What are you currently playing?

[Bedinsis]

Started playing Danganronpa 3. A game which apparently has a poorly received plot twist in it.

First thing of note was that it is a whole 20 GB in size, where the first one was 2 GB and second was 4 GB. So far the 3D environments are more detailed and there were some mechs that started out with chasing our heroine. I suspect there's where the extra memory went, to 3D models and levels.

Anyway, as someone that gets motion sick I cannot say I approve of adding action sections with a first person perspective; I'll have to hope that it will be rare or not a challenge.

I have not even been introduced to all characters yet, but I'm gonna write down some speculations.

Spoiler: speculation, spoilers for danganronpa 1 through 3

The first thing that happens is that our heroine wakes up in a locker with no memory with a boy in the next locker also with no memory. It is set in a classroom that has been overgrown with greenery and so has the rest of the school as we discovered as we left the starting classroom. I don't remember of the layout is the same as for the first game, but I remember that the final villain in that game claimed that if the heroes killed her she would destroy the air purifier and force them to leave the school. My current speculation is that the greenery taking over walls and floors is actually there to produce oxygen after the air purifiers went out.

The first thing that happened after reaching the room where all the other students were was that the mechs chasing me revealed to be 5 color coordinated monokuma-bears, and they gave all students a makeover to make them "much more interesting ultimates". Please don't tell me the twist will be that "this is just a piece of fiction"; some of their word choices made me think that. If history is anything to go by, I will only find out at the very end.

I currently speculate that the protagonist will be killed early on. Just a feeling I have. Maybe because she is a girl, which is a first for a protagonist of this series. Unless we're talking spin-offs which I don't know anything about.

 

[Worgen]

Got nostalgic for FTL after someone on youtube who I've been watching lately has been using the title music from FLT in his vids. Played a couple rounds, my first went pretty well, my second went really well and I beat the flagship.

 

[Dalisclock]

So I've gone through Aelfhiem and I thing most of Ironwood in GOTW: Ragnarök and I kinda feel like an asshole here. I mean, I just slaughtered a bunch light elves who had the gall to defend their home as I was intruding, killing their people, taking their stuff and generally wrecking the place. Also, while I think Ironwood is cool and Angrboda is a good character the whole sequnces feels like it drags out WAY TOO LONG. Seriously, I get that after leaving Aelfheim, the devs wanted to change up the whole pace and tone for a bit, but most of the whole sequences adds nothing of real value other then developing Angrbodas character and letting you see Ironwood. Like I feel like they could have easily done this whole sequence in a different way that accomplished the same goals but didn't feel like it was padding out the experience.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

So I've gone through Aelfhiem and I thing most of Ironwood in GOTW: Ragnarök and I kinda feel like an asshole here. I mean, I just slaughtered a bunch light elves who had the gall to defend their home as I was intruding, killing their people, taking their stuff and generally wrecking the place. Also, while I think Ironwood is cool and Angrboda is a good character the whole sequnces feels like it drags out WAY TOO LONG. Seriously, I get that after leaving Aelfheim, the devs wanted to change up the whole pace and tone for a bit, but most of the whole sequences adds nothing of real value other then developing Angrbodas character and letting you see Ironwood. Like I feel like they could have easily done this whole sequence in a different way that accomplished the same goals but didn't feel like it was padding out the experience.

The oddest part of that game was how it felt both longer and shorter than 2018. Longer because of stuff like that, but also shorter because the main story felt more streamlined as a whole IMO. It’s a bigger game apparently, but maybe its main path dangled the carrot better than before with Thor, Odin, Sindri, etc. to where I rarely felt the desire or need to stray from it.

 

[BrawlMan]

So I've gone through Aelfhiem and I thing most of Ironwood in GOTW: Ragnarök and I kinda feel like an asshole here. I mean, I just slaughtered a bunch light elves who had the gall to defend their home as I was intruding, killing their people, taking their stuff and generally wrecking the place. Also, while I think Ironwood is cool and Angrboda is a good character the whole sequnces feels like it drags out WAY TOO LONG. Seriously, I get that after leaving Aelfheim, the devs wanted to change up the whole pace and tone for a bit, but most of the whole sequences adds nothing of real value other then developing Angrbodas character and letting you see Ironwood. Like I feel like they could have easily done this whole sequence in a different way that accomplished the same goals but didn't feel like it was padding out the experience.

