19 votes

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.

59 comments

  1. [5]
    spctrvl
    Link
    I played through Disco Elysium for the first time recently. Wow, I didn't know they still made games like this. It's a combat-free isometric RPG, which is already super appealing to me, since...

    I played through Disco Elysium for the first time recently.

    Wow, I didn't know they still made games like this. It's a combat-free isometric RPG, which is already super appealing to me, since while I love the writing in the classics like Fallout and Arcanum, I feel like the games' flow just totally breaks down whenever combat is initiated. But the writing and worldbuilding in Disco Elysium just puts other games in the genre (that I've played anyway) to shame. In addition to being completely hilarious, it's just really well put together, believable and smart, using and referencing ideas from philosophers from Berkeley to Hegel. I also really love how the whole total amnesia in an unfamiliar world thing leaves you trying to figure out fundamental things, like, is magic actually real, or are these people just superstitious crazies? I can't recommend it enough.

    12 votes
    1. SkewedSideburn
      Link Parent
      ZA/UM really managed to hit hard with their first game, I was very surprised when it came out of nowhere. Looking forward to replaying it again in a year or two

      ZA/UM really managed to hit hard with their first game, I was very surprised when it came out of nowhere. Looking forward to replaying it again in a year or two

      6 votes
    2. [2]
      cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Hey, it's not entirely combat free! only half joking plot spoilers (funny ones though) I accidentally shot a kid in my first playthrough, roundhouse kicked a dude in the face in another, and there...

      Hey, it's not entirely combat free! only half joking

      plot spoilers (funny ones though)

      I accidentally shot a kid in my first playthrough, roundhouse kicked a dude in the face in another, and there is a mandatory shootout at one point in which you can completely forget to bring your gun (or never recover it in the first place) so pretty much everyone but you dies. :P

      I 100% agree that it puts other games in the genre to shame though. It's easily my favorite CRPG of the last decade, and I highly recommend it as well. Also pretty cool to see Arcanum mentioned by you too, it's one of my favorite classic CRPGs as well... even as broken as it was/is.

      4 votes
      1. spctrvl
        Link Parent
        Haha, yeah, I guess it'd be more accurate to say that the combat is just more dialogue. And yeah, I have a thing for the industrializing/modernizing fantasy world trope, which is another thing...

        Haha, yeah, I guess it'd be more accurate to say that the combat is just more dialogue. And yeah, I have a thing for the industrializing/modernizing fantasy world trope, which is another thing that Disco Elysium did well, but kind of subtly. I really hope they do more games in the setting, it's really something else; one of my favorite new IPs in a loooong time.

        2 votes
    3. krg
      Link Parent
      A few (8? 10?) hours into this and really enthusiastic about it, as well! I’d go so far as to say it’s the first game I’ve played where the writing isn’t complete garbage. I’ve played many a...

      A few (8? 10?) hours into this and really enthusiastic about it, as well! I’d go so far as to say it’s the first game I’ve played where the writing isn’t complete garbage. I’ve played many a game... for the most part it seems like video game writers aren’t well-read and draw from a shallow pool of cultural references.

      My main gripe (and it’s not unique to this game) is with regards to the ergonomics of point-and-clicking so much. Really strains my wrist after a while. Wish movement could be handled with WASD or the game supported gamepads.

      3 votes
  2. [13]
    Phi11ipus
    Link
    I recently got a VR headset, so I've been playing a lot of BeatSaber. It's a rhythm game where you slice through blocks which are flying at you to the beat of music. I've found that it's...

    I recently got a VR headset, so I've been playing a lot of BeatSaber. It's a rhythm game where you slice through blocks which are flying at you to the beat of music. I've found that it's incredibly good at getting you into a "flow" state, plus it seems to be a decent way of exercising while in quarantine.

    9 votes
    1. [3]
      kfwyre
      Link Parent
      I love Beat Saber and have also been using it as exercise. I find that it's way more effective (and fun) if you really let your whole body get into the song rather than standing there like a rigid...

      I love Beat Saber and have also been using it as exercise. I find that it's way more effective (and fun) if you really let your whole body get into the song rather than standing there like a rigid tree swatting at birds with your branches. Pre-quarantine my friends would laugh at me (and frequently take video footage) while I played because I sway and bounce all over the place, but it really makes it so much more exciting!

      The only downside to it is sweat. I have to wipe my face and my headset down every few songs or else it starts to get really gross.

      7 votes
      1. [2]
        Phi11ipus
        Link Parent
        Which headset do you have? I have an Oculus Quest and bought a silicon cover which really helps to lessen the gross feeling (it avoids the damp foam feeling). As for the rest of the sweat, the...

        Which headset do you have? I have an Oculus Quest and bought a silicon cover which really helps to lessen the gross feeling (it avoids the damp foam feeling). As for the rest of the sweat, the best I've been able to do is set up a fan.

        2 votes
        1. kfwyre
          Link Parent
          Quest as well, and I've got a silicone cover too! I just sweat gross amounts.

          Quest as well, and I've got a silicone cover too! I just sweat gross amounts.

          1 vote
    2. [2]
      Omnicrola
      Link Parent
      I recently started a new job doing XR development, so I've also been exploring a lot of VR content. I really hate to admit it because Oculus is owned by FB and FB is the worst, but the Quest might...

      I recently started a new job doing XR development, so I've also been exploring a lot of VR content. I really hate to admit it because Oculus is owned by FB and FB is the worst, but the Quest might be my favorite at the moment. The ease of use and portability really make it so much more accessible. I like my Vive also, but I'm tethered and I currently have to swap one of my HDMI cables every time I play because my video card doesn't have enough outputs to run both monitors plus the Vive at the same time.

      I play BeatSaber the same way you describe, and I enjoy it a lot. I can play some songs on the harder difficulties, but I usually don't because then I have to focus on just moving my arms, instead of letting my whole body get into it! If you haven't played SUPERHOT, it is also a lot of fun.

      And if you're in the mood for a puzzle-platformer, grab Moss. It is my absolute favorite VR game thus far even though it's fairly short (4-5 hours). I actively went out and bought more merch from them so that I could give the more money than the cost of the game.

      5 votes
      1. Phi11ipus
        Link Parent
        I tried the SUPERHOT demo but didn't like it as much as I was hoping - I don't have much space to move around, so I was moving my hands and head back and forth waiting for things to happen. I'm a...

