This is a topic I enjoyed seeing over at the other place, so I thought I’d try to get it going here if people are interested.
As usual, I managed to spend some time playing ZELDA:BotW on CEMU, for my little daughter.
She enjoys re-dressing the protagonist, having him gather edible stuff and cooking it Riding on horses, hiding before enemies, checking interesting places, or directing daddy to a black rock that hides Amber or Flint inside seems to be endless source of fun for her.
Recently, she asks to strip Link to his underpants, go to a beach and run around, picking up crabs, rocks, or climbing palm trees.
As for me, every second I can spend watching the grass bent by the virtual wind makes me forget about the reality around me. Which is more than welcome state of mind.
Started Oxenfree. Kinda a point and click mystery adventure. I’m not too far in yet but I’m enjoying the story and humor so far.
Finished Diablo 4 main story and I’m enjoying the sides quests more than the main!
I’m always playing Fallout 76. Having fun with the new quests and events.
Just got back into replaying Cyberpunk 2077 and I’m very glad a significant amount of the launch issues have been addressed. It’s taken a while but it’s finally playable. Still a bit upset they didn’t deliver on the futuristic GTA experience I was expecting, but I’m at least having a good time.
I’d hold off playing more then. Juicehead and others have a pretty hefty update on what the future holds for the Phantom Liberty update and revamp of core systems. Sounds like they’ll be bringing in a more living world akin to how people were expecting it to operate a la GTA.
Playing Halls of Torment. Super fun indie roguelite monster slashing game for 5 euros/dollars. It’s a bit like vampire survivor but with many cool differences.
Have more fun with it than with Diablo 4.
utterly awesome alpha game
I really like this one! Just waiting for them to put more in it, because I beat it with each class as of the last time I played.
Have more fun with it than with Diablo 4.
Got this recommended yesterday by someone who said something similar. Didn’t play much yet, but I really like that the minibosses have some really interesting attack patterns.
Been playing Dragon’s Dogma, I never got past getting to the main city when it first came out. I just beat the boss and now the world has completely changed so I don’t think it’s over yet.
I haven’t even touched any of the Bitterblack Isle stuff yet so I’m sure there’s still some stuff left to do.
What do you think of it? I remember when I first tried it on PS3 and thought the movement was too clunky and I just could not figure the combat out. For some reason it just did not click with me, and I ended up dying to even the simplest of enemies.
For some reason I didn’t give up - the world seemed interesting I guess - and I’m glad I didn’t, as one day everything just sort of clicked and I was climbing giant enemies and actually defeating them. I was having a blast and the game just sucked me in after that. It really felt I had bested it, in a way, and was now able to enjoy what it had to offer. Never got around to doing much in Bitterblack Isle, and I remember stopping shortly after the world changed, due to some stuff going on in life back then.
After seeing the surprise (atleast it was to me) announcement of Dragon’s Dogma 2 and the anime, I rebought DD on Steam and am about to start it on my Steam Deck after years of not playing the game. Feels exciting!
By today’s standards, I’m sure there’s a lot that could be improved on in DD but I can wholeheartedly recommend trying it to anyone who hasn’t played it yet. The combat is engaging, the world is interesting and I felt that the game was a breath of fresh air back when it was released.
That was what happened to me too when I first played it on the PS3. I didn’t fully understand the vocation mechanic, I guess I didn’t realize the effectiveness of using certain magics against enemies.
I’ve been playing as a Mystic Knight and blowing up everything with Great Canon and am having so much more fun than I had when I was younger.
Dave the diver is main game right now. Just started chapter 2.
I never played botw as i went pc gaming back then. So i got botw and totk setup on my deck. They are next
Dave the diver creative strategy meeting:
Okay what if we also…
Noita, the best game I can never recommend because of just how crazily deadly it is unless you know exactly what you’re doing and happen to get the right perks early on. I can’t say a roguelike where your 12-actual-hours-of-playing session ends with nothing to show for it just because you accidentally zapped the wrong thing out of frame that you couldn’t have known was there is well-designed as a game, especially when exploration/experimentation’s main reward is death. It’s a very good sandbox, though.
I also got back into Risk of Rain 2. First time playing the new DLC, and I very easily managed to finish off the new content. Honestly, a bit disappointed as my favorite part of RoR2 was the unlockable items/achievement hunting and the DLC had really none of that outside of unlocking a new character and unlocking the alternative abilities for a pre-unlocked character.
Satisfactory is something I’ve been playing on and off. I definitely prefer Factorio’s sense of danger over Satisfactory’s chill, but it’s still fun and has its own things going on. The more permanent bases and the fact the game is 3D makes for more fun, but I hope one day either a DLC or a mod will introduce base defense somehow.
I just finished off every achievement on Steam in Brotato. It was a fun, simple roguelike, took me a bit to grind through it. I might return to it someday, but for now it can rest.
