What are you Playing?

Wagomu

I got Stardew Valley like a week or so back, thanks for Vorlianis.

It was really addicting at first, but I'm hitting the end of my enthusiasm for it and I haven't even completed year 1, haha. It has a lot of interesting ideas for the farming genre, and a good execution for keeping a person engaged (the tasks are all pretty short, and there's almost certainly something to do by the next day). My gripe is that it really doesn't go anywhere. Harvest Moon had your character age and die, which was frustrating, but it created a narrative and gave the game an end. While I don't think that's the best end a game like this could have, I think Stardew really needs something. Once you've reached the bottom of the cave, and unlocked all of the areas, there really isn't much to do. Marriage doesn't even feel all that worth it, since the characters are so bland, and the rewards are un-compelling. Maybe if the game had more customization a la Animal Crossing, or some central plotline, or more fleshed out monster hunting and quests, then I'd have more reason to play.

Cute game, and I'm glad I played it for free, since I don't feel like I would have been satisfied with the purchase. It is some decent mindless fun, though, for a while, and makes a good backdrop for listening to podcasts or music.

Nobodyman

Playing Golden Sun: Lost Age for the first age.

Been a while since I played the first Golden Sun, so it's been a bit hard getting back into the story, but man, I forgot how satisfying the puzzle-solving and item-collecting is in these games.

Sheep

Castlevania 1 and Castlevania Bloodlines after finishing Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. Castlevania on NES is as difficult as I remember it, but bloodlines is surprisingly hard as well.
IV is the most satisfying one, with the being going in all directions, but Bloodlines at least offsets this with being able to whip diagonally upwards and down while jumping. The stages so far (I'm at the leaning tower) are a little cheap, often having some sort of timed hazard, I'm assuming this is a trend that continues as the game goes on, still pretty good though.
I'll check out more titles as I complete these games, since a lot of the later ones passed me by, all GBA and NDS titles for example.

Yobiyopi

@Sheep:

Castlevania 1 and Castlevania Bloodlines after finishing Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. Castlevania on NES is as difficult as I remember it, but bloodlines is surprisingly hard as well.
IV is the most satisfying one, with the being going in all directions, but Bloodlines at least offsets this with being able to whip diagonally upwards and down while jumping. The stages so far (I'm at the leaning tower) are a little cheap, often having some sort of timed hazard, I'm assuming this is a trend that continues as the game goes on, still pretty good though.
I'll check out more titles as I complete these games, since a lot of the later ones passed me by, all GBA and NDS titles for example.

For the GBA/DS ones avoid Harmony of Dissonance and Dawn of Sorrow and you will have a great time with all the others. Those two are still decent (and if you're going for completion it's fine), but by far the worst of the bunch, especially when Aria of Sorrow is such a treasure miles above all the others

RoboBlue

I'm playing the Master System version of Ren & Stimpy: Quest for the Shaven Yak.

!

The penguins have Trump's hair for some reason.

dirt monkey AL

Been finishing up Twilight Princess, and Delft the Wolf Link is ready for Breath of the Wild unless I bother to find more heart pieces. He'll be waiting on the sidelines until I get into a pickle off of the plateau.

Sakonosolo

Turns out there's a Commander Keen source port/open source port called Commander Genius so I set that up and played for a bit. Would like to get more Commander Keen but I don't even think id knows it exists these days even though they still probably have the rights.

The Tenth Strawhat

Just finished God of War: Ascension after ignoring it for 2 years. It's short and average at best, but still enjoyable.

RoboBlue

@Sakonosolo:

Turns out there's a Commander Keen source port/open source port called Commander Genius so I set that up and played for a bit. Would like to get more Commander Keen but I don't even think id knows it exists these days even though they still probably have the rights.

We know they've recovered the source code (finally), so maybe someday we'll see a proper steam/gog release.

Sakonosolo

I'm looking that up and it was only for Keen Dreams. id has released all their other games' source codes up through Doom 3 so I don't know why they wouldn't have for the other games. They're already on Steam, though they run through DOSBox. Steam won't release versions of games that aren't official so even if a fan does a source port (which is basically what Commander Genius is, though it may be a remake that uses the assets) it probably won't be officially released. If you're intent on buying them for some reason just buy them through Steam and then use the assets in Commander Genius.