        I tried the SUPERHOT demo but didn't like it as much as I was hoping - I don't have much space to move around, so I was moving my hands and head back and forth waiting for things to happen. I'm a big fan of puzzles though, so it looks like Moss is my next purchase.

        3 votes
    3. [4]
      Overzeetop
      Link Parent
      It really is a fascinating demo of what great VR can be right now. Sadly I just switched from Rift to Quest, so almost none of the games I purchased transferred over (Robo Recall one one other I...

      It really is a fascinating demo of what great VR can be right now. Sadly I just switched from Rift to Quest, so almost none of the games I purchased transferred over (Robo Recall one one other I believe), and I'm still working through the SideQuest/Link functionality to reconnect the headset to all my PC games.

      2 votes
      1. [3]
        PetitPrince
        Link Parent
        It has been recently made super easy thanks to the Link USB2 compatibility. 0. Buy a USB-A <-> USB-C adapter if your computer don't already have an USB-C port (alternatively, a USB-C Launch the...

        SideQuest/Link functionality to reconnect the headset to all my PC games.

        It has been recently made super easy thanks to the Link USB2 compatibility.
        0. Buy a USB-A <-> USB-C adapter if your computer don't already have an USB-C port (alternatively, a USB-C

        1. Launch the Oculus app on your PC
        2. Enable Link in the settings if your Quest
        3. Plug in any USB-C cable to your Quest and your computer
        4. Confirm entering in Link mode in your Quest
        5. Enjoy PCVR and your old library :).
        2 votes
        1. [2]
          Overzeetop
          Link Parent
          Yes, but also no. USB2/480Mbps link is objectively worse than VD/wireless based on my testing, as I mistakenly used what I thought was a USB3 cable and experienced pretty bad lag/frame&audio drops...

          Yes, but also no. USB2/480Mbps link is objectively worse than VD/wireless based on my testing, as I mistakenly used what I thought was a USB3 cable and experienced pretty bad lag/frame&audio drops in Link mode. Using a (woefully short) USB3 cable fixed both problems, so I've ordered a longer USB3 cable.

          VD/SQ is actually more reliable than Link so far, with caveats. I can get a 866Mbps link from my router, but I see occasional drops/stutter which I suspect is due to other traffic on the same channel. I can link through a Hotspot with a USB connector, but cannot for W10 to switch from 40MHz to 80MHz on the channel width so I'm stuck at 400Mbps connection speed. No dropouts since I'm on a dedicated link, but the lag is greater (jello effect) and makes active games (beatsaber, space pirate trainer*) difficult or unplayable. I'm going to try and link the "guest" network to my Quest on 5GHz and see if it can see 80MHz and be immune to other network traffic.

          *yes, SPT is cross buy, and I have it loaded native on the quest, but it's a great test game. I'm hoping for a sale come 5/21 Quest anniversary and I'll probably pick up beat saber and a couple other native games, too, just to allow remote play.

          3 votes
          1. PetitPrince
            Link Parent
            Ah! Good to know;I only briefly tested with mine and Alyx and thought it was OK.

            Ah! Good to know;I only briefly tested with mine and Alyx and thought it was OK.

            1 vote
    4. Weldawadyathink
      Link Parent
      This is my favorite review of beatsaber. It’s possibly my favorite review of any game ever: https://youtu.be/JR1_nsbYzL8 Spectacular game. Fuck cubes!

      This is my favorite review of beatsaber. It’s possibly my favorite review of any game ever:

      https://youtu.be/JR1_nsbYzL8

      Spectacular game. Fuck cubes!

      1 vote
    5. [2]
      Akir
      Link Parent
      How? I don't actually need to know how, I'm just a bit bitter at not being able to get one anywhere. And now my graphics card is dying so I can't do VR at all now.

      I recently got a VR headset

      How?

      I don't actually need to know how, I'm just a bit bitter at not being able to get one anywhere. And now my graphics card is dying so I can't do VR at all now.

      1. Phi11ipus
        Link Parent
        I got an Oculus Quest, so it's actually a standalone device. There are some being sold on Amazon as of a few weeks ago, so you might still be able to find one. It's not as powerful as a PC-driven...

        I got an Oculus Quest, so it's actually a standalone device. There are some being sold on Amazon as of a few weeks ago, so you might still be able to find one. It's not as powerful as a PC-driven headset, but I haven't had a problem with it.

  3. monarda
    Link
    Because I had period of about five years of total addiction to gaming (where I neglected my obligations of mother, wife, and human), I've tried to make a habit of not playing games at all. There...

    Because I had period of about five years of total addiction to gaming (where I neglected my obligations of mother, wife, and human), I've tried to make a habit of not playing games at all. There have been some mishaps, but they only served to strengthen my resolve. However, there are times when I need my conscious mind to rest, so I can figure stuff out without interfering. So I tried a coloring app, and that sort of fit the bill, except I am a completionist, so it fed the addiction. And off and on and I have tried to find things that allow me to pick it up and put it down to no avail until a few weeks ago. I found this simple game called Zen Sand which is nothing more than putting sand into vases. The first 16 levels are free and then its 3 dollars to open up the remaining 48 levels. And I liked it well enough to buy it, which is not something I do. Getting the sand into the vases are little puzzles, which I find relaxing. I can spend a few minutes on one and put it down without thought and pick it back up the next time I find myself pacing. They are simple enough that I have completed all levels, but I do find it just as relaxing to start back from the beginning. I never thought a game like this would be something I would find myself playing, much less replaying, but here I am.

    7 votes
  4. [3]
    Fal
    Link
    I've been playing Europa Universalis, and my god, is it the most efficient time sink I have ever laid my hands on. I've heard some people say the the Civilization games suck time away, but I never...

    I've been playing Europa Universalis, and my god, is it the most efficient time sink I have ever laid my hands on. I've heard some people say the the Civilization games suck time away, but I never really had as much of a problem turning Civ off, especially into the late game. Do wish that Paradox would make all of the DLC cheaper though, it seems that some features should probably be in base game.

    6 votes
    1. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I agree. Yeah, I also agree that Paradox's DLC is way too pricey and that they should probably include way more of the DLC elements into the base game, especially as time goes on. It's not so bad...

      is it the most efficient time sink I have ever laid my hands on.