+1 for Noita. I’m not enough of a masochist to play without the Dead isn’t Dead mod. Although lately it’s been freezing up on any deaths. Maybe one of these days I’ll start playing it as more than a glorified physics sandbox lol.
I’ve wanted Noita forever, but have been so hesitant due to the whole … dying thing!! That mod may be the answer to my fears ??
So far the mod works, but I need to sit down and confirm that mod is the one that freezes up the engine. I’m mostly playing with Fury’s mod collection, but maybe it’s the few extra ones that are tripping it up.
Dying can definitely be pretty painful in Noita, but the game’s real joy is in exploiting all the knowledge you’ve gained for subsequent attempts. It’s actually a fairly short game when just making an attempt on the boss without going for any extra content, so it’s not difficult to get back to where you were once you know how to get there. There’s also no meta-progression (with very limited exceptions) besides the knowledge you gain, which is how I prefer my roguelikes. Going in blind without any knowledge of what to expect or how the spells interact with each other and the environment is definitely going to take longer to get the first clear, but if that’s not your style you can learn a lot from just watching and learning from streams of the game. DunkOrSlam was the one who really sold me on it.
My own advice would be to seriously consider running the game vanilla until you get at least your first win. But ultimately its your own experience! Do whatever you need in order to make it enjoyable. :)
Playing bits and pieces of a lot of stuff and nothing’s really sticking. It’s frustrating, haha.
Replaying Control because I never got around to the DLC back in the day, and I want to play it before Alan Wake 2 comes out. This is my main game right now, but I’m just slowly picking away at it.
Diablo IV - omnipresent side-game for me. It’s grindy, and repetitive, and the end game and itemization need work, but I enjoy the combat so it’s been a good podcast game.
Dave the Diver - Great game, but where I’m at currently it’s become more mission-focused than I’d prefer. Still liking it, but my progress has slowed quite a bit.
The Rift Breaker - Picked this up in the Steam sale. It’s fun, if a little confusing sometimes. The UI could use some work.
Yet Another Zombie Survivors - Despite the terrible name, this one’s actually pretty fun. I’ve played an absolute ton of these things and some are more interesting than others… being able to add 2 members to your squad, as well as some of the abilities and stuff, make this one stand apart a bit. At least for a couple hours of mindless fun.
Voidigo, Revita, Crab Champions, Dropsy, and Going Under (among others, honestly) are some more that are rotating in and out as I try to find something that I’ll stick with for a bit, but nothing’s scratching the itch so far.
+1 for Control. Finished it and the DLC not too long ago, awesome game and Remedy is one of the more exciting studios in gaming right now
Final Fantasy 16 - I haven’t had a lot of time to play it lately, but really enjoying it. Story and world feel like classic SNES era Final Fantasy, but darker, a little more adult. Graphics are great, it’s a beautiful game and looks next gen. And the gameplay is fine… It’s just button mashing, casting spells from range over and over till you finally stagger a powerful enemy, or a quick time event. But it does feel like an action beat-em-up taking place within a Final Fantasy world. Would love if it were more turn based, or at least party based like FF7 Remake, but it’s fine. Good game so far 👍
The game has the highest high points in any game in recent memory for me. The only thing that makes it a 9/10 in my eyes is the slower sidequest-esque missions sometimes inserted into the main quest, and the lack of any real RPG elements
There is a method to the madness in the game wants you to think of your abilities like a DPS MMO rotation.
Also your damage from the helm splitter scales with height.
For example, the thunder ball + will of wisps creates just a constantly pulsing ball of damage. Then add on any other moves done. Don’t forget your dog can jump in on the last hit of your base attack string.
Slay the Spire - damn fucking addicting game, sometimes infuriating and sometimes a dopamine rush, it’s just feels so good when you play your cards right
CrossCode - I’m still at the beginning (just got my first party member) and I fell in love with it almost instantly. The dialogue is funny and the combat is chef’s kiss. Shout out to Lea’s legendary face reactions
I’ve been playing the GBA Collection on Nintendo switch. I had emulators but this is finally a legal way to play fire emblem, Metroid and Mario kart super circuit on the switch without hassle.
It’s basically the best thing that could happen ever. Now if I can just figure out how to enable the multiplayer it would be a blast
I bought Elden Ring during the last Steam sale.
The world is intriguing, but there is a real plot hook missing. I still don’t know the real motivation of my character after 40 hours of gameplay. The reason why I am there and why I care. It was never explained why I want to become an elden lord and what that really means. Some of the stuff will be probably explained at some point, but as I said I don’t understand the motivation or why my character started the journey in the first place.
There really is not much story so far. There is probably a lot of lore hidden, but most places, events, bosses, quests etc feel disconnected or shallow. I really would love to pick up some of the books in all the places, but that’s not possible. As I said the world is intriguing, but it is probably all just cryptic stuff with many blanks left. Lore wise it can’t be all a big mystery and it doesn’t feel like most of it is, but it is never conveyed to the player.
