What are you currently playing?

[hanselthecaretaker]

One of my big disapointment of bloodborne is that starter weapon are really good and can be used the entire game no problem (the axe is one of the best weapon hand down). In a way that's kinda cool, but it also make the gameplay moe repetitive than it has to be and remove most of the wonder from getting new weapon, since you know they're almost certainly inferior to what you already have.

Most of Bloodborne’s weapons are actually really viable which is much appreciated, but yeah it’d be better if they were all near the start. The Chikage can be insanely great for a Bloodtinge build but it’s a later game/NG+ example. I Platinum’d the game and did the dlc on NG+ with my trusty Saw Cleaver, and though I’ve tried all the other weapons and maxed out a few, I keep going back to it. To me it’s less about player progression with these weapons than it is about personal preference.

The one thing I think the game could’ve greatly benefited from though would’ve been allowing to respec your build, even if only once per NG+.

 

[09philj]

Final Fantasy XII. I'm not that far into it but liking it so far. I've never really clicked with any FF games except 14 because I really don't like active time combat. On paper, XII's combat sounds even worse than what they normally do, but I actually think it works quite well. Combat happens in real time and you can pause the game to bring up a menu every time you need to give a character a new action. You can also give characters a list of commands to execute automatically with specific conditions for their use. This sounds like a mess but in practice it means that you don't have to constantly manage what every character is doing, but when shit hits the fan you can instantly jump in to fix the problem. I also like the way the job system is laid out, but having to spend both skill points and money to unlock magic spells and skills is an inconvenience I could live without. Story's normal FF fare so far, but there's nothing wrong with that; I wouldn't keep playing if I wasn't interested to see where the story goes. Also nice to see Fran again after FFXIV's Return to Ivalice raids.

 

[wings012]

Halo 3 PC is finally out, so I'm finishing the fight. Except there's more Halos so not exactly.

I'm having a lot more fun than 2. Which felt really oppressive in just how frail you were.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Now that I’ve played through The Last of Us 2 on a whim (I’ll probably go for Platinum at a later date after my more pressing backlog is thinned out more; I enjoyed it overall barring how much of a monotonous slog roughly 80% or so of the general gameplay and story structure turned into), I’ll probably get back into The Witcher 3, which I’ve been picking away at for the least couple years or so. About 60 hours in now. I really enjoy it but it’s just so big. If I only had that to play it’d be easy to keep at it.

What the hell, here’s a few others off the top of my head I’d still like to get through sometime soon:

PC-
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Deus Ex: HR Director’s Cut
The Evil Within
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Hitman 2 (the original‘s sequel)
Hitman 2016
DOOM 2016
DOOM Eternal
Bayonetta
F.E.A.R.
Portal
Saints Row IV
Rise of the Tomb Raider


PS4-
Sekiro (and possibly Platinum)
MGSV Act 2 (and possibly Platinum)
Red Dead: Redemption 2 (for Platinum; got one more mp trophy that’s most urgent and ten other sp ones that I’ll tackle leisurely)
God of War (for Platinum; basically just have three Valkyries, max Blades, Orin’s ravens and treasures along with 100% map completion to go)
Infamous: Second Son
What Remains of Edith Finch
Nioh 2
The Evil Within 2

I also picked up Assassin’s Creed Director’s Cut off GOG for a few bucks as I never finished the original due to a crash, but I’m not so sure I want to get into that now. I started it but I just feel like I still have several more interesting games to play. Also picked up Black Flag Gold Edition with mostly Steam credit but will likely wait to get into that. Then there’s Shadowrun Returns which I might get back into as well.


Yeah. In a perfect world I’d have only a handful of actual new games to look forward to because all the others would’ve already been played in full.

 

[Dalisclock]

I also picked up Assassin’s Creed Director’s Cut off GOG for a few bucks as I never finished the original due to a crash, but I’m not so sure I want to get into that now. I started it but I just feel like I still have several more interesting games to play. Also picked up Black Flag Gold Edition with mostly Steam credit but will likely wait to get into that. Then there’s Shadowrun Returns which I might get back into as well.

I believe the directors cut of AC is just a cleaned up PC version of the original game, which is still a bit clunky compared to some of the later ones. Oh, and the "I'm going to explain my motives to you" bits which went on FOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR and thankfully they toned down a lot in the later games.