      I agree.

      Do wish that Paradox would make all of the DLC cheaper though, it seems that some features should probably be in base game.

      Yeah, I also agree that Paradox's DLC is way too pricey and that they should probably include way more of the DLC elements into the base game, especially as time goes on. It's not so bad if you have been playing and picking up every DLC as they were released, since you can treat it as an ongoing cost, like a subscription or sometime. But if you are new to their games, or even just stop playing for a while and then have to buy a bunch of their DLC all at once to "catch up" as it were before you start playing again, it can wind up costing a lot of money.

      I really wish that every 2-3 major expansions they repackaged the base game to include all the older DLC, so it would be easier and more affordable for people to get into their games. IMO nobody should have to spend several hundred dollars all at once to get the full experience out of their games.

      The only saving grace regarding their DLC is that so long as a multiplayer game host has all the DLC, then anyone who joins those games gets temporary access to all the DLC features as well. So at least when friends of mine, who aren't as dedicated to Paradox's game as I am, want to play with me they don't have to spend a shit ton of money to do so.

      6 votes
    2. imperialismus
      Link Parent
      The good news is that the upcoming Emperor expansion is likely to be the final DLC for the game. After that, they'll probably start heavily discounting or even making some of the older DLC free....

      Do wish that Paradox would make all of the DLC cheaper though, it seems that some features should probably be in base game.

      The good news is that the upcoming Emperor expansion is likely to be the final DLC for the game. After that, they'll probably start heavily discounting or even making some of the older DLC free. The bad news is the cycle will start up again in the inevitable sequel.

      At least then you get to buy it as it comes out.

      2 votes
  5. Icarus
    (edited )
    Link
    I'm still playing Risk of Rain 2. I'm doing achievement hunting at the moment. All weekend I spent trying do a challenge where you use a specific character and try to get through 8 stages in under...

    I'm still playing Risk of Rain 2. I'm doing achievement hunting at the moment. All weekend I spent trying do a challenge where you use a specific character and try to get through 8 stages in under 25 minutes. This means I have to work extremely fast to find the teleporter, defeat the boss, and scavenge for whatever items I can find that happen to be close to the teleporter.

    I happened to complete the challenge...or so I thought. I completed the 8th stage boss, selected to go through the celestial portal. I had 15 seconds to spare so as I sat waiting for the animation to complete, a Dunestrider (another RoR2 boss) walked up and one-shotted me right before I completed the teleport.

    I lost everything. I was so close to finishing that challenge.

    So I am going to continue to work on that. This time I will work on the hardest difficulty since I need the achievement for completing the 8 stages on monsoon.

    Edit: I managed to get that achievement today. Had a bit of a bizarre run that I thought wouldn't work but I ended up pulling through with a unique loadout. Thank you RNGesus.

    6 votes
  6. [11]
    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link
    I'm replaying Portal 2. I played through the campaign twice, right after it came out, and haven't touched it since, so it's been quite a while and I'm getting to go through it with relatively...

    I'm replaying Portal 2. I played through the campaign twice, right after it came out, and haven't touched it since, so it's been quite a while and I'm getting to go through it with relatively fresh eyes.

    In my experience, it's still excellent. The game does a fantastic job of iterating on the first Portal. They had lightning in a bottle with the first game and somehow managed to continue it and even improve on it for this one. This game is fuller, richer, and deeper than the first. The familiar yet decayed environments are hauntingly gorgeous, and the game plunges further into dark humor with GlaDOS's sinister, sardonic barbs. Also, Wheatley is legitimately entertaining and charming. At multiple points in the game as he guides you, I've simply stopped and listened to him, as he often has surplus dialogue that's low-key hilarious.

    Gameplay-wise, they added enough to the formula to keep the puzzles interesting. It's been long enough that I can't remember specific solutions to puzzles anymore, but I am breezing through it a bit quicker than my first go-around since I already know how everything works. My only complaint is that frequent load times hamper continuous play, which I believe is a limitation of the Source engine, but it's a minor and totally understandable issue in what is otherwise a sublime experience.


    Beyond that, I just finished with a nearly full playthrough of Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced -- a remaster of the first game. It was a great game to play while listening to audiobooks (I'd already played the original). I also played through the DLCs which were interesting but ultimately probably not worth the time I spent in them. There is no fast travel within individual DLCs, which makes navigation a huge pain. I played Lilith and maxed her phasewalk time and minimized its cooldown so I could use it to quickly sprint between areas during backtracking. If I'd been any other character I think I would have just quit.

    The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned was good and probably the most fully fleshed out of the 4. Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot was promising as I like horde modes, but you literally have to play through 100 waves with no saving which made it a complete non-starter for me. The Secret Armory of General Knoxx was the worst when it came to backtracking in maps, as you can go a full three or four maps away from the one starting point in either direction, and those maps are mostly just long roads that take forever to drive through, even with the fastest vehicle. Claptrap's New Robot Revolution meanwhile might have been rushed, as it had these huge, intricate maps and almost no quests to populate them. It felt like most of the maps had only one story quest and one side quest each.


    I also started up the terribly-named Swag and Sorcery which I don't know if I'll continue. It's almost an idle game but not quite. You manage adventurers, sending them on fights and slowly building up resources so you can level them up and craft them better gear, so they can go on slightly more difficult fights. The game feels idle-inspired but requires considerably more involvement than most games in that genre, but your involvement is basically just management tasks that feel like they could be automated in the first place, so in some ways it feels like I'm wasting more time and effort than I really should be.

    It is nice for audiobooks, so I haven't discarded it yet, but I don't know how much more I'll put into it if it doesn't change things up soon.

    6 votes
    1. [6]
      joplin
      Link Parent
      You should also give the user-made levels of Portal 2 a try. There are literally thousands of them (probably at least 10s of thousands, if not more). The 4 and 5 star ones are usually quite good....

      You should also give the user-made levels of Portal 2 a try. There are literally thousands of them (probably at least 10s of thousands, if not more). The 4 and 5 star ones are usually quite good. Some are really hard, but most are just good fun.

      4 votes
      1. [5]
        kfwyre
        Link Parent
        After I'm done I'm probably going to explore some of those. My husband and I also might revisit the co-op campaign. We had a great time with it back on release.

