WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[boshealecta]

5 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

You're possibly revealing your young age a bit here, as to a certain generation of us, Crash Bandicoot is pretty iconic! The Crash Bandicoot collection is well worth your money though, it's cheap these days and CB2 and 3 have aged very well, in my opinion. 

Anyway, some other recommendations for you...

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

If you're not enormously familiar with Crash, I imagine you're not particularly familiar with another unofficial Playstation mascot in Spyro the Dragon. The Spyro trilogy has remakes of the original 3 Spyro games, it's cheap and is on PS5. I suspect you'd enjoy it. 

A Hat in Time

One of the most creative non-Nintendo platformers I've played. Every level is different, with different activities and themes - in one you're investigating a murder mystery, another is a bit more horror-themed (which I know you're not keen on - but it's more Disney horror than anything too traumatising). Again, this is pretty cheap these days so I'd recommend giving it a try. 

Rayman Legends

A remake is out next month, but honestly, although there's extra content it feels like one of the more unnecessary remakes - Legends is cheap these days, although it's a 2D platformer it's incredibly creative and fun, with beautiful visuals and a great soundtrack. Some of the levels are pretty tough, but there's great fun to be had here. 

Yooka Replaylee

The original Yooka Laylee was a flawed game, but this fixes all of the issues of the original, adding several major improvements that just make it a blast to play through. The missions are varied, the characters are fun to control and it looks lovely too. 

New Super Lucky's Tale

Talking of games that were fixed, New Super Lucky's Tale is an improved version of the frankly broken Super Lucky's Tale. Essentially, it's the same game but fixed. And fuck, it's great. It's very reminiscent of a Gamecube-era platformer, and it's cheery, silly fun. I loved it. 

Mr Sleepy Man

Another one that feels plucked right out of the Gamecube-era. It has a very strange sense of humour - a bit Rick and Morty-esque - and it's one of the weirder games that I'm recommending, but once again, it's just a whole load of fun. I absolutely breezed through it and was left wanting more in the best possible way. It's creative and very enjoyable. And it was made by one person!

Aw thanks for these. Will check em out and read some reviews. 
 

Nice to think my comment gave the impression of being young as if you look at me, I’m certainly not young. My first console took cassette tapes that would sometimes unravel and need winding in with a pencil lol. 
 

I just seem to prefer games where I can explore, collect things, look in nooks and crannies and take my time if needed - which is why I loved Psychonauts 2 so much. Whereas I’ve always seen Crash as a game you have to do in a certain order and you don’t get any magic powers lol. 
 

In only got diagnosed as Autistic late in life but it definitely is obvious when playing games. I tried a Hat in Time but those bouncers with the big chins freaked me out for some reason lol.  
 

Thanks again for these. 

[RedTwoster]

17 minutes ago, boshealecta said:

I just seem to prefer games where I can explore, collect things, look in nooks and crannies and take my time if needed - which is why I loved Psychonauts 2 so much. Whereas I’ve always seen Crash as a game you have to do in a certain order and you don’t get any magic powers lol. 

I'd give A Hat in Time another chance, because that's exactly what that game gives you. Spyro gives you that too, it's not a mad rush to the end; same goes for Yooka Replaylee which, based on your most recent post seems like a perfect match. I'll throw in another game - one that I absolutely adored, and I suspect you will too based on your preferences: 

Tinykin

Don't let the presentation fool you - this is not a Pikmin clone. It does involve little tiny creatures, but you use them to platform, explore and collect things. There aren't any enemies either, so the stakes are very low. But it's so bloody fun, I 100% completed it and went back for a second run, which I also 100% completed. 

 

[Dr. Alan Grant]

Tinykin will forever be the game I was playing when I found out the Queen was dead.

Similarly, I was playing Escape From Monkey Island when I found out about 9/11.

In other non-tragic gaming news, Ocarina Of Time is a wonder to behold. I don’t know how to explain it, but there’s something about Zelda games that have a quality unlike any other games. They make me feel like a kid again. 

