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Dirty Hipsters

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Hrmm, I could have sworn that the Abyss Watchers was before the Cathedral of the Deep... But, it has been awhile since I last played through DS3.
You can do them in either order. There's a branching path from the road of sacrifice, and Cathedral of the Deep is a dead end.
 

NerfedFalcon

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Hrmm, I could have sworn that the Abyss Watchers was before the Cathedral of the Deep... But, it has been awhile since I last played through DS3.
It can go either way. Eventually you'll have to do both anyway, I think, so there's no real reason that I know of to do one before the other, besides that Deacons are easier and you can level up a few more times before going after the Abyss Watchers.

Speaking of which I managed to defeat the Abyss Watchers with help from a sunbro, which I paid forward to another Host of Embers before continuing on, though I haven't been further than the first room of the Catacombs yet.
 

Neuromancer

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I've been playing through Pathologic 2, currently Day 3.

I'm loving this game so far. The atmosphere is oppressive and depressing, the characters are interesting, and the game is filled with... weirdness. In a good way. I'm playing it on the intended difficulty, and though there's definite challenge in getting supplies, I don't feel the game deserves the difficulty controversy it garnered. The difficulty of things rise up as the days pass and the situation grows worse, and it greatly helps immerse me into the game. I do feel that if it were easier the experience would be lessened.
 

Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
You can do them in either order. There's a branching path from the road of sacrifice, and Cathedral of the Deep is a dead end.
It can go either way. Eventually you'll have to do both anyway, I think, so there's no real reason that I know of to do one before the other, besides that Deacons are easier and you can level up a few more times before going after the Abyss Watchers.

Speaking of which I managed to defeat the Abyss Watchers with help from a sunbro, which I paid forward to another Host of Embers before continuing on, though I haven't been further than the first room of the Catacombs yet.
Oh yeah, it does have a path to it in the area before the Abyss watchers. I recall the catacombs being annoying, you will encounter some rather dangerous normal mobs there.
 

gorfias

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Playing Mario RPG for maybe the fourth or fifth time. Something that's always bothered me. In Princess Toadstool's room in the castle you can search behind the chair and then you are told you have "Found Toadstool's ???"

Toadstool's ??? ? What is it?!
Is that the SNES game? Are there later versions? I have that one on a classic console I've played some.
My backlog of shame is staggering. And now PS4 PS+ just dropped more games yesterday. With all I have that I've barely scratched the surface upon, one game I did finish and adore was COD Modern Warfare 2 on the PS3. Just dropped the remaster and I can't wait to play it.
ITMT: For some reason... on PC I've started Fallout Vegas again. I tried cheating in the past and blew up the game before I could really get into it. Trying again without mods/trainers. Dang it.
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
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Finished Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. Or got as close to finishing it as I'm gonna. I made it down to Mexico, was pretty much done with clearing out the Selpheco graveyard and the my PS3 decided to go on strike and I can't get it to boot back up again(I did manage to get the disc out when i managed to get it to the "you had an error" screen). I ended up watching the rest of the cutscenes on youtube and I'm fine with that, because I was getting a bit tired of the gameplay. When each encounter is more or less just more and more zombies tossed at you and only headshots count for anything(the blunderbuss is a nice alternative though), yeah, it all feels a bit samey.

With that done, and my PS3 OOC for a little bit, I decide to go ahead and fire up RDR2 and got to chapter 2. So far I'm digging it. I love the first chapter giving a very clear sense of the gang being cut off, on the run, low on supplies and well, pretty much down and out, while acting as a justified tutorial. It's kind of surreal seeing all these characters I recently faced as enemies(Javier, Bill and Dutch) as comrades and friends, and seeing John being the kind of dumb kid of the group. Not sure how I feel about Arthur. He's a different character then John to be sure and not quite as likeable(at times he's quite an asshole) but still getting a sense of his character.

Seeing Dutch as a somewhat reasonable leader is fascinating and I can see why he has a reputation he has from his former gang members, especially how he's fairly egalitarian in how he treats the rather diverse group in the camp. OTOH, I am seeing hints of insecurity already, his notable concern about people questioning his plans, and there's the fact that the whole "We need to lie low and let the heat die down" directly conflicts with his plan to rob a fucking train so soon afterwards. Robbing a train that belongs a robber baron is the very opposite of lying low. There's also the "incident" during the blackwater heist where Dutch did something out of character that keeps coming up(which I suspect is him shooting the girl in the head mentioned in RDR1).

