What are you currently playing?
- Thread starter Nick Calandra
- Start date
Ghost of Tsushima- The Director's Cut
Truly, video games are my outlet for my most childish, impulsive, id-gratifying urges. Within the span of a month I wanna play everything, then I wanna play nothing, then I wanna replay a game I already played to completion but this time pay more money for an upgrade I can't even see (I use a 1080p TV) and DLC.
Really I was just thinking about my whole thing I been whining about how I can't deal with so much of the combat in recent games. Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon: Forbidden West, Evil West, Armored Core 6, Wo Long Fallen Dynasty- all of them pissed me off by having enemies fly off screen all the time and be too big and fast for me to follow. Sure I beat some of these and enjoyed them regardless, while I quite others, but they all left a bad taste in my mouth.
So I decided to re-start Tushima to see how much of this feeling is the games and how much is me. Tsushima came out in 2020 which is later than I remember (so it came out after Sekiro, my high water mark for melee combat). Maybe because of the following upgrade it felt older to me...
Anyway... yeah, the game is still great. Absolutely fantastic, what a joy! In this game when you fight a person- look I dunno how to explain it, but you're fighting the person! You're not fighting the camera. The enemy moves in a way that... makes sense, like, optically? This really shines in the parry- y'all know I love me a good parry. In order to execute a successful parry in this game, you have to sort of wait for an enemy to attack and then you hit the deflect button to turn their momentum against them. Now I know you're like "well duh that's what a parry is." Yes, that's what it's supposed to be, but that's not how it feels in Wo Long, Hi-Fi Rush, Evil West, etc, any game I played that came out after 2020. In those games it's like "we're gonna shine a bunch of lights in your eyes and if you get lucky you get a parry lol" or something.
I also happen to think that no open world narrative game has better handled trying to balance accessibility for players and handling the consensus critical and hardcore gamr backlash against hAndHOLding. That thing where maps with icons are worse than literal slavery in the eyes of some loud internet types who claim to enjoy wandering around aimlessly or looking up guides on the internet.
Yes you get a map with icons (suck it, haters), but you get that cool wind thing instead of a mini-map so you "have" to look at one of the most insanely gorgeous game worlds every rendered to get around. Lovely.
The story is great, the characters are great- yes, they're samurai movie archetypes, but I love samurai movie archetypes!, everything is pretty. It's my favorite type of game world- slightly hyper-realized. Where like the trees and grass looks real but sometimes there's an unrealistic amount of flower petals flying around to make a duel feel even more epic. Heckin' cool. man.
Yes some of the side stuff is corny- haikus, baths, bamboo cuts, fox dens- none of it it particularly engaging. I like doing them while listening to a stream of podcast or something. That's all fine, or not, whatever, I don't care. The quests themselves are what got me to return and of course the combat.
I know this game is beloved and that's great. I have seem some criticism of it that is just Ubisoft model, but that is just the game snobbery IMO. I think it's one of the few games that is "properly" rated IMO- it is generally well liked, but those that are more interested in more different types of games don't care about it, which is fair. I mean if you "have" to play a bunch of big story open world games for your content creation algorithm then I can understand being bored by yet another one, or if you're just more interested in other types of games that's fine. But for those of us that like this sort of thing- well, it's why we have Playstations.
I was watching the trailer for this Black Myth Wukong game that is getting a lot of attention and I sighed in resignation- look at those big bosses, look how squirrely they are, look at how awkward and janky that movement looks. Oh, there's a second stage and the boss recovers all their health? F***in' kill me. Just two years ago I would be on that hype train, now I'd rather take a nap.
I'm genuinely worried these kinds of games I like are going to become extinct. It's either boring live service CONTENT like Genshin Impact or kick your ass with seizures hardcore like FromSoftware post-Sekiro. The real test for me will be the upcoming Assassin's Creed Mirage but especially Spiderman 2. If the latter has boss fights that fly off screen every microsecond like Elden Core, I may have to retire my game controller.
Truly, video games are my outlet for my most childish, impulsive, id-gratifying urges. Within the span of a month I wanna play everything, then I wanna play nothing, then I wanna replay a game I already played to completion but this time pay more money for an upgrade I can't even see (I use a 1080p TV) and DLC.
Really I was just thinking about my whole thing I been whining about how I can't deal with so much of the combat in recent games. Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Horizon: Forbidden West, Evil West, Armored Core 6, Wo Long Fallen Dynasty- all of them pissed me off by having enemies fly off screen all the time and be too big and fast for me to follow. Sure I beat some of these and enjoyed them regardless, while I quite others, but they all left a bad taste in my mouth.
