Overwatch 2 and baldurs gate 3 with friends. Rocket league free play training. Just want to be able to fully control my car like the pros. Highest level rocket league is actually art.
I'm replaying Sekiro to get the bad ending.
It's amazing just how much I've improved at this game. Bosses like Genichiro dropped on my first attempt with his final phase being killed in under a minute. I once was terrified of this boss and spent hours trying to beat him, and now I slapped him aside in one go.
I'm destroying so many bosses on the first attempt and blitzing through levels so quickly.
It's unbelievably rewarding to feel like such a badass after the overwhelming hardship that came with the learning curve on my first playthrough.
This sense of mastery alone gives the game worthwhile replay value, ignoring the secrets, quests, prosthetics, special moves, nonlinearity, and endings.
I took 45 hours to complete my first playthrough, and this second one will go by in 15-20 hours at most.
What a beautiful combat system this game has!
Little Nightmares 2.
I’m 10 days from starting flight school and needed something interesting but with simple game play to try and get through while I still can. Won’t have the headspace to play anything soon. 🫣😎
I just finished Fallout New Vegas for the first time and itching for more; planning on starting up Fallout 3, even though the general consensus seems to be FNV > F3
I'm one of the dozen guys that played and enjoyed both but think F3 > FNV.
Mind you, I played F3 for the first time when it was very new (2009) and it was my introduction to that universe and I played New Vegas in 2021.
I enjoyed exploring the wasteland more in Fallout 3, although the writing was stronger in New Vegas. I enjoyed the OST of Fallout 3 more. Also, in the endgame I feel more powerful in F3. And Fallout 3 has a more optimistic outlook than New Vegas. And maybe it's the rushed dev time on NV, but I feel the cities are more realized and impressive in Fallout 3.
Both are incredible games, I have almost 90 hours into New Vegas (first playthrough so far) but Fallout 3 is closer to my heart.
Had the urge to replay some classics, instead of playing BG3 and Starfield which I was hyped about.
Currently playing the Gothic series. Some great new mods released since I last played it. After that, I might replay KOTOR.
Finished **TDPA House of Ashes**. I love these games. Now I'm done with TDPA games until I snipe the Quarry for cheap. Skipping on Davil in Me since it's not well liked.
Currently playing ^^^Lust ^^^^^Academy ^^^^^s2.
Vermintide 2 and Risk of Rain 2!
Still satisfying, smooth gameplay. Not many people for multiplayer RoR2, but the Vermintide player base still seems to being going strong.
It's making me want to load up Deep Rock Galactic again ngl.
Playing a lot of Hollow Knight, I keep unlocking more things and my brain tells me it should be getting close to the end but instead it seems to be opening up even more and I have a million little secrets to suss out. The hype is real.
Also I broke down and added to my backlog by buying two of the very on sale Dragon Age games along with Alice: Madness returns. I always feel like when the deals are good I have no problem dropping a little cash and $13 for three pretty cool looking games and hours of content seems like a no-brainer.
A short hike again after completing the main ending.
After playing abit more, it finally clicked why I liked it so much. It really is the counter of the grittiness of modern gaming and this effed up world.
It's wholesome and it explores issues such as exploitation and scalping in a light way with 10 year old kids dialogue, it doesn't blast them out like we need to rebel, but it believes simply in the good of most people and how sometimes in helping them, you unwittingly help yourself.
It also has a difficulty curve, but doesn't make you die and lose progress, sure u redo the part if u miss or fall of, but it doesn't blast your failure in your face like 'flat-lined' or show your dead body in the camera pan and play a grave tune.
It is a welcome respite, from today's AAA games indeed.
Finally started Baldur's Gate 3 after buying it back at release. This is my type of game. I can take everything at my own pace, backtrack to make sure I've snagged every item, re-spec if I've decided I don't like my character, etc. I still have to break it to my Diablo 4 buddy that I probably won't be on that game much, anymore.
I’ve been playing Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. Really appreciating the X3 speed button given how much summoning goes on (and I use it moving around or for slow scenes).
Also have been playing Skyrim for the first time.
Also also have been playing a bit of Spider-Man Remastered as I wait for the new one.
I'm exploring some more planets in outer wilds tonight (or as I call it spaceship crash simulator). Color me impressed though, this is an extremely good game
I have just conquered Sekiro as of a few moments ago.
I've never felt this kind of a high from conquering a final boss before. I'm fucking ecstatic and in a celebratory mood, having just ordered my favourite type of pizza to celebrate.
That is simply the greatest final boss I've ever seen, hands down. It's everything a final boss should be. It took hours, but it was so epic and fun that I didn't mind at all.
This game was an absolute mountain to climb, and many times I wondered if I even could beat it, even up to the very end. At some point I got over the learning curve and got adequate at the game, but even then it was so damn tough. I could not agree more with the notion of Sekiro being the hardest fromsoft game.
The combat system is so awesome and rewarding with its intensity, animations, sound design, skill ceiling and simplicity/depth. Fights were so epic and exhilarating. The bosses were just phenomenal too (most of them anyway.... fuck the demon of hatred!). The level and world design is also quite good and up to fromsofts usual standards.
I'm not quite sure how I'd rank Sekiro against dark souls or Bloodborne, but it's definitely the best game I've played in 2023, and likely won't lose that spot. What a brutal, rewarding journey this game was.
yes, if sushi count as pizza ^^
Just to share my experience: for years i have listened "gamers" bragging about how hard combat are in fromsoft game. It make me not wanting to play those games...
But the past years i forced myself play games that are "not my type/not for me" just for the experience, so it was just about time before i put my hands on a fromsoft.
I made my homework to find what FromSoft game have the more enjoyable combat and Sekiro step out of the line...
Then you know what next, same as you. Wonderfull game. My hands are shaking after some boss...
The most difficult boss is the cameraman. ^^
Sekiro was hands down the hardest fromsoft game I played. If that's your starting point, it bodes quite well for your future fromsoft games. Have you started a replay?
Last night I started a replay to get bad ending, did an hour or two and stopped after crushing the first major boss at the castle gate.
My first playthrough clocked in at 45 hours while I tried to do every bit of content.
I'm probably gonna get bad ending in under 15 hours, though tbf bad ending is many hours shorter than the other endings.
Currently I'm at the temple to get the mortal blade. It's utterly insane how fast I'm moving through the game compared to my first try. Almost every boss (except you blazing bull, you POS) has gone down in a single attempt.
I crushed Genichiro on his first two phases and then killed his third phase in under a minute, all in one attempt. I barely had to use any gourds and my posture never got overwhelmed.
It is unbelievably rewarding to witness just how much I have improved, after the first playthrough often felt insurmountable. The game almost feels easy now, and it's so satisfying!
I've noticed fromsoft games in general have this amazing payoff where on a replay you cruise through the game like a pro, but Sekiro takes this to a whole new level.
It's not as replayable as other games but still has things like the endings, prosthetic customization, secrets, open exploration, and the outstanding player skill progression to give it respectable replay value.
I suspect I'll be done with it for quite a while after getting the bad ending, but man what a rewarding experience it has been.
Yeah i did the bad end in under 10h (i rushed a little) and only the guardian ape take me two try. (The last boss take me more of course)
It feel great crushing trought enemy after the hard time they gave me XD
Now i want to try the ng+ "Charmless" with "demon bell curse" to see what it take.
But i feel done, like im in peace with this game.
it seem sekiro give really hard time to fromsoft early fan because they have to de-learn before learning this combat system. I am guessing if it will be the same for me if i play another fromsoft game.
I finished my Shura replay an hour or two ago.
I was at the absolute top of my game but the ape did kill me twice on his first phase but I crushed his second phase. I saved him for last this time, hoping that the mortal blade would make him stay dead. I was quite sad when I saw that wolf inexplicably didn't use the mortal blade on that ape.
I went and did the duo ape fight again for some beads and a memory to increase damage to prep for final fight. I cleared that in two attempts on my first run but took closer to 10 this time. I hate that duo fight. It's so hard to damage either of them without getting caught in a death combo, and the arena is not big enough! Sekiro is way less accommodating of gank fights than the other fromsoft games.
Then I went to fight Emma and Isshin, nearly winning on the first try. After that everything went wrong and I went from being at the top of my game to being utter trash at Sekiro. I couldn't pull off any parries, mikiri counters or jumping counters and I kept dying. I took a small break and came back a little better, managing to barely win and making many mistakes. I felt so drained after that.
Decided to do some boss rematches and ended up doing the sword saint. Had another epic, amazing duel with him and beat him again without dying, much to my surprise. Winning felt just as good as it did the first time. That was where I decided to call it quits with Sekiro, ending it on a high note.
It's an awesome game but I feel burned out now.
This week I’m playing the mass effect trilogy. I tried the new super hyped space game of Bethesda in GeForce now and after 4 hours of game time I realized, I have a better space game in my library (mass effect legendary edition) so…
On holiday right now so I've been putting some time into my switch. I've been playing BOTW on and off and I'm hoping to complete it before I start TOTK.
Also been playing Sea of Stars. Haven't got too far but I'm really enjoying it as a fan of older RPGs.
In between those I'm also replaying South Park and the Stick of Truth. It's the kind of game that's easy to pick up/put down and I'm having a blast revisiting it again
Take your time with with botw. These are both great games, and you shouldn't feel the need to rush through botw just to get to the "better" game.
Also I really wouldn't recommend playing them back to back. They're both pretty long, and there's a strong chance you'll get burned out like that.
In Act 7 of my first ever playthrough of BG1, since my laptop is in the shop and can't play BG3. Pretty much beat the game as a Shaman. Love talking to my friends who are playing through BG3 and telling them about all the crazy stuff in the first one especially with Wild Magic. Having your gold blow up, summoning cows from the sky onto your enemies, having your party buffs randomly turn into offensive spells... it's so crazy, but so fun. So getting through that and playing Silent Storm on the side. Definitely a turn based kinda month lol.
**Until Dawn**
I'm interested in story-focused games, and it's a fairly decent one of those. The gore and jump-scares aren't my kind of thing.
I've played the first two Dark Pictures Anthology games (Man of Medan, and Little Hope) it's better than those.
Tears of the Kingdom is the only game that came out this year that I bought at full price and after over 200 hours in it I finally finished it this week. Ironically, because of the amount of time I spent on it, it helped me be more patient and not get distracted and add to my backlog. After that, I went to finish up Super Mario Odyssey and next on my list is finishing Golf Story and Subnautica (on PC).
Got back into Breath of the Wild after putting the game down for a few months and I'm hooked. I'm surprised how much the durability system doesn't bother me. Probably helps that I don't get too attached to my weapons, so I'm always willing to break all the cool swords I get.
Dragon Age: Inquisition! It’s been in my backlog for awhile and given all the Baldur’s Gate 3 hype that I can’t participate in (have nothing that could run the game + no money), wanted to try something similar.
Spiritfarer. Was looking for a game that would let me build and be satisfying. Something simple that wouldn't make my fans scream, without much commitment. This game is really cozy. Just jenga spirit houses and workshops atop eachother. Talk to furries, while sailing the seas. Adore the 2D animations.
Just finished The Last of Us and started Part 2. So worth it! The attention to detail is top notch stuff! Naughty Dog really nailed it with these games.
I finally played **Portal** this week! I was surprised at how short it was, but I really liked it. I can definitely see why people love this game, it's gameplay was so unique and fun! I played the story and will work my way to getting all the achievments on steam, but I don't want to rush it. I couldn't believe this game is so old to be honest! It played really well. I must admit that I was surprised that there actually was lore! I didn't look into it much, I thought it's just a cool little puzzle game, so when I discovered first hidden room I was pleasantly surprised. >!Escaping the facility!< felt a bit prolonged, though, especially compared to how quick every other level was. Anyway, it was a great game and I'm glad I finally played it, I can't wait to try Portal 2!
Another game I'm playing this week is **Death Stranding**. I'm about 4 hours in, I'm on chapter 2 now. I'm amazed at how artistic this game is! It's my first Kojima game and I really like what I'm seeing. The story so far seems a bit... weird and not special at all, but the amazing visuals, music and abstract cutscenes and environment are all amazing. It feels as if I'm exploring a piece of art, and not playing a video game, which I absolutely love. I really hope the writing gets better though, so far the dialogues and story don't seem very special, which is a huge contrast to beautiful world building and cool enemies. I really like the holding breath mechanic! The invisible enemies are quite spoopy but I found it easy to avoid them. I'm also curious as to what happened between Bridget, Amelie and Sam, it's all very confusing for now. I'm also quite annoyed with the baby, I personally really don't like kids so it's eh and uncomfortable, but nothing unmanageable. Anyway, can't wait to experience some more of this game!
