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What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them?
What have you been playing lately? Discussion about video games and board games are both welcome. Please don't just make a list of titles, give some thoughts about the game(s) as well.
Baldur's Gate 3
I finished an Honor Mode run after around 13 attempts (most not leaving Act 1, nobody told me about the second owlbear!) I started the Honor Mode attempts roughly 2 minutes after ending my first balanced playthrough.
The game has not lost any charm after a bunch of plays. I still have a ton of routes that I want to play through. I expect that this will be my go-to game for a very long time.
Now that I have finished an Honor Mode run without getting weird with reclassing and mods, anyone have any strong opinions on mods worth checking out? Ridiculous mods and "serious" mods are both fair game.
I’m playing through it yet again too, and just amazed a how much I continue to discover for the first time! Honestly this game is long enough that it’s overwhelming on easy difficulty modes, I have no idea how (or why) anyone would want to stretch it out further with something like honor mode, but more power to you. I do like the battle strategy but that just sounds like more frustration than fun, to me. And I really just want to explore all the plot paths, the battles just kinda boil down to filler for me at a certain point.
Two different goals, I suppose. The Honor Mode run had next to no side content in Act 3, I basically sprinted to the finish and left a bunch of loose ends because every fight I took was another chance for something to go wrong and I was max level anyway.
Further replays will be done in Tactician mode and really hit the story hard because I genuinely like the combat system.
I was gifted it for Christmas from my kids. I was very excited to play it, having previously enjoyed both Divinity games, but I have yet to get fully immersed in it. I'm sure it will eventually click, but I must say that the first few hours are not exactly easy. I'm finding the combat particularly strange compared with Divinity. Having just one action (not including the weak bonus action) feels odd, and it's not usually obvious what my best option is (move, action or bonus).
Is it just a matter of levelling up and getting some more interesting abilities? Or is the combat simply more streamlined than Divinity?
One thing I'm liking is the more mature aesthetic. I'm glad it feels like a more adult and modern game, compared to the somewhat cartoony look of DOS.
That's mostly the 5e D&D system. A couple tips:
And it is actually kind of hard even going in knowing the D&D rules.
One of my favorite BG3 moments was struggling on a boss fight, then opening with Banish, and dropping a wall of fire where he'd re-appear, and then getting in a counterspell with the other mage to keep him from Misty Stepping out.
Also, basically Thunderwave everyone who stands too close to a ledge.
If I become an evil fantasy world mastermind some day, I'll certainly have daily drills for my minions with the topic of "don't keep explosive barrels near your work area unless you really really need to"
I have absolutely no comparison to Divinity (never played it), and the combat more or less mirrors DnD so I understand the struggle. The big things to note are that you get all of those things, not a choice between one or the other and that your characters kind of suck for a few levels until the abilities get more interesting via items and levels.
I also tried playing on a controller with my wife and IMO the controller UI suuuuucks. It is not clear what does what. If you haven't tried on a PC (and can run it on a PC) it might be worth trying mouse and keyboard to get the feel for it.
I'm playing on PC, so that's not an issue. I'm very low level right now, so I won't pass any real judgements until I'm at least level 5. It's just weird to me that I get one action of note, and that's it. It's an adaptation I'm struggling with at the moment, but I'm certainly not about to give up!
Uncle Chops Mother Fxxxing Rocket Shop
I hate this game.
After my last post last week noting my initial frustrations I decided to play some more and oh my god I got so mad.
First I got absolutely got so hard in a long run I had which I was hoping to get an ending in. It was so horribly unfair I almost uninstalled it.
Then I decided to try the original, clearly more intended "Frantic Frustration" mode with the intention of it maybe not totally taking loads of my time.
And yes, it was faster but also I made a million mistakes and I was just not having fun. I ended up dying on that run because I fucked up a job missing a couple of key fixes and got so hard into the negative I couldn't crawl back out.
This game could so nearly be an outstanding game. I've seen some criticism that if it wasn't a rogue like it might be much better and yeah, I could be inclined to agree.
I dunno if I have the willpower to put in another 4+ hours to MAYBE get an ending.