So I decided to re-start Tushima to see how much of this feeling is the games and how much is me. Tsushima came out in 2020 which is later than I remember (so it came out after Sekiro, my high water mark for melee combat). Maybe because of the following upgrade it felt older to me...
Anyway... yeah, the game is still great. Absolutely fantastic, what a joy! In this game when you fight a person- look I dunno how to explain it, but you're fighting the person! You're not fighting the camera. The enemy moves in a way that... makes sense, like, optically? This really shines in the parry- y'all know I love me a good parry. In order to execute a successful parry in this game, you have to sort of wait for an enemy to attack and then you hit the deflect button to turn their momentum against them. Now I know you're like "well duh that's what a parry is." Yes, that's what it's supposed to be, but that's not how it feels in Wo Long, Hi-Fi Rush, Evil West, etc, any game I played that came out after 2020. In those games it's like "we're gonna shine a bunch of lights in your eyes and if you get lucky you get a parry lol" or something.
I also happen to think that no open world narrative game has better handled trying to balance accessibility for players and handling the consensus critical and hardcore gamr backlash against hAndHOLding. That thing where maps with icons are worse than literal slavery in the eyes of some loud internet types who claim to enjoy wandering around aimlessly or looking up guides on the internet.
Yes you get a map with icons (suck it, haters), but you get that cool wind thing instead of a mini-map so you "have" to look at one of the most insanely gorgeous game worlds every rendered to get around. Lovely.
The story is great, the characters are great- yes, they're samurai movie archetypes, but I love samurai movie archetypes!, everything is pretty. It's my favorite type of game world- slightly hyper-realized. Where like the trees and grass looks real but sometimes there's an unrealistic amount of flower petals flying around to make a duel feel even more epic. Heckin' cool. man.
Yes some of the side stuff is corny- haikus, baths, bamboo cuts, fox dens- none of it it particularly engaging. I like doing them while listening to a stream of podcast or something. That's all fine, or not, whatever, I don't care. The quests themselves are what got me to return and of course the combat.
I know this game is beloved and that's great. I have seem some criticism of it that is just Ubisoft model, but that is just the game snobbery IMO. I think it's one of the few games that is "properly" rated IMO- it is generally well liked, but those that are more interested in more different types of games don't care about it, which is fair. I mean if you "have" to play a bunch of big story open world games for your content creation algorithm then I can understand being bored by yet another one, or if you're just more interested in other types of games that's fine. But for those of us that like this sort of thing- well, it's why we have Playstations.
I was watching the trailer for this Black Myth Wukong game that is getting a lot of attention and I sighed in resignation- look at those big bosses, look how squirrely they are, look at how awkward and janky that movement looks. Oh, there's a second stage and the boss recovers all their health? F***in' kill me. Just two years ago I would be on that hype train, now I'd rather take a nap.
I'm genuinely worried these kinds of games I like are going to become extinct. It's either boring live service CONTENT like Genshin Impact or kick your ass with seizures hardcore like FromSoftware post-Sekiro. The real test for me will be the upcoming Assassin's Creed Mirage but especially Spiderman 2. If the latter has boss fights that fly off screen every microsecond like Elden Core, I may have to retire my game controller.
I don't make any money if you play the game or not.
I bet you're the kind of guy that would play DDR with a controller.
- Glad you are enjoying the game.
- Evil West didn't have that many flying enemies, but I can see how it can be annoying. Especially those beehive looking ones that buff the enemies and they turn gold. That next to last final boss doesn't help either.
- While Ghost does have great combat, the camera can still be an issue, because there is no lock on. That has to be fixed for the sequel. The game pacifies the enemies enough when they're off screen where it isn't a problem, but issues can still occur when you're aiming for an enemy you didn't ask for.
- Don't worry too much. You already know it's going to be more games than a live service or somebody going post Dark Souls and Sekiro, when From Software is already done with it. If anything, you're probably going to be seeing more mech games soon with the way Armored Core 6 is succeeding. Like I told you before, you don't look enough and you actually don't even have to look that hard most of the time. You got plenty of platformers coming out this season, and some new rpgs. I know you're not invested in RPGs too much, but there you go. I know you say you don't do horror as well, but did you play Alan Wake on PS plus when it was available? If you enjoyed that one, then I think you will enjoy the sequel when it comes out. Now I know the sequel will be scarier and puts more emphasis on the dark horror.
- Remember to keep looking. If it's the AAA you're worried about, then check other sectors. There will always be something there, even if you don't believe it.
Last edited:
Ok I'm glad you brought this up 'cause I was thinking about this too. Certainly as I was playing I was thinking gee I wish I could lock onto this guy.
