What are you currently playing?

[Hawki]

So I've played more of Path of Radiance, and already, I've started to mess things up.

Anyway, random thoughts in regards to the most recent missions I've played:

-Hey, it's Mia! Great! I've always liked Mia, given her bubbly and slightly bonkers personality and...oh. You're kinda useless as a unit actually.

-On the other hand, Soren's finally starting to pull his weight. Bout time.

-Poor Greil. If he'd only kept the weapon triangle in mind, he might have beaten the Black Knight (I know, obvious joke is obvious).

-Actually, to be fair, Greil's death sequence is well handled, but it's actually the pre-rendered cinematic that's the weak link for me, in part because the voice acting isn't that good, in part because it's showing its age, in part because the dialogue is nothing special. It's actually when the cutscene returns to the in-game version that things improve. Course, I know at this point who the Black Knight really is (maybe Graham Chapman could have beaten him?), but the dialogue's good, menacing, as well as what comes afterwards.

-Concerning the next mission (defend castle for X turns), this is where I started to mess things up, namely in that I didn't pick up Ilyana, in part because I'd forgotten all about her. I sort of call bullshit on this, because usually in these missions there's some kind of hint that an enemy hero is recruitable, but here, there's nothing. My assumption was "huh, named enemy hero with Elfire, better stay away from her." That said, I didn't play it entirely safe, since Ike and Titania were busy tearing up Daein soldiers in the south of the fortress, to the extent where they even tag-teamed the enemy general (who, fittingly enough, responds with a "what the hell are you doing out here?") moment if you leave the fortress and engage him directly. Meanwhile, Soren earnt his keep (magic's still useful against armoured knights), Oscar and Boyd remain powerhouses, Rhys did his healing, and Mia, um...yeah, still kinda useless.

-Got to the next mission ("Gallia," the beach mission), and this is where I had my first death (Rhys). I quit the mission at this point, in part because I ordered the laguz to "target" the enemy by choosing the specific one I wanted targeted, but it turns out that "target" only goes to a specific location, and otherwise, they just bound around rather than attacking. God damn it. Given time constraints, in the future, I'll probably just have to stomach losses, since I don't have the time to replay missions over and over in light of losing units, but in this case, I'm willing to do a do-over.

Anyway, game's still good.

 

[BrawlMan]

I hit my wall with Hi-Fi: Rush for now- one of these g-d mfing QTE has completely stumped me. Comparing to a full play-through on youtube, it seems I'm about half-way through. Perhaps I'll attempt this again but I threw my Steam Deck down in frustration last night. Well, not threw, that's shit's expensive.. gently placed it down on the couch then petulantly stomped around the living room like a child.

What stage are you at? I'm currently on Track 9 and stopped for tonight. Been playing on my bro's Series X. I'm getting the hang of my just frames and nailing those parries. I've made upgrades for my assists to do additional attack when a perfect parry is landed.

Im actually quite surprised that it ended up being this game, of all things. I've stuck through a lot of really shitty games in the past, but I never expected the game that is rated Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam to be the one that finally pushes me over the edge.

So yeah, onto literally anything else. 4 hours was still a good try, though.

That how it be sometimes and there is nothing wrong with your decision.

​

 

[09philj]

I'm playing Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland DX, which is nice.
It's a nice game.
Nice chilled out dungeon crawling and crafting.
Nice.

 

[Silvanus]

Finally got my hands on a PS5 about a week ago. Played through Astro's Playroom (which, as lots of others have already said, is damn good for an extended tech demo) and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Both were also pretty easy Platinum trophies.

Also finally went back and finished the last bits of the main story and postgame in Pokemon Scarlet.

Aaaaand also been playing some of the titles on the Switch's new GBA player. Replayed Super Mario Land 2, and am now playing Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga for the first time.

 

[Dalisclock]

Finally got my hands on a PS5 about a week ago. Played through Astro's Playroom (which, as lots of others have already said, is damn good for an extended tech demo) and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Both were also pretty easy Platinum trophies.

Also finally went back and finished the last bits of the main story and postgame in Pokemon Scarlet.

Aaaaand also been playing some of the titles on the Switch's new GBA player. Replayed Super Mario Land 2, and am now playing Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga for the first time.

Once golden sun gets put on there I think I'm gonna have to upgrade to the + package.

