No, but as I gathered Bestowers is practically a "demo" for Blackwell Legacy in terms of story. Would still be interesting to play because they changed all the puzzles.
True, although in terms of "meat" (puzzles) they cut back in favour of story and characters - and the different paths. So instead of having maybe nine puzzles in a scene, they have only three, but solvable in three different ways each, depending on your "party". So for one playthrough, it sometimes feels a bit thin, gameplay-wise. Although I really cherish what they were trying to do and how much they achieved (impressive!), people should be aware of what they're getting into, or they will be disappointed.

Ok, I've been updating my first page list but haven't been posting my thoughts on the later additions, so here are the ultra breef versions.

Distance

This driving game is far more of a platformer than I'd expected. I'm not really good at racing games, or 3d platforming for that matter, but I did finish the campaign and gotten medals in ... many of the arcade levels. But they're getting harder and harder, so I'm putting the game on an indefinite hold until I feel like giving those levels another go. Nailing some of that platforming does feel really good, but only when I, well, nail it. I miss way too often.

Sundered

A fun metroidvania with some light procedural generation. I 100%ed it achievement wise, but I only killed one of the "upgraded form" bosses.

Project Warlock

Bought it on Steam sale 2 weeks before it showed up in Humble Choice :(. Ah well, still a fun old-schooly-but-not-quite FPS. There are RPG elements with stats increases, weapon upgrades, and limited lives in anything but Casual difficulty. No manual saves, "quick" or otherwise. No mid-mission checkpoints even. I beat the game on Normal and Hard.... The final difficulty only lets you have 1 life so that's not for me, not when there are instakill lavapits and such in the last few levels.

Soldier of Fortune: Platinum Edition

Had it on my wishlist for a while, so it at 75% off last sale here and picked it up. Found Normal difficulty too easy, and Hard too hard. So I used the Custom difficulty option to give me something in between. Still some frustrating parts, but blowing people's arms and legs off never got old.

Slay the Spire

Got really addicted to this roguelite CCG. To the point of spending 60 hours on it in the span of like ... a week??!! WTF. Yeah, uninstalled it to avoid taking up more of my time. I only managed to beat the true final boss with one of the 4 characters. With the others "Beat the game" (as the game itself counts it) by beating the Act 3 boss(es), but not the final boss.

Finished Gothic 1 in german language. Haven't played the game like in 15 years, joined the swamp camp so i had to play a battle mage since you can only learn 4th circle of magic there, but didn't want to join the old camp again like i did 15 years ago.
Had some crashes with the game on win xp or freezes but not too many times. Freezes only happened when i went from the world into some mine or sleepers temple and the like where it needed to load but it didn't so had to end task.

Now to play Gothic 2 gold in german which i never played the german version before i think. Also wonder if i at least need the system pack for it. I actually played gothic 1 gog version only.

Eventide 2: The Sorcerers Mirror (2016) (Linux)

Once again a bit doubtful to put it on "completed" list as it was actually completed by my daughters, who have just discovered the genre and really enjoy it. Even for them it's not challenging enough, but nice visuals and beating puzzles one by one is quite relaxing for all of us. I can also see how they learn to cooperate playing this games. Interesting.
As for the game itself - another decent hope from Artifex Mundi. Nothing more, nothing less. If you like the genre, I suppose you'll not be disappointed with this one.

List of all games completed in 2020.

Game# 61: Alien vs. Predator (Superscape) (2004) (J2ME)

Since I finished that last AvP game, I figured I would try to finish this one which I played a bit of last year. It’s a platform game with 5 levels each for the Marine, Alien & Predator. It’s nothing special, but I enjoyed the alien levels the most as you could climb on the walls and attack from almost any direction. The marine and predator felt pretty much the same. The game seemed like it was running too fast though, which made it rather hard at times. I spent maybe an hour finishing it.

Game# 62: Ghost Story (鬼) (Ozura Mobile) (2006) (J2ME)

I actually only loaded this game to find out who the developer was and then decided to check out the gameplay. I wound up just playing the whole thing. It’s a puzzle game with a Chinese setting in which you have to banish spirits from a graveyard and rescue people.

The way the gameplay works is you have to walk over the spirits to banish them. Some can require being passed over up to 4 times and you can only move to spaces that have spirits so you have to plan your moves well or you’ll trap yourself and lose the level. You also need to end up exactly where the person who needs to be rescued is on your last move.

It’s the kind of thing that seems really tedious/difficult if you actually try to count out your moves, but strangely, if you just wing it without giving it too much thought, is actually pretty easy most of the time. There were a few tough levels, but I think I finished all 25 levels in maybe 75 minutes or so.

Game# 63: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (Superscape) (2007) (J2ME)

This is another game I played some of last year, but gave up due to a really annoying escort mission I couldn’t get past. I finally managed to beat it (by luck, not skill) and continued on to finish the game. There are 11 levels, 5 you play as the alien and the other 6 as the predator.

