Only 2 games on December. I reach 33/50 which is much better than last year, so, I am satisfied. Happy new year for everyone!

Alphabear: Hardcover Edition (6/10) - Fun, simple, but gets repetitive to finish. Also, somewhat easy, english is my second language, and I am not very good in it, but even then I can complete the whole game, except one level, on the first try. Maybe it's a game to play from time to time and I did wrong by playing it full non stop.

Pixel Gladiator (7/10) - Another fun, simple game. This one don't overstate his welcome. I liked the graphics and music, but maybe is because the game is short. It could become repetitive later.

In-Progress 2024 Challenge List:
01. A new game (released within the past year) - Gigantic Rampage Edition
02. An old game (released 10+ years ago) - Fract OSC
03. A really old game (released 20+ years ago) - Battlefield 1942
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago) - Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness
05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem
06. A quick completion (less than an hour) - Pac-Man
08. A game you've been wishing and waiting for - Just a To The Moon Series Beach Episode
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its release - Kero Blaster
10. A game with 6+ endings - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
12. A game recommended to you by someone else - Disney Speedstorm (My sister used to play it)
14-1. A game with an alliterative title - Aviary Attorney
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Dragon Ball: The Breakers
20-1. A game set in a historical time period - Rome: Total War
20-2. A game set in the far future - Pixel Gladiator
21. A game with a female protagonist - Hydrophobia: Prophecy
22. A game without any humans - Bulb Boy
24. An arcade-style high score game - RoboCop
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in - NightSky
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with - Astlibra: Revision
26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature - Worms
27. A game that was adapted from another medium or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Heavy Gear
33-2. A spin-off game - Revelations: Persona - Persona is a spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei serie.
34. A bright and cheerful game - Rock of Ages
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion - Star Wars: Empire at War
36. A game that heavily features either fire or ice - Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics - Crusader Kings I
38. A game with a subtitle - Alphabear: Hardcover Edition
39. A game that surprised you - The Swapper
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher) - The Crew
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on - American McGee's Alice (American himself, and Chris Vrenna)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Kill the Bad Guy
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List - Mind Scanners (Thanks Mortuum!)
47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it - Marvel SNAP

Total: 33/50

I love the Steam recap, although it always made me seem a little crazy.
Like every year, lots of retro, lots of indies, Rome: Total War, XCOM, and sadly two Live Service games. Only one new game

Finished 3 games on this month, and it was the worst month in quality to me:

Nov 07 - Battlefield 1942 (5/10) - I know a lot of people love this game, but as a single player gamer I found it really outdated, in AI, in graphics, in systems, in storytelling, which is obvious, since is one of the first modern FPSs. Just my obsession of playing the games in order of release made me finish it.

Nov 18 - Revelations: Persona (5/10) - The best game of the month, I liked the story, liked the Persona system, liked the characters and the way the story is told by talking to them in stores and scensarios, but my god battle animations are repetitive (and unavoidable), and the game is extremely easy, until the final boss where you have to GRIND eternally, or endure an eternal battle of five hours or more until you are left in a tie.

Nov 23 - Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel (3/10) - By far the worst game I have played this year. Extremely repetitive, the combo you learn on the first 10 minutes is the only combo that will carry you through the game, and to really finish it you have to play it twice. Special mention to the voice acting in the game, which is "Take this!" "take that!" from Edward, and "OK!" from Alphonse, and they say some of the three phrases at least once every 5 seconds.
The story is a Fullmetal Alchemist story, which I like, full with voice acting from the original actors, and animation, and it's what gave the three points to the game, but nothing interesting.

November have passed, and now I think it's obvious I will not be able to finish the challenge for another year, even then, it was fun to participate though.
On november I have finished 3 games only:

Revelations: Persona (5/10) - The best game of the month, I liked the story, liked the Persona system, liked the characters and the way the story is told by talking to them in stores and scensarios, but my god battle animations are repetitive (and unavoidable), and the game is extremely easy, until the final boss where you have to GRIND eternally, or endure an eternal battle of five hours or more until you are left in a tie.

