What are you Playing?

[Foolio]

! @zeltrax225:
! > Some examples would be nice but I get if you don't want to go into a long rant. The Kazuma's segment of "i went aboard to kill but not really but I slashed him but didn't kill and left because of honour but I still went anyway" was one that bugged me.
! In the last case mostly. Other than what you mentioned, the fact that Stronghart was perfectly blackmailing and coercing everyone on an international assassination scale, with everyone perfectly going along with everything. It was ridiculous to me that clearly Stronghart is the one with the most to lose; in fact he was going to ABSURD levels to cover up traces of a 10-year-old case out of paranoia just in case it MAYBE bit him in the ass for his super important promotion that he murdered his way to. But no, he's the one able to get other people to do his dirty work lol. And after everything people still agreeing with Stronghart and chanting his name. And of course all the Sholmes crap I mentioned.
! @zeltrax225:
! > It wasn't a plot device as much as an necessity though because Mael had so much power and public influence that it requires authoritarian approach and a clear, solid breakdown of what he has done and a confession to actually be able to charge him.
It was politics because the queen can't just jail him as he has much influence and impact on the current law (arguably more peaceful) in London. That, and it was likely she knew long ago (evidence by how Holmes easily stroll into her garden) but her hands were tied. Holmes was as much a pawn to her as she was to him, which was why I thought it was well written. The live streaming was necessary but the hologram? That was completely unnecessary and was just for fun and was just Holmes dancing on the grave of Mael.
! It's terrible writing. "We couldn't find a reasonable and satisfying way to pin down the mastermind other than using magical technology beamed directly to the Queen." It's absurd and unsatisfying on every level. I also disagree with most of your conjecture.
! @zeltrax225:
! > I think its the same reason why van Kiek's brother wanted to keep his affair with Iris mother a secret, to protect them from Stronghart. Any leaks of a surviving member of the professor could not only lead to the society ostracizing Iris + the ugly truth that the notorious killer came from a noble family + Stronghart tying any loose ends by silencing her. It is also of course for Iris's own sake but there's like three layers to that too.
! The reason stated for Klint was that he didn't want his daughter to grow up being shunned as the disgraced child of a serial nobility-killer. It was never implied to have anything to do with retribution from Stronghart, which he would have no need for as she was literally unborn at the time. And the reasonable thing to do would be to just warn all parties involved, even without revealing all the details but in an open way. Sholmes could have done it. Yujin could have done it, if not before then AFTER recalling his daughter. It's just endlessly stupid.

Thinking about it, part of what helps the original trilogy avoid coming off as overly absurd or unbelievable is that a lot of it was rooted in supernatural elements existing, which automatically open the door for rather crazy or otherwise impossible situations. That kind of insanity doesn't really work in a game rooted in a far more serious and historically-accurate context.

@Nobodyman:

Braid: Definitely a brainteaser of a game, though it's kind of annoying how the rules seem to constantly change and they're not always obvious. Had to look up a few of the solutions. Still, very creative.

It's been a really long time since I played Braid, but I never felt the rules were confusing or inconsistent. It slowly introduces layers of complexity to the mechanics and it's awesome to discover the extent to which they can be used. I had to look up a couple of the secrets, because sometimes they are REALLY well-hidden and/or you can lock yourself out of them, but otherwise it was excellent IMO. Especially compared to The Witness, which I think got extremely circle-jerky.

[Nobodyman]

@Foolio:

It's been a really long time since I played Braid, but I never felt the rules were confusing or inconsistent. It slowly introduces layers of complexity to the mechanics and it's awesome to discover the extent to which they can be used. I had to look up a couple of the secrets, because sometimes they are REALLY well-hidden and/or you can lock yourself out of them, but otherwise it was excellent IMO. Especially compared to The Witness, which I think got extremely circle-jerky.

I could never figure out what the glowing green stuff and purple stuff meant, or why sometimes you can reverse a dead key and sometimes not. Maybe I just needed to spend more time on it or maybe my brain just isn't wired for it.

Anyway, playing Super Meat Boy now. Don't know if I'll have it in me to 100% the game, but for now it's a fun, challenging, breezily-paced game.

[Foolio]

Huh I thought it forced you into learning all the mechanics through simple example quite nicely. I seem to recall the green mechanic being introduced by enemies carrying a green key into a pit, forcing you to jump down to get it then rewind to get out. This immediately teaches you that green objects are immune to rewinding.