This week might be Ostranaughts lol.
I didn't get much snow outside for Christmas, so I opted to get entirely too much of it inside by playing through the Frostpunk 2 story mode again, this time on Captain difficulty. In preparation for the run I tried looking for a detailed map of the Frostland to optimize my explorations, but the best I could find was a mostly blank outline from a Reddit post, so I took that and filled it in with details as I played through. I uploaded the completed map to the Frostpunk subreddit for others to find and use, won't link to it here since I'm not trying to self-promote but it should be easy enough to find if you search for it and want to use it. The Captain difficulty itself wasn't too bad, definitely easier than "A New Home" from the first game on the hardest difficulty, though I suppose I did cheese it to an extent by using a not-developer-intended strategy that bought me a lot of extra time. But hey, I didn't commit any crimes against humanity, enact any laws leading towards dictatorship, or even throw anybody in jail. A few hundred homeless people did freeze to death but housing is expensive to maintain in that frozen hellscape of an economy so I get a pass, right?
I've never played Path of Exile before, so I figured I'd try the closed beta of Path of Exile 2 that started maybe a month ago.
The story is pretty good! Only the first three of a planned six acts are done.
So far, gameplay-wise, I'm enjoying it more than the Diablo games. because it just plays better.
A lot of people are saying the endgame seems unfinished or predatory because you have to grind so much to get an attempt at the last bosses. I'm guessing that's partly because people haven't grinded gear for months so dying is more common than it probably will be down the line.
It'll be intersting to see how things pan out the next months to a year before full release!
I'm not going to dedicate huge amounts of time to the game. Therefore it's nice that the self-sufficient style works well thus far. And you get enough currency that it's pretty easy to trade for good gear to try the endgame too.
I wouldn't call the endgame predatory, but maybe that's just the way I define the term when applied to games. There's no shop where you can buy increased chances at the citadels or extra drops or whatnot. All the ones in the in-game market were found by players.
The economy is kiiinda broken right now, and there are many bugs and balance issues, but it's still an amazingly fun game to play, and I agree about the campaign, I really enjoyed the story and want to see how it progresses
I just finished the stormblood expansion of ffxiv. And my god has that been an awesome story. I’ve never loved this game more than I do now. It’s just such an elaborate world, and characters are crafted with so much love and attention. Truly a work of art.
If you want to get into it: the prelude video playframe made about the switch from 1.0 (when they had to shutdown the game because… well, it sucked), to 2.0 where they relaunched the entire game with a realm reborn is a great start.
Back to Eorzea!
Did you finish up to the credit roll or finish all the way through the between-expansions patch content? Because the latter is quite a ride too, and I'm afraid your expectations may be quickly surpassed with that and Shadowbringers lol.
I have yet to be disappointed by an expansion.
Just finished the credits, and the two scenes after the credits which were already a bit jaw dropping. So yes, add all that to your comments, and let’s say I’m eager to continue. Thanks !
Oh and did I rave about the soundtrack? Because the soundtrack!
Metaphor: Refantazio: I'm going through this game slowly. Mostly because its length is a bit daunting and since it is a story heavy game doesn't work well on a second screen. Unless you're just grinding, but there are hours of this game where you are essentially along for the ride. I do like it but starting it up feels like a time commitment.
Mouthwashing: Horror walking sim with a PS1 aesthetic. I highly recommend this game. Back of the box summary: you are a crew member that works for a space trucking corporation; but there is an accident leaving the crew adrift. It doesn't lean too heavily on jump scares but there is some body horror and gross sounds. I'm going to try and write up a bit more for the "best games you played this year" thread.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: I was pretty mid on the opening sequence (I will avoid spoilers but it's literally the tutorial section). It's cool that they pulled it off, but I thought it was lazy and there is some representational stuff that didn't need to be copied over. I voiced my opinions in a discord and was encouraged to give it another try.
It was worthwhile to put some more time in because the environmental storytelling is amazing. They really did nail playing an Indiana Jones movie. Mechanically the game is pretty janky but serviceable. I appreciate that combat kind of sucks because it encourages stealth without requiring stealth. In fact my least favorite parts are the required combat. I'm not sure I'll finish it but it was a fun CHristmas break game.
