Isn't that pretty far in the game? Or did you go the wrong way at the start and go to the catacombs instead of the undead burg?
What are you currently playing?
- Thread starter Nick Calandra
- Start date
I think I'm pretty close to the end of Persona 5: Royale. The big bad's been defeated and the world's been saved so I should be pretty much done if there isn't an extra tacked on chapter for the Royale part. The time limit ended up being super tight on me, even more than Persona 4. I think in Persona 4 there was only 1 or 2 social links I didn't finish (including that fox that I didn't even find at all), but here I had 4 that were only about half way. Honestly, I was really surprised because I thought I was doing all right for time, and then it was all gone. It's weird because there's a ton of side content that I didn't even touch, like the maid cafe, fishing, darts, movies, etc. I have no idea when you're supposed to have time to do all that stuff, considering I always did palaces in as few days as possible and only went to mementos when I had 2-4 requests. I suppose I must have been a bit inefficient because I seemed to max out my social stats pretty early. It always kind of sucks not finishing the social links in these games because it's absolutely massive (135 hours and counting) so I definitely won't be replaying it any time soon to be a little more efficient and complete all the links.
I went down into the undead burg and got merked by ghosts I couldn't damage. (Well, not directly. I walked into the water because I couldn't tell how deep it was and I wanted to get around the ghosts I couldn't damage.)
That's New Londo, still the wrong way. You need to go along the cliffs and up the stairs from Firelink Shrine. You'll find the enemies a lot easier in that direction. You shouldn't worry about either the Catacombs or New Londo until you've at least finished Undead Burg/Parish, The Depths, and Blight-town and rung the Bells of Awakening.
That was the game’s way of saying, “Look for an easier way, skeleton!”
It’s kinda funny how the game basically redirects the player onto the intended path based on how easy or tough stuff is to kill.
And it does work well, when I first played the game I ran into those skeletons and thought they were way too hard to kill and went looking elsewhere (also I didn't find the stairs to New Londo until I came up them from the bottom). However, I think the game's reputation for difficulty works against it here. People hear that Dark Souls is just a really hard game, and then they run into these skeletons right away and think that all the 'Git Gud' memes were justified and quit.
P5 vanilla has more than enough time to do everything, so much so that even without a guide you'll probably be able to do almost all of it (and what you'll miss is just because its hidden in really random way). But royale added a bunch of stuff so thats why your probably finding you don't have enough time.
Yeah it’s an unfortunate side effect of all the media bs. They really aren’t all that difficult otherwise. Maybe 20% of a total playthrough at most has parts whether bosses or environments with random enemies that could be considered hard mode in other games.
I finally finished my Resident Evil 4 Remake S-Rank Professional Run on NG+, so I finally got the Chicago Typewriter.
I appreciate the help, but I've already uninstalled again. I have better games to play, ones that aren't eager to waste my time.
This weekend i have been playing "Shadows of War"
So: Steam asked me a few weeks back: Hey, hey you... you want some Shadows of War (Price was like 2.99 or something)? I thought i already had bought it a few years back, but maybe i did pirate it? Wasn't sure. So i just bought it. When i looked it up, found that i already had in in my game-list.
There it was: Shadows of Mordor AND Shadows of War - weird - looks the same. Maybe it is some "Game of Year"- thing or something? Now after checking it: Shadows of War ist the sequel and my demented, terrible brain didn't make the connection.
The game: Well, it's fine, i guess. The pacing and storytelling is pretty bad. (The "Tutorial" or first act is like... quite some HOURS. AFTER that you get the pretty simple strategy part bolted on and get send to a new local map for again like five-six hours. AFTER THAT -The main Map opens up with three more levels. At this point i am pretty sure i have seen and done everything the game has to offer)
But mechanically it plays well. I am playing on hard, and i do die when i mess up my rhythm or movement (worst enemy in the game is "a random ordinary guy you forgot coming in from the side and murdering you") . The game has a nice sense of chaos and agency. It plays a bit into the absolute power fantasy. (I mean when i looked into my stats in the tutorial i already had a confirmed ~900 kills and oh boy can you flip out on those poor orcs.)
Some things are pretty bad: It does the "Ubisoft" thing: You get to some tower, look around, then walk to everything on the map and press "action". Not much diverse gameplay. It is all in the chaos and destruction. Batmanning around, see what traps and wild animals are around, then unleashing hell and murdering everyone. Sometimes dealing with ambushes yourself. It has some tonal weird schticks. (The Orks are sometimes really "English Soccer Hooligan-funny" while the humans and elves play the war drama straight)
Also: Game was a 139 GB download. for 2.99 that is quite the bandwidth cost for steam here. Also: It is relatively "new" and looks like a expensively made game; why so cheap?
