What are you currently playing?

[Xprimentyl]

Did you get to try Somerville by some ppl from same dev studio? Kinda reminds more of that on the overall premise side of things. Or like they mashed both the games together with a double dose of pleasing graphics. Am overly fond of the genre, whatever it's called. Seen some use the term "cinematic platformer" for genre, seems fine enough. Might benefit from less syllables if they hoping to popularise it with the masses though.

Yes, I played Somerville. Had some issues towards then end with the game freezing up during some of the scenes with more demanding visual effects (likely because I'm still playing on an Xbox One, something I plan on remedying very soon,) but I powered through. Really enjoyed it despite feeling it was overly obtuse at times.

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

Yes, I played Somerville. Had some issues towards then end with the game freezing up during some of the scenes with more demanding visual effects (likely because I'm still playing on an Xbox One, something I plan on remedying very soon,) but I powered through. Really enjoyed it despite feeling it was overly obtuse at times.

Well tbh am long yet to progress as far as you in game, have perused the early part I think some Glastonbury fields with robo doggo faffing about before deciding to put aside and wait/hope for later patches due to occasional creaky jank and distractions - they released it like a year or more later on the ps5 after a timed exclusivity contract expired, so maybe waiting was a tad too hopeful on my part lol. Though enough time's passed that perhaps a welfare looksie to finish the narrative is soon due either way

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Got up to the first part of Doom Eternal that plays that one song, and it made me play better. I'm not even joking. I was actually playing better the entire time that song was on. Then it stopped and I kinda sucked again, until I started that level's Slayer Gate and it kicked back in.

Holy shit, this game just never stops.

 

[FakeSympathy]

I was planning to post the following in this thread, but accidentally posted in the hot takes thread. Silly me!

Okay, so No Rest For The Wicked Early-Access

Given how this was made by Moon Studio, the guys behind Ori games, I had a lots of expectations, and you know what? It's pretty damn good.

First, it's the artstyle. It feels like water paintings coming to like. The game looks so beautiful and unique. You'll be instantly drawn to it.

The gameplay is where it might draw the line for you; First off, it's a soulslike-combat. So the usual stamina-based, dodge, parry, block, and attack. But here, the stamina bar is limited, so you really gotta get your rhytm right and when to back out. If you can do that, you'll have a great time. Focus meters get charged with successful hits, and you can pull off special skills with different weapons.

It sounds good on the paper, however if you want to build a mage, the spells are tied to the focus meter. This means you have to smack them with your staff for low damage until you fill up the focus, all to use a single fireball. And fireball is the main damage attack in the early game.

Thank god, the enemies doesn't seem to spawn back everytime you die.

The exploration is pretty cool, and the game doesn't tell you what corner can or can't be explored. This is a bit of double-edged sword, because while it's nice to have a game that doesn't draw your attention with brightly marked paths, it also means you might die from many pitfalls in the game.

The game is still in EA, so I am experiencing many glitches, weird balancing, and missing content. I think Moon Studio really have something great here, they just need to polish it more.

 

[FakeSympathy]

And immediately after I was done with NRFTW, I moved on to Eiyuden Chornicles: Hundred Heroes. I originally backed this project on Kickstarter in 2020. And I haven't backed a project for a very long time before this. As a bonus, I got to play a few days early before the release date.

Safe to say, my investment paid off, because this game KICKS ASS! I haven't had this much fun with a crowd-funded game since Chained Echoes. The blend of 3d environment and the 2d sprites of the characters are superb, making the game look really beautiful.

The gameplay at first seems like your typical JRPG with turn-based combat, but there are few things that makes the game refreshing; First, the movements are dynamic. You'l see the turn order at top of your screen, and depending on what actions you've chosen, party members will sometimes rush in together to attack. Secondly, sometimes attacks will be combined, giving a really flashy combo. Turn order matters, so you can't simply be attacking or chose to heal believing you can survive the next attack.

The soundtrack is so friggin good! TBH all JRPGs seems to have great soundtracks, but I think it doesn't get enough credit for how much it can make the game feel engaging.

As the name suggests, there are many party members you can recruit, many of them playing different roles; That hero combo that I mentioned? Yeah it seems nearly everyone is compatible of pulling it off with different party members, so you can experiment with what you think works best for you.

Boss fights actually require some strategic thinking. If you simply attack or heal, your party will get annihilated.

I'm only few hours in, but apparently there are tons of things I haven't discovered yet.

If you loved Suikoden I and II (same guy, Yoshitaka Murayama) or just love JRPG in general, I highly recommend this game. IMHO, I think it's better than the Octopath Traveler or Braverly Default games

 

[BrawlMan]

And immediately after I was done with NRFTW, I moved on to Eiyuden Chornicles: Hundred Heroes. I originally backed this project on Kickstarter in 2020.

I know this game. I posted a trailer about it back in 2022. I'm surprised it's out now. I don't do RPGs much either, but this might get me invested in playing that one.