[Foolio]

Alright, I finally finished Horizon including Frozen Wilds. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the plat was. At the end of the game I was only missing around 4 trophies (including the Frozen Wilds trophies), and all but one were for mundane tasks like repairing X machines or doing X dismount strikes. The only one had to look up, and literally the only thing in the entire game I looked at a guide for, was destroying all 23 training dummies. Props for not making me complete the data logs. In general I only had small gaps here and there, but dear god the "world" section has dozens that I missed and I have no inclination to look those up, even as a completionist. I am also tempted to take on the challenge of NG+ on Ultra Hard but I just don't have the time for that at the moment. In theory I should be able to avoid almost all combat and just do the forced story battles, but still…

Anyway, my overall opinion is that the game is fantastic. The plot is intriguing, the world-building is quite good, and most of the sidequests/errands are interesting in at least one way (lore, character development, world-building, combat). I think the game really nailed the balance of stuff to do in the world. It's super satisfying to clear bandit camps and corrupted zones one by one, the cauldrons are varied with the awesome override rewards, the hunting grounds are a cool challenge, and there are just enough collectibles to incentivize exploration without being overwhelming (and those collectible maps are amazing lol). The level curve is perfect, with me naturally reaching max level around the end of Frozen Wilds. There are also some REALLY satisfying dialog choices. I'm actually curious how much changes depending on what you say. I doubt the outcome ever actually changes? The only one I'm not sure of is Nil since it seems to give you pretty specific options.

The Frozen Wilds, especially right after the main game (I did it at endgame essentially), felt okay but not great. I like the further development of the Banuk culture, but most of the actual area and activities felt pretty underwhelming and at times boring. I was super turned off by there being a new set of animals to farm for bones/skins lol. I think the only carry capacity upgrades I don't have are the final ones for a couple of the new weapons. And yes, the new machines are brutal. I don't think they're tuned very well. They just ramped up the aggression 1000%, making it often unfun because it reduces your options by a lot. I love the polar bear design though, and thought it was lame that the final one is just a fire version of that with like double HP.

Anyway, I think probably my biggest disappointment is the Hunter's Lodge. I had such high hopes for that! I figured I would do all these hunting trials, get certified, and then unlock a whole bounty system. Like where the lodge sends me out to destroy unique boss-type enemies, or AT LEAST special versions of existing enemy types, or a special group encounter. I was so hyped when they kept talking about Redmaw, a NAMED MACHINE! But then... that was the end of the entire quest line. They already made me kill multiple Thunderjaws, so the culmination is just one with extra HP, and I don't even have to fight it alone? Really? My first fight against a Thunderjaw when I had no idea wtf I was doing was infinitely more difficult and exhilarating.

Regarding combat in general, I gravitated almost exclusively toward bows and the ropecaster, if I had to reel in particularly unruly enemies and expose weak spots (especially flying enemies, ugh lol). I was not a fan at all of traps and trip wires; I like fighting in the moment as opposed to trying to rig specific setups. I also pretty much never used slings, for freezing/elemental damage or otherwise. I was actually pretty disappointed to find out you can cheese even the toughest enemies by just spamming them with a damage-boosted blast sling. Kill really hard enemies in seconds whereas I normally spend minutes surgically hitting weak points and kiting attacks. Finally, I wish they had expanded spear combat because I find it really fun but it's just sucky and limited. I want to be able to punish aggressive enemies that try to melee me with good dodging and spear attacks, but it's often not viable. Even if I do manage to knock down enemies with spear attacks, the critical hit damage does not scale well and it's hard to follow up with another good punish (except maybe overriding, if I'm not getting attacked by 5 other things at once). At least it looks like they may be adding spear options to Forbidden West, which I am definitely buying (already pre-ordered the PS5 Special Edition).

On to the section where I complain/nitpick lol. I definitely stand by the fact that the inventory limits are stupid and just degrade the overall experience. You shouldn't have to unlock a decent inventory size. Also, the early game is really weak. Other than weapon/gear variety, having to unlock permanent fast travel, AND HAVE IT TAKE UP AN INVENTORY SLOT FOREVER, is really stupid. I feel like a decent middle ground would be for crafting items to go into limited inventory slots, but nothing else. Basically, items that are used to make ammo and potions. Nothing else should take up inventory space. DEFINITELY not items whose sole purpose is to be sold, but I think also tradable stuff. Hearts/lenses should never take up my resources inventory. Non-meat animal parts shouldn't either. I also don't understand why there are weapon/gear inventory limits. There's a limited amount of stuff to equip, and usually your new gear is just a better version of old gear, so just let me have it all? I also got so tired of constantly culling my modifications inventory. Fine, cap that if you want, but make it something like 500 so that I can sell all the trash and then not worry about it for a long time. Also, you should be able to remove modifications by default, not have it as a skill I have to invest in a whole tree for.

In conclusion:

[hide]Fuck Ted Faro[/hide]

[Nobodyman]

@Foolio:

[hide]Fuck Ted Faro[/hide]

[hide]Faro did nothing wrong.[/hide]

Anyway, still playing Super Meat Boy, and I'm getting to the point where I really don't know if I'm gonna be able to 100% this game. Last night I spent 45 minutes trying to get The Kid and that was the first time I was like, "No, fuck this" and had to quit the warp zone. I didn't even make it past the second stage. The stage I quit on specifically was one where you have to wiggle your way through a series of spikes in rapid succession, and it was just so demanding and so precise that…it just wasn't fun. Like, I knew what I had to do in the level and there's no way of finagling around it, the stage just demands you have perfect timing and muscle control. And while that's certainly challenging, I don't think it's challenging in a good way. I don't know, maybe my 33-year-old body just doesn't have the skill or patience for it. I've still got a bunch of other levels to try, so I'll keep at it, but I'm not sure for how long. And, I dunno, maybe I'll try unlocking The Kid again later.

