Two Entries Shorter

My wishlist on Steam had sat at a comfortable 24 games for quite awhile--possibly 2 years or more.  Due to a recent sale on games made in Japan, it now looks oddly short (yeah, it's not...it still has 22 games on it).  I shortened my list by adding Nier:  Automata and Valkyria Chronicles 4 to my library (...and my pre-summer backlog which also includes plans to re-play the ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE Assassin's Creed:  Odyssey with all the DLC).  I'm absolutely looking forward to playing all these games (and, hopefully on my new self-built PC!).

NieR:  Automata is full of robots to destroy.

Nier:  Automata was an agonizing purchasing choice.  It was on my wishlist for well over two years.  I spent a lot of time pouring over reviews and and waffling.  The main reason has to do with the fact that the PC port is not great and has some very well documented issues.  On the other hand, the majority of the reviews were glowing; many used the term "masterpiece."  Ugh...I don't want to miss out on a great game, but I also don't want to waste money on a game that constantly crashes or runs like a pile of hot garbage.  I finally decided that I would bank on Steam's return policy and give it a go.  I also decided to play it safe and follow advice from some other PC players who recommended downloading and installing a third-party mod (the FAR mod by Kalaiden), which fixes many or the graphical and crashing issues found in the PC port.

The good news is that the mod seems to have fixed any problems--I've only had one crash (it happened during the first 30 seconds of my very first game, so it was very minor).  So far I've been having fun (I do think the "masterpiece" moniker might be a bit off the mark...but that remains to be seen).  The combat isn't as fun as Bayonetta, but it is still very stylish and cool.  The thing I've enjoyed the most are the boss battles with some absolutely whacky (and HUGE) baddies.  I will write up a full review when I've finished, but my early impressions are mostly positive.

I also decided to snap up Valkyria Chronicles 4.  I enjoyed the original Valkyria Chronicles (moreso for the story and characters than the combat) and am really hoping that it is as good or better.  My goal is to finish Nier first and then give it a go.

Happy weekend gaming! 😄