Board 8 > January Game of the Month Club ft. AER, SUPERHOT, Spider-Man, and Omensight

(+) Yeah! (+)

Januarys Games:
AER: Memories of Old (PC/XB1/PS4)
SUPERHOT (PC/XB1/PS4/Switch/Oculus Rift)
Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4)
Omensight (PC/XB1/PS4/Switch)

What is Game of the Month Club?
Game of the Month is a community project open to all B8ers where users share, discover, play and/or discuss a select few games every month. The games featured each month are chosen by YOU the users (and Lady Luck)

The Basics
- Each month will usually feature three games that were chosen via a random drawing from a pool of games that users nominated
- For each game you beat, you get a cool point on our just-for-fun standings as well as a nomination for next month's randomized drawing
- In order to receive the point and nomination, you must beat said game within the calendar month
- If you beat one of the current month's games in the previous month, you can apply for a "recently beaten waiver," but you will only receive a point and no nomination should you do so
- Drawing for next month's games is usually around a week before the end of the month
- If you periodically keep us posted on your progress and/or talk about different aspects of the games, then everyone will think you are super awesome!

Nomination Rules
- You get one nomination automatically each month
- You receive additional nominations each month for every chosen game that you beat
- Each game you nominate has to be unique from all other nominations and cannot include a game that has already been selected for GotM
- Each game must be a standalone game that can be acquired and played on its own (aka cannot be DLC/expansion that requires the base game)
- Nominations only carry over if you beat a chosen game after the drawing for next month's games but before the end of the month

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Just-for-Fun Standings (among those who beat a game in 2017 or later)
KCF: 100
gameking: 96
Mr Crispy: 61
Lolo Guru: 59
ArkOfTurus: 57
KnightOfNee: 35
Arti: 23
Cody: 23
scarletspeed: 23
MegamanX: 22
Fenny: 15
Robazoid: 13
Wickle: 13
Suprak the Stud: 12
Shonen Bat: 10
profDEADPOOL: 8
Wigs: 8
Shaduln: 7
UndeadUnicorn: 7
darkx: 6
GreatPaul: 6
Johnbobb: 6
MZero: 6
BetrayedTangy: 5
MrSmartGuy: 5
paperwarior: 5
LordoftheMorons: 4
Bane: 3
Cavedweller: 2
KommunistKoala: 2
PrinceReva: 2
Waluigi1: 2
azuarc: 1
captaincanadian: 1
Fake Account: 1
Harrich: 1
Kain66: 1
Not Dave: 1
Peace Frog: 1
SantaRPG: 1
SBell: 1
Steiner: 1
Tom Bombadil: 1
VintageGin: 1
Wiki: 1

Spreadsheet with history
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X8E8oqzES42W4S82j7WTfNnzNa8c3uXdSE1rnqYG7WM/edit?usp=sharing

Additional noms this month
Cody
Lolo
Paul
Suprak

Suprak, somehow you are one of a few users with discrepancies between the general and master copies of info/stats for this topic. I am very confident that the standings stat of you having beaten 12 games is accurate and the tally of 8 in the main spreadsheet sheet is off. If you care at all, feel free to tell me four games that you feel you must have beaten for GotM purposes that you aren't getting credit for, and I will put you down for them no questions asked.

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AER is $3 USD for PC via Steam or GOG
https://store.steampowered.com/app/331870/AER_Memories_of_Old/
https://www.gog.com/game/aer

SUPERHOT is $10 USD on Steam and GOG
https://store.steampowered.com/app/322500/SUPERHOT/
https://www.gog.com/game/superhot

SUPERHOT VR is $17 USD on Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/617830/SUPERHOT_VR/

SUPERHOT is $10 USD for PS4 and $16.75 USD for PSVR
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2613-CUSA09030_00-USSUPERHOTGAME00
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP2613-CUSA09143_00-USSUPERHOTVRGAME