Also, since I've heard that Half-Life 2 is supposed to be one of the greatest games ever, I've jumped into the franchise for the first time and started playing the first Half-Life. First of all, I've come to the conclusion that there are two types of people in this world: People with rubber fingers and people who don't enjoy playing games on keyboards. I'm sorry, but games like this are the reason I've always been hesitant to play PC games. The first few hours of playing this game were a real chore for me since I just couldn't get a good control setup. At first I started with the keyboard and went by the default settings, but I found that to be pretty uncomfortable and unwieldy and resulted in one particular instance where I had to press the E, CTRL, and space bar in rapid succession. I dunno, maybe some people are adept at maneuvering their way around 100 different buttons while playing a game, but I'm not. Anyway, after that I switched the PS4 controller, which was better, but still had some control issues, particularly with the camera. And then, finally, I switched to the, uh, Switch controller, which works mostly fine. So yeah, video games. As far as I'm concerned, for the most part, they're meant to be played with controllers.

Anyway, aside from all that nonsense, I'm actually really enjoying Half-Life. It's dated in some respects and I occasionally have to look up what to do, but overall I'm having blast. And the game is actually pretty creepy. I don't know if it was intentional or because of the outdated graphics, but the monsters and noises really do make my skin crawl. Looking forward to seeing how Half-Life 2 ups the ante.

[Green_vs_Red]

Playing Zone Of Enders HD Remaster

Only played the first 20 minutes and boy is this game swimming in tropes/cliches.

• Kid experiencing a tragic event and Immediately gets thrown into a weapon of war which he can competently use (which at least makes sense considering you're playing as him).
• Doesn't like being told what to do by adults….or his pragmatic AI partner.
• Recklessly stupid childhood friend.
• Insubordinate Rival.

Not a fan though of trying to keep casualties and area damage at 100% since letting either fall below all but ensures you get a C rating which is pretty easy to do given how easy it is to for you or enemies to destroy buildings.

[FelRes]

Finished Great Ace Attorney over the weekend. Pretty sure the two together make for my favorite AA game, I was sad when it was over. Strong soundtrack and cast, helps that it's set away from the rest of the series so it's all pretty self-contained with a start and finish without the plot meandering around.

I'm thinking OMORI is next, and/or Tales of Arise.

[Nobodyman]

Well, today's been a challenging but rewarding day for me.

Got The Kid in Super Meat Boy, which was the last the thing I needed to do to 100% the game (except for getting all achievements and Kid Xmas, which I won't do). I know I voiced my frustration with the game earlier, but I stuck with it, played a bunch more levels and, well…"got good".

Also, beat both secret bosses for Deltarune (Chapter 1 and 2) for the first time. Incidentally, Chapter 2 was great, not that I expected any less. I mean, if you liked Undertale and Deltarune Ch. 1 you'll like Chapter 2.

Anyway, next up I think I'll be trying Portal for the first time (yes, really).

[Green_vs_Red]

Finished and platinum’ed 13 Sentinels overall a decent game could’ve been better in certain respects.

Now what else in my backlog should I finish.

[Pennywise]

I'm still putting in hours into Hades to mop up my last achievements. Still as fun as when I started playing it, what a game this is! Probably heading into Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order next, which I'm pretty sure I will have a blast with, too.

Has anyone played Psychonauts? The 2nd one is on Gamepass at the moment and I heard good things about the series. I'm thinking I should probably play those in order though, right?

[The Franky Tank]

Played a little over 3 hours of Metroid Dread since yesterday and I'm having an absolute blast with it. The game looks so good, each new area looks better than the last and really gives off such an amazing atmosphere. I've been on a media black out for this game after the E3 reveal so I have no idea what to expect for abilities and enemies. One of the most recent abilities I got I spent almost a minute playing with it before moving on because it was just so cool to use. With how smooth Samus moves with the more action oriented combat and the quick pace of everything, she comes across more as a badass space bounty hunter than ever before. At first I thought the game was going to be on the easy side, but once I got to the third area the game stopped holding back its punches and the EMMI encounters became much more intimidating.

For some spoiler thoughts for 3 hours in, which does include one major spoiler if you haven't seen anything past the initial E3 trailer

! That third EMMI really did have me sweating. With it being able to move so fast, I always lost if it spotted me. Had a really intense moment where I went invisible and it was staring right in my face before it moved away that was absolutely terrifying to me. Figuring out how to get it in a spot to blast it with the beam spray before being able to take it down was also intense, taking me a few tries before I figured it out.
! I was spoiled on the fact that Kraid showed up, but had no idea when or where nor what he looked like. It was an intense boss fight, as I only had two extra energy tanks and could still die quickly if not careful. Overall a spectacular boss fight and love the opening cut scene where Samus just charge blasts into his mouth without a second thought.

[Nobodyman]

I'm a few hours into Metroid Dread myself.

! Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the EMMI encounters as I feel it puts the player on edge a bit too often, when the focus of the game should be on exploring and experimenting. That and there are too many cutscenes.
! But it's Metroid, so it's still a good time overall. I'm surprised how long they held off giving you the Morph Ball.

[Zar]

@Pennywise:

I'm still putting in hours into Hades to mop up my last achievements. Still as fun as when I started playing it, what a game this is! Probably heading into Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order next, which I'm pretty sure I will have a blast with, too.

Has anyone played Psychonauts? The 2nd one is on Gamepass at the moment and I heard good things about the series. I'm thinking I should probably play those in order though, right?

I highly recommend you play them in order. While the second game does an okay job of getting new players up to speed it's crammed full of references and characters you'll have no connection to if you didn't play them in order. Plus the intro spoils the most interesting twists of the first game which is… yeah....

If you do go ahead and play them, I'd recommend the PC port and once you're done look up the 1.5th game Rhombus of Ruin on YouTube (unless you have a VR set, then I say play it).

I can't recommend this series enough, it's one of my absolute favourites. That said it's not for everyone - if you're looking for a good platformer game this 'aint it. These games live or die depending on whether you enjoy the story and setting. If you don't, you should probably spend time on something else.

[The Franky Tank]

Finished up Dread this morning. Loved it from start to finish. I can see how some will not be fans of the EMMI encounters, but each one was unique and had many moments that had me on edge. The game doesn't really open up until you are at the very last area, where having every power up allows you to go back anywhere and find the rest of the power ups. I'm perfectly content with this, as since the overall map is so large it makes it easy to find your way through the game and not get lost until that time to back track through every place to clean up.

Decided after finishing the game to start a new game and just try to speed through it. In an hour beat the 2nd boss and the game feels even better. For a game that after the first play through the fear and intensity is gone knowing what to expect, the game feels really good to just run through when knowing what to do. Understanding when to best counter makes fights quite fun to go through again and gives a great sense of how much I have learned from my initial play through. Much like Zero Mission, Super, and Fusion, I can see this being a game I just run through from time to time. All in all a great game which would've been a game of the year for me easily if not for other stand out games I've played this year.

[Nobodyman]

^Damn. You work fast.

! I just beat the giant Parasite X monster and trying to make my way back to Ferenia, but I'm…pretty sure I'm not going the way the game wants me to go. But hey, that's alright. Finally gives me a chance to explore and gather some collectibles.

[Green_vs_Red]

@Nobodyman:

^Damn. You work fast.

Believe it or not there's been a lot of bitching about the length of the game in places like Gamefaqs. Which to me just seems like a weird complaint.

[Nobodyman]

I mean, it's not like Metroid games are famous for their length. Hell, beating them as quickly as you can has become a staple of the franchise.

[Pennywise]

@Zar:

! I highly recommend you play them in order. While the second game does an okay job of getting new players up to speed it's crammed full of references and characters you'll have no connection to if you didn't play them in order. Plus the intro spoils the most interesting twists of the first game which is… yeah....
! If you do go ahead and play them, I'd recommend the PC port and once you're done look up the 1.5th game Rhombus of Ruin on YouTube (unless you have a VR set, then I say play it).
! I can't recommend this series enough, it's one of my absolute favourites. That said it's not for everyone - if you're looking for a good platformer game this 'aint it. These games live or die depending on whether you enjoy the story and setting. If you don't, you should probably spend time on something else.

I appreciate the input, thanks a lot!

OT: I'm down to the last 4 achievements in Hades. The 2 Skelly prices (8 & 16 heat respectively) might turn out tough, but I can't imagine a solid gun build and a careful approach won't cut it for those.

[Nobodyman]

Finished up Metroid Dread today. All around, another great Metroid experience. Clear time, 10:22:01 with 100% item completion. A few thoughts:

! -The EMMI stuff grew on me a bit, but still not my favorite aspect of the game. Just felt like kind of ordeal every time I had to maneuver around them, and not really in a fun way.
-Why no Ridley?! How can you have a Metroid game without Ridley? …Well, okay, there's been a few games without him, but still.
-There was only one item I really had to look up how to get and that was because I had no idea you could go back to running after launching yourself with the Speed Booster (incidentally, a lot of the Speed Booster-blocked items were pretty demanding and required precise timing).
-Metroid Samus was not something I was prepared to see and it was pretty damn cool.

[Shiebs]

IGN gave deathloop a 10/10

Is it really that good? I mean the concept seemed really cool but I wasn’t expecting it to get that good a score

[Green_vs_Red]

Reviews scores are entirely subjective what some may find to be a perfect game others may see as a passable game that doesn’t truly reach it’s potential. While something seen as meh and not terribly engaging others will enjoy for hours on end.

[Green_vs_Red]

Word of advice to fledging video game developers. If you video game has an emphasis on teamwork

A. Make your AI teammates competent. Yes I know this can be challenging and what not but you essentially committed to this design philosophy so try to do what you can to make the gameplay as good as can be.

B. Don’t decide to throw in segments where you’re soloing a series of missions with no teammates and also in a game where enemies love hiding in corners or jumping out of nowhere.