I played it way back in the day when it was new and never bothered to replay it, either because I'm replaying one of the later games or playing ones I haven't got to yet. Unity is the last of the mainline games I've still yet to play, mostly because of its reputation.

Update: So on hand, Red Dead Redemption seems like it's a little more mature in it's storytelling then GTA tends to be. OTOH, I'm constantly reminded it is a Rockstar game considering how....."Special" some of the characters John has to interact with are.

For example, the prior to retrying to take Bill Williamson, John has to do a bunch of missions with Irish, Seth and Nigel West Dickens and whoo boo, all 3 of those guys are trying my patience. I get that there is a point to this, getting things ready for the Assault on Fort Mercer but I kinda want to punch all of them. I at least appreciate that John is getting tired of their shenanigans as well and has threatened to put a bullet in their skulls for wasting his/my time.

At least these are the only 3 nutters so far. Everyone else is a lot more likable and/or personable.

 

[happyninja42]

Final Fantasy XII. I'm not that far into it but liking it so far. Story's normal FF fare so far, but there's nothing wrong with that; I wouldn't keep playing if I wasn't interested to see where the story goes. Also nice to see Fran again after FFXIV's Return to Ivalice raids.

I actually found FF 12 the most digestible of the franchise, as the story, up to the point I stopped playing anyway, was very...well, non JRPG-insane. It's basically New Hope. You play a nameless kid on a desert planet, there is a princess, a smuggler pilot (complete with leather vest and pistol) with furry companion (tall sexy bunny girl instead of giant puppy wookie), an Obi-Wan Kenobi mentor type, a Big Bad Guy in full plate armor. Just, LOTS of similarities. Which frankly I enjoyed, because it was WAY more understandable of a main story than 90% of the shit FF games try and pass as plot elements.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I believe the directors cut of AC is just a cleaned up PC version of the original game, which is still a bit clunky compared to some of the later ones. Oh, and the "I'm going to explain my motives to you" bits which went on FOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR and thankfully they toned down a lot in the later games.

I played it way back in the day when it was new and never bothered to replay it, either because I'm replaying one of the later games or playing ones I haven't got to yet. Unity is the last of the mainline games I've still yet to play, mostly because of its reputation.

Update: So on hand, Red Dead Redemption seems like it's a little more mature in it's storytelling then GTA tends to be. OTOH, I'm constantly reminded it is a Rockstar game considering how....."Special" some of the characters John has to interact with are.

For example, the prior to retrying to take Bill Williamson, John has to do a bunch of missions with Irish, Seth and Nigel West Dickens and whoo boo, all 3 of those guys are trying my patience. I get that there is a point to this, getting things ready for the Assault on Fort Mercer but I kinda want to punch all of them. I at least appreciate that John is getting tired of their shenanigans as well and has threatened to put a bullet in their skulls for wasting his/my time.

At least these are the only 3 nutters so far. Everyone else is a lot more likable and/or personable.

Yeah the snake oil salesman guy...wanted to off him halfway though the game. I kept talking to the screen cursing out John for being such a foolhardy idiot. It was a good attempt at shattering the notion that he was ever a badass outlaw to be feared. Maybe that was part of the point of his “redemption” and turning a leaf, having his patience tried by these...characters.

Suffice to say that element was handled quite a bit better in the sequel/prequel.

 

[Dalisclock]

Yeah the snake oil salesman guy...wanted to off him halfway though the game. I kept talking to the screen cursing out John for being such a foolhardy idiot. It was a good attempt at shattering the notion that he was ever a badass outlaw to be feared. Maybe that was part of the point of his “redemption” and turning a leaf, having his patience tried by these...characters.

Suffice to say that element was handled quite a bit better in the sequel/prequel.

Well, I mean, withing 20 minutes of starting the game, John shows what a badass he is by Standing in front of a Fort filled with bandits and announcing his intention to take down Bill before getting shot down and only surviving due to a good hearted Bonnie passing by with her wagon and bringing him back for medical treatment. And considering infection could have easily killed him despite her help, that's still really lucky on his part he survived at all.

And by "Badass" I mean "Stupid". It'd be one thing if John was using a wall for cover or something before yelling threats to arguably one of the most notorious bandits in the area, but nope.....Just stands there in the open announcing how he's gonna take Bill in. I mean, even more if he'd scoped the place out and decided to come up with a plan first, instead of getting shot in the face and then deciding that wasn't such a good idea.

