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[Toots]

Playing Cyberpunk from start for the nth time.
Corpo/netrunner but i also use shotguns and melee because the idea of a bulking nerd full of rage is funny to me.

When im bored i switch to Rise of the Ronin for a few missions.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Mostly just Zoneless Zone Zero since it launched last week. That said, I've downloaded a couple of demos from the eShop, so I'm going to Switch (lol) things up for today.

 

[BadBurger]

I finished Little Misfortune last night, been on a chill adventure game kick. I need to find another game like it.

 

[FeastYoEyes]

Been replaying through Wolfenstein 2 for the first time since it came out. The story is just bonkers and I really love the gunplay. A man can dream that we get a real Wolfenstein 3 sometime soon.

 

[ViciousAgenda]

Back on Elden Ring. Started Destiny 2 with some friends too.

 

[Roberts]

Finished Humanity. The funny thing happened at the head bit on the Red Orb fight: I was shooting at it for what felt like good 15 minutes when nothing happened so I realised that it must be glitched. Restarted and it was smooth sailing. I've said it before, but the game was fucking great.

Considering it is for free this weekend on xbox, tried The Crew Motorfest. Oh boy, I knew it was influenced by it but didn't know it was a carbon copy of Forza Horizon but without its playful and self-aware ironic charm. Driving is not as good, as well but....it is still the closest thing to a FH experience for those without xbox or pc.

Loaded up El Paso, Elsewhere to see what it is and instantly got hooked on its attitude. Good stuff.

Also played the first mission on Neon White. Interesting game. I enjoyed the gameplay but I can't stand that kind of storytelling - makes you want to skip or mute it.

 

[Duchess]

(no spoilers)

Finished FF7 Rebirth. I absolutely fucking loved it. Very likely to be the best game I'll play this year. Looking forward to the final part.

Played it on dynamic, as I found some of the battles were too easy. Later bosses really pushed me, but it was satisfying to beat them all in the end.

 

[King Dazzar]

AC Mirage. Only a few hours in. Looks exceptionally good on PS5 in terms of detail, but has issues with its HDR (raised black level etc). Gameplay is a little off coming from the last 3 entries. The parkour just doesn't feel right, and at times the fuck wit simply wont climb something you expect him to. Unless you move slightly to the left or right. Its clunky at times. But, its OK and you can tell they've borrowed some assets from Origins, which makes me spend part of my time wishing this was Origins, simply remastered.

 

[Punished Miku]

• Disjunction: One of the most underrated indie stealth games I've played, set in a cyberpunk storyline with 3 playable characters. Honestly never heard anyone talk about it. Can't remember where I stumbled upon it; I think a Switch review site talking about it. Definitely not for everyone since it's just lots of gauntlets of enemies with complex vision cone patterns that you have to navigate through. If that's your thing, I definitely recommend it. It's not like more complex games where enemies have varied AI and unpredictable reactions. In this, everyone is predictable like a puzzle piece so you're able to almost do speed runs through levels once you get good since you can always tell what is going to happen and it's just up to you to figure it out. I'm near the end of the game now. Will try and beat it tomorrow. Really glad I stuck with this one.
• Neon White: Speed runner FPS / platformer. Already beat this 2 years ago, but running through it again on Xbox. Amazing game. Unclear how good this port is though. Could have sworn I saw some screen tearing at times.
• Reagan Gorbechev: Blows away Hotline Miami. Can't believe I got this game for $1. You control 2 characters and you switch between them. You can position the other character in choke points and doorways and they'll auto-attack anyone in their sight line which creates some really cool possibilities not available in Hotline Miami at all. Also lots of puzzles and more varied layouts with a lot more thought put into it than you would expect. Music sucks ass though.
• Worldless: Cryptic art-Metroidvania. I'm probably in the last 10% of the game and it's getting brutal. Every fight is damn hard because it's not only challenging to execute all the timed blocks, but it's now getting pretty vague on what I'm even supposed to do. This latest enemy has a rotating wheel of elements and changes multiple times a turn, so you're switching around like Ikaruga with 8 options and have to anticipate which element is strong vs what rapidly for offense and defense. I lost this last fight like 20x. Going to have to look up some strategies to advance, but I barely see anything about this game online.
• TMNT Shredder's Revenge: Going through it a 2nd time. Having more fun than I did when I beat it at launch. Game's a classic.

