2025 Challenge | Gaming With Dan

1. Ak-xolotl: Together

Ok. Well It's currently April 13th and I'm inputing my first entry into the 2025 list. Although I've now spent numerous hours reconstructing the site, it's safe to say that there's a very small chance that the challenge gets beaten this year. Regardless, we will try. Ak-Xolotl: Together is a top down, twin stick rogue like shooter that has every ingredient of a game that I love. It's similarity to Gungeon, at least in my opinion, is nothing but a good thing to help fill the void that game has left now so many years ago. It ticks every box in terms of the rogue lite experience - upgradeable guns during the run, little buddies you hatch that give you special passive abilities, unlockable areas, the list honestly goes on forever. I read in the Steam comments that this game was once in a terrible, almost unplayable state so they must have done some serious development to bring it to the very playable game it is today. One knock on it, perhaps, but good for me, is that it only took 4-5 runs to beat the game and see the credits on the highest difficulty - at least the highest difficulty unlocked at the time. The same Steam comments I referenced earlier suggested a brutal difficulty so I'm imaging that's something that was patched. This is a game I would have seriously sank my teeth into in years past, but that's a luxury I can't afford these days. Overall, awesome experience and it kicks the year off with a banger 8.

Platform: PC Difficulty: Hard Rating: 8/10

2. Destiny: The Edge of Fate

This is probably the most painful description I've ever had to write up. As such, I'll keep it relatively brief as every keystroke pains my heart. Destiny 2 is my favorite game of all time, let's make no mistake about it. The story, the lore, the graphics, and most importantly of all the core gunplay and ability mechanics are second to none (and honestly arguably still are). I won't even get into the abysmal end game progression and the complete lack of transparency and sense from the team at Bungie while writing this review. I'll focus solely on the campaign experience but everything else surrounding that is undoubtedly tainting it - I'm only human. Destiny had a slight dip with Lightfall (although this was still fine) but then came back with an absolute banger in The Final Shape. The fact that we're here from the last moments of The Final Shape is almost unimaginable. I'll start off with the good - the story ain't awful. The new NPC is ok and how we're starting to blend the Destiny universe with our real world (JFK assassination) is kinda cool. They've definitely lost some of the woke cringey dialogue they had with Lightfall but...well that's most of the good I can say. What's crazy is this campaign had potential. The brand new mechanics of turning into a ball of light or using various tools to shape shift the environment could be so amazing with the right dev team. Instead, most missions break down to - damage boss, turn into a ball, find some tiny hole to go through, blow up a reactor with ball, and then rinse and repeat. It feels soleless, devoid of any real care or attention to detail and frankly a waste of what could be awesome. The Armor 3.0 system also seems like a massive opportunity missed as it forces us out of all our hard farmed armor into these sets which only get someone could at upper tiers which are a pain to grind for. I'm not sure the standalone campaign does deserve a 4, probably a 6 or 7, but given the context of how great Destiny was (and still could be) and the surrounding bullshit that I just can't ignore, this is what it gets. I pray something magnificent and revolutionary happens over at Bungie because sadly, and for the first time in a very long time, I think I'll be putting down Destiny for the forseeable future. RIP.

Platform: PC Difficulty: N/A Rating: 4/10

3. Gravity Circuit

This will be a short write up. This is mainly due to the fact that I beat this game months and months ago while GWD was in a bit of a lull and didn't get around to the write up at the time which means I kinda forget. But what I do remember is that this is a spiritual successor to the Megaman series that hits on every single level. A love letter so to speak. So much so it may borderline on some sort of copywrite infringement but who cares. This is a fantastic 2D platformer that has the same core mechanics as the aforementioned beloved series, allowing you to attack any level in any order and the powerups from a beaten level can help you with subsequent ones. After playing some difficult Megaman games, the difficulty of Gravity Circuit is quite low. This isn't a bad thing, however, as it still offers a fun challenge and the old Megaman series could be at a difficulty level which borderlines tedium given the limited design choices at the time. Upgrades, powerups, swift movement, tight platforming, boss pattern memorization - it's all here in it's true glory. I wish I had written this write up soon after beating it so I could say more - but what I do remember is this was a fantastic experience.