Seriously, John, how did you survive in the Van Der Lin Gang as long as you did? I haven't played RDR2 but I'm guessing John went on at least one of the robberies with them.

 

[BrawlMan]

I played more Streets of Rage 4 earlier doing the weekend. Did a few boss rush co-op sessions with this one person who is now friends with me on PSN. There are so many combo exploits and juggles you can do on bosses. We got about 53,000+ points and an S Rank. I've also done all S ranks for boss rush for the 5 main characters, but not the retro characters.

I player more W101, and man can it be tough. The problem Hideki's games are that he always has to have a gimmicky section in-between sections. Some of them work out, other don't. The main problem being it is not explained enough or not all, ad gets frustrating for a first time playthrough or if you have not played in a long while. I finished the chapter where you get Wonder Eyes Pink. This a scene that happens when you are first introduced to her.


Chibi ass and body shots for the win! Also, she's 17! What the hell, Kamiya?

 

[happyninja42]

Seriously, John, how did you survive in the Van Der Lin Gang as long as you did? I haven't played RDR2 but I'm guessing John went on at least one of the robberies with them.

Yeah, can confirm. I'm only in chapter 2 (chapter 1 basically being tutorial) and John's already orchestrated one robbery himself, and participated in at least 2 others if I recall. The running gag with John, seeing as this is a prequel, is that he's dumb at times, but REAAAAAALLY lucky. So that's probably the angle they will continue, as they've already made several allusions to the first game, in things like "Yeah John, I suspect you'll outlive us all, despite all your attempts to the contrary! You lucky bastard!" hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge, knowwhatImean?! *looks at camera*

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Well, I mean, withing 20 minutes of starting the game, John shows what a badass he is by Standing in front of a Fort filled with bandits and announcing his intention to take down Bill before getting shot down and only surviving due to a good hearted Bonnie passing by with her wagon and bringing him back for medical treatment. And considering infection could have easily killed him despite her help, that's still really lucky on his part he survived at all.

And by "Badass" I mean "Stupid". It'd be one thing if John was using a wall for cover or something before yelling threats to arguably one of the most notorious bandits in the area, but nope.....Just stands there in the open announcing how he's gonna take Bill in. I mean, even more if he'd scoped the place out and decided to come up with a plan first, instead of getting shot in the face and then deciding that wasn't such a good idea.

Seriously, John, how did you survive in the Van Der Lin Gang as long as you did? I haven't played RDR2 but I'm guessing John went on at least one of the robberies with them.

Let’s just say John...had a little help from his friends. He got by with a little help from his friends. The sequel makes him look fairly competent in the first game by contrast, if not still pretty naive and yeah, stupid. In a way it shows his learning curve that leads into the original, to give an idea of his incredibly humble, bumbling beginnings.

 

[happyninja42]

Let’s just say John...had a little help from his friends. He got by with a little help from his friends. The sequel makes him look fairly competent in the first game by contrast, if not still pretty naive and yeah, stupid. In a way it shows his learning curve that leads into the original, to give an idea of his incredibly humble, bumbling beginnings.

Yeah it was funny to me, up to the point I'm currently at in RDR2, how often they talk about John, in ways that are so foreshadowing. It's kind of funny to me. I wish I could recall anything about RDR1 in detail, but I mostly just found the game to be passable, nothing that really stood out in my mind as groundbreaking. RDR2 is starting to annoy the hell out of me though. It's reached a point that I feel it's a poster child for "More Is Sometimes Too Much" All the detail they put into the game, on so many levels of the game, are doing the opposite of conveying immersion, it's actually taking me out of the game and turning it into a tedious chore.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Yeah it was funny to me, up to the point I'm currently at in RDR2, how often they talk about John, in ways that are so foreshadowing. It's kind of funny to me. I wish I could recall anything about RDR1 in detail, but I mostly just found the game to be passable, nothing that really stood out in my mind as groundbreaking. RDR2 is starting to annoy the hell out of me though. It's reached a point that I feel it's a poster child for "More Is Sometimes Too Much" All the detail they put into the game, on so many levels of the game, are doing the opposite of conveying immersion, it's actually taking me out of the game and turning it into a tedious chore.

