Eidolon's recent activity
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games
Eidolon (edited )LinkEDIT BINGO completed + a bonus entry! My Bingo Card Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 10/25 Is considered emotionally resonant Has a non-human antagonist Focuses on exploration Has a lives...EDIT BINGO completed + a bonus entry!
My Bingo Card
Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 10/25 Is considered emotionally resonant Has a non-human antagonist Focuses on exploration Has a lives system Has a review score above 81 Came out more than 6 years ago Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie)
✅ TalespireYou wanted it when you were younger From a studio you haven't heard of before
✅ Warhammer: Vermintide 2Has a skill tree Set in a real world location
✅ Dear Esther: Landmark EditionMusic/rhythm-focused
✅ KickBeat: Steam Edition★ Wildcard
✅ Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced EditionFrom now-defunct dev studio
✅ Dark Star OneUses procedural generation
✅ No Man's SkyRandomness determines your fate
✅ Content WarningIs open-source Has a time limit
✅ Lethal CompanyFrom a different country than you Part of a trilogy Uses a unique control scheme You heard about it in our weekly gaming topics Owned for more than 3 years From a different culture or country Has a minimalistic vibe
✅ Cloud GardensKickBeat Steam Edition = Is music/rhythm focused
Last burner, I had the card that asked after a game that you don't know how you acquired it. I don't have that card this time, but I do have KickBeat for that kind of head-scratching. But thank goodness! This is the only game in my library that fulfils the music category.
As a martial-arts style game released in 2014 by Zen Studios, a Hungarian developer, KickBeat has an obvious European feel. It's a PC port, but feels surprisingly smooth. The premise: You are confined in a ring surrounded by wannabe kickboxers and a live audience. You must orientate yourself to the next kickboxer and perform a martial arts move at the time the beat strikes to block the attacks. The game provides you with visual cues by colour hinting at the timing, since you optimise your routine by hitting the attack before the beat actually hits. You play through the story by completing a track. It's pretty much a double album since there's only 24 tracks, some known but also others made by one of the devs. But you can apparently load in your own music, although review report mixed experiences.
I didn't grow up around platform arcade-style combat games and I'm notoriously bad at them as I'm not that great at co-ordination and intense response demands. So I made it through the tutorial but floundered on the first track. To my great joy, I got a Steam achievement for 'failing a track'! I did manage to progress a little, but the game is ultimately a little one-dimensional and unfortunately without nostalgia to fuel it my interest waned quickly. But I could see this game being a niche for those who like this kind of thing.
Content Warning = Randomness determines your fate
So, I'm being a little flexible about my emphasis on determinism here, but there are a possible total of 24 monsters that spawn in this game and some of them just eat you alive and seal your fate. While there is this chance element, the game is a bit like other procedural generated roguelikes such as Lethal Company in that you're supposed to learn how to counter each enemy.
Content Warning was a co-op pickup that my group just tried for the first time and it has to be the zaniest I've tried to date. You have a 3-day gameplay loop where you have to record footage using a handycam and achieve the required number of 'views'. It's this weird mashup of a horror dystopia with surreal elements and whimsical fun. You start in your technocolour world-sanctuary of a cosy house and verdant island where you can purchase utility items (e.g. torches, enemy countering items) and novelty items (e.g. emotes, party crackers, hats). You (and up to 3 players, if multiplayer) descend in a diving bell down to the depths of a sprawling underworld. The maps are limited and procedural generation appears to be more of variants inside maps rather than the whole map itself. The maps are: (1) some kind of tunneled underbelly of a mine/sewer; (2) a sunken ship; and (3) a barren disfigured industrial warehousing complex. Aesthetically the underground is largely monochrome and stylised as if it was sketched. Overall, the game is a postmodern pastiche, it's a bit of a play on the 'work or die' idea that I see increasingly in art/games etc. lately, although with a more specific emphasis on the labour of content generation.
The physics are buoyant and a little silly but don't seem realistic for swimming underground (you don't have the weight of water flowing against you). You navigate the map with the aim of filming 'scary' encounters (random appearances of monsters) on the handycam and pulling off stunts for extra views, since the aim is go to viral on the 'SpookTube'. You then have to make it back to the diving bell to ascend before you run out of oxygen with the footage. Back in your cosy paradise, you have to deposit the footage into a canister for it to be uploaded to a CD ROM and then physically carry that to the TV. You and your companions can then view the footage you filmed underground and watch your view count rise as procedurally generated comments from your imaginary audience populate the side panel. Bizarrely, you then have to all go to your allocated beds and sleep so that you can progress to the next day.
