What are you currently playing?

[FakeSympathy]

Terminator 2D No Fate

It plays like your classic 2d shooter games that you saw inside arcades when you were a kid; It's really hard, reminding you of all those quarters that you inserted to the arcade machine.

It follows the movie plot pretty well, as well as adding new stroy bits that lead to certain events; I.E. How Sarah Connor got arrested, and how John Connor in the future sent T-800 unit to the past to protect his younger self.

The 2d 16-bit pixel art-style is superb! It also features high-detailed animations.

Now the difficulty is fine, and you can lower it or unlock the cheat code to get infinite lives (in-game, not third party software). But it can some times feel like it's more difficult that it should be.

The shooting feels nowhere near as smooth as the likes of Contra; I think it's because how much you can shoot while jumping feels limited. Also, being 2d shooter there will be some platforming challenges, and you could've sworn you jumped upwards to grabable ledge, only doing short jump. You will be mainly shooting either standing or crouching, but I feel if they added "prone" position, it would've allowed for rooms to avoid projectiles. Half the time I crouch thinking I will avoid getting hit, only to take damage. There are always angles that you can't seem to shoot, or attacks coming in from said angles.

Seriously, the jumping and grabbing ledges feel like a death sentence sometimes.

They also for whatever reason, added time-limit on each level. This is such a strange choice, because there are some parts where you want to take it slow and time your movements, as well as waiting for an opening during a boss battle. Timer going down only seems to add pressure.

Still, you get to play as different characters, each with their own play styles; Sarah is more nimble, Future John is the commando-soldier, and T-800, while not being able to jump, is tanky AF.

There are also alternative paths that you can take, which deviates from the story.

A single run should take you about 2 hours. But there are plenty of unlocks and side contents

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Again, I think it just depends. Entire youtube channels have sprung up discussing the story of the Soulsborne games, and I can't say I ever bothered to do the digging that's apparently necessary to find the story in these games when playing them. Same with Hollowknight and Silksong honestly.

And the act of controlling a character in a 2D or 3D space is already telling a story - don't know if a perfume commerical compares. I get it, people can find meaning in the most simple things, but one is obviously doing more (narratively) than trying to sell you a bottled scent. Also, it's usually the minimalist games that create the most incentive to figure out the story. We don't really need to figure out characters like Joel or Arthur, since their games dissect them excessively. But just walking through a room filled with beds with sleeping children in them, and seeing some weird long-armed dude hovering over them, you're going to automatically look for connections. It might be a bit cheap, but it can still hit the spot.

On the one hand I think lore is a great narrative choice for a videogame because you can slip it in or hang it over and it won't take away from the essence of the experience. You engage with it same as everything else: if and when and however you want, within the limits of the agency you're allowed. I don't think there's anything special to the vaguetastic dark fantasy draping the backgrounds of stuff like Dark Souls or Hollow Knight, it's all variations of cursed kingdoms and chosen ones. They just happen to make for good scenery.

Games like Little Nightmares tend to lose me because they're clearly hedging their bets on me being more fascinated by the lore and the rampant theorizing than the gameplay or the actual story being told on the surface. And for my money the plane needs to at least take off with a basic sense of destination before you turn it around. Surviving moment to moment is not enough. Games like Limbo and Inside work for me because the endings, while refusing to elaborate, at least show you what the hell you were working towards in the first place.

 

[XsjadoBlaydette]

Stalker 2
Is a compulsive little thing. Well, ok at over 160 gigs, not as little as preferred, but wtf can I do about that? Suck it up and triage another round of seasonal sacrifices to delete is what. Have long since ran out of interesting ways to talk about positive aspects, so just assume they are the silent majority here as what's left are just the few mildly amusing petty nitpicks I can probably type down before the self-hate catches up with convincing arguments to abandon this dreary habit of attempted self-actualisation.

First off, there's a lot of Brit dialects in this supposedly Russian environment. Where are the indigenous Slavic tribes? Also where are the woment too for that matter? It's not something I'd be arsed to bother about, but kinda gets plain weird the longer it goes on. Was there....an incident? A problem? Did I miss an important lore drop? Can't call it a sausage fest cos they're quite sexless, is more a stoic fest.