C. Don’t throw in bullshit set pieces where you have essentially an unkillable target pinning you down with heavy ordinance while never ending grunts come out the woodwork trying to flush you out of cover and then have said unkillable enemy lob a missile at you with an undetermined blast radius which means you’ll get killed instantly if you’re in the wrong place.

Basically don’t be like Rainbow Six Vegas 2.

[The Franky Tank]

@Nobodyman:

Finished up Metroid Dread today. All around, another great Metroid experience. Clear time, 10:22:01 with 100% item completion. A few thoughts:

! -The EMMI stuff grew on me a bit, but still not my favorite aspect of the game. Just felt like kind of ordeal every time I had to maneuver around them, and not really in a fun way.
-Why no Ridley?! How can you have a Metroid game without Ridley? …Well, okay, there's been a few games without him, but still.
-There was only one item I really had to look up how to get and that was because I had no idea you could go back to running after launching yourself with the Speed Booster (incidentally, a lot of the Speed Booster-blocked items were pretty demanding and required precise timing).
-Metroid Samus was not something I was prepared to see and it was pretty damn cool.

Glad you enjoyed the game as well. As for some spoiler thoughts.

! I'm actually glad there was no Ridley fight this time around, he gets enough time so having Kraid get a chance instead was a nice change of pace. For the speed booster, the only challenge one I didn't like was the one you had to morph ball, bomb launch yourself across breakable blocks, then shine spark. That particular puzzle didn't click for me and unlike others felt like luck when I eventually got it. Maybe I'm a little more lenient because after replaying Zero Mission and Fusion where some of those were really precise and demanding, these felt challenging enough but not aggravating. And yes, Metroid Samus was awesome, and everything from the final fight to the end was complete hype for me

I am obsessed with Dread. I did two speed runs, the first being just below 3.5 hours and the other one being a little over 3 hours on hard. Now I'm doing a run trying out the various sequence breaks and having a blast with that. I'm on the edge of making this my personal favorite Metroid game of the franchise so far. Hoping that with the good critical reception comes good sales so we can get more 2D Metroid games!

[Zar]

Finally finished Psychonauts 2. I'm over the moon, I've been looking forward to this game for so long and it was perfect in almost every aspect.

Spoiler-free thoughts

! The game plays almost exactly like the first just updated to modern standards. Movement and combat is great. Many of the classic abilities return with three brand-new powers to explore (if anyone out here is an Invader Zim fan, there's a little love letter for you). They're all fun and usable, with the biggest change probably being levitation which now has a non-infinite glide and a toned down jump. While a bit sad, it's understandable considering how horribly broken that ability was in the first game. Once you get used to it you'll be using it just as much as in the first game, it's a fantastic power.
! The story is great, still retaining that classic humour though it has toned down some of the more extreme elements. No more people saying they're gonna kill themselves. It strikes a nice balance of updating to modern standards without constraining their comedy. It also takes the mental health aspect seriously and a lot of the levels you explore aren't black comedy, they're genuinely sympathetic visits to minds of sad people. I love that the game tackles these concepts without being bleak, depressing or cynical. The whole experience is a breath of fresh air from many modern shows. There's also a gay couple and they're done very well. Other games should take pointers here on good storytelling.
! The levels themselves… I still have a few criticisms against the gameplay aspect. In particular some levels were very long and I feel the boss battles weren't that great. That said there's no bad levels here, and from an artistic standpoint each is a spectacle. Some make you feel like you're part of an animated movie. And a good amount of them had an emotional impact on me, especially... not spoiling that! Let's just say there's one level in here that's good. Really, really, REALLY good.
! As for any disappointments… while there are a lot of side characters just like in the first game you don't get to really know them that well. The campers from the original moved around a lot more between levels creating a feeling of a living breath world which is missing here, but on the flip side there is a bigger attempt to integrate the side characters into the story this time. I wish there was more to do with them. I still like them, but yeah.

and spoiler thought

! The biggest disappointment for me (aside from underutilized side characters) is probably the final level/fight. I twist with the mole was great, and I really do like how they broke you away from what you thought was the final fight, but I was put off how after spending the entire game being sympathetic to people the villain is just… flat. There's one scene that's somewhat sympathetic and that's it. I guess they didn't want to make the villain too sympathetic as it might create a connection between trauma -> bad person. A noble goal but it doesn't work well for stories. It's anti-climatic and it just feels weird when you're then thrown back into the fight with Maligula, and I didn't enjoy that fight either. I imagined I'd be fighting a huge monster not a spinning water tornado... Maligula also felt so separate from Lucy at that point and you just kick her back where she came from.
! While the second game improved over the first in almost every aspect, I consider the Meat Circus superior to Fatherland Follies/Maligula. It was buggy and frustrating but it got the emotional part right. It made you understand Raz better and created sympathy for Oleander. It's because of that level that I could keep loving the guy after everything he did. And the final boss was terrifying. It really felt like you were beating your own demons.
! But regardless I love this game to bits and it's gonna be one I replay over and over.

[Green_vs_Red]

I tried playing Fallout New Vegas but I could not get past the character creation.

