the most part I enjoyed the animations with the exception of how the character climbs a ladder - this animation looks odd to me. I also found the lack of mana regeneration made the game harder - unless I was missing a key mechanic.

Setup: Chose the Brawler. Played on a keyboard.

Steam Game Time: 30 minutes

Yog-Sothoth's Yard (PC) (Demo)

20231019:
Today I booted up this game with no idea what it was about. It booted up in another language and among the three options at the menu screen I chose the top option. There was a lot of dialogue and I pressed various keys based on experience until landing on the "Ctrl" key which speeds up the dialogue. I randomly chose selection options as they came up. Eventually the main game started and I was able to go into the options and switch the language to English. The game turned out to be a hotel management simulator. I decided to exit the game. At the menu, the options are "Play," "Options," and "Exit."

I then decided to hit "Play" and experience some of the initial story in English. It was so dense and overall I felt the game was not for me.

Steam Game Time: 20 minutes

Path of Exile - Ancestor (Trial of the Ancestors)

Overview: Ancestor was a Path of Exile challenge league. The primary mechanic consisted of a tournament called the Trial of the Ancestors, which plays like an autobattler (though the player is also a live participant). Players choose a team of warriors, adding and upgrading warriors between matches, and work their way through the tournament. The league started on 20230818 and ended 20231205.

---

20230818:
Leveling Stormblast Mine Shadow, transitioned to Hexblast Saboteur.

---

Gameplay Log:
20230825: Ran first white map (but actually engaged with League mechanic at some point and it was really addicting). Played 22 hours and 32 minutes; Died 20 times; Killed 38163 monsters
20230907: Reached level 90; Played 2 days, 0 hours, 39 minutes, and 46 seconds; Died 63 times; Killed 121467 monsters. 77/115
20230908: Reached level 91; Played 2 days 3 hours, 10 minutes, and 19 seconds; Died 65 times; Killed 131456 monsters. 86/115
20230909: Reached level 92; Played 2 days, 7 hours, 11 minutes, and 10 seconds; Died 66 times; Killed 161851 monsters. 94/115
20230910: Reached level 93; Played 2 days, 15 hours, 4 minutes, and 23 seconds; Died 68 times; Killed 207137 monsters. 102/115

20230914: Sold current stash of essences in bulk and used earnings to make huge upgrades
20230920: Played Strand + essence while watching Doom
20230922: Previous I was not leveling so well in maps. Making progress in Delve the other day + Heist. Continuing Heist today. Actually I dependend on Delve + Heist in the past. Not sure why I felt differently this league to try maps
20230923: Reached level 94; Played 4 days, 12 hours, 16 minutes, and 1 second; Died 98 times; Killed 433476 monsters. 112/115
20230925: Reached level 95; Played 4 days, 22 hours, 9 minutes, and 37 seconds; Died 102 times; Killed 497293 monsters. 112/115. Leveled from Delve + Heist. Got some free Breachstone runs (slow but easy XP)
20230926: Reached level 96; Played 5 days, 4 hours, 7 minutes, and 59 seconds; Died 102 times; Killed 530711 monsters. 112/115. Piggy backed on some free Chayula for last 10%.

20231002: A Kalandra's Touch Ring was the final round reward at rank 437!!! The lowest trade price is 71 divine! It is the fourth most expensive unique accessory after Mageblood (350 divine), Headhunter (158.2 divine), and Original Sin (131 divine). It is followed by Ashes of the Stars (39 divine)

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The Last Campfire (PC) (2021)

Overview: Play as Ember and help save lost souls by solving puzzles.

---

20230715:
My first impression was that the narration in the game is not always welcome. And when compared to the use of narration in the action RPG game Bastion, the narration here is just terrible. In particular, the game sometimes has too much dialogue over gameplay. On that note, I'm not sure I understand the story. The premise hints at idea of the story, but it is ambiguous enough for a person like me to feel a mixture of anxiety and dissatisfaciton (initially it just seemed like he got left behind, and yet...). Anyways, the initial puzzles are interesting enough to encourage further gameplay.