Hades: I wasn't playing many games when this came out. Picked it up for cheap and it's been a fun podcast game. So far it's consistently given me some kind of progression run-to-run. It may be that I have currency to unlock something, or it might be that it throws a new mechanic/feature into the mix.
What didn't you like about the opening of the game?
Personally I loved it. It was a great way to introduce you to the game, on familiar ground, before kicking the main story off. And it also answers the inevitable question people are going to have with the game of when does this take place in the Indiana Jones timeline?
Personally I hope they make a trilogy of games with each one using the opening of the main trilogy as their tutorial sections, it works really well.
2nd game would have the dinner scene at the club as the tutorial, 3rd game would be stealing the Cross of Coronado and the train escape as the tutorial.
At risk of launching into a debate on which context is appropriate for which art.
I don't think the portrayal of Indy's local guides/porters aged well. I just feel cringey imagining a modern VA doing that whimpering "mexican" accent. I can excuse it in the 1981 movie based on a western archaeologist in the 30's. But the video game is a modern work and I evaluate it with modern standards. They could have made other artistic decisions, but they put a lot of work into replicating some of the problematic aspects of the original.
That's my main complaint. That set me up to be annoyed by other things which aren't really worth getting in to.
I don't really understand what you are getting at, but if you don't want to explain that is ok. Everyone is entitled to their opinions
Mouthwashing is incredible, I still think about it a lot, but I also don't want to spoil it. I'll probably respond to your comment when I get back to the States!
I also finished Metaphor right before Mouthwashing basically so you and I are basically the same. When I get back to my computer it'll be Indy time for me!
Neon White
It's on PC Game Pass so I decided to give it a try last month. Was feeling lazy and didn't feel like sitting on my desk so I played it on the couch with a controller. I was fumbling and struggling with the controls and didn't quite enjoy my ~30 minute gaming session, thinking this game just wasn't for me.
Tried it again a few days ago for the heck of it but this time with keyboard and mouse .. and it just clicked with me. I'm able to move with greater precision, I'm not fumbling with the controls - I'm enjoying my experience. Can't wait to play more of it.
I found the controller controls a little unintuitive so I re-mapped them. A to jump, R2 to shoot, L2 to alt-fire/drop weapon. Y to switch weapon. L1 to restart.
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
Got it for free on Epic a while ago. The "walk around town and talk to people" RPG type of game is typically not my thing but I enjoyed this one because of the humour. And the game world is not too big so there isn't much backtracking. Then besides that aspect there's some fun puzzles and simple combat.
God of War (2018)
I haven't played a game in this series since I think God of War 2 at a friend's place. I just remember it being pretty much pure action. I like the bigger emphasis on storytelling here, though I wasn't blown away by the first Norse god encounter. I don't like some of the RPG elements that I'm starting to run into (nothing wrong with how GoW is doing them specifically, just not an RPG guy). The controls feel weird. People online seem to recommend sticking with them. Just early impressions 90min in...but I'm not really that excited to keep playing. Maybe I should go back and finish Senua's Sacrifice...
420BLAZEIT 2
Played a few more levels. Each one produces laughs. I recently picked up a weapon called "knife" that looks like a spoon and can shoot bullets like a machine gun. I also enjoy the pro tips that come up on screen when you die. Keep health above 0!
Balatro
Trying to get gold stickers on all the jokers. I think I have about 2/3 of them, including all the legendaries. I've been mostly using yellow deck now and avoiding the free joker tags (since so many of the jokers that will appear are "poisoned" with rental/perishable/eternal statuses). Having some success with each winning run getting ~3 new stickers. This is going to take a long time and I'm not committed to ever finishing it.
I played through Lenna's Inception over this vacation. It was a fun series of twists on the standard "chosen one with sword beats up bad guys" genre. I did not finish the final(?) boss fight because it became frustratingly hard, but I feel like I got enough of the story to make the playthrough worth it.
I just started Animal Well last night after a friend gifted it to me for Christmas. I have no idea what's going on, but I am intrigued.