 

[Punished Miku]

Loaded up El Paso, Elsewhere to see what it is and instantly got hooked on its attitude. Good stuff.

Looking forward to more impressions on this one. I loved it. I do have a suggestion once you get to around level 30 or so.

On Neon White, feel free to skip 100% of the story. Totally not needed honestly. It has a fast skip button. Game is totally worth sticking with.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Elden Ring
First boss in Shadow of the Erdtree is down!
Took down a bony dragon in a lake too.
My initial feeling is that it’s more of the same, fantastic, but I don’t like how empty at least the first open area is. Needs more enemies and loot, the content density is much lower than the base game.

There is definitely a lot less meaningful exploration in terms of item/equipment rewards, more empty hallways and pointless areas of the map. Still really good and it's kind of relieving that you don't need to find something in every single alcove.

 

[BadBurger]

I forgot I even had the Paper Mario remake - going to finish that. I got so busy with work for a few weeks that I guess it slipped my mind.

 

[marcincz]

Started RoboCop on PS5, yesterday.
After 2 h looks ok. Nothing more or less.

 

[HercRaato]

Getting some more of my JRPG fix. Trails through Daybreak. I wasn't sure I would like the action/command combat. But it works really well. I'm only starting chapter 3, and I can't wait to see the Calvard arc play out.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Doing Toshis challenges now in Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Been a great ride so far. Very fun to play. Wasn't expecting how challenging its been. Some bosses have been very tough. It's a good mix of platforming, exploration and action. The game never gets boring. The story is sub par but the beautiful graphics make up for it. It's a very pretty game.

 

[Big Baller]

Finished up AC Mirage for the most part. I liked it but its nothing special. Still took me around 30 hours. Started playing FC6, I think I bought it at release but was burned out with bloated open worlds at the time and it ran @30fps I believe. Its 60 now on console and looks great. Im enjoying it, just taking my time. Its fun, I think this might turn out to be one of my favorites from the franchise.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Ghost of Tsushima: Still plugging away, but I’m also trying to do every side mission and chase every question mark. I’ve already surpassed my Spiderman, God of War 2018, and Last of Us Playtime. I think it’s now my most played Sony PC game and I’ve still got plenty left to do.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Getting really good at dirt 2.0 with my Moza set up now.

And I'm loving octopath 2.

 

[Fess]

it's kind of relieving that you don't need to find something in every single alcove.

I’m an old dog I can’t learn new stuff I still search every single alcove so for me it’s annoying when nothing is there

 

[Sidney Prescott]

Crash Bandicoot 4 on PS5. I'm really enjoying it a lot. It has gorgeous visuals and the gameplay is very tight and fluid. The levels do get pretty hard, but I absolutely am loving the level design. Very cool so far.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

I’m an old dog I can’t learn new stuff I still search every single alcove so for me it’s annoying when nothing is there

Yeah that's me too lol. Just can't help it.

 

[lachesis]

Just finished Persona 3 Reloaded. (XSX, Game Pass) All achievements (including hidden boss) - but normal difficulty though. 1 play thru, but total hours at 180+ hours.
I realize that my OCD is really getting worse - that I spent so much time grinding. At least 2-3 dozen persona in my possession is level 99. haha...
Looking forward the DLC in couple of months. I had not played that part on FES - so honestly not sure what to look for.
More than likely it will be my last thing that I'll play on Game Pass, as I intend not to extend my membership after November when it runs out.

I actually enjoyed the game quite a bit - I do hope if they'll redo the Persona 4G like this one too.

 

[Hestar69]

Just Beat Ys9 story was weak until the last chapter but I enjoyed it but thought 8 was better. Now onto a new JRPG lol.

 

[Mr. Steve]

Just finished Persona 3 Reloaded. (XSX, Game Pass) All achievements (including hidden boss) - but normal difficulty though. 1 play thru, but total hours at 180+ hours.
I realize that my OCD is really getting worse - that I spent so much time grinding. At least 2-3 dozen persona in my possession is level 99. haha...
Looking forward the DLC in couple of months. I had not played that part on FES - so honestly not sure what to look for.
More than likely it will be my last thing that I'll play on Game Pass, as I intend not to extend my membership after November when it runs out.

