What are you currently playing?

[BrawlMan]

Finally, I beat level 30! I got the trophy for it, after 28 attempts!

Cherry's 2nd blitz attack is a game breaker when you get all of the elemental perks and upgrade them. This is my best run, so far. I still have to play the retro characters, unlock their alternate moves, and do Shiva and Estel's campaign. I'll unlock the rest of the trophies; this will take a while.

 

[Worgen]

Finally, I beat level 30! I got the trophy for it, after 28 attempts!

Cherry's 2nd blitz attack is a game breaker when you get all of the elemental perks and upgrade. them. This is my best run, so far. I still have to play the retro characters, unlock their alternate moves, and do Shiva and Estel's campaign. I'll unlock the rest of the trophies; this will take a while.

I've been having issues with Streets of Rage 4 crashing after the patch/dlc. When I use my fighting stick it skips menu options and it will crash if I press b at any time during character selection, which I have to do since it selects 2 players.

Playing Nier Automita again and Devil Slayer again since both had patches.

 

[BrawlMan]

I've been having issues with Streets of Rage 4 crashing after the patch/dlc. When I use my fighting stick it skips menu options and it will crash if I press b at any time during character selection, which I have to do since it selects 2 players.

You playing on XONE or PC? I've only been playing PS4 and have not had a single crash. The eShop version is still not up yet, as far as I know.

 

[09philj]

Pokemon Fire Red. I've never played any of the Kanto games to completion so decided to do this one. I'm glad I'm playing it on an emulator rather than the actual GBA copy I got from my cousin because being able to put the game to x5 speed with the press of a key makes it a lot more bearable.

 

[Worgen]

You playing on XONE or PC? I've only been playing PS4 and have not had a single crash. The eShop version is still not up yet, as far as I know.

Pc and I use a universal fighting arcade stick f5000 v2. It worked fine before the patch but after its messed up.

 

[laggyteabag]

Pokemon Fire Red. I've never played any of the Kanto games to completion so decided to do this one. I'm glad I'm playing it on an emulator rather than the actual GBA copy I got from my cousin because being able to put the game to x5 speed with the press of a key makes it a lot more bearable.

100%

The pokemon battles in the games have never been particularly interesting to watch, and the constant spam of repeated animations doesn't exactly help. I revisited Emerald a few years ago, and it was still pretty dull to play, even at super speed. I have no idea how I coped on original hardware, way back when

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Pc and I use a universal fighting arcade stick f5000 v2. It worked fine before the patch but after its messed up.

That’s the crux with today’s games if people care about completions; you’re reliant on the latest patch which isn’t always the best iteration overall. There have been quite a few different games I’ve seen on trophy guides where some are glitched due to the most recent patch, and have made the Platinum unattainable. Was the case for me with Mad Max but then again with how much of a grind clearing the map was it’s probably for the best.

 

[Worgen]

That’s the crux with today’s games if people care about completions; you’re reliant on the latest patch which isn’t always the best iteration overall. There have been quite a few different games I’ve seen on trophy guides where some are glitched due to the most recent patch, and have made the Platinum unattainable. Was the case for me with Mad Max but then again with how much of a grind clearing the map was it’s probably for the best.

They released a patch today so now its working fine.

 

[Terminal Blue]

I've been checking out Dyson Sphere Program.

It's a Factorio clone, but I don't mean that in an insulting sense. I think what's really impressive is that despite having almost identical mechanics, the playstyle and vibe of each game is totally different.

I really, really like Factorio, but one thing about it which doesn't always gel with me is that you can't really get away with building haphazardly. I love factories which are just a spaghetti mess of improvisational belts and where you can get genuinely lost and forget where a particular component is made, to me the real fun is in gradually evolving this convoluted personal system. But the problem is that once you're playing Factorio seriously, you're going to be looking to that endgame and how you're going to scale up and add new components. Experienced Factorio players will end up with very similar factory designs simply because there is a clearly optimal way to do things.

In Dyson Sphere Program, I don't find that so much of a problem. The game is kind of designed around the fact that, early game, you'll be building this improvisational spaghetti factory. In fact, it deliberately starts you on a planet with loads of water so you have to build around the terrain and just try and make everything work. By the time you can start think about building a massive well-organized planet-spanning main bus, the game has given you logistics options which are so powerful that you don't really need to do that any more. It reminds me a bit of a city builder, in that rather than having to meticulously plan this giant well oiled machine, you can just build whatever you think you need at the time and then hook it up to the logistics network.

