What are you currently playing?

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Dirt rally 2.0
I used to think of codemasters as the last bastion of racing publishers not willing to dive headfirst into typical nickle 'm diming practices found elsewhere in this genre. The previous game was a solid whole product with only a single pointless DLC you could earn easily in-game and ignore. This however comes with fifty fucking seven pieces of DLC and a single-player career mode that requires an internet connection just because. I'll be clicking X to confirm vehicle repair options before a race, sitting twiddling my paws wondering why it hasn't quite got the message yet, only to notice the corner of the screen bleeping "communicating with server"...wtf, seriously? You were too busy contacting your corporate overlords to confirm a shitting car repair? ...ffs! What a load of rancid toss to soil an otherwise quality series. New managements I would assume. That or newfound crack habits to fund in the boardroom. I ain't buying any of it. Game's alright outside of that though. That's it for the racing genre now I guess.

 

[Dick_The_Birthday_Boy]

FF7R has got me on a Final Fantasy high so I'm finishing up FFX

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Good luck. I've heard the Nameless King is one of the toughest battles in the series, including DLC bosses.

Speaking of which, I've heard the DLC bosses for DS3 are also pretty rough

The cool thing about DS3 is that with some exploration, you can easily have enough resources to max out a handful of weapons by end game. Right now I have Astora's SS, Lothric Knight SS, Lothric Knight GS, and Profane GS all maxed out, and still have enough for a couple more once I get into the DLC for more slabs. I'm at level 87 now sans grinding. It would've probably been easily mid-90's if I didn't lose several big stash of souls.

All in all I would say this has also been the most playable SoulsBorne game. They've iterated on the formula to where it's like combining the best parts of Souls and Bloodborne, without not feeling true to the series'. It's one of those times I kinda regret having a backlog, because I'd love to keep going on to NG+, and also start a build on PC.

 

[Trunkage]

I think I’ve cleared out Archdragon Peak, and went onto get initiated by Nameless King. This one might take a while.

I never soloed the Dancer but got Nameless King on the second go.

I am well aware this is not normal. I found the sweeps of the dancer incredibly hard to predict and then hard to get inside for an attack. I remember the nameless king thrusting more allowing for a quick hit. I also remember parry and riposte being deadly for him

 

[Gergar12]

Devil May Cry 5.

 

[EscapeGoat]

I'm currently replaying Red Dead Redemption for my personal review blog as it's been a few years and I wanted to refresh my thoughts before writing. I wasn't much a fan of it when I first played it - there was so much hype surrounding it that I expected quite a lot and I found it interminably dull and unwieldy to play. I still think it's far too impressed with itself, some of its movement animations feel heavy and awkward, and its shooting is dreadful and has to rely on the auto-aim and correction a lot to be even barely functional, but I've still softened towards it a bit. I'm having far more fun playing it than I ever did before at least; as much as I grumble I'm still finding reasons to go out and do one more side activity before continuing with the story so something is working for me.

 

[Dalisclock]

Finished Ori and the Blind Forest. I liked it but didn't love it. It's charming, it does it's job well as a metroidvania, the story works for what it is and the big "dungeons" are nicely put together(as well as the other areas). My big gripe is the escape sequences at the end of each "Dungeon" which are the defining setpieces of the game. So on one hand I appreciate how they ensure you know the platforming well enough to survive and they're beautifully crafted. On the other hand, they're very difficult in an already difficult game and a lot of the platforming needs to be nearly perfect. None of the escape sequences have checkpoints(unless you're playing on easy) so you have to do the entire thing in one go, and two of the three are timed(in one you're racing a wall of water flooding the tunnel below you and another there's flames and a giant fucking bird which take turns trying to kill you). in addition to requiring very precise platforming I'd expect in Celeste.

Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to make it through any of them the first attempt and ultimately it's not about puzzle solving or quick decision making but sheer memorization and repetition. So it tends to sap the "Oh, this is cool and cinematic" after the 10th time you've done the same opening section because again, you have to do the entire sequence start to finish and dying(which is pretty much making any mistakes) sends you right back to the start. By the end, it feels less like "Man, that was exciting" and more like "Good, that's over with".

Maybe I'm getting old but I guess game puzzles that have to be failed a dozen times and memorized to even have a hope of passing them is starting to feel like a cheap way to extend gameplay then a legit challenge.

Anyway, the next game on my list is Child of Light, which I've had on my list for a long time and am looking forward to trying out. The fact it's a ubisoft game from an era where they made something other then Big Open World games is another reason I'm interested in checking it out.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I never soloed the Dancer but got Nameless King on the second go.

I am well aware this is not normal. I found the sweeps of the dancer incredibly hard to predict and then hard to get inside for an attack. I remember the nameless king thrusting more allowing for a quick hit. I also remember parry and riposte being deadly for him

So he can be parried? Good to know. I've only tried a couple times as it was getting late. The dragon doesn't seem too difficult, but definitely favors range builds.