Edited Friday at 04:56 PM by Dr. Alan Grant

[boshealecta]

On 11/6/2026 at 3:09 PM, RedTwoster said:

I'd give A Hat in Time another chance, because that's exactly what that game gives you. Spyro gives you that too, it's not a mad rush to the end; same goes for Yooka Replaylee which, based on your most recent post seems like a perfect match. I'll throw in another game - one that I absolutely adored, and I suspect you will too based on your preferences: 

Tinykin

Don't let the presentation fool you - this is not a Pikmin clone. It does involve little tiny creatures, but you use them to platform, explore and collect things. There aren't any enemies either, so the stakes are very low. But it's so bloody fun, I 100% completed it and went back for a second run, which I also 100% completed. 

 

Omg yeah I gave Tinykin a try last year and absolutely loved it. 

[Devon Malcolm]

Another Tinykin fan here too, cracking game.

I've abandoned my plans to try and 100% Mario Wonder because:-

1) I'm not grinding through levels I've already done to collect pink coins so I can buy the remaining badges / standees.

2) FUCK CLIMB TO THE BEAT

Enjoyed it, though.

[RedTwoster]

I've started the Ocarina of Time remake, and I'm not sure I'm going to persist. It's an excellent remake and it's going to open a brilliant game up to a whole new generation of people, which is great. 

But it's too faithful to the original for me to feel like it's worth my time. I'm not saying that's a bad thing - it's probably the right move overall. It's just that my backlog is so large that essentially experiencing the same thing in a glitzed up form feels like a waste of time. 

I'd been hoping to play through it with my daughter, but she's discovered Untitled Goose Game, and sauntering around Hyrule Field obviously does not compare with being able to chase a small child into a phone box and steal a farmer's hat. 

[SuperBacon]

2 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

But it's too faithful to the original for me to feel like it's worth my time

I haven't played modern games in ages, but do these modern remakes generally deviate from the original game then?

 

[Ironic Indie Lad]

4 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

But it's too faithful to the original for me to feel like it's worth my time. I'm not saying that's a bad thing - it's probably the right move overall. It's just that my backlog is so large that essentially experiencing the same thing in a glitzed up form feels like a waste of time. 

 

This is my worry.

I have played Ocarina of Time all the way through many times. I know the game really well. I am worried once the "wow this looks lovely" feeling fades, I might just feel like I playing the original yet again. 

[FLips]

There’s a few decent quality of life improvements, some voice acted cutscenes and generally the game looks and plays better than it ever has, but it is just the original Ocarina of Time. If you played Ocarina of Time 3DS and thought that was just the same as the N64, you’ll have the same opinion on this one.

[boshealecta]

On 11/6/2026 at 2:37 PM, RedTwoster said:

You're possibly revealing your young age a bit here, as to a certain generation of us, Crash Bandicoot is pretty iconic! The Crash Bandicoot collection is well worth your money though, it's cheap these days and CB2 and 3 have aged very well, in my opinion. 

Anyway, some other recommendations for you...

Spyro Reignited Trilogy

If you're not enormously familiar with Crash, I imagine you're not particularly familiar with another unofficial Playstation mascot in Spyro the Dragon. The Spyro trilogy has remakes of the original 3 Spyro games, it's cheap and is on PS5. I suspect you'd enjoy it. 

A Hat in Time

One of the most creative non-Nintendo platformers I've played. Every level is different, with different activities and themes - in one you're investigating a murder mystery, another is a bit more horror-themed (which I know you're not keen on - but it's more Disney horror than anything too traumatising). Again, this is pretty cheap these days so I'd recommend giving it a try. 

Rayman Legends

A remake is out next month, but honestly, although there's extra content it feels like one of the more unnecessary remakes - Legends is cheap these days, although it's a 2D platformer it's incredibly creative and fun, with beautiful visuals and a great soundtrack. Some of the levels are pretty tough, but there's great fun to be had here. 

Yooka Replaylee

The original Yooka Laylee was a flawed game, but this fixes all of the issues of the original, adding several major improvements that just make it a blast to play through. The missions are varied, the characters are fun to control and it looks lovely too. 

New Super Lucky's Tale

Talking of games that were fixed, New Super Lucky's Tale is an improved version of the frankly broken Super Lucky's Tale. Essentially, it's the same game but fixed. And fuck, it's great. It's very reminiscent of a Gamecube-era platformer, and it's cheery, silly fun. I loved it. 