Battlefield 1942 (5/10) - I know a lot of people love this game, but as a single player gamer I found it really outdated, in AI, in graphics, in systems, in storytelling, which is obvious, since is one of the first modern FPSs. Just my obsession of playing the games in order of release made me finish it.

Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel (3/10) - By far the worst game I have played this year. Extremely repetitive, the combo you learn on the first 10 minutes is the only combo that will carry you through the game, and to really finish it you have to play it twice. Special mention to the voice acting in the game, which is "Take this!" "take that!" from Edward, and "OK!" from Alphonse, and they say some of the three phrases at least once every 5 seconds.
The story is a Fullmetal Alchemist story, which I like, full with voice acting from the original actors, and animation, and it's what gave the three points to the game, but nothing interesting.

In-Progress 2024 Challenge List:
01. A new game (released within the past year) - Gigantic Rampage Edition
02. An old game (released 10+ years ago) - Fract OSC
03. A really old game (released 20+ years ago) - Battlefield 1942
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago) - Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness
05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem
06. A quick completion (less than an hour) - Pac-Man
08. A game you've been wishing and waiting for - Just a To The Moon Series Beach Episode
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its release - Kero Blaster
10. A game with 6+ endings - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
12. A game recommended to you by someone else - Disney Speedstorm (My sister used to play it)
14-1. A game with an alliterative title - Aviary Attorney
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Dragon Ball: The Breakers
20-1. A game set in a historical time period - Rome: Total War
21. A game with a female protagonist - Hydrophobia: Prophecy
22. A game without any humans - Bulb Boy
24. An arcade-style high score game - RoboCop
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in - NightSky
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with - Astlibra: Revision
26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature - Worms
27. A game that was adapted from another medium or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Heavy Gear
33-2. A spin-off game - Revelations: Persona - Persona is a spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei serie.
34. A bright and cheerful game - Rock of Ages
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion - Star Wars: Empire at War
36. A game that heavily features either fire or ice - Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics - Crusader Kings I
39. A game that surprised you - The Swapper
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher) - The Crew
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on - American McGee's Alice (American himself, and Chris Vrenna)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Kill the Bad Guy
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List - Mind Scanners (Thanks Mortuum!)
47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it - Marvel SNAP

Total: 31/50

5 Games on October, pretty good for one of the last months, but I will not reach the whole list by the end of the year.

On october I got tired of Disney: Speedstorm, played two whole seasons, so, another FTP game that I throw to the bin. With luck, no other will catch my eye. As a multiplayer kart game it's pretty good, but like every one of the FTP games released lately, have a soul crushing monetization model, with grind grind and grind. (5/10)

The other games I finished:
Aviary Attorney (8/10) - Favourite game of the month, funny, good story set in an interesting period, lots of funny lines and likable characters, and a extremely good art, which is no surprise since it's all based on royalty free famous pictures. Also, I will always love a bird filled game. A little lackluster on the gaming part of the game, it's short and you can't do much in court, and in the investigative part, is very handholding.
Rock of Ages (8/10) - Another humour based game with lots of good art and music. It made me laugh a LOT, perhaps somewhat childish, but the sound of the rock crushing the enemy will always make me happy. The humour is by far the best part, very Mothy Pythony in graphics and in style, but the gameplay is also good if you like this kind of siege game.
RoboCop (7/10) - A very old arcade game that I simulated, that really surprised me. I was expecting an awful game full of cheap deaths to eat credits, worthy of appearing on The Angry Video Game Nerd, but got a very good side scroller game where ability is rewarded and you can reach very far without loseing if you know the game layout and how to play.
Worms (4/10) - Being a fan of Armaggedon, playing the first game was something that I was looking forward, but is seriously flawed. Most of the funny weapons are not there, only the Normal Sheep and the Banana Grenade, only the Soulman and Toonz voice are there, the graphic style is much less cartoony, and it hurts the game. But the worst is by far that the AI enemy always have laser accuracy with grenades, it doesn't matter from where to where they have to shoot, they will hit you, very frustrating.