Why do so many games have shitty character creation systems or just plain shitty graphics that makes your character look like shit I couldn’t covet into the Surge 2 for this reason either.

[Nobodyman]

Playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the first time.

I don't know. I don't think this game has aged particularly well. Obviously the graphics are dated, but the overall presentation and combat are fairly unengaging and talking with NPCs can get pretty tedious. But it is a very chill game at least. The overworld is pretty much always open to you and you can proceed with the game at whatever pace you're comfortable with.

[Pennywise]

@Zar:

! I highly recommend you play them in order. While the second game does an okay job of getting new players up to speed it's crammed full of references and characters you'll have no connection to if you didn't play them in order. Plus the intro spoils the most interesting twists of the first game which is… yeah....
! If you do go ahead and play them, I'd recommend the PC port and once you're done look up the 1.5th game Rhombus of Ruin on YouTube (unless you have a VR set, then I say play it).
! I can't recommend this series enough, it's one of my absolute favourites. That said it's not for everyone - if you're looking for a good platformer game this 'aint it. These games live or die depending on whether you enjoy the story and setting. If you don't, you should probably spend time on something else.

Just finished the 1st Psychonauts. I'm so in love with the setting and story, I really can't stress that enough. Milkman Conspiracy level had me in tears, and for a game from 2005 it plays surprisingly well. Well, everything except for the platforming parts, holy shit. Even with a controller (played on Xbox One) it's so infuriating. Paired with the "oldschool" level design… Meat Circus almost had me quit the game, but in the end I pushed trough and persevered. If part 2 can deliver the same humor and charm with modern controls it has the potential to become one of my favorites for sure, so let's go!

[Zar]

@Pennywise:

Just finished the 1st Psychonauts. I'm so in love with the setting and story, I really can't stress that enough. Milkman Conspiracy level had me in tears, and for a game from 2005 it plays surprisingly well. Well, everything except for the platforming parts, holy shit. Even with a controller (played on Xbox One) it's so infuriating. Paired with the "oldschool" level design… Meat Circus almost had me quit the game, but in the end I pushed trough and persevered. If part 2 can deliver the same humor and charm with modern controls it has the potential to become one of my favorites for sure, so let's go!

I'm so happy you liked the game
It's incredibly unique. I'm going through a

where the devs play through the game and comment on it and there's a lot of fun stuff. Apparently they had a real conspiracy theorist hanging around outside their office and that's where the Milkman level came from (there's also a

which is pretty fun). And I agree on the platforming. The game's great… until you gotta run across a rope, traverse a roof or god forbid save a kid from getting brutally murdered by bunnies in a vertical platforming escort mission. Meat Circus especially is infamous for how terrible it is, not even the most loyal of fans will defend it. Even though I've grown fond of it over the years, now that I'm nearing my third playthrough I'm still nervous.

You're gonna love the second game. It basically took all the good stuff from the first one but gave it actual good gameplay. I still have some nitpicks but compared to the original it's so much better. And there's no bullshit like the Meat Circus.

[Don Quichotte De Flamingo]

Metroid Dread was a blast, really enjoyed that.
Guess next could be Disco Elysium, but i want to wait to get a better deal on it.

[Green_vs_Red]

Playing through AI: The Somnium Files (when I’m procrastinating on Reddit and KO City)

It’s a quirky but fun murder mystery style visual novel. Just hope I can finish the whole thing while it’s on and while I have Game Pass.

[kevo_koma]

@Green_vs_Red:

Playing through AI: The Somnium Files (when I’m procrastinating on Reddit and KO City)

It’s a quirky but fun murder mystery style visual novel. Just hope I can finish the whole thing while it’s on and while I have Game Pass.

I've been meaning to check this one out.

how is it in terms of writing, plot and characters?

[Green_vs_Red]

I haven’t played too far but the writing is okay I guess, weird and somewhat confusing at times but it can be fun at times.

The characters in particular the two leads are enjoyable Aiba is probably my favorite of two due to her eccentric behavior though Date has his moments.

Plot is hard to grasp in full ATM due to still not having gotten too far and there being branching paths though the one I played mostly through had some deaths and a plot twist I wasn’t really expecting. Which of course netted me my first Dead End which requires me to I guess do something elsewhere in the game to proceed further.

The Somnium Worlds of the three I’ve experienced and thus far aren’t terribly complicated but you’ll probably fail a least one since the exact actions you have to take aren’t always clear.

[Nobodyman]

I've finally taken the plunge into the Resident Evil franchise and started with the remake of the original Resident Evil (Chris Redfield run). I'm close to the end now and I'd say it's been a pretty good time all around. It's challenging, the puzzles are rewarding (though there are few kinda bullshit ones I had to look up) and, of course, the game creates an amazingly creepy and scary atmosphere. Now for some complaints:

-The constantly changing camera angles are pretty frustrating. I mean, maybe that was the intent to make the game more disorienting, and it certainly makes the game more cinematic, but…yeah. Constantly having to realign myself and find my bearings isn't a lot of fun.

