What are you currently playing?

[Old_Hunter_77]

Im having the same issue with Doki Doki Literature that I had with 13 sentinels. I don't mind reading, but man I can not do endlessly clicking through dialog.

With games Yakuza its ok if "its story time" as long as I can set it on auto and just sit there reading like its a book, but Doki is another one of those visual novels where you have click "ok" on every..fucking.. sentence.. and this can go on for 40 lines of dialog. This game is supposed to be all triggery but Im not sure they meant for me to want to die this early in the game.

I was looking at a review for this new game called Arco and one of the things that attracted me is that the dialogue just appears, it doesn't scroll, and it's short. Also the game just looks super cool and if I wasn't eyeball deep in UFO-50 I'd be on it. But things like this, that just respect your time or not, are so important for me these days. And why, frankly, I can't even with jRPGs.

I tired the Metaphor ReFantazio demo for like an hour and holy f'n christ it's click talk click talk click talk. Granted I'm not into turn-based jRPGs but everyone's praising it and the demo was available so why not check it out but I dunno how folks deal with this crap.

 

[BrawlMan]

I just checked and, as I suspected, the game is only for the "extra" tier of PS+, and I have the basic-***** lowest "essential" tier. Yes, yes, I know, PS+ is some major b.s.

Which is why I advise you get it while GORE is on sale. You have until the October the 10th. PS+ is bullshit and why I don't even bother with it anymore.

Also the game just looks super cool and if I wasn't eyeball deep in UFO-50 I'd be on it. But things like this, that just respect your time or not, are so important for me these days. And why, frankly, I can't even with jRPGs.

Speaking of UFO 50, I tried Attactics and find it addicting. I am stuck on the 6th stage. The difficulty ramps up really fast.

Update: I made it past the 6th stage.

Seaside Drive I almost beat, but died at the final boss. You can only get extra lives by beating a stage with no lives lost. You get two lives each per stage. There are 4 stages total. I'll try it again later. I got 2nd place on the high score though.

 

[Piscian]

I was looking at a review for this new game called Arco and one of the things that attracted me is that the dialogue just appears, it doesn't scroll, and it's short. Also the game just looks super cool and if I wasn't eyeball deep in UFO-50 I'd be on it. But things like this, that just respect your time or not, are so important for me these days. And why, frankly, I can't even with jRPGs.

I tired the Metaphor ReFantazio demo for like an hour and holy f'n christ it's click talk click talk click talk. Granted I'm not into turn-based jRPGs but everyone's praising it and the demo was available so why not check it out but I dunno how folks deal with this crap.

I haven't played it but I can say all the other personas have auto-chat, hopefully you just need to enable somewhere.

That said, I think the big struggle is that sort modern ADHD where you have to give me breaks. I get all clockwork orange if a single conversation goes on for more than 5 minutes without me literally doing anything. At least give me some kinda meaningful dialog tree or talk while we are fighting somebody or investigating a dungeon or something.



Persona games are usually pretty good about keeping dialog to a brief conversation though every one has that opening story/tutorial thats a little too talky.

The only time Personas really lit my fuse is Persona 5 added a group chat where literally 9 people text you constantly and I didn't find out until late in the game you could ignore it because none of it feeds into puzzles or anything.

Im really like looking forward to Metaphor, but Im a huge Persona weeb.

I simply do not play Demos. Under any circumstance. Theres just some kinda bizarre heart pounding Existential dread I get when confronted with playing a "game" that isn't "the actual complete game".

 

[Piscian]

?? 13 Sentinels had aggressive auto text as I recall. I remember constantly turning it back off because I like to be in control of when the text advances, and most of the time I read faster would be clicking before the auto would advance the text anyway.

I specifically recall like you had to constantly walk around talking to people. Like youre on a 2d screen with a bunch of students or whatever. Youd talk to one cliwn and then you couldn't progress until you walked iver to another whoever and chat with them, then go back to the first person and talk to them and that shit was like every scene. The game is just 90% visual novel and I could not get into it for the life of me.

I just needed more breaks in dialog than that game gives you.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I specifically recall like you had to constantly walk around talking to people. Like youre on a 2d screen with a bunch of students or whatever. Youd talk to one cliwn and then you couldn't progress until you walked iver to another whoever and chat with them, then go back to the first person and talk to them and that shit was like every scene. The game is just 90% visual novel and I could not get into it for the life of me.

