What are you currently playing?

Bob_McMillan

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Actually there is no lag with the parry system, but its got weird timing compared how parrying works in pretty much every other game, you have a much wider window for parry then you usually do. You want to parry earlier then you think since it lasts longer then you expect.
Are you referring to the parry when the blue symbol shows up, or the parry for just normal attacks? I don't really have a problem with the former, but do with the latter.
 

Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Are you referring to the parry when the blue symbol shows up, or the parry for just normal attacks? I don't really have a problem with the former, but do with the latter.
Both, you want to parry a bit early since the parry window seems to last like 5 to 10 seconds, depending on balance or fencing as the weapon class.
 

Bob_McMillan

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Both, you want to parry a bit early since the parry window seems to last like 5 to 10 seconds, depending on balance or fencing as the weapon class.
Ah. That makes sense. I tended to spam the parry with the smaller mobs, and was confused when it didn't seem to be working.
 

Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Ah. That makes sense. I tended to spam the parry with the smaller mobs, and was confused when it didn't seem to be working.
Yeah, I only barely understood parry though the campaign, I didn't get a better handle on it till I started doing operations more and more.
 
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Xprimentyl

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Thought about going back into Silt while it's still fresh in my mind for the collectibles achievement, but given I'd actually already collected them all (there's only 4,) but didn't realize you had to collect each again if you died before reaching the next checkpoint (which I did for each,) so the game shows I've got ZERO, and I'd effectively have to play the whole game again to "truly get them." No thanks.

Then I thought about cleaning up Little Nightmares 1 and 2''s achievements which generously shows you in the chapter select which collectibles you're missing in each chapter, but also resets your progress every time you select a new chapter, and I'd effectively have to play those again, too. No thanks.

That said, all three games have an ultimate achievement for completing them without dying, and there's no way in hell I'd do that even if I thought I could, so, no thanks to 100%-ing any of them.

So I re-downloaded Goat Simulator. For got how much absolutely dumb and insipid fun that "game" is.

(I'm avoiding the Elden Ring DLC, if I'm being honest. I love it, but my asshole needs a rest; I've played almost nothing but Elden Ring for YEARS now.)
 
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Johnny Novgorod

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I'm playing The Last of Us 2 because my partner wants to be ahead of the curve for season 2 next year. We knew about the thing - everybody knows about the thing, right? - and the thing already happened; even with the shock already dulled for four years it still manages to be as ugly and depressing as the game wants it to be.

Take that aside, I don't remember the first game being *this* meandering. It's the worst part of Uncharted, lots of "C'mere I want to show you something" as you plod behind an NPC cracking smarmy observations and talking about their weekend.

It's The Walking Dead level of banality, where I find it very hard to believe people living in the zombie post-apocalypse - let alone raised in it - would have the time or the inclination to entertain these levels of interpersonal melodrama.

I do like the gameplay, when they let you at it. The melee is weighty and the action flows beautifully. It also seems easier? I don't remember being able to dodge zombies in the first game, or having unlimited backstabbing powers (you crafted shivs that would break on use, right? And there was always that tension of saving them to pry open doors?).

I did spot some bullshit early on by opening photo mode while killing the last clicker in an encounter. Rotating the camera in photo mode I spotted a clearly freshly spawned zombie, which turns out exists to teach you about being careful and mindful of your surroundings. Well thanks, I was already doing that. But feel free to spawn enemies out of thin air and teach me about the rules while breaking them.
 
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Ezekiel

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I was shocked that there wasn't more to the main quest. That the four divine beasts and Hyrule Castle was it. My memories must have been mixed with the things you do between "dungeons" in Tears of the Kingdom (whose campaign was ALSO poor). Again, you can't build good dungeons around the acquisition of new items and have that kind of adventurous progression if the world is so massive that tracking back to locked-off areas and secrets with the new items is too tedious. Fans who say "I liked it but want better dungeons" miss the point.

