What are you currently playing?

[NerfedFalcon]

And that's a wrap on Earthbound, a game that I can play this many times (about 10) and still enjoy the hell out of it.

I never finished Mother 3 despite how many times I've started it, and how far I've gotten into it (the beginning of Chapter 8, before entering the Empire Porky Building), so I reckon I'll finally see that one through next.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Deltarune, episodes 1 & 2
The episodic Undertale sequel-not-a-sequel

Courtesy of r/Worgen strongly recommending it to me with the temptation of the first two episodes being free despite my reservations being:
- I liked Undertale, but had enough of that sort of thing after doing two play-throughs.
- Episodic storytelling making me wary of a George RR Martin situation

But free is free. Apparently paying for the game gets you episodes 3 and 4 which are out and episodes 5-7 which aren't out.

I just started chapter 2 and am indeed enjoying it so far. The changes to gameplay- adding a party members to the turn-based combat and a very simple command mechanic for "attack" options- are nice. Even better is how the game so far constantly varies on little things- I mean most of the game is pressing x to continue dialogue and dodging attacks with the joystick. But the characters, backgrounds, and environments are changing enough to keep me wanting more. It's like a series of little bite-size mini-games, making for excellent snackable 30-60 minute gaming sessions.

The humor and dialogue is very hit and miss for me, mostly over the whole meta-gaming thing. YOUR CHOICES DON'T MATTER it tells you over and over and over again. LOL you're playing a video game- man I though we were done with that kind of thing by now. I don't find it charming. Much of the rest is fine though.

One thing I'm very ambivalent about is how the game deals with the thing that helped Undertale popular- you can "fight" without fighting, using talk and action commands to make enemies leave alive, and Undertale gave you very different endings based on that. But Undertale didn't make a big deal about it. The whole plot and dialogue of Deltarune, however, is about demanding over and over that you don't kill anyone. One of the allies is violent and it's a whole major plot point about getting her to not be. Of course I am doing what the game says and dutifully sparing everyone because it is actually more fun and interesting, like little puzzles. I suppose actualy fighting is more for a second playthrough which only the most hardcore fan would do for a long, episodic game that isn't even done yet.

My understanding is episode 2 is longer so I'll wait until I'm done before I decide if I want to pay for more. It's on my wishlist for now.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Played Celeste 64: Fragments of the Mountain. It's a 3D remake of the first area in Celeste made in celebration of game's 6th anniversary, but also acts as a kinda-sequel, if you're terribly interested in knowing what all 3 characters are up to now.

There's no timer on your wall grip now, but I'd say the 3D generally makes the game tougher, especially on keyboard. You basically have to commit to a single camera angle as you plunge into a platforming gauntlet before even knowing what lies ahead and whether your view will be obscured. And you practically have to tilt the fixed camera into a top-down view just to get a sense of your placement as you jump across disappearing platforms. It's just not very good.

I'm still sore about Earthblade. This was the Metroidvania that the Celeste team were working on since 2019 and got unceremoniously canned a year ago. The official story is there was some dispute over the Celeste IP but frankly if you go over to the dev's yearly updates they read more like the diary of the dude that gets bit in Resident Evil than an actual dev log: at once paranoid and in denial of what anybody else would read as inevitable.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Stuck again in Monkey Island 2. Man I feel like I've been everywhere and picked up everything and I don't know what to do. Maybe I'm missing a screen that I can go to, like the spitting contest screen I just found. Maybe there's an item I can use and don't realize because I haven't used every item on every interactable spot in the game. Maybe there's an item I can get that I haven't noticed because I haven't hovered my mouse over the exact correct pixel, despite the fact that I feel like I've been pretty thorough. There's a lot of locations that I just don't seem to have any reason to be in or have anything to do at. I thought the library might be useful to give me some hints, but after going through the entire card catalogue and checking out every seemingly useful book I still have nothing. Is there some hint for the finger counting code or am I just supposed to crack it myself? I just don't know!

 

[Worgen]

I finished On Your Tail. That was hard, not out of difficulty (especially when I found out that if you fail a detective part, it will highlight in green the steps you got right) but because I wasn't ready to be finished with it. The world, the characters, the story, I just wanted more, so doing the final quest and leaving Borgo Marina was hard, but the only things left were minigames. I really really enjoyed it, the characters were just so much fun and the world was so very charming. The story was also quite interesting, but there were a few parts that felt too fast, like the climax of the story, it felt like they could have spread it out a bit more. But most of that is just nit picks since I really do wish there was more.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Is there some hint for the finger counting code or am I just supposed to crack it myself? I just don't know!

For situations like this, I find the best thing to do is get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil (a physical one if possible) and write down all the information you get. The patterns are easier to see in a physical form rather than trying to keep them all in your head.

If you'd rather just know what to do to move on with the game (don't quote reply if you don't want to see the spoiler): The number of fingers he held up last time is the number he wants you to give this time. "If this (4 fingers) is two, and this (3 fingers) is four, what's this (anything)?" "Three."

 

[Drathnoxis]

For situations like this, I find the best thing to do is get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil (a physical one if possible) and write down all the information you get. The patterns are easier to see in a physical form rather than trying to keep them all in your head.

