What are you currently playing?

[XsjadoBlaydette]

The Alters
gonna be quick. this is definitely a recommend. sci-fi narrative heavy base building, exploration, character-cloning, resource/information gathering strategic survival 3rd person type game. key part is the "cloning" is less about making the same character but instead different versions of the same character who branched off elsewhere in their life to gain different skills and memories, a tad like everything everywhere all at once. it feels more personal straight away from that cos each versions entire lives are mapped out on the 'new clone creation' menu, showing every pivotal moment in their lives that kinda feels like baselining the bonding process so when they pop out the, uh, ahem...the game calls it "the womb" (sadly not as Geiger-esque design as hoped imo) you can already put a comforting hand on their shoulder with a "I get you bro" before they even get their bearings.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Finished We Love Katamari REROLL. Of all the Katamaris I've played - so Forever, Damacy and Damacy REROLLED - this was the simplest to beat and/or Platinum. For one thing, you only need to roll up something like 70% of the collection. And half the levels don't even give you a time limit; they put you on a timer, and the King will hohum anything short of his personal record, but there's no actual fail state. I do appreciate the variety over Damacy, but no game has yet topped Forever's OST, and kinda wish they threw in that game's songs for this rerelease. I believe Forever was already a mishmash of music and levels from lesser handheld entries anyway.

We Love Katamari was Keita Takahashi's second and final entry in the series. He famously didn't want any sequels to Damacy but was forced by a "with or without you" ultimatum from the studio, which is also how Warner muscled sequels to Gremlins and Matrix out of their creators. Interestingly both those movies became self-referential about fan service and their own cult status, which is exactly the theming around We Love Katamari.

 

[Agema]

I had to stop playing Blue Prince, because although it's a near masterpiece, where it goes wrong is the colossal flaw that it does not respect the player's time, making you waste way too many hours of your life to progress.

So I am currently playing Cyber Knights: Flashpoint by Trese Brothers. This is a neat squad-based game in a cyberpunk world where you run a mercenary outfit, carry out quests for money, build your base, get better kit, manage your contacts, etc. It's got a few flaws, but I think for an indy game, it's done a very, very good job overall. I also played a few point and click adventures: Kathy Rain 1, Kathy Rain 2, and Old Skies which were all fine.

Old Skies has an interesting sort of idea: the game involves going back and foward in time. If you die, your handler simply rewinds time: this of course is an interesting ludonarrative answer to reloading or save-scumming, but it also introduces gameplay because you may need to die to solve a puzzle.

 

[BrawlMan]

I did an arcade run of Ken in Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper. I managed to 1CC the game. I got a new high score too.

 

[thebobmaster]

Finally bit the bullet, got Game Pass on PC, and started Persona 3 Reload. I'm still quite early into the game, just entering Tartarus for the first time. Enjoying it so far. Junpei is great.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Picked up Titan Souls. Bought it 5 years ago, came out 10 years ago. Never actually played it.

It's top-down Shadow of the Colossus. You have a single hit point, a single bow and a single arrow (that you can recall by holding down a button) and that's about it for mechanics. Bosses have a single hit point too, and most of the fight itself is about figuring out how to expose it. You're typically dead in seconds until you do, and then the boss is dead in seconds.

The big complaint against this game, other than the take-it-or-leave-it brutality, is the walk of shame from your last checkpoint to the boss fight. It's not as bad as something like Dark Souls, which often consigns you to long, painful gauntlets. The thing is, in Titan Souls, there's nothing to the trek back: your mettle isn't being tested with combat or platforming or pathfinding or anything. You're simply asked to make a long, boring, uneventful walk that often ends up lasting longer than the fight itself.

I'm three bosses down and still in the starting area, where the rhythm is still relatively chill, but I can tell it's gonna get tedious as I move forward. Boss rush, more like boss slog.