In fact, the challenge in Dyson Sphere Program often comes down to logistics puzzles. Often, researching a technology or building a thing you need will require things that you can't quite fully automate yet, so you have to find ways to make or collect the various ingredients you need to research the machine that will let you automate the process later on. It's a pretty interesting concept that, again, doesn't really come up in Factorio where the challenge is surviving and building a really efficient factory.

This is not to say DSP is better than Factorio, but I might personally like it more, and that's saying something.

 

[BrawlMan]

I finished Shiva and Estel's campaign yesterday. Now for the grind work of unlocking all of the retro characters' move sets. With that, I should have all of the achievements.

 

[laggyteabag]

I've been pining to play Mass Effect 1-3 again, but I've decided to replay the Dragon Age games instead.

I tried to replay DA:O at some point in the last year, but I dropped it for some reason - so now im trying again.

I recall previously trying to play as a Warrior, but the combat pathfinding for melee characters can be quite troublesome, so this time I've decided to play as a Mage again. Mages just tend to be a lot more interesting than their traditional-weapon counterparts, anyway.

The combat feels like any normal hotkey-MMO style of combat, just in a singleplayer game. It does seem like the game is trying, though, as there is a lot going on. Lots of different schools of magic, buffs, debuffs, weapon enchantments, spells that do crowd control, and even some synergy between spells (freeze, and shatter). The main culprit is that none of it looks good at all - the animations are super generic, and shared between multiple different spells, and the spell effects on the targets aren't particularly impactful, either. In Mass Effect, if you hit someone with a biotic push, they would go flying. In Dragon Age, they might fall on their ass for a few seconds. So it is ultimately functional - just not really that satisfying.

The poor animation and visual quality isn't just limited to the combat, either. This game just screams jank. Simple text appears in the bottom left for dialogue options. The HUD does not scale at all to higher resolutions. Interactions in cutscenes tends to look like characters vaguely waving their arms at other objects. The texture and model quality is also incredibly poor, too.

The writing and voice acting is generally consistently good, though. Characters are full of personality, and wonderfully portrayed. The story - whilst generic - is engaging and well-written. It is definitely a game that comes to life when you are interacting with the characters - but not really at all with the world around you.

Its not BioWare's finest work, but it is definitely a good time - if the not-so-good stuff doesn't put you off.

 

[BrawlMan]

I got EDF 5 finally. Used the Game Stop gift card my big bro got me. Classic EDF gameplay with new improvements. The Ranger finally has a sprint function, though some times it's easier just to dodge cancel to get around faster. I will be playing more later tonight as I'll be going to the arcade in a few.

 

[wings012]

After finishing Ender Lilies I was kinda just not doing much. I decided to boot up Subnautica Below Zero again and this time I managed to find my groove. Started a new game, found a habitat builder which for some reason I couldn't find in my first aborted playthrough. And then it started to come together. I was building a base, I had vehicles and I could actually progress. It's definitely not quite Subnautica 1, something about it just feels smaller. It probably is smaller. It's also more narratively driven, your character talks, you encounter some NPCs and they also talk a fair bit. I've heard fans of the first game absolutely trashing Below Zero, and I'm not sure it deserves all of that.

I got EDF 5 finally. Used the Game Stop gift card my big bro got me. Classic EDF gameplay with new improvements. The Ranger finally has a sprint function, though some times it's easier just to dodge cancel to get around faster. I will be playing more later tonight as I'll be going to the arcade in a few.

I got this on the last Steam sale. It's my first real EDF experience(I've played some random Touhou doujin clone before this but that don't really count). I love how janky and schlocky it is. Fencer 4 Life. Still waiting for my friends to be free enough so we can finish it together. I've already done one round solo.

 

[BrawlMan]

I went to the Ready Player One arcade in Downtown Detroit last night. They have a good selection of classic games. I played the X-Men Arcade (6 player), Battletoads, Deadpool Pinball, NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, Moonwalker, Centipede, Robotron, and Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The only thing that sucked was that they have a Final Fight, Simpsons, and Turtles in Time, but they don't work. Hopefully, they can get them up and running.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Got back to Sekiro and beat the Fountainhead bull and what is certainly the easiest miniboss in the game: Okami Leader Shizu. His lightning bolts pack a punch but odd he's even considered a miniboss since he goes down easier than half the enemies in the joint. Also killed the sea-fairing headless, which was kind of an amusing bit of payback as an underwater fight, since Wolf's mobility is far greater around those dudes than on land. I also like the submersible exploration as there's a fair bit of goodies to find.