Damnit Nintendo, stop making me like your emulator network.

Astro's playroom is very well polished for a couple hours of tech demo and Sony celebrating itself. I'd normally be annoyed by such a thing but the fact it is actually pretty fun helps me push those annoyances aside.

 

[Chimpzy]

Just finished Live A Live.

I am of two minds. I quite liked the short vignettes with each having its own gimmick. They're simplistic, but charming. But then you get to the final chapter and that gets dropped for a really bog standard old school jrpg with random battles full of enemies that aren't hard but just annoying to fight, and a dumb 'go beat the dark lord plot', and that simplicity suddenly starts working against it. And the game imo just takes a nosedive.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

What stage are you at? I'm currently on Track 9 and stopped for tonight. Been playing on my bro's Series X. I'm getting the hang of my just frames and nailing those parries. I've made upgrades for my assists to do additional attack when a perfect parry is landed.

I don't remember the name/numbrer of stage or tracks or whatever, level. I was the part where you have to enable three.. things... I dunno. It's the level after that boss the you mentioned where the joke is that it's gonna be this big fight but then it's not. The one with the green hair. I really like that guy.
Anyway, after that, you gotta platform/fight your way up to these three places to turn something on. I did one, and then you can choose the other two in any order, so I went left, and that's when I hit the QTE I can't get past it.
I tried it again and my anger level went past what I can tolerate it. Uninstalled, I'm done, and am going back to replay something easy like Elden Ring.

 

[Dalisclock]

Just finished Live A Live.

I am of two minds. I quite liked the short vignettes with each having its own gimmick. They're simplistic, but charming. But then you get to the final chapter and that gets dropped for a really bog standard old school jrpg with random battles full of enemies that aren't hard but just annoying to fight, and a dumb 'go beat the dark lord plot', and that simplicity suddenly starts working against it. And the game imo just takes a nosedive.

Out of curiosity, did you do the thing in the last chapter when you pick Orsted instead of the heros from the other time periods? You can get two extra endings from it

 

[Chimpzy]

Out of curiosity, did you do the thing in the last chapter when you pick Orsted instead of the heros from the other time periods? You can get two extra endings from it

No, I picked Horndog (i.e. Pogo). I take it Orsted's route does thing differently then?

 

[Dalisclock]

No, I picked Horndog (i.e. Pogo). I take it Orsted's route does thing differently then?

If you pick Orstead, you do an alt route where you fight each of the chapter final boss battles again but as the Boss, basically showing that Orstead was controlling all of the bosses the whole time.

1. if you do them all and win, you get an ending where Orested is victorious as the Dark Lord.
2. In one of the boss battles, you can deploy a planet killer nuke which basically blows up the earth. I think it's the cyberpunk one?

Neither of them will blow your mind or anything but it's kinda cool you get something a little different.

 

[BrawlMan]

I don't remember the name/numbrer of stage or tracks or whatever, level. I was the part where you have to enable three.. things... I dunno. It's the level after that boss the you mentioned where the joke is that it's gonna be this big fight but then it's not. The one with the green hair. I really like that guy.
Anyway, after that, you gotta platform/fight your way up to these three places to turn something on. I did one, and then you can choose the other two in any order, so I went left, and that's when I hit the QTE I can't get past it.
I tried it again and my anger level went past what I can tolerate it. Uninstalled, I'm done, and am going back to replay something easy like Elden Ring.

Oh yeah, the holographic eyeball qte lock breaking sequences. They can be annoying; especially we are not used to the rhythm of timing on your first time through. I'm playing on a series X on a big screen, so it's probably easier for me to time the button presses. I don't know if there's a difference on the Steam Deck, but it might be a little hard doing it on that. There's three puzzles similar to that on the seventh stage. If it's making you frustrated, I understand putting it down.

 

[Absent]

Oh I so, so love Mafia 3.

