What are you currently playing?

[XsjadoBlayde]

Not far in, just grabbed it at same time as Blue Cat Primal and Have a nice Death - while both appear to have some marketing or coverage ive come across, this one came out of nowhere so am obligated to seek a sense of abstract balance: called 'Laika: Aged Through Blood.' Tbf the genre description alone kinda won me over before review triangulation check: hand-drawn sidecrolling metroidvania vehicular combat in mad max style post-apocalypse, oh n they're all furries too, with snappy one-hit-one-kill hotline miama style gameplay pacing! When gun is got, shooting is automatic slo-mo when fire held down, backflip to reload, frontflip to regain 1 bullet deflect. Quite a bit of addictive fun as of speaking.




Of course now where would this be without some pleasing greenies? Here I am barging in talking aimless shit without even the good grace to bring the bare minimum of corroborating receipts? Naww fam, I'd never do that to you tasty humans (Don't scroll back up the page whatever you do!) Here they are, fresh off the pleasing greenie tree...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

All done Platting Resident Evil 4.

Back to Dredge. Gotta fish 'em all.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Made it to the final (?) boss twice now in Hades. Maybe this is a hot take, but honestly I don't think any of the weapons so far feel particularly good to use. The sword feels nice because it has an actual combo, whereas the shield and the spear have exactly one move for the basic attack. My girlfriend tells me the first feel a lot better to use, so we shall see.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

I had to check, and sure as shit, Elden Ring is basically the only game I've played in over a year. It was November 2nd, 2022 when I posted that I'd started the game. Not surprised; I know I've not played much else since I started it, just surprised it's been over a year, and I still haven't beaten it. I just cracked 120 hours, and given my playtime allowance is about an hour or two a day a couple days a week, not sure how that stacks up insofar as my gamer creds. I don't care either way, just putting it out there.

Anyway, just beat Morgott in Leyendell, a fight I've been dreading forever, but apparently the Mimic Tear IS easy mode, because working together, we got him down to about half health when I took an errant blow that threw me back, and while I was collecting myself to rejoin the fight, Mimic Tear finished him off. Now, before I give him ALL the credit, I should note we're both using the Bloodhound Fang, so played my part in the inexorable bleed build up that probably took a nice chunk out of that last half, but damned if it was emasculating to whiff my last shot since Morgott was already in his death animation from the Mimic Tear's last shot.

TL;DR? The Mimic Tear is my best friend, in real life and fantasy.

These types of games are marathons so playtime is kinda irrelevant anyways. I think I was over 150 hours on NG but I was exploring the hell out of it.

Good to hear you’re killing it with Mimic. Another good weapon for Dex builds if you’re still on one is the Butcher’s Knife, picked up from the invader Anastasia the Tarnished Eater. There’s a couple different multi-hit skills that can be put on it (Prelate’s Charge or Golden Lands) which restores health on each hit. Really fun when combined with Mimc.

Have you been to Volcano Manor yet? The main boss there also has a badass sword with a similar perk, but only in kills. Best for groups of enemies with its skill.

 

[Worgen]

Was excited for Rogue Trader, but it sounded like it was kinda buggy and there would be more characters added in a few months so decided to pass on it for now.

Instead I got Tevi, which is a bullet-hell metroidvania from the makers of Rabi-Ribi which I loved. So far, the game is fantastic, the characters are much more fun then I expected, the writing is a little awkward, but it still works since it is translated pretty well, there is almost full voice acting, but it is in Japanese, still impressive. The gameplay is just fantastic, controls are responsive, lots of combos to whack your enemies with, the bullet hell bosses are challenging but beatable. Really the only kinda bad part of the game is the sigil system, where you find these sigils around and equip them to give you better stats or alter your attacks. The idea behind them isn't bad, but the way the descriptions for them work for some of them is really complicated and kinda difficult to understand.


Also had a friend get me a game called Star Crawlers during the steam fall sale. Its pretty cool, its a space themed grid based dungeon crawler with turn based combat. The writing is also way better then expected, with each character class having their own style of talking. The character creator is also surprisingly in-depth with the options for your main characters back story. Its just much better then I expected and has a ton of depth for its world.