The world is beautiful, there are many weird places. Having the big glowing tree in the background is an amazing set piece in an otherwise grim dark world.
Gameplay wise the progression feels really slow and it is hard to change the playstyle due to limited resources early on. I am unsure if I like that yet. It doesn’t invite the player to try out some of the new toys you find though which is a bummer.
Besides that it is the first real Souls like I got into and the difficulty seems reasonable. The lack of quick saves is an interesting design choice. Every failure hits a bit harder, but it also inhibits experimentation.
I can’t really explain why I like this game, but so far I am having fun. The world looks and feels great, the gameplay is fun. It’s just the story or storytelling aspect of the game which could be so much better.
@Swiggles @HollowNotion the story will come! Enjoy being lost and ignorant to what’s unfolding in The Lands Between, because there’s no going back. ;)
Also doing Elden Ring, but I’ve also done every souls game up to it. This game is Dark Souls through and through, but with the open world and a few slight mechanical additions. Otherwise it’s the same.
The thing with souls games is the world kind of tells the story, and gives you bits and pieces to puzzle together along the way. The idea is to just do the damn thing and soak it all in along the way.
I’m about 60hrs in and also don’t totally know what’s going on, but can see more pieces coming together. But remember, souls games are very much journey over destination.
If you want to see a master class in environmental storytelling, though; play Bloodborne.
I don’t know. All I am thinking is that games like Fallout do a much better job with environmental story telling. Also many blanks are filled by diary entries, manifests, dialog etc. You can learn a lot about most locations and the people that lived or worked there. Literally nothing even close to that was to be found in any of the locations I visited in Elden Ring.
Same for the Witcher where you figure things out and learn about the monsters. Every enemy feels so much more impactful than random monster 164 in Elden Ring.
I have a feeling that it is partly a very intended different style, but it is also an excuse to skip writing much lore. Just hint at some stuff and people will fill the blanks for you in hour long explanation videos. The world does not feel alive though or real. It is hollow.
Otherwise it seems to be a great game, it is just the storytelling aspect which is pretty bad for RPG standards. The world is interesting, but my curiosity is never rewarded.
Not trying to be funny, but the characters motivation feels the same as Pokemon Red/Blue. Just become the very best just for the sake of it. I really really hope I am wrong, because that would be an absolutely disappointing conclusion or rather lack of it.
Fair assessment. Though I’m not all the way through yet, I do know there is a massive amount of lore in the game, and a lot I’ve already personally read through in game. One big place a lot of people seem to miss with Souls games as far as the lore is item descriptions. Each item has a basic description, then a way more detailed description on a separate menu (PS5 you hit the square button to get the detailed description). The items you get along the way are a huge part of the lore.
Between that and talking to Gideon and a few others, I feel like I have a good baseline. I expect a lot more to come in the areas I’m about to tackle.
All that said: I’m a huge RPG fan and love a story-driven game. But that is not at all my motivation for playing any Souls game. It’s all about the gameplay; that super rewarding game loop that they have mastered.
Hardspace Shipbreaker. I play open shift mode because I’m old and slow and have nothing to prove. I love the music and just taking my time and getting into the flow zone with it. There’s a half-decent story about worker exploitation, etc., going on with it but I pay little attention to the story in games. I’m here to play not watch a streaming series. Fortunately you can do other stuff during a lot of it, though they do have some unskippable cut scenes, which I am never a fan of.
Haven’t played recently but it’s a great game. In also play in open shift mode, it’s nice to just chill out and disassemble some spaceships
Finishing Final Fantasy 16 as we speak. Enjoying the story, reminiscent of the stories from the 2D games. Game play feels like hack n slash meets fighting game, which can be repetitive but engaging.
Edit: realized I made it sound like I didn’t like. It’s far from the classic game play but that’s to be expected. I think they nailed the game play for this. It made it feel more cinematic and epic.
The gameplay is almost there. If they added a pause string and a few more moves to Clive’s base it would be perfect.
I’ve been playing my way through and enjoying Pokemon Unbound, one of the most amazing Pokemon rom hacks to have been created. It’s a rom hack with a custom region, custom story, and amazing customization in settings. It even manages to have a difficult mode that is challenging without being grindy bullshit.
I’m doing a “soft nuzlocke” of the game, where I can only capture one Pokemon a route, and my Pokemon don’t die- instead, when I wipe, the entire run ends. It’s a lot more forgiving and fun way to play Pokemon while making it a little bit more challenging. Would recommend trying any Pokemon game this way, and would especially recommend Pokemon Unbound whether you’re a casual or experienced Pokemon player.
I can’t recommend Ender Lillies on steam enough, it’s a 1-2 years old overall great (although very melancholic) Metroidvania with an interesting story, nice music and pretty good combat. Really got me for a few days, even went to 100 procent the playthrough which i rarely do