-Okay, I get the idea behind having limited storage space. It creates a sense of vulnerability and makes it so you can't overload with weapons and healing items, which is fine. But in regards to collectible items that you need to solve puzzles, it just makes things really tedious. I feel like adding 2-3 more slots would've been the ideal balance. Or, better, just make collectible items separate from weapons/healing items and make it so you can carry an infinite number of them.

And...actually I don't have any major complaints beyond that. Sometimes it does get frustrating trying to find items in a room since they often blend in with the background, but color system in the map at least makes that tolerable. I'm also kind of split on the save system. On the one hand, yeah, it adds to the vulnerability that you can only save so many times, but it also means I sometimes have to stop playing a bit earlier than I'd like as I can't quite commit another half hour or so to the game.

Actually, that's kind of the brilliant thing about this game is that even if zombies, or zombie dogs, or hunters, or giant spiders, or the insane face-stealing girl don't scare you (and I'd be very surprised if at least one of those things didn't at least get a startle out of you) the one thing you are guaranteed to be afraid of in this time is losing your progress. Nothing scarier than time wasted.

Also, I really like the crows. How they make that weird sound that kind of sounds like a zombie, so you're never sure if it's them or a zombie. And even then the crows can attack you sometimes!

Definitely see why people love this franchise and I'm looking forward to seeing how they build on and (hopefully) improve the formula in future games.

[Robby]

I started playing Hat in Time, which came out in 2017. I have other gamers on my backlog that I want to start including a ton of lengthy RPGS… but this one is supposed to be short. And it's notoriously one of like 4 games in the last decade Yahtzee of Zero Punctuatioin has unabashedly liked (Along with Portal 1, Undertale, and Obra Dinn).

I was just super charmed immediately within the first screen. There's a giant pillow mountain you can dive into! And the Mafia guys are hilarious, and the maps are big and vibrant and full of craziness.... it's a lot of fun.

[Foolio]

@Nobodyman:

-The constantly changing camera angles are pretty frustrating. I mean, maybe that was the intent to make the game more disorienting, and it certainly makes the game more cinematic, but…yeah. Constantly having to realign myself and find my bearings isn't a lot of fun.

That's why they have the "tank controls," so that even if your camera perspective changes between rooms, your reference point does not. I get why people complain but I always thought it was really cool and hardly ever counterintuitive (exceptions are rooms where I need to be able to react quickly due to enemies but I don't even realize where I am right away, or something like that). I think it's pretty cinematic and was probably originally also so they could do all the really awesome pre-rendered backgrounds that were way above the capabilities of real-time rendering.

@Nobodyman:

-Okay, I get the idea behind having limited storage space. It creates a sense of vulnerability and makes it so you can't overload with weapons and healing items, which is fine. But in regards to collectible items that you need to solve puzzles, it just makes things really tedious. I feel like adding 2-3 more slots would've been the ideal balance. Or, better, just make collectible items separate from weapons/healing items and make it so you can carry an infinite number of them.

You maybe should've started with Jill; she has two extra inventory slots and she has a lockpick so you don't have to keep picking up those small keys. In exchange she has less HP but it's still a much more forgiving experience. Also, Resident Evil 0, which many people dislike but I love, gives you the ability to drop items on the ground which alleviates some of this. Of course, there are no item boxes so you also have to lug things around lol. But ultimately you get used to the small inventory and you'd be surprised how cool it can feel when you know the game and can optimize your routing.

[Green_vs_Red]

@Nobodyman:

the puzzles are rewarding (though there are few kinda bullshit ones I had to look up)

For your sake you better no lt play the original version of Nemesis. Which has bar none the most shitty puzzle (at least of the games I’ve played).

@Nobodyman:

-Okay, I get the idea behind having limited storage space. It creates a sense of vulnerability and makes it so you can't overload with weapons and healing items, which is fine. But in regards to collectible items that you need to solve puzzles, it just makes things really tedious. I feel like adding 2-3 more slots would've been the ideal balance. Or, better, just make collectible items separate from weapons/healing items and make it so you can carry an infinite number of them

You’re going to be in for a real treat if you ever wind up playing Zero.

Edit: Foolio already spoiled it.

[Nobodyman]

@Foolio:

That's why they have the "tank controls," so that even if your camera perspective changes between rooms, your reference point does not. I get why people complain but I always thought it was really cool and hardly ever counterintuitive (exceptions are rooms where I need to be able to react quickly due to enemies but I don't even realize where I am right away, or something like that). I think it's pretty cinematic and was probably originally also so they could do all the really awesome pre-rendered backgrounds that were way above the capabilities of real-time rendering.

Funny story. I actually didn't realize until just today when I was close to finishing the game that I could use the D-pad on my controller to walk and enter "tank mode" as you say. For most of the game I'd just been using the joystick, which also works as autorun, because I guess that's just how the controls were set up. It's really funny because I think I stumbled on it on accident and not because of the mandatory walking fuel tank puzzle, which, you know, had I not known about walking, could've given me quite a headache trying to figure out.