RoboBlue

@Sakonosolo:

I'm looking that up and it was only for Keen Dreams. id has released all their other games' source codes up through Doom 3 so I don't know why they wouldn't have for the other games. They're already on Steam, though they run through DOSBox. Steam won't release versions of games that aren't official so even if a fan does a source port (which is basically what Commander Genius is, though it may be a remake that uses the assets) it probably won't be officially released. If you're intent on buying them for some reason just buy them through Steam and then use the assets in Commander Genius.

The source code for Keen 1-6 was only recently recovered, that's why. It isn't public, but Id does have it now.

K. Kira XXIII

Playing Watch Dogs, and just remembering how disappointed I was at the online aspect of the game. I will probably get bored of the side missions soon and finish the game.

Sheep

@Yobiyopi:

For the GBA/DS ones avoid Harmony of Dissonance and Dawn of Sorrow and you will have a great time with all the others. Those two are still decent (and if you're going for completion it's fine), but by far the worst of the bunch, especially when Aria of Sorrow is such a treasure miles above all the others

thanks for the tip. Surprised that I should avoid Dawn of Sorrow, folks talk about it as if it's pretty good and I really like Metroidvania games in general.

Yobiyopi

@Sheep:

thanks for the tip. Surprised that I should avoid Dawn of Sorrow, folks talk about it as if it's pretty good and I really like Metroidvania games in general.

It's better than Harmony, but such a let down after Aria, and while not backtrackingly awful you can see how it was rushed for the DS close to launch (Ayami Kojima even left as the chara designer and we've got generic anime instead).

darktravis

Received today:
1x Switch console
1x 1 2 Switch (because it was part of a bundle deal)
1x Zelda Breath of the Wild (Limited Edition)
1x Horizon Zero Dawn
1x Secret of Mana (ordered earlier for a retro SNES collection and coincidentally came today)
Edit: 1x World of Final Fantasy (just got it for a birthday present)

Pure gameapalooza

Sakonosolo

I set up my launch PS3 again in anticipation for MGO2's revival and played some Katamari Damacy on it. Those missions where you only need to roll up one thing (making Ursa Major for instance) are really annoying as you have to actively avoid tiny versions of them if you want to get a good score. Also played a bit more of Underhell.

RoboBlue

Breath of the Wild. The first game in ages to earn those 10/10 review scores.

Lucky Dragon

I've been getting reacquainted with an old favorite the past few days, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines. It's been over a year since I last played. I decided to revisit it because there has been afew mods developed for the game i've wanted to try for awhile now, but didn't have the time to invest in before. I downloaded the Camarilla Edition mod since it stays pretty close to the original game, but changes alot of the gameplay mechanics adding a refreshing challenge. A fun way to shake the rust off. I plan to play the Clan Quest mod and the Final Nights mod after i've familiarized myself once again to a satisfactory level with the original game.

darktravis

Phew…Trails SC is finished. Now the wait for 3rd begins.

Anyways, BotW here we come.

Sakonosolo

Finally got my Xbox hooked up after much trouble. Got to the next save point in Medal of Honor Rising Sun and also played a few minutes of JSRF just to see how the video connection was holding up.

Sheep

@Yobiyopi:

It's better than Harmony, but such a let down after Aria, and while not backtrackingly awful you can see how it was rushed for the DS close to launch (Ayami Kojima even left as the chara designer and we've got generic anime instead).

I always thought the DS cover for DoS looked generic, so that's why. I'll still play it somewhere down the line though, since it's a sequel of Aria. Btw, I finished Aria and damn it's good… I mean really good, as in somewhere around SotN. Even made me laugh when I picked up the friggin' 9mm, what the hell man. I guess it makes sense with the game being set somewhere around 2030.
On another note, I finally started (and almost finished) Conker's Bad Fur Day. That game was on my list for years now due to its deserving infamy and it definitively didn't disappoint. Ignoring the fact that the content is outrageous, at it's core it is a pretty good platformer, only hindered by the occasionally janky camera, but that was honestly a problem with a lot of N64 games. Also that timed bit in the It's war chapter can go and fuck itself. The infrared alarm section was tiring but still doable once you memorized the pattern, but the part that earned all of my hate was the last tiny stretch with the bazooka tediz. I wasn't able to get rid of all of them, especially the three guys that spawned just near the end. I honestly think it's not possible to kill those last ones, you simply have to make a run for it. Thankfully the cutscene does trigger rather quickly.
btw, about the squirrel tails, is it a glitch that they don't save with you when you quit the game? I had like 16 tails once, when I rebooted the game it defaulted back to 2 tails. I assume it's like Banjo Kazooie where it default to a set amount of life with every restart?