Platform: PC Difficulty: Normal Rating: 9/10

4. Hollow Knight: Silksong

Well, it's arrived. After a tumultuous relationship with Destiny 2, I've been needing something to fill the void. Silksong, albeit quite temporarily, has done this. This game had a lot to live up to as a sequel to one of the most beloved masterpieces of all time, and boy did it deliver. Silksong follows the story of Needle, a prominent NPC in the first game that is friend and foe and eventually friend again along the journey. The game takes place some time after the first one, in the far off land of Pharloom which although is similar in style and artistic nature to the first game, introduces completely new areas and biomes that is a refreshing yet familiar experience. Needle comes with her own, flashy and quick silky moveset that turns every fight into a difficult yet rewarding dance. The introduction of the 'tool' system allows players to utilize a variety of customizable ranged weapons, for example, which can be of particular use to mix in with blade attacks in most boss fights and gauntlet sections. I've read a lot online about the unfair difficulty about this game, but as a veteran platformer I didn't really see it. Yes, the bosses were as a whole more difficult than the first game but with enough pattern memorization and attention to detail they were more than fair. I will say, however, much in line with GWD.com rules I played until I saw the ending credits to mark this as completed. I am aware there is much more to explore in Pharloom and perhaps the 'unfair' difficulty may rear it's head in that context. I have heard of brutal runbacks that admittedly wouldn't be fun, but as I didn't experience that personally it's not going to affect my perfect rating of this game. The exploration of Pharloom, the signature artwork, the incredible 2D platforming, the combat, the depth of build customization all made this to be an unforettable experience. Although I will move on to the next game in the spirit of the challenge, I think I'll keep this game around to hop in and do some exploring every once in a while and maybe challenge myself to best the more difficult boss fights in the game that remain.

Platform: PC Difficulty: N/A Rating: 10/10

5. The Supper

Ok I think I should take a second to point out how ratings work on GWD.com. The Supper is approximately a 30 minute point and click horror game. Now, the previously rated game, Silksong, is a 60+ hour masterpiece. Are there really only 3 points of separation between this free, 30 minute game and the masterpiece that is Silksong? Well no, of course not. Ratings here need to be in somewhat of a vacuum - I am rating the game in the context of itself and what it's trying to accomplish. For example, there could be a hundred dollar AAA graphically intensive, combat intensive, billion lines of code first person shooter which scores less than a 7 (see Edge of Fate) because big budget does not equal good gameplay. Based on 'context' it is perfectly legimitiate to give The Supper a 7 and Edge of Fate of 7. Edge of Fate is horrible in it's own context and the Supper is a great, tasty little treat in it's respective context. This 30 minute game has you controlling an old, parpalegic woman who runs a diner in an eerie, dystopian, Lovecraftian setting. The game involves incredibly simple point and click puzzle solving but still does require some brain power, albeit minimal. The story, graphics, dialogue and twists all give this fun point and click narrative it's deserved rating. Had it been longer and a more developed, polished point and click adventure, this could easily climb the ranks because the building blocks along with it's atmosphere are there. A 30 minute solid experience is exactly what the doctor ordered for a very, very behind 2025 challenge.

Platform: PC Difficulty: N/A Rating: 7/10

6. Islets

Sometimes before or after a game I'll check on Steam to see what the consensus is. This, of course, does not affect my rating whatsoever but I'm always curious to see my thoughts versus public opinion. Islets appears to be one of those games where I'm not quite aligned with the overwhelmingly positive reviews that this game has on Steam. Don't get me wrong, Islets is solid and 6 is a solid score. Also, undoubtedly, this is a metroidvania coming directly off the heels of Silksong...this is a bit unfair but it is what it is. Islets is a relatively short, charming and movement fluid Metroidvania. It definitely loses points on the plot, artwork and music which all are mediocre at best. You play as Iko, a young warrior looking to prove himself by saving the world. He accomplishes this by uniting islnds that have drifted apart and returning them to some sort of pangaea state. The story feels rather disconnected and rushed, before I knew it I was facing the final boss and had no idea how I got there or what the build up was. As mentioned this is a metroidvania but the game tries to employ a roguelike mechanic where you find permanent upgrades around the map that are presented as a choice of one of three. It turns out that the progression is fairly linear, however, as the same choices continue to pop up as you ignore them which forces you to eventually accept them. A more open, random build like system would be much more appealing. Where this game definitely gains points and solidifies itself as a solid experience is the core gameplay, ability progression and boss fights. While starting fairly limited in your movement, you're eventually double jumping, teleporting, creating disappearing platforms and running up vertical walls. There is an incredible amount of freedom of movement. The dodge with generous iframes is also always a nice touch. While the boss fights initially start out rather simple and boring, they quickly ramp up with the later bosses presenting a solid challenge. I burned through the second half of the game fairly quickly and I'm sure I was fairly underleveled, but even then there is a hard option for this game which undoubtedly would have made these bosses a real test even properly levelled. All in all, this was a solid experience. I disagree with Steam rating this as seemingly one of the greatest Metroidvanias out there, but it was a nice 6 deserving playthrough.