But here's the thing- one of the reasons I quit Armored Core 6 is because I felt the lock on was complete and utter bullshit for boss fights. There's supposed to be a "hard" lock on but it absolutely does not hard lock on. It breaks when the boss does that janky off screen thing- which it does all the time! I wonder if this is a response to Elden Ring, where the hard lock on was TOO hard and you'd mess up a fight because your camera would fixate on a wasp or goat somewhere.
So I don't disagree with you... but I also don't agree, if that makes any sense? I'd rather have no lock on than bad lock on, and since FromSoftware is beloved while doing what I consider back lock-on, I think right now I'd rather just have it Tsushima style. I'd be happy to see a game do lock-on better, though.
Yeah and I ignore that usually because it's kind of patronizing honestly? I follow games media, I watch reviews, I'm on this site- how much more am I supposed to follow? I browse, I read, I put on a stream here and there sometimes.. I look. I look enough. I probably spend more time and energy reading/thinking about games than the vast majority of people. I don't actually need to look more.
As for AAA- I know that's a meaningless designation. But tbh, I like 3D games with nice graphics. I just rarely have interest in pixel games and retro this and that. Occasionally, sure, but as a change of pace or palette cleanser. I'm glad folks are enjoying Sea of Stars but the idea of spending more than like 5 hours on something that looks like old school Nintendo is just something I cannot fathom. It's like if someone made a silent movie today.. why? I'm happy to lean about them and appreciate them but not always play them. When a Death's Door or Nobody Saves the World comes out and charms me for some reason or another, great, that's really great (replaying DD is genuinely the most fun I've had gaming this year). But that is not the main interest in gaming for me. "AAA" offers the level of technical ability, graphical fidelity and scope that smaller games cannot. If that makes me seem superficial, so be it.
As for RPGs- I don't have a strong feeling about them either way? I mean you know Witcher 3 is on my highest pedestal, isn't that an RPG? Skyrim, Mass Effect, Dragon Age- I like that stuff. I was seriously interested in Baldur's Gate 3 but just decided for now it's too much for me to handle, but who knows maybe someday I'll play it. Heck, Dark Souls is an RPG, and y'all know I played me some Dark Souls lol. Yeah, turn-based is boring, and I really do have no interest in retro RPGs, sorry? But like if Dreadwolf somehow manages to happen and not suck (I have little hopes), I'd love that.
Sure as hell been acting like it.In all seriousness, regardless if I play the game or not, you love and enjoy it, and it's all that matters. I get being excited or passionate when people play a hidden gem or gain you love, so I've been there. We've all been there.
We'll do as divinity commands us. That's a cheeky reference to an melee action game on the Wii.
I played DDR with a controller twice, and never again. It wasn't even my copy of the game. It's pad or nothing. I did play Vampire Night and Time Crisis to with the controller a couple of times, but still prefer the actual gun. Too bad it's hard to do nowadays. Unless it's a rail shooter built in mind for HD consoles. Hope you still have a tube tv handy.
So, maybe it’s time to use some of that disposable income you mentioned in the other thread and get a TV your PS5 won’t be insulted by lol. Seriously though, 4K makes even streaming look stupid good and games, Blu-ray movies, etc. are on another level from that. Might as well get your money’s worth from that DC edition.
We're probably moving to another state next year at which point, if all goes well with that and many other personal things I won't bore you with, I would like to buy a new TV instead of moving the one we have. We have a few things like that in our home that should be updated but knowing that we likely have to move we're just waiting on all that first.
- Apr 1, 2009
- 14,967
- 3,840
- 118
- Gender
- Whatever, just wash your hands.
I haven't gotten that far into ac6, so I can't comment. For what I've seen it works fine and you can turn off the automatic targeting if you want. As for me, I rather have a bad or mediocre lock on, then no lock on most of the time. It works enough, but it's a source of fake difficulty and I don't like aiming for something I wasn't asking for, nor an enemy that's not a high priority. They can't make the same mistake again for the sequel.