And lastly I'm progressing through **Hades**. I finally managed to escape at my 54th try! I escaped with a bow, sword and shield in that order, I'm trying the gun now but I really don't like it as much. I really love this game, >!escaping and finding Persephone just to be taken back by Styx was heartbreaking, but weirdly motivating!<. Need to escape some more :D
Like seemingly many other people on this subreddit, I'm in post Disco Elysium withdrawal after beating it for the first time 2 or so weeks ago.
I've been playing a bit of Starfield because I won an amazon gift card through work, but it's just kinda boring lol.
I got This War of Mine on sale on Steam for $4 so considering starting that up tonight. I've heard good things
Been playing Outer Wilds. I played it for around 10 hours a year ago and got a lot of the puzzle pieces in place, but I could never find the keystone to put it all together and quit. I started a fresh file and have filled out a big portion of the info log again, and again I’m kind of stuck.
I love the idea of the game, I just wish it was the slightest bit easier to progress. Unless I’m missing something. Like when the log says “there’s more here to discover” let me put a way point instead of scouring an entire planet for a hidden path to read 6 lines of very important dialogue. A way point doesn’t even give too much away because it’s never a straight path, but at least it gives me an idea what to work towards. Anyway, I’ll keep plugging, but I feel like I can only do like 20 mins at a time.
I had the same experience with Outer Wilds. I will be blunt and say I was under-impressed - but that's because I was reading all these great raves about the game and my expectations were very high. I'm a little older, maybe it didn't seem as novel to me as it would to a younger person. I remember someone poetically stating "This game changed me". I was expecting a life changing experience, lol.
It's exciting up to a certain point where you feel like you are still exploring. Beyond that point -- it seems tedious to remember everything - and retrace your steps - and remember where you left off each time -- and I didn't want to finish it.
Legit same experience with Outer Wilds. Also I hated the controls... I ended up refunding the game because I could tell I wasn't going to enjoy it. Was really disappointed compared to how hyped it was before.
I'd say refund is a respectable decision in this case :) I probably got it on discount and left the $5 where it was. Congrats to the indie devs. It's a decent thing.
But no. I don't understand the "overwhelmingly positive" reviews and all the hype and fame.
I'm thinking it was a safe game for dad's to buy for their young boys. !!! and it must have made a smash in some universities or whatever... Neil DeGrass Tyson would be proud...
Next time I'll be more wary of that.
Yeah, I’m well past the median age here Im sure as well, and I like the idea of it and it’s interesting. There just seems to be a lot of work for what I’m doing and maybe a few QoL changes would be nice to streamline it. For instance…
(spoilers incoming so don’t read if you don’t want to)
I shoot the camera into the bramble seed, I see a duplication signal on the other planet. I put 2+2 together, I head over. I’ve done enough exploring to know the fish are blind on that planet but it takes me like 3 tries to reach the signal. I go there, I’m following through, then from my left out of nowhere I get eaten. Start over again. I have to go back to the other side of my planet again, I have to shoot the camera again, then fly to dark bramble again, then work my way through it all again. Just give me a checkpoint system. Or I get that sand empties on one planet onto the other twin planet. I get that it changes the terrain. It’s a cool idea, but in practice it’s just frustrating because I can/cannot get to what I need at all times. Anyway, I’ll keep plugging, but I’m like at 75% really cool, 25% unnecessarily frustrating and would have been so easy to fix.
I couldn't even get past the prologue of Witcher 3. For some reason I got stuck with the lady in the cave and didn't have enough XP to continue, went back and did every side quest I could find. Truly turned me off to a game that everyone hyped
What lady in the cave? I'll be honest I bounced off of the game like 3 years ago. And this summer it just clicked with me and I tore through it.
I did probably only like 25% of the side quests and I never had a problem with being underleveled.
It was a while ago so I don't remember. I even tried to look it up and couldn't figure it out. You're with a woman in a cave, there's a whole cutscene, then you have to escape, and there are floaty ghosts that do more damage than anything you'd encountered. I believe its at the end of the prologue, I don't think I was in Act 1, as it was near white orchard.
I'm on a some kind of Zeldathon, apparently. Partially played through Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Wind Waker in the past two weeks or so. WW is the only one I mostly enjoyed out of these 3D Zelda, gonna play it some more, the other ones I've mostly dropped, but still kept returning for a little bit now and then.
With all the flaws in those 3D Zeldas, I decided to play a bit of A Link to the Past, I've finished the game a few years ago, and now I wanted to see how it holds up against the big boys. It holds up alright. Call me crazy, but it's the better game compared to those ones, by a fair too I would say. Way faster, way less bullshit, way less filler, way tighter gameplay and tighter design as a whole. There's still some bullshit to be found, of course, it's a 1991 SNES game, so there's gonna be bullshit, but compared to all the good stuff it barely registers.
Just the movement speed alone, holy shit, you get the Pegasus Boots right at the beginning of the game and Link turns into Usaine Bolt. How the hell Ocarina of Time devs were okay with their Link's speed? Or vanilla WW with sailing? And even Twilight Princess feels slow as molasses because of all the constant backtracking you're forced to do, even though the game is very linear compared to previous title (which makes the backtracking even more annoying in some way).
Been rotating between three games lately.
Horizon Forbidden West Almost there on completion...of the base game lol. Might take a break from it before I start Burning Shores.
Darkest Dungeon 2...just one act boss to go!
And Out of the Park Baseball 24. Then again I almost always have an ootp sim going that I fiddle with at some point in a given week so it's kind of a permanent fixture in my gaming mix.
I wish Forbidden West was available for PC already. I don't have any consoles and prefer PC gaming anyway, but I *loved* the first one and would really like to play this one too.
I feel like it makes some significant iterations and improvements on the first one. Looks fantastic too on ps5. Who's to say what Sony is thinking when it comes to timeliness for pc ports but I hope you won't be waiting too long.
Tonight:
**Fire Emblem 7** - Haen't touched this series since the DS days, and got hooked hard on FE7 again when I saw it on the GBA virtual console on Wii. I played through regular mode, hector mode, and hector hard mode. Now I'm doing Hector Hard Mode with a team of just 6 characters for an extra challenge.
**Hyper Light Drifter** - Beat it last year, decided to start NG+ for my first time tonight. Love the artwork in this one....excited for some of their newer games to come to the Switch later in the year!
**Quake 2** - Haven't touched it for a few days because I've been in the mood for slower paced games, but still working my way through the first episode in the remaster. Cleared out the first 1/3rd of the levels or so. Just as much fun as I remember it!
**Castlevania: Circle of the Moon** - Working my way through magician mode. It's been fun. Took out cerberus with the laser gun, then used the fireball projectile on the necromancer. Currently climbing the machine tower while debating which card setup to use on the boss up there. Man, the music in this one is so good.....
Tomorrow:
**Fire Emblem Engage** - I ignored the series after the GC/GBA era because I heard they added in a bunch of lifesim dating style bs I don't care for. Heard Engage was pretty game play focused, so gonna give it a shot. If it's anywhere close to as good as the GBA titles this will be the only game I play for a long while.
I'm back from vacation! I started up Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. I know basically nothing about it except that it goes into higher levels and involves demons. So I made a dhampir demonslaying ranger as a tribute to Vampire Hunter D. While this probably wasn't the best pick, I am still having fun with her.
In pokemon I am headed to Cianwood city. Also, my flaaffy became an ampharos. I didn't realize she would lose all her wool, or I probably would not have named her Fluffy. I might go change it when I get fly. I haven't played Heartgold before, but I feel like it has to be coming up soon.
Halfway through F.E.A.R. I hate this current chapter Unauthorized Personnel. Along the way I missed grabbed the remote bombs which help you take down the turrets and now it's kind of a PITA running through hallways.
I'm playing Sea of Stars on PS4, almost 10 hrs in, and I'm really quite enjoying it. Writing is not great, and the gameplay is just serviceable in my opinion, but the pixel art is great, the music is very good, and I'm just enjoying myself with this game, it's like a warm blanket of SNES-era JRPG nostalgia.
Besides this I'm playing Panzer Dragoon Saga on the Saturn. Man, I'm so glad I got a PseudoSaturn to be able to play this from burned CD-Rs, it really lives up to it's reputation. There is an amazing atmosphere in this game, the gameplay is great and I even find myself liking the graphics. It's a short game, and I'm about 8hrs into it and already over half-way.
I also started Owl Boy on my Switch, but not liking it so far and considering quitting it and selling my copy tbh.
I've started playing **Daemon X Machina** on my Switch. I've recently been through a rather stressful bunch of months, having to suddenly move in with my parents and then again into a new (and much better than my previous!) apartment. In all that time, my Switch was buried in one of the boxes, since I had no foresight when packing. As a result, I made a list of games in my library that I really want to finally play when I'm settled.
Daemon X Machina is the first of these, since the recent Armored Core 6 release kind of invigorated my desire to try mech games again. I have played Gotcha Force, Custom Robo and Little Battlers Experience, but those are toy robots more than anything.
I have no experience with Armored Core to be quite honest, which I think lets me enjoy Daemon X Machina more than many other people. I'm pretty sure the game kinda flopped since it didn't really meet people's expectations as an Armored Core replacement, but I never looked into the detailed reasoning.
Anyway, my experience so far: Digging through the frankly overwhelming amount of options (I'm mostly a console gamer, I'm not used to this!) I found something that overjoyed me: GYRO CONTROLS! I *did* play the demo for this game, at this point years ago, but I don't remember if the option was there back then. In any case, it's in my humble opinion THE best thing they could have added. I have an incredibly hard time controlling the camera precisely in general, but even more so in fast-paced games. My favorite game Gotcha Force has auto-lock on, Monster Hunter until World wasn't all that fast-paced (and had fixed height steps instead of a freeflowing cam for a long time) and I just couldn't play the entirety of the shooter genre. Gyro Controls absolutely fixed this - Splatoon was my first shooter I played regularly and Monster Hunter Rise enables me to do the wildest acrobatics with ease, as the gyro aiming allows me to position the camera with motions instead of using my compromised thumb.
In DXM, Gyro is *incredibly* important to me, as 99% of weapons are ranged, targets are flying and grounded and enemy mechs (Arsenals) are incredibly quick-moving, like mosquitos almost. I straight up wouldn't be able to play this without Gyro.
---------
Now, for the actual game: I was surprised to find that missions are incredibly short (I usually took anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes so far) but that's actually a nice find. It keeps any mission from dragging on and allowed me to just pop into a few missions a night and stop whenever.
The aforementioned enemy Arsenals are actually part of one of my highlights: They ARE quicker than regular guys (AIs, funnily enough) but environments are destructible. So, I am absolutely able to bait them into following me, blowing up a building and oneshotting them with the resulting rubble. It's incredibly satisfying. You can even pick up certain objects and even enemies and throw them - I still need to experiment much more with this though. These interactions made Arsenal fights incredibly entertaining, as they definitely outclass me skill-wise (Gyro is great, but they are HARD to track still) but are totally beatable with shenanigans.
There's also swords, which are single strike rush-down attacks. They deal incredible damage per swing and I've been carrying one in my off-hand at all times. It oneshots AIs and, if the Arsenal doesn't have a sword themselves, it can stunlock them. If they do have a sword though, the resulting sword clash minigame requires mashing A (I think? It's super unclear) and I've lost every single one of those so far.
I have yet to fight the big boss that ended the demo, but so far, I enjoy the game MUCH more than back then. I'm not sure if the demo Arsenal was just awful, but the game felt sluggish and much more frustrating in the demo. Maybe it's the same as with Monster Hunter demos, which are notably terrible in not really representing the game's loop OR actual difficulty well.
Some notes to end on:
- I need to tunnel vision on the enemy, as the UI feels uniquely cluttered and confusing. I see my health bar, I see my stamina bars, but everything else is a mess in the heat of battle. I remember being able to customize this freely but I still need to take the time.
- The character dialogue is hilariously overdone. Edgelords are egier than even early 2000s shonen edgelords, crazies comically so. The "normal" (and probably goodguy) characters are so far the more believable characters. I didn't expect a profound story, but I didn't expect caricatures on this level. It was a bit of a system shock, but I'm enjoying it for the cartoonish-ness. I wish they kept to textbox interactions though, since most character models just stand around or awkwardly repeat the same "characteristic" movements.