Platform: PC Difficulty: Normal Rating: 6/10

7. Hades II

Well, well, well. After a couple of decent backlog games I decided to take on the sequel to one of the greatest games I have ever played. This did not disappoint. Hades II has you playing as Melinoë, the daughter of Hades and Persephone and the younger sister of Zagreus. I would say Hades II essentially offerred more and better of the same, and after a five year hiatus from the original game it's just what the doctor ordered. For the core mechanics of the game you can look at my review of Hades as they are essentially the same, but the sequel seems to tweak and improve almost everything. The voice acting is superb, the soundtrack is top notch, the rogue-like experience (I think this is actually lite) is fantastic...I mean I could go on and on. Something that stood out to me in this iteration is the world building. Being in the underworld and slowly building up this area is incredibly satisfying and rewarding. On that note, one core gameplay mechanic that Hades does so well is feeling like you're not stuck in this grindy, repetitive rogue experience especially if you can't beat a certain area or boss. Everytime you die, or succeed for that matter, there are new upgrades, new dialogues, new weapons etc. which makes it feel like you are always progressing. One final thought is one that actually came as a result of a converstaion with a co-worker who had played the game more than me at the time. I had killed Cronos once or twice and was convinced that three more kills and the credits would roll and that would be it. He gave me a look as if I didn't quite know what I was in for, and boy was he right. A massive difference from the original game is that that Hades 2 offers a secondary path to the surface. This is quite literally a second game that offers a new set of more challenging bosses along with secondary final boss. To see the credits requires you to alternate between these paths multiple times and subsequently defeat both bosses quite a few times, but absolutely not complaints on my end as I enjoyed every minute of it. I will say, the plot of the game almost lost me after I beat it when Cronos all of a sudden completely changed his personality but I will say when consdidering how 'time' is being used it did kind of make sense. Although this is definitely a website which spoils games, I'll just leave it at that. It was close to deducting a point but ultimately there's no way I could drop this game below 10. An absolutely fantastic experience and a worthy contender for Silksong for my game of the year.

Platform: PC Difficulty: N/A Rating: 10/10

8. Grapple Dog

So after implementing this exciting new dynamic backlog feature (definitely check that page out if you haven't) the sort of pattern I'm running is to beat one or two or even three backlog games and then reward myself with a non-backlog, targeted game that I'm excited for such as Silksong or Hades 2 and the next one likely being that Expedition game everyone is going crazy over. So in comes Grapple Dog as a randomly picked backlog game. Both Youtube reviews and Steam touted this game as a sort of, tribute or love letter to a GBA game and I guess this was sort of true. It did have a classic, 2D platformer feel with worlds and levels inside them with collectables and so on but...honestly this game just didn't do it for me. The big, overarching mechanic was appropriately the Grapple Hook and although in theory this seemed and looked cool, in reality it missed the mark. The physics seemed downright janky and unintuitive. One moment that notably comes to mind is the final phase of the final boss fight where the swing to latch on a grapple point was so annoyingly precise that I was sure at one point I was doing it wrong and convinced there was another path. But nope, after beating it a YouTube video confirmed that this ridiculous swing was intended. The world was bland, the music was...non existent from what I can remember, the boss fights were pretty boring, the graphics were meh...everything just felt mired in mediocrity at best. One thing that really annoyed me was the actual progression system. Beating levels to progress wasn't enough, you have to find purple gems in each level where enough will unlock the boss of that stage. This led me to having to replay these relatively boring levels in an attempt to find these gems - not great. In terms of a relatively quick and easy 2D platformer, Grapple Dog served it's purpose for the challenge but that's about it. On to the next.