So this is something that I'm supposed to just crack? There's not anymore information in the game about it? If so, that's fine. I just would like to know I have everything the game is going to give me to work with.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

So this is something that I'm supposed to just crack? There's not anymore information in the game about it? If so, that's fine. I just would like to know I have everything the game is going to give me to work with.

You already have everything you need to solve it.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Finished Chapter 3 of Mother 3. Unlike the previous games, this one's explicitly separated into 8 chapters, though the halfway point is around the end of Chapter 6. Chapter 3 marks the end of the game's first act, after which there's something of a shift in its tone and presentation; Lucas becomes the full-time protagonist at this point, and the adventure broadens in scope across the entire Nowhere Islands.

The game's storytelling is still emotionally affecting even after all this time, especially with the beautiful sprite work. It's a lot more linear (or should I say 'guided') than Earthbound and (from what I understand) Mother, but even if it's not so direct a successor, Mother 3 is still a top-notch game, and after Chapter 3 it gets even better.

Probably save detailed thoughts for when I've played through the whole thing. It's not super long, so it should only take a few more days, especially if I'm actually focused on it.

 

[FakeSympathy]

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

I am now around 60 hours in, and still am not done with the main story.

I never updated this, but my full playthrough of the first game ended in 58 hours. I am pretty sure I rushed to the ending at some point because I was feeling burned out. It's the crux of all open world games for me.

I mention this because despite KCD2 having nearly exact same open world design philosophy as the first game, i don’t feel any fatigue or rush to finish it.

I guess I am getting so much more enjoyment out of it? While both games always has something to for me to do, the sequel seem to make those activities more fun.

The story and the characters are so funny. I recently finished the Legacy of the forge dlc, and I was laughing so hard my stomach was hurting. There isn’t a single character that feels flat.

However, while i love these funny moments, I don’t think the story is as good as the first game, particularly after the end of act 1, where Henry finally kills that asshole Istvan Toth and gets the sword back. I feel Henry’s personal journey ends there, and now he is thrown into a much bigger conflict. And with how each missions are supposed to take within a few days of each other, the story seems to lose its steam and each mission feels disjointed, especially when I get distracted with side contents and come back to them 5+hrs later.

Also, it's a damn shame about not being able to enter any of the churches. I can respect the devs not wanting to showcase the unfinished areas, but I feel they couldve at least finish the big one in Kuttenberg. That big city itself has also proven to be really fun to walk around in.

Blacksmithing is fun! The fact that you gave to carefully heat the metal to the right temperature, hammer at the right pace and position, all with the detailed process is amazing. Im sure the real process is longer and tougher, but it’s much better than crafting a weapon with a single button click.

I also found myself building Henry differently compared to the first game; In the first game, he was a frontline warrior, a combat medic with knowledge of making various potions and poisons. Here, he is more of ranger/scout, carrying a ranged weapon, focusing on infiltration, having Mutt around for tracking and help during combat.

Because the skills improve independently with their own skill point gains, I know Henry will eventually become good at everything. But I find it interesting how the skills i chose to master first are different in the two games.

I am done with Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 after nearly 80 hours.

It was well worth the time investments.

Now moving onto soulslike game, Wuchang: The Fallen Feathers. So far it feels closer to the original DS trilogy style of gameplay. However, the weapons are fun to use

 

[Ezekiel]

I'm pretty good at Super Hang-On now. I wish you didn't have to play every race track five times in a row before facing off against the next rival on the next track with a new sponsor in the story mode. Especially since I haven't lost a race in like thirteen races. Just let me move on.

Impressive the sense of speed without real 3D.

 

[Ezekiel]

I couldn't beat Felicia Perez. Being demoted to the previous race was way too much loss of progress. I would have to win the same race five times again. So I give up.

 

[Worgen]

Tried Another Crabs Treasure, didn't really do it for me, I think its good, but just not what I'm in the mood for.

Started playing Monster Hunter Stories and yeah, its good. So far I do like 2 better, but the writing seems better. I think it is a new localization and voice acting. The gameplay is so far the same as 2, which isn't unexpected, I mean it is the first game, just prettied up and released on pc after Monster Hunter Stories 2 was. Either way, I'm already enjoying it, not sure about the story so far, but I am still pretty early into it and the story in 2 was surprisingly good, not just because Monster Hunter stories tend to be very disposable.

I'm also playing a game called Meowgun: Hell Denizen. Its a Quake style fps game. It just kinda came out of nowhere and looked neat so I grabbed it and it is neat and I like it. You play a cat girl who is killing demons and aliens with a wide range of mostly standard but fun weapons. Since you're a catgirl you also have a meow button and if you press it enough you seem to summon robot cats, I have to try it when enemies are left to see if they fight cause that would be cool. Anyway, it plays well, tons of enemies on the difficulty I'm playing on but lots of powerful weapons so what would be an amount that would be a slog in a doom level becomes much more manageable and fun.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Started The Last Faith and it's yet another perfectly adequate indie with no more ambition in life than to pad the glut of soulslike metroidvanias. Usually it's the art style does the heavy lifting and while TLF's is very pretty it's also criminally riffing on Bloodborne by way of Blasphemous. The story is the usual hodgepodge of curse and sin and rebirth, not even worth considering no matter how much the voice actors ham it up. Combat is fine (everything is fine) and a tad easy since most enemies are slow to aggro and quick to stun. There's a whole bunch of spells and weapons to unlock, and it's cool to roll behind enemies, turn and unload a flintlock pistol. The one boss fight so far barely required any discipline though.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Tried Another Crabs Treasure, didn't really do it for me, I think its good, but just not what I'm in the mood for.