 

[BrawlMan]

I got GoW: Raganrok for free by trading in some games I'm not playing anymore. I'll be ready for the DLC on Tuesday.

 

[meiam]

Made it to the final (?) boss twice now in Hades. Maybe this is a hot take, but honestly I don't think any of the weapons so far feel particularly good to use. The sword feels nice because it has an actual combo, whereas the shield and the spear have exactly one move for the basic attack. My girlfriend tells me the first feel a lot better to use, so we shall see.

All the weapons have variant you'll unlock that'll feel much better.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Just finished Spider-Man 2 last night. It's a fun game. If you liked the previous 2 entries you'll like this one.

Combat is about the same, movement is about the same. These are not digs on the game, they got it right the first time and it continues to be fun. I can count the number of times I used fast travel on one hand because just swinging around the city is extremely fun and satisfying.

The game isn't really doing anything new. Side quests in the original game felt like they were from 15 years ago, and that hasn't really changed with the sequel either. It's a fun, good, safe game that does a great job making you feel like Spider-Man.

Apparently some people are very upset that Spider-man 2 didn't earn any awards at the TGAs despite being nominated 7 times. Having completed the game (and largely enjoyed it) I can completely and honestly say that it doesn't deserve any awards. The game is fun, it's well made, but it doesn't push boundaries in any way. It's a safe game that came out in the same year as some absolute juggernauts that are actually pushing game design forward.

The game doesn't have the best writing, the best gameplay, the best presentation, the best music, the best art direction, or the best anything really. All the parts come together to make a great game that is fun to play, but I can't point anything out as being the best in gaming even within its genre.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

All the weapons have variant you'll unlock that'll feel much better.

That's what I've heard as well, but it's frustrating that I've come fairly close to escaping a bunch of times and yet the weapon variants are still locked. But maybe that's just a roguelike thing. It's gotten abundantly clear that this genre is not for me. So kudos to the game for still having me playing.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Got the Dredge Platinum. I liked it fine, it's a very unique game with a simple, addictive gameplay cycle and a fun combination of creepy, weird setting and mundane work/management. It has tons of personality and manages to pull a few good scares even with a deceptively low poly, cartoonish art style. I was into it, although I think my enjoyment peaked once I was done learning how everything worked and figured the game out.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Made it to the final (?) boss twice now in Hades. Maybe this is a hot take, but honestly I don't think any of the weapons so far feel particularly good to use. The sword feels nice because it has an actual combo, whereas the shield and the spear have exactly one move for the basic attack. My girlfriend tells me the first feel a lot better to use, so we shall see.

I like the spear the best. It has a good combination of range and speed, and some of the boons can turn it into an absolute mad man - Always go for that Daedalus hammer.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I like the spear the best. It has a good combination of range and speed, and some of the boons can turn it into an absolute mad man - Always go for that Daedalus hammer.

I like Achilles' version of the spear. The ability to throw out the spear and move to it or choose to have the spear return to you opens a lot of really cool mobility options.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

I'm towards the latter part of the main story quest in Dave the Diver and while I'm still enjoying it, I'm at the point I get with many games- when does it end already?
In this case it's interesting because they keep throwing more mechanics and systems and content at me (the fact that they come with a garish popup that says "New CONTENT unlocked" is really telling). I'm invested in the story and progressing and it's now very hard to care about all this stuff like mini-games and farming.

Because, yes, folks, there's a whole farming thing in my nautical themed game. There are so many things now to invest in-game currency in and upgrade that it's all a bit much. One of the things this game got praised for was that it kept adding things as you play and that it's not overwhelming and for me that was true until this weekend where I started to feel overwhelmed.

And as I come across various boss fights I don't know if I can't beat it because it's just hard or I didn't upgrade the right thing. Kind of annoying.

It very much feels like the intention is to have you play forever after you beat the main campaign. Like they wanna be oceanic Stardew Valley or something. But I don't wanna do that. I'm gonna try to focus on beating the story now to see if I hit a wall that forces me to farm and fish for another 50 hours. Though honestly getting distracted by all the other stuff is a major part of the fun but I'm getting ready to wrap that up I think.

