2025 Gaming Plans.

[jrnlgrn]

February Recap

Finished:
A Short Hike - Didn't go finding all the little side items but still enjoyed it. A nice little diversion

Currently Playing:
Judgement - I go stetches without playing but the story is starting to ramp up. Think I'm in chapter 5. Not quite as into it as Yakuza 0 but still a good game.

Currently Playing (Games with "No End")
Off the Grid - Still hanging in there.
Pro Yakyuu Spirits 24-25 - Started a season with the Orix Buffalo. Think I've played 5 or 6 games sitting in 2nd place in the division current. Fun learning all the players on the team. Don't know their names really but just what they look like.
Tekken 8 - Asuka has emerged as my main fighter now. Now that I've got that settled, I can really learn some moves. Once I can get consistent results against other players ghost I might try playing against an actual person. That might be a while though.

VR (Rarely Use it But These Are Always Installed):
Gran Turismo 7
Beat Saber
Synth Riders

Abandonded:
EA FC '25 - Just not a good game. It's probably the least played in the series since the '21 or '22 edition.

Recently Wishlisted:
MLB the Show '25 and PGA 2k25 - Not sure if I'll pick them up but either -way I'll probably wait for a sale.

[peter42O]

2025 YEARLY UPDATE

2024 COMPLETED GAMES
- Star Wars Outlaws (8.0/10, great, base game, ubisoft+)
- Star Wars Outlaws: Wild Card (7.0/10, good, expansion, ubisoft+)

2025 COMPLETED GAMES
- Avowed (8.5/10, great, game pass ultimate)

CURRENTLY PLAYING
- Nothing (may start Diablo IV this Monday but not certain as I may replay The Division 2 as I just want to play a shooter)

JANUARY
- None

FEBRUARY
02/21 - Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza

MARCH
03/20 - Assassin's Creed Shadows (Ubisoft Plus)
03/27 - Atomfall (Game Pass Ultimate)

APRIL
04/08 - South of Midnight (Game Pass Ultimate)
04/25 - Clair Obscure's Expedition 33 (Game Pass Ultimate)

MAY
05/06 - Metal Eden
05/15 - Doom: The Dark Ages (Game Pass Ultimate)

SEPTEMBER
09/23 - Borderlands 4

BACKLOG
- Cyberpunk 2077 (base game)
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (expansion)
- Diablo IV (base game)
- Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (expansion)
- Final Fantasy XVI: Echoes of the Fallen (expansion)
- Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide (expansion)
- Ghostwire Tokyo (game pass ultimate)
- Horizon Forbidden West: The Burning Shores (expansion)
- Outcast: A New Beginning (base game)
- Remnant II: The Awakened King (expansion)
- Remnant II: The Dark Horizon (expansion)
- Remnant II: The Forgotten Kingdom (expansion)
- Y's X: Nordics (base game)

[Ghost Of The Year]

Thank God March is here. About time to get my Show on the road.
Beware the March of Ides. Gonna be a minute before my fam sees me again.

[AUChase]

I haven't had ambitious gaming goals in years.

The only game I know I will buy is EA CFB 26.

Here's a list of games I'm considering, assuming some of them release on the current forecasted dates.

PGA 2K
MLB The Show
Mafia: The Old Country
Grand Theft Auto 6


Otherwise, if I start anything new that isn't EA CFB it will likely be something that released a year or more ago.

[The Kid 24]

Quote: Originally Posted by AUChase

I haven't had ambitious gaming goals in years. The only game I know I will buy is EA CFB 26. Here's a list of games I haven't played that I'm considering, assuming some of them release on the current forecasted dates. PGA 2K MLB The Show Mafia: The Old Country Grand Theft Auto 6 Otherwise, if I start anything new that isn't EA CFB it will likely be something that released a year or more ago.

PGA is out already, official release was last Friday 2/28.

The Show early release is next Friday 3/14.

