#justbeatit Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. A very fine sequel that improves on each aspect of the original. However if you don’t like the original, you probably won’t enjoy this one. I really loved the whack-a-do moments and I had a great time connecting 👍 @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit VVVVVV. A neat short 2D platformer that uses a flip mechanic instead of a typical jump. The game does a lot with a little. I died over 800 times but there are plenty of generous checkpoints preventing frustration @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Cairn. I didn’t really clip in to this climbing game. I understand it may have been trying to convey the challenges of this sport, but I eventually adjusted many of the settings to make my ascent somewhat enjoyable. I mostly felt punished and rarely rewarded @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. A surprisingly fun romp through the world of Pandora. I played through on online co-op and it worked seamlessly. Third person mode is definitely a plus for me @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Lorelei & the Laser Eyes. This may be one of my favorite puzzlers of all time. Note taking is pretty much a requirement but I was able to solve all puzzles without using a guide and never was frustrated with a solution being too opaque. Cool noir vibes @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Death Stranding: Director’s Cut. This game is mesmerizing. At times absurd, serious, self referential, existential, delightful, and infuriating. I understand why it is so polarizing and I think I enjoyed my time with it. Morbidly curious about the sequel @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Time Flies. Live the life of a fly by checking items off your bucket list. These items are usually silly ways to interact with the world. You learn by dying in the short lifespan of a fly. Easy puzzling and fun discovery. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit and Roger. This one hour interactive story tackles some heavy content while cleverly pairing the limited gameplay mechanics. It was on some Top lists of the year and while it’s not necessarily a “fun” game, the overall cohesiveness is impactful @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Promise Mascot Agency. I had a hoot truckin’ around an anthropomorphic pinky finger on an open world island while managing a business hiding from yakuza @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Absolum. I don’t often play beat em ups unless TMNT is in the title, but this roguelite version was a good time. The first successful run may not be a true end to the game, but I hit credits so I’d thought I’d share @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit This is a rebeat of Astro Bot to complete a square and give me 6 lines of Bingo earning me Fanboy status on @polykillpodcast.bsky.social ‘s 2025 Challenge. A great way to wrap up the year

#justbeatit Disney Villains Cursed Café. I started this reading it to my 5 yr old daughter. After a few plays, she preferred doing other things, so I finished the second half solo. Clever writing for Disney characters but not much more than visual novel for kids @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Keeper was stunningly beautiful. The puzzles were fairly linear only requiring a step or two to complete. I only really enjoyed the last couple of sections from a gameplay standpoint @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Dispatch is now my favorite Tell Tale-like. It adds unique spin to the superhero archetype. The dispatching part was beat even though it occasionally allowed me to send an incomplete team resulting in avoidable failure. Voice acting was phenonmenomenomal @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit It Takes Two. I started playing this game four years ago with my 7 year old nephew. We played every year he visited for Thanksgiving and now we completed with him at age 11. A great couch co op experience even if this story was beyond him most of the time @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatbeatit Ghost of Yotei fine tunes the open-world experience by immersing you in a world in which every side distraction feels worthwhile and as important as the main story. Plenty of variety in attacks and gear, solid story, fantastic soundtrack @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit BALL X PIT. I stayed up past my bedtime many nights for an additional run or to upgrade parts of my town. I still have a few blueprints to unlock and there seems to be more to do, but I may use this beat to go cold turkey on this gaming addiction @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit despelote feels like a deeply personal video-game-memoir of a young man growing up in Ecuador in the early 00s as the country tries to make it to the World Cup. It has some incredibly artful storytelling, as gameplay takes a bit of a backseat @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit 20 Small Mazes explores mazes by layering an extra type of puzzle mechanic on to each of the 20 small brain teasers. Very clever with minimal bells and whistles @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Strange Jigsaws. A neat lateral thinking puzzler that goes beyond putting jigsaw pieces together. Each standalone puzzle explores a unique mechanic that brings you to “aha!” Little narrative and almost no music. Great way to work your brain for two hours @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Silent Hill f is a solid spooker. Managing health, stamina, special attacks, weapon durability, and items to replenish each, eventually gets repetitive once enemy types stop evolving. Game is short so I overall liked the creepy settings with neat puzzles @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Oxenfree. This game relies heavily on a narrative of a group of angsty teenagers walking around a pretty island as mildly spooky things start to occur. The story did not hit for me so not the best time. Voice acting was great although characters weren’t @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Hollow Knight: Silksong. I’m posting this now in case I never make it to the “good/final” ending, which I immediately plan to focus on. Up to this point, the game has been a wonderful challenge and I’m looking forward to seeing all that it has in store. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Hollow Knight. I picked up a save from years ago where I was just outside final boss. It took me 30 minutes to remember controls and take it down…I couldn’t remember a lot of what I did and I got the worst ending…but I’ll take the W. Ready for tomorrow! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Loco Motive. An excellent point & click throwback with a multi-POV, murder-mystery story and great voice acting. I’m ashamed of the times I used the in-game hint system but really enjoyed the times everything “clicked.” @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Is This Seat Taken? This mini-puzzle game has you assigning seats to characters with certain needs using logic. It expands on the initial idea but never really blossoms beyond just being a little more tedious. Cute for playing as a background game @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Sword of Sea. An atmospheric adventure of surfing on sand and turning it to water. Controls are super smooth (you can turn around on a dime). Music and art are breathtaking. Gameplay is simple, but fun to vibe to @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Aladdin (SNES/Disney Classics). Another nostalgia beat. Save states never had a friend like me. This one completes a BINGO on my final main @polykillpodcast.bsky.social ‘s bingo board. Onto the bonus boards!!!