So: Steam asked me a few weeks back: Hey, hey you... you want some Shadows of War (Price was like 2.99 or something)? I thought i already had bought it a few years back, but maybe i did pirate it? Wasn't sure. So i just bought it. When i looked it up, found that i already had in in my game-list.
There it was: Shadows of Mordor AND Shadows of War - weird - looks the same. Maybe it is some "Game of Year"- thing or something? Now after checking it: Shadows of War ist the sequel and my demented, terrible brain didn't make the connection.
The game: Well, it's fine, i guess. The pacing and storytelling is pretty bad. (The "Tutorial" or first act is like... quite some HOURS. AFTER that you get the pretty simple strategy part bolted on and get send to a new local map for again like five-six hours. AFTER THAT -The main Map opens up with three more levels. At this point i am pretty sure i have seen and done everything the game has to offer)
But mechanically it plays well. I am playing on hard, and i do die when i mess up my rhythm or movement (worst enemy in the game is "a random ordinary guy you forgot coming in from the side and murdering you") . The game has a nice sense of chaos and agency. It plays a bit into the absolute power fantasy. (I mean when i looked into my stats in the tutorial i already had a confirmed ~900 kills and oh boy can you flip out on those poor orcs.)
Some things are pretty bad: It does the "Ubisoft" thing: You get to some tower, look around, then walk to everything on the map and press "action". Not much diverse gameplay. It is all in the chaos and destruction. Batmanning around, see what traps and wild animals are around, then unleashing hell and murdering everyone. Sometimes dealing with ambushes yourself. It has some tonal weird schticks. (The Orks are sometimes really "English Soccer Hooligan-funny" while the humans and elves play the war drama straight)
Also: Game was a 139 GB download. for 2.99 that is quite the bandwidth cost for steam here. Also: It is relatively "new" and looks like a expensively made game; why so cheap?
Gungrave GORE released a bunch of patches 2 years ago and last year that actually makes the game playable now. They removed almost all of the platforming sections or sections that knock you off/one hit kill you. And the game is on sale on PSN. I did delete my save file, but that was for the PS4 version. The PS5 version is on sale for $5.99 and it's better than trying to buy it physical. Retailers are charging it the like game came out just now or recently. I might buy this for the cheap price just to try again.
store.steampowered.com
Gungrave G.O.R.E - GUNGRAVE G.O.R.E - PATCH NOTES 1.01 - Steam News
Here's the Patch Notes 1.01, bringing new content and minor bug fixes along with a free "Cel-Shaded Mode"!
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Man, I kind of wish I was playing Persona 5 instead of Royale. This was a mistake. At least with Persona 3, The Answer was a completely separate thing and you could just not play it (which I didn't, except for an hour or two) and safely ignore the stupid, but here the credits haven't even rolled yet. It sucks because the ending with killing the evil god was really very good and everything was wrapped up so well. This additional story is just making a mess all over the place. It feels stitched on and just out of place, like something out of a bad sitcom.
My girlfriend and I started playing Monster Hunter World.
The coop in this game is so fucking annoying, I absolutely hate the bonkers idea that you can't just play the same story mission at the same time, but when the game works, oh boy it works. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing yet with my dual blades, but so far button mashing has really worked.
At first I wasn't a fan of how the game asks you to constantly equip and unequip your weapons to use consumables, but it does add to the fun trying to desperately consume a potion while a monster is rushing towards your bumhole.
I also REALLY appreciate that they have PlayStation button mapping. Devs, I love you.
The coop in this game is so fucking annoying, I absolutely hate the bonkers idea that you can't just play the same story mission at the same time, but when the game works, oh boy it works. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing yet with my dual blades, but so far button mashing has really worked.
At first I wasn't a fan of how the game asks you to constantly equip and unequip your weapons to use consumables, but it does add to the fun trying to desperately consume a potion while a monster is rushing towards your bumhole.
I also REALLY appreciate that they have PlayStation button mapping. Devs, I love you.
I played more GG Gore and the game is so much easier, but still challenging, and not impossible throw every hazard at you hard! This is the game they should have released in 2022! Better late than never, but Iggymob knew those ideas were not fun in the last game, and why would they be fun in this game. I do appreciate the option for the cel-shading filter, but it does clash with CG cut-scenes when they appear. The upgrade system is cool, though some upgrades get expensive real quick or at the start. I still do love the arcade nature of these games. I am never playing Overdose again though.