Hiroy

Really enjoying this blind run of Hollow Knight right now. There's alot of atmosphere and things to find in it. If there's an issue I've had had with "metriodvanias" is… they tend to barely feel like a labyrinth in where there's multiple ways to approach getting to end.. or they tend not to have much secrets you could actually miss or overlook along the way.

Not to say lenair ones are bad... I just.. missed this sense of wonder and exploration so much! I'm only at the start of the game though, so things may only serve to get better as it goes along. It's definitely looking like a good contender for something I'd personally recommend,

Sakonosolo

Bought and played Dead Rising for a few hours. My brother got it for the 360 on launch but our TV was a piece of shit and I couldn't see anything once it got dark so I quit playing. The PC version is really good, getting a solid 144 fps, though I did have to install some Windows updates for the game to start.

NateRich

I've been the playing the VC version of Pokemon Puzzle Challenge on Intense Difficulty. If you want your thumbs to move like lightning, I highly recommend it. For being almost 20 years old, I feel like the game has aged well.

RoboBlue

@Sheep:

I always thought the DS cover for DoS looked generic, so that's why.

The reprint looked way worse.

Wintermute

After more than a week of constant playing BotW I couldn't stand it any more. There was still so much to do… I decided to take a brake and pass the Switch on to my siblings.

Started Shadowverse instead. Basically Hearthstone with anime characters. Took me an hour to get rid of the english dub and some clothes they'd put on the characters (thank you Steam Community), but for now I'm enjoying the single player.

Sakonosolo

Beat the second level in the Turok 2 remaster. Was a lot easier and quicker than the first one. Also played some multiplayer but at the moment it's too laggy to really enjoy and is missing a lot of maps and game modes.

MDL

I really want to play Breath Of The Wild, but I don't want to buy a Switch for the sake of ONE game.
But it looks sooooo good

Sakonosolo

It's on WiiU too unless you don't have that either.

MDL

Nope, I just have an Xbox One & Xbox 360.

Foolio

Well there's your problem <_<

MDL

Um… yes?

I literally said that "I really want to play Breath Of The Wild, but I don't want to buy a Switch for the sake of ONE game."

So what's your point?

Neaeran

@MDL:

I really want to play Breath Of The Wild, but I don't want to buy a Switch for the sake of ONE game.
But it looks sooooo good

Yeeeah … same here. I like Zelda and BotW looks awesome! I'd love to play it right now.
But i don't have a Wii U either and i'm not buying a Switch yet. Especially since there are still other games i have to play (Horizon, ME: Andromeda, Overwatch .....).

Nobodyman

Going to play Metal Gear Solid 4 for the first time. Bring on the cutscenes.

Sakonosolo

I think even if you prepare yourself for them you're still going to be surprised how many there are and how long they are.

Also if your MGS4 is a non-Legacy copy you can play Metal Gear Online 2 again when it comes back up next month.

I beat another level in Turok 2.

RoboBlue

I just beat Dragon Quest 8 and Zelda!

Zelda's relatively empty open world kinda started to drag on me after a hundred hours.

Sakonosolo

Tried playing a UFO mission in X-COM Apocalypse in real time and it's pretty hard to do it well. I lost three people to mostly stupid deaths like forgetting to heal them. I also don't understand how some of the mechanics work in real time. Like psi powers. In turn based they take effect immediately but it takes a few seconds in real time for them to actually work even after you trigger them which let an alien kill one of my people in between the time I triggered the psi power to when it actually happened. There really needs to be an RTS-like marquee selection too because selecting soldiers without pausing the time is pretty much impossible with the normal select.

Nobodyman

MGS4 was pretty good. Definitely more movie than game, but it was a nice conclusion(?) to the Solid Snake storyline.

Anyway, playing Suikoden II now. It's been years since I played the first one and I barely remember any of it, so hopefully that won't affect my enjoyment of part 2.

Green_vs_Red

Back to playing SMT4:Final a bit weird after almost exclusively sinking the last few weeks into Dragonquest 7

Sakonosolo

Got two more levels left in Turok 2. The Blind Ones level was a chore to play. It took me a while of accidentally backtracking to understand how the level's drops and teleporters were laid out.