Setup: Steam Deck.

Steam Game Time: 40 minutes

---

20231125 Comment:
Today I was putting together the post for this game. I thought the game was titled The Lost Campfire but it is actually The Last Campfire. I believe a source of my error is the "a" in "Last," being smaller than the "a" in "Campfire," is easy to mistake for an "o."

---

20230717:
This entry is for a combination of two sessions... one at around 10 PM of 20230717 and another around 12:30 AM of 20230718. Thus far, I helped about 6 of 7 forlorn in the first world and went to the second world. Unfortunately, I find the puzzles in the game less like those in the puzzle genre, and more like those in the point-and-click adventure genre.

Steam Game Time: 111 minutes (cumulative game time) / 71 minutes (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Potentially inpiriing story

Neutral:
~ Simple game

Cons:
- Too much narration
- Too much dialogue

Rating: 2.0/5

---

Summary:
None at this time

---

The Last Campfire (PC) (2021)

Relevant Links:
The Last Campfire (Wikipedia.org)
The Last Campfire (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
The Last Campfire (steamdb.info)
The Last Campfire (Steam Store Page)

Hollow Knight (PC) (2017)

20230711:
While I played parts of the beginning of this game on my brother-in-law's Nintendo Switch, I don't remember where I'm supposed to go. Thus far, it seems like a straightforward Metroidvaynia game.

Steam Game Time 17 minutes (cumulative game time)

[20230712][20231022 Edit]

---

20230713 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 89 minutes (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230712

---

20230713:
Dying and losing money sucks, especially while exploring and blindly looking for the next save or travel or mapping. Speaking of which, the map system is annoyingly different from how I'm used to mapping in the Castlevania series. My logic here is that I can technically just map out the game by hand. As such, having to spend currency to purchase incremental portions of the map feels unfriendly, especially taking into account the risk of losing one's money. I wish there was at least a way to find your ghost self.

On a positive note, the healing system adds a unique dynamic to the gameplay.

Steam Game Time: 2.6 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.1 hours (session game time)

[20230714][20231022 Edit]

---

20230714:
I'm not sure how I feel about the death system. It has its pros and cons I suppose.

Steam Game Time: 4.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.8 hours (session game time)

[20230717]

---

Rating: 4.0/5

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/Hollow_Knight/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_Knight

TOEM (PC) (2021)

Overview: A puzzle adventure where the player character progresses the story by solving problems using the player character's camera.

---

20230417:
First session.

Camera and Gamepad Mappings at the start of the game
(more features come later)

Setup: Steam Deck.

Steam Game Time: 29 minutes

---

20230422:
My first impression of the game is that it is simple and fun. The core game mechanic involves taking pictures in order to solve various problems. In a way, it's similar to a point-and-click adventure game, but instead of fulfilling quests by picking up and delivering items, the player takes a picture and delivers the photo. In my life, I've only played a handful of games with a camera system. Off the top of my head, these include Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Beyond Good and Evil, and one of the Fatal Frame games (probably Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly).

I like the feel of the game. It has a casual, lighthearted, kindhearted feel to it. Keep in mind, however, I'm saying this with a fair background in playing video games, and it might be possible that a brand new video game player would think of this game as either easy or casual.

Steam Game Time: 2.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.6 hours (session game time)

[20230429][20231108 Edit]

---

20230502 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 2.6 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230502

---

20231108:
Today I managed to figure out some quests in Stanhamn that previously stumped me. This left me with just one undisovered quest in Stanhamn.