Game# 64: Blood+ (Javaground) (2009) (J2ME)

This game is the one I liked the most of the J2ME games I’ve played this year. It’s based on the anime series of the same name and you hack and slash your way through various types of vampires. It’s a platform game with controls that were actually pretty decent and it had some good gore with geysers of blood erupting from the necks of your decapitated enemies. It really makes killing things satisfying,

The one negative is that it has finishing move QTEs. These are optional with normal enemies but required for bosses. They aren’t too bad, but it was annoying when you triggered them accidentally as it is easy to fail when you aren’t expecting them. Overall I liked the game though.

Game# 65: Creeping Terror (クリーピング・テラー) (Mebius, Nikkatsu) (2017) (3DS)

This side scrolling survival horror game takes its cues from the original Clock Tower. You explore a mansion and hospital looking for items and story reveals while occasionally having to run and hide from various enemies. I think it took about 4 hours or so to finish. It doesn’t break any new ground but I enjoyed it for what it was.

Game# 66: Gregory Horror Show: Soul Collector (グレゴリーホラーショー ソウルコレクター) (Capcom) (2003) (PS2)

I didn’t really like this game. It’s just a really tedious experience where you have to sneak around and spy on people in order to find out how to solve really simple puzzles. I did appreciate how bizarre and unique it was though. In the end though, I was glad it was over. I think it took me about 6-7 hours to play through.

Game# 67: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (バイオハザード ザ・マーセナリーズ 3D) (Capcom, Tose) (2011) (3DS)

I already knew I wouldn’t care for this much before I started playing it, but I forced my way through just to scratch another Resident Evil game off my list. As soon as the credits rolled I was done even though it unlocked more levels afterward. They were just variations of the same overly repetitive crap as the main game anyway.

Game# 68: Fear, The (ザ・フィアー) (Jap) (Digital Frontier) (2001) (PS2)

This is a campy FMV horror adventure game/interactive movie that was only released in Japan. I’ve played some of it before but had to stop due to the emulator (PCSX2) hanging whenever I picked up an item. I was bound and determined to figure out how to get past the problem and succeeded. The game requires that you use the game hack “Ignore DMAC writes when it is busy” in order to work properly.

Anyway, if you like really bizarre tongue-in-cheek horror movies, this might fit the bill. It’s your typical “trapped in a mansion” story with lots of cute young girls and characters being picked off one by one. The game has a ridiculous amount of FMV, coming in at nearly 17GB spread across 4 DVDs (in a game from 2001!!!). Even after finishing the game, I think I only saw maybe 30% of it. There are lots of alternate endings and stuff. I saved the girls I wanted to though and am satisfied with my ending. I’m not going to play it again. At least not right now.

Game# 69: Thrill at Rain Castle (Gys På Regneslottet) (Dan) (Compmedia) (1994) (WIN3)

This is a Danish language educational game with a horror theme for teaching kids basic arithmetic. I only played it because I hadn’t played any Danish language horror themed games yet. Needless to say it wasn’t the least bit challenging for me.

Game# 70: Prince: Ghost Hunt at Foggy Castle (Prince: Spøgelsesjagten På Tågernes Slot) (Dan) (Ultimatum) (1999) (WIN)

Surprisingly, I actually found another Danish language game with a horror theme. This one is more serious about its horror than the previous game, though it’s actually even easier. It’s one small part adventure game with the bigger part simply being passive story-telling. You click on things and get stories about poltergeists and stuff in a sort of multimedia documentary format. I was very surprised at how short this game was. It takes place in one single room and isn’t even an hour long.

Games Completed in 2020

... and Blackwell Unbound 6 hours later.
It's a bit harder than the first one (a good thing). I liked the setting and atmosphere (70s) in this second instalment.
I think I'll play the next one (Convergence) this weekend!


Edit:
I just discovered that Emerald City Confidential isn't sold on GOG...
https://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/emerald_city_confidential

That game was commissional work for PlayFirst, and IIRC Dave Gilbert said that he did not own the rights to it. GOG can try to convince PlayFirst, of course, but it will be much harder than working with WadjetEye, I fear. :(

Finished Ape Out. It was fun but short (2 hours). It is better to play short timespans (10-15 minutes) I think.

Full list here.

The Westport Independent

Looked like it is very much inspired by Paper's Please, but unfortunately it's by far not as good. There are just 11 turns and in everyone you do more or less the same. There are no new elements introduced and there isn't any real interaction with your reporters, the gouvernment or the rebels. I also never had the impression that me censoring or changing the news articles really influences the outcome of the game. Didn't bother to really check though, because I was already a little bored by my first playthrough. But I have to admit that I really liked the graphical style and the music of the game.

