What are you currently playing?

[Drathnoxis]

Finished Subnautica: Below Zero. It was alright. Again it was fun exploring weird underwater locations, and some were really great to look at. It's still fun to go from starting with nothing to zooming around in mobile bases, though I feel that the progression wasn't as well laid out this time. I actually missed a couple important upgrades for a really long time so that I spent probably 90% of the game using the standard air tank and didn't find the horsepower or afterburner upgrades until around the same time, so that made the playthrough a lot slower than it needed to be overall. Also, why did the hitbox for entering the seatruck need to be so small? I can't count the number of times I accidentally disconnected the rest of the modules instead of just going inside like I wanted to do.

The story is not as good of a fit as the first game was. The original fit the mechanics perfectly, you crashland, you want to escape but you are infected so you need to cure that first. Simple, effective. In Below Zero, she's looking for her sister who is dead or something and is so determined that she's willing to strand herself on a remote and hostile planet to find her, but then she gets an alien in her head and he offers to take her to his homeworld and she goes, and her sister blew herself up or something, who cares. There was also another bacteria that you can cure if you want, but it's not a big deal, I don't know I never found it.

I only have 3 achievements left for platinum, but I don't feel like bothering. First is to use the cure for the bacteria, but after reading the PDA that Margeurit had, I didn't feel like I got much direction on where the next step was, and I didn't actually have any investment in the plotline anyway. The other two were to ride the Snowfox (I only found 2/3 fragments and I'm not sure why I needed a hoverbike anyway when 90% of the game is underwater) and to build a cold suit. Apparently you get snowstalker fur by stealing it with the pengling spybot rather than punching it out with the prawn suit and taking all the fur you want. Actually, again why do I need a cold suit when the prawn suit is both a cold suit and a suit of armor, freeing up the body slot for the suit that lets me drink my own urine.

 

[Ezekiel]

I couldn't be bothered to find the other electrical orb.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I couldn't be bothered to find the other electrical orb.

Doing things like that is what the game is all about! Smart. I played the Divine Beasts a little too straight I guess

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Relationship Killer Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

You and and a partner (or bot) pilot a 2D spaceship consisting of a thruster, a cannon, four turrets and a rotating shield, navigating through space bullet hell while liberating bunnies. Liberate enough and you can exit the level via heart-shaped portal.

The game is designed to be cumbersome and overwhelming, and I don't think is as inviting as something like Overcooked where each player naturally falls into place as designated whatever. Here typically one of you steers the ship while the other mans the shield, but sooner or later the game wants you to panic and run from station to station as you become outflanked, outgunned and outnumbered while a lovely chorus of screams, alarms and flashing lights escalating the situation.

GrimGrimoire OnceMore

I love Vanillaware games and I never did finish this on PS2. It's a 2D RTS set in an off brand Hogwarts, with the usual character portraits posing for storybook cutscenes. In typical Vanillaware fashion the story is structured ala Groundhog Day - same as Odin Sphere: 5 goes over 5 chapters - but this time around the POV is exclusively Lillet's.

The remake looks basically the same, as far as I can tell, with the added convenience of some QoL stuff like the ability to save in the middle of a campaign and to speed up the clock whenever you're playing the waiting game (there's a lot of downtime while you harvest mana or create and move units, in between enemy waves). I don't think the original had a skill tree? Could be wrong. I do love the addition of an art gallery, since that's always the studio's main draw.

I think there's always a kind of divorce between the story and the actual gameplay in these games, but here the gameplay part is as detached from everything else as the baby at the end of 2001. You don't actually control the protagonist and the gameplay suggests there are legions of magical creatures - fairies, demons, ghosts, gigantic dragons - being marshalled over several floors of a Babel-like tower even when each chapter opens and closes on a mere 2 or 3 characters chatting dramatically in a closed room. Fine by me but the disconnect means the gameplay part, fun as it is, feels like it's hindering the story, and the story part is a glorified preamble to the actual game.

 

[Worgen]

GrimGrimoire OnceMore

I love Vanillaware games and I never did finish this on PS2. It's a 2D RTS set in an off brand Hogwarts, with the usual character portraits posing for storybook cutscenes. In typical Vanillaware fashion the story is structured ala Groundhog Day - same as Odin Sphere: 5 goes over 5 chapters - but this time around the POV is exclusively Lillet's.

I keep hoping their games come to pc via steam. I did really like GrimGrimoire back in the day, so good.