It has little in common with its predecessors, just a mild easter egg (less awesomely brutal than Mafia 2's nod to Mafia 1), it's tries very hard to emulate ubisoft games without being quite as rich in activities. You do get to "climb the towers" (no climbing involved just wire some phones) to reveal icons on a map's area. Including the collectibles. Those are as amusing and more interesting than Mafia 2's : they are also era-related pinups and playboy pages (the historical vintagey aspect of it makes it more charming than, say, The Witcher's dubious collection cards), but this time other magazines are added (hot rod), communist posters, christian nationalist leaflets (haven't found one yet) and also articles and multiple-pages interviews from the playboy magazines, plus record sleeves. Speaking of which, I have to stop playing so often, just to enjoy whatever Patsy Cline, Rolling Stones or Johnny Cash is coming out from a radio. I had never realised how fond I am of the 60s music.

So, it's not really the activities. The action is cool, but by now it's stuff we've been doing, exactly the same way, in too many games of the genre. But it's the terrific cutscenes (narration, acting -voice and body language-, framing, etc... it's just among the best in gaming), and the environment. It's one of the most political games I've played, it's really about the 60s in the south of the US, and beyond (from the Vietnam war to Papa Doc Duvallier and haïtian migration) and the openly racist culture of the era. No historical revisionnism in order to avoid offending players, here. It aims to offend and to denounce. Politically, it's like a Spike Lee adaptation of an Ellroy novel. Not often seen in videogames - or modern movies for that matter.

Oddly, the story is framed in flash-backs. Talking heads, former CIA officials being interviewed, aged characters of the story reminiscing, etc. It's sometimes a bit jarring, takes you out of the story, but still a million times better than any Animus. It's just a part where I feel it goes a bit too far outside the videogaming genre, but even if it falls flat, it's a cool attempt. It's well done, it's just that the pseudo-documentary approach may look too self-serious for a pew pew.

Also the language. This New Orleans mix of french and english. I adore that.

(Also, tried in vain to identify the voice actor who makes the announcements in that baron samedi inspired theme park. Great, and certainly deliberate, mark hamill impersonation. I was actually wondering if it was him, and judging by these youtube comments, I wasn't the only one.)

 

[BrawlMan]

I finished up Hi-Fi Rush. Awesome game and one of my potential GOTY. I'll put more of my thoughts in the dedicated thread.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Oh I so, so love Mafia 3.

It has little in common with its predecessors, just a mild easter egg (less awesomely brutal than Mafia 2's nod to Mafia 1), it's tries very hard to emulate ubisoft games without being quite as rich in activities. You do get to "climb the towers" (no climbing involved just wire some phones) to reveal icons on a map's area. Including the collectibles. Those are as amusing and more interesting than Mafia 2's : they are also era-related pinups and playboy pages (the historical vintagey aspect of it makes it more charming than, say, The Witcher's dubious collection cards), but this time other magazines are added (hot rod), communist posters, christian nationalist leaflets (haven't found one yet) and also articles and multiple-pages interviews from the playboy magazines, plus record sleeves. Speaking of which, I have to stop playing so often, just to enjoy whatever Patsy Cline, Rolling Stones or Johnny Cash is coming out from a radio. I had never realised how fond I am of the 60s music.

So, it's not really the activities. The action is cool, but by now it's stuff we've been doing, exactly the same way, in too many games of the genre. But it's the terrific cutscenes (narration, acting -voice and body language-, framing, etc... it's just among the best in gaming), and the environment. It's one of the most political games I've played, it's really about the 60s in the south of the US, and beyond (from the Vietnam war to Papa Doc Duvallier and haïtian migration) and the openly racist culture of the era. No historical revisionnism in order to avoid offending players, here. It aims to offend and to denounce. Politically, it's like a Spike Lee adaptation of an Ellroy novel. Not often seen in videogames - or modern movies for that matter.

Oddly, the story is framed in flash-backs. Talking heads, former CIA officials being interviewed, aged characters of the story reminiscing, etc. It's sometimes a bit jarring, takes you out of the story, but still a million times better than any Animus. It's just a part where I feel it goes a bit too far outside the videogaming genre, but even if it falls flat, it's a cool attempt. It's well done, it's just that the pseudo-documentary approach may look too self-serious for a pew pew.

Also the language. This New Orleans mix of french and english. I adore that.

(Also, tried in vain to identify the voice actor who makes the announcements in that baron samedi inspired theme park. Great, and certainly deliberate, mark hamill impersonation. I was actually wondering if it was him, and judging by these youtube comments, I wasn't the only one.)