        After I'm done I'm probably going to explore some of those. My husband and I also might revisit the co-op campaign. We had a great time with it back on release.

        3 votes
        1. arghdos
          Link Parent
          I really regret that I never found anyone to do the co-op campaign with :/

          I really regret that I never found anyone to do the co-op campaign with :/

          2 votes
        2. [3]
          cfabbro
          (edited )
          Link Parent
          Warning: The co-op campaign will either be the funnest most laugh filled thing you have ever played with your husband, or it will end in you getting divorced. :P I joke... but only partially. It...

          Warning: The co-op campaign will either be the funnest most laugh filled thing you have ever played with your husband, or it will end in you getting divorced. :P

          I joke... but only partially. It can be super fun, but also reeeeeeeally frustrating sometimes because fuckups (and trolling) are inevitable, lots of the puzzles are quite difficult, and also require a lot of coordination between the players. So it can definitely can go pretty far either way in terms of how enjoyable it is to play with someone.

          1 vote
          1. [2]
            kfwyre
            Link Parent
            Lol. We survived it early on in our relationship back when it first released, and we're still together today many years later, so that counts for something, right? :D

            Lol. We survived it early on in our relationship back when it first released, and we're still together today many years later, so that counts for something, right? :D

            1 vote
            1. cfabbro
              Link Parent
              I see you like to live dangerously! (I also missed the "revisit" part in your first comment) :P

              We survived it early on in our relationship back when it first released

              I see you like to live dangerously! (I also missed the "revisit" part in your first comment) :P

              1 vote
    2. [4]
      SkewedSideburn
      Link Parent
      At first I misread it as Sword & Sworcery and became really-really happy for a second. Really loved that game, awesome soundtrack too

      Swag and Sorcery

      At first I misread it as Sword & Sworcery and became really-really happy for a second. Really loved that game, awesome soundtrack too

      4 votes
      1. [3]
        TheJorro
        Link Parent
        Excellent game, well ahead of its time. Perhaps the iOS only limitation limited its spread (even though I first played it on PC years ago).

        Excellent game, well ahead of its time. Perhaps the iOS only limitation limited its spread (even though I first played it on PC years ago).

        1. [2]
          SkewedSideburn
          Link Parent
          I haven't even heard of an iOS release, in my mind it was always a PC game

          I haven't even heard of an iOS release, in my mind it was always a PC game

          1. TheJorro
            Link Parent
            Yeah! It was originally designed and released for the iPhone platform, as an attempt at a dedicated iPhone game that took advantage of the vertical aspect ratio and features of the format.

            Yeah! It was originally designed and released for the iPhone platform, as an attempt at a dedicated iPhone game that took advantage of the vertical aspect ratio and features of the format.

            1 vote
  7. imperialismus
    Link
    For the past month or so, I've been playing the Valorant beta. I wasn't a huge fan of the way they distributed beta access, but once you get in, the game itself is fun. It delivers exactly what I...

    For the past month or so, I've been playing the Valorant beta. I wasn't a huge fan of the way they distributed beta access, but once you get in, the game itself is fun. It delivers exactly what I wanted, which is a Counter-Strike-esque experience, similar enough to feel at home but different enough that I want to pick it up when I'm tired of CS:GO. It's a beta, so it's not perfect, but it's already a hell of a lot less buggy and imbalanced than CS:GO was at launch.

    Also, the fact that it's a beta takes some of the pressure off your shoulders. I like competitive games, but they can sometimes be stressful to play. You get overly attached to rankings, numbers, and measurable progress, and forget to have fun. I have no ambitions of going pro, so it shouldn't matter if I suck as long as it's fun. The beta is pretty chill, although I've already encountered my fair share of toxic teammates. Which is to be expected.

    One negative factor is the fact that unlike CS:GO, Russians do not get access to voice communication. They can't speak and I don't think they can listen in either. Given where I live, I encounter a lot of Russians. And while it's frustrating enough to get people who refuse to speak English in other games, it's even worse when they literally can't speak at all. You really need voice comms in a game like this, and now maybe 30-40% of the people I meet in matchmaking can't use it even if they have a microphone. I don't understand the reasoning behind it, I know it's a legal thing, but why Valve gets to have voice chat in Russia and Riot doesn't is a mystery to me.

    6 votes
  8. [3]
    mcluk
    Link
    Haven't exactly played it recently, but I think my favourite game of all time is Elite: Dangerous. I play it on Xbox, and will probably transition to PC once I get a laptop with a good graphics...

    Haven't exactly played it recently, but I think my favourite game of all time is Elite: Dangerous. I play it on Xbox, and will probably transition to PC once I get a laptop with a good graphics card that can handle games, but damn that game gets you hooked once you start playing. It has a really steep learning curve, as getting used to flying a ship and choosing your career can take some time, but it's more than worth it.

    I also like Elite because you could easily put on background music/not pay all your attention to the game because it's almost a flight simulator in that it realistically simulates the vast size of space. A lot of your time is spent travelling between and within solar systems, and you choose if you want to be a trader, miner, pirate, explorer, or a mix of all.

    The game is phenomenal in my mind. It's definitely not the game for everyone, but I'd highly recommend checking it out.

    4 votes
    1. [2]
      Avion
      Link Parent
      I used to play ED but stopped a couple years ago because it felt like there wasn't much to do in each of the respective fields (trader, miner, pirate, explorer). Each of the fields seemed exciting...

      I used to play ED but stopped a couple years ago because it felt like there wasn't much to do in each of the respective fields (trader, miner, pirate, explorer). Each of the fields seemed exciting at first then I realized there wasn't much else to do besides grind and it just felt very shallow. For example, if I was bounty hunting, all I would do is grind kills in asteroid belts not much else. Exploring was more exciting, but again it just became "pick a system, drop in, honk, scan planet, leave" over and over again. I was a kickstarter backer because I felt this game could be amazing and huge. But the lack of things to do made me really sad.

      Have there been any new additions that add depth and not just width to the game?

      3 votes
      1. mcluk
        Link Parent
        I haven't been very up-to-date with it, but the Horizons expansion definitely added some depth by allowing planetary landings. Engineers also add a lot afaik (I haven't taken the time to try them...