[AUChase]

Quote: Originally Posted by The Kid 24

PGA is out already, official release was last Friday 2/28. The Show early release is next Friday 3/14.

I was mostly talking about GTA6 probably being delayed.

I have played the PGA demo but I was having some internet issues over the weekend and it make me realize that I may not be interested in an always online game. I'm going to have to decide between it and The Show for the budget. I'm leaning towards MLB since it's been a few years.

[KSUowls]

A few days late, but Feb update. Just so that I don't lose my habit of updating and to bring a bit of normalcy into my life which has been overwhelmed with work for basically the entire first 2 months this year.

No real progress on goals. Very little game time lately, and so I pretty much spend it on things that are quick to get in and out of.

My biggest updates are really around some of the original 2025 plans that are no longer happening.

Civ 7 - Lukewarm launch. I'll revisit it down the road in probably a year or more.
Fable - Delayed beyond 2025
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - Looks really good, but too busy combined with being no where near done with the first game
Monster Hunter Wilds - removing due to them charging real money to change your character's appearance in a single player game. May revisit when it goes on sale and optimization is improved.


Currently Playing
Real Life Simulator 2025 - it sucks


Gaming goals for 2025:
Complete 8 single player games


--------------------------------
2025 Game Release Radar:

Spoiler

Games I will likely Pre-order:

Quote:

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition (3/18/25) - Already pre-ordered. One of my favorite RPG developers Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (2025) - It's Metroid, duh Vampire Masquerade Bloodlines (2025) - I'll believe it when I see it, but when I see it I'm buying it Gears of War: E-Day (2025) - This looks great Clair Obscur Expedition 33 (2025) - To be honest this game looks amazing from the minimal information that has been shown. The lack of information is my only hesitation.

Games that I'm really excited about, but I have a hint of hesitancy

Quote:

Wuchang Fallen Feathers (2025) - I may not love Souls-like games, but every trailer on this one looks good Showa American Story (2025) - A post-apocalyptic zombie action adventure game set in America with Japanese culture? It sounds super interesting, but I have so many questions. Fable (2025) - It's Fable, I have high expectations. - DELAYED Tokyo Xtreme Racer (2025) - Loved playing this game on the Dreamcast. I'm curious how it will translate in a modern setting. Nascar 25 (2025) - The way these devs talk about old games like Dirt to Daytona has me really excited. It's been nearly 20 years since I was happy with a Nascar game though.

Intrigued but wait for a sale (a big one)

Quote:

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (2/4/25) - I expect it to be good, just not in a rush to buy it when I still have a long way to go in the first game. - Will revisit when it goes on sale and I have more time Civilization 7 (2/11/25) - I generally love these games. I have some questions around some of the new mechanics, and I have other similar games that will hold me over. - Pass Suikoden I & II HD Remaster (3/6/25) - I'm tired of re-masters, but I would be lying to say that I don't want it. Kingmaker (Q1 25) - Pretty gimmicky, but it's hard to say no to a game that lets you use a tank in the middle ages. Borderlands 4 (2025) - These zany games are usually fun, but I can always wait for a discount

Others on my radar

Quote:

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (2/21/25) - It's funny if nothing else. Kaiserpunk (2/27/25) - An interesting combination between city builder and strategy. Monster Hunter Wilds (2/28/25) - Not the biggest fan of the series, but all of the gameplay does look fun - Pass due to greedy economics in a single player game CFB 26 (July 2025) - It's on here by default, but I don't have high hopes Ship of Heroes (Q2 25) - I've been waiting for this City of Heroes successor for YEARS. As a MMO fan there is a good chance that I try it out. Eternal Strands (2025) - I don't really like games with a survival mechanic, but this action rpg has a lot of interesting elements. Lost Soul Aside (2025) - An RPG with modern action combat. It gives off major Final Fantasy vibes Doom: The Dark Ages (2025) - Nothing against Doom, just not a huge FPS guy anymore. This one looks cool though. Ghost of Yotei (2025) - I hope that it's good Crimson Desert (2025) - I wish that combat looked more like BDO, but I'm still interested to see more. Gothic Remake (2025) - Good call on this Picci. Completely forgot that this was in development.