I still play Jagged Alliance 3. I didn't have that much time having family and being Christmas in the last week. But I'm getting back into it.
As I said earlier, this is successor to beloed Jagged Alliance 2 (for me, that is) and having ayed JA2 for the last 20 years there keeps a question popping up in my mind - once I finiah JA3 and the time comes, will I pick up JA2 or JA3 again? That is surprisingly hard question to answer! And I think this is testimony to how good the JA3 actually is.
What I especially love, and what was already present in JA2, all he mercenaries have their very own personalities and sense of humor! Ie. pornstar-wannabe (or rather pornstar-once-was?) when in stealth mode says "No one can see me. Which is kinda shame, frankly". And they even support all the talking with their own personality - one other member of my team loves fantasy games and keeps speaking about magic. Another one is geek-beyond-the-grave type. This game truly is a successor to JA2.
I would get more into he game stuff but I don't want to spoil anything. Maybe I will let at least something to slip out though - SPOILER ahead: When you create your dream team, don't look just at marksmanship, you would also like to have someone that knows about bombs and mines, someone to fix stuff and also someone who can fix your teammates. And it doesn't hurt if all the people are smart (high wisdom). You should also have at least one leader (or two, actually) and the more strength your mercs have, the better.
Well, if I go more into he game, I can say, without spoilers, that maps are well done, people of the game world have their own characters and troubles which you may or.may not help with to various degrees. And the more you get into the enemy's territory, the more surprises await you. I had a few of those already and I think I'm kinda only about two thirds into the game.
I finished The Abandoned Planet and found it to be a pretty solid Point&Click game with some great animation, only a few rough edges and not-too-difficult puzzles. Some of the voice acting isn't the best but it's okay. I still managed to spend a good 4 hours on it though, overall a pretty solid game.
I've also played a lot of Roots of Pacha with a friend. It unabashedly steals the game loop from Stardew Valley, clear a field, grow crops, raise animals, do favors for villagers. I'd say the biggest difference is that it has no combat but instead more exploration and some simple puzzles. The mini-games are a lot less stressful too, even fishing is pretty chill. Resources and NPCs are tracked and easy to find on the map. Very relaxing game but still fun to progress.
I want to write more about it later (maybe for next week's topic), but I have to say that the Alan Wake series is turning out to be extremely weird for me.
Playing the first game was one of the least enjoyable video game experiences I've ever had. I didn't know I could dislike a game as much as I dislike Alan Wake. It isn't the worst game I've ever played, but it's definitely the game I've hated playing the most in recent memory. I absolutely could not wait until it was over.
If I had to choose one thing that I disliked most, it was how the game constantly took the controls away from me, and directed the camera towards stupid shit that I could already fucking see and... don't get me started. Fuck that game.
Meanwhile, though I'm only a few hours into Alan Wake 2, it's turning out to be a much better experience.
NGU Idle:
Finally beat IT HUNGERS v1 and the new feature unlock (Cooking) is honestly really shit compared to what past titans gave you.
Once a day, mix up six ingredients in the right combination to get an added 0.5% boost to EXP gains (and that's if you mix the ingredients for 100% efficiency.) It hard caps at 300%, and the next two titans (Rock Lobster and Amalgamate) only unlock another ingredient each to adjust.
This is gonna be one of those games that I'll be glad to see to the end once I finish it. NGU Idle has really good writing and humor but damn has 4G created one of the most egregious time sink idle games to ever exist.
Old School RuneScape: Leagues V:
I'm 17 tasks away from unlocking my final area (which will be Asgarnia), and I'm honestly at the stage where Leagues has me burned out. The region restrictions make certain tasks (i.e. tanning hides) a massive pain in the arse and I really hope Jagex ditches them in Leagues VI, or at least adds some decent endgame content to Kandarin so it can be more than a mere midgame skilling region.
Got Nature's Respite after about eighteen Echo Hespori kills, failed at 30% on TzTok-Jad in the TzHaar Fight Caves, and I finally beat the Gauntlet, just to find that I need to do the Corrupted Gauntlet for the Tirannwn Echo Orb.