Steam Game Time: 4.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.5 hours (session game time)

---

20231220:
Gameplay Log:
Today I'm in the next area: Logcity.
I came down to two stamps I was having trouble with: the mysterious man and a photo with 5 living objects
I did at 6.2 hours cumulative game time find the man. I had run circles around the city many times... Not sure what had made this run different for me to choose to look where he was, but good thing I did.
Soon after I also was about to snap 5 living objects, one of which was me. Not sure, I felt like I took a picture of 5 before, or maybe the other picture I took had too many objects.
Start Kiiruberg.
While looking for the Ancient Paintings I couldn't find the sixth one. After a while searching, I read that it is in the next area (Mountain Top).
Trying to finish compendium. Can't find Tato Bug and Cosmo Deer.
Start Basto.

Completed Basto stamps. Can't find some of the Basto compendium.
Managed to find Tato Bug (required finding an energy box, which I found by hearing a strange humming and then noticing there were little black dots eminating from a location)
It was the last energy box I needed to find and I was able to talk to the man in the tower. He unlocked a portal to where I was able to collect Cosmo Deer to complete the compendium for the base game
Went to Stanhamn to figure out how to unlock treasure chest. Walked around for a while. Finally I figured it out. There was this pirate asleep and it occurred to me I should honk to wake her up. She gave me the key to the chest and that was it. Completing this last quest unlocked "Complete all quests in Stanhamn" "Complete all quests in the base game" and "Equip every base game item once" (upon wearing the paper hat she gave)
At this point I have three achievements remaining: "Self portrait" "And some more" "Cool moon" and a hidden achievement.
Back to Basto. Wasn't recorded: Coco crab (investigated rustling in tree)
Figured out the "Cool moon."
I decided to look up the "Self portrait" because my attempts at it don't seem to work. Not sure what's special about these instructions I'm reading though. Ah. Specifically the character has to sit in the chair in front of the painter! This leaves the "And some more" (Basto compendium) achievement for which I still need to find "Itsy Bitsy" and "Tato King." Then I have a hidden achievement which I saw the goal via Steam Global Achievements
I look up the location for "Itsy Bitsy":

"Inside the Cave, there are Glow Worms crawling on the wall. Aim your camera to find a crack on the wall. Splash at it until an "X" is revealed [...]"
Remark: while I had noticed this crack, I would have never thought to splash it with water...

Got the "Tato King"!
Gave a small try at the hidden achievement by looking in Kiiruberg. But it was a half-assed attempt - which I'm okay with looking up the answer to save time: "In Oaklaville, when you go into the hotel, with your camera, look up at the celiing"

Steam Game Time: 12.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 8.7 hours (session game time)

---

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Cute game
+ Great soundtrack
+ Fun game mechanic
+ Casual, take a picture of anything even if it's not for the game
+ Bonus area was added which extends the game a good portion

Neutral:
~ Generally the contents of pictures are recognized by the game, but there are rare finicky exceptions

Rating: 5.2/5

---

Summary:
While most of the puzzles in TOEM are straightforward, I welcomed this, and found that the game overall strikes a good distribution of difficulty. Furthermore, I found the game rather charming and worth playing for this charm, in combination with a well-executed camera mechanic.

---

TOEM (PC) (2021)

Relevant Links:
TOEM (Wikipedia.org)
TOEM (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
TOEM (steamdb.info)
TOEM (Steam Store Page)

Haven Park (PC) (2021)

20230416 (Part 1):
I started playing a couple minutes yesterday night. Sometimes the game froze, but shutting it down and starting it back up seems to always be a satisfactory solution, because no progress was ever lost.

The foreshadowing was clear with the grandma, and so the ending was sad but not that sad. On that note, while it is the protagonist's grandma, the game did not do anything to create an emotional connection with her. Had the game incorporated flashbacks or tie the grandma more intimately with the progression of the story, this may have made the ending more impactful.

Overall, the game is relatively easy. However, I did get stumped trying to find the passage up the ice area which has a broken bridge. I first explored other parts of the island because I did not realize there was a hidden passage.

As an aside, I only have some optional quests and fun upgrades left in the game. I'm not sure if there are any benefits into upgrading all the shops but I imagine each settlement will essentially pay for itself. Actually, I guess I still have to find all the items in the game that need fixing.

