What are you currently playing?

[happyninja42]

If I remember correctly, it's PS3 port and the PS3 Port of Skyrim are even worse. You can't even finish the game cuz they didn't bother updating Skyrim.

I first tried Skyrim on....was it the Xbox? Yeah the xbox, and I experienced a bug on my first load in. I opened my eyes, found myself on the wagon, and everyone was silent. I heard the animal sounds, the rolling of the wagon, all that stuff, but the dialogue didn't load. So, I actually experienced what I thought was an impressive "silent film" kind of opening, as all the prisoners, road in silence to their fate. However, after a few minutes, I realized it was a glitch, as the wagon turned and proceeded to walk into a wall....forever, instead of going through the gate and into the courtyard where we were let out. So that was a good start xD

I never played it again on xbox, and instead got it on PC, and had basically zero issues with it, stability wise.

 

[sXeth]

That’s....disappointing. Oh well, neon and smoke are cool enough I suppose. Thankfully the Platinum shouldn’t be too difficult either, and not require collecting everything again for an Expert/Infamous run on my second play through.

Having said that, I’m actually playing more Sekiro currently. Mibu Village feels rather ominous, considering past FROM games. Here all these fine folks were, minding their own business, until a one-armed wolf showed up performing death blows on everyone.

There is another power other then Smoke and Neon thats not concrete. Its pretty cool (although the explanation for it makes even less sense lol)

 

[meiam]

I've been on a Civilization VI binge lately. I didn't think the game amounted to much back in 2016 when it was released, lacking that intangible oomph that made previous games so addictive. Now, with two expansions and a whole hill of DLC it has finally found its stride. Getting all of it in one go is about as prohibitively expensive as getting your average Paradox game, so not really something to recommend but for me who have amassed the expansions and DLCs over the years it has finally become a game you can get stuck in for hours.

I'm still a bit disappointed in Civ 6, the district system had a lot of promise at release but I though they didn't push it enough and was hoping they'd add more stuff with the DLC/expansion but they never really did. And a lot of the expansion stuff didn't add much, governor don't matter nearly as much as I wish they did and every game I play the global warming thing max out super fast and is essentially not a feature. It's a fun game, but I feel like it never reached the level of civ 5 with all the exp.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

The new Zombies mode, Outbreak, in Call of Duty Cold War is pretty fun. My friends and I have been running it the last few nights. It's a much more relaxing mode than normal zombies and is a lot of fun to just chill and hang out after work.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

So Mibu Village in Sekiro is like a giant farming run. It’s perfect for slicing through dozens of its corrupted inhabitants, popping a Mibu (the irony) balloon and reaping the extra rewards. Most of them are so weak and stealth options are plentiful, even on those big hammer dudes.

Also defeated the sad water lady, Orin. She took a while to learn since she fades in and out of vulnerability (I gave up wasting confetti and don’t have malcontent yet), but it went pretty smoothly thereafter. The biggest thing is to jump counter her perilous attacks, although she can also be interrupted if done quick enough but in my experience the counter did greater posture damage. Also the Sabimaru (piercing) works well if it connects for a poison bonus.

Next will be the Corrupted Monk, whom I’ve already met once. Hopefully she won’t prove too troublesome with the limited abilities I currently have.

 

[Dalisclock]

Blacksad: Under the Skin

Blacksad is an Detective/Adventure game set in NYC around the 1950's where you play a private detective hired to find a missing person who disappeared around the same time one of his friends "Committed Suicide" by hanging himself from his rafters(It's a Noir, so no points for guessing it was really murder). It's also a world where everyone is an anthro-animal to some degree. For example, Blacksad is a Cat and refers to himself as such once or twice, though the term "man" is also used, so species is treated more like race/ethnicity here?. Male characters look more animal-like than females, who look more human-like(Blacksad looks more like a cat then female characters who are also cats, which does add to a slight uncanny effect. There's also a billboard with a dog woman advertising a chocolate bar, which had me wondering "Wait, can she eat that without getting sick?", which I know is besides the damn point but still ). This seems almost incidental because the game does not pull punches with it's genre and setting.

