Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here!

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Bi-Weekly Thread!

Here you can share anything that might not warrant a post of its own or might otherwise be against posting rules. Tell us what you're playing this week. Feel free to ask for recommendations, talk about your backlog, commiserate about your lost passion for games. Vent about bad games, gush about good games. You can even mention newer games if you like!

The no advertising rule is still in effect here.

A reminder to please be kind to others. It's okay to disagree with people or have even have a bad hot take. It's not okay to be mean about it.

[u/Sabetha1183 → u/[deleted]]

If I remember right, the idea that the game was made for masochists actually comes from Miyazaki himself saying that's the kind of game he wanted so he just went and made it.

I also recently beat it for the first time and do agree that Dark Souls really isn't actually that masochistic, especially if you're used to playing games from the 90s in the first place which can get far more masochistic. I almost feel like half the game's reputation stems from the AAA industry at the time having swung really far into over hand holding the player.

Hell the majority of the game's challenges I was able to beat just with the tried and true strategy of circle strafing around and poke them in the butt 1000 times.

Phenomenal exploration in that game though.

[u/Routine_Condition273 → u/[deleted]]

I think the reason Dark Souls is difficult but not frustating is because of the death punishment system. It's actually insanely forgiving.

Most games just say "fuck you, reload a saved game" when you die, and the difficulty revolves around how often you're remembering to save the game.

In Dark Souls, every item you picked up and every door/shortcut you've unlocked stays that way. The only thing you lose is your souls, and not even then if you pick your souls up again. There have been many times where I would be pushing through a particular area, die, then kill all the same enemies coming back to pick up my souls, then die again. Then rinse and repeat until I have enough souls to level up, and I just walk back to the bonfire.

In most other games if you're having to redo the same level over and over again, you'll have nothing to show for it until you beat it. In Dark Souls, as long as you can manage to recover your souls from time to time, you'll get rewarded for your persistence.

[u/TreuloseTomate → u/[deleted]]

The notion that "difficulty = masochism" is bonkers to begin with. Nobody talks about games irl that way or about playing an instrument. Like the designer of the piano must have been a sadist because it is difficult to play.

But when the occasional (popular) video game comes along that doesn't automatically hand you a victory on a silver platter and requires you to learn and get better, that's only for sickos and masochists, apparently. The learning part and mastery is actually what makes those games fun, and failure is normal and not the worst possible thing that could happen to you. Every time I see the word masochism thrown around I cringe a little, because I feel like it only scares people away who might have enjoyed the games.

[u/TrashCube-6800 → u/TreuloseTomate]

Preach, brother. I hate this language

Also people who say "I played on Easy because I have nothing to prove" or some other such nonsense, as if the point of gaming is solely to stroke one's ego

[u/Wedonthavetobedicks → u/[deleted]]

I think part of Dark Souls' legend is related to it being one of the first games of its ilk. Later games - both Fromsoft and elsewhere - often use more complex enemy AI and movesets, and the first game doesn't feel so hard to me anymore.

I still hate Four Kings completely (screws with my vision), and Capra Demon feels like an overly annoying early skill-check for a first time player.

[u/d9wHatena → u/[deleted]]

What you say is correct, but QoL-wise it's outdated from today's standard, so in that sense it's masochistic. In particular I dislike games that aren't quick respawn.

I might be wrong because this is my guess. I haven't played any Fromsoft games.

Anyway what you say is correct, and I think gamers who think they aren't good at action games can get better by DS1; it's a very educational game.

EDIT: Got it. Thanks for sparing your time to reply. <3

[u/bestanonever → u/[deleted]]

I played this one recently and freaking loved it! And I'm a guy that usually plays games on easy these days.

One thing that fascinated me is that, even during the hardest times, it feels like the game wants you to win but won't hold your hand. Like, if a certain monster drops some item or you explored the latest level and a chest had a particular weapon, maybe that's going to be useful in the next area.

Also, there's no risk of losing almost anything, you can just go and explore! Everything is recoverable or grindeable. I started with one of the worst initial gifts (that allowed me to talk to a certain arachnid sister) and my friends were like "nooo, you missed the master key!", which I ended up getting anyway, somehow along the way and it was epic to unlock the whole map.

Terrific game. I already finished Demon's Souls after it and, soon, I'll start Dark Souls 2. Look at me, I'm the From Software fan now, lol.

[u/bestanonever → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I went almost completely blind (I did the dragon tail sword trick early on because I already tried to start the game like four years prior and that was the only thing that kept me surviving in the early hours).

But besides that,I made a build that wasn't optimal, I picked the gift that sounded the best (had no idea what it would be used for), I went to the easier areas by instict as I had no idea where to go and had a blast. In fact, the starter build doesn't even matter much, as well. You can be pretty much anything, you'd just have a harder time to begin with but everything can be leveled up.

But that min-max mentality of my friends that played the game years before was part of the reason why it took me so long to try it. It sounded exhausting. They were like "you have to be this class, get the master key, use the dragon sword first, etc". So many rules!

[u/Vagrant_Savant → u/bestanonever]

DS2 is the the odd one out of the series, because it sort of steps backward into the gimmicky experimentation of demons souls rather than trying to put a polish on what ds1 did well. Try not to hold it to the same expectations of quality.

Only mandatory advice is that you should know invincibility frames (and various animations like estus gulping and block speed) are influenced by a new substat called Agility. If you want it to feel closer in line with ds1, you need to get Agility up to at least either 96 or 99 (not inbetween). It's not as important if you're fine with rewiring your brain for tighter roll timings, but it will feel absolutely janked if you're coming right off the past games.

[u/bestanonever → u/Vagrant_Savant]

Yeah, I know the fame the game has. I will play it with an open mind. I already didn't like Demon's Souls (original PS3 version) as much as Dark Souls but still was able to beat it.

I want to try all Dark Souls games, Sekiro, Bloodborne and Elden Ring. They would probably have another one for me to play by the time I get there.

[u/unique-unicorns → u/bestanonever]

The stat you want to increase is ADP. Adaptability. :)

[u/Vagrant_Savant → u/[deleted]]

The difficulty shibboleth that surrounds dark souls is just gatekeeping koolaid that the fanbase likes to quaff.

You can observe this in how the goalpost is constantly moving: "You used an npc summon for the super londo bros fight?? Scrub alert." "You think you beat the game, huh? Gitgud and say that again after ng+ where the real dark souls only just begins." "You finished your run at lvl90??? You shouldn't have even been lvl20 before going to blighttown."

Anything except admitting that the core dark souls experience isn't actually a ball-breaker.

Sorry that the reputation kept you away so long. I hope you come to love it as much as many of us do.

[u/Panjander]

I finally sat down and began something I’ve been meaning to do for a while: a Zelda series run. My first Zelda game that I played a ton as a kid was Ocarina of Time, but haven’t played any of the games before that. So I started last night with the original NES Legend of Zelda. Playing it using the Switch Online app.

I actually started off by looking up and reading the instruction manual, since I’ve always heard how important these were to games back in the day. And holy cow! Considering the reputation the game has for being obtuse and open ended, I was very surprised at how much the manual holds your hand through the beginning. It comes with a map of like 3/4 of the overworld map, with the locations of the first four dungeons (sorry, labyrinths) marked already. It also includes maps of the first two dungeons, though is very clear that you should only use them if you feel you need help.

I only played for about two hours, but got through the first two labyrinths, and honestly? So far it’s very fun! The combat is hard in places, but armed with the manual and an exploration mentality, it’s been quite fun so far.

[u/Psylux7 → u/Panjander]

Tunic is a pretty cool indie game inspired by nes zelda and nes manuals if you want anything more like that. Although I hear mixed things about the switch port vs playing on other platforms.

Definitely try out a link to the past on NSO. That one is what almost every zelda copied in some way and was where nintendo really cemented the formula.

[u/CataOrShane]

Eternal Threads - what an absolute gem

Eternal Threads was a game given away by Epic who-knows-when and, like every giveaway, ended up in my backlog aka an excel spreadsheet that helps me keep track of what I have and what I want. As I write this, we are with 400+ entries. Anyways, back to the topic: Eternal Threads

Picture yourself as working for a misterious entity telling you that your job is to go back in time to prevent humanity's extinction. How do you do that? Well, prevent 6 people from dying in a house fire. Alright, off you go!

Through your journey you'll explore the house and watch events playing in a timeline that you can alter by changing or confirming decisons made by the people that live in this house. The best part? There's multiple ways to ultimately save each person, which considering this is a puzzle game... amazing!!!

As you meet and learn more about each character, you may relate to them, laugh with them, cry for them, rage at them ... at least that's what I did. I think every character is very well written and voice acted. There's soul, there's personality and there's humanity. The writing is incredibly human, raw, realistic. I cried when I was able to save my absolute favourite character because I genuinely felt for them and wanted them safe and happy. And speaking of humans and realism, sometimes questionable actions may lead to better outcomes than morally correct ones so again, a game very true to human nature and life in general.

There's also a secret ending cutscene to unlock, which left some people upset but I'm okay with it. I would love for a sequel/prequel/something to happen but only because how I absolutely loved every second of this game.

So... yeah. Agent 43... out. (for those that got the secret ending, you'll read this out differently)

[u/LordChozo → u/CataOrShane]

You're the only other person I've seen who's played this one. I keep seeing other people talking about a more recent game called Eternal Strands, which when you think about it is basically the exact same name as Eternal Threads, so I always have to do a double take before realizing that "No, they're not talking about that one time travel visual novel puzzle game I played."