I'll take it somewhat back then. I know everybody has different interests, and we all can't play the same games or the same genres, but you shouldn't be too worried about what's going on with the AAA. It won't be full of constant Dark Souls clones, nor is there going to be too many live services. Companies have actually been cutting back on the Life services because there is a huge oversaturation, so they're finally starting to take the picture even if they're doing it for the most selfish reasons. There's only a few good live service games out of succeeding at this point. We're at least seeing more than a few large companies make actual games again. I don't know how they're going to turn out, but it's at least a start but I don't fully trust them. I never said you had to constantly play games that are pixels or look like old PS2, PS1, or GameCube games. There are plenty 3d games on the lower/smaller budget end that have the graphical or near graphical fidelity of your super high price ultra deluxe game from the industry. I enjoy great graphics every now and then, but I will not become a slave to them. You enjoy what you want to enjoy, and that's fine, but you're only going to leave yourself a disappointment if you're that concerned about there just only being two types of games in the AAA. Then again, you're only pointing out what I have proved time and time again before. There becomes a point where there's diminishing returns on those graphics, and all you're left with is either a shallow gameplay that tries to screw to consumer over, or something that's too difficult that you don't want to engage in. But like I said: even in that space, there's more than plenty enough from this generation that last two generations to play. There's still some games from the 360 era that hold up well and look great.
Tedium or boredom will set in at some point. That's why I always try to mix it up. I like detail graphics as much as the next person, but that's why I prefer stylistic and artistic choices over raw graphical power. The problem with high details and realistic graphics, is that at some point they're not going to age well within the next year or two. Sometimes even within the same year. Leaving the game to not be impressive as it once was and part of the usual crowd. That's how it usually goes, and at that point that game better have age well in the gameplay department. Because if the gameplay is bad or shallow, then said game what age even worse if all I had going for it was pretty visuals/"realism". That is why gameplay along with good characters and story are so important. Especially the gameplay. There's a reason games like Viewtiful Joe, Super Monkey Ball, DMC3, Bayonetta 2, or most cartoonish games from Nintendo or Sega, etc. age better than a majority of the games that try to look or come off as realistic. There are some that got by this, but even back in the PS2 days, most Japanese companies still used other distinct or stylistic choice to not make it look too realistic. The supplies to Western studios as well of course.
Well don't worried I'm not really worried, per se... I guess it's more about adjusting how to approach games as one gets older and tastes or experiences change, and observing gaming trends, that's all.
Like I made two decisions: one was to expunge all gaming platforms except the PS5. To just limit my gaming time and having crap around the living room, and to use that money for other stuff. The second and more important is to put games where I put movies and other things: it's ok to not have one all the time. Years ago I made the decision to not have lists of shows or movies to watch, as I don't having gaming backlogs.
And so that informs how I see that Black Myth trailer- like am I gonna wanna play that? Well look at how it reminds me of other games, the mechanics, etc. So perspectives change.
Btw I didn't answer the question about Alan Wake: so I tried to play the original on a laptop and it didn't quite work right, so I gave up, then I watched streams. I like the idea of it and some of the story beats and setting but I found the combat tedious and boring, not my thing. My issue with horror games really just comes down largely to them being dark, Like, literally, dark, and it's unpleasant to look at that and try to play through it, but that is also kind of the whole point. That's why horror works for me as movies not games. I also have very mixed opinions about Remedy- loved Control, found Quantum Break insufferable. So I'll see what Alan Wake 2 is actually- we haven't seen gameplay yet! I am guessing it won't be for me but there's no reason to declare I won't play it, who knows, maybe, right?
Like I made two decisions: one was to expunge all gaming platforms except the PS5. To just limit my gaming time and having crap around the living room, and to use that money for other stuff. The second and more important is to put games where I put movies and other things: it's ok to not have one all the time. Years ago I made the decision to not have lists of shows or movies to watch, as I don't having gaming backlogs.
And so that informs how I see that Black Myth trailer- like am I gonna wanna play that? Well look at how it reminds me of other games, the mechanics, etc. So perspectives change.
Btw I didn't answer the question about Alan Wake: so I tried to play the original on a laptop and it didn't quite work right, so I gave up, then I watched streams. I like the idea of it and some of the story beats and setting but I found the combat tedious and boring, not my thing. My issue with horror games really just comes down largely to them being dark, Like, literally, dark, and it's unpleasant to look at that and try to play through it, but that is also kind of the whole point. That's why horror works for me as movies not games. I also have very mixed opinions about Remedy- loved Control, found Quantum Break insufferable. So I'll see what Alan Wake 2 is actually- we haven't seen gameplay yet! I am guessing it won't be for me but there's no reason to declare I won't play it, who knows, maybe, right?
- Apr 1, 2009
- 14,967
- 3,840
- 118
- Gender
- Whatever, just wash your hands.
Hmm, odd. I haven't had trouble with the lockon when I use my xbox controller. I mean it can be weird with mouse since when you are locked on, any mouse movement can make it want to target something else.
I don't think it's a technical issue, I think it's the way the game is designed.