In-Progress 2024 Challenge List:
01. A new game (released within the past year) - Gigantic Rampage Edition
02. An old game (released 10+ years ago) - Fract OSC
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago) - Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness
05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem
06. A quick completion (less than an hour) - Pac-Man
08. A game you've been wishing and waiting for - Just a To The Moon Series Beach Episode
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its release - Kero Blaster
10. A game with 6+ endings - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
12. A game recommended to you by someone else - Disney Speedstorm (My sister used to play it)
14-1. A game with an alliterative title - Aviary Attorney
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Dragon Ball: The Breakers
20-1. A game set in a historical time period - Rome: Total War
21. A game with a female protagonist - Hydrophobia: Prophecy
22. A game without any humans - Bulb Boy
24. An arcade-style high score game - RoboCop
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in - NightSky
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with - Astlibra: Revision
26. A game where you play as a bug or an aquatic creature - Worms
27. A game that was adapted from another medium or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Heavy Gear
34. A bright and cheerful game - Rock of Ages
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion - Star Wars: Empire at War
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics - Crusader Kings I
39. A game that surprised you - The Swapper
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher) - The Crew
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on - American McGee's Alice (American himself, and Chris Vrenna)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Kill the Bad Guy
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List - Mind Scanners (Thanks Mortuum!)
47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it - Marvel SNAP

Total: 28/50

Spec Ops: The Line is THE game with a story, that also takes advantage of the medium it use to tell the story. It's sad that no other game has taken the crown in so much time.

I also recommend Endling: Extinction is Forever since it tells a story very worth telling.

Two more, that are more walking simulators but with very good stories: SOMA and To the Moon

ASTLIBRA Revision (9/10) - Very anime, all the tropes of anime are inserted in the game story, from the tsundere character to fighting god in the end. But I really liked the game, the gameplay is really good although you became unstopabble on the last chapter, and the story and the character relationships were very well done and... ok ok I just want to have a talking bird as my best friend.

Pac-Man (8/10) - A classic that I love, there is not much to say about it, it's Pac Man

Mind Scanners (7/10) - Very story centered and atmospheric, the depiction of the instruments used get that creepy feeling of extremely invasive medical procedures, and I got hooked. The gameplay is similar to Papers Please, you have some money to pay and visit several mentally unstable people to cure. You can cure them "fast" and leave them being just a husk of a person while making the money necessary to advance, or can take care with every patient and risk to lose your citizen status. But it's more story focus than Papers Please, and could get repetitive on replays.

Just a To The Moon Beach Episode (4/10) - Loved every other game on the serie since I played the first one three months after breaking with my five year girlfriend
at the time (Yes, I cried a lot while playing). This is the ending to the story and it was very dissapointing.

It's been a while since I came here, mostly work and study, and playing very long games (Astlibra: Revision is awesome but looooong)
On August I got tired of Marvel SNAP (I got to Inifinity level and there is not much more).
But mostly I played Astlibra: Revision, loved the story, and wanted to finish it, loved the crow character also, maybe the storytelling is not very good, but the character relationship sell the game.
The other three I finished are:
Just a To The Moon Beach Episode - The dissapointing ending to a serie I have been following since the first game released three month after I broke a five years relationship.
Pac Man - A classic game that I really love, I don't think there is much to say, everyone knows Pac Man
Mind Scanners - Papers Please for the mentally unstable, I really liked it, the atmosphere is very well done, with the machines feeling creepy and invasive.