I actually enjoyed the game quite a bit - I do hope if they'll redo the Persona 4G like this one too.

Have you played P5(R)? If so, do you prefer P3R or P5(R)?

 

[Danjin44]

Have you played P5(R)? If so, do you prefer P3R or P5(R)?

I personally enjoyed both but one of my issue with both Royal and Reload is they gave you overpowered ability that makes the game way too easy even on hardest difficulty.

SMT5 Vengeance in other hand makes smart balancing that you can beat bosses that much higher level than you but still makes them challenging to beat.

 

[Alex Anderson]

I decided to cancel my preorder of NES World Championships and just play Ultimate NES Remix for 3DS.

Excitebike stages were piss easy

 

[Duchess]

Prince of Persia : The Lost Crown

Good game, but I suck at parrying in general, so I'll have to see how I get on with this. Borrowed it from my brother, so no big deal.

 

[lachesis]

Have you played P5(R)? If so, do you prefer P3R or P5(R)?

Having platinummed both P5 and P5R...

Honestly P3R is based on the older style of storytelling and game - so I liked P5(R)'s more slicker and faster storytelling pace and character building. (Personal preference)

But I have to admit the story feels a bit flat towards the end of the game for P5, while P3 really picks up after halfway point - but not nearly as impactful as opening sequence of P5.
P4 did much better job in the beginning too - as your mundane small town life becomes riddled with mysterious murders.

I did appreciate Atlus made a lot of effort on the main Tartalos section, adding Monad tunnels, geometric variations and even easy level-up services to spruce up its monotonous nature.

The biggest gripe, for me at least was actually character animation. They did all the work for the new graphics and slick UI - but the scripted character animations really felt like they needed some upgrade. (Like when a character turns around after speaking, rotating in place...)
But P3R does feel much more accessible than original for sure. It feels much easier to play too, compared to original (where you can't control your party member)

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Shadow of the Erdtree completed. Not sure what I'm going to play next, possibly Armored Core VI or Super Mario Wonder.

 

[Danjin44]

possibly Armored Core VI

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Starfield.
Sarah is the wettest companion ever, and I love stealing things to make her mad.

 

[LastBattle]

Still playing Rebirth. Finally beat Rufus after a few hours of attempts. What a fucking asshole. Terribly designed fight, but I got there in the end after playing around with different materia combos and rage inducing frustration.

Rift Apart:
Played quite a bit last week, it’s…ok? The more I play the more hollow it feels. Can’t put my finger in it. It looks fantastic but something’s missing in the gameplay department and the humour falls flat. Weapon upgrades are also very lacking and don’t seem to make much difference. It’s fun enough but a bit disappointing to be honest.

The Callisto Protocol:
Started this tonight. It’s fantastic! Finished Dead Space remake a couple of weeks ago and took a little break before starting Callisto. Love the premise and prison setting. Feels like a 90s sci fi prison movie. Combat is very refreshing after Dead Space. Love the combination of melee and fire arm combat. Definitely my kind of game. Can’t wait to play more!

 

[Duchess]

Still playing Rebirth. Finally beat Rufus after a few hours of attempts. What a fucking asshole. Terribly designed fight, but I got there in the end after playing around with different materia combos and rage inducing frustration.

It's the worst boss fight in the game, in my opinion. Even on Easy, it's tedious as hell (I went back and redid it on dynamic, as I was annoyed with myself for having dropped the difficulty).

The other bosses are fine, and only took me a couple of attempts (dynamic).

 

[Punished Miku]

Lunark: Super niche. It literally looks like a GBA game blown up on the TV. Going for a very specific style that 99% of people won't really be into. It's basically Another World. Prince of Persia style platforming and movement; the ancient 2D one not the new one. Rotoscoped cutscene animations. Sci-fi. Been a nice change of pace.

 

[LastBattle]

It's the worst boss fight in the game, in my opinion. Even on Easy, it's tedious as hell (I went back and redid it on dynamic, as I was annoyed with myself for having dropped the difficulty).

The other bosses are fine, and only took me a couple of attempts (dynamic).