2025 Game Reviews

Spoiler

January Game Reviews:
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle (PC) - (7.5) - Good bones on this suspense/shooter

Spoiler

Picked this one up based on a whim during the recent Steam sale. I came away pleasantly surprised. Maybe think of it as a low budget Dead Space in terms of gameplay. The story is pretty interesting, and there is plenty of suspense to get your heart rate up as you go through it. It's pretty linear though and combat is only serviceable at best. Fun enough, especially for just the few dollars that I spent on it.

Diplomacy is not an Option (PC) - (8.5) - Really fun Survival/RTS.

Spoiler

It has some humor that really throws you for a loop. Quite challenging but fun

Earthbound (Switch - Online) - (9.0) - A classic revisited.

Spoiler

Earthbound is available to play as part of the Nintendo online subscription (SNES). It's a cult classic that is considered one of the best JRPG's of the SNES era. I've played through it so many times, and it still holds up today. The story is kind of whacky, and it does not take itself seriously. There are a lot of pop culture things which get parodied in the gameplay. But it never goes so far that it becomes inane. A lot of the gameplay systems are also simplistic. Somehow it all just works though.

Madden 2007 (PS2) - (9.0) - How is a nearly 20 year old game so vastly superior to any football game currently on the market?

Spoiler

You see a noticeable difference between like a 90 overall receiver and a guy who is a 75. Dynasty depth might as well be alien technology for how far advanced it is compared to either Madden or CFB (4 coaches instead of 3, named coordinators not just the head coaches, former players eventually becoming coaches, coach stats tied to attributes instead of cheat code unlocks like the skill tree...and that's just the coaching side. I haven't talked about the Tony Bruno show, the game planning (more informative than Madden), position battles, etc...There are certainly some QOL things that Madden and CFB do better with 20 years of additional experience, but so much about the old PS2 footballs are just better.

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (Switch) - (8.0) - What a weird experience.

Spoiler

The creators of this game also created the Xenosaga trilogy which are some of my favorite games ever. Xenoblade Chronicles (XC) was meant to be a spiritual successor to that game, and in a lot of ways XC is really good. The story is quite compelling, the characters are interesting in their own right, and the combat system has a certain flavor to it. In fact, I really like the combat system with its heavy emphasis on resource management and the unique mechanic where you can see the future. Itemization and crafting are also present enough to offer some interest there too.

There is a major 'but' though. The way that side quests are handled in XC is beyond horrible. I can't think of a strong enough word to describe how bad it is. For one, there are A LOT of them. A large percentage of them are some form of a fetch quest too, which isn't particularly interesting. As if that were not bad enough, they are implemented in a way that seems to be intentionally inconvenient to complete efficiently. Many quests have pre-requisites of either/both needing a specific quest completed and/or a certain affinity (ie: completing a bunch of quests in an area) before you can access. This means that you can't just load up on quests at once and do them as you explore passively, you have to actively go back and forth and engage with this system. Some quest givers will also only offer their missions at specific times of the day, which is yet another hoop that you have to jump through. The rewards for these quests really aren't even all that great in most cases either (which is actually a good thing as noted next).

I spent the first couple of story chapters trying to 100% the game and realized that I had spent literally like 5x-6x more time on the available side quests than I had spent engaging with the story, and I was not having fun. Finally I decided to just forget the system entirely, only pick up a couple of quests when it is convenient to do so, and the game experience increased dramatically.

The main game with its story and combat is like a 9/10. The side quests are a 0/10.

Feb Game Reviews - None

[AUChase]

I forgot Ghost of Yotei is releasing this year. That is probably a buy. Has anyone seen a more firm release date for it? All I can find is sometime in 2025.

Ghost of Tsushima was awesome.