I just needed more breaks in dialog than that game gives you.

Ah, I see. Yeah, I also found 13 Sentinels a little tough to keep engaged with. I'd play a segment or two and then feel like that was enough for the night.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Guess

 

[Casual Shinji]

Guess
View attachment 11993

Maria doesn't, which is why she's in the game the least.

 

[Dreiko]

So I've been grinding the 3 day early access to Dragon Ball Sparking!Zero, if you've played the budokai tenkaichi series of the ps2 era, this is basically the fourth game in that series, as it was called sparking in Japan. It has an insane amount of db chars from all sagas, like over 180, and it feels really familiar to budokai tenkaichi 3/sparking meteor but with more systems piled on top, more chars, and modern era graphics and environmental sizes and so on.

I just beat the storymode with goku, it does the unique perspective thing where you pick a char and do all the fights they were a part of in the story and it kinda skips the other parts, so you have to play with every char to see the full story, but since Goku is the main char I figure he has the biggest story. Also it has a bunch of what if stuff where if you make certain choices or do better certain fights transpire differently. Like for example you can outright beat Jiren with UI Goku, before his time runs out.

Oh and the game is decently difficult too, the AI will not hold back and I kinda love it. If you're a dragonball fan, this is kind of a must buy.

I specifically recall like you had to constantly walk around talking to people. Like youre on a 2d screen with a bunch of students or whatever. Youd talk to one cliwn and then you couldn't progress until you walked iver to another whoever and chat with them, then go back to the first person and talk to them and that shit was like every scene. The game is just 90% visual novel and I could not get into it for the life of me.

I just needed more breaks in dialog than that game gives you.

13 sentinels is totally an adventure/visual novel game, if you're not super enthralled in the story and gripped by it and the gorgeous visuals it's not your cup of tea for sure. The part with the strategy mech fights is more of a side thing. I know I expected it to be an rpg and got kinda let down initially but then the story grips you and you see what they're trying to do, and the strategy combat bits were actually enjoyable too but mainly due to the story component they're a part of.

Im really like looking forward to Metaphor, but Im a huge Persona weeb.

I simply do not play Demos. Under any circumstance. Theres just some kinda bizarre heart pounding Existential dread I get when confronted with playing a "game" that isn't "the actual complete game".

Yeah I'm the same about demos. Not really due to existential dread but more that I know for a god damn fact that I will beat the demo in like half a day and be left with blue balls for like 5 days or however long it is, unable to concentrate fully on anything else.

But yeah, Metaphor is my most looked forward to game of the year. It's shaping up to be incredible.

 

[Worgen]

So, I'm a couple bosses into Persona 5 Strikers. It's quite good, it had some initial impression things that kinda bugged me but those are mostly long gone as I've gotten into the story and writing. The story is still weaker then Persona 5, but, the writing is better, it has way fewer of the artifacts left over from a lot of Japanese translations. Even the quite good translation from the base game. Plus, the characters are nicely sarcastic at times, nothing that feels out of character, but just characters ribbing each other, which you almost never see from a Japanese game, its very well done. Some of the bosses/mini bosses have much too much health, but that was much more of an issue in the first dungeon, second was mostly much better. I also wish res items were easier to come by, its not uncommon for someone to just be knocked out of combat and the res ability costs a lot of sp and res items are rather rare, so its easier to just beat the fight someone down or lose and start over if its a really rough one. But, I am also playing on hard, which was probably a dumb choice.

 

[BrawlMan]

Silent Hill 2 Remake - I just completed the jukebox puzzle. The game definitely has the atmosphere down. Combat is fine, but I always make it a point to dodge, do three hit attack, let enemy attack/counter attack, dodge that, and then attack again until it dies. I don't have the handgun yet, so I will mix up the two when possible.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Playing Silent Hill 2 Remake, and it s'alright. Certainly a lot harder than any Silent Hill game I ever played - the lying figures are pushing my shit in. So far I'm a lot more tense about not dying than I am about any psychological aspect of the game. 60% of my attention is on finding another health drink, because I'm burning through those things.

Graphically this game feels a tad undercooked. Just stepping out of the opening scene restroom I was bombarded with tracing and dithering effects. James feels like he's infront of a green screen with how smudgey he's outlined. Game is also stupidly dark (during dark areas) where I literally can't fucking see enemies, doorways, or puzzles, and I have to go into the options to brighten it up and see what the hell I'm doing. Once I get the flashlight I'm sure this won't be a problem anymore, but in those first 2 hours or so it's a hassle.