I get scared too easily to enjoy horror, but Content Warning is not too bad in that department although you can get jumped by enemies. Replayability is a concern, given the lack of variance in maps, but it's genuinely a funny game (such as when your character dies in a hilarious way). I would not recommend this game for singleplayer and even for multiplayer, I don't see my party sinking a significant amount of time into it, but for something casual and fun it's a good addition to our loadout.
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition = Set in a real world location
You're not exactly sure where you are, some island on the Hebrides, windswept and alone. Dear Esther, the narrator begins...
As you trek through overgrown footpaths, cave systems and abandoned shipwrecks the narrator recalls his story in short installments, infusing the island with his life, his pain, his relationships, and a historical persona who met a tragic end on the island. The story is told in a prose poem, omitting details, simply enough to be pierced by his lonely melancholy and search for solace in this state of mind.
I had been avoiding Dear Esther, not because of grief but just generally because of being too overwhelmed in life. But as fate would have it, this was the only as-yet played game in my library that is set in a real-world location. Clocking in at around an hour (non-completionist), it is a short but poignant experience. And it is truly a walking simulator, in that you can't run and you amble around, without any means to auto-walk. But the game draws you in to its meditative journey with its atmospheric design and soundtrack. There are no puzzles, no tests of any sort to distract from the story. Visually there also some splendid scenes and wonderful attention to detail.
Certain things in the game resonated with me deeply, things I don't have time or energy to dwell on here. But I'm glad I saw it through at last - and moreover, this marks 2/2 Bingo events that I have actually completed one game!
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentExcluding cosmetics, there are 3 paid content DLCs (1 with maps/cosmetics, the others with maps weapons/challenges) and 5 subclass DLCs, one for each hero. Note that if one co-op member purchases...Excluding cosmetics, there are 3 paid content DLCs (1 with maps/cosmetics, the others with maps weapons/challenges) and 5 subclass DLCs, one for each hero. Note that if one co-op member purchases a DLC with maps, the whole party can run them, but they don't share the other perks.
I would assume you'd want to migrate from Recruit difficulty to Veteran fairly quickly, since it's very much beginner-only and is trivial. If you want to go casual and stick to Veteran, you could be satisfied with the base game. There's plenty of content to keep you busy - and challenges too without having to go up a notch. For example, you can pick up items that take up a healing potion slot which give you more XP/rewards at the end. Also, from what I've read, you don't need to purchase DLC maps to cover things off from a lore perspective.
Where the DLCs start to tempt you is if your party is not hardcore (like mine) and you're finding Veteran too easy and you're at a level that you should be able to move up but haven't been able to make inroads with Champion. From what I've read for my hero, the community rates the DLC weapons the best. This would make business sense, having lured many players in with a 95% off base game. However, if we continue on with Veteran without DLCs, we could just invest our time in getting more resources to craft our power up and increase our levels until we are a bit over-leveled and can take on Champion. But this is at the cost of the game feeling less interesting due to the lack of challenge. So - I don't think the DLCs are mandatory. But maybe my party just suck! I'm really not sure how our performance fares in the scheme of things and whether this experience is by design.
So...I don't think I have an answer for you as to whether you'd be satisfied - I'm not sure myself of that question yet at this point, though the group is feeling a little frustrated at the difficulty scaling. There is also the option of picking and choosing - not all of the DLCs come as recommended by the community and if you buy on sale the overall investment is low. Thankfully this is not a game where you're encouraged to get the DLC from the get go, so you can make your mind up when you've got a handle on the game.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentI forgot to mention that there's also PvP now too, thanks to the latest free update (Nov 24). It's 4 vs 4.I forgot to mention that there's also PvP now too, thanks to the latest free update (Nov 24). It's 4 vs 4.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentHmm, I'd say it's more of a preferential progression system rather than an assumption for everyone. I'm sure some players just like to finish everything and not keep raising the challenge over...Hmm, I'd say it's more of a preferential progression system rather than an assumption for everyone. I'm sure some players just like to finish everything and not keep raising the challenge over time. You unlock difficulty tiers with level milestones but the game doesn't push you into the tier, although it does provide a little encouragement since there's an in-game achievement system which offers rewards for completing campaigns at each tier. The 'recommended' levels to move up a grade are just from our own research from the community. But this does expand the game a bit, given that the level cap is only 35 (although you can keep leveling technically without increasing power). The skill trees are also very shallow but you can then level the alternative hero characters (5 total) and swap them in and out according to your preference. Each hero also has 2 additional sub-varieties + 1 locked to a DLC (all different 'classes' e.g. ranged, tank, special hybrid).
I haven't played Left 4 Dead so can't draw comparisons, but probably the most interesting progression mechanic in Vermintide is the crafting system. It's a very straightforward system. You get heaps of unwanted loot and you can dismantle and create new weapons from scratch, or upgrade existing ones to the next rarity tier. You can also re-roll weapon special attributes. So, you can slowly customize your own arsenal, although you're still reliant on chance mechanics to get exactly what you want.