In-Progress 2024 Challenge List:
01. A new game (released within the past year) - Gigantic Rampage Edition
02. An old game (released 10+ years ago) - Fract OSC
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago) - Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness
05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem
06. A quick completion (less than an hour) - Pac-Man
08. A game you've been wishing and waiting for - Just a To The Moon Series Beach Episode
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release - Kero Blaster
10. A game with 6+ endings - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Dragon Ball: The Breakers
20-1. A game set in a historical time period - Rome: Total War
21. A game with a female protagonist - Hydrophobia: Prophecy
22. A game without any humans - Bulb Boy
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in - NightSky
25-2. A game whose protagonist you would want to be friends with - Astlibra: Revision - Bro's before hoes, man
27. A game that was adapted from another medium or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Heavy Gear
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion - Star Wars: Empire at War
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics - Crusader Kings I
39. A game that surprised you - The Swapper
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher) - The Crew
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on - American McGee's Alice (American himself, and Chris Vrenna)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Kill the Bad Guy
45. A game that is on someone else’s HLTB 2024 Gaming Challenge List - Mind Scanners (Thanks Mortuum!)
47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it - Marvel SNAP

Total: 23/50

For July I got 3 more, including one of my favourite games of all time, Rome: Total War
Played as Germania on hard hard, and make the mistake of wait for the Roman factions to grow too strong, and the last part of the game was a grind.
The other two are nothing to write about, one a standard XBOX 360 indie shooter, the other a standard grindaton that I continue playing long after it stopped being fun.
Also, somehow Fract OST got erased, and I completed it on April, so I will add it again.

In-Progress 2024 Challenge List:
01. A new game (released within the past year) - Gigantic Rampage Edition
02. An old game (released 10+ years ago) - Fract OSC
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago) - Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness
05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release - Kero Blaster
10. A game with 6+ endings - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Dragon Ball: The Breakers
20-1. A game set in a historical time period - Rome: Total War
21. A game with a female protagonist - Hydrophobia: Prophecy
22. A game without any humans - Bulb Boy
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in - NightSky
27. A game that was adapted from another medium or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Heavy Gear
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion - Star Wars: Empire at War
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics - Crusader Kings I
39. A game that surprised you - The Swapper
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher) - The Crew
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on - American McGee's Alice (American himself, and Chris Vrenna)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Kill the Bad Guy
47. A game that had its HLTB times on a purple/red/gray background at the time you started playing it - Marvel SNAP

Total: 19/50

I'm curious how you felt about Ultima this many years later having never played it myself. It's so foundational and historical to the genre, but was it any fun in 2024?

I have never played it before neither.

To be honest, I found it has nothing to envy to new games in the grind department.

Going back and forth from posts to upgrade my weapons and my main stats is such a chore, and it has the problem of beign a necessity to finish the game and feel incredible cheaty at the same time.

The first hour was fun, I decided to give it a go without much help, having read only the manual, like if I just have bought the game in 1980, and doing quests and losing was fine, but after a while I became completely lost and frustrated without any help from a walkthrough.

As always, I start to slow down whenever work gets in the way, and in May and June only beat 3 games:
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Crusader Kings 1 and Gigantic Rampage Edition.
Some long games, but nonetheless

In-Progress 2024 Challenge List:
01. A new game (released within the past year) - Gigantic Rampage Edition
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago) - Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness
05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release - Kero Blaster
10. A game with 6+ endings - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Dragon Ball: The Breakers
22. A game without any humans - Bulb Boy
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in - NightSky
27. A game that was adapted from another medium or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Heavy Gear
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion - Star Wars: Empire at War
37. A game that heavily features money, gold, or economics - Crusader Kings I
39. A game that surprised you - The Swapper
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher) - The Crew
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on - American McGee's Alice (American himself, and Chris Vrenna)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Kill the Bad Guy

March has been very good, five games beaten, but april was a full time work and vacations month, so I have only one game to add, but it was one of my favourite games of all time! (American McGee's Alice)
I also changed the category for The Crew, since American occupied the place of my Favourite Artist from Sleigh Bells

In-Progress 2024 Challenge List:
04. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago) - Ultima 1: The First Age of Darkness
05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem
09-2. A game that received new translations to other languages some time after its initial release - Kero Blaster
19. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Dragon Ball: The Breakers
22. A game without any humans - Bulb Boy
25-1. A game set in a world you would like living in - NightSky
27. A game that was adapted from another medium or a game that has been adapted into another medium - Heavy Gear
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion - Star Wars: Empire at War
39. A game that surprised you - The Swapper
42. A game that had a red retirement rating on HLTB when you started playing it (10% or higher) - The Crew
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on - American McGee's Alice (American himself, and Chris Vrenna)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Kill the Bad Guy

I try to finish the main story and then try to pass my achievements average on Steam.
If I like the game a lot I keep playing after that/trying mods.