---

20230416 (Part 2):
So I completed all achievements except a hidden achievement. The last achievenent (outside the hidden achievement) was to "Light 5 firefly lanterns." I had to wait manually until night to collect the achievements. It's funny since sleeping allows one to bypass the night, but there is no way to bypass the day. As such, I burned about 10 to 15 minutes to wait for night, collected a firefly, and thankfully it was my fifth and final lantern.

For the hidden achievement, I looked it up and it was "Jump on a swing". I think it's a mildly lame achievement, and a very lame hidden achievement - especially because if anything can be ridden it should be the ferris wheel. In fact, while killing time for day to turn into night, my son wanted me to ride the ferris wheel, and so I tried. Unfortunately, there was no in-game option to so I just tried to hop onto it. One can kind of glitch into a seat but the game will force the player character out on top or other weird behavior. I found it very strange there was not an in-game feature to ride the ferris wheel.

Overall, the game was charming at times but lacked the polish that makes the game worth recommending. There are similar games I have played, e.g., Animal Crossing, which would likely be superior to this game. With thay being said, this game is short, which would be an upside for some players. The main story can theoretically be completed in about 2 hours; I completioned all the achievements in about 8.5 hours, but maybe without distractions I could have done it in 7 hours.

Steam Game Time: 8.5 hours (cumulative game time)

---

Rating: 3.8/5

---

20231225:
Ensuring backup of game's save files from Steam Deck to PC.

Steam Game Time: 8.5 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.0 hours (session game time)

---

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1549550/Haven_Park/
https://www.havenparkgame.com/

Path of Exile - Crucible

Overview: Crucible was a Path of Exile challenge league. The primary mechanic consisted of upgrading non-Unique weapons or shields by giving them their own passive trees. Further mechanics include combining Crucible Passive Trees or giving such trees to Unique items. The league started on 20230407 and ended 20230815.

---

Fire Trap / Frostblink Elementalist

20230407:
My league start character was Fire Trap / Frostblink Elementalist. If I recall, I was following a build by Subtractem.

---

Gameplay Log:
20230406: Prior to the league start, I practiced leveling for 1.5 hours. I made it to Prisoner's Gate in Act 1. 3/115 maps.
20230408: Made it to maps. Played 17 hours and 14 minutes; Died 9 times; Killed 33624 monsters.
20230424: Reached level 92. Played 2 days, 23 hours, and 16 minutes; Died 84 times; Killed 194882 monsters. 96/115 maps.
20230503: Reached level 94. Played 4 days, 0 hours, and 57 minutes; Died 106 times; Killed 281528 monsters. 113/115 maps; 119/132 atlas skills.
20230507: Reached level 95. Played 4 days, 20 hours and 40 minutes; Died 118 times; Killed 319672 monsters. 113/115 maps; 120/132 atlas skills.

Crucible Passive Skill Tree

20230510: Started a new character. [20260315: if I recall, Crucible Passive Trees made certain builds really strong, including bow-based builds]
20230513: Completed Acts. Played 11 hours and 54 minutes; Died 69 times; Killed 37951 monsters.
20230514: At level 89 the build is feeling good. I have a decent crafted bow with a crucible tree. I feel like I'm dealing more damage than my fire trap character, but slightly squishier. For example, I'm starting to be able to do Lethal crucible mechanic no problem and hitting four reward types with no problem. Certain essences are hard because I have to kite them, but they seem to be getting easier.
20230522: Reached level 93. Played 2 days, 19 hours, and 0 minutes; Died 137 times; Killed 267570 monsters. 114/115 maps; 122/132 atlas skills. I spent a lot of time farming essence in white tier maps. Note that 2 of the 137 deaths were after the level up.