 

[Ezekiel]

Why do I waste so much time collecting crap in video games that doesn't amount to anything? Spent maybe an hour and a half looking for a ceremonial trident that a zora dropped from a bridge or a zora spear that a blacksmith in Zora's Domain could forge into one, so that I could unlock a shrine. Completed a couple of zora side quests and found some koroks while looking for that trident or a zora spear in and around the domain. Then pointed my magnet at the water down there one more time and finally saw the trident glowing down there. Was happy about that, but also felt pathetic.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Little Nightmares 2. While I am enjoying it thus far, the devs seemed to have doubled down on my complaints about the 2.5D, and it's, eh, annoying at times. The depth of the "3rd dimension" in this one is far greater than in the first game to the point that progress is often dubious though easily figured out with trial and error. That said, the checkpoints? Awful at times. Firstly, the reload drops you at the immediate start of a chase, so you have to have the left stick already pressed to the right before the screen fades up from black. Then, you have to make sure you're not pressing too far right-up or right-down lest you find your character hung up on an object in the fore or background. And when you fail, you start all the way back at the beginning of the chase to repeat the aforementioned steps all over again.

Games like these need to be simple, because the biggest impact comes from the moment-to-moment shock and awe and spectacle. When you hang the player up on what was initially a tense and anxiety-inducing moment by sticking them on repeat of that moment for 6-7 times trying to figure out poorly implemented mechanics, those moments lose their impact and just become frustrating. I can already see myself deferring to guides if a puzzle gives me fits beyond a 2nd or 3rd attempt. Not because I'm unwilling or unable to figure them out, but because I'm not here to beat the game; I'm here to SEE the game. I want to see what happens next; I want to see what grotesquerie is around the next corner; I want to see how twisted and disturbing things get. Yes, I could easily watch a let's play, but there IS something to be said for experiencing it firsthand, and that's what I paid for.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Games like these need to be simple, because the biggest impact comes from the moment-to-moment shock and awe and spectacle. When you hang the player up on what was initially a tense and anxiety-inducing moment by sticking them on repeat of that moment for 6-7 times trying to figure out poorly implemented mechanics, those moments lose their impact and just become frustrating.

Little Nightmares 2 is a really good game with a lot of moments I want to see others react to, so I've been watching a few let's plays for sections I've already completed, and Jacksepticeye absolutely nailed the sentiment I had above (video is timestamped). It's validating to realize it's not just my own nitpickiness, but a tangible, ostensibly objective flaw in implementation. INSIDE was not a difficult game; even if you did get stuck or confused, it was easily figured out, and you progressed to the next curiosity or grotesque horror with the same awe and wonder as you walked into the previous puzzle with. Little Nightmares 1 & 2 so far are great and are not necessarily difficult, definitely are scratching that itch of "whimsical, weird, morbid, and macabre that doesn't explain itself" games that I've been chasing since INSIDE, but a few of their "tests" require too much trial and error to carry my patience beyond my frustration.

As it stands, I'd recommend watching a playthrough versus playing the game if anyone's interested. Not that they are bad games by ANY stretch; they're brilliant. But the gameplay often hampers the appreciation of the spectacle which I'm 100% certain is their main draw. Beautifully dark environments and horrific enemies to behold, but when you see the same ones for 10 minutes straight and keep getting sent back to checkpoints because navigating 3 dimensions from the 2.5 dimensional perspective with precisions is clunky.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Picked up the Mask of Darkness DLC for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown today. It's more game, with special emphasis on the really challenging platforming that was either missing from the base game or conspicuously reserved for those rigged carny rooms where you have to Matrix through 1,000 interdimensional buzzsaws just to be rewarded with a palette swap for your scarf, as lovingly rendered on the character portrait seen in the pause menu. But no, I like the balance they struck on the DLC, and I like that you have to check in all your amulets and upgrades and moves at the door before you enter, because it means you can't just pick your 100% save and God mode your way through the whole thing.

There're a few new boss fights and they're all significantly tougher than I remember. Parry is suddenly mandatory, where I used to not even bother most of the time with it during the main campaign.

So having a lot of fun with it. It's challenging in a novel, very gratifying way. I think I'm 2 hours in and about 30% done. And it's only $5 too.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Little Nightmares 2 is a really good game with a lot of moments I want to see others react to, so I've been watching a few let's plays for sections I've already completed, and Jacksepticeye absolutely nailed the sentiment I had above (video is timestamped). It's validating to realize it's not just my own nitpickiness, but a tangible, ostensibly objective flaw in implementation. INSIDE was not a difficult game; even if you did get stuck or confused, it was easily figured out, and you progressed to the next curiosity or grotesque horror with the same awe and wonder as you walked into the previous puzzle with. Little Nightmares 1 & 2 so far are great and are not necessarily difficult, definitely are scratching that itch of "whimsical, weird, morbid, and macabre that doesn't explain itself" games that I've been chasing since INSIDE, but a few of their "tests" require too much trial and error to carry my patience beyond my frustration.