Sure is tedious, I spent 90% of the fight rolling around mashing square and hoping for the best. Got stun locked down to a slither of health at the end, luckily Bahumat nuked him and his dog with his finishing move and it was over. I beat him on normal. Wanted to switch to easy, but didn’t want to start the whole roster of fights again so persevered. Honestly was close to uninstalling and calling it a day, even after over 100hrs of time invested in the game.

 

[Roberts]

Decided to finish Dark Forces remaster before I move on to other things. I don't really remember much from the time of the original release but it is kind of fascinating how level of difficulty changes between levels. Some have pretty elaborate puzzles and other challenges that makes the game a whole lot more harder than other, more straight forward levels that a breeze to go through.

 

[Gandih42]

Beat Inkulinati on the hardest difficulty and got 100% completion. The winning run was literally a full-day project, being sick at home and taking breaks throughout the day. But super satisfying, I think the most important factors were properly defending my "Tiny" and choosing the right path to the boss (I realize this will make no sense to anyone on this board, as the very few have probably played it).

Since then I've been full steam ahead with Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. About 30 hours in and having a blast. I'm not sure what the experience was like in the original, but I find it to be very well paced in terms progression, exploration, and combat. There's constantly things to work towards and the exploration rewards are highly compelling, with stuff like stat boosts, significant mechanic unlocks (Miracles), mini-bosses to unlock for fusion, etc. I don't even mind that the map is mostly a desert - the place is really brought to life by the Magatsuhi rails and the demons and their stories. Also very keen on seeing where the story goes, but so far its not the main draw.

 

[Humdinger]

I tried Figment, which I picked up for $3, because it was a well-reviewed short game (something I'm in the mood for lately). The game is a colorful isometric puzzler that takes place inside the mind. You play as Dusty, who represents the mind's demoralized courage. You are accompanied by Piper, a chirpy bird companion. The gameplay involves puzzles and occasional, light combat.

The first half of the game takes place in the right hemisphere of the brain, and the second half in the left hemisphere. The first half of the game (right hemisphere) takes place in an artistic, colorful, and musical environment. The second half (right hemisphere) takes place in a clockwork, mechanical, block-based environment.

I played though the first half of the game (right hemisphere). By the end of that, I was a bit tired of the puzzle mechanics. They just aren't enough to sustain my interest in a game. There was some rare, light combat, but it was pretty lackluster. The second half of the game is also much less interesting in terms of sound and visuals, because you are now in the "logical" left hemisphere. You lose the artistic and musical elements that made the first half charming, and it becomes all about moving blocks and memorizing patterns. I didn't feel motivated to continue puzzle solving in a duller environment, so I stopped.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Dropped Lords of the Fallen (the new one)

First impression was nice, great art direction and nice combat feel. Thing is, the game's so boring man... super linear, samey enemies with a lot of repetition and 5 bosses out of 5 so far were "some dude with X weapon", plus they are much boring to fight than anything I've seen in any FROM game.

I'd recommend Lies of P over Lords any day of the week.

 

[Solarstrike]

Destiny 2 Iron Banner PVP, trying to get my title. Shit is taking forever, the grind is real. Bungie really needs to lower the requirement(s) for titles.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Incredible visual and audio design but the gameplay mechanics in terms of transversal are kinda wack. I've found myself spam jumping up the rocks/cliffs to get to objectives, not knowing there are proper paths to them (caves, tree branches, vines) but they are difficult to see.
Dragon's Dogma 2, It's an excellent game like the first DD. Atmospheric, really has it's own unique style in presentation, audio/voicework, and gameplay that's for sure. fun combat as well, the game just needs an optimization patch or two. I made a Pawn called "Pale Lady" from the movie Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. She's a mage/wizard.

 

[Dazraell]

Bouncing between Half-Life: Opposing Force and Yakuza 0

 

[darth.shrimp]

Finally finished Secret of Mana (the original on the SNES). Boy, am I glad I only played it after Seiken Densetsu 3, because otherwise I probably would have given up on the series as a whole...