I have noticed in Chapter 2 that the gang is supposed to be lying low, but also doing work to support the camp. The mission where you take the ladies into Valentine shows they're all trying to either gather intel or scam people, which I can kind of see, but also seems like it might run counter to the whole "don't attract unwanted attention" idea. Dutch was rather unclear exactly what work he wanted to keep the camp supplied so maybe it's ok?

The new control scheme is kind of hard to get used to and I've accidently pulled a gun several times I didn't want to, making me restart one mission in particular a number of times. It wasn't a hard mission but it was annoying. The level of detail is kind of amazing and possibly pedantic(fixing the wagon wheel at the beginning of chapter 2) but so far I'm really impressed by the immersiveness of it. The camp is also quite nice as a home base, just getting to take a load off and walk around to chat with people. I have no idea how much it really matters to contribute to and upgrade it(a lot of them seem to need "PERFECT" skins, which are apparently a massive pain to get. Anyway, I'll be playing this for a while so I'll have plenty of time to find out.
 
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hanselthecaretaker

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Dark Souls 3: I made it through the Cathedral of the Deep, and have moved on to the Farron side of the Road of Sacrifices, as far as the Abyss Watchers' boss room. The Abyss Watchers are also the first boss that has actually managed to kill me. I've died to groups of regular enemies and to falling off of things, but the bosses are finally stepping up as well.
They are the first of five Lords of Cinder so yeah, they don’t mess around. The mage and the giant a bit further up ahead will be even more fun! I will say the latter is literally sitting on a trick that’ll whittle a mountain of attrition down to a molehill though.
 

hanselthecaretaker

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Finished Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. Or got as close to finishing it as I'm gonna. I made it down to Mexico, was pretty much done with clearing out the Selpheco graveyard and the my PS3 decided to go on strike and I can't get it to boot back up again(I did manage to get the disc out when i managed to get it to the "you had an error" screen). I ended up watching the rest of the cutscenes on youtube and I'm fine with that, because I was getting a bit tired of the gameplay. When each encounter is more or less just more and more zombies tossed at you and only headshots count for anything(the blunderbuss is a nice alternative though), yeah, it all feels a bit samey.

With that done, and my PS3 OOC for a little bit, I decide to go ahead and fire up RDR2 and got to chapter 2. So far I'm digging it. I love the first chapter giving a very clear sense of the gang being cut off, on the run, low on supplies and well, pretty much down and out, while acting as a justified tutorial. It's kind of surreal seeing all these characters I recently faced as enemies(Javier, Bill and Dutch) as comrades and friends, and seeing John being the kind of dumb kid of the group. Not sure how I feel about Arthur. He's a different character then John to be sure and not quite as likeable(at times he's quite an asshole) but still getting a sense of his character.

Seeing Dutch as a somewhat reasonable leader is fascinating and I can see why he has a reputation he has from his former gang members, especially how he's fairly egalitarian in how he treats the rather diverse group in the camp. OTOH, I am seeing hints of insecurity already, his notable concern about people questioning his plans, and there's the fact that the whole "We need to lie low and let the heat die down" directly conflicts with his plan to rob a fucking train so soon afterwards. Robbing a train that belongs a robber baron is the very opposite of lying low. There's also the "incident" during the blackwater heist where Dutch did something out of character that keeps coming up(which I suspect is him shooting the girl in the head mentioned in RDR1).

I have noticed in Chapter 2 that the gang is supposed to be lying low, but also doing work to support the camp. The mission where you take the ladies into Valentine shows they're all trying to either gather intel or scam people, which I can kind of see, but also seems like it might run counter to the whole "don't attract unwanted attention" idea. Dutch was rather unclear exactly what work he wanted to keep the camp supplied so maybe it's ok?