SUPERHOT is also available on Game Pass for PC and XB1

Marvel's Spider-Man: GotY Edition is available on PSN for $20 USD
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP9000-CUSA02299_00-MARVELSSMGOTY000

Omensight is available for $10 USD on Steam and GOG
https://store.steampowered.com/app/455820/Omensight_Definitive_Edition/
https://www.gog.com/game/omensight

Omensight is also part of a Humble Bundle for $30USD that includes a bunch of games and stuff where all the proceeds go to a charity or charities of your choosing
https://www.humblebundle.com/yogscast/yogscast-jingle-jam-2019

A lot of these deals will be running out within the next few days, including Omensight via Humble Bundle in less than 15 minutes!

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Next, for those who didn't see, I have usually run an annual special theme each year. I have done games to celebrate holidays, game anniversaries, and having users select games that failed to be drawn on a given month. In 2020, we will be doing a birthday theme where each interested user PMs me their birthday month. In the month before their birthday, said users will submit to me two games that follow the normal nomination rules (can't have been done before and can be acquired on its own), and the rest of the users will vote which game will be used to celebrate their birthday.

This will replace one of the drawings, but users have control over what gets chosen at least. If two users have the same birthday month, which I just found out someone else has a January birthday, we will have two sets of voting and two games still drawn, bringing a total of four games for said month. If 3+ users have the same birthday, I will likely ask someone if they would be willing for me to feature them in another month or if push comes to shove, I will forcibly change how every many users I need to other months until only two are on a particular month.

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Here are the discrepancies that I found:

Suprak ---> 12 on Standings, 8 on Main Sheet
Tazzy ----> 14 on Standings, 12 on Main Sheet
TomNook ----> 2 on Standings, 5 on Main Sheet

Ultimately, none of this matters as standings mean nothing, but I still feel bad that I somehow messed up. Suprak and Tazzy are right next to each on the main sheet and were active back when MMX was running this, so I think that might have played a role in whatever I did wrong. As for TomNook, we have multiple TomNook users who have participated in this project, so I assume I got confused somewhere along the lines and partially combined them.

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I got caught last month in a nightmare so I knew it wasnt happening.

I'll do AER this week, hilariously a ratalaika level of easy plat


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Apparently the last time I had played Spider-Man, I finished 55% of the story. Probably enough that I should start a new game for this.

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Not in a mood to do Superhot over some of the games I'm playing, so I'll pass on this month. I'll nominate later in the month though.

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Tag, though I likely won't play any of the games this month.

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Started AER already just dicking around since playing on console is a smoother experience for me than it was on my old laptop a two years ago.

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ArkOfTurus has beaten SUPERHOT

Hopefully challenge/endless mode has a lot of value, because I didn't really get much out of story mode. Finished after 90 minutes, and I'm pretty tired of the type of story they told (not particularly well, at that.) It played well, but not amazingly so. Felt less like a puzzle and more like RNG a bit too often, and I hated the way they spawn in enemies. As a free game it was great, but if I had paid $25 I might have been a little pissed.

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Cody has beaten SUPERHOT.

I really enjoyed this one for the gameplay. Story was pretty meh, although I thought the ending made it feel a bit more clever. The non-gameplay parts were drawn out in a way that made you eager to get back to playing SUPERHOT, which was exactly what they wanted you to do in the story.

Planning on Omensight and Spider-Man this month as well.
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KCF0107 posted...

Suprak, somehow you are one of a few users with discrepancies between the general and master copies of info/stats for this topic. I am very confident that the standings stat of you having beaten 12 games is accurate and the tally of 8 in the main spreadsheet sheet is off. If you care at all, feel free to tell me four games that you feel you must have beaten for GotM purposes that you aren't getting credit for, and I will put you down for them no questions asked.

I don't know for sure except for Never Alone. I am 99% positive the only reason I ever played that game was as part of this. There are others that I played sometime around when this club was going on, but I dunno for sure if it was for this or before or after. I *think* God of War (2005) and Teslagrad were two of the others. The other one is a total guess as it was likely something I played once before the club and then replayed for the purposes of the club. I know I replayed Ghost Trick several years back, so that is my best guess.