 

[Casual Shinji]

A few days ago I decided to take a little break from Sea of Stars to sample a bit of AAA spice just for a bit. So I figured I'd dip into the character creator for Baldur's Gate 3 just to muck around a few minutes, 30 at most... aaaand now I'm 16 hours deep into a new campaign. *sigh* Damn you Baldur's Gate 3. *shakes fist*

 

[BrawlMan]

A few days ago I decided to take a little break from Sea of Stars to sample a bit of AAA spice just for a bit. So I figured I'd dip into the character creator for Baldur's Gate 3 just to muck around a few minutes, 30 at most... aaaand now I'm 16 hours deep into a new campaign. *sigh* Damn you Baldur's Gate 3. *shakes fist*

Would you like to know and do more?

​

 

[meiam]

Also had a friend get me a game called Star Crawlers during the steam fall sale. Its pretty cool, its a space themed grid based dungeon crawler with turn based combat. The writing is also way better then expected, with each character class having their own style of talking. The character creator is also surprisingly in-depth with the options for your main characters back story. Its just much better then I expected and has a ton of depth for its world.

I tried this one awhile ago, and while I didn't dislike it, it didn't evolve enough over time for my taste and character leveling up wasn't very interesting so I ended up dropping it maybe half way trough? Dugeon crawler isn't a genre that I got into as a kid so maybe I didn't have the nostalgia to push me trough?

 

[Worgen]

I tried this one awhile ago, and while I didn't dislike it, it didn't evolve enough over time for my taste and character leveling up wasn't very interesting so I ended up dropping it maybe half way trough? Dugeon crawler isn't a genre that I got into as a kid so maybe I didn't have the nostalgia to push me trough?

I never got into dungeon crawlers when I was younger either. Really the first one I ended up really liking was Legend of Grimrock, and I loved it. Starcrawlers isn't as good mechanically as Grimrock, but I've been enjoying it. Took a bit though, my initial impression was kinda ehh, but once I got into it a bit I really liked it.

 

[BrawlMan]

Streets of Rage 4 - 1CC Mania Arcade Run as Cherry Hunter completed, and I got a new high score. Another celebration run as well.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Killed some time with PowerWash Simulator yesterday. GoW Valhalla DLC drops today so I'll be doing that when I get back home.

 

[Ag3ma]

Colony Ship - A Post-Earth Roleplaying Game

Trad cRPG set in a massive colony ship sent to colonise a distant planet. This colony ship was sent by ultra-right wing US Christians, and due to having to go at sublight speeds, it will take generations to get to the new planet. Unfortunately, the ship's authority was very authoritarian, and it resulted in a rebellion that trashed the ship leaving a set of factions squabbling over the ruins and slender resources left keeping everyone alive. Your character plays as someone trying to make their way in a distant area of the ship, and will end up on a quest to decide its fate. It's from the same team that made Age of Decadence, and it's basically exactly what you'd expect from a cRPG. So, good buy if you're into that sort of thing.

Vagrus - Sunfire and Moonshadow DLC

Head off to a desert where the empire that the game is set in is extracting oil, to the annoyance of the local tribes which spend their time trying to sabotage the operations. Very text and narrative-heavy, but good stuff. It's a slow play, although patches since the original main game release have smoothed out some of the more awkward UI and gameplay aspects.

Starfield

Got back to this to spend some time working out outposts. Outpost building in Starfield is awful. It's clumsy, overcomplicated, annoying, and worst of all pointless. Although in one specific way the pointlessness is a plus, because it means you can just skip the whole thing. Once you know what you're doing it's significantly quicker and easier, but that unfortunately does not resolve the problem that the core system is irredeemably shit. And when I say irredeemable, I mean it: my advice would be for Bethesda to rework the whole thing from scratch... if they even can. Even some of the fine details are stupid. If there's one thing you have in huge quantities in Starfield it's stuff, especially when your outposts start producing. And yet outpost containers, despite their huge size, hold an embarrassingly piddly amount. A ~4x4x2 metre container (i.e. ~32,000 litres) holds... 300kg of stuff. Are you sure about that, Bethesda? Although you can build this container with less than 10kg Fe and 10kg Al in materials, so maybe in that sense 300kg capacity is amazing, just they should just be much, much smaller.