Tryne Fyve. (Sorry, was possessed by the 10 tons indie developer for a milisec there) The Trine series is like a comfy old sock, knitting amongst many other comfy old socks into a comfy old jumper, knitted to many other comfy sock jumpers into a comfy old duvet, and so on: Imagine the rest of that pattern play out till the knitted old comfy death of the universe if you really must. The narrator is basically my grandad now.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
After finishing Act 4, I leave the abyss, go back to Drezen and find out that apparently the few weeks I thought I was gone was significantly longer then that, due to some timey whimey shit(apparently abyssal storms have a side effect of warping space time of all things) going on, so everyone assumed I was dead and carried on without me. As a result, everything went to shit and I have a giant mess to clean up. OTOH, I got to meet one of the gods of the Pathfinder setting, who gets mad at me for not doing the thing she wants me to do but does little beyond that, because apparently she can't interfere directly(Long story short: It's basically the same reason the US doesn't want to directly fight Russia or China(and visa versa), because it'll result in a catastrophic war that would likely kill everyone).
And then I get a bunch of people requesting things from me, one after another and a bunch of goals and chores dumped onto me for like 30 minutes straight after that whole thing with the goddess.
Yeah, I was pumped to play Act 5, but now I kind of want to take a break and go play a bit of Sea of Stars instead, which i just picked up for Switch. So this is going on hold for a bit.
After finishing Act 4, I leave the abyss, go back to Drezen and find out that apparently the few weeks I thought I was gone was significantly longer then that, due to some timey whimey shit(apparently abyssal storms have a side effect of warping space time of all things) going on, so everyone assumed I was dead and carried on without me. As a result, everything went to shit and I have a giant mess to clean up. OTOH, I got to meet one of the gods of the Pathfinder setting, who gets mad at me for not doing the thing she wants me to do but does little beyond that, because apparently she can't interfere directly(Long story short: It's basically the same reason the US doesn't want to directly fight Russia or China(and visa versa), because it'll result in a catastrophic war that would likely kill everyone).
And then I get a bunch of people requesting things from me, one after another and a bunch of goals and chores dumped onto me for like 30 minutes straight after that whole thing with the goddess.
Yeah, I was pumped to play Act 5, but now I kind of want to take a break and go play a bit of Sea of Stars instead, which i just picked up for Switch. So this is going on hold for a bit.
Ok, but you still sound worried or can't make up your mind on what to be concerned about. I get it, I will always keep my eyes peeled for anything suspicious, the Dark Souls clones and mostly dead "LIVE SERVICES!" will be the least of my concern. It's too early to predict these direction, but what I can tell, you is expect more variety in the future, as we've seen this year.
Nobody is saying/said you're wrong for doing so. I do find it funny you dropped the Series S after batting for the thing that long. What changed, aside from the expunging part? There's a reason why I told you most people don't bother with the Series S anymore, and that most consumers jump straight to Series X and be done with it. No one is surprised about this.
Wrong. Look closer....Gameplay was revealed in June.
Last edited:
I definitely would not go as far as 'love'. I think it's a unique use of motion controls that actually add to the game rather than take away and is worth looking at solely on that basis. In all other respects the game is middling.
In all seriousness, regardless if I play the game or not, you love and enjoy it, and it's all that matters. I get being excited or passionate when people play a hidden gem or gain you love, so I've been there. We've all been there.
>Nobody is saying/said you're wrong for doing so. I do find it funny you dropped the Series S after batting for the thing that long. What changed, aside from the expunging part?
Honestly just it was sitting there unplugged and once I realized I didn’t care that much about Starfield I realized I wasn’t going to use it and I only need one console. Better it go to a good home and I used the money to buy a CD box set I been eyeing for a while.
I still think the Series S is excellent I just happen to like Sony’s exclusives very much so if I’m gonna have one console it’s gonna be a PlayStation. If anyone were to ask me for a console recommendation and told me they didn’t care about exclusives or playing handheld or on a 4K TV, I would absolutely recommend the Series S.
Honestly just it was sitting there unplugged and once I realized I didn’t care that much about Starfield I realized I wasn’t going to use it and I only need one console. Better it go to a good home and I used the money to buy a CD box set I been eyeing for a while.
I still think the Series S is excellent I just happen to like Sony’s exclusives very much so if I’m gonna have one console it’s gonna be a PlayStation. If anyone were to ask me for a console recommendation and told me they didn’t care about exclusives or playing handheld or on a 4K TV, I would absolutely recommend the Series S.
- Apr 1, 2009
- 14,967
- 3,840
- 118
- Gender
- Whatever, just wash your hands.
Are you pressing down on the right stick to actually lock on? Cause if I do that then don't touch the right stick it stays pretty firmly locked. There are instances where a fast moving enemy might manage to get out of camera but it always finds its way back.