What are you currently playing?

[meiam]

I bounced off Xenoblade Chronicles pretty hard after a couple of hours after the game loaded me up with a lot of boring fetch quests.

Tangentially related, but Majuular did a retrospective on Xenogears, the first game in the series, and I thought it was really interesting.

Despite loving xenogears, I bounced hard from the first xenoblade cause it just felt like playing a single player mmorpg focused on the leveling experience (worse part of mmo). Its a shame cause I love mech game, but these game just felt padded.

 

[laggyteabag]

I played a small indie game called The Trolley Solution, which is basically a series of Trolley Problem-style conundrums, but they get stupider, and stupider, and then there are a few trolley-themed minigames.

I thought it was a decent time. It got a few chuckles out of me, but A) I thought it could be funnier, and B) some of the minigames really outstayed their welcome, especially some of the longer ones that didn't have a checkpoint system if you failed.

Otherwise, i've been playing a decent amount of Overwatch 2. I find it quite funny that the game is perpetually reviewbombed on Steam, and yes sure, the intended purpose of Overwatch 2 never materialised, but it is still a good game. The skins are prohibitavly expensive though - £15+ for a skin?!

 

[Ezekiel]

First 27 achievements in August 2014, next 17 achievements in January 2017 and the last three yesterday and today. Took me eleven years to get them all in Arkham Asylum. Rare that I bother. Still a mediocre, ugly game.

Spoiler

The whole ending is so stupid.

Nice that ultrawide just works out of the box in such an old game.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I was doing a hardcore run of Diablo II. I made it all the way to Diablo's chamber in Act IV and was breaking the seals. Unfortunately breaking the seal spawned a crowd of the big winged demons that breath fire along with a unique extra fast one and they were way too strong for me. They drained my health in about 5 seconds, overpowering my health potions and once I ran out of regeneration potions I died. It was really unexpected or I would have started with a town portal, like I'd do with a boss, and I didn't have a chance to switch my hotkey with all the healing going on. Obviously I was pushing too fast and should have ground more, since I was finding the enemies in Act IV a lot tougher, but Act IV kind of sucks anyway and I was sick of being there.

Oh well, honestly I didn't expect the run to go that far, which was why I was playing hardcore. I didn't want to devote my life to the grind, so now that it's done, it's done. It's good in a way because it means I don't have to spend 15 minutes refreshing the shop gambling screen trying to get an upgrade to my equipment every time I build up some cash. The inventory is also annoyingly small.

Something funny is I don't think I've ever actually socketed a gem into something. I'll always fill my stash with gems in all the various stages of quality and type, slowly upgrading the smaller ones into larger ones, but I've never actually gotten to the point where I've put any in a socketed item.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Finished Clair Obscur, final playtime about 35 hours. Man, what an absolute banger. Deserves every accolade and all the hype. A new entry in the all-time greats of videogame soundtracks and stories. Simply stunning and absolutely heartwrenching. Probably going to sweep the GOTY awards this year. The 2020s have been a new golden age of singleplayer RPGs so far, and this is keeping that trend strong. While there are telltale signs of AA budget here and there (the lipsync being the foremost one), this absolutely stomps all over most AAA big budget games.

There's not much to mention beyond what I've already spoken about because the final act of the game is very open-ended: it can take 2 hours or 20 hours depending on how interested you are in exploring all the side content, which there is a metric fuckton of: bosses, weapons, pictos, locations etc. The unfortunate side effect of this is that because the levels are fixed throughout, it's incredibly easy to completely break the game and become so overpowered it ends up kind of ruining the game. I literally two-shot the final boss with the first two attacks I made, which made it more than a little anticlimactic. Chrono Trigger also had a similar situation where you could head to the final boss anytime you felt ready, but Lavos still puts up a fight.

Beyond that I want to talk about the endings:

Spoiler: Spoilers obviously

I honestly had no idea going in what the ending was going to be like. The game's very interesting in the fact that a lot of the time the characters actually know more information than the player, which makes the big picture rather cryptic. This could either be just information being conveyed poorly, or a deliberate method to make the players stitch the big picture together themselves, which I'm leaning on. There's tons of things that just seem weird or inexplicable that only make sense on a second playthrough.