Platform: PC Difficulty: N/A Rating: 4/10

9. The Bridge

Another backlog game that is probably one of the oldest games I own. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe this is one of the first games I ever got as a part of the monthly free games for having a PSN subscription back in the days of the PS4. One of those games that I was always wanting to check out but never did until it came up as a selection on the backlog challenge...and I have to say, I was disappointed. I'm rating this game in the vaccuum of my very limited experience with strictly 'puzzle' games. As such this review might be a little jaded and ill informed but I'm thinking of games like the Blue Prince which I haven't even played but I heard is downright fantastic. This did not feel downright fantastic. The game has simple mechanics and controls - you can walk left or right with the joystick while you can rotate your environment with the R and L triggers. I guess one could make an argument for it's elegance in simplicity, but this just missed the mark for me. Most puzzles were relatively easy but out of nowhere came some difficulty spikes where I found myself just brute forcing all posibilities before winding up with a solution. This wasn't horrible by any means and a 5 is an acceptable score, but in full disclosure I just wanted this game to end. If I found out there was an extra world after the 4th one I would have been extremely annoyed as I knew I'd have to beat it for the integrity of the challenge. I will say, it did score some points with it's artwork and envrionment which were unique and well done. Overall, not that much to say about a medicore puzzle game but I am happy to officially cross it off the list and remove it from the backlog.

Platform: PSN Difficulty: N/A Rating: 5/10

10. Downwell

A nice rebound after the rather annoying "The Bridge". Downwell is made by Devolver - this should give you an early clue as to where this rating is going to end up. This is a really fun, niche, and original rogue-like (and moreso a true rogue-like) that has us controlling some sort of white being as we descend through four world of chaos. Each world has 3 respective chapters where upon completion we are granted an upgrade in true rogue fashion. The gameplay is rather simple, free fall down obstacle ridden hallways while shooting and jumping on the heads of enemies. I love how this game rewards speed as landing combinations will grant some serious rewards, but at the same time you'll pay the price for not being careful and losing very precious life (and in this game it is indeed very precious). A very nicely implemented risk/reward mechanic. A definite potential knock on this game is the repetitiveness of the runs - the lack of upgrades have the player kind of targetting the same powerful ones every run. For example, there is an upgrade which allows you to gain health upon eating corpses. As I mentioned, health is limited and valuable so this becomes almost a must have in early game for a successfuly run. However, minimalistic is this games style. The pixel graphics and retro sounding music fit this design and complement the game beautifully. Full disclosure - I did have quite a bit of experience with this game but it had never been beaten in the gamingwithdan.com era so it's legit. Hard mode presents a serious, serious challenge so I stuck to Normal for a relatively quick clear. Even on Normal mode, however, the final boss is seriously difficulty and requires immense concentration and platform mastery amidst the chaos on screen. Another hit from the team that can do no wrong over at Devolver.

Platform: PSN Difficulty: Normal Rating: 8/10

11. Eldest Souls

Continuing with some momentum enters Eldest Souls, a souls like boss rush which brings back memories of the fantastic Titan Souls which it undoubtedly draws some inspiration from. I just checked my score for Titan Souls which was a 9, so I think the 7 I'm giving this is appropriate as it's not at the level of near perfection that Titan Souls is but it's still a great video game. And much unlike Titan Souls, the bosses here do not go down in one hit but rather after a long, arduous and hectic combative dance with them. Despite the Steam reviews being quite negative about this aspect of the game, I didn't mind it. There is a healing mechanic built into combat similar to Silk Song so as long as you focused and played the right way, you were never really out of a fight. This game has a weird difficult curve - starts off quite easy, immediately throws you into a boss fight where you feel completely overwhelmed and underleveled, but once you unlock more and more abilities and understand the playstyle you've chosen the game opens up quite a bit and becomes very accessible. After struggling on a few midgame bosses, I cruised through the final 4 or 5. What's crazy though is how quickly a fight can turn. You can be at full health and completely dominating and then a mistep or being over aggressive turns into a near one shot situation. This makes for tense situations near the ends of fight where you just want to end it but at the same time you don't want to be over aggressive and expose yourself. Also, there was no going back to level up and become more powerful before trying a boss again. The only way you good better prepare for a boss is to try and fail and learn their attack patterns along with perfect your play style and attack patterns. Another game with beautiful pixel art and decent music. I absolutely loved the world design and (albeit limited) lore as it's set in some sort of lovecraftian corrupted island. There were quests to complete and although I did some, I couldn't find what to do with the rest of the quest items so just went to end game. Perhaps they would have assisted or introduced new mechanics - I'll probably never know. Overall an absolutely solid game that came with a real sense of accomplishment for besting. Solid stuff.