Finally beat Ys 2.
Now I'll take a break for a while. Fatigue from the backlog grind starts kicking in.

Well, if I'm in a mood for a certain game, then I'll play it.
(7 Days To Die keeps popping in my head somehow.)

I'm done with Skeletal Avenger. It also took me around 11 hours to beat it.
I don't think everyone will like the game due to it's simplicity.

Time to focus on Ys 2.

Now playing: Skeletal Avenger, from the same devs as Tesla Force.
So far, the game is easy and a bit... dull. Hopefully it'd better as I progress.

Beaten Tesla Force around 11 hours (with some grinds), just to found out that the game was abandoned. R.I.P.
-The game only had 4x NG+. Once you beat it, you're pretty much done with the game.
-Some of the weapons were never delivered. These just stuck in the "Tier ?" weapons, and inaccessible.
2 abilities are also locked.
Well, at least I had a lot of fun playing it.

Another game joined the play list: Tesla Force!

Tracers!
Tesla Force

I've played it's predecessor Tesla vs. Lovecraft 3 years ago, and enjoying it.
The biggest difference between the two is that Tesla Force is a "roguelite" with procedural-generated levels, while Tesla vs. Lovecraft is a straight shoot-em-up with static levels IIRC.
The graphics, overall gameplay and contents remains similar.

Got 2 new games from trading: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night & Warstone TD!

Thanks to Patch Quest, now I'm "officially" owns 1000 games on Steam!

1k games flex!

Adol journey continues...

Yum!
Ys 2

3 things to note:

Booted up my rusty PS3, and played The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero!
I'd love to buy Zero & Azure on Steam if they didn't charge it the same as a $60 games.
You read it right. The regional pricing were screwed.

Got a new game from trading: Yooka-Laylee!

Plants vs Zombies 3 is mobile-only & free-to-play.
Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaah.

Played 2 new games: Ys 1 & Revita!

Hang in there, buddy!
Ys 1

Revita

I played Valfaris for exactly 100 minutes, and it safe to say that the game is not for me.
It's challenging, but viable. The problem is, I have no motivation to go forward.

Moving on...

I have downloaded several games. The first one on the list is Valfaris.
Platformer & "Metroidvania" games are not really my forte. But ever since I played Yoku's Island Express last year, my interest on the genre grew little by little.
Valfaris however, is difficult by nature. There's a chance that I'll drop the game.
So far, I've beaten the first boss, and it's still enjoyable. If I don't like it after all, then I'll simply move on into the next game.

"I'm awake. Even in the void, sleep eludes me."
Valfaris

Bought a game: Jet Set Radio!

Now, this is unexpected.

Two hair-pulling moments in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time:
1. Elevator level.
Oh man. I thought beating 15~ mobs was a chore.
On this level, Gamefaqs guides mentioned that there's 30-40 of them here. And that's not the only problem.
Unlike the previous battle encounters, I think the next wave of enemies here enters as soon as I killed one, which means no 1-2 seconds break to replenish my health.
Now the reason why I kept failing this level: Farah.
She's just stand idly at the center while getting smacked here and there.
What I am doing? My hands are full with the big guys, and I have to babysit her too?

2. Descending wall jump.
Sounds stupid, I know.
The good thing is uh, I am not the only one who had trouble here. (...yay?)
IIRC, there's 2 "descending" wall jump section on the game. The last one in particular was a bit tricky, mainly because I lost the power to rewind time.
Falling down to my death means I had to redo the 2 minutes platforming sequence over and over again.
I gave it another try after a short break, and I managed to succeed in one try.
Excuse me, what the isdjlgikdg-

These silly issues aside, I beat the game for the second time in a good mood. It took me 11 hours to do it.
I forgot to take a screenshots, but I did one on one of my favorite stage: The prison (and torture chamber?)

The prison
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

5 hours in, and I am halfway already.
One of the most memorable part of the game was this puzzle.

Azad defense system puzzle(?)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Minor annoyance: Battles.
For most of the time, battles involve 4~ mobs, and I need to defeat like 15 of them. It's kind of tedious, but no biggie. The game is easy overall.

Bonus:

A very beautiful (low poly) landscape!
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Got 2 new games from trading: Lust from Beyond: M Edition & Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair!

The first game I play in 2024 is... Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time!
One of my favorite PS2 games.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time main menu

Bought Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds and the XCOM bundle on Steam sales. That's it.
Phantom Breaker is going to be delisted soon, while the bundle is just about $2. With this, I own all XCOM games on Steam except The Bureau: XCOM Declassified!
Mass Effect Legendary Edition was 90% off, but the 100GB+ size is a massive turn off LOL

January's Humble Choice is here, and it's kind of disappointing.
The games that interests me most are Two Point Campus and Hell Pie. Midnight Suns might be nice, but then I am not a "hardcore" fan of Marvel (nor XCOM) so it's not really a big deal.
Don't get me wrong, these games are neat. It just not on my priorities.

The $9 deals is down the drain.
At least I'm satisfied with the December's Choice.

Subbed to Humble Choice again. The $9 for 2 months deals is just too good to pass.
I also spent roughly $10 on the... "market" and bought a handful of cheap games. This is my first time. I hope I wouldn't get into trouble...