To be honest, given my lack of experience with action RPGs outside of soulslikes, I'm not sure if I can really review the game well when I don't have much to compare it to!
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon LinkMy Bingo card Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 7/25 Is considered emotionally resonant Has a non-human antagonist Focuses on exploration Has a lives system Has a review score above 81 Came out more...My Bingo card
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 7/25 Is considered emotionally resonant Has a non-human antagonist Focuses on exploration Has a lives system Has a review score above 81 Came out more than 6 years ago Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie)
✅ TalespireYou wanted it when you were younger From a studio you haven't heard of before
✅ Warhammer: Vermintide 2Has a skill tree Set in a real world location Music/rhythm-focused ★ Wildcard
✅ Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced EditionFrom now-defunct dev studio
✅ Dark Star OneUses procedural generation
✅ No Man's SkyRandomness determines your fate Is open-source Has a time limit
✅ Lethal CompanyFrom a different country than you Part of a trilogy Uses a unique control scheme You heard about it in our weekly gaming topics Owned for more than 3 years From a different culture or country Has a minimalistic vibe
✅ Cloud GardensWarhammer: Vermintide 2 = From a studio you haven't heard of before
Another cheeky strike-off due to casual co-op play! Vermintide 2 is my first introduction to the series and possibly even my first co-op action RPG ever. For a 2018 game, it's an incredibly greedy 80GB - our conclusion is that it must be a console port. This would make sense given that Fatshark, the developer, has a background in console games. So, being a PC-only person with little to no familiarity with the Warhammer universe, I'd never heard of them before.
The game is regularly 95% off on Steam but it has a number of DLCs that don't go as cheaply. It does have microtransactions (cosmetics, thankfully) and a lootbox mechanic for in-game rewards. It runs reasonably well, the maps are interesting and well-designed and the combat is pretty seamless with a 4 party team. It's kinda mindless in a sense, spamming your (limited) combat abilities to clean up hordes, but it's still pretty fun and intense at times. However, our party has hit a wall as we're at the recommended level to proceed to the next difficulty tier. We already feel like we've got a good handle on the current tier and the game is starting to become too easy - except the step up is brutal. Having done some research about how to improve my character, it turns out that all of the best items require DLC purchases. I could hardly be surprised by that I suppose...
There's a bit of a skill curve as the difficulty increases. You have to start blocking, dodging and knowing how to approach elite enemies. There's a fair bit of co-ordination demands too given the different roles in the party. I don't know though, it's still very much a 'casual' game for me so not sure how far I'll get into it. The party are also talking about Darksiders...
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentWhat you described ought to be something so trivial for a space and yet somehow, Star Citizen seems to have positioned itself in an exceptional category where everything seems hopelessly overblown...What you described ought to be something so trivial for a space and yet somehow, Star Citizen seems to have positioned itself in an exceptional category where everything seems hopelessly overblown and yet without an obvious substance. My last free fly attempt was already so painful that I don't know if I can bring myself to have another go with my next gen rig! I will also be waiting, though share your suspicion about the outcome.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentCloud Gardens Cloud Gardens is a post-apocalyptic zen placement game with light puzzle mechanics. Perhaps it's a reflection of the times, but I'm increasingly a fan of chill games that are...Cloud Gardens
Cloud Gardens is a post-apocalyptic zen placement game with light puzzle mechanics. Perhaps it's a reflection of the times, but I'm increasingly a fan of chill games that are beautiful and simplistic. Cloud Gardens fulfills the 'minimalistic vibe' category because: (a) the scene is just a tiny block of abandoned land or urban architecture; (b) its lo-fi soundtrack generative soundtrack is sparse; (c) it has a pixelated aesthetic; and (d) it doesn't have a written story and has a very short gameplay loop.
The 'story mode' presents you with a diorama setpiece and a collection of random items that you can place, one at a time. Most of the time it is industrial debris - road signs, car tyres, cones etc. Either on the scene itself or in your inventory, you can activate or place a seed that spawns a growing plant. Once this flowers you can harvest them and when you accumulate enough, you can place another seed. The planting mechanic is fundamental, since plants will grow once you place the objects near them. The more the plants grow the more points you get and when you hit the target, you can move on to the next scene. It's essentially a coverage mechanic, since you'll get your points when the plants are growing over all the objects you place.
It's immensely satisfying presiding over the re-wilding of a sliver of urban wasteland. So far, it hasn't been very challenging to reach my point target on the first go, but I'm enjoying the aesthetic aspect of it the most. You can collect new types of seeds in order to build up a card collection of species that you can select from in future sessions. There's something cathartic about nature taking the built environment as its trellis rather than being stamped over and manicured into submission. I've always loved overgrown abandoned ruins so this is right up my alley.