That game is more forgiving than most insofar as you can adjust the difficulty on the fly, and even equip your character with a GUN from the menu at anytime, and the gun one-shots everything, including bosses. I played the whole game with the gun, so don't claim to have really appreciated it as intended, but it was "fuck off" time well spent in some pretty environments, decent music, and an entertaining-enough story. I'd almost say I want to play it again the "right" way, but something about the PS2-era cutesy presentation coupled with punishing From Soft difficulty keeps me from taking it seriously.

(Oh, and cheating doesn't disable achievements/trophies, so easy money!!)

 

[Worgen]

That game is more forgiving than most insofar as you can adjust the difficulty on the fly, and even equip your character with a GUN from the menu at anytime, and the gun one-shots everything, including bosses. I played the whole game with the gun, so don't claim to have really appreciated it as intended, but it was "fuck off" time well spent in some pretty environments, decent music, and an entertaining-enough story. I'd almost say I want to play it again the "right" way, but something about the PS2-era cutesy presentation coupled with punishing From Soft difficulty keeps me from taking it seriously.

(Oh, and cheating doesn't disable achievements/trophies, so easy money!!)

I just beat First Berserker Khazan on hard and Lies of P. I have no problem with difficulty, just didn't really like the controls and how jumpy it was. I probably would have gotten into it if I had let myself but I had other games from the steam sale to play and didn't really need something I wasn't fully feeling.

 

[Ezekiel]

Got all Chaos Emeralds but lost my remaining lives to the last boss, finishing this Sonic 1 playthrough without a score, which pissed me off. Tried a few times in the last few days, always quitting when I knew that I couldn't get all six emeralds. The last level with the ripped off Blade Runner theme throws so much at you, so the final emerald has to be gotten before. I know how to beat the last boss easily, but it was so long since I last played through this.

Now I am happy.

 

[BrawlMan]

I did another 1CC run of Spike Out: Final Edition. This time as Linda.

 

[Bartholen]

About 22 hours into Tainted Grail, and I've spent about 2 of that in the second zone. This is quite a meaty game I tell ya. The writing has gone from quite good to really, really good. Even the smallest sidequests and incidental NPCs all have a surprising level of maturity and nuance about them that makes them way more engaging than their gameplay (often amounting to fetch quests) alone would. For example, there's a quest where a guard is complaining about not being able to go home to his pregnant wife. He wants to send her a book on childbirth to make sure she's safe, but the local book merchant won't sell him one. When you go and investigate, you find out that the guard had in fact been perving on the merchant, and she'd kicked him out of the store. You can then:

1. try to lie to the merchant that you're buying the book for yourself.
2. try to convince her to let bygones be bygones and buy the book for the guard.
3. Failing both of the above, she will sell you the book, but also send the pregnant wife a book about adultery, exposing the guard's secret. You can also try to convince her to swap the books: send the wife the book on childbirth, and give the guard the one about adultery to try and teach him a lesson.

Gameplay wise it's literally just walking back and forth between two locations a couple of times, but the writing alone makes it engaging. The voice acting in this game also punches well above its budget. It's all very good with colourful voices and accents, and a groundedness and realism that makes the world feel that much more alive. It's a prime example of how much good writing alone can elevate a game.

All of this applies to the main story, which has really taken me by surprise with how nuanced it is. It genuinely feels like a morally grey scenario, and not in the usual "everyone's a shitbag" kind of way: you feel like all the characters are acting reasonably, and have well argued positions for each of their agendas. It feels like there are no clear answers to the desperate situation they're caught up in. It's honestly some of the most mature storytelling I've seen in an RPG, and a big part of that is how restrained it feels: you're not fighting an apocalypse cult, a horde of monsters, an evil god or some other typical fantasy threat. Even a lot of the best RPGs I've played like Witcher 3, Dragon Age Origins or Divinity Original Sin 2 ultimately have pretty typical fantasy antagonists. The main threat of Tainted Grail is much more akin to an indifferent force of nature, and all the conflict merely stems from how the people in the world are reacting to it.

Gameplay wise it's also gotten better: the hit detection on the bow isn't buggered at all, it's just that you genuinely have to judge the distance and flight path of the arrows yourself, and the game provides literally zero assistance for it, not even displaying the flight paths of arrows with afterimages or anything. It takes actual skill to be a stealth archer.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I started Cairn, the rock climbing game. One of those movement simulator games, though since I've never played one I don't know if that label is apt. It is a fun game though - Needing to move and place each hand and foot individually to slowly work your way up a rock wall is surprisingly engaging. Wish it was a tad more polished in its animation, but that comes with the territory.