But the endings themselves. You've got a choice between a superficially happy, but kind of existentially dreadful and sad ending, and perhaps the most bittersweet ending I've ever witnessed: the entire world and everyone in it dies except for Maelle, who returns to the real world to finally start healing with her family. I wasn't necessarily expecting a happy ending, but these are both extremely bitter in their own ways. If Maelle stays in the canvas, she retreats into a make-believe world and grows addicted to it, and knows that basically everything around her is false. The only other person who knows the full picture is Verso, who's been basically taken prisoner against his will. I rather wish the game didn't forget about Sciel and Lune so quickly, because their resolutions would at least have sweetened the deal some. It left me with a rather uncomfortable feeling, even though on paper it should have been everything I spent the game striving towards: the Gommage is no more, Lumieré is saved, everyone who was lost is now back, and Maelle can live her perfect life. But it's a fantasy. She is basically god, there's no more stakes or humanity left for her.

Then there's the second ending, where the villains basically win: the Canvas is destroyed, Lumieré and everyone in it get End of Evangelion'd, and Maelle has to go back to being Alicia, a broken lonely girl without even a voice. But it is reality, and the Dessendre family seems to finally be on the path to healing again. Despite it seeming abysmally despairing on the outside, I think it is the more hopeful of the two endings: Alicia is still a Paintress, and as Verso says, she will never have to endure a life she doesn't want to. Lumieré might be gone along with everyone she knew, but she is now free of that, and can paint her own world. Perhaps even bring versions of Lune and Sciel back. It makes me the most interested in the world outside Lumieré, and why I think we're going to get a sequel of some kind: Clea is barely seen, and we get mere glimpses of what the life of these basically sorcerers is in their world. But on the other hand, again, everyone dies, which kind of makes all the moments we saw moot. The reveal that Esquie saved Sciel from drowning was incredibly powerful, but in this ending it's rendered meaningless. Lune finally leaving her parents' shadow, every story about every expedition we saw, they all disappear into the void. You just have to focus on Maelle more

When it comes to endings, it's definitely a "pick your poison" scenario. I can't believe I'm saying this, but most of the endings of Cyberpunk 2077 were more uplifting than this. Barring the suicide one, V gets to at least enjoy some of his time left, or ends up as just a normal shmuck. But then again, was there ever going to be a happy ending in this?

Do you think I would lose a lot by playing it on easy? The hype and premise still has me interested but I really cannot dodge the attacks. But I also hate dropping difficulty to start with because gameplay is, well, the key part of a game.

 

[Bartholen]

Do you think I would lose a lot by playing it on easy? The hype and premise still has me interested but I really cannot dodge the attacks. But I also hate dropping difficulty to start with because gameplay is, well, the key part of a game.

I guess I'd recommend starting on easy and switching later if you feel like it, since you can switch it at any time. I haven't played on easy, but from what I could glean from some searches, the easiest difficulty is more along the lines of story mode. If you're playing on PC, there are apparently mods that can adjust the parry timing, so that would probably be the best option. There's also good old level grinding, since it actually makes quite a big difference in E33, but that's not everyone's forte.

 

[Xprimentyl]

First 27 achievements in August 2014, next 17 achievements in January 2017 and the last three yesterday and today. Took me eleven years to get them all in Arkham Asylum. Rare that I bother. Still a mediocre, ugly game.

Spoiler

The whole ending is so stupid.

Nice that ultrawide just works out of the box in such an old game.

Jesus Christ, to put that much effort into hating something for over a decade?? I can't count the number of games I've started and given up on because I didn't enjoy them; you've literally spent 11 years returning to a game you clearly don't enjoy just to what? Tells us you don' enjoy it? Life hack for you: if the first sip confirms the milk is spoiled, drinking the whole gallon, and detailing the gastrointestinal aftermath to people who don't care is a waste of precious time. Methinks you need to visit your dom. These tortuous hate posts are utter nonsense; at least allow someone to capitalize on your insistence on being miserable.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gong to go have myself crucified just so I can post in the "Complaint" thread about how much crucifixion sucks.