There's also a creative mode which I haven't tried yet but will when I finish the story and there are tools to share your setpieces with others. Apparently, the developer is finished with major updates and there's no modding support so it's a bit of a dead end as far as the game's future is concerned - and the Discord isn't so active anymore. But Cloud Gardens still a little gem that's worth polishing when you're tired and feeling discouraged about the world - although I will say it is a little expensive at base price so wait for a sale. I should probably get into real gardening though...one day!
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentYeah I feel similarly about exploration. I wasn't aware of the issue of base disappearance (though I haven't tried multiplayer) - that's rough.Yeah I feel similarly about exploration. I wasn't aware of the issue of base disappearance (though I haven't tried multiplayer) - that's rough.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon (edited )LinkNo Man's Sky No Man's Sky had been languishing on my wishlist for years, stubbornly remaining one of the few popular space-sims I'd yet to try. So, after a historically low sale recently, it felt...No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky had been languishing on my wishlist for years, stubbornly remaining one of the few popular space-sims I'd yet to try. So, after a historically low sale recently, it felt like an obligatory purchase. Fifteen hours in, I'm still playing through the extremely long and branching tutorial while progressing the main quests. I've farmed up a lot of materials so that I can explore freely for long stretches and not have to worry about constraints.
My excitement after all the initial build-up to leave the starting system was dampened after I entered into a pre-discovered system with planets named by someone else that were very crude and misogynistic. But after I was able to clear their trail after a few jumps, I found myself in uncharted territory. At first I was all about discovering every planet in the system, which requires entering the atmosphere, but that wore off pretty quickly as the vastness started to make everything less significant. Not long after I became disillusioned with questing given that it just assigns your mission destination to whatever planet or system you're located near. Let's be real though, when it comes to games with a procedurally generated persistent world to explore, I've yet to find enough satisfaction to invest much of my time - Elite Dangerous being a case in point.
The craft-based progression for tech and base-building is easily the most satisfying aspect of the game. After my eyesore of a first base, I started an outpost on a hot pink paradise planet. Architecturally it draws from urban Tatooine, except in a soft pink clay with a touch of intricate stonework. I like that they've opted for ease of deployment, with simple placement and flexibility to move objects later.
The instance based approach to multiplayer is odd. You can access a communal area anywhere but unless you're grouped up you don't interact with anyone. There's some minimal simulated NPC traffic outside space stations, but apart from that there's only scripted interactions (pirate encounter, trader, etc.) in wider space. This unfortunately makes the universe seem quite lifeless, certainly compared to a game such as X4.
The story itself is a little difficult to follow because everything comes in short bursts of messages. I don't really know what's happening half the time, but this at least maintains an element of surprise.
I did end up teleporting to one of the 'featured' bases, a treehouse, and ended up getting stuck there and having to re-load an old save. But that planet was easily my favourite yet, with gorgeous dusky lavender grass, giant pre-historic palm trees and lots of friendly dinosaur-like mutant creatures ambling around. Other than one inhospitable planet, I've yet to find a self-discovered planet that has blown me away, although that's an incentive to keep exploring.
I like that I can dip into the game and just casually roam around a bit, maybe craft something new, progress a quest line somewhat and then call it a day. It's quite relaxing and chill (that is, if you're not forced to undertake missions on planets with high sentinel activity - little robots that shoot on sight). I can see myself keeping No Man's Sky on the slow-burn...although I'd hesitate to recommend it unless you're dead keen on crafting. Regular and large updates are still being deployed despite Light No Fire being in the pipeline, which is pretty impressive. Persistent co-op would be the biggest drawcard for me with Light No Fire...but if it's a singleplayer re-skin of No Man's Sky then I'll pass.
Catch everyone next week. I've got 2 more games to complete a Bingo line!
EDIT: Updated to include another game! Post below.