Until now, I have to retire only one game before finishing the main story: Invisible Inc.

In-Progress 2024 Challenge List:

05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem
22. A game without any humans - Bulb Boy
35. A game containing a real or fictional religion - Star Wars: Empire at War
39. A game that surprised you - The Swapper
43. A game that one of your favorite artists worked on - The Crew (Sleigh Bells - Kids)
44-1. A game you previously retired or put on hold - Kill the Bad Guy

In this month I beated the excellent The Swapper. I am always a sucker for a good story game.

I started the year with a good advantage, closing the longest game on the list with Temtem.

05. A time sink (50+ hours) - Temtem

Last year was a very job focused year and so I get only to 17/50 games. This year I hope to do better.

Three month have passed, and only one game finished :(. In my defense I had LOTS of of job and life obligations this last months, and it was a grindaton, so that didn't help either.

5. A time sink (50+ hours) - NFS: No Limits

So, until november:
Completions (18/50)

Ps3/early ps4 graphics were perfect, and we didn't need to go to the hyper realistic graphics that cost one bazillion dollars and gets all the budget leaving nothing for all the others, more important parts of a game, like story, gameplay and sound.
Hell, even aesthetics suffers from this, right now everything has to be hyper realistic and movie like.

Yes, also, sound and music are more important than graphics quality.

Thank you! When I started, I definitely thought I'd take way more time or even not finish, but I got extra motivated by the challenge hahaha

Congrats on finishing it! And with plenty of time too!

To me, it seems that July/August is a slow month, and only one game is added to my list.

1. A new game (released within the past year) - Hunt the Night

So, I'm at 15/50, forget it, another year without completing it :P

Titan Souls!

I can see why it was Retired but a single playthrough for me was finished in a night. No desire to go back.

Hero Academy!

Did you retire it or did the killing of the server caught you? It was an amazing game to which I got pretty late, so only could play some matches before the killing.

I am somewhat salty about this one because it is the easiest game to play on a private net, didn't need a central server at all.

I send my june update. I got 12/50. As always, I don't think I will finish this year, but I will play trying

Challenge List:
2. An old game (released 10+ years ago) - The Room
4. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago) - Street Fighter
18. A cornerstone to gaming culture - Super Mario Bros.
25. A game that's scary - SOMA
27. A game featuring time travel - Final Fantasy
30. A game developed by a single person -orbt xl
38-2. A racing game - Colin McRae Rally (1998)
39. A game where you play as an antihero or a villain - Day of Defeat
42-2. A dark, gritty, or violent game - MO: Astray
46. A game where you play as a robot or an alien - Ratchet & Clank
47. A visual novel - Chinatown Detective Agency
48. A game that was not originally in your native language, but was localized later - King's Field

Starcraft. It was a surprise to me, but it's been 8 years since Legacy of the Void, and the world is starved of triple A RTSs.

The Thief franchise too, there is no more real stealth first person games.

It's fixed! :)

Hi! when I try to import my games from Steam it doesn't work. The error text that appears is:

ID xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx found, unable to read games data.

I don't know if you need the ID, or if it is a private thing from my steam profile.
The name of my steam profile is
https://steamcommunity.com/id/tastein
If it's necesary, please tell me and I will add it.

Thanks!

I played "To the moon" the same week that I split with my then five years girlfriend. A story about love and miscomunication like no other (The game :P).

Is NOT something I would recommend :P.