        I haven't been very up-to-date with it, but the Horizons expansion definitely added some depth by allowing planetary landings. Engineers also add a lot afaik (I haven't taken the time to try them out), but yeah, it's definitely a game that requires you to grind through it. For me, it's often more like going out for a drive than actually playing a game - checking www.eddb.io for what to trade and where to bring it, following Masark's Guide to Trade, and slowly upgrading tends to be somewhat relaxing for me after a long week of school.

        It's definitely not a game for everybody, but I like the realism and the grind. I'd check it out again if you haven't tried it with Horizons.

        2 votes
  9. emnii
    Link
    Please bear with me as I'm still sort of flopping around on everything because I don't know what I want to play. I played a couple hours each of Bioshock 2 Remastered and Bioshock Infinite. I've...

    Please bear with me as I'm still sort of flopping around on everything because I don't know what I want to play.

    I played a couple hours each of Bioshock 2 Remastered and Bioshock Infinite. I've beaten both of these games before, I loved them first time, and I still like them. I find the ADAM gathering in Bioshock 2 a bit too repetitive, but it's okay. I really appreciate the improved action of Bioshock Infinite. Not sure I'll see the end of either of them for a second time.

    I finished a STRAFE run. I didn't think I was going to make it. I went into the last zone with less than half life and less than half armor. I ended up at the end boss with about 75% of each, and exiting the boss area with 8 points of health. My heart was pounding. And then I learned there was an epilogue, with more enemies. I was certain I was going to die. But I lived.

    I started Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. I've not played many Dragon Quest games, much less those that came after the NES era, but this came highly recommended from a friend of mine. Having recently played too much FFXIII, DQXI feels like it's done the modern JRPG thing right. Still automating combat, but it doesn't take anywhere near as long to get the training wheels off and the story is much more coherent. It's so damn pretty too.

    And here's some stuff that I touched for less than an hour and probably won't play much more of because they don't really interest me:

    • God Eater Resurrection
    • Them's Fightin' Herds
    • Celeste
    4 votes
  10. [3]
    nothis
    Link
    I've started The Last Express after having been gifted the game on here, with glowing recommendation. It's a very intriguing game, I'm currently on my way to Vienna, things are starting to unfold!...

    I've started The Last Express after having been gifted the game on here, with glowing recommendation. It's a very intriguing game, I'm currently on my way to Vienna, things are starting to unfold! The interface is very 90s, though, I'm struggling with it and while the real-time aspect adds a nice dimension to gameplay, it can be frustrating to not arrive at an event in time because you just spent 10 minutes trying to figure out which direction you're clicking yourself towards. I think I know what to do next, though, no spoilers, please!

    After finishing Fire Emblem: Three Houses (great, but towards the end my "strategy" was reduced to sending Lysithea into the front line and watch her clean house) I was in the mood for something less anime and I decided to chip on my PS4 backlog, so I started Uncharted 4. I'm only an hour in and this is my first Uncharted, but I'm already thinking this might finally be a game that does "cinematic" right. I find myself thoroughly entertained, they somehow passed the uncanny valley and it seems like characters are actually acting properly. The animations and set pieces are beautiful. I think I'll have a good time!

    I've also been somewhat disciplined keeping up with Ring Fit Adventure. I'm very skeptical about "gamification" in general, but for a fitness game, this might actually work out nicely! It's, of course, a fitness program first and videogame second, but that feels appropriate.

    Last, but not least, I played A Short Hike. This hit my radar for winning the IGF Grad Prize and somehow Epic gave it away for free a couple of months ago. It's amazing! I've come to appreciate games that do not ask for more of my time than necessary and this game can be finished in 2 hours. It's basically a wholesome Zelda-lite set in an idyllic mountain resort. It uses an absolutely beautiful low-res render style that makes every pixel on the screen come alive. The environments are very open, packed tightly with little ideas and extra content and I honestly feel like I've gotten a 20-ish hour experience in only 2 hours, which makes me wonder about how much time games tend to waste by letting your redo the same stuff a thousand times. There's some "endgame" secrets I could probably unlock, which could push this into a few more hours but I feel no pressure to do those or "miss out", and that's great. In some ways, this reminded me of The Touryst.

    4 votes
    1. [2]
      KapteinB
      Link Parent
      Which house did you play in Fire Emblem? I recently finished my play-through as Golden Deer, and I got the feeling that the two other houses might have had more interesting story-lines.

      Which house did you play in Fire Emblem? I recently finished my play-through as Golden Deer, and I got the feeling that the two other houses might have had more interesting story-lines.

      3 votes
      1. nothis
        Link Parent
        Also Golden Deer for me. While I'm curious how the story unfolded from the other sides' point of view, putting in another 50-ish hours just to see that is asking a bit much, IMO. It got repetitive...

        Also Golden Deer for me. While I'm curious how the story unfolded from the other sides' point of view, putting in another 50-ish hours just to see that is asking a bit much, IMO. It got repetitive as is.

        1 vote
  11. Chexmax
    Link
    This ended up being topical with the new release, but I nostalgically picked up Paper Mario Thousand year door, and I loved it every bit as much as I loved it in the aughts. I loved it so much, I...

    This ended up being topical with the new release, but I nostalgically picked up Paper Mario Thousand year door, and I loved it every bit as much as I loved it in the aughts. I loved it so much, I wanted to try the others in the series, so we got the N64 version, and discovered the original Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES. Then there's super paper Mario on Wii, then a 3DS version and a WiiU version. Between emulators and old systems, I'm making my way through the series, and then bam, the announcement drops that origami is coming!

    I love how low pressure it is. With turn based fighting, I can walk away in the middle of a fight for a snack, or a conversation. I love the little puzzles and having to go back and forth and talk to randos for special helpful information is really rewarding. Prepare for dumb jokes, and dumber NPCs. If you like low stress, low stakes games and are bored with the now only playable 15 minutes a day Animal Crossing, I definitely suggest picking up your best like loved game from 10 years ago (or in my case, 15)

    4 votes
  12. [2]
    JoylessAubergine
    Link
    I've been "playing" Assassins Creed Odyssey Discover Tour after a rec from Deimos. It's free for another few days, until 21/5.. If you like Ancient Greece and you havent played Odyssey you'd be...