Eiji Aonuma speaking at the Game Awards 2023:

"It's interesting when I hear people say [they prefer the old entries] because I am wondering, 'Why do you want to go back to a type of game where you're more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play?' But I do understand that desire that we have for nostalgia, and so I can also understand it from that aspect."

https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-...iew-nintendo-eiji-aonuma-hidemaro-fujibayashi

Aonuma doesn't get it either. Assumes it's only nostalgia, doesn't even try to think about WHY fans want the more linear experience.

Didn't write this response to Aonuma's quote, but thought it was a good post.

"That’s quite a clueless statement. It reeks of the same philosophy of the advent of 3D gaming and why anyone would prefer 2D when they can have 3D.

"Player agency has never been Zelda’s core appeal, a grand sense of adventure has. If they want to turn the franchise into a physics-based sandbox toy at the expense of marginalizing that sense of adventure, then attribute players’ desires for it to return to basic nostalgia (an incredibly reductionist viewpoint, IMO), then it’s obvious the game is in the hands of a current designer who holds no sense (or care) of the original spirit it was conceived in. I believe many fans of the franchise would be willing to sacrifice the freedom these sandboxes afford for that magical and wondrous feeling of progression through a more linear and structured framework, even if quite a bit more restrictive.

"Not everyone wants to play with a toy, they want to experience a journey. Unfortunately, that’s not the philosophy that Nintendo builds their games upon anymore."
 

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Johnny Novgorod

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Things I did while playing The Last of Us 2 today:
  • Looked at some pictures.
  • Fondled a jacket.
  • Watched a cutscene.
  • Rode a horse through a forest.
  • Rode a horse across a river.
  • Rode a horse down a highway.
  • Climbed up a wall.
  • Pretended I could fall any minute.
  • Dropped down, started a generator.
  • Unplugged the cord, threw it over a fence, plugged it somewhere else.
  • Opened a gate.
  • Rode down a forest some more.
  • Arrived at Seattle.
  • Checked out a tank. Made fun of the dead occupants.
  • Checked out an ambulance. Traded in a hammer I never used for an axe I haven't used yet.
  • Rappelled down.
  • Checked out a convoy. Made fun of the dead occupants.
  • Told a joke.
  • Climbed up some stairs that went nowhere.
  • Read a letter.
  • Was told where to go, but didn't.
  • Went to a music shop.
  • Strummed a guitar with the PS4's touchpad.
  • Played an emo cover of "Take on Me" on the guitar.
That was about 2 hours of "action adventure".
 
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Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
Beat the ship in Persona 5. Whew, that was an involved level and long but not too hard boss fight. Baphomet and Oricomo (or whatever, big green snake thing with a bunch of heads, not a hydra) did great.

Persona 5 really is fantastic. Really looking forward to getting to persona 5 strikers once I finally finish this. I get the feeling there is still a decent amount more.
 
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BrawlMan

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Things I did while playing The Last of Us 2 today:
  • Looked at some pictures.
  • Fondled a jacket.
  • Watched a cutscene.
  • Rode a horse through a forest.
  • Rode a horse across a river.
  • Rode a horse down a highway.
  • Climbed up a wall.
  • Pretended I could fall any minute.
  • Dropped down, started a generator.
  • Unplugged the cord, threw it over a fence, plugged it somewhere else.
  • Opened a gate.
  • Rode down a forest some more.
  • Arrived at Seattle.
  • Checked out a tank. Made fun of the dead occupants.
  • Checked out an ambulance. Traded in a hammer I never used for an axe I haven't used yet.
  • Rappelled down.
  • Checked out a convoy. Made fun of the dead occupants.
  • Told a joke.
  • Climbed up some stairs that went nowhere.
  • Read a letter.
  • Was told where to go, but didn't.
  • Went to a music shop.
  • Strummed a guitar with the PS4's touchpad.
  • Played an emo cover of "Take on Me" on the guitar.
That was about 2 hours of "action adventure".
Don't do it, Johnny! The 14 hours of pain and misery aren't worth it! Johnny....Johnny (echo)!!!