I don't really mind if you don't want to count any of these though! I obviously didn't even notice until you pointed it out!

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Dang is Superhot really that short? I've been looking forward to this on VR for a while now so a 90 minutes game is really disappointing.

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Well, I last played SUPERHOT three years ago, but I seemed to recall that there is quite a bit of postgame content. There might be even more content now.
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I still just like flying and running around in AER, but I decided to actually accomplish some things this time. I finished the first temple, and I saved and quit as I entered the second.
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I have everything downloaded for Spider-Man, and Omensight has been downloaded for months, but I went back to AER and have finished the final temple and reached the final place. I will wrap up the game the next time I play.
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I started Omensight last night, made it to the 2nd chapter/act. The gameplay is pretty simple but satisfying, and I'm liking the story thus far. I dig the Majora's Mask/Groundhog Day time loop shenanigans.
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Caught up to my old save file in Spider-Man. Controlling him is still a joy. I think this is the only game with fast travel that I'll never fast travel in, and combat flows very nicely even if I wish it were a bit more complex at times. Doing a bunch of side content now that I've unlocked the challenges.

Played a little bit of Omensight and AER, as well. I won't be going back to AER (didn't seem like something I'd enjoy), but I'll probably spend more time with Omensight when I'm done with Spider-Man.

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KCF has beaten AER: Memories of Old

This seems like the kind of game I want to go back to every other year or so. It is perfectly paced, features excellent world-building, and has a fantastic sense of wonder crammed in a small world. It is unfortunate that the few who have tried this didn't care for it, but I hope someone else plans to play it and sees even a shred of what I see.
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I also started Omensight yesterday, and I want to apologize to something I said during the voting phase in December. I mentioned that it was a CYOA, and I feel like that isn't an apt description for this game. I hadn't played it previously, but I played a ton of their (Spearhead Games) previous game in Stories: The Path of Destinies. That is truly a CYOA.

I had read many people state that Omensight was structured similarly to Stories, but that has certainly not been the case in what I've played, and reading the statues in the hub area suggests that won't change, not that I'm complaining, but I feel that I led everyone astray with my voting writeup.

Anyway, I have done two segments thus far (Draga or whatever the cat general is and Ratika). I like the added wrinkles to combat. Stories featured a counter attack button, so it is taking some time getting used to it being replaced with a dodge. My only issue with combat thus far is that stringing together combos sometimes makes my character hit bombs instead of enemies.
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I began my birthday playing Omensight, and man I realize it is going to be tough keeping everything straight to ensure that I will not be doing any repeat runs. I still haven't unlocked the final character, but I have gone with Draga twice, Ludomir once, and Ratika once. I think that if I go with Ludomir, do not use Omensight, and do not open the Pygarian seal so that Ludomir and I don't get split up, I will unlock presumably the bird emperor.
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Currently in Act 3 in Omensight (they were acts, not chapters), I am enjoying the narrative a lot. I'm a real sucker for time travel stuff. So far Ratika is my favorite, I'm also a sucker for a bard.

Ratika was framed! Or more likely got in too deep and Vera was totally evil. Also calling it but that boar bartender is also evil, I saw him counting the clock until doomsday.
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Interesting that Ratika is your favorite thus far. I only went through her path once, but her characterization just felt...off to me given the immediate and general context. It was certainly a little jarring. I plan on going with her again after Ludomir, so maybe that changes.

My favorite is definitely Draga, and that is one of the main reasons why I went with her as my first repeat character.
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Played through more of Omensight, I made it into Act 4.

Spoilers I actually beat the "final boss" and got the credits. I was very disappointed in that ending, but luckily the game is clever enough to know we all want a better ending, so it isn't quite done! Just need 1 more clue before I get what I'm guessing is the true ending.