Complete list of finished games in 2020

Old Man's Journey (2017) (Linux/Proton)

I'm totally surprised with this one. As it is "adventure" I was sure it's some kind of point and click, but it seems to be puzzle game, based on extremely simple and enjoying concept – you need to manipulate landscape to find (actually, create) a path for your character. The game offers no more than 1,5h of casual gameplay delivered in beautiful graphics and relaxing music. The story is pretextual, but it exists and even tries to offer some atmosphere and also create some melancholy and emotions. Don't expect too much, but I really liked it, it's quite unique experience.

Works perfectly under Linux-Steam/Proton, with no additional tweaks needed.

List of all games completed in 2020.

Mars: War Logs. I remember reading some really negative reviews of this back when it first came out, so maybe I was operating with lowered expectations but I thought it was fine. It's like a Mass Effect meets Dark Souls action-RPG but done on a mid-level budget. You control this guy, Roy, who gets mixed up in this sci-fi plot set on Mars. There are these creepy guys called Technomancers who can conjure electricity out of their bodies. At one point, you fight this giant worm thing like something out of Dune.

I did my usual thing and stuck primarily to just clubbing things, so I can't say how well a sneaky backstabber/trap-setting character works. I did start using the Technomancer powers late in the game, but that was mostly in the form of powering up my melee weapon, so I was really still just clubbing everyone and can't say how a more straight on "wizard" character would work, either. Most of the combat, I would swing at one guy, do one of those evasive rolls to escape everyone trying to hit me, and then take another swing, wearing everyone down gradually. If I wasn't doing well, I'd either start shooting guys with my gun or throw a grenade. You have one extra party member accompanying you through most of the game and I was never too impressed with how they worked. Up until the late game, when they've gotten tougher along with you, they mostly just served to distract enemies until they got knocked out.

The narrative has a clear point where you have to pick a side. As with many games, both choices suck and there is no "a pox on both your houses!" option. It's a French game, so your options are basically either military dictatorship or "sci-fi Reign of Terror". I went with the military option. I liked the game's sense of style and how it developed the setting, and the writing, although nothing amazing, isn't bad. You can romance one of your female partners, but it isn't much more developed than Saints Row 4's parody of game romances. The game does to some extent notice how you're playing because I didn't kill a single enemy through the entire game (just gave them all extremely severe concussions) and on a couple of occasions a bloodthirsty character asked me why I wasn't killing anyone and we had a brief chat about it. The biggest knock I have on the game is that a lot of quests require you to criss-cross the same areas repeatedly and knocking out the same groups of enemies using the same tactics got a bit old (Witcher swamps syndrome). Oh, and the voice acting isn't anything special - I wondered if the French voices sounded better but I couldn't find an option to change the the audio for that.

The graphics are fine in an "obviously not AAA, did the best with what we had" sort of way. Possibly the most important factor in the game's favor is that it's not dragged out for too long. I finished it in about 20 hours, I think, and I'm a slow player, so if you're rushing you can probably beat it in 10-15 hours. I will look forward to seeing how Spiders' later games improved.

Book of Demons

Needed something to take the edge off and keep me from reinstalling Slay the Spire, so I tried this title that HB choice helped me cross off my wishlist. Well, the presentation is impecable, but the gameplay ... not so much. It's fun in the beginning, but then by the end it really becomes a slog. This was on Normal difficulty with the Warrior dude. Afterwards I started an Archer girl on Roguelike mode, played for a few floors until i died (I had enough money to resurrect in town tho) and I think that's it for me with this one.

Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord

I finally beat this sucker. After numerous cheap deaths, including losing an entire level 15 squad with great equipment to a poorly calculated teleportation, I adopted a maniacally conservative approach and brute forced my way to Werdna.

Now I'll take my dudes to the second scenario and beyond.

Entry 4: Haunted Legends 8 -The Iron Mask Collector's Edition(Win10, 64 Bit)

This seems to be loosely referencing the tale called The Man in the Iron Mask.....seems pretty good from one play through.

Pros The times when talking is the only thing one can do(usually when entering a new area and seeing people to talk to to initiate a cut scene) is now more apparent via a newly added mouse icon which shows when talking will happen when one clicks anything in a new room.

A little icon also appears to indicate when a new task is added to one's task list as well, which is a nice touch.

Cons/Nitpicks

Some rooms/screens need to be scrolled(left to right or up and down) and one must use buttons to do such(on each edge of the screen), not just moving to the side of the screen.

A few zoomed in areas(talking to characters) lack the zoom out buttons, though one can click near the edges of the main screen area to get out of them.

The expansion in the Collector's Edition seems to make no sense given what transpires at the end of the first game....well to me, anyways....it was decent, though.

Musings: Horse shoes can be found in various parts of rooms/etc(click on them to pick them up) and they are used in one's collection tab to buy items for the horse there....a nice new side thing to do.

Overall I give it a 7/10...another decent entry in the series.
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(Full list in Post 21 in this thread)

Finished Westerado.

It was a fun game, quite short but there is some replayability to it.

Full list here.