Within 5 minutes of starting, you get a nice clear view of someone hanging from a noose and the Titular PI John Blacksad is attacked in his office by a very angry Rhino who is more than happen to kill you if you aren't quick on the QTEs. Societal Racism and the Red Scare are also brought up prominently in the plot, though since I'm only an hour or so into it it's unclear if they will be integral to what's going on as opposed to acknowledging them as part of the time period. The game is based on a French graphic novel series which I haven't read but apparently said themes also come up a lot in the books as well but kinda like the Anime Beastars(the best similar analogy off the top of my head) the Antro-animals/furries does not equal "aimed at kids". It does seem to hit the tropes of the Noir Genre damn well and the details feel reasonably close to what I'd expect for the setting.

The graphics look pretty good for being prominently 3D Modeled and an indie production to boot. The controls are a little fiddly but not awful by any stretch. Blacksad has a notebook he updates as he learns new information about the case and there's a Deduction system where important clues are held on kind of a virtual blackboard, and you're expected to logically link them to progress the plot at times and to open up new investigation opportunities. It's not completely intuitive(some seemingly related clues don't seem to work, probably because they're waiting for you to make further deductions) but generally, clues will link together, which can then be linked with further ideas. The game does helpfully tell you how many deductions you can actually make with the clues you have a given moment and occasionally give you a heads up alert to this effect so you aren't fruitlessly trying to make deductions where none exist.

Beyond that, it follows adventure game rules of "Look at everything you can, talk to people about everything you can" along with the occasional conversation where you get to make a choice of how to handle a situation, which generally breaks down to "Honest PI" and "Sketchy PI" but I don't know if it's actually that simple or not and what kind of consequences said choices can have. There's one bit where an implied crime boss tries to get you to help him with his goals, because "We're both trying to get the same thing here" offering combinations of rewards and threats for you to go along with him, at one point going into a diatribe about politics, how his illegal gambling racket isn't really hurting anyone and starts hinting that of course you're friendly to a legitimate businessman(such as himself) because "What are you, a Commie? Of course you're not, are you? HINT HINT". Being a 1950's American setting, it's an interesting curve ball to toss at you, since being accused of being a Communist could have notable repercussions and makes me curious if the game does close off avenues if you let him lead you down that road.

Beyond that it's pretty good so far and the only issues I've had with it is wandering around a bit at times trying to figure out how to proceed with the case, though the game doesn't really let you go to places you have nothing to do ATM, which helps keep the play area reasonable until you're ready to go elsewhere.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Recently realised there was still most of a 10 hour trial of The Division 2 not used up, so decided to put the surplus to productive use after hearing about a 60fps patch. I think it's the perfect amount of time to really cement how much fun there isn't to be had in the full game. Five two hour sessions, give or take, highlights the steady diminishing returns of the looter-shooter gameplay loop even after long breaks, for me anyway, playing as Billie-No-Mates-Mcgee. Still have over an hour left of aimless bumbling time, might be enough to map out the place for real-life insurgency plans to fulfill my inevitable communist takeover...

Blacksad: Under the Skin



Blacksad is an Detective/Adventure game set in NYC around the 1950's where you play a private detective hired to find a missing person who disappeared around the same time one of his friends "Committed Suicide" by hanging himself from his rafters(It's a Noir, so no points for guessing it was really murder). It's also a world where everyone is an anthro-animal to some degree. For example, Blacksad is a Cat and refers to himself as such once or twice, though the term "man" is also used, so species is treated more like race/ethnicity here?. Male characters look more animal-like than females, who look more human-like(Blacksad looks more like a cat then female characters who are also cats, which does add to a slight uncanny effect. There's also a billboard with a dog woman advertising a chocolate bar, which had me wondering "Wait, can she eat that without getting sick?", which I know is besides the damn point but still ). This seems almost incidental because the game does not pull punches with it's genre and setting.



Within 5 minutes of starting, you get a nice clear view of someone hanging from a noose and the Titular PI John Blacksad is attacked in his office by a very angry Rhino who is more than happen to kill you if you aren't quick on the QTEs. Societal Racism and the Red Scare are also brought up prominently in the plot, though since I'm only an hour or so into it it's unclear if they will be integral to what's going on as opposed to acknowledging them as part of the time period. The game is based on a French graphic novel series which I haven't read but apparently said themes also come up a lot in the books as well but kinda like the Anime Beastars(the best similar analogy off the top of my head) the Antro-animals/furries does not equal "aimed at kids". It does seem to hit the tropes of the Noir Genre damn well and the details feel reasonably close to what I'd expect for the setting.