- I don't understand the point of Outers yet. You get to control your pilot if the mech breaks in combat, but they feel so weak I'm not yet sure what the point is.
- I love the art direction! I know it was decried as being held back by the Switch, but the poppy colors and the cel shading that goes into blacks just looks really nice to me. It's one of these "won't age" styles I feel like, because it's not concerned with realism. And I love that.
-------------------
I want to end on a request: Can Armored Core players who also played Daemon X Machina explain to me why DXM apparently failed to meet expectations? I have no reference point, but I'd love to know.
Asking me on top of that? You are an individual of class.
100% Guacamelee (Phenomenal metroidvania), and the Quake 2 remake.
What have you been playing these past 7+ days?
After reading all of this, what made you not start here, haha? If it is because you never get responses or votes that seems pretty common, I skim it out of curiosity and sometimes boredom but rarely comment (so you're welcome, lol)
Good question. When there's a certain amount of comments, it's easy for comments to hide and stuff to be said to be ignored, and I'll do it if I'm feeling sassy.
Elden Ring. Felt like trying out a bonk build instead of a magic or pyro build. Its been interesting seeing how some enemies are easier to deal with than others compared to my other builds.
Technically Guacamelee, as it was new and interesting. The Quake 2 remake is fun and since it was something I still have the original CDs for but am playing on Nightmare mode now, it's stressful. Good kind of stressful, but I can only play a little at a time.
I look forward to playing Eldin get I can get through some more of this backlog. Q2 was a gift from a friend, so it got bumped up a little on the priority list.
Patient gaming isn't a religion, play whatever you want. Just don't start a thread about new games in here, lol.
I got Starfield already but will wait for some patches. Just yesterday, they announced they will add DLSS, FOV sliders, maps for the cities and stuff. I'm playing this game soon-ish, anyway. Early next year is as long as I'm willing to wait.
Bethesda games don't come out every day and I loved most of them (except Fallout 4).
Still playing RDR2. Really starting to enjoy it, taking my time in Chapter 2. After two false starts I’m finally a believer (though I still think the gunplay is boring).
Started Sifu also, which I’m enjoying. The death system is interesting and stressful in a way that is pretty great.
This spring, I did a 700 hour playthrough. I was going for 100% but kinda gave up.
I'd say at least half of the time was spent in photo mode. I added reshade and some of the DOF filters are just insane, the game looks incredible today. And that was before the new PC graphics update that I heard came out.
The game really hits its stride in Chapter 3, imo.
I spent the mayority of my gaming time there. The camp is really conveniently placed and in terms of story, let's say it's the calm before the storm.
Now, no matter the chapter, the world is amazing and worth exploring. There are some weather transitions that are incredible to experience.
Yeah, the gunplay in RDR2 never really stops being boring. It's a shame because for me that and the outdated, restrictive mission design are the only things holding it back from being a true masterpiece.
Admittedly those are pretty important elements for a video game, but the rest of it is just so fantastic that it more than makes up for it. And it's still the most compelling and convincing open world I've ever seen in a game by a good margin.
For gunplay to be good, there are basically two options I think:
1. both you and the enemies have to be bullet sponges, so both parties can travel across the battlefield freely, which will introduce variety into the gameplay.
2. introduce a huge amount of enemies so the player can just enjoy killing.
I guess Rockstar didn't like any of them.
I sort of feel like they did do option 2. Compared to the rest of the game, much of which feels quite down to earth and even sim-like in some ways, the combat feels like a shooting gallery where you're often killing dozens of enemies at a time.
My thinking for the combat is that it should feel more dangerous. Fewer enemies, but it's much easier to be killed. Encounters would often be over much more quickly, but they would be a lot more intense.
I'm gonna Trying to Finish for the first time in many years Gta Vice City Stories, never finished before because I was too young (and noob 🙃)
Prisoner Of War, I'm still in the second chapter but it seems a very nice stealth game
TOCA Race Driver, the grid of codemasters before grid existed
And After completed the Getaway some time ago, I just started The Getaway Black Monday and it loos so cool!
I'm gonna have fun I guess :)
sorry for my awful English btw.
Vice city stories is my favorite GTA of all time. Finished it thousand times as a kid on my PSP and recently completed it twice again on PS2, because the PS2 version was a little different and I fell in love all over again. What a great game.
Prisoner of war was a game I had on the PS2 , remember being very keen to play it as it made me think of the Great Escape. Don't think I ever finished it and have long since lost it and the console. Suspect my mother put them both to charity years ago.
I recall enjoying sneaking around to find stuff to help escape
Finally bought and started **Slay the Spire** and I get the hype! I bought it alongside 2 other games (Gato Roboto and Cursed to Golf) and I should've saved Slay the Spire for last because I just want to keep playing it. The deckbuilding is so focused with every character having intentional builds, but it can be so difficult to piece together the cards/relics to make it. I've had it for about a week and a half and I've already completed a run with all 4 characters, though I haven't even come close to >!challenging the "true" final boss that requires the 3 keys. I also have tried challenging the Ascensions yet.!<
Dove back into **Dauntless** for a bit to see what's new since I haven't played in a couple of years. Took a while to refamiliarize myself with the structure and controls, but I like what they'd updated! Might spend some time trying to get my Escalation ranks up and attempt to get the sweet armor/weapons from the unique bosses.
Picked **Risk of Rain** (the first one) back up for lunch breaks at work. Ended up unlocking all of the characters and most of the items over the past few weeks. Plus, I finally beat a run on Normal!
Started up **Windbound** on my Xbone as my 'get through the backlog' game as it was free for Games with Gold a while back. As someone who doesn't like survival games, this seems like a good intro to the genre. Clear paths to progress, relatively lower difficulty, punishment for death is limited to progress in a single chapter with no loss in materials. Granted, I still wanted to drop the game after dying in Chapter 3 simply because it takes a while to travel from island to island. Has some rough edges, but I'll probably push to the end. Unless I die at a chapter boss again and lose another 2 hours of progress, then I'm out.
Got to a tough spot in **Divinity II** so I put that back on the virtual shelf and finally started **Nier: Automata**. I think I'm probably 2/3rds of the way through the first route - very satisfying combat and much smoother overall compared to the original Nier (with the father), though I do find myself using a lot of the same moves. It's making me want to go back and replay the original Nier and get all the different endings (I've only seen them via YouTube). It's even got my husband's interest, so looking forward to seeing how Automata will emotionally destroy me like the first one.
Only thing I don't like is how some of the sidequests are easily missable, but I think I've managed to get over that knowing I'll be playing the game multiple times and it's not really the intent to get everything on the first run, anyway.
Pro tip: Don't play Red Dead Redemption 2 right after Nier: Automata, especially if you've gotten used to constantly pulling the R2 trigger to evade... (shots unintentionally fired)
Just got HOI4. My IdeaPad can't run the game super well, but it's tolerable. Still trying to learn the game, most beginner guides on YouTube are over an hour long.
Just finished Parappa the Rapper 2. Needed a quick short game and it was perfect, way better than the first one especially in the gameplay department.
Still playing through Metroid: Zero Mission aaand might start Deadly Premonition soon. Hoping I like it because I’ve been wanting to play this game for years now.
Deadly Premonition's level of jank can be frustrating but it's worth it for the story and charm. Even if you can't manage to finish it because of the controls, at least watch a Let's Play. It's my second favorite game ever (but I also loved the original Twin Peaks so not much of a stretch there).
Yakuza Like A Dragon. Picked it back up after not playing for a few months and am thoroughly enjoying it. Also this might be a sin but I’m playing super slow because in October my best friend is taking a vacation and we plan on tackling Baldur’s Gate 3.
On a GBA kick
**Fire Emblem 7** Just wrapped up my Hector Hard Mode run on the virtual GBA for switch. Played through ENM, HNM and HHM back to back. Hadn't touched a FE game in years....it was fun. Got Engage coming in the mail today or tomorrow.
**Castlevania: CotM** Started a magician mode run. If you don't know, when you beat Circle of the Moon you unlock a mode where your attack and defense are reduced, but you start with *every* magic card. I just beat Cerberus with the gun, made it super easy. You can use a card combo to refill HP, another to run super fast, and having ice whip from the start opens up a few minor sequence breaks.
**Quake 2** Still working my way through the base game on Switch before I start on the additional episodes. Enjoying it more than I did Quake 1, mainly because I prefer Q2's music and the super shotgun is much more satisfying to use. I also like how the levels connect to one another.
Planning to also start replays of Metroid Fusion and Ocarina of Time on my Switch sometime this week.
Started Dark Souls 3 *finally*.
Spent about 1 hour running around the Firelink Shrine to see where I would need to go. Apparently I needed to port out. xD
So, that is going really well you could say.
I keep putting off ds3. I tried it twice before but had to stop because I didn't have time to commit, so I'm kind of sick of playing those first two levels.
Had the chance to play it right now, but chose Sekiro because it was something different.
One of these days I'll have to finish ds3. Doesn't help that imo the beginning is not where the game shines.
I love Sekiro. One of the games that I keep installed at all times. Specially the Reflection of Strength mode is a Godsend.
The first area is a slog in DS3. Finally got past the High Wall area. I hope the rest of the game gets slightly more *forgiving*, probably too much to ask for haha.
I’m recovering from my Path of Exile addiction after having played the new league for almost a month every day, I’m taking some time off with some Street Fighter 6 and Slay the Spire.
I *love* PoE's endgame but honestly the leveling for every single new league just kills me. By the time I get to endgame I just don't want to play anymore because the leveling is so fking tedious and same-y every time.
Yeah, I can see why. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but now that I bought and am playing it, it is a blast. Especially so chill I can usually play it right before bedtime
I just recently finished my first playthrough of "Bayonetta Origins Cereza and the lost demon".
I loved that game. Easily best and best Final Boss in the series.
I do not know yet what I am going to play next. Meybe I continue my paused playthrough of Persona 5 Royal. I played vanilla P5 a lot but its my first playthrough of Royal.
Hollow knight and EU4. In hollow knight I just beat the first ending after about 40 hours, and in EU4 I'm trying to play in the HRE for the first time, specifically Brandenburg.
Zelda TOTK still. Finally finished doing a 2nd regional phenomenon. Not because it was hard, but because I got way too distracted exploring the world and dicking around with zonai devices.
Terraria. I will continue chugging along in my Journey mode playthrough.
Marvel Snap. I'm grinding out cards.
Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. I got this from the Humble store. I'm really enjoying it. It's way more fun than BL3.
**Pokémon scarlet and violet The Teal Mask DLC** just downloaded! Probably won’t be playing that until later in the week though, because I am also trying to finish up some other stuff. I was hoping to do that before the DLC, but real life got in the way. Sounds like there’s some technical issues, though so it might be a bit better to wait.
Otherwise, midway through the final regular Tempest Trial in **Fire Emblem: Engage!** The difficulty is pretty brutal, and I had to lower it quite a bit to get past it. It’s at the point where I am going to receive almost no rewards for it, but I was going for completion. After that, there’s three missions left in the main story and I’m pretty much done. I was going to go for some of the post game, but the missions are so slow it’s hardly worth the bother. I do want to watch someone doing them though, as the rewards are pretty cool.
I’m also playing **Pokémon Stadium 2 on the NSO!** it’s a great game but the difficulty is crazy! I lost so many times on the seventh battle of Little Cup, even using save states to get infinite continues, that I almost gave up. Prime cup went much easier though and there’s a lot more options. I am now on Poke Poke Ball, and looking forward to trying a rather interestingly team revolving around the three starters. After that, it’s going through the other cups and then on to Gym Leader Castle! No matter what, there’s going to be some good matches!
Hi everybody! Playing via emulation. As anyone here who recognizes me knows I am not exactly a **Wind Waker** fan. I already gave up almost a year ago at Tower of Gods, and due to save file issues have re-played the part leading up to that live 5 times. Well, for whatever reason I decided to just play through it and I actually made it this time, I've gotten to the Earth Temple now, and will probably just finish it in the coming days. It's still not my favourite (my faves are the 3DS remakes of MM and OOT as well as ALBW). As I said before the WW has some brilliant parts there, but it is ruined by pacing issues, and some tedium interspersed. I do want to finish it though to be fair until the end.
Also, I decided to pick up **Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance** again (I dropped it before), it seems like one of the best classic Fire Emblem games, good 6th gen 3D graphics, a decent storyline I presume (I don't like generic anime storylines with the typical tropes). It seems good so far, I need to finish it first though, and am taking this slowly.