I'll be getting UFO 50 tonight.
 
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Drathnoxis

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I was shocked that there wasn't more to the main quest. That the four divine beasts and Hyrule Castle was it. My memories must have been mixed with the things you do between "dungeons" in Tears of the Kingdom (whose campaign was ALSO poor). Again, you can't build good dungeons around the acquisition of new items and have that kind of adventurous progression if the world is so massive that tracking back to locked-off areas and secrets with the new items is too tedious. Fans who say "I liked it but want better dungeons" miss the point.

Eiji Aonuma speaking at the Game Awards 2023:

"It's interesting when I hear people say [they prefer the old entries] because I am wondering, 'Why do you want to go back to a type of game where you're more limited or more restricted in the types of things or ways you can play?' But I do understand that desire that we have for nostalgia, and so I can also understand it from that aspect."

https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-...iew-nintendo-eiji-aonuma-hidemaro-fujibayashi

Aonuma doesn't get it either. Assumes it's only nostalgia, doesn't even try to think about WHY fans want the more linear experience.

Didn't write this response to Aonuma's quote, but thought it was a good post.

"That’s quite a clueless statement. It reeks of the same philosophy of the advent of 3D gaming and why anyone would prefer 2D when they can have 3D.

"Player agency has never been Zelda’s core appeal, a grand sense of adventure has. If they want to turn the franchise into a physics-based sandbox toy at the expense of marginalizing that sense of adventure, then attribute players’ desires for it to return to basic nostalgia (an incredibly reductionist viewpoint, IMO), then it’s obvious the game is in the hands of a current designer who holds no sense (or care) of the original spirit it was conceived in. I believe many fans of the franchise would be willing to sacrifice the freedom these sandboxes afford for that magical and wondrous feeling of progression through a more linear and structured framework, even if quite a bit more restrictive.

"Not everyone wants to play with a toy, they want to experience a journey. Unfortunately, that’s not the philosophy that Nintendo builds their games upon anymore."
I'd be happier if the shrines didn't suck so bad. And yeah, the divine beasts were underwhelming, but Hyrule Castle was pretty good. Felt like a climactic end game assault.
 

BrawlMan

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I'll be getting UFO 50 tonight.
I did beat Hyper Contender . The one on one platform fighter. I chose knife girl. The last boss is just a mirror match.

Others I've played:

  • Rakshasa - A Ghost n Goblins type game. I rather just play GnG. I apperciate the idea, but the guy you control is way too slow and you only get the one life. Yes, you can ressurect, but it gets harder each time. Honestly, Haunted Castle Revisited is a better modern retro throwback GnG game than this.
  • Owl Force - A unique game where the gameplay changes based on whatever character you're playing as. It does TMNT gameboy thing where if you person gets captured, you can rescue them. Each person gets two lives, and that's it.
  • Elfazar's Hat - It's basically Pocky and Rocky. Fun run n' gun game that at least gives you lives and 3 hits before you die. I didn't finish it, but I'll get back to it some other time.
  • Rail Heist is my second favorite and is addicting as fuck! It's a puzzle stealth game where you got to rob trains, try not to alery the deputies or keep them distracted. You can kill them, but you get no bonus for it. Stunning won't hurt your no kill bonus. I think I am stuck on the last stage.
  • Kick Club is basically Snow. Bros or Bubble Bobble combined with soccer/football. It's fun, but you only get 3 lives and no continues. You die; you start all over again.
  • Star Waspir - Vertical SHMUP that is way too hard. I am not going back to this one.
  • Seaside Drive is my favorite. An arcade shooter where you keep your fire power strong by drifting. You read that right. It's a tough one, but much more fun and fair.
  • Fist Hell - It's game trying to be a cross between Double Dragon and Kunio-Kun, but like Scott Pilgrim, it does not work. Hit detection is wonky and you only get the one life. Die, and you have to start the stage all over again. Even if you made it to a new section. What's worse, is that you lose all your money when you die, so good luck upgrading anything. Whoever designed this, should've known better than to pull this bullshit off. At least 8 bit brawlers like Double Dragon II (via cheat code in Western versions), TMNT III: Manhattan Project, and even Mighty Final Fight gave you lives and continues. This game is better than none of them. Even the average or mediocre NES brawlers are more fun than this or are fairer by comparison.
 