Updated Bingo Card
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 6/25 Is considered emotionally resonant Has a non-human antagonist Focuses on exploration Has a lives system Has a review score above 81 Came out more than 6 years ago Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie)
✅ TalespireYou wanted it when you were younger From a studio you haven't heard of before Has a skill tree Set in a real world location Music/rhythm-focused ★ Wildcard
✅ Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced EditionFrom now-defunct dev studio
✅ Dark Star OneUses procedural generation
✅ No Man's SkyRandomness determines your fate Is open-source Has a time limit
✅ Lethal CompanyFrom a different country than you Part of a trilogy Uses a unique control scheme You heard about it in our weekly gaming topics Owned for more than 3 years From a different culture or country Has a minimalistic vibe
✅ Cloud Gardens -
Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentI know what you mean. Tabletop is a relatively new thing for me, I'd never known anyone who played until a friend suddenly got obsessed with DnD and invited me along. After getting the hang of the...I know what you mean. Tabletop is a relatively new thing for me, I'd never known anyone who played until a friend suddenly got obsessed with DnD and invited me along. After getting the hang of the ruleset, it's more effortless now and feels more like hanging out with friends. And yes, TaleSpire miniatures are pre-loaded by the DM (unless you submit a custom token). So you are able to just show up, but you still need to maintain an external character sheet for aspects that you can't integrate in the game (levels, items, spells, etc. - you can only really track your HP bar in game). Overall, everyone's been really happy with the platform though. I don't think we'll have the appetite for DnD Beyond, it will be geared too much towards profitability I suspect (if not immediately, then over time). TaleSpire has a thriving modding/custom content community on the Discord and this is one of its greatest strengths.
Re Lethal Company, I agree, our host will save but often we'll forget we have an existing run to continue with or don't have the same host and have to start afresh! And thanks for bringing KLETKA to my attention, I will check out the demo and see how it fares once the early access is live.
On to next week!
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon LinkJust in time for Week 2! Dark Star One = From now-defunct dev studio You are an earnest, naive and overly excitable young space cadet who has inherited a ship called the Dark Star One from your...Just in time for Week 2!
Dark Star One = From now-defunct dev studio
You are an earnest, naive and overly excitable young space cadet who has inherited a ship called the Dark Star One from your late father, who passed under mysterious circumstances. You receive intel about a man connected with your father's death become determined to search for him. The Dark Star One, you discover, is no ordinary ship and you can upgrade it by finding ancient artifacts scattered across the universe. You enter a system, recover the artifact by dealing with local pirates, upgrade and move on. Rinse, repeat. It's no surprise that this narrow gameplay loop is one of the core criticisms about the game.
Dark Star One is probably one of the lesser known titles in Ascaron Entertainment's catalog. Based in Germany, the Sacred, Port Royal or Patrician series are likely to be familiar - though DS1 was my first introduction to the studio. I am a big fan of space-sims and am crawling my way through lesser known titles. DS1 regularly goes on sale for a couple of bucks and the reviews are pretty good overall, though coloured by nostalgia! Released in 2006, DS1 appeared on the scene when the genre was receding from its heights in the late 90s-early 2000s, prior to its re-resurgence in the 2010s. Ascaron unfortunately did not survive into that era, having gone insolvent in 2009. Interestingly, the IP for DS1 was on-sold, though it may well be a stranded asset.
Superficially, the arcade-like spaceflight, system scaling and base interaction reminds me of Freelancer. Oddly enough, Microsoft took an interest in the game post-release and secured an Xbox port. However, the story and voice acting leave much to be desired and the archetypes are less sandbox and more scripted according to mission selection. Space-flight is pleasingly smooth although the UI is awkward. The game is also very expansive, much bigger than Freelancer. Overall, the game is quite simplistic but it does scratch a certain old-school space RPG itch. I am not sure yet whether I will finish the game, however.
TaleSpire = Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie)
TaleSpire is a tabletop sim in early access that's quite promising, if you can put up with its quirks. My DM ported our Dungeons and Dragons 5e Strad campaign into TaleSpire, ditching Roll20 for a full 3D experience. With a wealth of custom content that you can import easily - including Strad content, it hasn't been too difficult to set up. It's not the most optimised, but I've seen much worse for an early access title. Moving from 2D, it's ramped up the immersion - especially for the more unusual situations. We had a crazy underwater battle, for example!
Lethal Company = Has a time limit
An easy strike-off due to a co-op run! This game meets the requirements twice over - once for having a time limit for completing a run (over the course of the passing of a day in game time) and two for having a time limit for delivering on the game's objectives.
I'm surprised that this game hasn't been discussed on Tildes as it's a popular and relatively recent title. It is a survival horror but palatable for people like myself who struggle with horror games, because of its humour. It's a dystopian premise, you are an employee of 'the company' and you and your team have to go collect scrap on planets. Mics and chat are based on promixity unless you have walkies, so it gets spooky fast if you get lost from the group. You have three days to collect a certain amount of 'quota' which you earn by selling scrap. There's a merchant interface on the ship to purchase items to assist you, such as torches and weapons. If the whole team dies, it's game over. You encounter lots of strange and weird creatures who have different attacks and require distinct strategies. Overall, I like the vibe and it's easy to fire up for something quick when your gaming group don't have much time. We've had many laughs just from dying in stupid ways or pulling of some weird feats.