Fully assigned Crucible Passive Skill Tree

20230524: Reached level 94. Played 3 days, 7 hours, and 28 minutes; Died 160 times; Killed 336312 monsters. 114/115 maps; 123/132 atlas skills. Running Delve with no side paths is good XP gains for me, but at times I got greedy with the side paths and died a few times setting me back.
20230526: Reached level 95. Played 3 days, 18 hours, and 2 minutes; Died 168 times; Killed 407522 monsters. 114/115 maps.
20230609: reached level 96. Played 5 days, 2 hours and 19 minutes; Died 212 times; Killed 577124 monsters. 114/115 maps; 124/132 atlas skill. The other day I was having trouble dying in tier 14-16 maps so I focused on finishing Delve and moving to white Heist for simpler XP. Today I got two free Tainted Paradise and something else for easy experience.

Lightning Arrow / Artillery Ballista Deadeye

20230610: Started a new character, leveling as Lightning Arrow and will go into Ice Shot. I think this will be easier than respec'ing back and forth between two similar characters. [20260315: fast forward to end of the league, I only got this new character into Act 4]

---

Baba is You (PC) (2019)

20230319:
Whoa! This is such an awesome innovative puzzle game. I think it has a balance of difficulty with enough puzzles that can be solved to unlock new puzzles. But it also has challenging puzzles that are optional.

The general pattern is "Object has SomeProperty," e.g., "Baba is You" (the game's title). But soon the player learns how it is necessary to to think outside the box.

Steam Game Time: 2.2 hours (cumulative game time)

---

20230321 (AM Hours):
This game was so fun. I would have played more but the Steam Deck ran out of battery.

Steam Game Time: 3.0 hours (cumulative game time)

---

20230323 Snapshot:
This entry should cover play on the 21st and 22nd. I'm trying not to obsess over any single puzzle. To clarify, at least during these two days I switched to this mindset.

Steam Game Time: 6.0 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230322

[20230322][20231019 Edit]

---

20230324:
Steam Game Time: 9.1 hours (cumulative game time)

---

20230331 Snapshot:
I've been playing on and off over the last few days and decided to not submit individual entries. I'm trying to go in order of areas by number and not lingering too much when I get stuck on a level. One of the tougher mechanics for me to deal with is "shift." Meanwhile "on" is challenging but somehow logically reasonable to deal with.

Steam Game Time: 24.4 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230331

[20230331][20231020 Edit]

---

20230404 Snapshot:
I'm pretty close to the point where I'm stuck on all levels which I have access to, and I'm unable to make new progress. I did, however, solve one or two difficult puzzles.

Steam Game Time: 30.6 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230402

[20230402][20231020 Edit]

---

20230404 (AM Hours):
I figured out "Lovely House" (and it followed that I figured out "Skull House" which is the same). I also figured out "Lock the Door" in the Deep Forest area. I still have "Insulation" left though.

Steam Game Time: 31.6 hours (cumulative game time)

[20230404][20231020 Edit]

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20230414 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 31.9 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230406

---

20230417 Snapshot:
By now I've definitely completed a number of puzzles that stumped me, only to encounter more difficult puzzles. The other day I completed the primary campaign level, but I'm far from being able to 100% the game.

I'm stuck on the following levels (though some I just open and immediately exit the level whenever I feel I've already spent an overwhelming amount of time on them):
10: (dot)
9: 04, 09, 11, (dot)
7: 05, (2 dots)
???: 04
6: 08, 12
5: E

I tried spending more time with "Insulation" (5E) but did not succeed at solving it. One interesting position was facing left above "Wall." This stacks two walls to the far left, but it doesn't make use of "up" and it doesn't really seem to give any advantages to the word "wall."

Steam Game Time: 41.0 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230417

---

20230704:
I occasionally turn this game on and think about a problem or two.

Steam Game Time: 42.4 hours (cumulative game time)
Last Played: 20230702

---

20251030 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 44.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 43h 3m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20231109 Remark: The Playnite time does not align with the Steam game time.