Oh that's good to see. I just played Mafie: The Definitive Edition because it was provided with this month's PS+ service and I enjoyed it. I do hope they put the sequels there, or maybe one day I'll just buy 'em when in the mood to soak in some drama from decades that, indeed, had my favorite music.

 

[Dalisclock]

Oh that's good to see. I just played Mafie: The Definitive Edition because it was provided with this month's PS+ service and I enjoyed it. I do hope they put the sequels there, or maybe one day I'll just buy 'em when in the mood to soak in some drama from decades that, indeed, had my favorite music.

The entire trilogy goes on sale for like $20 on steam/gog every few months, so it might be worth wish listing for you.

I grabbed it for around that not long after I listened to Noah Gervais go on about it and he convinced me that it's worth checking out. Though I haven't gotten around to actually playing any of them yet but at least none of the Rockstar games that have GTA in them interest me and SR flopped so the the next time I want to play a crime type game Mafia is top of the list.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Oh I so, so love Mafia 3.

It has little in common with its predecessors, just a mild easter egg (less awesomely brutal than Mafia 2's nod to Mafia 1), it's tries very hard to emulate ubisoft games without being quite as rich in activities. You do get to "climb the towers" (no climbing involved just wire some phones) to reveal icons on a map's area. Including the collectibles. Those are as amusing and more interesting than Mafia 2's : they are also era-related pinups and playboy pages (the historical vintagey aspect of it makes it more charming than, say, The Witcher's dubious collection cards), but this time other magazines are added (hot rod), communist posters, christian nationalist leaflets (haven't found one yet) and also articles and multiple-pages interviews from the playboy magazines, plus record sleeves. Speaking of which, I have to stop playing so often, just to enjoy whatever Patsy Cline, Rolling Stones or Johnny Cash is coming out from a radio. I had never realised how fond I am of the 60s music.

So, it's not really the activities. The action is cool, but by now it's stuff we've been doing, exactly the same way, in too many games of the genre. But it's the terrific cutscenes (narration, acting -voice and body language-, framing, etc... it's just among the best in gaming), and the environment. It's one of the most political games I've played, it's really about the 60s in the south of the US, and beyond (from the Vietnam war to Papa Doc Duvallier and haïtian migration) and the openly racist culture of the era. No historical revisionnism in order to avoid offending players, here. It aims to offend and to denounce. Politically, it's like a Spike Lee adaptation of an Ellroy novel. Not often seen in videogames - or modern movies for that matter.

Oddly, the story is framed in flash-backs. Talking heads, former CIA officials being interviewed, aged characters of the story reminiscing, etc. It's sometimes a bit jarring, takes you out of the story, but still a million times better than any Animus. It's just a part where I feel it goes a bit too far outside the videogaming genre, but even if it falls flat, it's a cool attempt. It's well done, it's just that the pseudo-documentary approach may look too self-serious for a pew pew.

Also the language. This New Orleans mix of french and english. I adore that.

(Also, tried in vain to identify the voice actor who makes the announcements in that baron samedi inspired theme park. Great, and certainly deliberate, mark hamill impersonation. I was actually wondering if it was him, and judging by these youtube comments, I wasn't the only one.)

I liked playing Mafia 3 more than the last few GTA’s overall. I mean, it’s not nearly as polished but the melee, gunplay and driving generally felt better as it is. The story was definitely a high point, and yeah the collectibles were a nice bonus. Taking over territories and gaining factions/underbosses was kinda tedious but also interesting, because it yielded tangible benefits to how the game played out. You felt like you were getting an upper hand in the city and that doing all the stuff was ultimately worth the effort.

It’s too bad that the new collection didn’t really do anything to buff out the rough edges. The handful of technical shortcomings were mainly what needed more attention.

 

[Absent]

Oh that's good to see. I just played Mafie: The Definitive Edition because it was provided with this month's PS+ service and I enjoyed it. I do hope they put the sequels there, or maybe one day I'll just buy 'em when in the mood to soak in some drama from decades that, indeed, had my favorite music.