The graphics look pretty good for being prominently 3D Modeled and an indie production to boot. The controls are a little fiddly but not awful by any stretch. Blacksad has a notebook he updates as he learns new information about the case and there's a Deduction system where important clues are held on kind of a virtual blackboard, and you're expected to logically link them to progress the plot at times and to open up new investigation opportunities. It's not completely intuitive(some seemingly related clues don't seem to work, probably because they're waiting for you to make further deductions) but generally, clues will link together, which can then be linked with further ideas. The game does helpfully tell you how many deductions you can actually make with the clues you have a given moment and occasionally give you a heads up alert to this effect so you aren't fruitlessly trying to make deductions where none exist.



Beyond that, it follows adventure game rules of "Look at everything you can, talk to people about everything you can" along with the occasional conversation where you get to make a choice of how to handle a situation, which generally breaks down to "Honest PI" and "Sketchy PI" but I don't know if it's actually that simple or not and what kind of consequences said choices can have. There's one bit where an implied crime boss tries to get you to help him with his goals, because "We're both trying to get the same thing here" offering combinations of rewards and threats for you to go along with him, at one point going into a diatribe about politics, how his illegal gambling racket isn't really hurting anyone and starts hinting that of course you're friendly to a legitimate businessman(such as himself) because "What are you, a Commie? Of course you're not, are you? HINT HINT". Being a 1950's American setting, it's an interesting curve ball to toss at you, since being accused of being a Communist could have notable repercussions and makes me curious if the game does close off avenues if you let him lead you down that road.



Beyond that it's pretty good so far and the only issues I've had with it is wandering around a bit at times trying to figure out how to proceed with the case, though the game doesn't really let you go to places you have nothing to do ATM, which helps keep the play area reasonable until you're ready to go elsewhere.

Huh, I seen the game on sale a few times and was curious as the cover looked unique, but the reviews seemed a bit unflattering so kinda just forgot about it. Sounds more interesting from your perspective though.

 

[Dalisclock]

Huh, I seen the game on sale a few times and was curious as the cover looked unique, but the reviews seemed a bit unflattering so kinda just forgot about it. Sounds more interesting from your perspective though.

I grew up on adventure games and still have a fondness for them, so that's the expectation I'm going into this with. When I'm done with it I'll have more to say about the whole thing.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

I grew up on adventure games and still have a fondness for them, so that's the expectation I'm going into this with. When I'm done with it I'll have more to say about the whole thing.

Ooh, I shall await with baited eyeballs for the final verdict! Am a bit less enthused about the genre, but am always looking for high quality examples to warm up to. Currently been eyeing up Thimbleweed Park and Lair of the Clockwork God on switch too, as the Switch touchscreen should be more user friendly than a gamepad if it's implemented properly.

 

[gorfias]

OK, I'm having some fun playing Fallout Vegas but understand the criticism. The cheats are allowing me to do some pretty crazy fun stuff. I hear they insisted it be done in 18 months and I think it shows. It's been a dozen years since I played Fallout 3 on PS3 and refuse to rebuy it (GOTY) at $20!!! Gave my copy to someone else to experience. But, how is NV better than 3? Different, sure. I do not recall loooong stretches of walking in the wasteland without encounters. Bland samey environments with little interesting in NPCs and situations by way of comparison. Anyway, with cheats, I've made it through the tedium to New Vegas. Now I have to turn on no clip to walk through a wall to get in there.

 

[happyninja42]

OK, I'm having some fun playing Fallout Vegas but understand the criticism. The cheats are allowing me to do some pretty crazy fun stuff. I hear they insisted it be done in 18 months and I think it shows. It's been a dozen years since I played Fallout 3 on PS3 and refuse to rebuy it (GOTY) at $20!!! Gave my copy to someone else to experience. But, how is NV better than 3? Different, sure. I do not recall loooong stretches of walking in the wasteland without encounters. Bland samey environments with little interesting in NPCs and situations by way of comparison. Anyway, with cheats, I've made it through the tedium to New Vegas. Now I have to turn on no clip to walk through a wall to get in there.