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 4/25 Is considered emotionally resonant Has a non-human antagonist Focuses on exploration Has a lives system Has a review score above 81 Came out more than 6 years ago Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie)
✅ TalespireYou wanted it when you were younger From a studio you haven't heard of before Has a skill tree Set in a real world location Music/rhythm-focused ★ Wildcard
✅ Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced EditionFrom now-defunct dev studio
✅ Dark Star OneUses procedural generation Randomness determines your fate Is open-source Has a time limit
✅ Lethal CompanyFrom a different country than you Part of a trilogy Uses a unique control scheme You heard about it in our weekly gaming topics Owned for more than 3 years From a different culture or country Has a minimalistic vibe -
Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentI'm already posting my sheet each week so it makes sense to utilise its full functionality, but thank you! I fill out all my candidates in advance on my sheet, so I guess there is some level of...I'm already posting my sheet each week so it makes sense to utilise its full functionality, but thank you! I fill out all my candidates in advance on my sheet, so I guess there is some level of bias informing what line I go down, whereas having no aim is probably more useful for getting through the dusty recesses of one's backlog.
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentI don't think it's bugged - I completely missed the memo and have been writing out my bingo cards on paper...I have updated mine now and will post it in next week's update. Thank you. And yes I...I don't think it's bugged - I completely missed the memo and have been writing out my bingo cards on paper...I have updated mine now and will post it in next week's update. Thank you.
And yes I haven't played Balder's Gate or Icewind either...but I've barely played any of the 'classic' RPG titles so am working my way through them, slowly.
As for the Wildcard, since I won't have time to complete the card, I planned my bingo line in advance. I was already playing Neverwinter Nights so it was a lazy choice for the Wildcard!
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Comment on November 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon LinkI have very little spare time so am really just dipping my toes in here and going for one bingo line across the middle of my sheet. ★ Wildcard - Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition (original 2002,...I have very little spare time so am really just dipping my toes in here and going for one bingo line across the middle of my sheet.
★ Wildcard - Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition (original 2002, enhanced released 2017)
Imagine if there was a mash-up between two games you loved when you were a kid that you stumbled upon 25 years later completely unspoiled and with tons of content. Well, this happened to me recently and it's been one hell of a nostalgia trip.
I have vaguely known that the game existed for quite a while. Hell, the Enhanced Edition has been on my Steam wishlist for years and it's thanks to a kind Tildes user that I got a copy. But somehow, I hadn't clocked that the first game was made by Bioware until a month ago. And what a shame, as I would have otherwise been introduced to the Dungeons and Dragons universe much earlier in my life. I attribute my ignorance to relying too much on game demos from my Dad's PC magazines - we didn't have internet back then so just played what we liked without any context of the developer or the game development process.
Neverwinter for me is a mash-up at a 4:1 ratio of 3 parts Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) 1, the game that Bioware developed after Neverwinter, and 1 part Dungeon Siege 1, a bare-bones hack-and-slash RPG by a different studio. KOTOR adopts the RPG text-based experience, level design and DnD combat mechanics of Neverwinter and uses its precursor engine Aurora. Dungeon Siege was released a few months before Neverwinter and has a similar camera, inventory management system and shares music composers Soule (and Zur who worked on KOTOR 2). The music is truly a mash-up with Dungeon Siege style for non-combat and KOTOR for combat.
I have no doubt that had I known about this game as a child, it would have been one of my favourites. I suspect I won't feel that way now, although it's early days. Neverwinter Nights isn't really a game though, it's a game-making system which has created a whole ecosystem - hence its longevity. There's a long campaign, expansion packs, premium or other user-made modules (some regarded as being much better than the original campaign) and persistent and relatively active multiplayer servers. Beamdog, who re-released the Enhanced Edition, is still releasing updates. They botched the console ports, but the PC edition is running perfectly fine and has various modernisations (including a UI scaler) and other quality of life tweaks.
So what's been my experience thus far with the original campaign? The game has a slow, lumbering start as you are stuck within city limits, similar to your lot in KOTOR. And like KOTOR the 'good' and 'bad' choices polemical, with the 'bad' being often comically extreme. The world is gloomy, it looks dreary and washed out, the citizenry are pretty much all suffering. The combat is turn-based but real-time, so you get pronounced pauses before every move and movement is quite clunky. The loot is repetitive and un-inspiring. On the other hand, the story is reasonably compelling, you can make in-game notes, there's no quest-markers or hand-holding, combat can be difficult (though I've had to raise it as I've gotten more powerful) and it's not strictly linear. But most of all, the nostalgia makes it a bit of a trip - right down to incredibly nuanced and specific things - the annoying lapse in time for loot to appear on corpses and various game assets that KOTOR re-used and sounds Neverwinter ripped from Dungeon Siege.