 

[Ezekiel]

Jesus Christ, to put that much effort into hating something for over a decade?? I can't count the number of games I've started and given up on because I didn't enjoy them; you've literally spent 11 years returning to a game you clearly don't enjoy just to what? Tells us you don' enjoy it? Life hack for you: if the first sip confirms the milk is spoiled, drinking the whole gallon, and detailing the gastrointestinal aftermath to people who don't care is a waste of precious time. Methinks you need to visit your dom. These tortuous hate posts are utter nonsense; at least allow someone to capitalize on your insistence on being miserable.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gong to go have myself crucified just so I can post in the "Complaint" thread about how much crucifixion sucks.

Use your head. If I got the first achievements in one month, the second bunch of achievements in the month of another year and the last three this month, does that tell you that I have been playing the game for eleven years or that I've been frequently returning to it?

This last playthrough was for research. Telling people their opinion sucks with authority is important.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Use your head.

This last playthrough was for research.

I AM using my head... trying to make sense of why you'd return to a game you fundamentally never liked, multiple times, over the course of 11 years, and 100% it, just for "research" and share why you don't like it? WTF, dude? Do you literally have nothing better to do? Do you not understand the purpose of video GAMES? it's right there in the name, something pleasurable, to be enjoyed, something fun, but you invest your time wringing misery out of them.

What? Were there patches that supposedly addressed your niggling complaints you wanted to test out? Was it a remaster that claimed to fix all the reason it sucked to you a decade ago? Because last I checked, you need only touch touch a stove once to learn "stove = hot," and until someone invents the "heatless stove," there's not much to be gained by touching one several times over 11 years and complaining that, indeed, "stove still = hot."

Use YOUR head; don't play games you don't like just to b*tch about them.

 

[thebobmaster]

I AM using my head... trying to make sense of why you'd return to a game you fundamentally never liked, multiple times, over the course of 11 years, and 100% it, just for "research" and share why you don't like it? WTF, dude? Do you literally have nothing better to do? Do you not understand the purpose of video GAMES? it's right there in the name, something pleasurable, to be enjoyed, something fun, but you invest your time wringing misery out of them.

What? Were there patches that supposedly addressed your niggling complaints you wanted to test out? Was it a remaster that claimed to fix all the reason it sucked to you a decade ago? Because last I checked, you need only touch touch a stove once to learn "stove = hot," and until someone invents the "heatless stove," there's not much to be gained by touching one several times over 11 years and complaining that, indeed, "stove still = hot."

Use YOUR head; don't play games you don't like just to b*tch about them.

He actually did explain why. It was so he could go into as much detail as he could to explain why everyone who likes the game is wrong.

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

That's what happun when a person doesn't seek therapy and ignores depression until it takes over their whole personality entirely lol

 

[Drathnoxis]

I AM using my head... trying to make sense of why you'd return to a game you fundamentally never liked, multiple times, over the course of 11 years, and 100% it, just for "research" and share why you don't like it? WTF, dude? Do you literally have nothing better to do? Do you not understand the purpose of video GAMES? it's right there in the name, something pleasurable, to be enjoyed, something fun, but you invest your time wringing misery out of them.

What? Were there patches that supposedly addressed your niggling complaints you wanted to test out? Was it a remaster that claimed to fix all the reason it sucked to you a decade ago? Because last I checked, you need only touch touch a stove once to learn "stove = hot," and until someone invents the "heatless stove," there's not much to be gained by touching one several times over 11 years and complaining that, indeed, "stove still = hot."

Use YOUR head; don't play games you don't like just to b*tch about them.

GAMES: General Agony Masochistic Expression Simulator

Also, from Merriam-Webster
Stove:
2 chiefly British : a hothouse especially for the cultivation of tropical exotics
broadly : greenhouse

It could be considered correct to complain about a stove being too hot.

