Re: What Have You Been Playing... In December 2024?

Well I get to finish this post at the right time now.
I have played some games this month although none of them for more than a few hours. I normally try and avoid playing multiple games at the same time but all of them do have that quality that I can play them in small chunks and I don't find that takes away from their enjoyment.
XCOM 2
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I finally picked this one up as it was yet again offered at a deep discount (-95% although admittedly it hardly ever seems to be full price now). I did enjoy XCOM:Enemy Within but found that after a while the missions just got too the samey and I'd really rather the whole base building part just wasn't there.
So far I've rather enjoyed it and my understanding is the missions are a bit more varied. One thing I did find was I played it on normal difficulty and I don't remember XCOM1:EW being quite so difficult. I have decided though that, no I'm not going to replay missions just to get the 'perfect' result so if a squad member dies then that's it. I look at it as learning from the school of hard knocks.
Pale Beyond
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This is quite a strange game as it starts off feeling like a choose your own adventure but then adds in resource management survival elements. It's rather good so far with its background of an Antarctic expedition stuck in the ice. I just know there are going to be bad things to come.
My one compliant it that the UI and resource mechanics don't always seem that clear.
Dredge
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I've had my eye on this for quite some time and as it was offered for free on Amazon Prime I had to pick it up. I'm not that far in yet but like Pale Beyond it does have a strange mix of elements. So you have the resource part based of fishing and small quests plus a strong narrative. It almost comes across as a bit of a walking sim but in a boat. The good thing is I like walking sims.
Oh and it is labelled a lovecraftian although I'm not really sure why beyond it's a bit dark and spooky!
Grim Dawn
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Another one I picked up in the Steam sale (£2.09p) and I think recommended by someone here as I liked Titan Quest and Torchlight II. I really like it but like the other two games it doesn't get in my classic game list. Does it really add to the genre, not as far as I can tell in any significant way and honestly in some ways it feels like a full mod. of Titan Quest, nothing wrong with that says I.