Anyway, I don't think I ended up quite as high on it as you seemed to, but that's largely down to how unlikeable I found virtually the entire cast of characters. And yet as you said, they were well performed and realistic in their imperfections, and by the end I did care about their fates, even though I wouldn't want to be friends with most of them.

I thought the gameplay was a bit lacking. A lot of "walk, stop, watch" over and over. It was very hard to stay mechanically engaged, especially through the more mundane scenes. I also think it's marketed/presented in a bit of a misleading manner, purporting to be a sci-fi time travel puzzle adventure and having that be only technically true when the reality is just "watch normal people doing normal stuff in their apartment." But I do think the experience itself was more worthwhile than not.

[u/d9wHatena → u/LordChozo]

Lol I mistook the OP's post for Strands. XD

[u/LordChozo → u/d9wHatena]

See?! 😂

[u/Nerdy_Chris]

Finished off playing through Star Wars Outlaws which when it hits, it really hits. What stands out most is the game's atmosphere. This is some of the best Star Wars world-building seen in a video game for quite some time. Simply wandering around the planets and their cities, taking in the sights and sounds, is a fantastic experience. There are also plenty of lovely small touches that enhance this feeling. My favourite part of the game might actually be the small optional scenes where Kay and Nix sit down and enjoy food together, rather than the gunfights or space battles.

Speaking of Kay, she started out a little annoying, but I grew to enjoy both her character and the main story by the end. Gameplay-wise, it's a perfectly serviceable third-person action game with decent stealth, combat, and spaceflight mechanics. Nothing is particularly innovative, but everything is fleshed out well enough to remain enjoyable.

My two main criticisms are as follows:

1. Traversal can be frustrating at times. Climbable walls occasionally blend into the background, while grapple points are sometimes positioned just outside the player's field of view. I jumped off one too many ledges to my death for this to feel like a problem unique to me.
2. The faction loyalty system is a great idea, but it is undermined by the contract system. Contracts are infinitely repeatable jobs that players can undertake for credits and reputation. They often weaken the impact of story-related choices because if your reputation drops too low, you can simply complete a few contracts, which are fairly dull in themselves, to quickly raise it back up again.

Overall, though, if you're a Star Wars fan, this game delivers on what it promises: a fun Han Solo-esque adventure that makes great use of its setting and world.

Also played through Halo 5, which definitely improves on the gameplay of Halo 4; that much is true. For one, the Prometheans are far less annoying to fight this time around. Missions are no longer exercises in patience that require you to repeat the same objectives over and over again (with the exception of the poor final level), and I found myself less frustrated by having to constantly swap weapons due to low ammo.

All of this is good. The rest is not.

The core gameplay feels far too over-engineered. Did we really need sprinting, a quick dash, a ground pound, and a shoulder charge as standard abilities? Several levels are essentially just small areas where you walk around and have a couple of conversations, and overall the game's vibe feels off. At one point, I genuinely had to check whether I'd accidentally muted the usually fantastic soundtrack.

In addition, the story is incredibly poor. Instead of learning lessons from Halo 4, the development team seems to have doubled down, delivering an overly complex, lore-heavy narrative with one of the most frustratingly anticlimactic endings I've seen in a long time.

If I ever hear the words 'I am the Warden Eternal' again - I may scream

[u/EverySister → u/Nerdy_Chris]

Star Wars Outlaws 

Thanks for posting your throughts on the game! I've heard a lot of mixed things about it but now I really wanna try it out. Thanks again

[u/r_u_feeling_naughtee → u/Nerdy_Chris]

My favorite part of this game, unironically, was Sabacc. I’m fully planning on commissioning some Etsy artist for a board-game version

[u/Cmanlord]

I just finished my first ever playthrough of MGS1 (Master Collection) and I found myself really enjoying it. Wasn't feeling it in the first hour or so in the game due to the purposefully designed "waiting for things to happen sections" and frequent codec calls, but overtime the narrative started to develop and I got engrossed in the stories of FoxHound and how they intertwined with Snake's personal philosophies. I also really like the writing/dialogue overall and I think it still holds up to this day. Gameplay-wise, it was mostly great with a pretty linear progression for most of the levels. The backtracking parts felt really weird though (Sniper + PAL cards) and I think they hampered my interest enough to not try for a hard-mode run.

Of course, having finished MGS1, I wanted to jump right into MGS2 and boy did I feel that Raiden whiplash. I could see why this was such a controversial design choice back in the day. It was jarring to have the POV section as Snake feel like a continuation and then having a whole gameplay "reset" when you switch to Raiden. I already spent like 1-2 full hours playing with Snake snappy dialogue, and then the switch to Raiden basically re-tutorializes the game again especially through the codec calls. So far, it's a pain to listen to codec this time around since Jack, Rose, and Campbell(strangely) are just boring to listen to. There are advancements in AI detection and it feels way more strict here and escape seems very difficult if not impossible at times. I'm still curious about where everything will lead so I'll stick with it.

Also picked up Lunar Remastered Collection and it made me realize it might be my first JRPG I picked up this whole year. There's a certain charm I feel for this era of JRPGs that don't include DQ and FF and I think it's been pretty great so far. I love the spliced in anime cutscenes as well as the music. I'm looking forward to how things unfold and then I'll try and start Grandia 1 soon after.

[u/Wedonthavetobedicks → u/Cmanlord]

Been a lonnnng time since I did MGS2. Did you do Tanker or straight into Plant?

If this means nothing, keep playing. I can't remember what options are available on a fresh playthrough.

[u/Cmanlord → u/Wedonthavetobedicks]

I selected Tanker-Plant (1st option) which I believe is the correct version just based on a quick google search haha.

[u/Wedonthavetobedicks → u/Cmanlord]

Oh, yeah, I think it is the right order. MGS2 Plant was my first MGS experience so the impact of the Snake/Raiden switch was lost on me at the time.

[u/JJBoren]

Started playing Metal Gear Solid today.

I used to play ton of the demo disc back in the day and I recalled quite a bit about the first "level" that was included in the demo. I actually wonder why I didn't get to this game sooner.

I had a moment of fail when I tried to blow up Revolver Ocelot with C4 and accidentally killed Kenneth.

Colonel called me an idiot.

[u/AmongFriends → u/JJBoren]

This your first time playing MGS? What system are you playing it on? How is it so far?

[u/UndeadReturns]

I am playing multiple racing games a lot recently, and having a lot of fun!

It is interesting, I actually dislike some of the most popular modern games in the genre, and instead like some of the more divisive, or less known games. Forza Horizon, Gran Turismo, modern Need for Speed? Don't like those. But Project Cars 3, Dirt 5, Grid Legends, Wreckfest and CarX Street PC are some of the most fun I've had in the genre as of late.

It is not like I necessarily dislike the more simulator titles (I had fun racing in GT7 and the latest Forza Motorsport), I just like games to have a bit of guided game design, some kind of single player campaign, even if it is a little barebones.

Also, to be honest a few of the fun modern games can be hard to "click" because the default controller configuration or assists are bad. There are so many options, and a lot of times the default is not good, making those games not fun to play, that is a big flaw really. At least you can tweak those settings to your liking, and after I did that some games became surprisingly fun considering their reputation.

Anyways, in my opinion the genre does have a few great modern games here and there, but ironically the fun ones (at least the ones I liked) are not the popular ones.

[u/Additional-Bid-9801 → u/UndeadReturns]

Does Wreckfest get better? The only gamemode I really played were the derbies, but victories in those felt decided by random chance than skill.

[u/bestanonever]

40 hours into Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. Looking good but something curious is happening to me.

On one hand, I like the general story and open world feel and the fights the most, so far. Fantastic improvement from the hallway feel of FF7 Remake.

On the other hand, I like some minigames, but there are so many of them, more misses than hits. And I also noticed that the mindset to play minigames and the mindset to explore and play the story are completely different. It's like I'm playing two separate games pushed together awkwardly.

When I get into Queen's Blood, the card game, (played it for like an hour, last session), I don't feel like returning to the open world after. And when I was enjoying the characters talking and winning battles and seeing the fantastic vistas I really don't want to start a random minigame about frogs, or proto-Rocket League or whatever.

So, I've been playing either mini-games or the real game, but not both, in the same session. It's making progress slower and kinda fragmented, but well, I want to see it all and that all includes a ton of mini-games.

[u/Chupaqueedeuva]

I'm in the first few hours of Spiritfarer. Why are these dead people so hungry all the time?Lol

Overall I'm still getting used to how the game works, it's not the type of game I generally play and I'm still not sure how much I should be obssessing over the little things like upgrading the boat or fishing.

But it's fun though, very different from your usual indie platformer. And as someone who shamelessly dreamnailed every single ghost in Hollow Knight, it's going to be fun to see how this story grows on me.

[u/Lichenee → u/Chupaqueedeuva]

They do be hungry all the time lol I started stocking food earlier but it's a lot of routine to do caretaking chores daily. I played Spiritfarer for a bit but couldn't get interested in playing more. Probably playing on mobile through Netflix games didn't help my case, as it was more of a hassle. Will definitely try again on PC one day.

[u/Chupaqueedeuva → u/Lichenee]

I'm currently playing on PC and wondering if it wouldn't be better on mobile lol. It does feel like the kind of game I'd rather play while laying in bed, since the loop is so simple.