There's a couple of interesting....quirks? Almost glitches? Like if you leave your menu or upgrade menu open for a long enough time (anything that allows in game time to continue) in any safe town, a curious side effect occurs when you exit and find the area often swarmed with bandits who look as surprised to be there as you are, then their AI kicks in but still with a little confusion. No complaints here tbh though, have found it very useful for an easy ammo/resource/gun-sales farming technique as long as you get to the corpse before the friendly NPC's do. Just leave the upgrade menu running while you go do whatever chores left in home and with any luck you'll have a veritable army of baffled lost boys to return to and pick off. I call them the green buffets.

Invisible bloodsuckers are so annoying I fucking hate them they waste so much ammo as I clumsily fire all over the place with a drunk controller.

Another awkward moment is when you spend some time trying to scope out an enemy base all stealthy like, only for one of those deadly storm warning "emissions" to bumble into the carefully laid plans, for it gives very little time to find shelter, and the shelter options are sparsely spread out enough that the only realistic option for survival is to sprint to the shelter in the very enemy base you were hoping to destabilise. Leading to a bit of an awkward situation when everyone else in the shelter notices you trying to blend in behind a box of tuna cans and you just have to go "fuck it! You all die now then I guess?!" Emptying all clips and dead dreams of meticulous stealth mastery into each and every one of their supple radiated bodies. Feels are indeed conflicted.

Sometimes that happens when you're supposed to have made a deal with a bad dude leader but for some reason one or two of their goons don't seem to get the memo so start a shootout with you right in front of the leader who doesn't react to it at all lol. Hey, it's a stoic-fest, tbf.

Cool that the booze briefly makes colours more colourful after drinking. Not a decision I seen elsewhere in games, but an interesting application of observation.

A side quest broke where it said I completed it but remains stuck there as if I have yet to turnn it in still so can't request anymore work from that vendor at all. Le sigh. In this economy!

 

[Casual Shinji]

Terminator 2D No Fate

So I was interested in this game...

They also for whatever reason, added time-limit on each level.

...and then I wasn't.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I haven't gotten around to getting STALKER 2 but it sure looks like some parts adhere to the original.

Invisible bloodsuckers are so annoying I fucking hate them they waste so much ammo as I clumsily fire all over the place with a drunk controller.

There was a mission in one of the original's expansions that made you sneak through an entire nest of sleeping bloodsuckers. The "visibility meter" was spiked the whole time, implying that they knew you were there and just didn't feel like doing anything about it.

...only for one of those deadly storm warning "emissions" to bumble into the carefully laid plans, for it gives very little time to find shelter....

Such is life in the Zone.

A side quest broke where it said I completed it but remains stuck there as if I have yet to turnn it in still so can't request anymore work from that vendor at all. Le sigh. In this economy!

It just wouldn't be STALKER without the bugs.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Played about a half hour of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. I don't know about this one, the opening is really bad. You start off by controlling a sailing ship that handles like a motor boat, rapid firing your cannons. Then you get shipwrecked and an enemy soldier immediately begins demanding that you take him somewhere. Your character logically points out that you have no ship, but the guy doesn't care and continues his nonsensical demand, offering you rewards. I really have no idea what he expects you to do, but your character threatens him a little for the money and he turns around and runs away full pelt and we give chase for some reason. None of this makes any sense. We're shipwrecked, shouldn't we be more concerned about our immediate survival? Apparently there was some sort of human civilization around here because we see all sorts of huts and structures, but we don't actually see any people. Finding some drinking water should be top priority, instead of chasing down and killing some lunatic for no reason. This story has all the believability of an assignment written by a grade schooler. And this is supposed to be one of the best entries in the franchise.