Wagomu

Got a PS4 last thursday, and bought two games so far:

Nier: Automata:

! I finished the first playthrough of this and started the second. My feelings on this game went back and forth a bunch, and it's ending up mixed.
! The centra mechanic is interesting and fun. Action RPG/bullet hell is cool, and when they utilize it, it's a lot of fun. I particularly like the more scripted segments where they shift your controls pretty gracefully with the camera perspective. Unfortunately it gets bogged down by the large emphasis on close quarters combat, which is dull, and easy to cheese. It's also at odds with itself when you can pick off enemies from a distance with no risk. The 9S playthrough has a lot more bullet hell segments, but ones that are completely removed from the action. It doesn't often find a happy balance, which is unfortunate since it has a lot of potential.
! The narrative is something that I hope improves. The first playthrough feels like a bunch of set pieces strung together without much relation. The pieces can be really cool, like the factory bit, the amusement park, and the copied city, but there's little really holding it together. Like the amusement park isn't given a lot of thought or story, it's just a place that you go to fight an evil robot. That's just used to get you on the good side of the good robot, who brings you to the segment in his village, and you don't need to go back to the park again. This sort of thing is pervasive and hurts any attempts at storytelling. The part that made me call out 'what?' was the point where the game gives us a scene of Eve sitting at a table and crying. Until this point, which is at the very end of the first playthrough, you always see the story through 2B's eyes. Shifting to an omniscient perspective there is so jarring that I think it was only included at all to try and connect the previous segment (where you fight through a malicious robot suicide cult) and the final one (where you fight a guy who's brother you killed at some point earlier in the game). There's just no flow here whatsoever.
! All that said, the game's still been pretty enjoyable. For some reason, despite all of my gripes, it's hard to put down. The flaws have just been staring me in the face the whole time.

Everything:

! This is a weird one. It's a free exploration game in which you explore the world by becoming everything in it. You can go from being an animal to an atom to an entire galaxy in the blink of an eye. The actual 'gameplay' is sort of minimal. You can become nearby things that are bigger or smaller than you, flock with similar things, and eventually just transform into anything at whatever scale you are (like an atom-sized trombone, or a goat as big as a galaxy). It's pretty short, but really addictive for what it is. It's fun going on a journey, searching the universe for all sorts of things. There's a cut up lecture that you're presented recordings of that is about everything in the universe being a singular entity, instead of separate parts, and I think it enhances the experience. That sorta stuff can be pretentious, but I think it does a good job in giving a point to the exploration, as well as providing a backdrop for it. I wish each thing you could be had something it could do, like some rudimentary AI and collision that let the objects you become interact in a way more meaningful than providing some nonsensical thought. I realize that it would have been really ambitious, but I think it would do better to drive home the point of the lecture if you could do something like go from being a predator to its prey. Still, I did really enjoy the experience, and think it was worth the price of admission. If nothing else, it's a unique experience, and even after you're done with it, you can just let the thing autoplay and have fun seeing where the AI brings the game.

Nobodyman

@Wagomu:

Got a PS4 last thursday, and bought two games so far:

Funny, I just got myself a PS4 today. I won't be playing it right away since I'm already in the middle of another game, but I did get the Uncharted 4 bundle, although I think I'd like to play the first three Uncharted games first.

Sakonosolo

I beat Turok 2 yesterday. The last boss was kind of disappointing and easy. Might just be since I was playing with kb+m rather than an N64 controller though. Great game, if a bit tedious in some levels. Great shooting and gore though, with fun weapons.

RoboBlue

I'm finishing off my japanese living pokedex in Sun and doing the postgame in Dragon Quest 8.

Rocco_Modern

Persona 5, baby! Been getting my a$$ mopped since Friday, and I'm loving it! Definitely the most brutal HARD mode in the series.

Green_vs_Red

Lego Hideo Kojima

Serra Britt

Finally got a copy of Breath of the Wild. Only a little ways in and I'm already enthralled XD

The Tenth Strawhat

Playing Final Fantasy XV in Japanese w/English subs.

Already reached Chapter 3 and it's nice to see greenery after being in a desert area for so long. Prompto and Gladiolus are definitely my favorites in the party.

Sakonosolo

Found my copy of Meteos for the DS and have been playing that. Looked in the stats too and it says I first turned the game on in July 2005 which is cool to see. I don't even remember going to buy it. Also saw I have like 25 hours played in it which surprises me.

RoboBlue

I started playing Tarzan for Game Gear; never thought I'd have to draw my own map for the first level in a platformer.