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Things I did while playing The Last of Us 2 today:
  • Looked at some pictures.
  • Fondled a jacket.
  • Watched a cutscene.
  • Rode a horse through a forest.
  • Rode a horse across a river.
  • Rode a horse down a highway.
  • Climbed up a wall.
  • Pretended I could fall any minute.
  • Dropped down, started a generator.
  • Unplugged the cord, threw it over a fence, plugged it somewhere else.
  • Opened a gate.
  • Rode down a forest some more.
  • Arrived at Seattle.
  • Checked out a tank. Made fun of the dead occupants.
  • Checked out an ambulance. Traded in a hammer I never used for an axe I haven't used yet.
  • Rappelled down.
  • Checked out a convoy. Made fun of the dead occupants.
  • Told a joke.
  • Climbed up some stairs that went nowhere.
  • Read a letter.
  • Was told where to go, but didn't.
  • Went to a music shop.
  • Strummed a guitar with the PS4's touchpad.
  • Played an emo cover of "Take on Me" on the guitar.
That was about 2 hours of "action adventure".

For dat AAA money it’s about as soulless a game one could hope dread to get IMHO. For adventure seekers it’s also a slap in the face when, aside from the Uncharted Easter egg which was decidedly neat, the extras are shit like this -


If it wasn’t for the pretty well on point stealth-action gameplay mechanics I would’ve dropped it. The most disappointing thing to me was that while it did exactly what a sequel should do gameplay-wise (expand upon the core in meaningful ways), they decided to shit the bed with the narrative.



Don't do it, Johnny! The 14 hours of pain and misery aren't worth it!
Sadly that’s really lowballing completion time, unless the story can be skipped somehow.
 
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Bartholen

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I'm playing The Last of Us 2 because my partner wants to be ahead of the curve for season 2 next year. We knew about the thing - everybody knows about the thing, right? - and the thing already happened; even with the shock already dulled for four years it still manages to be as ugly and depressing as the game wants it to be.

Take that aside, I don't remember the first game being *this* meandering. It's the worst part of Uncharted, lots of "C'mere I want to show you something" as you plod behind an NPC cracking smarmy observations and talking about their weekend.
It's been over 4 years since I played TLoU 2 before selling it off, but I remember thinking that it felt like one of those infamous Hollywood flops in terms of its pacing. Like the game had been given carte blanche to put every single scene concept into the game to show off the production values, no matter how meandering or indulgent they were in execution. Hence the looooooong riding sections in the beginning with Dina and Ellie, the eeeeeven loooooooooooooonger sections of slowly following chatterbox NPCs in a cutscene pretending to be gameplay, and an overindulgence of detail in every place, sometimes to the detriment of the gameplay (and definitely the devs' health). Nothing cut out, nothing trimmed, which makes for a slog of an experience.
 
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Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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It's The Walking Dead level of banality, where I find it very hard to believe people living in the zombie post-apocalypse - let alone raised in it - would have the time or the inclination to entertain these levels of interpersonal melodrama.
Don't know where you are, but count the times characters will just be somewhere, or an area will just be safe, because the story demands it. That whole ludonarrative dissonance that Uncharted got criticized for... TLoU2 was like 'hold my beer'.

I do like the gameplay, when they let you at it. The melee is weighty and the action flows beautifully. It also seems easier? I don't remember being able to dodge zombies in the first game, or having unlimited backstabbing powers (you crafted shivs that would break on use, right? And there was always that tension of saving them to pry open doors?).
Clickers actually echo locate now, which is cool. Also a tip; just go prone when approaching a clicker from behind. You can just fully push the analog stick without risk of being heard that way.