    I've been "playing" Assassins Creed Odyssey Discover Tour after a rec from Deimos. It's free for another few days, until 21/5.. If you like Ancient Greece and you havent played Odyssey you'd be doing yourself a massive disfavour by not giving it a go. It's so colourful. I cant comment on accuracy of the cities but it was aweinsipring when i first walked around the Acropolis. I love Christian Camerons Long War series set in the Persian Wars, so i headed to Plataea to see the protagonist's home area and then took a boat and went sailing which is something done a lot in the books, unfortunately i don't think you can control a trireme but it was still very cool to watch them.

    I found the educational bits underwhelming so i only did one or two of them. The battle ones especially, no epic cut scene unfortually, just a few flags to represent nations.

    3 votes
    1. cfabbro
      Link Parent
      You can in the base game, which is well worth playing IMO. The naval combat was probably my favorite part, too. It reminded me a lot of the naval combat in Sid Meier's Pirates!, but far more...

      unfortunately i don't think you can control a trireme but it was still very cool to watch them.

      You can in the base game, which is well worth playing IMO. The naval combat was probably my favorite part, too. It reminded me a lot of the naval combat in Sid Meier's Pirates!, but far more detailed, intense, and engaging.

      2 votes
  13. MimicSquid
    Link
    I picked up AC: Origins and AC: Odyssey super super cheap on Epic, so I figured I'd try them out. AC: Origins was very bland: go to marker, kill the things. Go back to other marker. Repeat...

    I picked up AC: Origins and AC: Odyssey super super cheap on Epic, so I figured I'd try them out.

    AC: Origins was very bland: go to marker, kill the things. Go back to other marker. Repeat endlessly, regardless of the narrative they're putting on top of it. Very early in the game you "solve" a situation where some soldiers are regularly roughing up healers for supplies by murdering the soldiers. And then you walk off into the sunset, having permanently "resolved" the situation. It was so flimsy. No consequences for me or the healers for having murdered half a dozen soldiers in the infirmary. The only fun parts was exploring the ruins, but I put it down in disgust pretty quickly.

    AC: Odyssey on the other hand is a lot of fun. It turned out that my computer wasn't up to running it (What the hell, a terabyte of HD isn't enough anymore?) so I picked it up on Stadia instead, and it's running remarkably well. Game-wise, the existence of consequences and choices (especially non-lethal takedowns) makes the whole thing less of a shallow murder-simulator. You're not limited to walking across Greece as a Tasmanian Devil of blades and flying blood, and so the choice to kill some bandits actually is a choice. I also like that there's a choice of male or female protagonist, though the limits on storytelling that come from having a less defined protagonist do suck.

    3 votes
  14. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. SkewedSideburn
      Link Parent
      What did you think about White Palace and Path of Pain?

      The comparisons to Dark Souls in terms of atmosphere and storytelling were very apt, but there were only a couple of bosses that were a real challenge

      What did you think about White Palace and Path of Pain?

  15. ntgg
    Link
    I'm surprised nobody has said Terraria yet. The final (pending bug fixes and such) update came out on Saturday so I have been playing that with my friends alot. Terraria is the first game I bought...

    I'm surprised nobody has said Terraria yet. The final (pending bug fixes and such) update came out on Saturday so I have been playing that with my friends alot. Terraria is the first game I bought on steam, the first game I really played multiplayer with the friends I am playing with currently, and by far my most played game. It really seems to put me in the mental state I was in 9 years ago when I first played it. I have a weird experience with playing it because the actions and personality I have when I'm playing it with these people isn't really what I would do if I was starting playing it now. I take actions and talk like some weird combination of my 11 year old self and my current self.

    I also picked up Jet Lancer, which of you played LUFTRAUSERS is very similar, but jet lancer has a better engine and an actual story so if you enjoy arcade-y games I recommend it highly.

    3 votes
  16. [2]
    TheJorro
    (edited )
    Link
    Unexpectedly found myself amidst a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild kick recently. I played through the entire game on WiiU about two years ago and now I'm a good bit into it again on the...

    Unexpectedly found myself amidst a Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild kick recently. I played through the entire game on WiiU about two years ago and now I'm a good bit into it again on the Switch. I think enough ink has been spilled about this game, and I'm firmly in the "masterpiece" camp though I acknowledge it has quite a few odd, even obvious, flaws. I'll just list some observations gleaned from going through a second playthrough after a couple of years.

    1. The menus are still pretty clunky, especially after pages and pages of crafting materials. It's a minor detail but after you have to cook dish after dish after dish, this becomes a rather tiresome inconvenience very quickly.

    2. I'm amazed we're still discovering new things in the game. Just last night, we realized that the rain actually floods some small areas, creating a natural moat for some enemy camps. Wild!

    3. Speaking of the rain, why is there no mitigation for climbing in the rain? Given how frequently, and how long, it rains in the game you would think they would include some method of counteracting this disadvantage to a basic mechanic in the game like they provide for (what feels like) literally everything else. It's super annoying making your way into a remote area to find you need to climb a big ridge, and then it starts raining (this is especially true in the southern, jungle-like region where it rains 75% of the time). Am I missing something here? Please let me know.

    4. Why are the Lionels so strong? They outclass pretty much everything else in the game, including all the bosses, in terms of difficulty. I suppose there had to be some kind of challenging enemy to force you to use all the mechanics at your disposal but yowza. They feel like the Valkyrie fights from God of War, except just thrown in the middle of the game world. They're at least placed well but even 1.5 playthroughs in, I still never feel ready to fight them at all. They're like what Final Fantasy games would save as secret, superpowered optional bosses.

    5. The sound design in this game is amazing. Truly wonderful. On Saturday night, I was sick out of my mind and couldn't keep my eyes open so I closed my eyes and just listened to the game while my SO played. I had a great time just listening to it. The little musical bits here and there, the ambient nature sounds, even the enemy and combat sounds. Then topped off with some pleasing menu and gameplay signifier sounds. Nintendo generally has excellent sound design but I really think this game's is a cut above, well beyond most huge big budget AAA games. I think only Sony's best studios and Valve can compete.

    6. I really love the world of this game. The "triangle" method of designing points of interest is ingenious. Seeing all the different biomes and transitions between them, the differences in geographical features, and overall atmosphere is great. This is one of the most immersive open worlds I've ever experienced, perhaps on par with top tier Elder Scrolls and Witcher 3 open world maps.