As it stands, I'd recommend watching a playthrough versus playing the game if anyone's interested. Not that they are bad games by ANY stretch; they're brilliant. But the gameplay often hampers the appreciation of the spectacle which I'm 100% certain is their main draw. Beautifully dark environments and horrific enemies to behold, but when you see the same ones for 10 minutes straight and keep getting sent back to checkpoints because navigating 3 dimensions from the 2.5 dimensional perspective with precisions is clunky.

Well I guess I feel a little validated. I quit LN2 early one recently (it's on PS+) for these reasons. It certainly "helped" that while I did like the first, I didn't love it enough to push through the annoying bits of a sequel.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

The Plucky Squire

I am all about the cute, colorful adventure vibes I guess. After Minishoot Adventures, Crypt Custodian, Astrobot, here comes my most anticipated game of the year to give me more adventure games with some not-too-difficult puzzling and no freaking menus.
This is the game that's like in a book and you sometimes go outside the book in the "real" world. And, yep, it's exactly what it looks like. Charming and cute and fun.

 

[Worgen]

I beat chapter 3 in Darkest Dungeon 2. First attempt too. Such a change from Chapter 2 which took forever to beat.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Well I guess I feel a little validated. I quit LN2 early one recently (it's on PS+) for these reasons. It certainly "helped" that while I did like the first, I didn't love it enough to push through the annoying bits of a sequel.

Like I said, watch a let's play. It's, so far, completely worth seeing even if the controls are complete garbage (which is unto itself an impressive feat given there's only two fundamental commands in "jump" and "interact;" how the devs managed to make that simplicity complicated is almost meta, but also apropos in the nightmare world they've created.)

Curious, have you played INSIDE?

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Like I said, watch a let's play. It's, so far, completely worth seeing even if the controls are complete garbage (which is unto itself an impressive feat given there's only two fundamental commands in "jump" and "interact;" how the devs managed to make that simplicity complicated is almost meta, but also apropos in the nightmare world they've created.)

Curious, have you played INSIDE?

Yes, but I quit halfway through and watched the rest on youtube. I did actually finish Limbo myself though.

So yeah in general these games are nicer to watch than to actually play.

That's why I loved Cocoon so much- one of the key devs from Limbo/Inside but actually a delight to play.

 

[Xprimentyl]

That's why I loved Cocoon so much- one of the key devs from Limbo/Inside but actually a delight to play.

Alright, sold. Cocoon was on the list of "8 Games To Play If You Liked INSIDE," so your unsolicited endorsement clinches it for me; I'm getting it after I finish LN2.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I already knew Geralt was in Monster Hunter World, but fuckkkk, I was still so surprised when the quest popped up. When the literal Endgame portal scene happened, I was going insane and making my girlfriend so confused.

The quest itself isn't so amazing, but I was laughing the whole time with how they were almost parodying the Witcher within the world. For a free DLC, they put in wayyyy too much effort. The dialogue trees (that don't even exist in the actual game), the sidequests, Witcher senses, and just... Geralt existing. When the "quest started" audio cue from TW3 played, I almost felt like crying. Maybe I should give the game a replay on PC...

Anyway, yup pretty much done with MHW. I completed the story and may consider doing some of the remaining end game sidequests, but probably won't bother going into Master Rank (if I even can without Iceborne).

For my first serious foray into Monster Hunter, man that was fucking great. You can really see why this franchise has lasted this long. Nothing compares going from being terrified of a monster to casually slaughtering it for parts (no I have not played Dark Souls). Genuinely thankful for this game, it made the first month of being in a long distance relationship that much more bearable. My girlfriend and I plan to snag Monster Hunter Rise the moment it goes on sale again.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I started up The Plucky Squire, but I honestly don't know if this'll be a keeper. I was looking forward to this game, it looked fun and colourful, but there's something missing, besides good comedy. Also, forced stealth in 2024 is grounds for a pie in the face.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Decided to boot up Dave the Diver. Haven't gotten that far into it yet because I've been spending most of my free time the past week playing Runescape instead, but so far it's got a fun if fairly basic gameplay loop held together by a good aesthetic style and some fun characters. So, exactly what everyone else has said about it since it came out.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I've been playing Astro's Playroom because Astro is big right now, I'm inbetween games, and I always meant to go back to this and play more. The controller functions are really incredible, I don't know if I'd want every game to be as in your face about it, but it's really cool. The game is also very cute, but I don't get most of the references though. It'd be nice if it said somewhere what game the characters are supposed to be from. Also collecting random bits of lame Playstation hardware as artifacts is kind of boring. Great, yet another move controller!

 

[BrawlMan]

I did some casual online matches for Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. I did an amazing level 3 Super where if Sakura and Zangief are tag partners they do a Double Pile Driver! I never knew about that or the other hidden dedicated team supers! The people are I was going against are pretty good. Especially this second person I fought.