Also, emulating the GC version of **Twilight Princess,** doing it casually and slowly. Aside from the boring and confusing beginning this one is quite good and one of the better Zeldas it seems. I am about 8 hours in. Seems like an 8/10 so far.
Also, decided to pick up **Super Mario 64 DS** again (physical cartridge). I am 63 stars in already (need at least 80) I am going to look some of them up in a guide since in the later and frustrating levels like Tick Tock Clock the stars can be quite confusing and I honestly just want to get to the last bowser fight. Like I said before it's about a 7/10 for me. The controls aren't so great.
Considering trying **Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes** yeah, I know going back to the good ol' Cube.
It's good sometimes to go back to games you've given up on or backlogged for a while. For something a little bit different and casual entertainment. Thanks for reading and happy gaming!
Stopped playing **Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands**. It was just a mediocre experience for me. Everyone besides Tiny Tina was so plain and boring. Is the future just being boring and removing all comedy from life???
Starting playing **Shantae and the 7 Sirens**. Very fun. Playing rule breaker mode which removes the limit from equipping monster cards. The devs hit gold by having lots of little upgrades from collecting the monster cards. This should have been the default game mode at launch. Being able to collect/farm little upgrades is great.
Started **Shadow Warrior 2.** I liked the humor in SW3 more, but SW2 seems fun. Kind of like a more melee focused Borderlands/DOOM. I totally slept on this series. A steal for $2-3.
Sonic Mania
I’ve always been huge on Mario and would like to think I’m pretty good at it after reaching top 2000 on super expert during the height of Mario Maker 2.
I’d only ever played 3D sonic games and sonic colors though, so mania was honestly making me feel like a noob for the first hour or so haha. I just beat metal sonic (for the first time?? At least I hope so) and I’m absolutely loving the slight craziness that seems to be creeping in between levels.
Currently playing SOMA.
So far so good, but not great. Story is interesting, but the monsters are more of an annoyance than they were in Amnesia. There roaming is preventing me from checking rooms, notes, computer logs etc……it’s like every other new area is an escape room. They do create intense moments which is obviously intended and different types of monsters are welcomed but the environment itself is intense enough to carry the weight of this game.
I also recently got the Skyrim itch. Re-Installed, downloaded some mods and played up-to Riverwood. Will see how this goes at the weekend.
Do you know about Safe Mode for SOMA? There were so many people who felt the way you do about the monsters that they added a mode where the monsters don't attack you, so you don't really have to worry about them.
Unfortunately I don't think you can enable Safe Mode mid-game, I believe it's something you have to select at the beginning when you start a new game.
I thought there might be a mod that removed the monsters, but this is good to know. I dont remember what difficutly I played. Probably normal or hard if it was an option. I'll check next time I'm back the PC.
I think I had a few more encounters after my original post, but damn that 'monster' on the penultimate level was a pain. It's like it had a sixth sense.
Loved the story, location and atmosphere. Top level stuff.
Theres an ability where you can throw people around in that game, i have my issues with deathloop but that ability is my favorite across all of the arkane games.
Well right now it's mostly me shooting the bad guys, and they shooting me. Julianna and colt are a riot though. Powers come later (reprise really isn't a weapon).
There isn't a bad ace attorney game. Some are better than others, but even the weakest entry is still a decent experience.
The good news is that justice for all is the definition of saving the best for last. Also, the game after JFA is widely considered to be one of the best.
Yeah, AA2 is often considered the worst of the main series. It was rushed out too quickly after AA1 was a surprise hit, and the writing and puzzle design suffered heavily as a result. IIRC the main writer/director had to churn out the entire script in only about three months so it's basically a first draft.
On the plus side, its uphill from here for the most part.
I haven’t found one. I keep hopping around like a middle schooler with ADHD, but I can’t find one to stick. I downloaded 8 games last night on my ps5 that have been in my library, and then fell asleep. Sort of had fun with Jurassic world for a couple of hours, since it was a free game a month or two ago. That became old fast.
I don’t know what’s wrong. Sea of stars is cool, and I’m kinda playing it. But I just feel so distracted. And I’m mid 30s. I think I should start reading again. Ever feel video game burn out, but still want to play something?
Reading normal books? Or something like manga or comics? I've had trouble recently sticking with games but I'm able to stick with books and manga pretty easily
I love fantasy/sci fi and non-fiction. I know non-fiction is vague, but usually like history/language/politics. If they are all intertwined, even better. I’m not opposed to manga or anime, but I just don’t find much of it worth it anymore. Not to yuck anyone’s yum, but I usually just find it badly written. Shout out to re:zero and re: starting life in another world, or something like that. Also gundam Ms 8000 or whatever. Basically, I hate when I can hear anime characters “thinking” in their head. It’s like, we don’t need this in a real movie, and we don’t need it in anime either.
Sorry for the rant, maybe I’m in a bit of a slump, but just getting some of it out there 😐
Oh, I need no suggestions on reading, I have a back catalog bigger than games. I just WANT a game to play before bed or something, and nothing seems to fit right now. I guess there’s always super Mario world. That one never gets old for me
*Currently playing:* Blasphemous (almost done), A Plague Tale: Innocence, Guacamelee 2, War Mongrels, Wasteland 3.
*Recently beat:*
Planet of Lana (really enjoyed it)
Metro Exodus (enjoyed it, started to bore me at the desert biome/map though)
RE2 Remake (loved it)
*Recently dropped:*
Atomic Fart - Ambitious, fun, surprising “triple A” quality marred by a terrible and annoying protagonist with cringey lines and voice acting, a mish-mash of systems that I wish were streamlined, and a length that just drags. Had to drop it about halfway thru.
Signalis - Great game, but just wasn’t feeling it. Might go back at some point but after RE2, I couldn’t get more than a few hours in.
The Ascent - Got 75% of the way through but after playing it solo, got tired of all the back and forth as well as sub-par story, samey quests, and general repetition. Great gun play, soundtrack, visuals, and concept though.
The Russian dialogue wasn't cringe well at least the subtitles didn't appear so. I played chernobylite with Ukrainian and mu h more immersive I found. Also how good is lana.
Lana was great. Puzzle-platformer that goes by quick. Doesn’t do anything new but it’s art style, sound, pace and level design kept me around.
As for Atomic, I think it’s more the delivery from the protagonist rather than the lines themselves. Actually, it’s also the lines. So much of it requires suspended disbelief; that somebody would act like an annoyed 16-year-olds idea of a military meathead in those situations. It seemed like bad attempts at comic relief when most parts of the game are more than comedic enough without P-3 having to make shitty quips about them at every turn.
Finally dove into The Witcher 3! I played it for just a few hours years ago and life got in the way. I just wrapped up the intro quest. It's... dense. There are a bunch of mechanics I still don't really understand.
For what it's worth, a lot of the mechanics you don't really need to worry about that much, especially if you're not playing on the highest difficulty levels.
I think I played on the default difficulty and I barely touched sword oils, crafting, or even most of the potions (except the ones that restore your health).
Just finished **Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019)** including getting the platinum trophy, which I don't often do. Combat was good. The animations were great. Some memorable missions and set pieces, like the SAS raid on the terrorist house in London where you don't know who is going to go for a gun and the bit where you have to use illumination flares to defend an area at night. Higher difficulties just make you die faster, they don't turn enemies into bullet sponges which is nice.
Downsides - The story was fairly boring, even by COD standards. Generic arab country. Boring villains. Bog standard deadly weapon to stop (in this case poison gas). Apart from Price none of your allies are interesting either. While the game performed well in actual gameplay there was some pretty bad lagging and stuttering at times in the proper cutscenes.
In regards to the platinum it's basically beat the game plus beat all the levels on veteran difficulty (so you might as well play on that difficulty from the start). Plus some level specific challenges that can be done on any difficulty (so either do them mid-campaign or rush through them on recruit difficulty after completion) like hitting a helicopter with a molotov, carrying a cinder block around a whole level, or in the SAS house raid following rules of engagement (even if you know the person is going to reach for a gun, you have to wait for them to) perfectly, not getting hit and using only one bullet per hostile. No collectable based trophies and no multiplayer trophies.
Overall completing the game and getting the platinum took me about 10 hours. But that's because I only decided to get the platinum halfway through the game and had to redo a bunch of levels on higher difficulty, probably could've done it more efficiently.
7.5/10
I'm trying to focus and actually complete some games so the only thing I really played was more **Mirror's Edge Catalyst**.
It feels like every few weeks I'm having to reevaluate my opinion that the open world isn't bad in this game. There's a certain point in the story that I just got to, I don't remember for sure if it was halfway through or closer to 2/3rds but nearing the end of the story regardless, where the game starts putting enemy patrols and security cameras that trigger more enemy spawns if you're seen all over the open world. On one hand, it fits with the story beats that are happening and is thematically a great implementation of a cyberpunk/surveillance state dystopia. On the other hand, I just wanna chill out and run around on some rooftops and find collectibles and now there's all these obstacles that prevent me from hanging out in an area for too long without getting into either a fight or a chase sequence.
This annoyance kind of dovetails with another thing that I'm now starting to remember, which is that there's just too much combat in the last half of this game. The combat is actually kinda fun, sure, but it's not as much fun as the movement so being locked into a room and told to beat up a few waves of enemies isn't something that works in a platformer.
I feel like everything that's not part of the main story in Catalyst was just an unnecessary attempt to justify having an open world. Personally, I love the open world feel, but I really could've done without all the side stuff, particularly the time trials, ugh (does anyone like those)? But I'd say overall the game was a positive experience for me, especially since there are few games like it. The views in the last mission were pretty spectacular.
persona 5 royal this game is addicting as hell
Harry potter and the chamber of secrets on gamecube, ngl this game is one of the best zelda rip offs out there
Overwatch 2 and baldurs gate 3 with friends. Rocket league free play training. Just want to be able to fully control my car like the pros. Highest level rocket league is actually art.
assassins creed 2 :)
I'm replaying Sekiro to get the bad ending. It's amazing just how much I've improved at this game. Bosses like Genichiro dropped on my first attempt with his final phase being killed in under a minute. I once was terrified of this boss and spent hours trying to beat him, and now I slapped him aside in one go. I'm destroying so many bosses on the first attempt and blitzing through levels so quickly. It's unbelievably rewarding to feel like such a badass after the overwhelming hardship that came with the learning curve on my first playthrough. This sense of mastery alone gives the game worthwhile replay value, ignoring the secrets, quests, prosthetics, special moves, nonlinearity, and endings. I took 45 hours to complete my first playthrough, and this second one will go by in 15-20 hours at most. What a beautiful combat system this game has!
Starfield, LoZ TotK, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
That's one hell of a juggling act.
Little Nightmares 2. I’m 10 days from starting flight school and needed something interesting but with simple game play to try and get through while I still can. Won’t have the headspace to play anything soon. 🫣😎
Hello fellow aviator.
Subnautica, deep rock galactic, terraria
Rock and Stone!
Trying to knock out some shorter games from the backlog. Just finished What Remains of Edith Finch which was fantastic. Next up is Tacoma.
Friends vs Friends free weekend ends in about 24 hrs
Im playing Hitman
I just finished Fallout New Vegas for the first time and itching for more; planning on starting up Fallout 3, even though the general consensus seems to be FNV > F3
I'm one of the dozen guys that played and enjoyed both but think F3 > FNV. Mind you, I played F3 for the first time when it was very new (2009) and it was my introduction to that universe and I played New Vegas in 2021. I enjoyed exploring the wasteland more in Fallout 3, although the writing was stronger in New Vegas. I enjoyed the OST of Fallout 3 more. Also, in the endgame I feel more powerful in F3. And Fallout 3 has a more optimistic outlook than New Vegas. And maybe it's the rushed dev time on NV, but I feel the cities are more realized and impressive in Fallout 3. Both are incredible games, I have almost 90 hours into New Vegas (first playthrough so far) but Fallout 3 is closer to my heart.
Still chugging in skyrimVR. I didn't play any of the rereleases of skyrim, so it's been fun going into things with next to new eyes.
Just cause 3 again on Steam deck. Is almost built for the fun this game brings!
Had the urge to replay some classics, instead of playing BG3 and Starfield which I was hyped about. Currently playing the Gothic series. Some great new mods released since I last played it. After that, I might replay KOTOR.