    And now, a spiel about everyone's favourite gameplay mechanic: durability.

    Durability systems and mechanics are, on average, worthless. They amount to nothing but mindless, idiotic busywork in most implementations. Bethesda games always have them and it doesn't make anything better. It's not hard to repair weapons, and weapons degrade so quick that you find yourself doing it all the time for no clear reason. Have a shiny new shotgun? Use it a couple of times and now it does less damage. Even if you craft your own custom weapon, it will disintegrate in your hands within a few enemies. So much for your high repair and machinery skills, right? It's a useless mechanic in Bethesda games that serves to do nothing but inconvenience the player and add more repetition.

    Dark Souls has it too so you have to repair your weapon every once in a while too. It's so infrequent that even after four or five Soulsborne games with durability, I still don't really know what the durability mechanics are supposed to do besides pop up every so often as an inconvenience. Even in other games like Diablo, it's there as an inconvenience but at least of a punishment sort—durability goes down when you get hit, or when you die. Weapon durability needs to be checked in on every so often.

    But with Breath of the Wild... I'd say this game actually does it well but there's a bias to get over. Even on this second playthrough, I found myself dreading the durability during the tutorial part of the game but I think this is just the bias that durability mechanics in every other game has instilled in my as someone who plays games. Games across the board have taught us that durability mechanics are always boring, annoying garbage mechanics that only exist to give us a mild inconvenience. But here, it's integral to what makes Breath of the Wild work the way it does and by the point that I'm about 10 hours into the game, I'm glad the system is there. It changes how you approach the game and your idea of how to regard the equipment. There's a certain peace when you don't have an attachment to equipment so you're free to experiment with

    Benefits:

    • Increased enemy variety. On top of mixing stronger and weaker enemies, they can also carry different kinds of weapons of varying strengths allowing for more dynamism for the many enemy encounters across this big, open world. It's not like most open world games where your average mook has garbage equipment that you're never going to consider beyond the first stages of the game. It's also not like Oblivion where highway bandits are rocking super rare Daedra armour.
    • The game is very liberal about handing out good equipment because it only lasts so long. Players are almost never stuck with bad equipment unless they are avoiding all enemies, crates, or exploration.
    • Durability contributes to critical damage mechanics. If a weapon near broken is thrown, it does twice as much damage. A weapon in critical condition will do twice as much damage on the last hit, or four times as much if thrown. This is a very useful mechanic to keep on top of for combat encounters, especially if you're planning on taking the nice club the Mobkin you're fighting is holding.
    • Durability goes down differently depending on the type of weapon and application, so the game can encourage you to use different weapons for different tasks rather subtly. Using a sword to smash a rock frozen under Stasis will not go as well as if you use a hammer.
    • Equipment slots have more value, and therefore exploring to find Korok Seeds to increase them is a worthwhile exercise or reward for exploration. I understand many people have stated they want more rewards (more on that later) but, within the design of the game, this makes perfect sense to me. You get inundated with desirable equipment and having to choose between what to keep and what to leave is part of the challenge of the game. Having increased amounts of slots is a real reward in this game, even if it feels like a token gimme in most other games.

    The point here is that the durability mechanics are more helpful to the game than harmful. It wouldn't be as unique and interesting with its systems-based gameplay without the durability. I'm inclined to say the game would be extremely easy without it. That all said, there's still plenty of room to improve the durability in the game:

    • Durability could be increased to between 125% to 200% depending on the weapon. Some break very quickly, others break more reasonably.
    • Some actions should not affect durability, at least not for certain weapons. Why does the giant two-handed cleaver get so weak from hitting wooden boxes? Why does hitting items with Stasis take so much out of durability? That one seems like a trap, there were times where I had to leave and restart a shrine because the Stasis puzzles basically ate all my weapons.
    • More unique and special equipment. Not a lot more but two is too few. The Master Sword is great! The Hylian Shield is really good! What else is there? The world is huge with all kinds of hidden secret areas... and there's nothing really unique to find. I can't help but feel like this is a massively missed opportunity.

    Anyway, this ended up being longer than I intended. I'll edit in more as I remember them, I really didn't think this one out much.

    3 votes
    1. spctrvl
      Link Parent
      The trick with Lionels is to sneak up behind them (I like to use revali's gale), mount them, and do a bunch of free damage from the back. After you get thrown off the first time, you can just use...

      Why are the Lionels so strong? They outclass pretty much everything else in the game, including all the bosses, in terms of difficulty. I suppose there had to be some kind of challenging enemy to force you to use all the mechanics at your disposal but yowza. They feel like the Valkyrie fights from God of War, except just thrown in the middle of the game world. They're at least placed well but even 1.5 playthroughs in, I still never feel ready to fight them at all. They're like what Final Fantasy games would save as secret, superpowered optional bosses.

      The trick with Lionels is to sneak up behind them (I like to use revali's gale), mount them, and do a bunch of free damage from the back. After you get thrown off the first time, you can just use stasis to freeze them for a second and headshot them with a bow to stun them, then you run up and repeat the mounting thing. It's a lot easier to do (ironically) with the Lionel weapons, especially the 3x/5x shot bow for maximizing your chance at a headshot, but it's doable as soon as you get any weapons that do more than 30ish damage (for silver Lionels anyway, could probably do it a little earlier on the ordinary ones). Barbarian gear helps of course, and it's the main reason to go Lionel hunting anyway, since you need their drops to upgrade it.

      4 votes
  17. feigneddork
    Link
    I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and I kind of hate it? At least the open world aspect of it. I get the whole point of the game is outlaws like our character are approaching their end...

    I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and I kind of hate it? At least the open world aspect of it.

    I get the whole point of the game is outlaws like our character are approaching their end pretty soon, and it makes sense for the game to have a law system etc but the game is so criminally unfun outside of the sandbox as the game finds inventive ways to slap a bounty on me.

    I was travelling from point A to point B and accidentally collided with another passenger. Became wanted for murder. OK, well, I'll pay off the bounty, except when I went to the post office I was shot at, which I retaliated and the whole thing escalated pointlessly until I died and I just reloaded my save.