I'm melee, sorta quality-esque but about 25% more focused on strength. Dancer was one of the easier bosses for me, as being aggressive seemed to work to the point where she seemed disoriented and didn't really get much of a chance to flail around on me.

 

[CriticalGaming]

I never soloed the Dancer but got Nameless King on the second go.

I am well aware this is not normal. I found the sweeps of the dancer incredibly hard to predict and then hard to get inside for an attack. I remember the nameless king thrusting more allowing for a quick hit. I also remember parry and riposte being deadly for him

The trick on Dancer to to hug her right hip. If you sit slightly behind that right hip, her attacks will mostly just whiff and you can freely wail on her until she dies.

 

[Trunkage]

So he can be parried? Good to know. I've only tried a couple times as it was getting late. The dragon doesn't seem too difficult, but definitely favors range builds.

I'm melee, sorta quality-esque but about 25% more focused on strength. Dancer was one of the easier bosses for me, as being aggressive seemed to work to the point where she seemed disoriented and didn't really get much of a chance to flail around on me.

Just a note, I haven’t played since a few weeks after release. But I think his tells weren’t so clear. You could get mixed up between a sweep or a thrust. He’s fast so you don’t have much space between attacks. Fast builds make this fight way easier

I think you can get him to bow for breather if you get enough hits in. But don’t focus on this

 

[stroopwafel]

All in all I would say this has also been the most playable SoulsBorne game. They've iterated on the formula to where it's like combining the best parts of Souls and Bloodborne, without not feeling true to the series'. It's one of those times I kinda regret having a backlog, because I'd love to keep going on to NG+, and also start a build on PC.

Burn that backlog. I'm still replaying DkS3 all the time the game is so good.

Besides favorites I'm also slowly making my way through P5 Royal. This is a game I never really thought I would have liked but it has an irresistable charm and genuinely funny moments. The juvenile setting is kind of misleading as it's definitely a game steeped in mature story matter but it isn't one-note. Extremely well written and diverse. Probably also has the best turn-based combat of any JRPG ever. Already played the original but Royal is perfect for a replay. The improved graphics and quality of life improvements add up. And I haven't reached the additional content yet like the character Kasumi and the extra semester.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Burn that backlog. I'm still replaying DkS3 all the time the game is so good.

Besides favorites I'm also slowly making my way through P5 Royal. This is a game I never really thought I would have liked but it has an irresistable charm and genuinely funny moments. The juvenile setting is kind of misleading as it's definitely a game steeped in mature story matter but it isn't one-note. Extremely well written and diverse. Probably also has the best turn-based combat of any JRPG ever. Already played the original but Royal is perfect for a replay. The improved graphics and quality of life improvements add up. And I haven't reached the additional content yet like the character Kasumi and the extra semester.

But that backlog includes The Witcher 3, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, MGSV, Sekiro (actually this one could be considered part of a frontlog so kinda N/A), etc.. Well, there's more...much more of course, but those are the immediate ones I'd really like to get through as well. I have no business buying anymore games lol.

 

[stroopwafel]

But that backlog includes The Witcher 3, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, MGSV, Sekiro (actually this one could be considered part of a frontlog so kinda N/A), etc.. Well, there's more...much more of course, but those are the immediate ones I'd really like to get through as well. I have no business buying anymore games lol.

Oh yeah. TW3 and Sekiro definitely don't burn those. xD

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Had to submit to the ravenous curiosity and get The Outer Wilds. Not worlds. Not yet anyhow. I've always wanted to be a time-travelling alien detective, how has it taken this long to fulfill such dreams?? Pleasant elements of humour, proper mystery and intrigue in a rewarding discovery type way. Impressed how everything looks scrappily cobbled together yet the systems work consistently and without issue, like the very spaceships in game. No idea what I'm doing but oh well, that's alien detective work for ya.

Also got blasphemous and sunless seas, but they're looking a bit aggressive and touchy so am going to leave them alone till they call down.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Had to submit to the ravenous curiosity and get The Outer Wilds. Not worlds. Not yet anyhow. I've always wanted to be a time-travelling alien detective, how has it taken this long to fulfill such dreams?? Pleasant elements of humour, proper mystery and intrigue in a rewarding discovery type way. Impressed how everything looks scrappily cobbled together yet the systems work consistently and without issue, like the very spaceships in game. No idea what I'm doing but oh well, that's alien detective work for ya.

Also got blasphemous and sunless seas, but they're looking a bit aggressive and touchy so am going to leave them alone till they call down.

I love Outer Wilds. I found it a fantastic experience and the puzzle very satisfying to solve. I liked the writing of Sunless Seas, but the gameplay just gets waaaay too slow once you've explored the map. I really have no idea what the devs were thinking with parts of that game.