Will I continue? Probably, just to see it out and provide closure to this quite unique gaming experience. And I kind of want to try one of the community's most recommended modules to see what the fuss is about and check out the RP servers. And maybe even check out NWN 2 at some point, made by Obsidian. But given my limited time, I'll be moving on to the next game in my row and will report back next week!
Standard Bingo (Flux) Card
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 0/25 Is considered emotionally resonant Has a non-human antagonist Focuses on exploration Has a lives system Has a review score above 81 Came out more than 6 years ago Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie) You wanted it when you were younger From a studio you haven't heard of before Has a skill tree Set in a real world location Music/rhythm-focused ★ WildcardFrom now-defunct dev studio Uses procedural generation Randomness determines your fate Is open-source Has a time limit From a different country than you Part of a trilogy Uses a unique control scheme You heard about it in our weekly gaming topics Owned for more than 3 years From a different culture or country Has a minimalistic vibe -
Comment on Announcing the Tildes Backlog Burner event for November 2024: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month! in ~games
Eidolon LinkYay it's back! As with earlier this year I have minimal time to play, but will try to strike through a row even if I can't complete anything. Standard Bingo (Flux) Card Mode: Standard Bingo!...Yay it's back! As with earlier this year I have minimal time to play, but will try to strike through a row even if I can't complete anything.
Standard Bingo (Flux) Card
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 0/25 Is considered emotionally resonant Has a non-human antagonist Focuses on exploration Has a lives system Has a review score above 81 Came out more than 6 years ago Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie) You wanted it when you were younger From a studio you haven't heard of before Has a skill tree Set in a real world location Music/rhythm-focused ★ Wildcard From now-defunct dev studio Uses procedural generation Randomness determines your fate Is open-source Has a time limit From a different country than you Part of a trilogy Uses a unique control scheme You heard about it in our weekly gaming topics Owned for more than 3 years From a different culture or country Has a minimalistic vibe -
Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of August 18 in ~games
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of August 18 in ~games
Eidolon Link ParentI would be super keen for NWN: EE! Somehow managed to miss DnD-like games growing up so it's been great discovering all these classics. I've been eyeing this one up for the multiplayer and modding...I would be super keen for NWN: EE! Somehow managed to miss DnD-like games growing up so it's been great discovering all these classics. I've been eyeing this one up for the multiplayer and modding scene. And if no one claims Icewind after a while, then I would be interested in Icewind too!
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games
Eidolon LinkUnfortunately I haven't had time to update you all as the month went by, and didn't have much time to game either. I did however get to playing all the games along one bingo line, and finished...Unfortunately I haven't had time to update you all as the month went by, and didn't have much time to game either. I did however get to playing all the games along one bingo line, and finished one. Here they are:
Finished game:
Mýrdalssandur, Iceland [Game created by a solo dev]
This was one of those 'how the hell did this get into my Steam library' moments. After looking into it, I would have picked it up for free, and it is no longer on the Steam store. It's a photography simulator based on the southern plains of Iceland. The landscape is rugged, a little misty and you don't have a map. Designed in Unreal Engine 4, the visual style is realism.
The aim of the game is to visit the sites of photos that are laid out on the guide-board to the area. You have to orientate your way around and look for the visual signatures that are in the photos. Being in the rough area and taking an image makes a little satisfying bell sound.
You can walk around paths that curve their way through the natural features, but you can't just run across the landscape as you'll run into invisible walls. There are plenty of occluded sights when you find little pathways and deviations from the main area. I did get lost but it was satisfying roaming around. Once I got my snaps a gate opened, and I could enter the next area - this time in gorgeous sunset. I won't spoil the ending, but it was an impressive still shot. It took around an hour and twenty minutes to finish the game, so it was a bit easy perhaps, but it really was a tranquil experience, especially with the subtle soundtrack featuring soft piano. It now looks like it was a test project, as the developer is releasing a new game called 'Lushfoil Photography Sim' which covers 10 landscape areas. I've wishlisted it!
Partially finished games:
Outer Wilds [Game you purchased at full price]
I'm in the late stages of the game but I gave up because I got too scared. Yes, that might sound a bit funny but this game gave me the existential horrors. I hate it and love it at the same time, and I do highly recommend and rate it. It's been sitting unplayed for over a year now, so I think it qualifies as being on the backlog. This one was a bit of a fail, as I've been using a different mouse, and it turns out that the game forces hardware acceleration, and so I couldn't move the camera very fast. I did persist a bit but this resulted in some avoidable deaths and I will have to search out a new mouse before I get back to this one.