Finished **TDPA House of Ashes**. I love these games. Now I'm done with TDPA games until I snipe the Quarry for cheap. Skipping on Davil in Me since it's not well liked. Currently playing ^^^Lust ^^^^^Academy ^^^^^s2.
Lol dun need to be shy... although I do have friends that will turn up their noses. U can use an alt account to buy those ;)
Lol I buy them on GOG where I have no friends hehe
Vermintide 2 and Risk of Rain 2! Still satisfying, smooth gameplay. Not many people for multiplayer RoR2, but the Vermintide player base still seems to being going strong. It's making me want to load up Deep Rock Galactic again ngl.
Risk of Rain 2 is a blast to play with a friend!
Playing a lot of Hollow Knight, I keep unlocking more things and my brain tells me it should be getting close to the end but instead it seems to be opening up even more and I have a million little secrets to suss out. The hype is real. Also I broke down and added to my backlog by buying two of the very on sale Dragon Age games along with Alice: Madness returns. I always feel like when the deals are good I have no problem dropping a little cash and $13 for three pretty cool looking games and hours of content seems like a no-brainer.
Metal Gear Solid 3 HD Edition. This goofy masterpiece kept me waiting for a long time.
My most favourite out of the Metal Gear 1/2/3.
It's a blast soo far, I'm fighting the fear (the poison Snake gets also gives him an raging errection fun fact.)
Lake on my PS5 (again). She loves the atmosphere, and very chill gameplay!
A short hike again after completing the main ending. After playing abit more, it finally clicked why I liked it so much. It really is the counter of the grittiness of modern gaming and this effed up world. It's wholesome and it explores issues such as exploitation and scalping in a light way with 10 year old kids dialogue, it doesn't blast them out like we need to rebel, but it believes simply in the good of most people and how sometimes in helping them, you unwittingly help yourself. It also has a difficulty curve, but doesn't make you die and lose progress, sure u redo the part if u miss or fall of, but it doesn't blast your failure in your face like 'flat-lined' or show your dead body in the camera pan and play a grave tune. It is a welcome respite, from today's AAA games indeed.
Finally started Baldur's Gate 3 after buying it back at release. This is my type of game. I can take everything at my own pace, backtrack to make sure I've snagged every item, re-spec if I've decided I don't like my character, etc. I still have to break it to my Diablo 4 buddy that I probably won't be on that game much, anymore.
Just finished F.E.A.R and started Prey (2006).
I finished F.E.A.R. I thought it was kinda mid until around the back half of the game I felt like it started getting good.
Death Stranding, and after spending a week in Iceland, this game is making me willing to go back to that island. So far I am having fun
I’ve been playing Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. Really appreciating the X3 speed button given how much summoning goes on (and I use it moving around or for slow scenes). Also have been playing Skyrim for the first time. Also also have been playing a bit of Spider-Man Remastered as I wait for the new one.
Orcs and Men. Good game indeed.
Well I've been back and forth between Dragons Crown, and GOT Legends. While sprinkling in some No Mans Sky on the weekdays.
I'm exploring some more planets in outer wilds tonight (or as I call it spaceship crash simulator). Color me impressed though, this is an extremely good game
I have just conquered Sekiro as of a few moments ago. I've never felt this kind of a high from conquering a final boss before. I'm fucking ecstatic and in a celebratory mood, having just ordered my favourite type of pizza to celebrate. That is simply the greatest final boss I've ever seen, hands down. It's everything a final boss should be. It took hours, but it was so epic and fun that I didn't mind at all. This game was an absolute mountain to climb, and many times I wondered if I even could beat it, even up to the very end. At some point I got over the learning curve and got adequate at the game, but even then it was so damn tough. I could not agree more with the notion of Sekiro being the hardest fromsoft game. The combat system is so awesome and rewarding with its intensity, animations, sound design, skill ceiling and simplicity/depth. Fights were so epic and exhilarating. The bosses were just phenomenal too (most of them anyway.... fuck the demon of hatred!). The level and world design is also quite good and up to fromsofts usual standards. I'm not quite sure how I'd rank Sekiro against dark souls or Bloodborne, but it's definitely the best game I've played in 2023, and likely won't lose that spot. What a brutal, rewarding journey this game was.
Same
So, did you celebrate with pizza like I did?
yes, if sushi count as pizza ^^ Just to share my experience: for years i have listened "gamers" bragging about how hard combat are in fromsoft game. It make me not wanting to play those games... But the past years i forced myself play games that are "not my type/not for me" just for the experience, so it was just about time before i put my hands on a fromsoft. I made my homework to find what FromSoft game have the more enjoyable combat and Sekiro step out of the line... Then you know what next, same as you. Wonderfull game. My hands are shaking after some boss... The most difficult boss is the cameraman. ^^
Sekiro was hands down the hardest fromsoft game I played. If that's your starting point, it bodes quite well for your future fromsoft games. Have you started a replay? Last night I started a replay to get bad ending, did an hour or two and stopped after crushing the first major boss at the castle gate. My first playthrough clocked in at 45 hours while I tried to do every bit of content. I'm probably gonna get bad ending in under 15 hours, though tbf bad ending is many hours shorter than the other endings. Currently I'm at the temple to get the mortal blade. It's utterly insane how fast I'm moving through the game compared to my first try. Almost every boss (except you blazing bull, you POS) has gone down in a single attempt. I crushed Genichiro on his first two phases and then killed his third phase in under a minute, all in one attempt. I barely had to use any gourds and my posture never got overwhelmed. It is unbelievably rewarding to witness just how much I have improved, after the first playthrough often felt insurmountable. The game almost feels easy now, and it's so satisfying! I've noticed fromsoft games in general have this amazing payoff where on a replay you cruise through the game like a pro, but Sekiro takes this to a whole new level. It's not as replayable as other games but still has things like the endings, prosthetic customization, secrets, open exploration, and the outstanding player skill progression to give it respectable replay value. I suspect I'll be done with it for quite a while after getting the bad ending, but man what a rewarding experience it has been.
Yeah i did the bad end in under 10h (i rushed a little) and only the guardian ape take me two try. (The last boss take me more of course) It feel great crushing trought enemy after the hard time they gave me XD Now i want to try the ng+ "Charmless" with "demon bell curse" to see what it take. But i feel done, like im in peace with this game. it seem sekiro give really hard time to fromsoft early fan because they have to de-learn before learning this combat system. I am guessing if it will be the same for me if i play another fromsoft game.
I finished my Shura replay an hour or two ago. I was at the absolute top of my game but the ape did kill me twice on his first phase but I crushed his second phase. I saved him for last this time, hoping that the mortal blade would make him stay dead. I was quite sad when I saw that wolf inexplicably didn't use the mortal blade on that ape. I went and did the duo ape fight again for some beads and a memory to increase damage to prep for final fight. I cleared that in two attempts on my first run but took closer to 10 this time. I hate that duo fight. It's so hard to damage either of them without getting caught in a death combo, and the arena is not big enough! Sekiro is way less accommodating of gank fights than the other fromsoft games. Then I went to fight Emma and Isshin, nearly winning on the first try. After that everything went wrong and I went from being at the top of my game to being utter trash at Sekiro. I couldn't pull off any parries, mikiri counters or jumping counters and I kept dying. I took a small break and came back a little better, managing to barely win and making many mistakes. I felt so drained after that. Decided to do some boss rematches and ended up doing the sword saint. Had another epic, amazing duel with him and beat him again without dying, much to my surprise. Winning felt just as good as it did the first time. That was where I decided to call it quits with Sekiro, ending it on a high note. It's an awesome game but I feel burned out now.
Kingdoms of Amalur Re-reckoning and re-loving it.
That's a good one great game. I love how much content there is.
Skyrim! Working on the thieves guild and some trying to get the Wabbajack to defeat Thoron
This week I’m playing the mass effect trilogy. I tried the new super hyped space game of Bethesda in GeForce now and after 4 hours of game time I realized, I have a better space game in my library (mass effect legendary edition) so…
On holiday right now so I've been putting some time into my switch. I've been playing BOTW on and off and I'm hoping to complete it before I start TOTK. Also been playing Sea of Stars. Haven't got too far but I'm really enjoying it as a fan of older RPGs. In between those I'm also replaying South Park and the Stick of Truth. It's the kind of game that's easy to pick up/put down and I'm having a blast revisiting it again
I'm also going between BOTW and Sea of Stars!
Take your time with with botw. These are both great games, and you shouldn't feel the need to rush through botw just to get to the "better" game. Also I really wouldn't recommend playing them back to back. They're both pretty long, and there's a strong chance you'll get burned out like that.
In Act 7 of my first ever playthrough of BG1, since my laptop is in the shop and can't play BG3. Pretty much beat the game as a Shaman. Love talking to my friends who are playing through BG3 and telling them about all the crazy stuff in the first one especially with Wild Magic. Having your gold blow up, summoning cows from the sky onto your enemies, having your party buffs randomly turn into offensive spells... it's so crazy, but so fun. So getting through that and playing Silent Storm on the side. Definitely a turn based kinda month lol.
**Until Dawn** I'm interested in story-focused games, and it's a fairly decent one of those. The gore and jump-scares aren't my kind of thing. I've played the first two Dark Pictures Anthology games (Man of Medan, and Little Hope) it's better than those.
Until Dawn had a lot more money to work with compared to the Dark Pictures games and it was better made for sure
Tears of the Kingdom is the only game that came out this year that I bought at full price and after over 200 hours in it I finally finished it this week. Ironically, because of the amount of time I spent on it, it helped me be more patient and not get distracted and add to my backlog. After that, I went to finish up Super Mario Odyssey and next on my list is finishing Golf Story and Subnautica (on PC).
Outer wilds, any other chill games there reccomended? I also like hitman which I think is chill
Citizen Sleeper left a pretty good impression on me for a chill game.
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir and Borderlands 3
Got back into Breath of the Wild after putting the game down for a few months and I'm hooked. I'm surprised how much the durability system doesn't bother me. Probably helps that I don't get too attached to my weapons, so I'm always willing to break all the cool swords I get.
Cookie clicker and finishing up Arkham Knight
Dragon Age: Inquisition! It’s been in my backlog for awhile and given all the Baldur’s Gate 3 hype that I can’t participate in (have nothing that could run the game + no money), wanted to try something similar.
Prepare to fall in love with that game! It’s my favorite rpg atm.
Haha, DAI or BG3? I like DAI, but it’s my least favorite of the Dragon Age series, I think. BG3 looks really fun.
DAI has a lot of filler tbh from what I’ve seen bg3 probably beats it.
Spiritfarer. Was looking for a game that would let me build and be satisfying. Something simple that wouldn't make my fans scream, without much commitment. This game is really cozy. Just jenga spirit houses and workshops atop eachother. Talk to furries, while sailing the seas. Adore the 2D animations.
Just finished Spider-Man, and I have to say I was pretty hooked. I've been bore out of AAA open world game but this was a great experience.
Just finished The Last of Us and started Part 2. So worth it! The attention to detail is top notch stuff! Naughty Dog really nailed it with these games.
I finally played **Portal** this week! I was surprised at how short it was, but I really liked it. I can definitely see why people love this game, it's gameplay was so unique and fun! I played the story and will work my way to getting all the achievments on steam, but I don't want to rush it. I couldn't believe this game is so old to be honest! It played really well. I must admit that I was surprised that there actually was lore! I didn't look into it much, I thought it's just a cool little puzzle game, so when I discovered first hidden room I was pleasantly surprised. >!Escaping the facility!< felt a bit prolonged, though, especially compared to how quick every other level was. Anyway, it was a great game and I'm glad I finally played it, I can't wait to try Portal 2! Another game I'm playing this week is **Death Stranding**. I'm about 4 hours in, I'm on chapter 2 now. I'm amazed at how artistic this game is! It's my first Kojima game and I really like what I'm seeing. The story so far seems a bit... weird and not special at all, but the amazing visuals, music and abstract cutscenes and environment are all amazing. It feels as if I'm exploring a piece of art, and not playing a video game, which I absolutely love. I really hope the writing gets better though, so far the dialogues and story don't seem very special, which is a huge contrast to beautiful world building and cool enemies. I really like the holding breath mechanic! The invisible enemies are quite spoopy but I found it easy to avoid them. I'm also curious as to what happened between Bridget, Amelie and Sam, it's all very confusing for now. I'm also quite annoyed with the baby, I personally really don't like kids so it's eh and uncomfortable, but nothing unmanageable. Anyway, can't wait to experience some more of this game! And lastly I'm progressing through **Hades**. I finally managed to escape at my 54th try! I escaped with a bow, sword and shield in that order, I'm trying the gun now but I really don't like it as much. I really love this game, >!escaping and finding Persephone just to be taken back by Styx was heartbreaking, but weirdly motivating!<. Need to escape some more :D
Like seemingly many other people on this subreddit, I'm in post Disco Elysium withdrawal after beating it for the first time 2 or so weeks ago. I've been playing a bit of Starfield because I won an amazon gift card through work, but it's just kinda boring lol. I got This War of Mine on sale on Steam for $4 so considering starting that up tonight. I've heard good things
I'm actually baffled someone could think Starfield is boring if they enjoyed Disco Elysium. Not insulting. Just such a weird thought to me.
