2026 Gaming Goals!

[Firuthi Dragovic]

So, as I stated elsewhere, 2026 is the year of clearing games that have vexed me or just sad idle on my computer for too long. Reviewing the list... I have too many to actually complete in one year (too many for one lifetime frankly - such is the curse of ADHD impulse bundle-buying), so I'm just going to have to select a dozen of them and see what I can do.

1. Brok the InvestiGator
   • I backed this enough to get a physical copy, enjoyed the demo... but in three years, I never got around to playing the full version of this hybrid beat-em-up/point-and-click adventure (a style that reminds me of Sierra's old Quest for Glory series, though that leaned more into proper RPG and Brok leans more into the beat-em-up side). We fix that this year, and we fix it first.
2. Lollipop Chainsaw
   • Suda51's attempt at a game styled like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I unfortunately have the RePOP version, which means I don't get the licensed music from the original. I still don't think Dead or Alive's track goes with the combine harvester sequence, or Human League's track with the elevator sequence.
3. Shadows of the Damned
   • Perhaps not one of Suda51's finest works, but that's because he collaborated with EA on this one. EA kind of stymied his creative efforts here. But even Suda51's worst is still leagues ahead of many AAA developers.
4. Minecraft
   • I played this back when it was a tiny browser thing. I played this on multiple servers since. However, in all 16 years since this game's been around, I have never beaten the Ender Dragon or the Wither. We fix that this year. I even already know what seed I plan to use - 19006492568.
5. Raft
   • Another game where I've had it for a long time, played around, never beaten the main story... but when I last played this, there was no true conclusion. Well, there is now, so we can finish it.
6. Far Cry 2
   • As I stated in the other thread, I got all the diamonds in the first half before putting this down. Time to get everything else and actually see the end of this one.
7. Post Void & Mullet Mad Jack
   • So... THESE are a pair of first-person shooters where there's little level navigation, a lot of running forward and shooting, and strict time limits. I plan to beat both of them - I combine them because Post Void's achievement list is basically nil (beat the game once, use all weapons, fail 20 times and mess with the settings menu a bit, and you'll have them all), so more focus is on Mullet Mad Jack here.
8. Sentinels of the Multiverse
   • Now that the kid gloves are off, I can finish what I started in getting every achievement done (including every villain on Ultimate). I don't count the Earth-Prime side of this yet as once I finally get there, there's going to be unlock conditions for variants that I need to worry about.
9. Baldur's Gate 3
   • Another one I started but never finished. Seeing a running theme? I'm ultimately planning on two playthroughs but I might have to settle for one this year.
10. Darkest Dungeon 2
    • I started it a while back, things fell apart when I went through down times last year, and now it's time to finish it.
11. CloverPit
    • A horror game revolving around a slot machine? In an art style similar to Buckshot Roulette? Sign me up!
12. Arx Fatalis
    • This one's a bit older. A dungeon crawler, and one of the first efforts out of Arkane. I really enjoyed their second game, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, so I'm giving this one a try. (And I also have Prey 2017 on my big list, which is another of theirs.)
13. ???????
    • I don't want to reveal what this last one is. It's a horror puzzle game with a rather infamous reputation among the fandom, and that's all you need to know.

There are also a handful of games I'm looking forward to that are probably releasing this year:

1. Beastro
2. Mouse: PI for Hire
3. Slay the Spire 2
4. MewGenics (the latest from Edmund McMillen, the Binding of Isaac guy)
5. An upcoming DLC for Legendary Tales (a VR hack-and-slash I really enjoyed)
6. Whatever expansion is coming for Monster Hunter Wilds

And a few ongoing cases such as:

1. Arizona Sunshine Remake & 2
2. Slay the Spire
3. ATLYSS
4. Powerwash Simulator (first one only, not gonna bother with 2nd)
5. A number of roguelikes that have accumulated in my library for years now

If the game in question already has a separate thread I previously made, I'll use it and may just reference it here. Otherwise, I'm using this thread for my progress in any of it.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Well, that plan got derailed fast.

I uncovered two games that I thought I'd completed, but got updated since I last touched them.

One being a nice casual game called Little Inferno. There were three years in a row in my 20s where I streamed this as a Christmas game, and lo and behold, three years ago they introduced a Christmas DLC story - and achievements. I did all of it in one fell swoop.

The other... being fast-paced shooter POSTAL: Brain Damaged, a subject I... okay, looks like I can't put the NSFW tag on a thread after the fact, so I can't really discuss the game (or the DLC that got released since last time I played the game) here. Sorry! (Yes, it's really that messed-up of a game.)


That and PEAK have been taking up my time.

So, I've been completing games, just not in the way I intended.

I'm going to have to address that.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Weekly update on this:

I think I've gotten enough badges on PEAK that I can put that down for a while. Much of what I have left involves escapes and multiplayer so I can come back and look for groups on it later.

Slay the Spire, I've finished Ascension 3. I'm doing these with the Defect, and this time I managed an All for One deck with a bunch of Claws and other 0-cost cards.

And I also unlocked the second drawer in CloverPit (I'd beaten the demo so I already had the first one unlocked), even making it up to the 11th deadline on that run... with a sole focus on getting cherries, one of the weakest symbols on the slot machine. I've actually got a "memory pack" dangled over my head for my next run. Reading up on what those are, it looks like completing this one's going to take quite a while.


Anyways. With my games finally getting over their holiday events, I really, REALLY need to look into starting Brok finally.

 

[Morgana Willowsett]

Very nice! I love how you're locking in to complete such a fine collection!