 

[thebobmaster]

Played about a half hour of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. I don't know about this one, the opening is really bad. You start off by controlling a sailing ship that handles like a motor boat, rapid firing your cannons. Then you get shipwrecked and an enemy soldier immediately begins demanding that you take him somewhere. Your character logically points out that you have no ship, but the guy doesn't care and continues his nonsensical demand, offering you rewards. I really have no idea what he expects you to do, but your character threatens him a little for the money and he turns around and runs away full pelt and we give chase for some reason. None of this makes any sense. We're shipwrecked, shouldn't we be more concerned about our immediate survival? Apparently there was some sort of human civilization around here because we see all sorts of huts and structures, but we don't actually see any people. Finding some drinking water should be top priority, instead of chasing down and killing some lunatic for no reason. This story has all the believability of an assignment written by a grade schooler. And this is supposed to be one of the best entries in the franchise.

TBF, most of the compliments I see about Black Flag are in regards to the gameplay and the overall characters, specifically Kenway and Teach. The story in general, I don't really hear ANYTHING about.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm playing GigaSword, which just might take #5 from Tails of Iron II this year.

It's a 2D SNES-looking Metroidvania in which you run around with a big ass Buster Sword, and the whole game is designed around how this is simultaneously your only means of progression while also encumbering you significantly. On the one hand, it's your only way of dealing with enemies, and acts as a key to most doors and switches. On the other, it encumbers your movement: when carrying it you move slower, can't swim with it, and it cripples the height and length of your jump. So most rooms are essentially puzzles where you have to leave your sword behind and work out how to carry it over, constantly trading offense for mobility. You'll often work your way through a whole room twice, armed and unarmed.

You basically have two attacks: a very slow thwack and a kick-ass downward stab that gives you just enough air time and just enough mobility that also works beautifully for platforming. Combat is otherwise pretty repetitive. You can stunlock most enemies, including bosses. I think the game misses a trick by not making bosses, too, into puzzles, instead of turning them into regular punching bags. GigaSword is at its most clever when concocting puzzles.

The game is surprisingly frontloaded with tons of story and cutscenes for a 'SNES game', and it's simultaneously going for drama and modern Gen Z "I guess...?" dialogue that takes me out a bit. It was solo-developed, and like Iconoclasts before it, you can always tell from the very specific and very weird story beats and character interactions and tonal shifts that someone worked long and hard on something while refusing to show it to anyone or remove anything from it.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

And this is supposed to be one of the best entries in the franchise.

My understanding is that it's when you actually get to sail your ship and commit piracy that the game really comes into its own.

 

[meiam]

BlazBlue entropy effect.

Never played a blazblue game before (really not into fighter) but this is a rogue like, pretty close to hades but side scroller.

Lots of character, each have their own fighting style, so its fun to try out all of them. But at the same time, the variety of build is actually not that great, because most of them boil down to "do so much damage so quickly that nothing matter". Ultimately it just doesn't really matter whether the damage happens because you burn the enemy or an ice shard fell on them or anything like that.

Story is also not good (I don't think its related to blazblue, its some sort of technofuturistic simulation things).

Still if you want a fun rogue like and go in not expecting that much, its pretty great as a mindless side scroller. Character attack animation are really cool and gets pretty crazy once you start leveling them up.

 

[Ezekiel]

A number of the colossi are crappy, so easy to defeat. I'm thinking The Last Guardian is a more well-rounded game. Spacing Colossus out like this because I mainly just wanna unlock hard mode for a later playthrough on the TV.

Played fan-made Super Mario Bros. Remastered in ultra widescreen. That original game is a masterpiece, but the last world is just cruel. Playthrough took 130 minutes. If this is the last game I beat in 2025, I'm happy with that.

 

[Ezekiel]

Damn, so the unmodded original DOESN'T have infinite continues like this mod. That explains why I beat Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES but only beat the remake of the original in All-Stars. They say pressing A and Start simultaneously when you die restarts you in the world rather than the beginning of the game. Not working for me for some reason.

 

[BrawlMan]

Damn, so the unmodded original DOESN'T have infinite continues like this mod.

No shit. Don't know how you forgot, but congrats.