I really like the story and characters, Ratika is still my favorite but the main four are all enjoyable. I would also like to formally apologize to Vera for assuming she was bad.
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Seeing as there have been no mentions of acts since I have started, I suspect that I am still on Act 1 despite being on Day 9 now. I went with Ludomir and Ratika a few times doing opposite choices. I am surprised that I still haven't unlocked the fourth character yet. I believe that I have uncovered everything that I can at this point since the statues and witch are telling me to go with Draga now to unlock the Rodentia seal. I obviously didn't go with the True Detective setting.
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I haven't played more of Omensight since my last update, but I forgot to mention something. While it clearly isn't the only part of the mystery, the whodunit part I am embracing for a letdown. I compare it to Ace Attorney where there is such a limited cast of characters and subsequently pool of murderer candidates that the thrill of the hunt isn't quite there. What Omensight does better is that the companions, while probably not the culprits, are not exactly cleared either. What I am expecting is that the boar tavern owner might play a significant role. During a Ludomir run, we went to the tavern because he trusted Fyoboar or something along those lines, only for the boar nowhere to be found, us to be ambushed, and the rat soldiers to explicitly state that Ludomir was expected to die at our previous location. Here's hoping they didn't goof up so early by tipping their hand and so clumsily at that.
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I was unaware that AER is on Switch, so I apologize for not including it in the OP, but it is currently on sale for the Switch's eShop for $15 USD
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/aer-memories-of-old-switch/
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Well, this is going to get buried fast, but ArkOfTurus has beaten Spider-Man

Fantastic game. I have a few minor complaints (there were way too many non-Spider-Man stealth sections for how boring they were, and they made one of my favorite Marvel characters (Taskmaster) pretty dull,) but overall it was excellent. I'm planning on doing the DLC. Might go for the platinum, but trying to do 100% of the crimes might get annoying fast.

Going to nominate Sundered, Hyper Light Drifter, and The Hex for now. Sundered is free on the Epic Game Store right now.

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It's too soon to replay Spider-Man and I don't really care to buy any of those other games right now so I'll just do my noms now.

Nominate:
Lost Kingdoms II
The Silver Case

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I am concurrently playing seven games (Omensight, AI: Somnium Files, Thimbleweed Park, Serial Cleaner, Kamiko, Mutant Football League, DOOM (2016) collectibles/weapons cleanup), so my start to Spider-Man has been delayed longer than I thought. Eventually, some those will be finished to where I feel comfortable with starting a new game.
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Cody has beaten Omensight.

The Vera statue felt more like an epilogue than a final boss battle, but I'm glad they included it.

Final character ranking
Ratika>Indrik>Draga>Vera>Ludomir

Ratika had my favorite power up as well which probably contributed.

I enjoyed that one, thank's for nominating it KCF and happy birthday month.
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KCF has beaten Omensight

My only real complaints for this game are how frequently they disrupt the flow of the game and imprecise combat prompts.

For a simple premise, they really milked a lot out of it. Sure some of it wasn't so great, but for a small development team doing such an ambitious game, I am more than impressed with the final product. I was sort of wrong and right about Foybor being the murderer. It was under his plan, but he technically didn't do it himself. I also thought that Vera might be responsible for the events at large earlier in the game, but it escaped my mind as the game went on.

Since Cody did it, I will do a character ranking

Indrik > Draga > Ludomir > Ratika

Indrik has the best voice acting, the best backstory, and also the best lines. It is unfortunate there isn't a companion combo attack with him, but that is somewhat hilariously on-point for him. He even mentions that we aren't friends and that he doesn't take orders from me when you press the companion button. However, he is valuable in combat, though I think his attacks can do friendly fire damage.

It is unfortunate that Draga ended up being the least important of the four by a mile, but she was the best in combat imo, and was generally good across the board.

Ludomir could be a bit too wild in combat to where it wasn't uncommon for him to screw up my plans, but he was powerful nonetheless and while I was slow to warm up to him, he had the best character arc (well, only Indrik and him really had one).