The new control scheme is kind of hard to get used to and I've accidently pulled a gun several times I didn't want to, making me restart one mission in particular a number of times. It wasn't a hard mission but it was annoying. The level of detail is kind of amazing and possibly pedantic(fixing the wagon wheel at the beginning of chapter 2) but so far I'm really impressed by the immersiveness of it. The camp is also quite nice as a home base, just getting to take a load off and walk around to chat with people. I have no idea how much it really matters to contribute to and upgrade it(a lot of them seem to need "PERFECT" skins, which are apparently a massive pain to get. Anyway, I'll be playing this for a while so I'll have plenty of time to find out.
Surprised you went right into another long game. Or was it just FROM games that you take a long break from (no pun)? Anyways, I need a refresher on the original game, because it would probably shed new light after playing the prequel. There’s also this video that fleshes out stuff involving Blackwater, but is spoiler territory.

As a quality of life saver on the controls, this might be helpful. I’ve also been using the lock on function for MP lately as well as my post game cleanup, and it does make things much easier. Just have to avoid abusing it when other moving targets are nearby as it can and will shift focus unexpectedly.

The camp upgrades aren’t essential but can help quality of life. The ones you get from Pearson are a distant second as I barely did any of them and was ok. In hindsight I’d prioritize the camp over buying much gear for yourself as that can often just be found as loot. Also, study animals as it’ll explain the most effective way to hunt them. Go for gators in Lemoyne as soon as you get a good rifle or access to better ammo, because they’re the best bang for the buck in terms of keeping your cores in good shape. Cook with thyme, oregano and mint whenever possible to fortify. Thankfully the busywork like crafting, cooking, camp upkeep, etc. is still minimal in the grand scheme of things. I doubt I spent an hour total per chapter doing any of it, and these are long chapters.

For a pretty good basic rundown of guidelines to follow -


The first one is the most critical. It’s a slow burn like MGSV, but without the letdowns.
 
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SilentPony

Previously known as an alleged "Feather-Rustler"
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Ive been trying my hand at Subnautica and I love the atmosphere and exploring and for some reason Ghost Leviathans really creep me out, but man the grind. THE GRIND. Its worse than an MMORPG and its really slowing the game down and making time spent not fun anymore.
 

BrawlMan

Lover of beat'em ups.
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I played the Game Gear version of Streets of Rage 2 for the first time. Not a bad port. The visuals and sounds are great, that's how it was for most GG games developed by Sega. Certain sounds effects are reused from the GG Shinobi series. The hit detection can be a wonky at times, but you can get used to it. You're basicially playing a shorter version of 2 with 6 stages, instead of 8. Also, like the port of the first game, there is a character missing. No Max; making Axel the Mighty Glacier of the group in this version. At least you get Skate. There are some minor elements from this game that made it in to SOR4. Picking up start power ups giving you super moves started in this game! The difference being you have to hold the puch button and it acts a clear screen move. Stars can stack, but if you die, it resets to 1. Unlike the 4th the game. For some weird reason minor enemies do not get health meters, but certain elite mooks, mini bosses, and bosses get visible one.

Predator is a boss in this game. I am not making that up.

 

Ezekiel

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Gonna see if I can get Dishonored 2 refunded. Just don't like the way it plays.

Next up, either Valiant Hearts or Life Is Strange: Before the Storm.
 

wings012

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I've been getting into some Halo MCC MP games. But I'm terrible and tend to get my ass floored a lot. Though I did notice my performance improving a little the more I play so practice makes perfect I guess? I tend to stick to Big Team Battles, since I feel the chaos helps me blend in and there's less pressure on my individual performance affecting the team on a whole. Whereas I can be absolutely dragging the team down in 4v4. I do wish they'd hurry up with a custom game browser so I can just play goofy weird shit. I think my favourite way to play is still deathmatches with silly rules or random goofy forge shit with just my own circle of friends.
 

Drathnoxis

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Is that the SNES game? Are there later versions? I have that one on a classic console I've played some.
Yup. I don't think it's ever been re-released except on virutal console, unless you count Paper Mario as a later version since it's basically a soft reboot.
 