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

Woah, didn't get the memo about PSN points, nor that they can be used to purchase like actual full games and DLCs through the app too!


Dredge was the last one I couldn't fit in screen yonder right. And Rise of Ronin being full-priced recent game could've bought with current amount of saved points if I didn't have it already lol. Picked up Balotro instead. This was what I naively thought the points on the original Xbox console were able to do years ago when was too poor to own one, and yes I did feel rather silly and stupid to eventually learn otherwise. But now it happun for real wtf.

 

[gorfias]

After I wrote of enjoying Until Dawn someone in this forum said I had to try The Quarry. So, got it in a Humblebundle. Playing on an OLED monitor I can do 4K but I gotta say, I don't see a difference at 1080p. The OLED makes for beautiful inky blacks and great contrasts so, to take it easy on my poor 6750xt I'm playing at 1080p. It may be the most photo realistic looking game I've ever played. QTE game, so far operates a little differently than Until Dawn or Man of Medan but I'm getting it. Very engaging opening. Great horror story vibe.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

After I wrote of enjoying Until Dawn someone in this forum said I had to try The Quarry. So, got it in a Humblebundle. Playing on an OLED monitor I can do 4K but I gotta say, I don't see a difference at 1080p. The OLED makes for beautiful inky blacks and great contrasts so, to take it easy on my poor 6750xt I'm playing at 1080p. It may be the most photo realistic looking game I've ever played. QTE game, so far operates a little differently than Until Dawn or Man of Medan but I'm getting it. Very engaging opening. Great horror story vibe.

Will be waiting for your thoughts after a few more chapters.

 

[Dreiko]

And immediately after I was done with NRFTW, I moved on to Eiyuden Chornicles: Hundred Heroes. I originally backed this project on Kickstarter in 2020. And I haven't backed a project for a very long time before this. As a bonus, I got to play a few days early before the release date.

Safe to say, my investment paid off, because this game KICKS ASS! I haven't had this much fun with a crowd-funded game since Chained Echoes. The blend of 3d environment and the 2d sprites of the characters are superb, making the game look really beautiful.

The gameplay at first seems like your typical JRPG with turn-based combat, but there are few things that makes the game refreshing; First, the movements are dynamic. You'l see the turn order at top of your screen, and depending on what actions you've chosen, party members will sometimes rush in together to attack. Secondly, sometimes attacks will be combined, giving a really flashy combo. Turn order matters, so you can't simply be attacking or chose to heal believing you can survive the next attack.

The soundtrack is so friggin good! TBH all JRPGs seems to have great soundtracks, but I think it doesn't get enough credit for how much it can make the game feel engaging.

As the name suggests, there are many party members you can recruit, many of them playing different roles; That hero combo that I mentioned? Yeah it seems nearly everyone is compatible of pulling it off with different party members, so you can experiment with what you think works best for you.

Boss fights actually require some strategic thinking. If you simply attack or heal, your party will get annihilated.

I'm only few hours in, but apparently there are tons of things I haven't discovered yet.

If you loved Suikoden I and II (same guy, Yoshitaka Murayama) or just love JRPG in general, I highly recommend this game. IMHO, I think it's better than the Octopath Traveler or Braverly Default games

The hero combo is kinda like a "bond attack", when chars who are on the same wavelength personality-wise have some sort of story moment, they come up with a combo move that is the fruit of their strengthened bonds. (or Lian punches you in the back together with the enemy and sends you flying like Chie cause she's your Senpai and you gotta respect her, that's also a distinct possibility)


But yeah this game is incredible so far. It feels extremely fleshed out in every aspect. It even has a beyblade minigame. Remember beyblade? Pepridge farm remembers.

 

[CaitSeith]

I'm still playing Final Fantasy XVI. I reached the chapter charmingly titled "Things Fall Apart", which probably means everything will be fine and nothing awful will happen at all... /s

 

[BrawlMan]

The Punisher (Capcom) - Fun game, and one of Capcom's best licensed games and brawlers.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

I know I've said I was done with Dragon's Dogma 2, but I've decided to just pus through it, and even got he true ending. Took me just around 57.5 hours.

...

While the world is unique, I feel the game is purposely designed to slow you down.

...

The game stops you from playing it?
This is a sentiment I get from some games and this is a phrase I would introduce to the games discourse if I had any power because I feel it applies sometimes- all too frequently.


Tales of Kenzara: Zau

My most anticipated game of the year is so far, after finishing Act 1 (of 4), is delivering. It's just smooth gameplay and looks purty and is fun.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Finished Planet of Lana today, and as I expected, as much like INSIDE as it is, it's nowhere near as good. I won't call it bad; It's beautifully done, the music is top notch, even gets emotional at times, but outside of that, it is a very bland 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer that does very little to in the way of "game." The puzzles aren't difficult, and they vary very little nearly throughout; you'll find yourself playing sneaky-sneaky with almost the same enemies from start to finish with mechanics that don't change. There are a couple of "action" sequences, but between those moments, you're mostly walking right. A LOT. This game was clearly padded given how much you just walk right with nothing to do save admire the scenery.