Apparently the Switch version of this game plays more like GG Overdose, but I am not paying $50 for that. The DLC for the bonus characters cost extra. Fuck you on that one Iggymob. I ain't touching your Ultimate Edition until you release it on other platforms with all of the bonus characters from the start.
Apparently the Switch version of this game plays more like GG Overdose, but I am not paying $50 for that. The DLC for the bonus characters cost extra. Fuck you on that one Iggymob. I ain't touching your Ultimate Edition until you release it on other platforms with all of the bonus characters from the start.
Just finished Oxenfree 2. Interesting. It wasn't bad, but I kind of preferred the first one. It works best when knowing nothing about the setting or game going into it. Having played through the first, some of the things that were supposed to trigger a scare or a shock or a WTF... didn't. For about half of the first game I was mostly motivated by "what the hell is going on? Why is that freaky thing happening? Time travel, possessions, portals... WHY." It creates a lot of motivation to move forward. But having most of those questions answered in the first game, strange events and reveals lose some oomph in the sequel. That being said, there's enough unresolved left over from the first that I can't recommend starting with Oxenfree 2. But is the series right for you? To describe without spoiling anything I'll compare it to a mixture of a well received sci fi movie and an obscure old thriller. Oxenfree is a mixture of plot elements of Arrival with a story cribbed from the old 70' Disney thriller Watcher in the Woods. With maybe a little Frequency thrown in.
Moving on, picked up the Mana series collection on Switch on sale. Started on Final Fantasy Adventure, but the Game Boy gameplay is starting to wear thin. Thinking about just moving on to Secret of Mana as a refresher before moving on to Trials, which I have never played and am looking forward to. Still really disappointed that the Baten Kaitos remaster ditched the english dub. That terrible dubbing was about half the charm of the original game.
Moving on, picked up the Mana series collection on Switch on sale. Started on Final Fantasy Adventure, but the Game Boy gameplay is starting to wear thin. Thinking about just moving on to Secret of Mana as a refresher before moving on to Trials, which I have never played and am looking forward to. Still really disappointed that the Baten Kaitos remaster ditched the english dub. That terrible dubbing was about half the charm of the original game.
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Pacing is a very important, but often ignored concept in a lot of games. Many games artificially pad out their runtime with nebulous "content", just for the sake of saying that their game is >X hours long, instead of <X hours long, without necessarily paying much attention to whether or not that stuff is fun or engaging.
And like many games before it, Gears Tactics has run afoul of this as well.
In Gears Tactics, the side-missions are the issue. In this game, these side-missions manifest as combat missions, with recycled objectives, on recycled maps. They are useful for leveling up your troops and collecting gear, but they do not themselves advance the main story, or present any side narratives. What is so bad about these? They are mandatory progress gates. After competing certain story missions, you are forced to complete one, two, or three side-missions (depending on overall story progress) before the next story mission becomes available. These were certainly helpful during the early game, but I feel like I am powerful enough already, I really don't need any extra gear or levels, and now I need to complete three more side missions before I can begin the final level.
Gears Tactics is a fun game, and its combat is definitely enjoyable, but the game basically has no other mechanics to rely on or space things out, and it isn't incredibly deep to boot. Its worn thin, and needing to do more missions, for mission's sake, is a pretty exhausting finale, to what has otherwise been a pretty enjoyable TRPG.
And like many games before it, Gears Tactics has run afoul of this as well.
In Gears Tactics, the side-missions are the issue. In this game, these side-missions manifest as combat missions, with recycled objectives, on recycled maps. They are useful for leveling up your troops and collecting gear, but they do not themselves advance the main story, or present any side narratives. What is so bad about these? They are mandatory progress gates. After competing certain story missions, you are forced to complete one, two, or three side-missions (depending on overall story progress) before the next story mission becomes available. These were certainly helpful during the early game, but I feel like I am powerful enough already, I really don't need any extra gear or levels, and now I need to complete three more side missions before I can begin the final level.
Gears Tactics is a fun game, and its combat is definitely enjoyable, but the game basically has no other mechanics to rely on or space things out, and it isn't incredibly deep to boot. Its worn thin, and needing to do more missions, for mission's sake, is a pretty exhausting finale, to what has otherwise been a pretty enjoyable TRPG.
More Gungrave GORE. For those playing, you're going to want the upgrade the damage on bullets too Max Level. Which is Lv.5. I really wish Iggymob never bothered with the stats upgrades and removed them. The stats are something that either should've been given to you from the start, or just be scripted upgrades when completing certain missions by getting further into the game. I am still having fun, thanks to all the upgrades, but if they ever make another one. Don't bring the Stats Upgrade System back.