    These moments of escalation happen so often as is the case with all of Rockstar Games's modern sandbox - they always preach this path of calmness and anti-violence, but as soon as I interact with their world in a meaning way, it nearly always ends in escalation and violence. It was the same with GTA V, and it's the same with RDR2.

    Also - the animations and physics engine is just too much. I played The Witcher 3 earlier this year and last year and while I didn't complete it due to the amount of content in the game, I had such a blast playing that game. Sure the animations are weird and janky at times, sure I could roll up a mountain, and other bizarre quirks, but it was never immersion ruining or game breaking.

    RDR2 goes out of its way to have full fledged animations which are so excessive and tedious that I might as well put down the controller waiting them to finish. The crafting is a joke - crafting one item at a time is insane. Upgrading things requires perfect quality animal skins, which is kinda hard when you shoot at the animals. If you don't play RDR2 on RDR2's terms, the game is incredibly unfun and frustrating.

    Those moments of solitude when you're out in the wilderness amongst the vistas with just me and my horse with R*'s ambient cowboy soundtrack playing just about save the game for me.

    3 votes
  18. [3]
    joplin
    Link
    I also started Beyond Blue. The graphics are pretty nice! The premise is that you're a marine biologist and you're attempting to catalog the habits of a pod of whales. You have a bunch of high...

    I also started Beyond Blue. The graphics are pretty nice! The premise is that you're a marine biologist and you're attempting to catalog the habits of a pod of whales. You have a bunch of high tech tools to help you, but a lot of the game play is scuba diving around beautiful coral reefs and sea life. It's fun to just swim around and look at the environment.

    Reading the synopsis, I gather there will be an element of corporate sabotage later in the game, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

    The one downside is that the game frequently leads you to a specific spot to do something (scan an animal, find a beacon, etc.), and as you get close, the indicators of where you're supposed to find the next item just disappear. You'll be like, "OK, it's a couple meters straight ahead... and ... hey, where'd the item go?" It's still there, they just take the indicators down for some reason. Very odd. But a minor inconvenience in an otherwise nice-looking game.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      Oh, how are you playing it already? I've been really looking forward to it, but I thought the release date wasn't until June 8.

      Oh, how are you playing it already? I've been really looking forward to it, but I thought the release date wasn't until June 8.

      1 vote
      1. joplin
        Link Parent
        It showed up on Apple Arcade yesterday, so I downloaded it. I don't think I did anything special to get it. It was highlighted as a new addition. (And it has 256 ratings already, so apparently I'm...

        It showed up on Apple Arcade yesterday, so I downloaded it. I don't think I did anything special to get it. It was highlighted as a new addition. (And it has 256 ratings already, so apparently I'm not the only one.)

        2 votes
  19. joplin
    Link
    I've been playing Don't Bug Me. It's a tower defense game where the premise is that you're on a base on Mars and bug-like Martians are attacking you. It's pretty good! Definitely give it a try if...

    I've been playing Don't Bug Me. It's a tower defense game where the premise is that you're on a base on Mars and bug-like Martians are attacking you. It's pretty good! Definitely give it a try if you're bored.

    2 votes
  20. AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    Burning through the backlog continues, I'm focusing on shorter/smaller games as I know some games I'll play for weeks on end halting the clean out process: Mutant Year Zero: Story is largely...

    Burning through the backlog continues, I'm focusing on shorter/smaller games as I know some games I'll play for weeks on end halting the clean out process:

    Mutant Year Zero: Story is largely predictable and while there are ulitmately six characters, there are really just three classes, so the character you pick is really up to the banter you want to hear. The gameplay itself is what shines here. This is a turn based tactics game with some pretty in depth tactical decision making necessary to balance offense and defense, targeting particularly troublesome enemies, while not leaving yourself open as having a character knocked out will typically require immediate attention or they'll be knocked out for the remainder of the fight. Bad news since you are frequently outnumbered and outgunned.

    The Banner Saga: Beautiful game, gameplay is good but not great, most decisions in the game have actual impact on what you can do and what characters are around to do so. Being that I'm not from the area, the frequently vowel-less Nordic naming conventions make keeping up with the story a chore as instead of attempting to make up some terrible phonetic pronunciation I know will be wrong for a person or place I'll just skip it and when that person/place is referenced later in the story I am often left at a loss as to whether it is merely flavor or important. Also for the love of all that is holy developers, allow me to speed up the caravan traveling scenes! There's easily hours of time in this game spent just watching low res characters walk through the countryside; it's like playing Oregon Trail on the slowest speed... If I can't find a way to speed up the game I'll probably skip Saga 2 and 3, it's just not worth waiting for some event to pop up. I don't need travel to be instantaneous, but the background isn't that good looking.

    2 votes
  21. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. SkewedSideburn
      Link Parent
      Doom 2016 was much more of a cohesive experience. It knew what it wanted to be. Doom Eternal feels like it was being pulled in different directions for much of its development

      Doom 2016 was much more of a cohesive experience. It knew what it wanted to be. Doom Eternal feels like it was being pulled in different directions for much of its development

      2 votes
  22. SkewedSideburn
    Link
    I picked up Control on an EGS sale. It's surprisingly fun so far. The gunplay is a bit stiff, but I like the style, the presentation and all the little notes, the setting in general. Also it's...

    I picked up Control on an EGS sale. It's surprisingly fun so far. The gunplay is a bit stiff, but I like the style, the presentation and all the little notes, the setting in general. Also it's finally an opportunity for me to use at least some of the features that my RTX 2060 provides. It can't handle all of the RTX, but I've enabled DLSS (looks pretty great with low render resolution upscaled to 2K) and one of the ray tracing options (if I enable more it starts dropping frames in lighting heavy scenes). Sadly, the game is really-really VRAM hungry, even on low textures, so sometimes I get to see unrecognizable blurs instead of text on the walls, for tens of seconds at a time, until the game manages to squeeze the proper textures in. Still, it's pretty fun and made me think that I was wrong to skip Quantum Break back when it came out

    2 votes
  23. MonkeyPants
    Link
    Butts in Space The goal is to hoard as much toilet paper as possible. It's perfect if you have a puerile sense of humour.

    Butts in Space

    The goal is to hoard as much toilet paper as possible. It's perfect if you have a puerile sense of humour.