Mr Sleepy Man

Another one that feels plucked right out of the Gamecube-era. It has a very strange sense of humour - a bit Rick and Morty-esque - and it's one of the weirder games that I'm recommending, but once again, it's just a whole load of fun. I absolutely breezed through it and was left wanting more in the best possible way. It's creative and very enjoyable. And it was made by one person!

After having looked at the reviews, Super Lucky and Yooka definitely look like what I’m after. But I’m going to go with Mr Sleepy Man first. It looks weird and is giving me “Thank Goodness You’re Here” - which I loved. 
 

Thanks again @RedTwoster

[boshealecta]

Deleted 

Edited yesterday at 12:00 PM by boshealecta
Double post

[Merzbow]

1 hour ago, SuperBacon said:

I haven't played modern games in ages, but do these modern remakes generally deviate from the original game then?

Remasters no, but remakes like this one usually do now. Take FF7 and pretty much all the Resident Evil remakes as the main ones. From what I've seen this game falls inbetween both Remaster and Remake.

[Jazzy G]

I've got Warhammer Survivors installed on my Switch ready to go tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing what that has in store. 

[RedTwoster]

5 hours ago, FLips said:

There’s a few decent quality of life improvements, some voice acted cutscenes and generally the game looks and plays better than it ever has, but it is just the original Ocarina of Time. If you played Ocarina of Time 3DS and thought that was just the same as the N64, you’ll have the same opinion on this one.

I actually think that the 3DS version has affected me here, in that the first time I ever completed Ocarina was that remake. I absolutely loved my time with it too, and I felt like the quality of life upgrades - particularly with the water temple which I really did not enjoy in the original - made it (at that time) the definitive way to play Ocarina. 

With that in mind, my first time completing OOT feels far more recent than it probably does for others. I hope they remake Majora's Mask though, I didn't end up playing the 3DS version of that and I'd really like to give that game a go at some point. 

Edited yesterday at 04:06 PM by RedTwoster

[Onyx2]

On 10/19/2026 at 1:23 PM, RedTwoster said:

I've completed this now. I liked it enough, the movement is great and it's a good game but it didn't really feel like a Castlevania game to me, or at least, not close enough to the original formula to scratch the itch that I had. I get that metroidvanias have evolved and they probably want to cater to the audience they know still exists - even Metroid took a more Souls-inspired route with Dread - but I dunno, I think there's still room for a more traditional game in that genre in which the exploration is more important than the difficulty.

But it wasn't just that - it felt more Souls-inspired than Castlevania-inspired, and that's not what I wanted. 

As I say, I liked the game and it demoed very well, but the more of it that I played, the less I felt like I was getting what I wanted. You get a good game, but not necessarily a good Castlevania game. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts when you're done with it. 

I've finished this as much as I'm going to (I CBA with the Acts of Mercy or the speed run). I think it's a very good game with some frustrating niggles. I maintain it doesn't feel like a Castlevania game. But maybe things have to evolve. 

Annoyances:

Why is heal hold the button rather than press? Caught me out several times. 

The screen is sometimes so busy and zoomed out I can't track down Rose. There are accessibility options to mitigate this I would recommend. 

The weapons need more variety. It doesn't really seem worth swapping about other than for vibes. Also disappointing that each tier of weapon does the same damage. 

Controls need a tiny bit of sharpening. For what they demand of you on platforming it needs to be razor responsive. 

The music is good... for 15 seconds. Then it loops. Turned it off. 

Good things:

Love the art style, and Rose is a good protagonist (though they could dial down her yelps when getting hit a bit) 

The fast travel system is novel (no spoilers), I like it a lot. Though there are some areas that would benefit from a little more travel options. 

The tarot characters are lots of fun. But one power decimates all the others (Talos). 

The accessibility options are brilliant. Removing runbacks without penalty is a great recognition of your time. 

There are several 'oh!' moments where the map opens up which always pops me. 

 

I enjoyed my time with it overall and I hope there's DLC. 8 whips out of10.