Almost done with the mountain level in Shinobi.

 

[Ezekiel]

No shit. Don't know how you forgot, but congrats.

Because when I played the "Remastered" mod yesterday and did not get the Game Overs that I expected, it made me second-guess how it was in the original.

 

[Drathnoxis]

No shit. Don't know how you forgot, but congrats.

Almost done with the mountain level in Shinobi.

Well to be fair, SMB3 does have unlimited continues, you just get sent back to the start of the world and need to recomplete all the levels you beat but the gates stay unlocked.

 

[Ezekiel]

Played the Pragmata demo.

Strangely, I think what dragged it down most was the music. Very bland. I kept thinking of how much personality 1990s and '80s sci-fi soundtracks had.

Holding both MB2 and MB4 (side button of mouse) while hacking uncomfortable. Reminds me of fake God of War in that controlling two characters at the same time in an action game is not fun. Well, there I forgot to make the son shoot because I forgot that I controlled him. Why not instead make it a two-player game, where one hacks and one shoots and each can be more complex because the amount of work for each player is reduced?

Guy voice actor sucks. He phoned it in. Cheap hire. We know that Capcom is cheap with voice actors after the RE4 remake. Even too cheap to hire the better Ada actress from 2 remake.

Environmental design is not good. The flooring in every room is a trip hazard. The floors look like ceilings.

 

[BrawlMan]

Because when I played the "Remastered" mod yesterday and did not get the Game Overs that I expected, it made me second-guess how it was in the original.

That's on you, and your fault.

Played the Pragmata demo.

Snipped

Nearly everything you said sounds like a you problem, but I can't comment on mouse controls. The soundtrack is fine for me, but I am not judging nor over worrying, because it's not the full game and I will reserve judgement when actually necessary.

I love the dynamic between the kid and the main dude. This game is Capcom doing good and unique, which is what they've always done and continue to strive for. Kind of reminds me of Vanquish. You forget this, in place of constant complaining and nagging, and consider it "nuance". I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Also, Norse GoW ain't "fake". Fine if you don't like it, but not fake. Capcom is on fire and living the best years of their life, and you can't handle that truth, for the sake of some pathetic nostalgia.

I played and beaten Streets of Rage 1 on Normal and Hardest again. Still pretty decent for a simplistic console only brawler made in 1991. The music and some of the level design carries this game.

 

[Worgen]

Nearly everything you said sounds like a you problem, but I can't comment on mouse controls. The soundtrack is fine for me, but I am not judging nor over worrying, because it's not the full game and I will reserve judgement when actually necessary.

I love the dynamic between the kid and the main dude. This game is Capcom doing good and unique, which is what they've always done and continue to strive for. Kind of reminds me of Vanquish. You forget this, in place of constant complaining and nagging, and consider it "nuance". I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Also, Norse GoW ain't "fake". Fine if you don't like it, but not fake. Capcom is on fire and living the best years of their life, and you can't handle that truth, for the sake of some pathetic nostalgia.

Hes not happy unless hes whining about something.

 

[Ezekiel]

That's on you, and your fault.

They won't say it, but almost everyone but your weirdest supporters will understand when I ask what is wrong with you. Seriously, people, read those Mario posts again and tell me with all honesty that his response is normal.

 

[BrawlMan]

ask what is wrong with you?

That question applies far more to you than it does to me. Especially with your nonsense, complaints and overly high and impossible expectations on any game that comes out. Especially for a guy that constantly falls for the grift. Yet doesn't want it to admit it or will always make some type of excuse for it. Because the grifters constantly line up with your political beliefs or views, but they're only saying the things you want to hear and nothing else.

All I did was point out that's still on you and not the game. That doesn't automatically make you a bad player. I don't do that gamer elitism bullshit. If you prefer the modded version, then I'm not gonna judge you for it. You're talking to someone that will take the modded or translated versions of certain old school games like Final Fight 2 or Contra Hard Corps any day of the week over their original versions. Or where I don't have to play the japanese version when it's translated for me, and I get the easier but still challenging difficulty.