---

Rating: 5.8/5

---

20251030:
Gameplay Log:
Played a couple of easy levels to get in the mindset. Then went to a difficult level (5E) and tried to think through it for about an hour. XD

Steam Game Time: 46.2 hours (cumulative game time) / 77 minutes (session game time)

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20251031:
Today I took a look at some other levels. Wasn't able to make progress on any of them and kind of felt like perhaps this is the end of the game for me. As in, I don't think I'll mentally be able to dedicate time to solving these harder puzzles. I still think the game is by far one of the best games I've ever played.

Steam Game Time: 47.8 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.6 hours (session game time)

Remark: the recently played page currently says 47.8 hours but the game page says 46 hours. This 1.8 hours difference is about the same difference as the difference between the game page and the Playnite time I recorded in the 20251030 snapshot. How strange.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Is_You
https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/

River City Girls (PC) (2019)

Overview: Play as Kyoko or Misako and save their boyfriends, Kunio and Riki (the protagonists in River City Ransom), in this beat 'em up.

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20230318:
Thus far this beat 'em up has straightforward beat 'em up mechanics. I do, however, find the game difficult. In particular, I'm stuck at the first boss, and I'm trying to figure out how to counter her running move.

Setup: using Proton 6.3-8 instead of the default (presumably the default is the latest release) allows for the cutscene before the first boss to play. It is weird why the opening intro is not affected by this. In any case, another problem on the Steam Deck is the game is wider than the display and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix it.

Steam Game Time: 44 minutes

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20230319:
After making my notes for 20230318, I searched how to fix the resolution problem. I found there are reviews specific to Steam Deck Verified. Reviews there confirmed the use of Proton 6.3-8 as solving the cutscene issue. One review, however, also mentioned that the default resolution has an aspect ratio of 16:10, and suggested forcing the game to use 720p, which has an spect ratio of 16:9, instead. I tried it and it worked.

Gameplay Log:
After fixing the resolution problem, I beat the first boss when I realized I could walk up and down and have the boss hit the pillars.
Later in the evening I played some more in 1080p. There were no obvious instances of text which I remember but I think it was good since 1080p has an aspect ratio of 16:9. I played up to arriving at the construction site.

Steam Game Time: 2.1 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.4 hours (session game time)

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Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Good art style
+ Fun dialogue (enjoyable-to-read)

Neutral:
~ Unlock moves by collecting coins

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Summary:
None at this time

Rating: 4.4/5

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River City Girls (PC) (2019)

Relevant Links:
River City Girls (Wikipedia.org)
River City Girls (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
River City Girls (steamdb.info)
River City Girls (Steam Store Page)

Pawnbarian (PC) (2021)

Overview: A puzzle game which uses chess-based pieces and rules as a foundation and layers on special modifiers and a card system.

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20230307:
This game is interesting with a lot of characters for replay value. I still getting used to some of the rules. I wish there was a way to preview a move.

After playing the Pawnbarian character, I tried the Knight Templar. The Knight-focused gameplay requires... unknown. It's a strategy which is likely out of my reach so early on. I'm still in the mindset of chess when this game is clearly not chess.

Steam Game Time: 91 minutes

[20230307][20231019 Edit]

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20230310:
Today I played as Pawnbarian in the second area where most enemies have a spark ability, which results in me using extra actions less frequently. I was able to complete it with about three rounds into the gauntlet. However, I'm thinking maybe I should ignore the gauntlet until I play through the game with all the characters first.

Steam Game Time: 2.7 hours (cumulative game time)

[20230307][20231019 Edit]

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20230311:
Today I completed the second and third rooms as Pawnbarian. Then I decided to move onto the Golem Fortress as Knight Templar. Later in the evening I completed Golem Fortress and the third room as Knight Templar.

Steam Game Time: 4.4 hours (cumulative game time)

[20230307][20231019 Edit]

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Rating: 4.0/5

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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1142080/Pawnbarian/