My goals are a little simpler, aiming to get gold star promotions for my dwarfs in Deep Rock Galactic, making significant progress in Avernum 2 and managing to complete a full run on RV There Yet.

If I get an opportunity, I do want to clear some Mega Drive titles too.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

Very nice! I love how you're locking in to complete such a fine collection!

My goals are a little simpler, aiming to get gold star promotions for my dwarfs in Deep Rock Galactic, making significant progress in Avernum 2 and managing to complete a full run on RV There Yet.

If I get an opportunity, I do want to clear some Mega Drive titles too.

Hmmm... I have Avernum games in my Steam library, but I haven't done anything with them.

However, thank you for the reminder that I need to address my console games too. I am basically at a point in my life where, due to massive binging on gaming bundles in my 30s and late 20s, I need to be much, MUCH more careful about what I buy and play. I should at least clear all the console games I have in some fashion or another - and that includes the Mega Drive Classics stuff I got before they discontinued it on Steam.




Anyways, weekly update.

CloverPit's memory cards are turning out to be quite easy to get. Generally you can pick them up with good luck in the first couple rounds. And I've unlocked all four drawers. However... I looked up whether there was any other progression, and it turns out I need to start collecting the corpse parts in each run. Apparently that's how you get actual endings in this game. Problem is, the corpse parts make meeting the deadlines harder...

That is... quite honestly the only progress I've made this week on the main list. I've been distracted by VR gaming - mainly Legendary Tales, where I'm trying out three new builds. My first playthrough was a "lightning mage" setup that relied on that charged-orb fusion spell. My others are going to be a greatsword playthrough, a stealth build (yes, it's actually possible with one of the skill trees to play stealth).... and going for achievements requires a perma-death character, for which I will be going for an ice mage with the icicle-launching fusion spell and not wielding any weapons (there are skills to make your punches deal reasonable weapon damage, actually).

And Slay the Spire I'm now working on Ascension 5.


-----------------------------------------

EDIT:

No point posting twice in the same day on a thread like this.

CloverPit? I finally got the door open once. Still haven't gotten the good ending and I need more memory packs before I try to clear all the hard modes, but we're getting somewhere at least.


And... I finally, FINALLY got started on Brok the InvestiGator. Playing on Hardcore which means the fighting game aspect's going to be tricky sometimes.

Not exactly far yet. Intro sequence wasn't there when I played the demo three years ago, but Chapter 1 is mostly like the demo I remember... which may mean I'm nearing the chapter end since I've gotten past the Tribot cop.

Brok the InvestiGator is... the visual style of a Disney Afternoon cartoon, with a story of a detective in a dystopic world. No seriously, you have your Drumers (civilized society, very much based on appearances - best shown when you go into the pharmacy and four of the six recommended drugs are diet medicines. None of them work like Ozempic, one might work like Wegovy or Zepbound though) and your Slumers (poor neighborhoods, crime, everything crumbling). Brok (a gator) and his adoptive son Graff (a wolf) are the latter, and the entire first chapter's investigation requires you to fake Drumer credentials.

I'll find the ad coupons (which you can use to get hints) as I go and worry about finding everything and getting every game over and ending after I've reached the game's proper conclusion at least once.

Tasks done on this play of Chapter 1:

• Sold the broken cleaning bot for money
• Fixed the remote
• Paid the energy bill
• Convinced the package sorter bot to work for Shay
• Got the old veteran some medicine

Oh, and the Virtual Arena has a bunch of furry donators as audience members. I knew Duncan (a macro green kangaroo, falsely accused of causing a kaiju game to fail) could be an audience member, but I'm surprised Skyox (the Tribal Hunter guy - much as I enjoyed that game, that's not one to mention in casual conversation) was one of the donators.

 

[Firuthi Dragovic]

I will address any further progress I make with Brok later tonight. CloverPit, I'm trying to go for the sacred charms and having a bit of trouble there.

There are a number of ongoing games I didn't mention but I will be modifying the first post to add those in later. For now, we have something else.


We have another new game for the list that kind of surprised me. One that just hit Early Access earlier this week.

When I was checking some videos, I saw one for a game called Hungry Horrors. Given who it was, it was a compilation of what happens when the monsters reach you.

But let me back up a minute. What is this game even about? Well, you're a princess who starts off in a dungeon. You get out, and get suckered into a deal where you're cooking for monsters from British and Irish folklore. Your cards are traditional dishes from the region, apparently? Can someone help me out on these? Roast Potatoes are an easy one, Yorkshire Pudding's definitely something I've heard of before, but Boxty? Potato Farls (which a number of early monsters hate for some reason)? Colcannon? Crempog (which kind of looks like a pancake dish based on the card in-game)?

Alright, so there's a couple other quirks. If you chain foods with certain flavors together, the monster will get fuller faster - and that is practically mandatory to get anywhere in this game. Also, there are certain foods they love and some they hate. Loved foods count multiple times for the chain bonus, but feed them a hated food and they'll purge - which is BAD.

In the demo it took me only like two runs to get to the second area. Now that I bought the early-access version? Second area on the first try before a Spriggan scratched me to death. Yeah, that means the Grendel (the boss of the Cave area) was not much of a challenge. (Any clue why he likes Yorkshire Pudding so much though?)

At least I've never had a Puca (in this game, they steal your gold and are one of the few monsters trying to run away instead of going after you) get away so far.

(There's multiple different spellings of some of these monsters, if I miss any letter accents that's why.)