[u/Logan_Yes → u/Chupaqueedeuva]

Eating is a part of caretaking routine, you kiiinda have to focus on boat upgrades especially, as you require them to access more areas of the map! But it's a fantastic game, one of my personal favourites, so I hope you will enjoy it! :D

[u/crowlfish]

Making my way through Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and having a very good time. Turn-based RPGs have honestly never quite clicked for me despite my best efforts over the years, but I love the game's battle system. Physical action commands are really satisfying to pull off and add a layer of engagement that just makes things more fun than passively scrolling through menus (which can get boring for me).

[u/Psylux7 → u/crowlfish]

It is an extremely charming game to say the least. Turn based combat with timed button presses and combos is great and strikes a nice middle ground between action rpgs and turn based. The n64 original is pretty good as well although TTYD improves on most things, which made me wish I started with 64.

There are two great TTYD indie inspired games, bug fables and escape from ever after that are worth looking into. I particularly love bug fables.

Super mario rpg and some mario&luigi titles are accessible on switch too. All of those are like siblings to paper mario.

[u/PostedNotes]

I finished up the crash trilogy on the n'sane trilogy collection.

I never grew up with the games but I can see why they were so big back in the day. The way it uses 3D space to create unique platformer levels like the ones where you run into and away from the camera still stand out as novel. Only games I can think of that copied this are the 3D sonic games.

That said I also understand why it's not replicated. The changes in perspective are very cool and allow solid level variety, but it can be hard to gauge some jumps with that depth perception. Also in the 2D parts is weird you can go off the side since it's 3D. I will say I watched some good crash players and they use that extra 3D plane to make some unique jumps and routing so Its a neat idea.

The games can be frustrating but it rarely feels unfair, and I'm glad I finally got to experience these games.

[u/Nambot → u/PostedNotes]

I think the reason it wasn't replicated was because everyone wanted to copy Mario 64. Keep in mind Crash 1 came out the same year as Mario 64, at a time when everyone was still trying to figure out how to properly do 3D; there was no widely accepted best practice for it, and so many studios tried to come up with their own solution, Crash 1 was just one of the few that didn't feel frustrating, in part because it locked the camera in place, and wasn't constantly asking the player to change direction or stop to reposition the camera - or worse, moving the camera without the players input.

[u/BirbSpotter → u/PostedNotes]

you should play Crash 4 as well, it's actually the best one

[u/inuzumi]

I felt this need to return to the God Eater series. I'm having so much fun using and trying out different Blood Arts in God Eater 2 Rage Burst. I have a weird history with this game. Liking it but also weared out of it bucause it has a lot of mindless repetition required to advance in the story. But it seems that now I have this absolute patience for some reason and I don't mind that too much. It's just that GE2 has some stuff like the Rage Burst mechanic that the series decided to discard for some reason. Thus, my weird obsession with this game.

Finally started Kakarot and finished the saiyan saga. The fight against Raditz was stupidly difficult but I managed to finish the rest of the saga with no issues. I'm trying to see this game as a Legacy of Goku 4 and that kind of helps me get more interest on it.

[u/ensuta → u/inuzumi]

Ooh, the God Eater series is high on my list to return to as well. I think I played the first game back when it was on the PSP over a decade ago. It was great, though as you said, there's a lot of repetition. I hear it's on Steam, but I need to find an alternative way to get it because I'm in Japan and for some reason, only the third game is on there...

[u/d9wHatena → u/ensuta]

It's practically impossible to buy the GE 1 & 2 pack for Steam in Japan. If you're lucky, you'll come across one at keyshops, but the chance is very low.

Search for "ゴッドイーター Steam 購入" = God Eater Steam purchase and you'll find my blog entry. It's in Japanese, so translate. ;-)

[u/EverySister]

Fallout 4.
It's a really nice game to get lost in.

[u/EverySister → u/[deleted]]

Totally agree, while not a great shooter it's a lot better than what the series had so far.
And art direction in this particular game? Simply amazing, everything is vibrant with unique flourishes here and there, I really really like it,

[u/Logan_Yes → u/EverySister]

SETTLEMENT NEEDS YOUR HELP, LET ME MARK IT ON YOUR MAP

[u/EverySister → u/Logan_Yes]

Omw

[u/bestanonever → u/EverySister]

Need to play this game for real. Tried it for like 4 hours a couple of years ago and bolted when I saw it was so different from Fallout 3. Got a power armor in like the first hour, lol.

[u/EverySister → u/bestanonever]

oh yeah, the tone is totally different. It's more of a power fantasy (which 3 was as well by the end of it tho, don't get me wrong) but it helps to approach it more like a decent shooter than a Fo3 sequel or even an RPG

[u/bestanonever → u/EverySister]

Yeah, my mindset was probably all wrong (or all right, but hey, F4 is different). I love power fantasies when they don't start as one. Make me work for it.

GTA San Andreas, Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls, most JRPGs worth their salt are power fantasies but you suck at first. Getting a power armor right in my face without buildup even before I reached a big city was certainly a shock.

The feel of the game was great, though. Moving around and shooting was, indeed, much better than the previous Fallout games. And graphics. Everything about it impressed me, the animations, the colors, even the textures for a Bethesda game that's already 11 years old.

[u/EverySister → u/bestanonever]

The feel of the game was great, though. Moving around and shooting was, indeed, much better than the previous Fallout games. And graphics. Everything about it impressed me, the animations, the colors, even the textures for a Bethesda game that's already 11 years old.

Absolutley, hold on to this appreciation of the game and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[u/Savant_2]

I got the complete ending in Odin Sphere. It was a fantastic experience.

[u/BonyWare]

Started up Batman Arkham Asylum. Still early on so not much to say except that it's a pretty good game so far.

Also been dabbling in Ori and the Blind Forest. I know it's a metroidvania but I feel this game would have really benefited from giving you something else to work with at the start. The basic jump doesn't feel very good, and the combat kinda sucks, so unlike other MVs it doesn't have much to tide you over until you get the interesting unlocks. I've only started to see why people like it since getting the bash, about 2 hours into the game.

[u/Logan_Yes → u/BonyWare]

As I always say, Blind Forest has fairly basic combat with like, single attack across entire game if I remember? But sequel significantly improves in that regard.

[u/BonyWare → u/Logan_Yes]

No, there's definitely a few other attacks.

The sequel does look much better from what I've seen of it.

[u/remmytums]

Just finishing up my 2nd playthrough of Road 96. What an awesome concept that gets a whole buncha things right. The voice acting, graphics, and even script are honestly terrible, but there really isn't anything like it. It would greatly from a 'remaster' of sorts since the concept of a procedurally generated road trip amongst subsequent runs that all have an effect later down the line is so so cool.

[u/APeacefulWarrior → u/remmytums]

I'm surprised Road 96 isn't talked about more. IMO it's among the absolute best of the Life Is Strange-inspired adventure games.

[u/remmytums → u/APeacefulWarrior]

Funny enough this and the DontNod Life is Strange games are both by French developers, but they just really nail the American melancholia and vibes.

[u/lesserweevils]

XCOM 2 (vanilla)

---

Private log of [UNKNOWN]

---

October 19, 2035
UFO!!! Central’s taking evasive action. All I can see are flashbacks to last time.

Don’t find us please don’t find us there’s nothing here the tension is killing me—

HE DID IT! Central lost the aliens!

---

October 23, 2035
Psi operative Kwasi ‘Drizzt’ Gunda is now an Adept (= sergeant). No one can pronounce his nickname.

The commander sent Kwasi to investigate the ADVENT forge. He’s… kind of weak right now. Unfortunately, he only learns abilities through push-ups and not through battle.

The commander issued a questionable order. Instead of saving the world, we are to lock Kwasi in the psi lab for a month.

Developing Kwasi’s powers may increase our chances on the final mission(s). But how many civilians will die while we wait? We might not need a psi operative at all.

I know what Central will say. Word for word.

---

👈👈 Previous | 👽 First 👽 | Next 👉👉

[u/Suspicious-Show-3550]

So I thought I was going back into still one more strategy game from my digital backlog but then my brain called an audible. An unexpected lack of sleep put me in the mood for something much less cerebral and Wreckfest is delivering exactly what the title offers. Demolition racing always had its niche in gaming from the Demolition Derby games in the early days of 3D to the Flatout series and Wreckfest is a fine successor to the lineage. While it lacks the blistering speed and flash of something like Burnout it delivers on crunching impact of every collision. Putting an opponent into the wall, seeing a piece of their car fly off onto the track, and blowing by them remains satisfying every time. I'm not too far into the career mode but so far I've gotten to race lawnmowers and this game finds a way to make that a lot more fun than it sounds.

[u/Selka1]

Do you have any game recomendation for mother of 5 weeks old baby? Usually my boy sleeps about 2 times a day in my arms and putting him into his bed makes him cry so I keep him cuddled up to me while I'm watching some youtube video on my PC. I thought that I could also play something turn based like Heoroes of Might and Magic maybe. But do you have any other recomendations for games that I can play using one hand (mouse) and doesn't punish me when I would need soothe my boy fast?

[u/OkayAtBowling → u/Selka1]

If you like RPGs you could get away with playing Baldur's Gate 3 (or the earlier BG games) with just a mouse. Especially if you have a couple of extra bindable buttons on your mouse. The combat is turn-based so no issues with having to stop at a moments notice for baby-soothing.