#justbeatit Art’s Dream. A little bit platformer, a little bit point & click, and a surrealist dash of some other things. This was a charming delight for a game designed to show off the capabilities of Dreams @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

TMNT IV: Turtles In Time (Cowabunga Collection). A quick trip down memory lane of a game I only played at a friend’s house as a child. Did I finally #justbeatit ? Yes. Was it on Easy with as many lives/continues as possible? Yes. Glad to have shredded my way through it @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Far Cry 3 Classic Ed. I played this for @polykillpodcast.bsky.social bingo and completed the Polykill Board with this one. The narrative was my favorite part but I got tired of the crafting and exploration about halfway through and brute forced it with few resources for the end. BINGO!

#justbeatit Donkey Kong Bananza. Exploration has rarely felt this fun. I wanted to search every nook and cranny to find every banana and there were so many bananas! New powers were also great to explore. Awesome time and can’t wait to find even more bananas post-game @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Mafia: The Old Country. This game played like a 2000s game with a modern look. I was ok with the linear narrative nature it, but was not thrilled with these older stealth/action mechanics. Even though I had frustrations, the good slightly outshined the bad @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV. We got to credits by completing one board of Mario Party and played a few more modes online. The game suffers from the typical “waiting for my turn.” Online was fun but I don’t know if it justifies the additional $20 @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Super Mario Galaxy 2. I was happy to knock this off my backlog before gifting my Wii to my nephew. While fun, the novelty of the motion controls did not hold up. I only mainlined, yet some levels/stars caused serious frustration (rock suit/fire pepper) @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Later Alligator is a joyful comedy game disguised as a detective visual novel. Each interaction feels unique and some offer minigames. On the surface it feels a little juvenile but some of the jokes hit deep. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Planet of Lana is clearly borrowing from one of my favorite games, Inside, but it does a pretty good job of doing so. It’s pretty and it’s fun to have a lil companion. Puzzles were a little on the easy side @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit GRIS. The art design in this 2D puzzle platformer is astonishing. The puzzles and mechanics are very satisfying as it weaves a subtle story presumably about grief. I only wish you could move a little faster @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Lil Gator Game. This childlike adventure game strips the genre down to its best elements (especially if you ignore combat). While short and easy, there’s a lot to admire as it references several predecessors. I named my hero “Gink” @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit A Short Hike. This was neat little adventure of collecting and climbing and gliding. Great for a quick game and some of the cutesyness was decently funny @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Link’s Awakening (Switch). I truly appreciate many of the Zelda-type puzzles & exploration yet I had to consult guides more than I would have liked. Visuals are great. I do wish switching between items would be easier. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit NS2: Welcome Tour. I can’t recommend this non-game, spec tutorial to anyone. You learn about NS2 and then get quizzed. Minigames mostly focus on the mouse & only a few are fun. Yet I did keep coming back to complete it and laugh at how up its own ass it was @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Timed parry/dodge mechanics plus gained skills and equipment turn JRPG mechanics into something fresh and fun as you enter a breathtakingly unique world. It’s F-ing great even as I pretend to fully grasp the story @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Mario Kart World. Moo moo @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Split Fiction was a blast to play w/ my bud, @spf45.bsky.social. Most of the co-op mechanics were hits and any misses were quickly replaced with brand new ones. We ignored stale dialogue and simply had a great time on headset. Can’t wait for the movie! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

Like the end of every run of this puzzler, I felt uniquely special when I eventually #justbeatit Blue Prince. There’s randomness and luck built in, yet I learned/gained something or a handful of things each run. Creating synergy to outwit the randomness also was a blast @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Indiana Jones & The Great Circle. This is a 10/10 Indiana Jones story for me. The combat and stealth mechanics felt a little wonky, which while it lowered my enjoyment, it made me feel like a clumsy Indy barely escaping in a pinch. Great time overall @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Absurdity and a few mini-games make this game shine. I know I’m missing a ton of contextual references, so the narrative was lacking for me. I did enjoy swinging blades and mashing buttons @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Metaphor ReFantazio. An excellent game with Persona DNA. I love maxing out the social bonds and stats during the day cycles, but for me, this game also requires some tedious dungeon level-grinding which prevents it from being perfect IMO @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Persona 3 Reload. I played this game as a social experiment with friends wherein we would only play in real time with each in game calendar day. I fully discovered this was not the way to play this game and likewise did not have a great experience @polykillpodcast.bsky.social