The drank most of that up personally. I didn’t play it with the mindset of simply wanting to get through another game though. I played for pure escapism (no pun, Escapist). There’s little else in gaming let alone that genre that can touch it from that perspective.

 

[happyninja42]

The drank most of that up personally. I didn’t play it with the mindset of simply wanting to get through another game though. I played for pure escapism (no pun, Escapist). There’s little else in gaming let alone that genre that can touch it from that perspective.

Yeah but, I mean, cooking 20+ pieces of meat isn't really engaging. It's just...sitting there....watching the little reticle fill up around the X button. And then doing it again....and again....and again. Then trying to find a perfect specimen for some crafting thing, the sitting there while he skins it (though sometimes it would skip this for unknown reasons), then riding aaaaaaaaaallll the way back because I can only carry one of this type of kill/hide at a time....and then going out to do it again...and again. All while listening to Dutch opine about being a True American, because they are FREE, free to kill and rob....great freedom there. I dunno, I just, I don't feel like I've stepped into a vast world that's just open for exploration, I feel like I'm bogged down by a lot of busy work due to bloated mechanics, that only succeeds at dragging out my play time, and making it where I play for 2 hours, and don't feel like I accomplished anything, other than getting 1 hide, out of 4 I need.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Yeah but, I mean, cooking 20+ pieces of meat isn't really engaging. It's just...sitting there....watching the little reticle fill up around the X button. And then doing it again....and again....and again. Then trying to find a perfect specimen for some crafting thing, the sitting there while he skins it (though sometimes it would skip this for unknown reasons), then riding aaaaaaaaaallll the way back because I can only carry one of this type of kill/hide at a time....and then going out to do it again...and again. All while listening to Dutch opine about being a True American, because they are FREE, free to kill and rob....great freedom there. I dunno, I just, I don't feel like I've stepped into a vast world that's just open for exploration, I feel like I'm bogged down by a lot of busy work due to bloated mechanics, that only succeeds at dragging out my play time, and making it where I play for 2 hours, and don't feel like I accomplished anything, other than getting 1 hide, out of 4 I need.

You can get most of the resources needed for keep your cores in top shape from a few gators every so often, ie once or twice a chapter. All the other stuff about collecting hides and whatnot for outfits isn’t really required, but there if you so choose to bother. The satchel is one of the main things that benefits from deliberately upgrading, and can be bought from a fence with the cash from story missions.

Online is different for the pursuit roles, but in the story I probably spent around 10% tops of my free roam time involving anything to do with maintaining my character, and that’s only to build up a stock load of food and tonics.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Working through Bloodborne, slowly but surely. After grinding for Blood Echoes, I managed to get the Chief Hunter's Mark and explore the Upper Cathedral Ward. I lost about 25,000 Blood Echoes (in two separate occasions of 10K+ each) because I lost my focus due to having too much at stake, so that's something I probably need to work on. Especially if I'm going to get past the boss at the cathedral's entrance, who I think I heard somewhere is one of those brick wall bosses.

Found the entrance to Old Yharnam as well, but I haven't tried going in there yet.

 

[Kyrian007]

I had a few days off and decided to dive into a couple of games I picked up on free offers from Epic and never even installed. First was Stranger Things 3 the game. I was impressed. For a game built to look like something out of the 16 bit era it played fairly well. It followed the episodes of the series when it needed to and strayed away when it needed to be a game not a show. It lets you play as each of the characters with their own abilities, and it even metroidvanias a little when you find doors you can't open until you unlock more characters. Overall a fun little game if you like the show.

Then I started Thimbleweed Park. As a fan of the old point and click adventure game genre I'm enjoying it. Its a little Twin Peaks, a little X-Files, mixed with a whole lot of Monkey Island. One of the things I liked the most so far (didn't quite finish it,) they tell you flat out early on you can't die and there is no game over so you can try anything. And it seemed like that was the case... until it wasn't. But they warned you it wasn't before it was.

 

[Dalisclock]

Found the entrance to Old Yharnam as well, but I haven't tried going in there yet.

Oh, Old Yarnham is fun. You'll see why soon enough.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Oh, Old Yarnham is fun. You'll see why soon enough.

Or, hold off until the back door is unlocked after beating Mr Sparkles for a warmer welcome. But yeah maybe save that for NG+.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir. Hadn't played the original since the PS2. God I missed this game.