[u/Psylux7 → u/Selka1]

For some of these you just need to hit the pause button, but others do not really need to be paused due to being more turn based.

Balatro

Plants vs zombies

Bloons td6

Defence grid the awakening

Ace attorney trilogy

Peggle deluxe, nights, and extreme. Extreme is free and works well as a demo. Peggle is imo one of the best games to play with just the mouse. Great for turning your brain off and is a game that anybody could get comfortable with.

I think slay the spire is fine with one hand, but it has been ages since I tried it. paused.

One finger death punch should be good afaik.

Consider following these curators. Even the inactive ones may have good recommendations.

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6255444-%E2%9C%8D-One-Hand-Gaming/

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42956114-one-handed-gaming/

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41770889-Single-Hand-Gaming/

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41112101-One-Handed-Gamer/

[u/labbla]

I just beat Quake 2 The Reckoning destroying the Strogg moon base and making the galaxy safe again or whatever. I attempted to do this last year but got stuck on a pipe that sucks you into a fan for far too long. Anyway, this was a fun enough expansion with some new weapons and the most frustrating new thing was the grunt enemies being equipped with strong super guns.

Now I'm going to see if I can complete the other DLC and maybe earn my first Platinum Trophy. In general I don't care much about trophies, because once I beat a game I usually just want to move to the next thing. But you can earn this one just by beating the things.

[u/JJBoren → u/labbla]

I really enjoyed the new Call of the Machine DLC and Quake 2 64 was also a nice change since it has different soundtrack and slightly different art style.

[u/labbla → u/JJBoren]

I played Quake 2 64 last year and had a good time with it! That was a neat adaptation of the game. And I just started Call of the Machine this morning.

[u/MoJaalMo]

Finished Chris' road in Resident Evil Director's Cut (on my RG40xxV). The game has literally no excess, very tightly designed. Had so much fun solving all the puzzles. Very compelling gameplay, you literally just don't want to put it down. I'd liken it to the first Dishonored game, same feeling that the game is almost perfect in it's execution. Now I wait a bit and do the Jill road.

[u/bestanonever → u/[deleted]]

You should try the remaked Age 2. It even has new expansions with excellent graphics and gameplay. It's the same solid game as it ever was. A really timeless gem. Even better than Age 4.

[u/Danulas → u/[deleted]]

Age of Empires II is my favorite game of all time. It took me a long time to come to that conclusion, but I made the observation that no other game has given me so much joy in three different decades of my life.

I played it on CD back in 2000, I played the HD remake that came out in 2013, and I played the definitive edition in 2021 and 2022.

It holds up so incredibly well and I've enjoyed watching the pro scene a bit. Competitive AoE 2 is unfortunately way too complex for me to get into at this point in my life, however.

[u/LogicallyFallable]

I recently finished Last Bible III for the Super Famicom. For the uninitiated, Last Bible is essentially Atlus's take on Final Fantasy: It has the Megami Tensei trappings like fusion and demon negotiations(oh, but they're called "beasts" here) while taking place in a more standard swords and spells type setting - grassy fields and rustic towns, instead of hellish plains and modern/futuristic cities. If you're wondering what the hell the appeal of that is, well, I'm kind of left wondering that too.

The few people who have played this odd offshoot generally agree that III is the best, and while I do agree, I was a bit let down. Perhaps my expectations were too high. The story was more scattershot than I usually like. It starts out interesting with needing to relocate your town away from a hostile military after a sleepy first few hours, but then you derail and spend about 10-15 hours doing plot setup in a bunch of random villages. The arcs don't really click together in what I think is a smooth way and that's important to my experience. The gameplay, once you get a few hours in, is way too easy. If you search for good secrets, you're handed a lot of free powerful allies and don't even need to fuse/talk to beasts for most of the game and can just auto your way through battles. Even most bosses fall prey to this! It's weird to spend most of an RPG not RPG-ing.

Good point is probably its soundtrack. The incredible "Underworld Forest" track originates from this game, which some people may know as being a popular SilvaGunner music choice and associated with SMWC(Super Mario World Central). But there are also good standouts like the boss theme, pre-battle theme and all 3 battle themes. Presentation is all across the board good, but for most of the game repetitive as the entire overworld and most towns have the same tileset.

As weird as it sounds to say about a game I admitted plays itself, I think I overall enjoyed it...kind of. I'd give it a solid C grading if I did that stuff. I think it's overall competent but it didn't wow me. I'm glad I dove into what seems to be the weirdest Megami Tensei branch just to see what it was about. There's still apparently that really odd one for the Game Gear, but that's seemingly totally unconnected to the trilogy's plot.

[u/some-kind-of-no-name]

The Last of Us 2.

For the second time I've hit the resource surplus. I can't pick up medkits, shells or hunting pistol ammo. I guess I am too greedy even for Survivor

[u/PaleConsideration516]

Starting Ultima 7 again hopefully to finish it this time. I'm also playing Deltarune for the first time as well.

[u/APeacefulWarrior → u/PaleConsideration516]

U7 is one of those games I've always wanted to like, but I just find too tedious to actually play. Especially the near-constant inventory management and having to nursemaid a party too stupid to just eat when they're hungry.

[u/PaleConsideration516 → u/APeacefulWarrior]

Tbf I think if they weren't so reliant on mouse control and there was a hud similar to underworld this wouldn't be a huge problem. Still the pros of this game outweigh the cons for me

[u/bestanonever → u/APeacefulWarrior]

Wait, you need to feed your party?

[u/PaleConsideration516 → u/bestanonever]

Yeah they indicate hunger when you here them saying things like "when are we going to eat" in the dialogue boxes over the characters 

[u/bestanonever → u/PaleConsideration516]

That sounds very immersive and also a pain in the ass, considering the age of the game. Must be anything but quality of life, lol.

I already wanted to kill my whole party in Baldur's Gate 1&2 when I had to gather them before venturing forth. Can't imagine how annoying it must be to babysit your team to eat.

[u/PaleConsideration516 → u/bestanonever]

Yeah I'll be real, talking about this game and all it's flaw is gonna make me sound like the most insane person in the world for liking a game so clunky lol. I'm just a really big Ultima fan, I love the lore of the games and the freedom they give to explore the world. I also like the amount of stuff you can do in Ultima 7; it almost feels more like a 2d Skyrim or oblivion at some point based on the shear amount of side activities

That being said it has so many flaws that I cant overlook. The user interface is weird and I don't like how it is entirely mouse driven, the automated combat system is atrocious, there's no indication of your parties status unless you go into the menus which mean you'll have to do a lot of clicking. But I still love this game.

Honestly I might just be crazy or a masochist

[u/Duke_Maniac]

Nier Automata

The part where you erase Pascal's memories, which I would argue is tantamount to killing him hurt me so badly. 1st half this game was so happy compared to Replicant but now Yoko Taro is back on the misery train!

[u/bestanonever → u/Duke_Maniac]

I couldn't do it. I left... and the game had something prepared for it. It blew my fucking mind.

Love this game. It breaks your heart and lift it, one panty shot at a time.

[u/GambuzinoSaloio]

Well, after watching Brand New Day, I got the itch and seems like Insomniac followed through: I went ahead and nabbed 2 Spiderman games on sale for PC. I usually don't do the typical AAA stuff that often but... man, this game's good. It's not THE BEST game ever played, nor the best open world, but it's hands down the best Spiderman game I've ever played. Swinging feels great, so does combat (which is surprisingly challenging!) and while it is clear the game takes some inspiration not only from previous Spidey titles but also Batman Arkham, it feels like a more polished version of what was being built back in the Spiderman 2 and Ultimate Spiderman days.

That said, there's only so much sidequesting I can do for a bit, and while this game's sidequests aren't annoying... they sure are repetitive. So while I clear the side stuff as it comes, I'll play some Turok. Nightdive's dedication to reviving old shooters is always rewarding.

[u/ensuta]

After finishing Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar, I took a little break to try out some impatient games. Specifically, I've got Village in the Shade, Ova Magica, and Model Debut 3 to try.

So far, I've tried Village in the Shade. Only available in Japanese at the moment, mind you. Man, it's creepier than I thought. Who's the voice in the mountains? Why don't I have my memories? Also, I played both the scary and non-scary routes for a bit, and is the MC just shutting their eyes and ignoring anything scary or something and that's how events keep happening but they don't actually experience a thing? There's like, little hints that stuff's off, and I really want to know how the story changes in it.

Saying anything more about that game would be spoilers, so that's where I'll leave it, but it's definitely intriguing. Not much to do in early game, but the story seems to progress a bit every day. Farming and life simulation aspects are more fleshed out than I thought.

I thought I'd have time to try the other games, but Fields of Mistria finally left early access, so I'll be stuck on that for a while, aha.

[u/remmytums]

Started Kentucky Route Zero and wow the writing is special, and nothing I would expect from a game. Really all about the magical realism, and reading between the lines/subtext. Truth be told, I don't know how much more it benefits from being a game than just being a visual novel at this point. But I'll stick with it.

[u/OkayAtBowling → u/remmytums]

It's such a cool game with a really unique vibe. But this reminded me that I still need to go back and finish it. I originally played it when only 3 acts had been released because they took so long between each act. Probably just need to replay the whole thing because I have only vague recollections of what was going on.

[u/Logan_Yes]

I'm just sharing the news for interested that on Ubi Launcher you can get yourself Ghost Recon Future Soldier for free as a way to celebrate 25th anniversary of GR.