This is what's preventing/dreading me from doing a NG+ run. All of it is one big, unnecessary, forced walking segment at nearly HALF AN HOUR!!!!

 

[Dalisclock]

This is what's preventing/dreading me from doing a NG+ run. All of it is one big, unnecessary, forced walking segment at nearly HALF AN HOUR!!!!

It feels a lot longer then 30 minutes.

Like 3 times that long. Oh, that makes it much worse honestly. It doesn't help she keeps saying "You can leave if you want" like there's an option to bail on this part.

 

[Dalisclock]

The oddest part of that game was how it felt both longer and shorter than 2018. Longer because of stuff like that, but also shorter because the main story felt more streamlined as a whole IMO. It’s a bigger game apparently, but maybe its main path dangled the carrot better than before with Thor, Odin, Sindri, etc. to where I rarely felt the desire or need to stray from it.

Yeah, I did some side questing in the Dwarf realm and going up the mountain to find TYR but then I get offered the barrens after Aelfheim and I'm like "Do I really want to go out there? Is this just gonna be another hour or so of side questing?"

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Yeah, I did some side questing in the Dwarf realm and going up the mountain to find TYR but then I get offered the barrens after Aelfheim and I'm like "Do I really want to go out there? Is this just gonna be another hour or so of side questing?"

Ragnarok was so streamlined most of the time that I always jumped at the opportunity to go do sidequests and stuff whenever the game opened up.

But I think 2018 did it better though because Midgard was both the hub of the game and the part that would open up whenever you came back from a main mission, so it felt natural to explore around and see what had changed in between "missions". Exploring made for good downtime. In Ragnarok on the other hand you'll be done with a realm and suddenly this whole other area will open up before you leave, and staying always felt to me a little bit like being held hostage from the rest of the story

And yes, the Atreus sections drag for quite a bit. Whole lot of walking and talking broken up by squeezing down passages and jumping across gaps.

 

[BrawlMan]

I am awaited in Valhalla!

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Man.. I just didn't feel that way at all while playing Ragnarok. Maybe it just depends on how much you like the "hang out" part of the game. I just love the world and art and characters and enjoyed the "forced walking" sections for what they were.

Anyway I finished Dave the Diver.. well the main campaign and saw credits, because this game tries so hard to be nautical Stardew Valley with things constantly telling you to do other things. And I actually did do as many of those other things as I could but as soon as I hit credits, and finished one important side quest, I was done.

The diving and hunting mechanics and experience was fun for a while and then started to get tedious, as the deeper areas get more maze-like- while the game doesn't do "hand-holding" which forces exploration and many players love, I get frustrated having to swim up and down and around and around then I get to a point where I just want to do what I need to do progress the story.
The progression of loop of upgrade gear to hunt better to restaurant better to upgrade more is nice for a while until it gets tedious as well, but I know people live for that stuff.

There are boss fights and "combat" and it's a mix of clever use of the limited mechanics and annoying when it results in awkward difficulty spikes.
The game looks amazing- rather, the style, I guess, and the cute little cut scenes when people are cooking and tasting things, and the wonderful pixel art unique creatures are what make progressing through the campaign worth it.

I enjoyed this game but, like most games that go past the 20 hour mark, I was ready to be done with it before I was done with it.

 

[BrawlMan]

Man.. I just didn't feel that way at all while playing Ragnarok. Maybe it just depends on how much you like the "hang out" part of the game. I just love the world and art and characters

Those I don't mind and love.

enjoyed the "forced walking" sections for what they were.

Those on the other hand? Mostly no. At least most of them are skippable now....after 5 months of waiting for NG+. You would like to go through those again? I am mainly referring to Angrbodas section, that goes on for nearly half an hour. Not fun on repeat playthroughs and her segment is not skippable. That entire thing should have been a cut-scene, or better yet, trimmed down by a lot. I like the character and everything, but that was unneeded. Even hardcore defenders of this game have no trouble admitting it goes on for too long. Once again, I respect games that respect the players time, and doesn't waste it in any capacity. We've been through this already.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Enjoying the Valhalla DLC. Sceptic that I am I assumed it would be essentially a glorified combat arena, not that different from the challenges in Muspelheim and Niflheim. So I'm pleased to find out there's much more to that.