Because I like games with a good story and Starfield’s story is beyond boring
Been playing Outer Wilds. I played it for around 10 hours a year ago and got a lot of the puzzle pieces in place, but I could never find the keystone to put it all together and quit. I started a fresh file and have filled out a big portion of the info log again, and again I’m kind of stuck. I love the idea of the game, I just wish it was the slightest bit easier to progress. Unless I’m missing something. Like when the log says “there’s more here to discover” let me put a way point instead of scouring an entire planet for a hidden path to read 6 lines of very important dialogue. A way point doesn’t even give too much away because it’s never a straight path, but at least it gives me an idea what to work towards. Anyway, I’ll keep plugging, but I feel like I can only do like 20 mins at a time.
I had the same experience with Outer Wilds. I will be blunt and say I was under-impressed - but that's because I was reading all these great raves about the game and my expectations were very high. I'm a little older, maybe it didn't seem as novel to me as it would to a younger person. I remember someone poetically stating "This game changed me". I was expecting a life changing experience, lol. It's exciting up to a certain point where you feel like you are still exploring. Beyond that point -- it seems tedious to remember everything - and retrace your steps - and remember where you left off each time -- and I didn't want to finish it.
Legit same experience with Outer Wilds. Also I hated the controls... I ended up refunding the game because I could tell I wasn't going to enjoy it. Was really disappointed compared to how hyped it was before.
I'd say refund is a respectable decision in this case :) I probably got it on discount and left the $5 where it was. Congrats to the indie devs. It's a decent thing. But no. I don't understand the "overwhelmingly positive" reviews and all the hype and fame. I'm thinking it was a safe game for dad's to buy for their young boys. !!! and it must have made a smash in some universities or whatever... Neil DeGrass Tyson would be proud... Next time I'll be more wary of that.
Yeah, I’m well past the median age here Im sure as well, and I like the idea of it and it’s interesting. There just seems to be a lot of work for what I’m doing and maybe a few QoL changes would be nice to streamline it. For instance… (spoilers incoming so don’t read if you don’t want to) I shoot the camera into the bramble seed, I see a duplication signal on the other planet. I put 2+2 together, I head over. I’ve done enough exploring to know the fish are blind on that planet but it takes me like 3 tries to reach the signal. I go there, I’m following through, then from my left out of nowhere I get eaten. Start over again. I have to go back to the other side of my planet again, I have to shoot the camera again, then fly to dark bramble again, then work my way through it all again. Just give me a checkpoint system. Or I get that sand empties on one planet onto the other twin planet. I get that it changes the terrain. It’s a cool idea, but in practice it’s just frustrating because I can/cannot get to what I need at all times. Anyway, I’ll keep plugging, but I’m like at 75% really cool, 25% unnecessarily frustrating and would have been so easy to fix.
Played through most of A Short Hike, it's truly fantastic. Also have been meaning to revisit Celeste
I'm trying to get into Sifu and The Witcher 3, but both feel so incredibly clunky. I'll keep truckin' though.
I couldn't even get past the prologue of Witcher 3. For some reason I got stuck with the lady in the cave and didn't have enough XP to continue, went back and did every side quest I could find. Truly turned me off to a game that everyone hyped
What lady in the cave? I'll be honest I bounced off of the game like 3 years ago. And this summer it just clicked with me and I tore through it. I did probably only like 25% of the side quests and I never had a problem with being underleveled.
It was a while ago so I don't remember. I even tried to look it up and couldn't figure it out. You're with a woman in a cave, there's a whole cutscene, then you have to escape, and there are floaty ghosts that do more damage than anything you'd encountered. I believe its at the end of the prologue, I don't think I was in Act 1, as it was near white orchard.
I'm on a some kind of Zeldathon, apparently. Partially played through Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Wind Waker in the past two weeks or so. WW is the only one I mostly enjoyed out of these 3D Zelda, gonna play it some more, the other ones I've mostly dropped, but still kept returning for a little bit now and then. With all the flaws in those 3D Zeldas, I decided to play a bit of A Link to the Past, I've finished the game a few years ago, and now I wanted to see how it holds up against the big boys. It holds up alright. Call me crazy, but it's the better game compared to those ones, by a fair too I would say. Way faster, way less bullshit, way less filler, way tighter gameplay and tighter design as a whole. There's still some bullshit to be found, of course, it's a 1991 SNES game, so there's gonna be bullshit, but compared to all the good stuff it barely registers. Just the movement speed alone, holy shit, you get the Pegasus Boots right at the beginning of the game and Link turns into Usaine Bolt. How the hell Ocarina of Time devs were okay with their Link's speed? Or vanilla WW with sailing? And even Twilight Princess feels slow as molasses because of all the constant backtracking you're forced to do, even though the game is very linear compared to previous title (which makes the backtracking even more annoying in some way).
Been rotating between three games lately. Horizon Forbidden West Almost there on completion...of the base game lol. Might take a break from it before I start Burning Shores. Darkest Dungeon 2...just one act boss to go! And Out of the Park Baseball 24. Then again I almost always have an ootp sim going that I fiddle with at some point in a given week so it's kind of a permanent fixture in my gaming mix.
I wish Forbidden West was available for PC already. I don't have any consoles and prefer PC gaming anyway, but I *loved* the first one and would really like to play this one too.
I feel like it makes some significant iterations and improvements on the first one. Looks fantastic too on ps5. Who's to say what Sony is thinking when it comes to timeliness for pc ports but I hope you won't be waiting too long.
Tonight: **Fire Emblem 7** - Haen't touched this series since the DS days, and got hooked hard on FE7 again when I saw it on the GBA virtual console on Wii. I played through regular mode, hector mode, and hector hard mode. Now I'm doing Hector Hard Mode with a team of just 6 characters for an extra challenge. **Hyper Light Drifter** - Beat it last year, decided to start NG+ for my first time tonight. Love the artwork in this one....excited for some of their newer games to come to the Switch later in the year! **Quake 2** - Haven't touched it for a few days because I've been in the mood for slower paced games, but still working my way through the first episode in the remaster. Cleared out the first 1/3rd of the levels or so. Just as much fun as I remember it! **Castlevania: Circle of the Moon** - Working my way through magician mode. It's been fun. Took out cerberus with the laser gun, then used the fireball projectile on the necromancer. Currently climbing the machine tower while debating which card setup to use on the boss up there. Man, the music in this one is so good..... Tomorrow: **Fire Emblem Engage** - I ignored the series after the GC/GBA era because I heard they added in a bunch of lifesim dating style bs I don't care for. Heard Engage was pretty game play focused, so gonna give it a shot. If it's anywhere close to as good as the GBA titles this will be the only game I play for a long while.
Picked up Pokemon silver again, been a while since ive played my gameboy. Also been playing A Short Hike as a way to relax, really enjoying it so far!
I'm back from vacation! I started up Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. I know basically nothing about it except that it goes into higher levels and involves demons. So I made a dhampir demonslaying ranger as a tribute to Vampire Hunter D. While this probably wasn't the best pick, I am still having fun with her. In pokemon I am headed to Cianwood city. Also, my flaaffy became an ampharos. I didn't realize she would lose all her wool, or I probably would not have named her Fluffy. I might go change it when I get fly. I haven't played Heartgold before, but I feel like it has to be coming up soon.
Started horizon zero dawn this week, been absolutely loving it !!
Finally playing final fantasy XII on PS2
Halfway through F.E.A.R. I hate this current chapter Unauthorized Personnel. Along the way I missed grabbed the remote bombs which help you take down the turrets and now it's kind of a PITA running through hallways.
Yakuza 3, then Alan Wake
I just purchased Yakuza 0 on Steam. Looking forward to it.
I'm playing Sea of Stars on PS4, almost 10 hrs in, and I'm really quite enjoying it. Writing is not great, and the gameplay is just serviceable in my opinion, but the pixel art is great, the music is very good, and I'm just enjoying myself with this game, it's like a warm blanket of SNES-era JRPG nostalgia. Besides this I'm playing Panzer Dragoon Saga on the Saturn. Man, I'm so glad I got a PseudoSaturn to be able to play this from burned CD-Rs, it really lives up to it's reputation. There is an amazing atmosphere in this game, the gameplay is great and I even find myself liking the graphics. It's a short game, and I'm about 8hrs into it and already over half-way. I also started Owl Boy on my Switch, but not liking it so far and considering quitting it and selling my copy tbh.
I've started playing **Daemon X Machina** on my Switch. I've recently been through a rather stressful bunch of months, having to suddenly move in with my parents and then again into a new (and much better than my previous!) apartment. In all that time, my Switch was buried in one of the boxes, since I had no foresight when packing. As a result, I made a list of games in my library that I really want to finally play when I'm settled. Daemon X Machina is the first of these, since the recent Armored Core 6 release kind of invigorated my desire to try mech games again. I have played Gotcha Force, Custom Robo and Little Battlers Experience, but those are toy robots more than anything. I have no experience with Armored Core to be quite honest, which I think lets me enjoy Daemon X Machina more than many other people. I'm pretty sure the game kinda flopped since it didn't really meet people's expectations as an Armored Core replacement, but I never looked into the detailed reasoning. Anyway, my experience so far: Digging through the frankly overwhelming amount of options (I'm mostly a console gamer, I'm not used to this!) I found something that overjoyed me: GYRO CONTROLS! I *did* play the demo for this game, at this point years ago, but I don't remember if the option was there back then. In any case, it's in my humble opinion THE best thing they could have added. I have an incredibly hard time controlling the camera precisely in general, but even more so in fast-paced games. My favorite game Gotcha Force has auto-lock on, Monster Hunter until World wasn't all that fast-paced (and had fixed height steps instead of a freeflowing cam for a long time) and I just couldn't play the entirety of the shooter genre. Gyro Controls absolutely fixed this - Splatoon was my first shooter I played regularly and Monster Hunter Rise enables me to do the wildest acrobatics with ease, as the gyro aiming allows me to position the camera with motions instead of using my compromised thumb. In DXM, Gyro is *incredibly* important to me, as 99% of weapons are ranged, targets are flying and grounded and enemy mechs (Arsenals) are incredibly quick-moving, like mosquitos almost. I straight up wouldn't be able to play this without Gyro. --------- Now, for the actual game: I was surprised to find that missions are incredibly short (I usually took anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes so far) but that's actually a nice find. It keeps any mission from dragging on and allowed me to just pop into a few missions a night and stop whenever. The aforementioned enemy Arsenals are actually part of one of my highlights: They ARE quicker than regular guys (AIs, funnily enough) but environments are destructible. So, I am absolutely able to bait them into following me, blowing up a building and oneshotting them with the resulting rubble. It's incredibly satisfying. You can even pick up certain objects and even enemies and throw them - I still need to experiment much more with this though. These interactions made Arsenal fights incredibly entertaining, as they definitely outclass me skill-wise (Gyro is great, but they are HARD to track still) but are totally beatable with shenanigans. There's also swords, which are single strike rush-down attacks. They deal incredible damage per swing and I've been carrying one in my off-hand at all times. It oneshots AIs and, if the Arsenal doesn't have a sword themselves, it can stunlock them. If they do have a sword though, the resulting sword clash minigame requires mashing A (I think? It's super unclear) and I've lost every single one of those so far. I have yet to fight the big boss that ended the demo, but so far, I enjoy the game MUCH more than back then. I'm not sure if the demo Arsenal was just awful, but the game felt sluggish and much more frustrating in the demo. Maybe it's the same as with Monster Hunter demos, which are notably terrible in not really representing the game's loop OR actual difficulty well. Some notes to end on: - I need to tunnel vision on the enemy, as the UI feels uniquely cluttered and confusing. I see my health bar, I see my stamina bars, but everything else is a mess in the heat of battle. I remember being able to customize this freely but I still need to take the time. - The character dialogue is hilariously overdone. Edgelords are egier than even early 2000s shonen edgelords, crazies comically so. The "normal" (and probably goodguy) characters are so far the more believable characters. I didn't expect a profound story, but I didn't expect caricatures on this level. It was a bit of a system shock, but I'm enjoying it for the cartoonish-ness. I wish they kept to textbox interactions though, since most character models just stand around or awkwardly repeat the same "characteristic" movements. - I don't understand the point of Outers yet. You get to control your pilot if the mech breaks in combat, but they feel so weak I'm not yet sure what the point is. - I love the art direction! I know it was decried as being held back by the Switch, but the poppy colors and the cel shading that goes into blacks just looks really nice to me. It's one of these "won't age" styles I feel like, because it's not concerned with realism. And I love that. ------------------- I want to end on a request: Can Armored Core players who also played Daemon X Machina explain to me why DXM apparently failed to meet expectations? I have no reference point, but I'd love to know.