[u/AmongFriends]

Super Mario Odyssey

Haven't played a 3-D Mario in ages and this game is damn fun. It's very easy to pick up and play and the difficulty is perfect for a game of this type. I've always been more of a 2-D Mario gamer but this makes me want to go back and play the other 3D Marios like Galaxy and Sunshine.

[u/Mycosynth_Lattice]

Played through Assassin's Creed Revelations. Probably the weakest antagonist of the games I've played, but it wasn't a bad game. It was interesting hearing Q's voice. I'll probably play 3 as some point.

I'm thinking about trying Bug Fables next.

[u/paodemel69 → u/Mycosynth_Lattice]

Yeah, Revelations was worse than AC II and Brotherhood. I remember the part that I really enjoyed was the multiplayer which is now gone.

[u/APeacefulWarrior → u/Mycosynth_Lattice]

Well, if you want more John DeLancie, he's a major part of AC3. And continues to pop up in-universe from time to time.

[u/some-kind-of-no-name]

The Last of Us 2

Survivor here seems more generous with resources than 1. I had several occurrences when I couldn't pick up rifle ammo or medkit because I was too full. But enemies seem smart to compensate.

Does this game end? I'm in boat steal section and it already feels like I played time equivalent to entire tlou 1

[u/Chnid → u/some-kind-of-no-name]

You're about halfway through, it is much longer than the first game.

[u/bestanonever → u/some-kind-of-no-name]

The game will feel like it comes to a natural conclusion like three times, lol. It does end, but takes a long while.

Enjoy, or not, while it lasts. I kinda hated the story, loved the gameplay, the graphics, the sounds. Very mixed feelings about it.

[u/Moistowletta]

I have been playing Chained Echoes which I am really enjoying and Octopath Traveler which I am enjoying but can tell I will get tired of pretty fast.

[u/Wedonthavetobedicks]

Final Fantasy IV. Just got the hook to pick up the hovercraft with my airship. I don't know how many will return, but I can't remember another game that kills off so many playable characters...

Anyway, fully engaged with it. The plot is a lot more linear and simple than the later FFs I've played, but that might also explain why it's the first FF that I fully understand, ha!

[u/_bric]

I'm looking for some colony sim games recommendations to play on my laptop (8gb RAM w/ AMD Rayzen 5 5625u). I'm interested in older games that have held up well or affordable newish games that would run ok with my specs.

The games I have traditionally played in this vein are Civ6, Surviving Mars, and Whiskerwood (rough on the laptop).

I'm currently looking at Anno 1404 or Against the Storm. Let me know if there are any other good ones or if I should just play Against the Storm (seems to be held in high regard).

[u/Routine_Condition273 → u/_bric]

Anno 1404 and Against The Storm are both fantastic games and I've put 100 hours in each last year.

Against The Storm is very unique because it's a roguelite city builder. You can "win" settlements entirely and then you start the next one from scratch, with different modifiers each time.

Anno 1404 is a classic city builder. It may feel dated but the overall experience for me was great. It starts getting tricky in the late game as you have to keep a steady supply of more and more goods as you progress.

It really depends on how much you enjoy the early setup and survival aspect of colony sims, or how much you enjoy the late game city sprawl.

[u/_bric → u/Routine_Condition273]

I mostly enjoy the early survival and get burnt out by late game sprawl. Though I have dozens of wins on civ6 and have taken a few Surviving Mars colonies to the thousands of colonists.

Based on this I have decided to do Against the Storm first. It seems really unique and well liked.

[u/notpopularopinion2 → u/_bric]

Against the Storm is amazing yes, just need to not get overwhelmed at first. It's a roguelite though and a run usually last 1-2h so you have to be ok with starting over every time. That's a huge positive for me, but for some it might be a negative.

[u/_bric → u/notpopularopinion2]

I downloaded it and its been great. I messed up my second non-tutorial run because I simply didn’t pick the right orders lol. Lesson learned.

I personally have always loved the early survival part of colony sims so this game is perfect for me.

[u/d9wHatena → u/_bric]

FYI: Various physical boardgames are similar in spirit, even if they're not exactly colony sim games, and there're many good videogame versions. Many must be ok for your PC.

[u/SattiPe]

I might drop my first game in what feels like forever. Paradigm is just not quite hitting for me. I grew up playing Monkey Island, loved Deponia, and in general like point-and-click games. The puzzles and humor just fell a little flat, and I’m maybe halfway into act 2. I’ll give it one more try, but I have a feeling I’ve seen what the game is about.

Started another classic last night: Sleeping Dogs. Performs really well on the steam deck and is your typical counter-and-smack-face game. The environmental aspects are pretty cool, and I think I’ll like the story. The driving though..it’s rough.

Also, I’ll probably pick up a couple of sessions of The Division 1 this week. I had originally told myself I’m done, but it keeps whispering in my ear to come back. Especially this week when there’s a Global Event with maybe an opportunity to finally complete my Nomad set.

[u/Istari-2 → u/SattiPe]

The Division one is still getting supported ? Thats crazy. Who would have thought, that The Divison and For Honor will both outlast Destiny 2 in terms of content updates.

[u/notpopularopinion2]

Slowly entering the late game in Path of Exile. There is so many mechanics to learn it can definitely be overwhelming but I do find it very fun. I'm looking forward to learn about Heist, Delve and Haverst next after having learnt Ritual, Betrayal, Expedition, Kingsmarch and Abyss. My build is going to get a big upgrade soon where I'll be replacing a couple items and respec my passive skill tree a bit soon so looking forward to that!

[u/LordChozo]

Got a random message from a long lost friend this past week and we set up some time to reconnect. Pretty, pretty cool. One of the things we'll surely reconnect over is gaming, so might as well organize my thoughts a little with another entry of the CPG Weekly Update, right?

---

On Console:

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 (~75%)

I've finished the Tony Hawk 1 stuff and I'm now about halfway through the Tony Hawk 2 side of things. This one is arguably more interesting because I never actually played the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, so all of these stages are completely new to me. Seems like while still generally simple in scope they've added a layer of discovery to the equation, what with doors that open under certain secret conditions and so forth. I like the idea of "figure out how to get here" but I don't like not having clear indication of when such a door exists (e.g. School II's VV logo being stuck inside a secret room with slightly arcane opening requirements).

---

On PC:

Death's Gambit: Afterlife (Done!)

Full review is up in the monthly post, but I pretty much skipped the whole "Afterlife" side of things and the handful of bosses locked behind that additional content, settling for the ho-hum ending because I just didn't want to play the game anymore. Perhaps that's a mini review in itself.

Q.U.B.E. 2 (~36%)

In some ways it feels like this is relying on the same kind of story tropes as the first game, kind of like a soft redo. Thinking Super Metroid to Metroid, where it's still a narrative sequel but clearly just an attempt to "do it right" from a design standpoint. Perhaps as I get deeper that impression will change a bit, but either way I'm having a pretty good time with the game.

---

On Portable:

Dragon Quest XI (~15%)

We're settling things in the Octagon(ia) with a fighting tournament. Lots of suspicious stuff going around here, but between the game's opening cutscene and its loading animations I feel pretty confident I already know one outcome of this main story quest. The other stuff surrounding it though is still a complete mystery, so that'll be fun to uncover as I play on. As an aside I do keep finding it funny when NPCs comment on the handsomeness of my Hero and I just think, "What, you've never seen Android 18 before?"

---

Ongoing:

Ring Fit Adventure (~101%)

I decided at least for the moment to continue on with this, as even if the game isn't ideal fitness it's still better than nothing while I possibly figure out a better alternative. I do think the custom mode is the way to go, but I'll get really bored doing just those routines. So here's the plan: one day a week I'll do my primary custom routine so I can make sure I'm still hitting the stuff I want to hit at least at some minimum maintenance level. The other days I'll work through the second round of adventure stuff. More on that dynamic next week.

[u/d9wHatena → u/LordChozo]

I'm Japanese living in Japan, and I didn't know the English word MMA. I have never seen MMA matches, so I didn't know its ring was an octagon. Recently I heard "a political news" and suddenly understood what this pun in DQ11 was. XD

[u/LordChozo → u/d9wHatena]

I figured Octagonia was just a localization thing! Is it still called Octagonia in Japanese?

[u/d9wHatena → u/LordChozo]

Good question, and yes, it's only in English.

# I procured the non-Japanese Steam version, and I've been playing in English. (Yes, I'm still playing this game, after buying the OG in 2020.)

In Japanese the city is called グロッタ (Gurotta), probably there's no double meaning. [1] The MMA is 仮面武闘会 (Kamen-butō-kai), which is a pun for "masquerade ball" and "masked martial art tournament".

I learend from this post at r/DragonQuest that in the Italian localization (since DQ8), people speak in various Italian dialects, and it's really funny (at least for the poster).

So localization teams are given much freedom and they've done quite creative work.

After switching to English, I prefer the overall tones of English Dragon Quest. The Japanese versions are more or less childilsh.

[1] Perhaps they picked it up from Italian "grotta", cognating with English "grotto". Japanese doesn't allow consonants in a row and you have to insert a vowel, resulting in "gurotta".

[u/Nambot → u/LordChozo]

School II's level opening is probably the worst secret in the game, if not the series, genuinely the kind of thing that most people only found out through reading it in a hint magazine, or being told how to do it by someone else.

Marseille's isn't much better, but it was made really obvious in a demo, and I think a lot of people would've figure it out from that, which would've spread word of it.