The only thing left is feeding some "truly precious" (*hint hint; wink wink*) bait to the head honcho fish, before finding the shortcut to the final part of the map.

 

[Dwarvenhobble]

I've been playing Ticket to Earth

It's a weird sort of Tactics game but also tile matching gaming RPG thing so you have to run on matching tile paths to build up your attack power but also it plays somewhat like a tactics game.

Also the plot can best be described as "What if all the things Tim Pool doomsays about started to happen" but as a Sci-Fi property. So you start off as Rose whose a Gardener / Sci-Fi farmer who gardens the hydroponics section who ends up stuck in the middle of an attempted revolution against the elites done by criminals including people who very much want to just burn everything down and commit arson to try and show the 1% whose boss and very much hate "The Justice Engine" and Justice system. Rose ends up taking up arms to try and save and protect people while also seeming sort of more crimes of the system but also finding out the system itself isn't to blame so much as those who have been able to abuse the system and cover up what they've done.

 

[happyninja42]

Got back to Sekiro and beat the Fountainhead bull and what is certainly the easiest miniboss in the game: Okami Leader Shizu. His lightning bolts pack a punch but odd he's even considered a miniboss since he goes down easier than half the enemies in the joint. Also killed the sea-fairing headless, which was kind of an amusing bit of payback as an underwater fight, since Wolf's mobility is far greater around those dudes than on land. I also like the submersible exploration as there's a fair bit of goodies to find.

The only thing left is feeding some "truly precious" (*hint hint; wink wink*) bait to the head honcho fish, before finding the shortcut to the final part of the map.

Yeah I'm probably 75% through the "return" ending, from what I've read online. Haven't played it much lately, though I did knock out a lot of it this weekend with my wife. I still can't get over the writing for Wolf. Like, why is this a trend in anime/jrpgs? The habit of just...repeating back the last thing said to you as a question. Nobody talks like that! I mean sure maybe every so often, if you are unsure you heard someone correctly, you might repeat back what they said. But, in normal human speech, among actual people, and not crazy pod people pretending to be humans, you just go "wait...what?" or "Sorry, what was that?" But in anime/jgames, it's like the standard method of speaking for the majority of the cast. And it just baffles me!

Especially given the context. Ok so this is a bit of a spoiler for the returning ending(or at least a plot point leading up to it), so I'll hide it but:

Spoiler

So you have to eavesdrop on Emma talking to the Sculptor, before you can continue that ending threadline. Upon listening to them, Emma very, VERY clearly spells out what she's learned. "that in order for the severance to happen, and free them of the immortality, One Of Them Must Die." It's not veiled in vague language. She's incredibly direct and blunt about it. Anyone hearing those words, would know what the hell she was talking about. I know, because I read them, and it was completely clear.
But, not Wolf. Noooo. He goes in there, and you ask her about it. And, ok this time I admit is an appropriate way to repeat something you were told. He opens by saying the phrase she said, that he overheard, indicating that he heard her. THAT, is the single time, he's done that, where I felt it actually made narrative/conversational sense. But, then he kills that good will, by saying "What do you mean?" To the statement of "in order for the immortality to be severed, one of them must die" What do YOU mean what do you mean Wolf?! It's pretty clear what she meant!

As a separate bit about the game, I'm confused about why

Spoiler

There is apparently 2 different memories of what Wolf did on the night of the attack at Hirata Estate. Ok so....how the fuck does that happen? They've established no such thing as time travel or multiverse. He's got amnesia (that's never explained apparently, or at least not that I've encountered in the story), and yet, 2 people hand him bells, and they somehow let him relive memories of a night that HE was at. But, the POV for both memories is still...HIM, Not them. And they are happening at the same time, include boss fights in the same room, with people that makes no sense if Wolf is the one that fought them both. If Wolf is the one that fought Owl Father, then why would he be all upset finding him in the Lady Butterfly memory, apparently mortally wounded? Wouldn't he be like "You!! How the fuck did you survive!? I stabbed you! Well I should stab you again! " It's just really messy.