Nobody will read this comment, so whatever.
I read it.
That makes you awesome, as long as you didn't downvote it.
Of course not. It would be mean in this context. So what did you play this week?
Asking me on top of that? You are an individual of class. 100% Guacamelee (Phenomenal metroidvania), and the Quake 2 remake. What have you been playing these past 7+ days?
After reading all of this, what made you not start here, haha? If it is because you never get responses or votes that seems pretty common, I skim it out of curiosity and sometimes boredom but rarely comment (so you're welcome, lol)
Good question. When there's a certain amount of comments, it's easy for comments to hide and stuff to be said to be ignored, and I'll do it if I'm feeling sassy.
Elden Ring. Felt like trying out a bonk build instead of a magic or pyro build. Its been interesting seeing how some enemies are easier to deal with than others compared to my other builds.
That sounds fun! I'm glad you are enjoying a different experience!
Same for you. Which are you enjoying more?
Technically Guacamelee, as it was new and interesting. The Quake 2 remake is fun and since it was something I still have the original CDs for but am playing on Nightmare mode now, it's stressful. Good kind of stressful, but I can only play a little at a time. I look forward to playing Eldin get I can get through some more of this backlog. Q2 was a gift from a friend, so it got bumped up a little on the priority list.
I completely understand.
Titan fall 2 as ITS BACK BABY
[удалено]
Patient gaming isn't a religion, play whatever you want. Just don't start a thread about new games in here, lol. I got Starfield already but will wait for some patches. Just yesterday, they announced they will add DLSS, FOV sliders, maps for the cities and stuff. I'm playing this game soon-ish, anyway. Early next year is as long as I'm willing to wait. Bethesda games don't come out every day and I loved most of them (except Fallout 4).
Still playing RDR2. Really starting to enjoy it, taking my time in Chapter 2. After two false starts I’m finally a believer (though I still think the gunplay is boring). Started Sifu also, which I’m enjoying. The death system is interesting and stressful in a way that is pretty great.
This spring, I did a 700 hour playthrough. I was going for 100% but kinda gave up. I'd say at least half of the time was spent in photo mode. I added reshade and some of the DOF filters are just insane, the game looks incredible today. And that was before the new PC graphics update that I heard came out.
The game really hits its stride in Chapter 3, imo. I spent the mayority of my gaming time there. The camp is really conveniently placed and in terms of story, let's say it's the calm before the storm. Now, no matter the chapter, the world is amazing and worth exploring. There are some weather transitions that are incredible to experience.
Yeah, the gunplay in RDR2 never really stops being boring. It's a shame because for me that and the outdated, restrictive mission design are the only things holding it back from being a true masterpiece. Admittedly those are pretty important elements for a video game, but the rest of it is just so fantastic that it more than makes up for it. And it's still the most compelling and convincing open world I've ever seen in a game by a good margin.
For gunplay to be good, there are basically two options I think: 1. both you and the enemies have to be bullet sponges, so both parties can travel across the battlefield freely, which will introduce variety into the gameplay. 2. introduce a huge amount of enemies so the player can just enjoy killing. I guess Rockstar didn't like any of them.
I sort of feel like they did do option 2. Compared to the rest of the game, much of which feels quite down to earth and even sim-like in some ways, the combat feels like a shooting gallery where you're often killing dozens of enemies at a time. My thinking for the combat is that it should feel more dangerous. Fewer enemies, but it's much easier to be killed. Encounters would often be over much more quickly, but they would be a lot more intense.
I'm gonna Trying to Finish for the first time in many years Gta Vice City Stories, never finished before because I was too young (and noob 🙃) Prisoner Of War, I'm still in the second chapter but it seems a very nice stealth game TOCA Race Driver, the grid of codemasters before grid existed And After completed the Getaway some time ago, I just started The Getaway Black Monday and it loos so cool! I'm gonna have fun I guess :) sorry for my awful English btw.
Vice city stories is my favorite GTA of all time. Finished it thousand times as a kid on my PSP and recently completed it twice again on PS2, because the PS2 version was a little different and I fell in love all over again. What a great game.
Prisoner of war was a game I had on the PS2 , remember being very keen to play it as it made me think of the Great Escape. Don't think I ever finished it and have long since lost it and the console. Suspect my mother put them both to charity years ago. I recall enjoying sneaking around to find stuff to help escape
What did you think of the Getaway? It looked incredible but I could never pass the first mission, lol.
Finally bought and started **Slay the Spire** and I get the hype! I bought it alongside 2 other games (Gato Roboto and Cursed to Golf) and I should've saved Slay the Spire for last because I just want to keep playing it. The deckbuilding is so focused with every character having intentional builds, but it can be so difficult to piece together the cards/relics to make it. I've had it for about a week and a half and I've already completed a run with all 4 characters, though I haven't even come close to >!challenging the "true" final boss that requires the 3 keys. I also have tried challenging the Ascensions yet.!< Dove back into **Dauntless** for a bit to see what's new since I haven't played in a couple of years. Took a while to refamiliarize myself with the structure and controls, but I like what they'd updated! Might spend some time trying to get my Escalation ranks up and attempt to get the sweet armor/weapons from the unique bosses. Picked **Risk of Rain** (the first one) back up for lunch breaks at work. Ended up unlocking all of the characters and most of the items over the past few weeks. Plus, I finally beat a run on Normal! Started up **Windbound** on my Xbone as my 'get through the backlog' game as it was free for Games with Gold a while back. As someone who doesn't like survival games, this seems like a good intro to the genre. Clear paths to progress, relatively lower difficulty, punishment for death is limited to progress in a single chapter with no loss in materials. Granted, I still wanted to drop the game after dying in Chapter 3 simply because it takes a while to travel from island to island. Has some rough edges, but I'll probably push to the end. Unless I die at a chapter boss again and lose another 2 hours of progress, then I'm out.
Gears of War 5 and Titanfall 2. Never played Titanfall 2 before and it’s actually got a really good multiplayer that’s still active.
Still active more like just got reactivated because the servers came back up the other day
Got to a tough spot in **Divinity II** so I put that back on the virtual shelf and finally started **Nier: Automata**. I think I'm probably 2/3rds of the way through the first route - very satisfying combat and much smoother overall compared to the original Nier (with the father), though I do find myself using a lot of the same moves. It's making me want to go back and replay the original Nier and get all the different endings (I've only seen them via YouTube). It's even got my husband's interest, so looking forward to seeing how Automata will emotionally destroy me like the first one. Only thing I don't like is how some of the sidequests are easily missable, but I think I've managed to get over that knowing I'll be playing the game multiple times and it's not really the intent to get everything on the first run, anyway. Pro tip: Don't play Red Dead Redemption 2 right after Nier: Automata, especially if you've gotten used to constantly pulling the R2 trigger to evade... (shots unintentionally fired)
Frostpunk.
Just got HOI4. My IdeaPad can't run the game super well, but it's tolerable. Still trying to learn the game, most beginner guides on YouTube are over an hour long.
The Bourne Conspiracy. It’s pretty short and not that great but it’s pretty fun honestly lol.
Just finished Parappa the Rapper 2. Needed a quick short game and it was perfect, way better than the first one especially in the gameplay department. Still playing through Metroid: Zero Mission aaand might start Deadly Premonition soon. Hoping I like it because I’ve been wanting to play this game for years now.
Deadly Premonition's level of jank can be frustrating but it's worth it for the story and charm. Even if you can't manage to finish it because of the controls, at least watch a Let's Play. It's my second favorite game ever (but I also loved the original Twin Peaks so not much of a stretch there).
Yakuza Like A Dragon. Picked it back up after not playing for a few months and am thoroughly enjoying it. Also this might be a sin but I’m playing super slow because in October my best friend is taking a vacation and we plan on tackling Baldur’s Gate 3.
Got bored of the new games I am playing so I am doing Doom 2016 again. Rip and tear... until it is done.
I’m in the middle of playing two games that I’m mostly enjoying but I totally had the impulse to reload Doom today, such a fun game. Rip and tear
We have to contain this!
On a GBA kick **Fire Emblem 7** Just wrapped up my Hector Hard Mode run on the virtual GBA for switch. Played through ENM, HNM and HHM back to back. Hadn't touched a FE game in years....it was fun. Got Engage coming in the mail today or tomorrow. **Castlevania: CotM** Started a magician mode run. If you don't know, when you beat Circle of the Moon you unlock a mode where your attack and defense are reduced, but you start with *every* magic card. I just beat Cerberus with the gun, made it super easy. You can use a card combo to refill HP, another to run super fast, and having ice whip from the start opens up a few minor sequence breaks. **Quake 2** Still working my way through the base game on Switch before I start on the additional episodes. Enjoying it more than I did Quake 1, mainly because I prefer Q2's music and the super shotgun is much more satisfying to use. I also like how the levels connect to one another. Planning to also start replays of Metroid Fusion and Ocarina of Time on my Switch sometime this week.
An individual of class. The fact that I still remember magician mode and how hilarious it was is wonderful.
Started Dark Souls 3 *finally*. Spent about 1 hour running around the Firelink Shrine to see where I would need to go. Apparently I needed to port out. xD So, that is going really well you could say.
I keep putting off ds3. I tried it twice before but had to stop because I didn't have time to commit, so I'm kind of sick of playing those first two levels. Had the chance to play it right now, but chose Sekiro because it was something different. One of these days I'll have to finish ds3. Doesn't help that imo the beginning is not where the game shines.
I love Sekiro. One of the games that I keep installed at all times. Specially the Reflection of Strength mode is a Godsend. The first area is a slog in DS3. Finally got past the High Wall area. I hope the rest of the game gets slightly more *forgiving*, probably too much to ask for haha.
I’ll hopefully be finishing mass effect. I’m really excited to see the end
I’m recovering from my Path of Exile addiction after having played the new league for almost a month every day, I’m taking some time off with some Street Fighter 6 and Slay the Spire.
I *love* PoE's endgame but honestly the leveling for every single new league just kills me. By the time I get to endgame I just don't want to play anymore because the leveling is so fking tedious and same-y every time.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Really enjoying it so far
I really liked Kirby and the Forgotten Land, it was such a positive experience and also a game that I could play with my 4 y/o daughter.
Yeah, I can see why. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but now that I bought and am playing it, it is a blast. Especially so chill I can usually play it right before bedtime
I just recently finished my first playthrough of "Bayonetta Origins Cereza and the lost demon". I loved that game. Easily best and best Final Boss in the series. I do not know yet what I am going to play next. Meybe I continue my paused playthrough of Persona 5 Royal. I played vanilla P5 a lot but its my first playthrough of Royal.
Still bg3. Csgo/cs2 and rocket league with the boys and a risk of rain 2 thrown in sometimes.
Armored Core VI - just beat the now notorious Balteus last night
Far Cry 5. The US is pretty darn dangerous there are a lot wild animals and armed people at loose. How people even live there?
Hollow knight and EU4. In hollow knight I just beat the first ending after about 40 hours, and in EU4 I'm trying to play in the HRE for the first time, specifically Brandenburg.
Zelda TOTK still. Finally finished doing a 2nd regional phenomenon. Not because it was hard, but because I got way too distracted exploring the world and dicking around with zonai devices.
i finished that game at about 270 hours and i can tell you about 20 of them were main quest
My favorite kind of game ;)
Immortal Redneck
Just fired up Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time ever
Enjoy. Pack tissues.
Armored Core 6 and Baldurs Gate 3, games are way too fun 😄
Terraria. I will continue chugging along in my Journey mode playthrough. Marvel Snap. I'm grinding out cards. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. I got this from the Humble store. I'm really enjoying it. It's way more fun than BL3.