I've never understood the way NV fanatics can praise that game from dusk till dawn, and then decry FO3 from the same mouth. Especially when a lot of the commonly stated criticisms....are in NV as well. This Bethesda hatred is equally on display when they talk about FO4 and Outer Worlds, which I find laughable, given how carbon copy OW is on SO many levels to FO4.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Grip.
Super fast future drum 'n base racing like wipeout but with wheels and wall-riding. Seems good, smooth, cute in-game tutorial header with the words "getting a grip." Everything appears in order.

Except...why is the badass music so quiet? *Looks in audio menu* Music volume is at 34%?!? Who the fuck is responsible for this default?? Holy shit, I didn't think I could feel this offended over a videogame audio menu! Tho is the first time an achievement is appreciated, titled "you did a thing!" Why, I did do a thing, thankyou for the acknowledges!

 

[Dalisclock]

Ooh, I shall await with baited eyeballs for the final verdict! Am a bit less enthused about the genre, but am always looking for high quality examples to warm up to. Currently been eyeing up Thimbleweed Park and Lair of the Clockwork God on switch too, as the Switch touchscreen should be more user friendly than a gamepad if it's implemented properly.

Haven't played LotCG but I enjoyed Thimbleweed Park. It's a love letter to 1990's lucasarts games in particular and since that's something I enjoyed a lot growing up, I got a kick from it. That being said, the final act of the game is a disappointment and while it wasn't totally out of left field, it felt far less satisfying then it really should have. It's trying to be a little too clever for it's own good and it doesn't work as well as it thinks it does. I played it on Steam so I don't know how well it works with a gamepad/switch handheld but if you get it for $20 or less that's not bad at all.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Downwell. Well worth the dollar.

Very simple looking game - monochromatic, pixelated, chiptune soundbites - basically made by one person lucky enough to get published by Devolver Digital. It's a roguelike where you, uh, go down a well.

Core gameplay has you platforming downwards with the aid of rocket boots to clear obstacles and kill or avoid enemies. You collect gems, cash them in at the odd shop for perks, and also select from three random perks at the end of every level. Everything in the game is randomized and you're back to the very beginning as soon as you die. This will happen a lot. You only take 4 hits and the thin vertical screen (designed for mobile, originally) gets crowded pretty quickly.

Every run adds up to unlocking palettes and gameplay modifiers, none of them of much use but to comfort you with a sense of progression.

It's a fun pastime but sorely missing on any kind of lore or context that would make the game great or even memorable. And crucially, one run doesn't feel all that radically different from another.

 

[Hawki]

So I finished Spyro 1. In case you're wondering, no, I didn't get all the gems. I didn't even get all the dragons. I've got better things to do in my life, namely move onto...sigh, Spyro 2.

Yeah, the nostalgia I had for this back in the day doesn't hold up either.

Starting with the gameplay, I'm not sure if this is an improvement over Spyro 1. It's not necessarily worse, but it is different. Spyro 1 operates on a principle of a large number of hub worlds, with every sub-world matching the aesthetic of its hub world, and in each case, you're pretty much free to explore the level as you see fit. Spyro 2, on the other hand, seems to rely on a smaller number of hub worlds, with each sub-world having a completely unique aesthetic. Furthermore, in many of them, you have a core objective, whereas in Spyro 1, it was simply "get the gems, free the dragons, rescue the eggs, do things at your own pace." So, which is better? A more open-ended game system with less stuff to do, or a less-open game system with more stuff to do? Honestly, I'm not sure, but if I absolutely had to pick a side, I'd say Spyro 2 wins in the gameplay side of things.

As for story...y'know, it's weird, but I'd say that Spyro 2 may actually be weaker.

Don't get me wrong, it's buoyed somewhat by having characters (Elora, Hunter, Ripto, Zoe, Sparx having some personality), whereas Spyro 1 basically had Spyro, a bunch of no-name NPCs, and nothing else. However, other things fall flat. For instance, in Spyro 1, as basic as the premise was, it's a premise that was explained - Gnasty was banished to a world by the dragons before the game, gets pissed off, freezes them in crystal, and sends his gnorcs to steal the dragons' treasure. Basic as hell, but still, it's there. In Spyro 2, well, it's occurred to me that so far, I only have Elora and Hunter's word that Ripto is actually the bad guy, because so far all he's done is take over a castle. Okay, but who was in the castle before? Is Ripto a bad person? What's his goal? Furthermore, the premise is that I have to go to these worlds and get their relics, all of these worlds having their own problem that Spyro has to deal with. So if Ripto's taking over Avalar, he doesn't actually seem to be affecting any of the world's denizens. Their problems seem to exist irrespective of Ripto or not.