Character wise I can't say much yet, but that first interaction with Angela didn't feel too riveting. It's pretty much line-for-line the scene from the original game, but the actors are just mumbling their way through. I know these are all a bunch of weirdo's, but for god's sake enunciate.

 

[Bedinsis]

I started a little run in Crusader Kings II. And lost track of the hours in a highly irresponsive manner.

I finished my run. Once I got powerful enough it ceased to be a challenge so I mostly finished it off to have it done.

At the end of the day I ruled all of the British Isles, France, Germany, Denmark, Benelux, Turkey, Armenia, Bulgaria and the levant, and I had rebuilt the Third temple, created the kingdom of Israel, and led Judaism to 100 Moral Authority (while Catholicism had something like 8). For the last 200 years or so I was consistently considered a threat of level 100 so no matter who I declared war on everybody declared war on me, but since the AI probably was not constructed for this high level play primarily the enemies could not coordinate and they turned out to not be a challenge.

The most interesting thing that happened was probably the time the Byzantines sieged my capital and netted themselves something like a 60 % war score after it turned out that they had managed to capture my heir and his children. Rather than take advantage of this they chose to turn them into Eunuchs, in the process disinheriting them and no longer giving them the hefty war score.

 

[meiam]

I finished my run. Once I got powerful enough it ceased to be a challenge so I mostly finished it off to have it done.

At the end of the day I ruled all of the British Isles, France, Germany, Denmark, Benelux, Turkey, Armenia, Bulgaria and the levant, and I had rebuilt the Third temple, created the kingdom of Israel, and led Judaism to 100 Moral Authority (while Catholicism had something like 8). For the last 200 years or so I was consistently considered a threat of level 100 so no matter who I declared war on everybody declared war on me, but since the AI probably was not constructed for this high level play primarily sinec the enemies could not coordinate and they turned out to not be a challenge.

The most interesting thing that happened was probably the time the Byzantines sieged my capital and netted themselves something like a 60 % war score after it turned out that they had managed to capture my heir and his children. Rather than take advantage of this they chose to turn them into Eunuchs, in the process disinheriting them and no longer giving them the hefty war score.

Painting the map is something I find really boring in any paradox game (really any 4x) it stop being a challenge a third of the way there. The last few run of CK I did I mostly tried to do stuff like build every wonder or collect every rare book.

 

[Bedinsis]

Played through The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog.

My view on Sonic has been heavily colored by Yahtzee's reviews, including of this very title. When he declared his disappointment that this April-fools-day game were dishonest with the title since he thought it was a good opportunity to be subversive in a non-canon entry, I could see where he was coming from but honestly: No. Screw that. Despite the fact that Sonic has been declared dead and over so many times, the franchise has still stuck around so they must be doing something right. You can be subversive in several ways, and catering to people not on board with the franchise as a whole sounds like a recipe for validating those views more than actually creating a compelling entry. And besides, I thought it was a bit subversive in that we have a narrative that is all about hanging out with Sonic's friends in a staged murder mystery, not even getting to hang out with the titular character before he snuffs it.

It was fine. It felt like a comic book with a bunch of anthropomorphised animals*, with distinct character, that happens to be from the Sonic franchise. It was decidedly aiming for a kid audience, meaning I felt far too old for it. The actual mysteries to solve was rather locked by car: in each car there was a bunch of clues to pick up and use in that car and that car alone, immediately discarded afterwards. And it was REALLY simple, of the "you have gathered 3 clues in this car; which one goes against this statement?" variety. And if you fail, you can just guess again. Only when solving who the actual murderer was was everything we'd learnt put together, but annoyingly the clues were not returned at this point, so I couldn't sit down and suss out what the actual mystery was, leading it to a guessing game.

I probably am colored by Yahtzee, but it felt like an advertisement game for the Sonic franchise as a whole and for the awesomeness of it's protagonist in particular. There are lots of references to what I assume are the gang's other adventures. And while I thought they showed restraint by not letting us hang out with Sonic, at the end of the day my appreciation turned out to be misplaced since the final act seemed to scream "Sonic is awesome!" with big bold letters.

*I could write "furries" but the Internet has ruined my associations with that word.