So, why would I see this? Why is the bell an old servant woman was carrying, know anything about me fighting Lady Butterfly? Why is on old bell my jackass foster dad carrying, have memories of all the stuff I apparently did up to the point I'm fighting him? Shouldn't it show me what HE did? And which one is real? Or are they both just figments? It's just, really sloppy writing. Also, since all of this stuff is optional, if you hold off doing the Lady Butterfly Hirata Memory, until AFTER you have learned Owl is a traitor, will it impact Wolf's dialogue with him laying on the ground? Would he just walk up to him and stab him instead? I mean they establish that you retain your current memories of present day in the flashback, based on things Wolf says when he's in the memory. So in theory that would actually impact things right? I just...bleh....I'm looking forward to finishing this playthrough so I can tell the wife "Ok if you want to see any other endings, you fucking play this game. I'm done."

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Yeah I'm probably 75% through the "return" ending, from what I've read online. Haven't played it much lately, though I did knock out a lot of it this weekend with my wife. I still can't get over the writing for Wolf. Like, why is this a trend in anime/jrpgs? The habit of just...repeating back the last thing said to you as a question. Nobody talks like that! I mean sure maybe every so often, if you are unsure you heard someone correctly, you might repeat back what they said. But, in normal human speech, among actual people, and not crazy pod people pretending to be humans, you just go "wait...what?" or "Sorry, what was that?" But in anime/jgames, it's like the standard method of speaking for the majority of the cast. And it just baffles me!

Especially given the context. Ok so this is a bit of a spoiler for the returning ending(or at least a plot point leading up to it), so I'll hide it but:

Spoiler

So you have to eavesdrop on Emma talking to the Sculptor, before you can continue that ending threadline. Upon listening to them, Emma very, VERY clearly spells out what she's learned. "that in order for the severance to happen, and free them of the immortality, One Of Them Must Die." It's not veiled in vague language. She's incredibly direct and blunt about it. Anyone hearing those words, would know what the hell she was talking about. I know, because I read them, and it was completely clear.
But, not Wolf. Noooo. He goes in there, and you ask her about it. And, ok this time I admit is an appropriate way to repeat something you were told. He opens by saying the phrase she said, that he overheard, indicating that he heard her. THAT, is the single time, he's done that, where I felt it actually made narrative/conversational sense. But, then he kills that good will, by saying "What do you mean?" To the statement of "in order for the immortality to be severed, one of them must die" What do YOU mean what do you mean Wolf?! It's pretty clear what she meant!

As a separate bit about the game, I'm confused about why

Spoiler

There is apparently 2 different memories of what Wolf did on the night of the attack at Hirata Estate. Ok so....how the fuck does that happen? They've established no such thing as time travel or multiverse. He's got amnesia (that's never explained apparently, or at least not that I've encountered in the story), and yet, 2 people hand him bells, and they somehow let him relive memories of a night that HE was at. But, the POV for both memories is still...HIM, Not them. And they are happening at the same time, include boss fights in the same room, with people that makes no sense if Wolf is the one that fought them both. If Wolf is the one that fought Owl Father, then why would he be all upset finding him in the Lady Butterfly memory, apparently mortally wounded? Wouldn't he be like "You!! How the fuck did you survive!? I stabbed you! Well I should stab you again! " It's just really messy.

So, why would I see this? Why is the bell an old servant woman was carrying, know anything about me fighting Lady Butterfly? Why is on old bell my jackass foster dad carrying, have memories of all the stuff I apparently did up to the point I'm fighting him? Shouldn't it show me what HE did? And which one is real? Or are they both just figments? It's just, really sloppy writing. Also, since all of this stuff is optional, if you hold off doing the Lady Butterfly Hirata Memory, until AFTER you have learned Owl is a traitor, will it impact Wolf's dialogue with him laying on the ground? Would he just walk up to him and stab him instead? I mean they establish that you retain your current memories of present day in the flashback, based on things Wolf says when he's in the memory. So in theory that would actually impact things right? I just...bleh....I'm looking forward to finishing this playthrough so I can tell the wife "Ok if you want to see any other endings, you fucking play this game. I'm done."

Or watch a let's play perhaps.