Closest thing I can compare it to is 2018's Niflheim, the poisonous (i.e. timed) maze that restructured itself with every run. It's a more elaborate version of that, featuring a decent amount of variables and modifiers and leaning harder on the Roguelite nature of the thing.

Playing on normal difficulty, whatever they call it, it's really not much harder than the main game. Haven't really died to anything yet. So it's hard to gauge how well the game pulls off the Roguelite elements, which at the very least should make each run distinct from each other (while letting you cash in your previous failure into something productive). But I'm having fun with it.

I'm liking the story even if it's more of what we already got in the last two games: Kratos going through therapeutic self-actualization. The mea culpa never ends, does it? Is anybody really seething over how violent and cruel Kratos was to some NPC who got marshmallowed as part of a puzzle in 2005? Or that he violently murdered the Olympians in GoW 3, even though that very game ends up framing that as a necessary/inevitable/ultimately good thing (because Pandora's box had corrupted the gods and filled them with the evils of the world or something like that)? The older games were over the top to the point of comedy.

EDIT: Grammar.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

You would like to go through those again?

IF I were to replay it, sure. But I don't plan on replaying it.
We've discussed our different replay/NG+ preferences to gams before.
But yeah when I replay story-based games I want to experience the story again.

 

[BrawlMan]

But yeah when I replay story-based games I want to experience the story again.

I don't mind experiencing a story again, but I don't need forced walking sections to do that. There were plenty of games that were able to do without it back then, and there's plenty that can do so now. Not having a forced walking section didn't make the games I played any less immersive nor less enjoyable.

 

[Piscian]

I started playing Blue Dragon on Xbox One.

It reminds me a lot of the Dreamcast RPGs with its emphasis on simple mechanics and bright colors. The gameplay and story is compelling yet told simplistically. No 30 minute cinematics explaining the geopolitical war between..whomever. Reminds me a bit of the tone of Earthbound and Evolution. You play a little kid who immediately tries to kamikaze himself at a boss monster in the first 5 minutes then immediately gets abducted by an evil space alien. 8yo me would think this is just the biscuits.

I'm only like an hour or two in so I'm not prepared to debate whether or not the reviews are justified or this is a hidden gem. I am enjoying it. I will say I got a little pissy when reviewers called it derivative. It seems like by that measure they had a moral obligation to give the last 10 years of call Of Duty games 0s across the board.

 

[BrawlMan]

I'm only like an hour or two in so I'm not prepared to debate whether or not the reviews are justified or this is a hidden gem. I am enjoying it. I will say I got a little pissy when reviewers called it derivative. It seems like by that measure they had a moral obligation to give the last 10 years of call Of Duty games 0s across the board.

This was when hypocrisy and the doubling down on anything Japanese was really showing in gaming media and press. So much for "journalistic integrity" The signs were already before the PS3 took off with IGN's reviews of later Dynasty Warriors games and their "review" God Hand.

 

[BrawlMan]

GoW: Rag-Valhalla - I'mat the part where Helios replaces Mimir, and you start fighting Greek Era enemies. This is good!

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

Well I bit and got another year of PS+ because the GodRag Valhalla free DLC was too enticing. I know, the irony right? I didn’t realize I had over $50 in my PS wallet, so just got another digital card to top it off.

Anyways this is a fantastic way to close the book on Kratos’s Norse adventures with an earned sense of catharsis. I haven’t played much yet but it’s already more intriguing and thoughtfully implemented than the baseball diamond death gauntlet from 2018 (which still wasn’t as bad as it sounds though either). I don’t play roguelites but when it’s an extra mode like this separate from the main game it makes it more palatable I guess. It starts you off with all your skills, but the caveat is it strips away all your gear, runics, etc. hearkening back to how the Greek era games worked when you got sent to Hades (ha, another another roguelite). It’s a cool premise, making challenge “runs” through Kratos’s own memories and getting to keep the rewards upon completion of each. So far it avoids feeling like just farming stones or whatever to unlock chests. There is a greater sense of purpose behind them here.