 

[BrawlMan]

view on Sonic has been heavily colored by Yahtzee's reviews, including of this very title. When he declared his disappointment that this April-fools-day game were dishonest with the title since he thought it was a good opportunity to be subversive in a non-canon entry, I could see where he was coming from but honestly: No. Screw that. Despite the fact that Sonic has been declared dead and over so many times, the franchise has still stuck around so they must be doing something right. You can be subversive in several ways, and catering to people not on board with the franchise as a whole sounds like a recipe for validating those views more than actually creating a compelling entry. And besides, I thought it was a bit subversive in that we have a narrative that is all about hanging out with Sonic's friends in a staged murder mystery, not even getting to hang out with the titular character before he snuffs it.

Thank you. Yahtzee, and his echo chamber, are nothing more than bandwagon jumpers part of the same problem. This is the same guy who said Sonic Colors was a bad game. Only to change his opinion and say it's his personal favorite and "saved" the franchise within a year and a half or two. I may not like Colors or Unleashed, but both games sold well. The people who keep saying the franchise is dying or people who either jumped on the bandwagon or never liked Sonic to begin with. Whenever people give proof, the haters always extend the goal post or make some patheitic excuse that has nothing to do with anything.

@Bedinsis, If you are ever interested in playing any Sonic games, feel free to let me know. I will happily give you a recommendation list.

probably am colored by Yahtzee, but it felt like an advertisement game for the Sonic franchise as a whole and for the awesomeness of it's protagonist in particular. There are lots of references to what I assume are the gang's other adventures. And while I thought they showed restraint by not letting us hang out with Sonic, at the end of the day my adoration turned out to be misplaced since the final act seemed to scream "Sonic is awesome!" with big bold letters.

The game is basically another love letter to all and any fans of the franchise, and franchise itself. That's all they really is to it. Even Yahtz said Sonic will be around for a long time even though he contradicted himself in one of his Windbreaker podcasts.

 

[Bedinsis]

This is the same guy who said Sonic Colors was a bad game.

Where?

If you are ever interested in playing any Sonic games, feel free to let me know. I will happily give you a recommendation list.

I am not. I probably expressed myself poorly but I cannot say that the game made me want to play more of the franchise. I called it aiming for a kids audience; I am not a kid.

 

[BrawlMan]

Where?

Check almost any of the sonic reviews when he was with the escapist. You're gonna be on your own with this one because I don't have the energy nor care to go back through all that. I do remember him having a sonic colors review. Start there.

cannot say that the game made me want to play more of the franchise. I called it aiming for a kids audience; I am not a kid.

Just remember that the game is nothing more than a fan game and not officially part of the mainline series. Though sega did give it promotion and approval.I am not a little kid anymore either. I still enjoy Sonic. As are many other sonic fans, old and new.

 

[Bedinsis]

Check almost any of the sonic reviews when he was with the escapist. You're gonna be on your own with this one because I don't have the energy nor care to go back through all that. I do remember him having a sonic colors review. Start there.

I did do that. He never reviewed Sonic Colors, merely stating that he was left with a positive perception initially before hitting some cutscenes and giving up, instead reviewing iPhone games. In all other instances he called Sonic Colors good or decent.

 

[BrawlMan]

I did do that. He never reviewed Sonic Colors, merely stating that he was left with a positive perception initially before hitting some cutscenes and giving up, instead reviewing iPhone games. In all other instances he called Sonic Colors good or decent.

I do recall him throwing an insult at the game, but must have been in one of his other non Sonic reviews. Not the first time he's insulted another game while reviewing different one in the same review. That said, he wasn't on nice terms with Sonic Frontiers. Makes me wonder why did he even bother in the first place? He already knew he wasn't like it and Sonic fans weren't asking him to review it. He didn't even bother finishing the game.

 

[Bedinsis]

I do recall him throwing an insult at the game, but must have been in one of his other non Sonic reviews. Not the first time he's insulted another game while reviewing different one in the same review. That said, he wasn't on nice terms with Sonic Frontiers. Makes me wonder why did he even bother in the first place? He already knew he wasn't like it and Sonic fans weren't asking him to review it. He didn't even bother finishing the game.

I've been going through a binge of his Sonic reviews due to this very conversation (and a cold keeping me at home). In the review he states that he was tentatively thinking going open world could be a step in the right direction for the franchise. And hardly any reviewer completely finishes a game.