All in all, I'm glad I got to experience it, but INSIDE set a bar that's going to be difficult to reach for this style of game, imho.

 

[Bedinsis]

Still playing Higurashi: when they cry. So far it feels rather slice of life, with a plot that doesn't really seem to be going in any direction, but Worgen's earlier post makes me worry that all of a sudden a serial killer or something will pop up.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Woah, didn't get the memo about PSN points, nor that they can be used to purchase like actual full games and DLCs through the app too!
View attachment 11047

Dredge was the last one I couldn't fit in screen yonder right. And Rise of Ronin being full-priced recent game could've bought with current amount of saved points if I didn't have it already lol. Picked up Balotro instead. This was what I naively thought the points on the original Xbox console were able to do years ago when was too poor to own one, and yes I did feel rather silly and stupid to eventually learn otherwise. But now it happun for real wtf.

You're generally better off exchanging points for store credit ($5 every 1,250 points).
If you exchange your points for store credit, then use that credit to buy a game, you get points back for your purchase ($1 = 10 points).
If you exchange your points for games, you don't get any points back.
Example: Rise of the Ronin is 17,500 points (equal to $70, same as the regular asking price). You're better off exchanging that many points for credit, then buying the game with that credit (which would immediately score you 700 points back), than simply exchanging 17,500 points for the game (and you don't get any points for it).

 

[Drathnoxis]

Still playing Higurashi: when they cry. So far it feels rather slice of life, with a plot that doesn't really seem to be going in any direction, but Worgen's earlier post makes me worry that all of a sudden a serial killer or something will pop up.

In Higurashi? No way! It's just a lighthearted comedy romp, isn't it?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Playing Alwa's Awakening and getting Nintendo Hard (TM) flashbacks. It's punishing but fair. You're slow as fuck and die in 3 hits (while getting instakilled by most environmental stuff). As a compromise you don't lose anything when you die (map progress, item pickups, shortcuts, etc.) which is a massive leg up. Actually a lot of the time it's better to simply suicide the character so you can conveniently respawn instead of making the trek back. I never think losing on purpose is good design but whatever.

So right off the bat you're slooooow, super vulnerable and have a puny jump and that's how it's going to be for the whole game apparently. The typical Metroidvania pickups like double jump and air dash are replaced with summoning spells that play into the platforming, mostly, like a block that serves as a stepping stone and bubbles you can ride up. The focus being on level design and navigating death trap rooms, there's very little margin for error (while involving a LOT of trial and error). But like I said - punishing but fair. Most of the time it boils down to being patient and playing to the character's limitations.

The rooms are generally pretty clever and the powerups play well with each other. There's some awkwardness around other mechanics though. You're told your power level goes up with every set amount of orbs you collect, but there's no way of attesting to this since 1) most enemies already die in one hit and 2) whenever you meet a new enemy, and they also die in one hit, you can't be sure you're not getting ahead of the difficulty curve. There's a much hyped treasure that ostensibly doubles your melee damage once you finally get it and again, how would I know? And there's a flask that, when filled with water, will automatically refill your health when you lose every heart. This is neat but if you do get killed afterwards the flask does not refill when you respawn, and since wells are rare and never found near bosses or inside dungeons, that means you'll be playing with three hearts max for most of the game, including the toughest parts.

 

[BrawlMan]

Final Fight 3 again. I decided to do expert mode with the fast, but weakest character: Lucia. As much as I like her I Street Fighter V, I am never playing her on that hardest difficulty ever again. It wasn't that bad, but I did have to use one continue and I would have to do so again with the final boss had I not got lucky. Her super move can be a pain in the ass to pull off too. I beat the game on expert and I got the true ending. So that is completed. Also try playing the mode where the second player is an ai. The AI ain't bad, but it still has plenty of dumb moments and it usually won't make it or barely make it halfway through on the highest difficulty setting.

 

[Silvanus]

Completed FF2 the other day for the first time, in my quest to do all mainline FFs. Now only 11 and 16 to go. It was alright; an obtuse and poorly explained levelling system, but otherwise standard FF fare.

Also played through a loop of Absolver, from Sloclap, the Sifu devs. Pretty fun... and pretty short. It expects you to just start over and play through the same little areas endlessly after beating the last boss. No thanks.

And the latest chapter of GW2: Secrets of the Obscure. A little bit meh. The new areas are relying way too much on recycled assets and models. A little of that is fine, as it is in any MMO, but I'm struggling to identify more than a couple new assets in SotO, which was supposed to be a full expansion. They even try to justify it in-universe, saying that the demonic culture just stole architecture and art from Tyria. Pretty weak.

Other than that, just some casual multiplayers like Helldivers 2 and Alienation with the flatmate.