Ratika suffers from poor writing (trying wayyyy too hard with her, tonally all over the place, frequently throughout the game going HOLD ON, HOLD ON I CAN EXPLAIN only for her not to explain), and easily having the weakest voice acting of the main four companions. She does have the best companion power.
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I surprisingly received a Switch for Christmas and have been buying up some eShop titles to expand my library, so I might as make that my nomination theme.

Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King
Gato Roboto
GRIS

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Monthly Progress
AER - KCF
SUPERHOT - Ark, Cody
Spider-Man - Ark
Omensight - Cody, KCF

Nominations
Ark - Sundered, Hyper Light Drifter, The Hex
KCF - Blossom Tales, Gato Roboto, GRIS
Paul - Lost Kingdoms II, Silver Case
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Started up Spider-Man, this game is a blast to swing around in, as expected. It is like a modern Spider-Man 2, which I have very fond memories of.

Random early spoiler: I somehow had no idea there was a Stan Lee cameo in the game, that was nice.
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I think tonight is the night I will/should probably start Spider-Man
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Change my Sundered nomination to The Gardens Between

See KCF's topic here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78336430

I still might end up playing Omensight, but I've been having a hard time finding the motivation (even though it seems pretty good.)

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I've been playing some Spider-Man these past two days. I think my completion is around 10%, but that includes me stopping crimes, finding backpacks, and unscrambling towers. Eventually, I will stop doing those and focus on missions. My next task is to go check out a potential robbery at Fisk's residence or something. Combat and traversal are pretty damn good I have to say.
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Monthly Progress
AER - KCF
SUPERHOT - Ark, Cody
Spider-Man - Ark
Omensight - Cody, KCF

Nominations
Ark - Gardens Between, Hyper Light Drifter, The Hex
KCF - Blossom Tales, Gato Roboto, GRIS
NFUN - OneShot
Paul - Lost Kingdoms II, Silver Case

Drawing in about a week

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nominate OneShot

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I am to 30-something% done in Spider-Man. I try and think that I overall do well enough at mixing things up in combat, but there is sort of an overwhelming amount of choices in terms of combat moves, gadgets, and environmental objects.

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Apparently I triggered act 2 in Omensight without realizing it, and now can't see what I missed in act 1 without restarting the game. Kinda don't feel like playing it anymore.

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Sorry about not playing anything this month!
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I've been playing Spider-Man all month and am at 87% completion according to the game. I've done almost everything I can do at this point. I'm having so much fun with the traversal and combat, that it overshadows some of my issues I have with the game. Any time it lets you simply play as Spider-Man without anything extra thrown in, this game really shines.

I'll also hopefully play through Superhot once I finish this.

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TheArkOfTurus posted...

Apparently I triggered act 2 in Omensight without realizing it, and now can't see what I missed in act 1 without restarting the game. Kinda don't feel like playing it anymore.

Ultimately I don't think it matters, but I can't say that from experience, only a gut feeling that they wouldn't craft a story that wouldn't make sense if you didn't experience every story beat.
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I'm sure it isn't game ruining, it's just annoying enough to put me off playing (especially considering the aforementioned difficulty finding motivation.)

Edit: For clarification, I missed all of Ratika's act 1, most of Ludomir's, and some doors I couldn't open in Draga's (although those I might still be able to get.)

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Yeah, you won't have the ability to unlock all the seals until much later in the game.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/455820/discussions/0/1742229167182242194/

A developer confirms that nothing is missable as everything can be revisited eventually.
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Yeah, but it's as a "post-ending feature." I think I'd still choose to restart the game if I picked it up again.

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I actually am starting to consider picking it up again, though. The story premise is pretty intriguing, and the combat system has a lot of potential.

I think I'd want to find a list of chapter breaks, though, which I'm not sure I can do without spoiling myself. Being able to manually save would really be nice, here.

Edit: Nevermind, found a list.

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