The soundtrack was good, but nothing special. The final few tracks were very good (starting with the Mana Fortress), but that's it.
The characters are very under-developed. I'm sorry, was I supposed to feel anything when what's-her-name got killed?
Very bad camera that doesn't show what's in front of you, but only where you came from.
The charged attack system was complete crap. It works at first, but as you progress through the game you start having no time to prepare anything before you get interrupted. They're flashy, and that's it (also they low you down way too much while charging).
Shitty AI. Like... super crap. No wonder people praised its multiplayer when that was the alternative.
Magic is at a very weird place. Did you take time levelling up your spirits? Bosses die in seconds. You didn't? Prepare to be soft-locked as soon as you fight something that can't be hit in melee. And with how scarce recovery items are (you can only carry four of each at a time), you can't really spam fairy nuts to get back MP and compensate your low magic power.
The final dungeon, the Mana Fortress, is... really annoying. Way too long, very annoying enemies that wouldn't be that bad if they didn't love hiding behind the scenery to get you by surprise, and no way to get back other than walking all the way to the entrance since you can't use your magic rope there. So once you're done grinding for hours to get those final weapon orbs, it will take another hour to go back to a forge to upgrade those weapons...

 

[TintoConCasera]

darth.shrimp any plans on playing Evermore? For me, it's the best of the SNES "Secret of *" games. The alchemy system is cool and there's not near as much magic spam as in SD3.

 

[Danjin44]

I beat both SMT5V and Shadow of Erdtree, so I'm trying to think what should I play before Visions of Mana comes out.

 

[Shake Your Rump]

Magic is at a very weird place. Did you take time levelling up your spirits? Bosses die in seconds. You didn't? Prepare to be soft-locked as soon as you fight something that can't be hit in melee.

This happened to me. I quit and never went back. This was probably 15 years ago.

 

[Paltheos]

Have you played P5(R)? If so, do you prefer P3R or P5(R)?

P3R by a sizable margin. Same for P4G. I consider Persona 5 to be a much more stylish but dumber retread of Persona 4 that kinda misses the point of what makes P4 work. This is a minority opinion: P5 is near-universally loved.

The only slight I have against P3R is that the arrangements of the old tracks generally range from pretty good to rubbish. The brass instrumentation in Iwatodai Dorm, for instance, is hot garbage; I don't know how it even passed QC. Paradoxically, Lotus Juice's new lyrics in the same song are as smooth as ice. Otherwise P3R's pretty great; the game does a good job of filling in a lot of the empty space in the second act from the original while still protecting the spirit of P3's game feel.

I've read/heard plenty of opinions that so many of the "flaws" of Persona 3 are apparent in the remake and that later games, in particular the aforementioned Persona 5, fixed them, and I can't disagree more. I also haven't really heard much in the way of specifics but I can really on speculate that some people don't really get the game. It absolutely has problems but they're not systemic like others believe, and the core experience is solid imo.

 

[Psychostar]

Hades 2 was (unsurprisingly) another addictive experience. Played for 50 hours and finished everything I could at this point before even thinking about starting something else.

Yep. One week in and I am still locked in on Hades 2. The game is great and I wish it was not an early access title. It's too well made and deserves to be played in full, and knowing that I could be waiting a year for the finished product is devastating.

I had forgot to mention on my list that I was also playing 'No rest for the wicked' - Another absolute gem but unfortunately this one is waaaay too underbaked. It's as "early access" as they get and makes me wish I had waited for a full launch as who knows when this one will be considered playable from start to end. Real shame too as I'd easily slap this on a GOTY list.

 

[Punished Miku]

Finished Disjunction. Pretty dang solid. Going with an 8.5/10. Cyberpunk storyline is pretty good with some choices and multiple endings. The gameplay doesnt really expand past the stealth infiltration you start with, but it remained fun and challenging the whole time. Recommended if you like difficult stealth indie games. I finished it with the achievement for not killing anyone in the game, so maybe someday I'll try the other path.

 

[amigastar]

Just bought UNCHARTED™ Legacy of Thieves Collection on Steam and i'm downloading it to play it.
How is it? What are your experiences with the game, guys? Is it really good?

 

[The_hunter]

Just bought UNCHARTED™ Legacy of Thieves Collection on Steam and i'm downloading it to play it.
How is it? What are your experiences with the game, guys? Is it really good?

I really liked it, played it a few years ago.