The Shattered Star

[Know Anny has just started this so will spoiler tag until he's done with it too since I've included pics from the entire game here!]
We have a new GOTY contender

Actually can't wait to look at those haha. It's such a pretty game!!!

Will see how I feel at the end of the year when I've had time to reflect on them all (hard for me to judge properly when I've just finished one, especially a game which gets you as emotionally invested in its characters & story like LiS does) but this has just joined my list of GOTY contenders along with Returnal & Psychonauts 2

I took so many pictures of this game I could post reams - the game is so photogenic! Limiting myself to 12 though (lol some limiting).










I know you'll be completely unsurprised to hear this having talked about it with you already tonight, but this is comfortably not only my GOTY but possibly the best game I ever played I think.

Absolutely perfect game, everything I look for in games, and hands down the best game in the franchise.

I'm desperately hoping it sells well enough that Deck Nine get to do more, because they 100% deserve to.

It's too hard for me to pick atm lol. Immediately after I finish something which I think could potentially be my GOTY I find it hard to judge equally against the previous titles I thought of as such, since I've just played it & still thinking about it etc. Picking on the spot will often just override the last game I considered as such so tis easier for me to judge at the end of the year when I've had chance to sit back & put some distance between them all. LiS:TC is certainly in the running for me though!

Think it's safe to say that the prettiest game of 2021 award quite comfortably goes to Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Not a single cutscene here btw, all gameplay. Crazy to think this was developed by just 14 people and is the studios first game too. Just stunning

EW > ShB > HW > SB > ARR

FFVII has been my favourite entry in the series for some 20+ years but this (that being FFXIV as a whole, from ARR to the end of EW) has just taken the top spot for me. What an incredible journey it has been. Sad to see this story come to an end but excited to see where they go next with the MSQ!

Now I can finally look at those, I'm glad I'm not the only one who took far too many screenshots of this game As ever yours look great! My selection below!

I thought long and hard about where it ranks, and at the end of the day came to two different rankings. In terms of story, I'd agree:
EW > ShB > HW > SB > ARR

In terms of a complete expansion though, looking at just the expansion itself from start to finish, I'd say:
HW > ShB > EW > SB > ARR

There was...too much aimless running around with little to break up cutscenes for me to say that, individually, this was the best expansion on its own. But more than anything EW is the sum of itself and everything that came before. I'd agree that FFXIV as a whole - from ARR to EW - is by far the best entry in the franchise, and it's not even close. Can't wait to see where they go next!

Glad to have shared it with you

Great shots bud & it has been really nice being able to share the EW launch with you (& Isi) too


Followed a train today just to take some high resolution screenshots with all battle effects turned on lol. I normally have them turned off for anyone outside of a party (and simplified for party members) but battles (from a distance) look so incredibly cool & colourful with them all turned on like this.

Those make me want to turn all battle effects back on, even though they basically blinded me during hunt trains in Shadowbringers

They look great!!!

Yeah, trying to play in big groups like that with all of the effects turned on (especially if you're melee), can be blinding haha. Watching on from a distance though, they can look pretty amazing!

Next up: Horizon Forbidden West

I love the look of Sifu! It had flown completely under my radar, but when I saw Lirik playing it it looked great!

Sifu had jumped out at me a few times during Sony streams leading up to release so it was something I was already planning to pick up asap. It's very challenging but the combat is fantastic & I loved the artstyle. Was very happy to see they'd included a photo mode to show it off!
















The first game definitely had the stronger main story I felt but whilst that didn't quite live up to Zero Dawn's greatness (it was still good!), Forbidden West manages to improve on pretty much ever other aspect of the game. Side quests are fantastic, exploration & sense of discovery is wonderful, some great QoL changes such as the introduction of a stash & the ability to create jobs to help track down certain upgrade materials and the character models/animations/voice acting are some of the best I've seen in a game - not quite to the level of The Last of Us Part II but pretty damn impressive!

Gran Turismo 7 will probably be the next new game I play. Tempted to start Elden Ring once I'm fully done with HFW but playing two open world games back to back might burn me out a bit, plus it might be a good idea to wait and see if they improve the PC performance a bit more too. Also picked up the pixel remaster of FFVI which is something else I want to play soon...

One more batch!

Avorion (Steam)

Avorion looks like a neat little space game! Not one I'd seen before!

Further investigation definitely required

I've been building new ships to dominate the galaxy in Avorion. Here's the Nudge Unit and Voyager 7 flanking Wok's Station. And Nudge Unit with Wok's Station checking out the wreckage of a fallen foe.

Forza Horizon 5, Xbox.

Been a while since I updated here. I've been doing a bunch of random things lately in FFXIV to catch up on content and try out new jobs etc!

A few shots from my random adventures