OT: I finished Farcry 3. It was a fun game with some minor annoyances. Unskippable cutscenes, getting the same phone call over and over whenever you start up the game and haven't progressed the main plot, not allowed to turn on the flashlight at will. Also, asking me to sign up for UPlay every time I turn on the game was really annoying. The story was okay, but the decision to kill all the major bosses off in weird dream quicktime events was pretty lame. I don't even get why the last one even agrees to fight us himself, it seems more in line for him to just have the guards shoot us in the head.

Also the final choice is pretty lame. Obviously choosing to kill your friends to stay with the warriors is the dumb choice, but the head lady's decision to kill you for no reason before she even knows whether or not she's pregnant is even dumber. The other ending isn't that good either, though. Doesn't really feel satisfying either way. All in all, I had fun with it, but I'm glad it was a fairly short game too.

Yesterday, in a moment of weakness, I started up a new game of FF7 and played for an hour. I don't know if I'm going to keep playing or not. It's a good game, but I know it pretty well since I've played it 3 or 4 times already, and it's very long and I have such a big backlog.

Although there's some things I still don't really understand. When Cloud gets to the first reactor and has that flash that says "Watch out! This isn't an ordinary reactor," what is that even referring to? I've always taken it to mean that there's a giant scorpion boss hiding in it, but is that true? Also why does that couple at the train station fall over after saying that they can't take it anymore? Are they sick? Did they kill themselves? Are they drunk? What is going on?!

 

[SupahEwok]

Although there's some things I still don't really understand. When Cloud gets to the first reactor and has that flash that says "Watch out! This isn't an ordinary reactor," what is that even referring to? I've always taken it to mean that there's a giant scorpion boss hiding in it, but is that true? Also why does that couple at the train station fall over after saying that they can't take it anymore? Are they sick? Did they kill themselves? Are they drunk? What is going on?!

Usually, what's going on is a poor translation.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

Just a note, I haven’t played since a few weeks after release. But I think his tells weren’t so clear. You could get mixed up between a sweep or a thrust. He’s fast so you don’t have much space between attacks. Fast builds make this fight way easier

I think you can get him to bow for breather if you get enough hits in. But don’t focus on this

It sounds like there's two main options for melee -

1. Play keep-away and wait for his diving thrust which leaves the biggest opening. Long and attritional
2. Use a strong enough weapon with high enough stamina to stagger him for a riposte. Short and sweet

I'd prefer the 2nd option, but learning his timing and managing stamina without getting greedy is going to be the big challenge. Either way he's wrecked me close to a dozen times so far. The first phase is nothing as I have a Lothric Knight GS +10 for that. The King himself is what's a *****. Best attempt I had was getting him to half health. Wearing the Estus ring, Favor, Prisoner's Chain and Carthus Milkring, although am considering swapping that one with the Bloodring since my best weapons for this fight don't scale with Dex anyways.

Funny thing is I've read comments saying Champion Gundyr is as tough or tougher, but he was a one-timer for me and one of the easier bosses in the game.

 

[Dalisclock]

Also the final choice is pretty lame. Obviously choosing to kill your friends to stay with the warriors is the dumb choice, but the head lady's decision to kill you for no reason before she even knows whether or not she's pregnant is even dumber. The other ending isn't that good either, though. Doesn't really feel satisfying either way. All in all, I had fun with it, but I'm glad it was a fairly short game too.

I thought that was brilliant, actually. Lady is clearly insane so her deciding She had her baby so now she could off you felt perfectly in character to me. What made it even better is that if you willing make the choice to go along with her crazy scheme, her betraying and murdering you felt karmic.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I thought that was brilliant, actually. Lady is clearly insane so her deciding She had her baby so now she could off you felt perfectly in character to me. What made it even better is that if you willing make the choice to go along with her crazy scheme, her betraying and murdering you felt karmic.

It's still a lousy ending, even if it did make sense (which it really doesn't because Jason Brody is the best warrior and has just proven his allegience by killing his friends, so if anybody else needs murdering for the next 15 years until the babby is old enough she's out of luck). Besides, I really hate it when games otherwise devoid of choice suddenly let you pick from one of two endings right at the finale, and then presumably autosave over it (I don't know, I force quit out as soon as the credits started.)

 

[Fieldy409]

When I take time away from Doom Eternal...

I've been playing Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. Its a very weird game thats hard to describe. Its a roguelike survival rpg which is basically built by a crowd and given out for free. You can play it on pretty much anything without a texture pack and its a lot of fun. You can build Mad Max like custom deathmobiles from tanks and armoured trucks. Of course theres zombies but there are all sorts of other weird creatures too.

It's the kind of game where you are wandering around beating things with a stick, doing drugs and walking around on broken legs, but more like a gameboy game and its turn based, nothing happens until you do something.