As bogged down by obnoxious, miserable edgelord story as this game is it has some of the finest third-person stealth action gameplay and enemy encounters I've ever experienced in a game. It's one hell of juxtaposition, with the story being one of the worst Naughty Dog has ever told, but the (action) gameplay being their best. Also the level design... *cheff's kiss*

It sucks that a game this good and polished is held hostage by a story, characters, and themes this insultingly juvenile.
 

Bartholen

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In other games I've been speeding (ie. skipping 95% of the dialogue) my way through Mass Effect 2 Legendary on Insanity. I took the Soldier class for the massively OP combo of Adrenaline Rush + Mattock Heavy RIfle, and am running Miranda with her Warp + Overload combo, and it's mostly been a total cakewalk. The difficulty curve seems to actually trend downwards the further I go, because enemy numbers or health don't seem to increase, while I only get stronger and stronger. It's really striking how much the balance of combat vs conversation has shifted from the first game. My fairly completionist playthrough of ME1 where I skipped most of the dialogue still took about 20 hours. In ME2, where my "full" playthrough took about 25, my current playthrough is at less than 10 hours, and I'm already at the Collector base mission with all the squadmates sans Legion gathered. I guess planetary exploration and the DLCs take their time as well, but skipping the dialogue still shaves entire hours off this game.
 

BrawlMan

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As bogged down by obnoxious, miserable edgelord story as this game is it has some of the finest third-person stealth action gameplay and enemy encounters I've ever experienced in a game. It's one hell of juxtaposition, with the story being one of the worst Naughty Dog has ever told, but the (action) gameplay being their best. Also the level design... *cheff's kiss*
I rather still play Evil Within 1 & 2 or RE4R. They may have slightly less better stealth, but they have more than enough gameplay loops to make it a non issue. Especially RE4R.
 
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meiam

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In other games I've been speeding (ie. skipping 95% of the dialogue) my way through Mass Effect 2 Legendary on Insanity. I took the Soldier class for the massively OP combo of Adrenaline Rush + Mattock Heavy RIfle, and am running Miranda with her Warp + Overload combo, and it's mostly been a total cakewalk. The difficulty curve seems to actually trend downwards the further I go, because enemy numbers or health don't seem to increase, while I only get stronger and stronger. It's really striking how much the balance of combat vs conversation has shifted from the first game. My fairly completionist playthrough of ME1 where I skipped most of the dialogue still took about 20 hours. In ME2, where my "full" playthrough took about 25, my current playthrough is at less than 10 hours, and I'm already at the Collector base mission with all the squadmates sans Legion gathered. I guess planetary exploration and the DLCs take their time as well, but skipping the dialogue still shaves entire hours off this game.
The gameplay doesn't become more complex as the game progress, but the player gets more and more tool (from unlocking ability, leveling them up and recruit new crews) so difficulty trend downward no matter what.
 

NerfedFalcon

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Found an arcade machine added to my local place called Dancerush Stardom, developed by Bemani for Konami. It's kinda like Dance Dance Revolution, which I have a bit of experience with, but rather than four arrows, you step on a stage which you can put your feet just about anywhere on. Other than rhythm, you need to put your feet in line with the notes on a left-right axis, and sometimes you need to slide your feet while holding them down, fully jump off the stage or crouch quickly with the right timing. It's pretty easy to pick up compared to DDR, but unlike that game you need to know actual dance moves to clear the more difficult charts. There's tutorial tracks in the game that show you moves like T-Step or Running Man, though, so if you're willing to drop a credit to learn the technique, it'll get you a few steps up.

I'm more used to DDR, but I like DRS as well, and it's easier for me to get to than the nearest DDR cabinet I know of. Probably gonna spend more than a few credits there, unless it suddenly disappears on me.
 
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