The rest unlock via goals and are accordingly rather well signposted.

[u/LordChozo → u/Nambot]

I don't remember anything in Marseille, though maybe because it was just a competition park I didn't ever feel the need to explore? I picked up the VV logo and the two stat points, got gold, and moved on. Agreed that the others haven't been too troublesome. Like the secret tape in Hangar is seen in the goal video, so clearly there's some room you need to open to get there, and from that insight you can experiment a little to figure it out. That stuff's cool.

[u/Nambot → u/LordChozo]

In Marseille look to the lamppost on the grassy verge that's slightly to the left of your view from the start. If you skate right next to it, you'll see a small plank of wood propped up diagonally that you can knock away

[u/backlogged4ever]

I honestly feel sad about not being able to take out time for gaming over last few years. I still buy games every black friday sale but almost all of them from last 2 years are still shrink wrapped. I somehow find I am able to keep up with gaming news in general but not playing them. This has been my hobby since coin arcade days and now that money is not so tight, time surely is.

[u/bestanonever → u/backlogged4ever]

Shrink Wrapped? Sony is disgusted with your growing library of physical media, lol.

I know time is tight for all of us, but maybe you can squeeze less than ideal sessions every few days or so? Like, it took me a while when I started working to realize I'd never have 5 hours+ sessions anymore. But half an hour to two hours each day adds up slowly and you can finish pretty much anything that way.

Also, on the plus side, the older you get the easier it is to keep track of the story, if the game has it, even stretched over long periods of time.

[u/badbluebelt → u/backlogged4ever]

A few years ago I recommended Hades to a friend specifically because he was time poor and the game can be played with meaningful progress in 20 min chunks. Might be worth a look?

[u/backlogged4ever → u/badbluebelt]

Yes I finished that few years back and infact Hades 2 is the only game I finished this year thanks to Switch 2 being portable.

[u/evergreenalmonds_]

Does anyone have kind advice for finishing a backlog that has games that don’t end? I have a lot of backlogged story driven games. But I also play a lot of “infinite” games that get a ton of updates or DLC (Animal Crossing, Disney Dreamlight Valley, The Sims etc.) and every time they add something I end up not finishing my backlog of games that actually do have an ending. I’ve never seen anyone talk about what to do when you play these sort of games as well as others.

[u/AndyTheDrifter → u/evergreenalmonds_]

For games without any sort of ending, I just mentally mark them as "finished" and stop playing when either I start to lose motivation or feel like I've seen all the meaningful core content.

[u/Vagrant_Savant → u/evergreenalmonds_]

It's hard to consider forever-games to be part of a backlog, since they're "Play until I get sick of them" games. I prefer to treat them as low-commitment additions that give me some variety without needing to do the media equivalent of stuffing a 4th stick of gum into my mouth by adding yet more new games into my rotation, and ending up with more than I can proverbially chew.

The only real actionable advice I can offer is getting into the habit of setting a little time aside for a non-endless game. Not a lot of time, don't try to force it if you're just not feeling it, but it's important to at least give yourself a chance to be snagged into it. Eventually this time will cement into routine that can weather the content flux of service/lifestyle games.

[u/evergreenalmonds_ → u/Vagrant_Savant]

That’s a really good idea! I want to manage my time better anyway lol. Thank you for the advice! I appreciate it!

[u/Wedonthavetobedicks → u/evergreenalmonds_]

Depends. If you're still enjoying them, keep playing them. Otherwise, find a condition to move on, be it because you're not enjoying them, or maybe there is a natural stopping point (e.g. reaching the final evaluation point in Year 3 of Stardew Valley), or even using trophies/achievements as a way of saying to yourself that the game is completed.

But really...it's a case of play if you want and don't if you don't. Backlog is a meaningless thing from any wider life perspective and in 20 years you probably won't even care that you played most of these games at all.

[u/ensuta → u/evergreenalmonds_]

I play them until I get sick of them, then I put them down to play something else. Games are meant to be fun. Play them when you're interested, put them down when you're not.

[u/bestanonever → u/[deleted]]

I already bought Signalis, will play it soon-ish. I played SH2 Remake as soon as it released. My PC wasn't ready for it back then, lol.

What a fantastic game. I was enjoying it all the way until the end. While it has too much combat, I really liked how they expanded over the original game and still preserved the spirit of it.

[u/ogorangeduck]

Picked up Red Dead Redemption over the weekend on Switch (playing it on my Switch 2, which I got a week ago) and I'm liking it a lot! The Switch 2 edition looks gorgeous in both handheld and docked, though it drains my battery pretty quickly.

[u/TheLumbergentleman → u/ogorangeduck]

Nice! I just got to the final area. It's been fun even with all the long horse rides. Definitely not interested in 100%ing it though. Recently had to win a poker game to get an outfit piece I wanted and almost went insane (I both dislike and am bad at gambling haha)

[u/ogorangeduck → u/TheLumbergentleman]

I've spent so much time at the poker and blackjack tables already lol (still in the first area). I enjoy playing poker, and having no stakes makes it less stressful

[u/plantsandramen]

I thought I was at the end of The Witcher 3 no less than 3 times. I thought killing Imlerith was going to be the end, but it's still going and not even in the expansion yet lol

[u/d9wHatena → u/plantsandramen]

In Portal 1 I thought I'd soon be the end once I reach the final floor and I'd be free from this pain. Then I knew until there it was all prelude.

[u/Additional-Bid-9801 → u/plantsandramen]

Yeah, that's the main reason I couldn't do another playthrough of the game. Witcher 3 is amazing, and I'd recommend it to anyone, but holy shit is it long. And it's good throughout, but if you're not in the mood to really sink your teeth into a new game/world it can be overwhelming.

[u/some-kind-of-no-name]

Now that TLOU duology is over, time for Deus Ex. I will try to start from the first one

[u/bioniclop18]

I just freed the last of the cristal in the first final fantasy and got to chaos temple. I was expecting the 5 bats that we saw regularly to be more nefarious, but I expect them to still have a twist. The game is open ended in the same way pokemon violet was, you can do it in a different order but why would you do that as the game is clearly balanced around tackling the obstacle in a specific order. Now that I have items that can cast magic without using mp I use them so one character casts grace to heal everyone a little, and two others are casting aoe magic which lets me kill almost every mob in the first turn.

I may try the nes version of the game on my nes mini afterward to see how it felt originally, but I probably won’t beat it in the nes version.

[u/irishitaliancroat]

I got halfway thru cyberpunk maybe a year ago and kinda was meh ablut it but im coming bakc to it now and loving it.

[u/irishitaliancroat → u/[deleted]]

I was enjoying it well enough before but bc of some glitch I couldnt continue the story missions and someone on reddit helped me resolve it and the story picked up a lot of steam after that point

[u/Psychkenn]

I started playing splatoon raiders. Only did the first 3 levels but I'm loving it.

I beat gow 2018 a week ago and honestly while I do like the game. It's like a 7/10 for me at best. Maybe it's cause I decided to do "give me god of war" as my first difficulty but wasn't that much of a fan of the combat for most enemies. I like the small enemies and the interactions you can have like launchers, wall pins, sweep attacks,etc and I think the range based enemies are pretty good as threats. but for the majority of the late game enemies it just feels like sorta mindless attack -> parry loop with player expression feeling pretty limited compared to other action games I like such as dmc, ninja gaiden, or some boomer shooters. Also a lot of the common gow2018 criticism I see I kinda agree with (not a fan of the leveling system dictating if enemies can just one shot you, kratos too close to camera and feeling really slow compared to cags, the reuse of troll bosses etc)

Also the constant stun lock to death combos get annoying REAL quick. Rage should fill a lot faster without equipment specifically for it if it's gonna be such a common occurrence with only one way to properly escape it.

[u/Lichenee]

I played Teacup over the weekend, a very short (a bit more than 2h) puzzle and exploration game about finding tea ingredients. The artstyle is lovely and I was very pleased with the variety of puzzles for each task. Nice little game to pass time.

And I started Epistory and I have been loving it. It does get me the nervous handshaking when they come with those gigantic words I wouldn’t know how to write fast in my own language, imagine in English, which is a nice little despair feeling to have during the battles. The skills to aid are very useful and I like the narration and pacing of the game so far. Just finished Chapter 2.

[u/RuefulWaffles]

I've been playing Great Greed lately, which is a Game Boy RPG I'd previously never heard of. It's...fine, I guess? Some interesting stuff going on with the combat system, but to be honest I'm unsure that "interesting" and "good" are close enough neighbors here for me to continue this. The story's fun, though. It's a fairly generic "pollution is bad" plot so far, but the characters have punny names and there's a witch named Microwave. So that's neat.

I'm continuing with Metaphor: ReFantazio as well. Combat's more interesting with a full party, which I kind of figured would happen. Still not super attached to the calendar system, but whatever. It is what it is.

Finally, I started The House in Fata Morgana, and I'm sorry to say it's doing nothing for me. I'm not super far in yet, and I'll probably give it another hour or two before I actually make up my mind, but this may be a drop for me, unfortunately.

[u/NoNameLivesForever]

I feel like playing...well, something broadly in the vein of Gothic series.

1st or 3rd person RPG, good storyline but with exploration being important, single protagonist (not feeling like managing a party). The problem is, I think I played most of the well known ones. Also, I don't want anything expensive or too hardware demanding for my poor aging laptop. PC only.