And yes, okay, maybe I'm putting too much thought into story, but I mean, come on, the writers could have at least tried. FFS, Elora gives Spyro a guidebook that's meant to be a guide to our world, but it's purely to log gems and stuff. No worldbuilding, no backstory, nothing. All I know is that the people who abducted Spyro are apparently the good guys, and Ripto's apparently the bad guy, and I've got to do something because the game says I have to.

...yeah, this is why I'm more partial to the Legend of Spyro series.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

In between runs of Hades, I've decided to try playing Symphony of the Night again. I played it once before, got a decent way in, but I couldn't get past the boss in Castle Keep. Don't still have that file, and I wouldn't know what to do with it if I did, so I'm starting over from scratch. It's definitely one of the best-looking games on the Playstation, since the processing power to make primitive 3D is extremely effective when used on sprites, and Konami's artists did a great job with the areas and monsters, as well as Alucard's movements. Gameplay still holds up fairly well, though there's a lot of jumps that aren't clear whether you can make them without help or not, and unskippable cutscenes that you have to go back through every time you die are a pain as well, especially the long game over screen.

Still, it's enjoyable, so I'll be keeping at it. And hopefully this time I'll get to somewhere I didn't last time.

 

[Jarrito3002]

Oddworld Strangers Wrath.

I am loving the vibe and style and enjoyed the bounty hunting and self challenge of trying to take them in alive. Now the game has llost me towards the end though. I am probably just going to go to youtube and watch the ending cause this last section I feel in no way could be play tested. You got these two spider cyborgs that shot gun spray webbing you have to break out of and if they attack you good luck you are stun locked to oblivion. And its the worst stun lock where you have wait for your the Stranger to do a getting up animation and by the time he is done the spider cyborgs start spinning again. And to hell with trying to get the ammo cause taking your eyes off those spider cyborgs is not the way. And only 3 out of your ammo is useful which is a gripe of mine through out the game.

Also since this is on Switch I can not find no cheat codes to help your boy out. Man I was loving this game but this last stretch is killing me. I hate when I feel like I am fighting the game itself more so than the challenge the game is presenting me.

I still love you Strangers Wrath you got style and charm and was the perfect way for Oddworld to break into that third and firstperson shooter genre. When you worked you worked but when you fell ya fell face first.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Grow Home

Fun little physics platformer from Ubisoft. It has that cute, pristine look of Katamari (cel shading minus lines I guess) and similar to Katamari a basic yet cathartic gameplay loop that is just challenging enough without feeling anything but chill. You control a robot charged with growing a beanstalk 2000m high and do the Octodad thing of controlling arms individually while climbing up, attaching and detaching while navigating the finicky physics engine. There's a 100 crystal collectathon which feels purposeful since they unlock useful stuff (giving you and upgrading your jetpack, primarily) and a scanning side mission, and that's about it.

 

[stroopwafel]

Everybody's Golf. Very fun and accessible golf game. I really like Everybody's Tennis as well despite sports games not really being my thing. Both games have a sort of arcade-y quality that makes it really fun. Wish they made a modern version of Everybody's Tennis.

 

[happyninja42]

Grow Home

Fun little physics platformer from Ubisoft. It has that cute, pristine look of Katamari (cel shading minus lines I guess) and similar to Katamari a basic yet cathartic gameplay loop that is just challenging enough without feeling anything but chill. You control a robot charged with growing a beanstalk 2000m high and do the Octodad thing of controlling arms individually while climbing up, attaching and detaching while navigating the finicky physics engine. There's a 100 crystal collectathon which feels purposeful since they unlock useful stuff (giving you and upgrading your jetpack, primarily) and a scanning side mission, and that's about it.

Yeah that was a fun little game. I recall it was very forgiving if you goofed up and fell off a ledge and lost a lot of distance. As there were multiple teleporter checkpoints along the way that let you quickly ascend to close to your fall point. The little robot had a cute design, and a cute audio design as well, so hearing it's little chirps and bleeps constantly never got annoying. Fun time killer for a few days.