 

[Ezekiel]

I AM using my head... trying to make sense of why you'd return to a game you fundamentally never liked, multiple times, over the course of 11 years, and 100% it, just for "research" and share why you don't like it? WTF, dude? Do you literally have nothing better to do? Do you not understand the purpose of video GAMES? it's right there in the name, something pleasurable, to be enjoyed, something fun, but you invest your time wringing misery out of them.

What? Were there patches that supposedly addressed your niggling complaints you wanted to test out? Was it a remaster that claimed to fix all the reason it sucked to you a decade ago? Because last I checked, you need only touch touch a stove once to learn "stove = hot," and until someone invents the "heatless stove," there's not much to be gained by touching one several times over 11 years and complaining that, indeed, "stove still = hot."

Use YOUR head; don't play games you don't like just to b*tch about them.

In 2017 I still respected aspects of it and thought the series was more than the sum of its parts. Now I know that I only made excuses.

Arkham City critique is now 84,000 words. A novella. Parts are longer than I wanted them to be because people kept questioning things I already answered, making it clear that I had to elaborate further. I enjoy this.

 

[Xprimentyl]

In 2017 I still respected aspects of it and thought the series was more than the sum of its parts. Now I know that I only made excuses.

Arkham City critique is now 84,000 words. A novella. Parts are longer than I wanted them to be because people kept questioning things I already answered, making it clear that I had to elaborate further. I enjoy this.

Well, then you've plainly sated my curiosity; you enjoy complaining, and to extreme lengths when you deem necessary. I've nothing further to say, and will henceforth refrain from questioning your incessant negativity now that you've acknowledged what it really is: ego masturbation.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I picked up Severed Steel for a song (current going rate for a song: $1.24) and... well, I would say that I'm too old for it, but I don't think I had reflexes good enough to manage even when I was young. I wondered why the FOV defaulted to 120 degrees, but now I know: It's so you can actually see everything going on, because you are not going to get more than two seconds of being unmolested in a row and the only dependable way of avoiding damage is to keep moving (preferably by any method other than simply running along the floor).

 

[Drathnoxis]

"Second of all, no I can't let people enjoy things, because that would prevent me from enjoying the thing I like the most, which is critical analysis and being a hater." -Ratatoskr

 

[Worgen]

I picked up Severed Steel for a song (current going rate for a song: $1.24) and... well, I would say that I'm too old for it, but I don't think I had reflexes good enough to manage even when I was young. I wondered why the FOV defaulted to 120 degrees, but now I know: It's so you can actually see everything going on, because you are not going to get more than two seconds of being unmolested in a row and the only dependable way of avoiding damage is to keep moving (preferably by any method other than simply running along the floor).

I had fun with Severed Steel. If you want something thats also awesome, but less... head on a swivel constantly while dodging and blowing up walls. Relentless Frontier which is an excellent GZdoom engine game just had a nice big patch and is on decent sale.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

So far Xenoblade Chronicles is the most aggressively Ok game I've played in a while. It's actually refreshing- I can't remember the last time I was "meh" on something, I've reacted with love or hate to most things.

According to THE INTERNET (or at least my scrapings of it) I'm not yet up to the part where it really starts to get good which is the next major hub of NPCs called Colony 6, but it seems I'm almost there. So I'll give it 'till then to let it grab my gaming gonads.

 

[Ezekiel]

"Second of all, no I can't let people enjoy things, because that would prevent me from enjoying the thing I like the most, which is critical analysis and being a hater." -Ratatoskr

Beginning bored me because I'm not gonna finish Elden Ring, but good video. Yeah, Bluepoint sucks.

 

[Ezekiel]

Tried Brutal Legend again, six weeks later. I was grinning at the spirit of the game the whole time. Then it crashed again. Played only for about thirty minutes. Turned off AA and lowered the framerate from 120 to 60 and am all out of ideas.

Spoiler