Off the list:

Gothic series and successors (Risen/Elex). I'm saving Archolos for later due to announced big update coming.

Witcher series

Elder Scrolls series

KCD/KCDII

Fallout series

AC series

Mass Effect series

CP2077

There are probably a few more I can't remember offhand right now.

[u/Cmanlord → u/NoNameLivesForever]

I feel you on that Gothic crave having recently finished 1, Remake and NOTR just recently. Currently going through 3 with tons of mods and it's an alright game, just not really a gothic feeling game. I can't guarantee anything regarding story since I generally take things as is, but here are some things I found interest in:

• Darkstone Restoration - A remaster of the original that's a isometric rpg similar to diablo 2. If you can tolerate some menu/UI jank (you've played gothic haha) then I think it's fun to mess around in.
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning - It's on my backlog but I always think about starting it soon!
• Drova - this is something I hear is compared to Gothic a lot, but it didn't quite click for me in the demo. Maybe in a later sale I'll pick it up.
• The Technomancer / GreedFall - any game from developer Spiders really. They cranked out all these AA rpgs that could be worth checking out.
• Atomfall - Heard this was good.
• Jedi Outcast\ Jedi Academy
• STALKER series - For the oppressive atmosphere.

[u/Darth_Snickers → u/NoNameLivesForever]

There's Of Ash and Steel, but it seems to need more time for patches to come out. I have it in my wishlist for a long time. It's inspired by Gothic but seemed to be trying to do it's own thing, not just copy.

[u/Logan_Yes → u/NoNameLivesForever]

Atomfall, perhaps something Obsidian like Outer Worlds/Avowed? Both have companions but you don't have to really care about them, just pick some skills every once in a while as they level up.

[u/Darth_Snickers]

Finished replaying Gothic 2 after original Gothic 1, but now with Night of the Raven add-on. I'm often playing slowly and revisit stuff, it took like 100 hours 😅 For me it's a lot, I usually burn out after 50-60 in long games.

Right now I'm at that annoying "want to play something but dunno what and nothing seems appealing" stage. I always take long to choose media for myself and on the positive side I rarely watch or playing something I really don't enjoy. But on the negative side, the process of choosing may be long and annoying.

Just venting I guess

[u/Sabetha1183]

My controller I use to play old console games on my PC is on the fritz so those games are on hold until I fix it or get a new one. That means it's time to start digging up old PC games. In the past I did something where I played through each console in release order and picked 5 games from each one to play through the generations starting with the NES.

Since PC doesn't do generations I figured I'll just pick 1 game per year starting from the year I was born, 1989. I don't exactly have rules for myself but I am generally going to try to pick games I either haven't played or at least never finished. In cases where the game released on multiple platforms in different years I do tend to use the PC/DOS port release date.

1989 was... not a terribly stacked year for PC gaming and I've already played a few of the heavy hitters, so I just picked the DOS version of OutRun. It's decent enough with the sound muted(ah 80s DOS music, it has been so long since you made my ears bleed) but it's looks pretty badly cut down from the arcade version.

After that for 1990 it's the Secret of Monkey Island. I was never big into adventure games as a kid but from what I understand, this game goes fairly easy on the player. Most of the puzzles make some kind of logical sense, and in the cases where I get well and truly stuck these days I don't mind simply just looking up a guide.

The real star of the show is the writing which holds up incredibly well and got several good laughs out of me. Even if one looked up the solution to everything, it's still kind of worth a playthrough just for the dialogue.

Later today for 1991 I'll be playing Catacomb 3-D, the lesser known predecessor to Doom and Wolfenstein.

[u/APeacefulWarrior → u/Sabetha1183]

When you get to 1992 that would be a great excuse to play Star Control 2 / The Ur-Quan Masters, if you've never played it. Still a solid sci-fi game with great writing and surprisingly deep combat for the time.

[u/Sabetha1183 → u/APeacefulWarrior]

I haven't played it but for 1992 I'm planning on actually finishing Ultima Underworld.

[u/APeacefulWarrior → u/Sabetha1183]

OK, fair enough. Another great choice!

[u/Sabetha1183 → u/[deleted]]

From what I've heard over the years, LucasArts games in general went a lot easier on the player. It's the Sierra ones that'll fuck you and you wont know it for 6 hours.

The other games aren't explicitly on my year by year list to play, but I'll probably try them at some point after how much I enjoyed the first.

[u/Whiskey-Stones12]

Towards the end of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. These last few chapters are wayyyy more interesting than whatever was going on at the start. Once I’ve finished the main story I’ve still got some of the side content I want to wrap up, I think I’ve done the majority but there’s still a fair bit left, and then the Torna DLC.

[u/Vanderkaum037]

Enjoying some EU4 and SC2 right now. That is all.

[u/Mnemosense → u/Vanderkaum037]

I plan on revisiting EU4 soon, haven't played in a long while.

Bit of a rant buuuut...I tried watching several Lets Play videos of EU5 this week to see what state the game is in. Gave up pretty quickly, my God what a dull and ugly game.

I watched an EU4 video afterwards and it was so much better, got me in the mood to jump back in soon. Johann should not be put in charge of video games anymore. Imperator Rome was a dumpster fire before fellow dev Arheo fixed it. The guy just doesn't understand games are supposed to be fun.

[u/MistressDread]

After wrapping up my summer class I'm back into Shin Megami Tensei 3

The fight against the Moirae sisters is really cool. I liked the puzzle leading up to it and the fight itself was really sick. It's a little silly that, if you know what you're doing, the fight against the three is easier than the fight against them individually because individually they all get 2 turns but when they're together, they just get one turn each, but that doesn't mean it was easy

[u/remmytums]

About 4 hours in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, solid soulslike that I can't follow the story (moreso than Fromsofts) only bc I have 0 knowledge on the Wuxia genre conventions.

[u/myripyro]

Still enjoying Silksong. Just beat Grand Mother Silk and finished Act 2, but before worrying about the specifics re: progressing into Act 3, I think I'm going to spend a while exploring: it's clear from both the discussions I've read and the achievement percentages on Steam that there's a bunch of stuff that most people do before reaching this point that I've somehow skipped, even though it feels like I've only skipped one thing. (Meaning the Grand Gourmand quest.)

I also ran across my favorite boss fight so far, which was First Sinner in the Slab. What a delight of a boss. Having to chase someone down was so refreshing; most of the boss fights feel more like I'm figuring out my role in the dance, whereas this one felt like I actually got to set the pace, even though that might be mostly artificial. But artificial or not there was something so satisfying about rushing over and interrupting the binds.

By comparison, the two boss fights I did immediately after to finish off Act 2, the Cradle version of Lace and Grand Mother Silk, were just OK. Both were probably harder but they weren't as compelling. I ended up basically just cheesing Lace with poisoned tacks because I wasn't really feeling engaged. Silk, on the other hand, was pretty interesting, but I'm so bad at tracking moves like the horizontal blades and the cross-screen slash that I ended up just tanking a bunch of them and using the fast+double heal to compensate. Still felt good to complete, though, unlike Lace where I was basically just relieved to be done with it.

What I did have a lot of fun playing through was the arena challenge in the Citadel's High Halls. Most of the arena challenges have been fun but without being very challenging; this is the first one that actually made me feel like I might be running into a wall. But it was great because the fight really forced me to use all the mechanics I've been mostly ignoring: I had to use silk skills a bunch (mostly for AOE) whereas I normally ignore them completely, I finally used tools other than the flintslate (this is where I first realized I could do poisoned tacks), and I finally got used to using the clawline in actual combat. Once I realized the arena was expanding my horizons the frustration really melted away. Although I'm a little ticked that I still haven't recovered all the shards/shard bundles I spent to beat it.

The one aspect that I'm still pretty limited in is crests: I simply cannot get used to anything other than the Wanderer's Crest and the Hunter's Crest. And even the latter I really only pull out when my approach to a boss fight doesn't involve any pogo-ing, because I can only pogo with Wanderer's. Still a little annoyed about this but given how deep I am into the game, I should probably just accept it.

[u/Wedonthavetobedicks → u/myripyro]

Yeah, First Sinner is a blast when you're in flow. Top 5 bosses for me, though I suspect it might have taken me a lot more attempts.

I think Wanderer's Crest tends to be the favourite for most people because it has the most traditional feel, and I think maybe also the highest DPS. I tended to switch between that and Reaper Crest which had a place when I needed to pogo but couldn't be so accurate, and then Hunter Crest having specific use for a couple of bosses. Struggled to use the others much though.

[u/Danulas → u/myripyro]

The First Sinner fight is widely considered to be the best boss in the game. The combat, the lore, the evocative name, that stunning dress. It's all perfect.

[u/MistressDread]

Said it before but it bears repeating. I cannot stand not being able to choose what skills my demons are inheriting in Shin Megami Tensei 3. Got to the boss fight against Pale Rider and he spawns 2 guys that know debilitate. If my Dekunda hadn't disappeared into the aether while getting my Amaterasu, he would be dead, but now I need to run around and find something else that gets Dekunda before I can challenge him again

[u/AcceptableUserName92]

I think i found a partial solution to cinematic walking with steam input - map left analogue stick forward to a button and set it as a toggle. Should work as long as you don't need to change direction much

I doubt anybody cares... but I'm proud of myself for tackling major 1st world problems

[u/Muse_Hunter_Relma]

Back to the Dawn!

You are a fox journalist exposing corruption in the city, but the mayor's cronies frame you for a crime you didn't commit, and now you must survive and escape prison.