You maybe should've started with Jill; she has two extra inventory slots and she has a lockpick so you don't have to keep picking up those small keys. In exchange she has less HP but it's still a much more forgiving experience. Also, Resident Evil 0, which many people dislike but I love, gives you the ability to drop items on the ground which alleviates some of this. Of course, there are no item boxes so you also have to lug things around lol. But ultimately you get used to the small inventory and you'd be surprised how cool it can feel when you know the game and can optimize your routing.

Yeah, I learned that a little too late that Jill is apparently the easier run. Still gonna play her run later on to get the full experience.

In the meantime, I just started Portal 2 today. Oh GLaDOS you magnificently evil bitch, I missed you.

[Foolio]

Oh yeah I forgot the remastered version gives you “modern” controls. You can turn that off. But it makes juking zombies super easy and is almost cheating in that sense lol.

[Capone Bege]

Been playing Persona 5 Royal. I think I'm nearing the end. People weren't kidding when they said this was a long one, as I'm around 100 hours in now. Somehow it hasn't felt too long though.

[Nobodyman]

While the forum was down I played FFVII Remake for the first time.

Boy, that sure was five hours of gameplay that they stretched out to 40.

…Okay, fine, it's not all bad. I do like some of the things they fleshed out, and I honestly do feel like I had more of an emotional attachment to these characters than I did while playing the original FFVII. But still, a lot of it wasn't needed. And the chapters just drag on. By the time I got to the 17th chapter when you fight three bosses in a row I was just begging for it to end already.

Playing Neo World Ends With You now. It's fun, but man do all the Noise battles and pin and stat grinding really distract from the story.

[KaizokuFan22]

nobody saves the world and pokemon diamond

[Green_vs_Red]

DragonBall Z Kakarot & Wasteland 3

I like both games this far though Kakarot could be better in certain aspects such as how they adapt parts of the story
some stuff is left out/glossed over, no QTEs, other weird stuff. I’m up to the first half of the Android Saga.

Wasteland 3 is basically a Fallout game except I can actually play and largely not have to worry about the game crashing
(at least after multiple updates/patches). This game is also is kinda like how Borderlands should have been in terms of writing.

[Don Quichotte De Flamingo]

Iam addicted to Pokemon Arceus.
One of the few games who managed me starting it and suddenly it´s in the middle of the night i i could still do this and that before sleeping.
It sure looks pretty bad and some text walls are…hard to go through.
But damn, since i last played a Pokemon game with Pokemon Stadium, i just hoped to have a game, where i can go around and catch Pokemon and now i just do that
Thank god it finally is the step that made it worth revisiting this franchise for me.

[Razh]

@Green_vs_Red:

DragonBall Z Kakarot & Wasteland 3

I like both games this far though Kakarot could be better in certain aspects such as how they adapt parts of the story
some stuff is left out/glossed over, no QTEs, other weird stuff. I’m up to the first half of the Android Saga.

Oh high five man. I have yet to actually meet androids, currently assembling parts for Goku's car lol. Such a nostalgia trip. Yeah, could be better in some parts, but still having a lot of fun. Sometimes I catch myself just flying and collecting orbs, just enjoying moving around. And some of the boss fights are amazingly done. Wish they added Garlic Jr. filler, though.

Was gonna play Tales of Arise and FF7R, but not sure I'll catch time. Currently looking forward to Sifu and Elden Ring the most.

[Green_vs_Red]

@Razh:

Sometimes I catch myself just flying and collecting orbs, just enjoying moving around. And some of the boss fights are amazingly done. Wish they added Garlic Jr. filler, though.

Same on all of this .

[kouch_lee]

I did the thing that I hate the most pretty recently, which is buying games and. . .barely touching them.

Bayonetta, Vanquish, Dark Souls 3 and Persona 5 Strikers. All there, waiting. Except for Vanquish, I've started the other three, and they're good, of course (well, I expected something a bit less…chaotic from Strikers, to be fair). But I'm just not in the mood. I think I haven't played a videogame in more than a month? It's weird.

And I still want to finish Nier's 5 endings (only seen 1).

So, I have a ton of stuff to look forward to. . .but right now, the only game I want is Sifu, which obviously I don't own yet.

[Green_vs_Red]

@kouch_lee:

I did the thing that I hate the most pretty recently, which is buying games and. . .barely touching them.

You too ?

[kouch_lee]

Yes…and it's not like I'm in the best finantial situation ever, to add insult to injury.

I'm basically the worst.

[Green_vs_Red]

Neither am I and the fucked up part is I’ve been busy saving up money to buy a gaming laptop myself since like 2020. And these sales on the PSN Network, Xbox Live, & the eShop have both tortured me and broken me.

And what few games I’ve have bought I haven’t even played or gotten too far in.

All this and I still need to buy an HDMI adapter so I can finish the GameCube and PS2 games I’ve started and not finished.

[kouch_lee]

Now that you mention eShop, I guess SMTV is also on my radar (a friend of mine basically lent me a switch lite, and if he buys the game I can also play it, which is cool). I was kind of excited for the game, but lately I've been reading and watching some worrying reviews and…yeah, I don't know.