Hellion [Abandonware]
Hellion is the only game on my bingo sheet that qualifies as abandonware. I picked it up on Steam when it was released by the developers for free after they canned the project. It's subsequently been removed from Steam but survives in a very passionate mod community under the banner of the Hellion Rescue Project. It's a first-person Space survival game where you pilot a ship to visit stations and gather resources.
I tried the base game even though I knew it would have its quirks and bugs. You start by having to navigate a dysfunctioning space installation and you have to make an escape. This includes periods of anti-gravity where it's not easy to get around, but coming from an X4 spacesuit context, it wasn't so bad. I made it out of the base and got into a ship before making my way to another nearby station, and trawling through it. Rinse repeat, and I was starting to get the gist of the game, but didn't get deep into it.
Hellion is held up as being somewhat of a unique entity and a lost gem in Space games, which is why it had piqued my interest. It looks aesthetically like a low-budget Starfield, and reminds me of Elite Dangerous Odyssey and Empyrion. I didn't get far enough into the game to really understand why it has such a cult following. Who knows, maybe that's a task for November ;)
X3 Albion Prelude [Game with time manipulation]
This game qualifies because it involves a tool called SETA that allows you to speed up time. X4 was my introduction to the series, and I arrived pretty late in the piece after the Split DLC had dropped. So I missed a lot of that teething period and honestly haven't encountered that many bugs - and so it's pretty much my favourite contemporary space game. I'm currently waiting for the new DLC and update to drop, so it was the perfect time to look at the X3 series, which is highly regarded. After sifting through some recommendations I landed on Albion Prelude. It is an add-on to the base game Terran Conflict, but you start a new save.
As to be expected, I was thrown into the deep end and found myself grasping at controls and the intricate and confusing menu system. Not too far into the game, an AI ship crashed into a station - classic Egosoft. As a sandbox, the game is what you make of it. I'm only in the very beginning, but am really enjoying it so far. I don't know yet whether I'll get much playtime, but it's gone from backburner to frontburner!
Sekiro [A game you find challenging]
Like others who discovered Fromsoftware through Elden Ring, I found Sekiro. I think the difficulty of Sekiro is part of its attraction and why it is held out by Fromsoftware geeks as being in its own league. I honestly doubt I will finish this game. I am just not good at fast-paced melee co-ordination with a sword and board, let alone parrying which this entire game is built around. So, during this month, I started the game and then got stuck, and then persisted, focusing on two early game mini boss fights: the Chained Ogre and General Naomori Kawarada.
I managed to down both of them, using different tactics, dodging for the ogre and parrying in close range with Kawarada. I failed miserably on many attempts but it was satisfying to get a bit better. Then, I somehow got into the rhythm and dance of the fight and finished them. It was a bit of a rush, getting into that groove and balancing restraint with aggression. I'm pretty happy with that, and I'll keep plodding on.
So, that's my bingo sheet! Some of these games ticked off other categories too: Set in a real-world location; ; from a different culture/country; from a different country (Mýrdalssandur, Iceland), Long-running series (X3 Albion Prelude).
Thank you for having me along - it's been a bit of a stressful month and I really appreciate being able to still dip into this event. Big thank you to @kfwyre and I look forward to future events!
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Comment on May 2024 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
Eidolon LinkA little late to the party, and I don't have much time to play, but I'm keen to chip away at some! This will be my first Backlog Burner, thanks for running this for us and shoutout to the web...A little late to the party, and I don't have much time to play, but I'm keen to chip away at some! This will be my first Backlog Burner, thanks for running this for us and shoutout to the web bingo, it's excellent.
Backlog Bingo Card
Mode: Standard Bingo! Finished 0/25 Set in a real world location From a different culture or country Has an animal protagonist Uses a unique control scheme “When the hell did I buy this?” A solo-dev project You got it at full price Is considered “abandonware” Has time manipulation From a genre you find challenging Is one of the oldest games you own From a different country than you ★ Wildcard Features a mystery Has permadeath Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie) Part of a long-running series From a genre you don’t normally play Owned for more than 7 years Has a branching storyline Has zombies Focuses on exploration Has driving You can complete it in only a few hours Has no achievements
You can add me to the Bingo win list, with my apologies for lateness!
I would like to thank @kfwyre and @wes and to all fellow participants. I'm already looking forward to the next Backlog Burner!
Final Bingo Card
Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie)✅ Talespire
From a studio you haven't heard of before✅ Warhammer: Vermintide 2
Set in a real world location✅ Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
Music/rhythm-focused✅ KickBeat: Steam Edition
★ Wildcard✅ Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition
From now-defunct dev studio✅ Dark Star One
Uses procedural generation✅ No Man's Sky
Randomness determines your fate✅ Content Warning
Has a time limit✅ Lethal Company
Has a minimalistic vibe✅ Cloud Gardens