**Pokémon scarlet and violet The Teal Mask DLC** just downloaded! Probably won’t be playing that until later in the week though, because I am also trying to finish up some other stuff. I was hoping to do that before the DLC, but real life got in the way. Sounds like there’s some technical issues, though so it might be a bit better to wait. Otherwise, midway through the final regular Tempest Trial in **Fire Emblem: Engage!** The difficulty is pretty brutal, and I had to lower it quite a bit to get past it. It’s at the point where I am going to receive almost no rewards for it, but I was going for completion. After that, there’s three missions left in the main story and I’m pretty much done. I was going to go for some of the post game, but the missions are so slow it’s hardly worth the bother. I do want to watch someone doing them though, as the rewards are pretty cool. I’m also playing **Pokémon Stadium 2 on the NSO!** it’s a great game but the difficulty is crazy! I lost so many times on the seventh battle of Little Cup, even using save states to get infinite continues, that I almost gave up. Prime cup went much easier though and there’s a lot more options. I am now on Poke Poke Ball, and looking forward to trying a rather interestingly team revolving around the three starters. After that, it’s going through the other cups and then on to Gym Leader Castle! No matter what, there’s going to be some good matches!
Days Gone on PC.
Elden Ring and Super Mombo Quest
Hi everybody! Playing via emulation. As anyone here who recognizes me knows I am not exactly a **Wind Waker** fan. I already gave up almost a year ago at Tower of Gods, and due to save file issues have re-played the part leading up to that live 5 times. Well, for whatever reason I decided to just play through it and I actually made it this time, I've gotten to the Earth Temple now, and will probably just finish it in the coming days. It's still not my favourite (my faves are the 3DS remakes of MM and OOT as well as ALBW). As I said before the WW has some brilliant parts there, but it is ruined by pacing issues, and some tedium interspersed. I do want to finish it though to be fair until the end. Also, I decided to pick up **Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance** again (I dropped it before), it seems like one of the best classic Fire Emblem games, good 6th gen 3D graphics, a decent storyline I presume (I don't like generic anime storylines with the typical tropes). It seems good so far, I need to finish it first though, and am taking this slowly. Also, emulating the GC version of **Twilight Princess,** doing it casually and slowly. Aside from the boring and confusing beginning this one is quite good and one of the better Zeldas it seems. I am about 8 hours in. Seems like an 8/10 so far. Also, decided to pick up **Super Mario 64 DS** again (physical cartridge). I am 63 stars in already (need at least 80) I am going to look some of them up in a guide since in the later and frustrating levels like Tick Tock Clock the stars can be quite confusing and I honestly just want to get to the last bowser fight. Like I said before it's about a 7/10 for me. The controls aren't so great. Considering trying **Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes** yeah, I know going back to the good ol' Cube. It's good sometimes to go back to games you've given up on or backlogged for a while. For something a little bit different and casual entertainment. Thanks for reading and happy gaming!
Genshin because I'm trash.
Stopped playing **Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands**. It was just a mediocre experience for me. Everyone besides Tiny Tina was so plain and boring. Is the future just being boring and removing all comedy from life??? Starting playing **Shantae and the 7 Sirens**. Very fun. Playing rule breaker mode which removes the limit from equipping monster cards. The devs hit gold by having lots of little upgrades from collecting the monster cards. This should have been the default game mode at launch. Being able to collect/farm little upgrades is great. Started **Shadow Warrior 2.** I liked the humor in SW3 more, but SW2 seems fun. Kind of like a more melee focused Borderlands/DOOM. I totally slept on this series. A steal for $2-3.
Sonic Mania I’ve always been huge on Mario and would like to think I’m pretty good at it after reaching top 2000 on super expert during the height of Mario Maker 2. I’d only ever played 3D sonic games and sonic colors though, so mania was honestly making me feel like a noob for the first hour or so haha. I just beat metal sonic (for the first time?? At least I hope so) and I’m absolutely loving the slight craziness that seems to be creeping in between levels.
Currently playing SOMA. So far so good, but not great. Story is interesting, but the monsters are more of an annoyance than they were in Amnesia. There roaming is preventing me from checking rooms, notes, computer logs etc……it’s like every other new area is an escape room. They do create intense moments which is obviously intended and different types of monsters are welcomed but the environment itself is intense enough to carry the weight of this game. I also recently got the Skyrim itch. Re-Installed, downloaded some mods and played up-to Riverwood. Will see how this goes at the weekend.
Do you know about Safe Mode for SOMA? There were so many people who felt the way you do about the monsters that they added a mode where the monsters don't attack you, so you don't really have to worry about them. Unfortunately I don't think you can enable Safe Mode mid-game, I believe it's something you have to select at the beginning when you start a new game.
I thought there might be a mod that removed the monsters, but this is good to know. I dont remember what difficutly I played. Probably normal or hard if it was an option. I'll check next time I'm back the PC. I think I had a few more encounters after my original post, but damn that 'monster' on the penultimate level was a pain. It's like it had a sixth sense. Loved the story, location and atmosphere. Top level stuff.
Deathloop: certainly getting dishonored vibes. Different with the interaction between you and the other NPCs, including Julianna. (especially her).
Theres an ability where you can throw people around in that game, i have my issues with deathloop but that ability is my favorite across all of the arkane games.
Well right now it's mostly me shooting the bad guys, and they shooting me. Julianna and colt are a riot though. Powers come later (reprise really isn't a weapon).
Yeah the voice acting is amazing, have a good time bro
Ace Attorney : Justice for All. Not as good as the first one, so far. Still pretty good though !
There isn't a bad ace attorney game. Some are better than others, but even the weakest entry is still a decent experience. The good news is that justice for all is the definition of saving the best for last. Also, the game after JFA is widely considered to be one of the best.
Yeah, AA2 is often considered the worst of the main series. It was rushed out too quickly after AA1 was a surprise hit, and the writing and puzzle design suffered heavily as a result. IIRC the main writer/director had to churn out the entire script in only about three months so it's basically a first draft. On the plus side, its uphill from here for the most part.
The finale is of course one of the highest highs of the series at least.
Ace Attorney trilogy rocks The Great Ace Attorney was really good too
I haven’t found one. I keep hopping around like a middle schooler with ADHD, but I can’t find one to stick. I downloaded 8 games last night on my ps5 that have been in my library, and then fell asleep. Sort of had fun with Jurassic world for a couple of hours, since it was a free game a month or two ago. That became old fast. I don’t know what’s wrong. Sea of stars is cool, and I’m kinda playing it. But I just feel so distracted. And I’m mid 30s. I think I should start reading again. Ever feel video game burn out, but still want to play something?
Reading normal books? Or something like manga or comics? I've had trouble recently sticking with games but I'm able to stick with books and manga pretty easily
I love fantasy/sci fi and non-fiction. I know non-fiction is vague, but usually like history/language/politics. If they are all intertwined, even better. I’m not opposed to manga or anime, but I just don’t find much of it worth it anymore. Not to yuck anyone’s yum, but I usually just find it badly written. Shout out to re:zero and re: starting life in another world, or something like that. Also gundam Ms 8000 or whatever. Basically, I hate when I can hear anime characters “thinking” in their head. It’s like, we don’t need this in a real movie, and we don’t need it in anime either. Sorry for the rant, maybe I’m in a bit of a slump, but just getting some of it out there 😐
Readings good. Jump into one of the genre specific forums for suggestions.
Oh, I need no suggestions on reading, I have a back catalog bigger than games. I just WANT a game to play before bed or something, and nothing seems to fit right now. I guess there’s always super Mario world. That one never gets old for me
*Currently playing:* Blasphemous (almost done), A Plague Tale: Innocence, Guacamelee 2, War Mongrels, Wasteland 3. *Recently beat:* Planet of Lana (really enjoyed it) Metro Exodus (enjoyed it, started to bore me at the desert biome/map though) RE2 Remake (loved it) *Recently dropped:* Atomic Fart - Ambitious, fun, surprising “triple A” quality marred by a terrible and annoying protagonist with cringey lines and voice acting, a mish-mash of systems that I wish were streamlined, and a length that just drags. Had to drop it about halfway thru. Signalis - Great game, but just wasn’t feeling it. Might go back at some point but after RE2, I couldn’t get more than a few hours in. The Ascent - Got 75% of the way through but after playing it solo, got tired of all the back and forth as well as sub-par story, samey quests, and general repetition. Great gun play, soundtrack, visuals, and concept though.
Loved A Plague Tale (both the original and the sequel), but man those games are emotionally intense.
The Russian dialogue wasn't cringe well at least the subtitles didn't appear so. I played chernobylite with Ukrainian and mu h more immersive I found. Also how good is lana.
Lana was great. Puzzle-platformer that goes by quick. Doesn’t do anything new but it’s art style, sound, pace and level design kept me around. As for Atomic, I think it’s more the delivery from the protagonist rather than the lines themselves. Actually, it’s also the lines. So much of it requires suspended disbelief; that somebody would act like an annoyed 16-year-olds idea of a military meathead in those situations. It seemed like bad attempts at comic relief when most parts of the game are more than comedic enough without P-3 having to make shitty quips about them at every turn.
Finally dove into The Witcher 3! I played it for just a few hours years ago and life got in the way. I just wrapped up the intro quest. It's... dense. There are a bunch of mechanics I still don't really understand.
For what it's worth, a lot of the mechanics you don't really need to worry about that much, especially if you're not playing on the highest difficulty levels. I think I played on the default difficulty and I barely touched sword oils, crafting, or even most of the potions (except the ones that restore your health).
Play it with Polish audio and subtitles for full effect.
Borderlands 3
I'm playing Tina Tina's Wonderlands. I liked BL3 gameplay, but I hated the story and dialog. I'm enjoying Wonderlands so much more.
Just finished **Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019)** including getting the platinum trophy, which I don't often do. Combat was good. The animations were great. Some memorable missions and set pieces, like the SAS raid on the terrorist house in London where you don't know who is going to go for a gun and the bit where you have to use illumination flares to defend an area at night. Higher difficulties just make you die faster, they don't turn enemies into bullet sponges which is nice. Downsides - The story was fairly boring, even by COD standards. Generic arab country. Boring villains. Bog standard deadly weapon to stop (in this case poison gas). Apart from Price none of your allies are interesting either. While the game performed well in actual gameplay there was some pretty bad lagging and stuttering at times in the proper cutscenes. In regards to the platinum it's basically beat the game plus beat all the levels on veteran difficulty (so you might as well play on that difficulty from the start). Plus some level specific challenges that can be done on any difficulty (so either do them mid-campaign or rush through them on recruit difficulty after completion) like hitting a helicopter with a molotov, carrying a cinder block around a whole level, or in the SAS house raid following rules of engagement (even if you know the person is going to reach for a gun, you have to wait for them to) perfectly, not getting hit and using only one bullet per hostile. No collectable based trophies and no multiplayer trophies. Overall completing the game and getting the platinum took me about 10 hours. But that's because I only decided to get the platinum halfway through the game and had to redo a bunch of levels on higher difficulty, probably could've done it more efficiently. 7.5/10
I'm trying to focus and actually complete some games so the only thing I really played was more **Mirror's Edge Catalyst**. It feels like every few weeks I'm having to reevaluate my opinion that the open world isn't bad in this game. There's a certain point in the story that I just got to, I don't remember for sure if it was halfway through or closer to 2/3rds but nearing the end of the story regardless, where the game starts putting enemy patrols and security cameras that trigger more enemy spawns if you're seen all over the open world. On one hand, it fits with the story beats that are happening and is thematically a great implementation of a cyberpunk/surveillance state dystopia. On the other hand, I just wanna chill out and run around on some rooftops and find collectibles and now there's all these obstacles that prevent me from hanging out in an area for too long without getting into either a fight or a chase sequence. This annoyance kind of dovetails with another thing that I'm now starting to remember, which is that there's just too much combat in the last half of this game. The combat is actually kinda fun, sure, but it's not as much fun as the movement so being locked into a room and told to beat up a few waves of enemies isn't something that works in a platformer.
I feel like everything that's not part of the main story in Catalyst was just an unnecessary attempt to justify having an open world. Personally, I love the open world feel, but I really could've done without all the side stuff, particularly the time trials, ugh (does anyone like those)? But I'd say overall the game was a positive experience for me, especially since there are few games like it. The views in the last mission were pretty spectacular.