Idk. I'd chalk it up to a lack of narrative writing chops on the first spoiler, and the second might be the fascination FROM (and this industry in general to a point) seems to have with giving the player multiple endings. I really don't care. Just give me a well thought out one or two, as long as it doesn't send me on an obtuse wild goose chase for nothing but the sake of padding play time. Maybe Wolf has amnesia/split personalities from being "dead" and resurrected so many times, or maybe he's really done both in different lives/dimensions/whatever.

Either way I'm ready to get back to Infamous: Second Son soon.

 

[happyninja42]

Or watch a let's play perhaps.

that might be what we do with one of the other endings. I sure as hell won't be playing it again.

Idk. I'd chalk it up to a lack of narrative writing chops on the first spoiler,

Yes, very much that yes I just find it a fascinating, but also frustrating trend, in the japanese media. It's been going on for decades, and it just baffles me.

and the second might be the fascination FROM (and this industry in general to a point) seems to have with giving the player multiple endings. I really don't care.

I'm fine with multiple endings, and if it was a case where, depending on your choices, you got a different Hirata Event, that would be fine. But, these are both something you can encounter in the same playthrough, and they just muddle the narrative, assuming what you are seeing is actually true. Because they are contradictory in nature.
And I guess you can say "well they're optional content, so they aren't canon" , but, then why would they be in the game? I could see that with DLC or something but, it as that guy from Futurama said "That just raises MORE questions!"

Maybe Wolf has amnesia/split personalities from being "dead" and resurrected so many times, or maybe he's really done both in different lives/dimensions/whatever.

And if the game hinted at all, in the context of the story, that such things were part of their reality, that would be fine. But it's never mentioned, never referred to as a side effect of being reborn, or anything. It's just the only thing that makes any of it make sense. But that's entirely coming from the player, not the product. So it's literally nothing more than a fan theory.

Either way I'm ready to get back to Infamous: Second Son soon.

*highfive* Yeah, good choice. I personally loved all of the inFamous games. I wish Sucker Punch would make more of them, and while I want more Cole McGrath, because I just fucking love him, I'm fine with the kind of anthology series setup they have, where the events don't exactly tie into a single storyline, since it makes no sense given how either ending to inFamous 2 plays out. I bought First Light and Second Son a while ago on sale, and I've got to figure out a new game to play once I bury Sekiro. might have to dust those off the old hard drive and play them again.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

that might be what we do with one of the other endings. I sure as hell won't be playing it again.


Yes, very much that yes l I just find it a fascinating, but also frustrating trend, in the japanese media. It's been going on for decades, and it just baffles me.

Spoiler

I'm fine with multiple endings, and if it was a case where, depending on your choices, you got a different Hirata Event, that would be fine. But, these are both something you can encounter in the same playthrough, and they just muddle the narrative, assuming what you are seeing is actually true. Because they are contradictory in nature.
And I guess you can say "well they're optional content, so they aren't canon" , but, then why would they be in the game? I could see that with DLC or something but, it as that guy from Futurama said "That just raises MORE questions!"

And if the game hinted at all, in the context of the story, that such things were part of their reality, that would be fine. But it's never mentioned, never referred to as a side effect of being reborn, or anything. It's just the only thing that makes any of it make sense. But that's entirely coming from the player, not the product. So it's literally nothing more than a fan theory.


*highfive* Yeah, good choice. I personally loved all of the inFamous games. I wish Sucker Punch would make more of them, and while I want more Cole McGrath, because I just fucking love him, I'm fine with the kind of anthology series setup they have, where the events don't exactly tie into a single storyline, since it makes no sense given how either ending to inFamous 2 plays out. I bought First Light and Second Son a while ago on sale, and I've got to figure out a new game to play once I bury Sekiro. might have to dust those off the old hard drive and play them again.

Aside from a lack of writing chops, there’s still likely a cultural barrier of sorts where things get lost in translation too which compounds the combobulation.

I also liked the original Infamous best, and recall there being a character redesign for the sequel that had everyone (justifiably) up in arms. They backtracked but it always made me wonder if the one they settled on was some kind of compromise. I think they went bigger with Infamous 2 but it didn’t feel as cohesive technically or artistically as the first game. The vampire dlc (Festival of Blood IIRC?) was one of my favorite pieces of extra content back in the PS3 days though. It was just long enough and put such a cool twist on the formula.