Games I’ve been playing – July 2019

This is post #1 for Blaugust 2019

July has been the most intensive month this year for me thanks to Shadowbringers. I loved it so much that I could already declare it Game of the Year. The only other contender for the title could be Fire Emblem Three Houses but since I haven’t gotten it yet I can’t say anything about it.

And yes, I know there are still months until the year ends and a lot of other games that haven’t been released yet. I do expect them to be good games too but I doubt any of them will make me feel the same way as the journey through Shadowbringers did. 🙂

Anyway, let’s get to the topic of this post, shall we?

Final Fantasy XIV

Half of my month was spent playing through the Shadowbringers’ Main Story Quest. Part of it is because I loved it and part is because I was afraid of spoilers so I tried to finish it as fast as possible. It is the internet after all and we are lucky if someone doesn’t spoil everything in the first day of release of anything. Lucky was with me as I only got some minor spoilers and it was stuff that I already had a hunch about.

After I finished Shadowbringers I wasn’t entirely sure what to do. Not for lack of content mind you, it is just that is how I feel after I finish something that I’ve put so much energy into and got so much enjoyment out of.  I think I may have finally settled into trying to raise my much neglected crafting classes and giving some love to the alts. But we’ll see how long this will last.

Oninaki

When I first saw a trailer of Oninaki I just wasn’t impressed and was ready to give it a pass. I mean, it wasn’t a bad trailer but there is a LOT of other games that I am more interested about to be released this year and you know there is only so much money and time for them. :p

Since they released a demo (available on the PS4, Switch and PC) I decided to give it a try. I am glad I did because now I am really intrigued and highly considering buying it at some point.

It is a pretty fun action JRPG which seems like it will have some pretty interesting tactical choices as far as combat style and skills go. I also liked how they took an idea and pretty much let it shaped its world, characters and story.

Just one warning though: this game, even in the demo, deals heavily with the themes of death, loss, grief and even suicide. If you are sensitive to any of these issues you might want to skip it. I didn’t feel like they handled it poorly in the demo but your mileage may vary.

Monster Hunter World

With an event going on and a looming expansion on the horizon, I decided it was time to make a return to Monster Hunter World. I was hoping it to be a triumphant one but in reality it turned to be a confusing and annoying return as I tried to remember the controls and figure out what I had to do to get to  the next part of the story, which was to hunt Nergigante.

Then once I did get to that part I got delusional enough to think I had a chance at it. Nergigante quickly put me back in my place by killing me just by sneezing in my general direction. Ok, it wasn’t that bad but it certainly felt like that.

I still intend to play it more, remember how to actually play this game, hunt other monsters so I can get upgrades and eventually give a try at Nergigante again.

I just need to find the time and mood for it first. Which might be a bit complicated as there are other games I wish to get back to as well. *glances at Yakuza Kiwami 2*

Fate Grand Order

I swear this month in Fate Grand Order feels like it was just a string of events, one right after the other. First there was the anniversary that came with All the Statesmen event. The anniversary part was a bunch of challenging quests that I don’t even remember anymore what they rewarded. I am just surprised I was able to complete them all, although the last one did give me some trouble.

All the Statesmen was probably the most hilarious and insane event I’ve seem in this game so far which is kind of a tall order considering that almost all of the events I’ve seem tend towards that. My surprise though was with the welfare servant it rewarded, Paul Bunyan. I was expecting not to like her since she is pretty much a joke character in the comics but I liked her in the event’s story and I am seriously considering investing on Bunyan to use her as a farming servant.

After that it was the Summer 2018 Rerun event which was also a bit on the insane side but not quite as much. The island building part was actually interesting but the grind for all the materials in the event shop was horrible.

Now we have the Summer 2019 event going on. It is back to pure insanity as Ishtar claims that she can solve a singularity by hosting a racing competition with Chaldea servants as the racers. Although it is pretty clear that the goddess of beauty and war is up to some kind of shenanigan. I am just not sure what exactly she is up to yet.

The grind for materials in this event also seems to not be as bad as the Summer 2018 event but I am just expecting to be proven wrong and end up regretting these words!

Honorable Mentions: Azur Lane