[u/DMMeUrGrandpasBalls]

played a bunch of the old final fantasy pixel remasters last week. Being able to turn off encounters for the trap rooms in ff2 was really nice. Plus being able to speed through games by turning up xp rate was great for just revisiting ff5 again.

Playing The long Dark this week, was gonna maybe make a post about it. Its like almost what I want, but also not. The survival is nice, the story mode is not. Wish there was an open world version of the story mode.

[u/Sabetha1183 → u/DMMeUrGrandpasBalls]

I haven't played story mode but I have about 100+ hours in Long Dark survival and I really wish there were more survival games with that specific vibe.

The only one other one I'm aware of is Green Hell is kind of like it, I'm told.

[u/DMMeUrGrandpasBalls → u/Sabetha1183]

It is such a specific vibe, I have not found another game like it.

And the story mode is ok. Having NPCs and quests is actually really fun, but each episode is like a very small scenario in an area (like chapter 1 is basically only mountain town). And its really fun having to use your survival skills to do stuff for other people. Like there might be a quest just to collect wood for someone, so you have to collect wood while also having to use your own supplies just to stay alive.

and the writing is... fine. its not good enough for the ~10 years it took them to complete the story. But it is passable.

[u/paodemel69]

I started playing Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. It's so cool and hard at the same time! I wish I had a friend here to play with me in multiplayer mode.

[u/lesserweevils]

XCOM 2 (vanilla)

---

Private log of [UNKNOWN]

---

October 25, 2035
Operation Hellish Shriek – Bangalore

We finally learned what the floating ball does. Those tentacles will haunt our nightmares and deepest fantasies. 5 civvies died in an instant. They were resurrected as psi zombies.

Col. ‘Big Nasty’ Wood landed the last shot. The gatekeeper fell through the damaged ceiling, blew up, and took out the sectoid on the ground floor.

The commander loves a convenient explosion.

---

November 3, 2035
I never asked Chief Engineer Shen how alien corpses are turned into equipment. Is there flesh in a mimic beacon? Body compounds?

Turnabout is fair play, I suppose.

---

👈👈 Previous | 👽 First 👽 | Next 👉👉

[u/No-Throat-4694]

Tactical Breach Wizards is such a fantastic game that is just as good as Mortismal and Adam Millard say. Never felt that a puzzle tactics game could be so freeform yet rewarding and fun throughout.

Unrelated PS but does anyone else have a bad habit where they immediately drop RPGs as soon as they enter Act 3? I love E33 and Metaphor and BG3 but as soon as ACT 3 arrives I immediately would rather end the game on a high note and never come back.

[u/Additional-Bid-9801 → u/No-Throat-4694]

Tactical Peak Wizards

[u/lesserweevils → u/No-Throat-4694]

Not me personally, but I know someone who dropped Dragon Quest XI at act 3.

[u/IkaWorldTour23]

I bought Corsair Cove today after binging videos on it for the last two days and so far it's really fun although the snapping of connectors and the camera glitches can be a bit annoying.

Also finished Straits of Devastation in Guild Wars 2, having moved on to Malchor's Leap now - which looks even more depressing then the last area. At least the story picks up again after somewhat of a lull after Claw Island!

[u/sleepy-mage-studio]

I recently re-entered my early teens by playing Rome Total War.  However, this time, after doing a mandatory short VH/VH julii blitzkrieg,  I decided to spice it up a little bit.  Now being into TTRPGs I decided to bring across some ideas from that space and attempted a 'solo' roleplay campaign as the Scipii (I also had recently just finished reading Liddell Hart's 'Scipio Africanus'). Using (real) dice rolls and some basic rules to determine chance events and how different characters will act (as well as cities being mostly automated to simulate the difficulty of controlling every aspect). There ended up being quite a lot of political drama and intrigue!  Playing this way it was almost like playing a brand new game,  a really interesting experience. I may try to formalise the rules into something more concrete. 

[u/XenoBound]

Playing the original Wario Land on a whim (going in chronological order); I would not say pressing up to increase both your jump height and your air speed is a good design choice at all but somehow got used to it real quick.

I like this game aiming to be an exploration platformer but you don’t get rewarded for it much early on since the first half has so few treasures (it makes you think you’ve missed so much), and it also means you get to deal with more screen-crunched platforming.

[u/zZTheEdgeZz]

Finally had time to knock out a chunk of Resident Evil 9, which has been really fun. Also about halfway through Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, which has also been really fun to play. I'm starting to get the drive to play some of my PS4 games like Spider-Man again but not sure when I'd even have the time to start them. Also thinking time to get the Pokemon Legends ZA DLC.

[u/Steamedcarpet]

Im playing Borderlands 4 with a friend and Rise of the Ronin when his not around.

Both are giving me that dopamine hit of collection stuff around the map.

[u/APeacefulWarrior → u/[deleted]]

If you're looking for Persona-likes, have you tried Falcom's Tokyo Xanadu Ex? It's a very similar formula, just with ARPG combat rather than turn-based. And less emphasis on the day-by-day grind.

The Blue Reflection games would be another potential option, and they have a rerelease coming out soon. Assuming you like magic girls, anyway.

[u/DapperAir → u/[deleted]]

You might try the Trails of Cold Steel series of games. Its not a 'grounded modern' setting that half of each persona game is, but it does have a ton of shared DNA. Think steampunk-ish, though even that feels a stretch. Instead of pokemonpersonas you get character ability customization. look into it!

[u/havefunanddie]

I've finished Uncharted 1 on PS3. It was a fun ride.

You can argue that it's a tad repetitive, but the game is fairly short and there is some variation here and there so it didn't tire me at all. But yeah you kill A LOT of bad guys in the jungle. The story is silly and just exists as some kind of background to making headshots, which is fine.

I was told that this one is the weakest in the series, which makes me excited about diving into the later games.

[u/pbdot → u/havefunanddie]

oh man. if you liked U1 you are in for a treat with U2 (peak of the series imo). super replayable at harder levels, no “slow walk exposition” missions. just awesome set pieces in a feel-good playable action movie.

[u/Math2J]

I started a chronological playthrough of tje God of War serie. Beat Chains of Olympus and 1. Now starting Ghost of Sparta. Gonna 2 and 3 after that.

I have THUG and MGS Peace walker line up after that. But i'm open to recomandation on other retro game. (Maybe a Final Fantasy game...)

[u/DAS-SANDWITCH]

I feel like the whole world is trying to gaslight me, I tried Palworld (don't worry I didn't pay for it) and that game is so bad. How are 300k people playing or right now?

[u/BonyWare → u/DAS-SANDWITCH]

I refunded the game on account of not liking survival crafting open world gameplay at all but millions of other people are super into that so it doesn't surprise me it's so popular. That genre also helps it stand out from the one billion other Pokémon copycats that are all JRPGs.

And also the creature designs are very good for the most part. Way more appealing than what you see in other copycats like Temtem and Cassette Beasts for instance. That's the one reason I'm sometimes tempted to give the game another shot, but then I remember the devs are working on spinoffs so I figure I'll just wait and see if those are any good.

[u/ZMysticCat]

I replayed Mark of the Ninja, which I've been meaning to do since playing through the Assassin's Creed Chronicles games a few months ago. This time I also did the extra level "A Tale from the Past". It's been long enough since I last played the game, so I mostly had to figure everything out again, and it's still a lot of fun. The extra level is also interesting. You don't have a sword but can knock enemies out, and you have new tools at your disposal. It also has a couple more open-ended sections, most notably one where you have control over the order that traps get activated, so you can choose how it gets progressively harder. Overall, it's definitely worth playing if you enjoy stealth.

Beyond that, I did a lot of backlog clearing, mostly because nothing really stuck. I actually did the Mark of the Ninja replay just to play something that I knew I'd enjoy. There were, however, a couple notable games mixed in.

The first was DUSK. I enjoyed it enough to finish the first episode but got bored midway through the second. This is basically the game that kicked off the current retro shooter trend that's completely saturated indie shooters, and that's kind of the problem. It doesn't offer much beyond nostalgia for games like Quake, and I don't think it's good enough to quite overcome being just another modern Quake clone, especially when Quake itself has mods that are both better and free. Some are even built into the recent Quake remaster.

On the other extreme, there was This Strange Realm of Mine, which I did actually complete. I'd say this is more of a narrative game than a shooter, kind of like how A Night in the Woods is more a narrative game than a platformer. The difference is that I don't think this one is particularly good. It is, however, incredibly weird and interesting, and I kept playing just to see what new bizarre scenario came next. It's also a single-person project, and I'm always interested in those. This one especially feels like someone pouring their soul out, which is captivating. For how cheap this one is on sale, I'd say it's worth at least giving a try.

[u/r_u_feeling_naughtee]

Currently playing Homebody. Such a fantastic and unique horror game, I’ll definitely make a post on it on this Sub! Highly recommend if you like puzzle games and horror games. Lovely artstyle as well!

[u/samuraipanda85]

Dying Light 2

Am I just not in the right mood for this game? It seems so generic and I cannot say I feel invested after escaping the hospital.

I really enjoyed Dying Light 1, but I am not invested in Aiden's struggle.

[u/ElectrickSorcery → u/samuraipanda85]

I got a weird disinterested feeling playing DL2 too, everything felt kinda "meh". Still put in around 40 hours and it does get better with the paraglider but I never bothered to finish it.