Yeah, I loved Mafia 1. I spent a lot of time just cruising around in these awesome cars, listening to that awesome music (I think much of it got removed from the current editions, for copyright reasons, and can be manually restored with a very unofficial patch, but I played the original retail version). Although nice, Mafia 2 is the weakest of the three, I'd say (and possibl the buggiest, at least its definitive edition). But I notice that many people disagree with my ranking on the internet, which pleases me (I usually like when people appreciate the stuff that I don't, I don't like things to be "orphaned" of appreciation). And a lot of people don't forgive Mafia 3 for being an open gta/watchdogs game like all others, and losing the specificity of Mafia 1&2's focused narrative. But it was exactly what I was in the mood to play, so...

Also, I just got harrased out of a restaurant forbidden to "coloured people" (which, again, seldom happens in videogames). I avenged myself by sneaking back in and stealing their cash register's content (and porn stash). So MIB3.

 

[Worgen]

Ive been playing Ori and the Blind Forest, and I do not like it at all.

Getting the good stuff out of the way: the music is great. Visually, it is a treat (though not as much of a "every frame a painting" as something like Gris). And I also really liked the first 10 or so minutes.

But once I actually got into the game, I found very little to enjoy.

You might like Ori and the Will of the Wisps more, combat is more normal and less just auto hit, kinda thing. Ultimately I enjoyed both Ori games but despite how pretty they are, there was something kinda lifeless about them. I don't know.

I beat Eiyudin Chronicles: Rising, but I still have some side quests that unlocked after it so I need to go back and do those. I really enjoyed it, the characters were fun with really good writing, it does really suffer from too many side quests but they have good writing and aren't a huge pain to do, there are just a ton of them and I'm a completionist when it comes to side quests.

I picked up Grim Guardians: Demon Purge. I was expecting a metroidvania, but its closer to just castlevania. Each stage is contained, but has a ton of side paths that you can take after you get further and unlock more side weapons. The pixel graphics are fantastic, they look great and animate smoothly, there is a nice variety to enemies and each of your characters plays differently, the bosses also look fantastic and provide a decent challenge. Really the only down side is that your characters won't shutup. Pretty much every action you do, results in them saying something and there is no timer between when the clips play, you can turn it off, but I would rather it just be less common.

Pocky and Rocky: Reshrined also just came out on steam so I had to get it. The graphics look phenomenal, there is so much pixel goodness in the game and attention to detail. It plays really well too Pocky and Rocky each play a bit different but you unlock other characters who play more different. It is a topdown shooter, not a twin stick though, so no strafing, you have a melee swing that you can use to kill enemies or deflect bullets, but even with that its a pretty hard game, but you do get unlimited continues. So far, pretty damn fun.

 

[FakeSympathy]

I started playing Resident Evil 2 Remake again. I played for like 2 hours, then got busy with other games. This is a solid game well-worth of the phrase "remake" really like the atmosphere, and fully able to view the RPD station without the fixed camera angle feels great. Not being stuck in tank control anymore allowed me to shoot and move freely, but I quickly figured out that means the zombies can do the same. Inventory and limited resource management is superb. I am actually struggling to think what to bring with me or leave in the storage. And the check mark for whenever an item is no longer needed? Holy crap...

Mr. X is the only thing I don't like about the game; I think they were trying to do the whole Alien Isolation AI thing, except Mr. X is nowhere near as frightening as a Xenomorph. He was scary the first few times, but now he is annoying. Like, all I'm trying to do is weave my way around many zombies like an ice skater, and this big mofo just slams me to the ground like "Gotcha, *****!"

I'm also playing on Normal difficulty, and this game walks that fine line between fair, annoying, and downright cruel when it comes to ammo scavenging.

I think I'm nearing Leon's story, so I can't wait to do this again with Claire

 

[BrawlMan]

Mr. X is the only thing I don't like about the game; I think they were trying to do the whole Alien Isolation AI thing, except Mr. X is nowhere near as frightening as a Xenomorph. He was scary the first few times, but now he is annoying. Like, all I'm trying to do is weave my way around many zombies like an ice skater, and this big mofo just slams me to the ground like "Gotcha, *****!"

I'm also playing on Normal difficulty, and this game walks that fine line between fair, annoying, and downright cruel when it comes to ammo scavenging.

I think I'm nearing Leon's story, so I can't wait to do this again with Claire

Once you know how Mr. X works, he' actually not that hard to avoid nor annoying. Hardcore Mode on the other hand, makes encounters with him much more frustrating due to limited inventory space and nearly everything can kill you in 2 hits.