I really don’t know what I’m doing other than exploring a fairly linear set of paths towards the goodies, but it’s fun how each encounter is geared towards different skills or challenges. Playing on the middle difficulty (Courage) it’s not terribly difficult yet which is fine by me. I’m sure that will change soon. Depending on how long it takes to complete I’d like to try the other difficulties later if they’re going to yield the better/best rewards. Curious if anyone’s beaten the hardest yet, since in the Luke Stephen’s vid apparently none of the devs have beaten the end boss there.

Also played around in the main game beforehand doing some side quests. Last I left off I have no idea just wtf I’m supposed to find in those pit mines. Freya says, “Look at that” when staring off into the background with seemingly nothing of interest in view. So far I freeze the water, big stone block swings around, I climb up, unfreeze and swing back to some new berserk challenge but that’s it. So I switch gears and head to the Elven Sanctum which was more relaxing with Mimir’s stories and the demon pup sled riding.

This might be my main winter jam for a while, going back and forth between these two game modes.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Well I bit and got another year of PS+ because the GodRag Valhalla free DLC was too enticing. I know, the irony right? I didn’t realize I had over $50 in my PS wallet, so just got another digital card to top it off.

Anyways this is a fantastic way to close the book on Kratos’s Norse adventures with an earned sense of catharsis. I haven’t played much yet but it’s already more intriguing and thoughtfully implemented than the baseball diamond death gauntlet from 2018 (which still wasn’t as bad as it sounds though either). I don’t play roguelites but when it’s an extra mode like this separate from the main game it makes it more palatable I guess. It starts you off with all your skills, but the caveat is it strips away all your gear, runics, etc. hearkening back to how the Greek era games worked when you got sent to Hades (ha, another another roguelite). It’s a cool premise, making challenge “runs” through Kratos’s own memories and getting to keep the rewards upon completion of each. So far it avoids feeling like just farming stones or whatever to unlock chests. There is a greater sense of purpose behind them here.

I really don’t know what I’m doing other than exploring a fairly linear set of paths towards the goodies, but it’s fun how each encounter is geared towards different skills or challenges. Playing on the middle difficulty (Courage) it’s not terribly difficult yet which is fine by me. I’m sure that will change soon. Depending on how long it takes to complete I’d like to try the other difficulties later if they’re going to yield the better/best rewards. Curious if anyone’s beaten the hardest yet, since in the Luke Stephen’s vid apparently none of the devs have beaten the end boss there.

Also played around in the main game beforehand doing some side quests. Last I left off I have no idea just wtf I’m supposed to find in those pit mines. Freya says, “Look at that” when staring off into the background with seemingly nothing of interest in view. So far I freeze the water, big stone block swings around, I climb up, unfreeze and swing back to some new berserk challenge but that’s it. So I switch gears and head to the Elven Sanctum which was more relaxing with Mimir’s stories and the demon pup sled riding.

This might be my main winter jam for a while, going back and forth between these two game modes.

I'm on the fence about this one- I was going to ignore it because I really don't like rogueli*es at all. And while I liked the combat fine in Ragnarok, I didn't love it (as I have made many posts about the things-flying-off-screen approach to 3rd person combat that these games helped make dominant in such games recently).

But now people are talking about how it actually has some good character things and is better than just a rogueli*e. But is it still mostly just fighting the same stuff over and over? And is there an actual end, like a campaign, with an ending? And can you change difficulty at any time because I know me- I'll start at default and then want to drop it as I get close to the end to wrap it up.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

I'm on the fence about this one- I was going to ignore it because I really don't like rogueli*es at all. And while I liked the combat fine in Ragnarok, I didn't love it (as I have made many posts about the things-flying-off-screen approach to 3rd person combat that these games helped make dominant in such games recently).

But now people are talking about how it actually has some good character things and is better than just a rogueli*e. But is it still mostly just fighting the same stuff over and over? And is there an actual end, like a campaign, with an ending? And can you change difficulty at any time because I know me- I'll start at default and then want to drop it as I get close to the end to wrap it up.

While I haven’t played it much yet, from what I’ve seen/read about is it plays like a trip through Kratos’s memories with a definite “arc” of sorts to provide catharsis. The combat is more of the same but seems to have more structure and progression with what’s presented in each new encounter. Difficulty can be selected before each run, if that helps. The idea of losing progress (ie loot collected) by dying before a “run” is complete might be the main deterrent, but there’s always YouTube if it gets too annoying to deal with. Apparently the lowest difficulty is still pretty easy though.