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Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
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Surprised you went right into another long game. Or was it just FROM games that you take a long break from (no pun)? Anyways, I need a refresher on the original game, because it would probably shed new light after playing the prequel. There’s also this video that fleshes out stuff involving Blackwater, but is spoiler territory.
In general, I'm not really into playing Open World Games back to back, but I did really enjoy RDR(the zombie expansion less so, aside from the humor). FROM games I always need a long break from, due to how stressful they are and how long they feel. I like them(a lot) but I need something a little more chill after a FROM game.

As a quality of life saver on the controls, this might be helpful. I’ve also been using the lock on function for MP lately as well as my post game cleanup, and it does make things much easier. Just have to avoid abusing it when other moving targets are nearby as it can and will shift focus unexpectedly.

The camp upgrades aren’t essential but can help quality of life. The ones you get from Pearson are a distant second as I barely did any of them and was ok. In hindsight I’d prioritize the camp over buying much gear for yourself as that can often just be found as loot. Also, study animals as it’ll explain the most effective way to hunt them. Go for gators in Lemoyne as soon as you get a good rifle or access to better ammo, because they’re the best bang for the buck in terms of keeping your cores in good shape. Cook with thyme, oregano and mint whenever possible to fortify. Thankfully the busywork like crafting, cooking, camp upkeep, etc. is still minimal in the grand scheme of things. I doubt I spent an hour total per chapter doing any of it, and these are long chapters.

For a pretty good basic rundown of guidelines to follow -


The first one is the most critical. It’s a slow burn like MGSV, but without the letdowns.
Appreciate the references. I try out the control changes when I play it again.

Yeah, I got the feeling from chapter 1 that the game is a bit slower and intended to be that way. The way the game avoids cutting journeys in general, Arthurs walk(though the Snow made it difficult to tell if he was sprinting or not), just the general "take your time" feel to the whole thing.

Also, I appreciated this.

Uncle: You are a sad man, Arthur Morgan. But I know you love me.
Arthur: Desperately. You're my favorite parasite. [Beat] No, wait, ringworm's my favorite parasite, you're my second-favorite parasite.
Uncle: Very funny.
Arthur: I lied. Ringworm, then, rats with the plague, then you.
 

Dalisclock

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Gonna see if I can get Dishonored 2 refunded. Just don't like the way it plays.

Next up, either Valiant Hearts or Life Is Strange: Before the Storm.
I've only played Valiant Hearts(I played the first LiS but not the semi-sequel/prequel BtS) but I really, really liked it. I'm kinda shocked it was a Ubisoft game of all things, considering has a soul and not just a checklist of stuff to collect on a map.

It's also one of the few games to make me tear up. Not even joking and I don't cry easy.
 

Ezekiel

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I've only played Valiant Hearts(I played the first LiS but not the semi-sequel/prequel BtS) but I really, really liked it. I'm kinda shocked it was a Ubisoft game of all things, considering has a soul and not just a checklist of stuff to collect on a map.

It's also one of the few games to make me tear up. Not even joking and I don't cry easy.
Well, looks like it's gonna be a while before I play it, because I took too long to beat Evil Wtihin 2 and now can't refund Dishonored 2, all part of my Steam summer sale haul. Will have to give it another chance now. Looking forward to Valiant Hearts, though. I know it's very highly regarded.
 
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gorfias

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Got this walking simulator for only $1.19 at Steam. Xbox 360 on PC control do not really work. Keyboard does. Not well optimized so, with an 8 Gig RX 480, I'm not playing on Ultra yet still getting about 40 FPS but, so far, kinda neat for only a buck.

 

NerfedFalcon

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irithyll.png

Did I mention Dark Souls 3 looks amazing?

As I understand it, the boss of Irithyll marks about the halfway point of the main story. Better stop gawking at the scenery and get looking for him, then.
 

Dirty Hipsters

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View attachment 465

Did I mention Dark Souls 3 looks amazing?

As I understand it, the boss of Irithyll marks about the halfway point of the main story. Better stop gawking at the scenery and get looking for him, then.
What a great looking area.

Wait...what's that in the distance? Is that...is that something to get excited about?
 
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Chimpzy

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Yakuza 0

Actually, I'll be playing it first time tonight. Been hearing good things about this series for a while now and it was only €4.70 on Fanatical (isthereanydeals.com is an amazing resource for any conscientious buyer). Apparently Yakuza 0 is a good starting point, so ready to take the plunge.
 
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