Video Games

[mbenigni]

A few hours into Dragon's Dogma 2 and I just can't seem to get excited about playing it much. The combat is OK but a bit of a muddle so far - probably due to my lack of facing a good enemy thanks to not playing much.

I don’t know if I played it too much for the first few days, or whether it has some legitimate pacing issues, or what. All I know is I went from frighteningly addicted to burnt out and indifferent very abruptly. I kind of made my peace with the so-so combat, and I was really enjoying the exploration, etc., but the quests can be quite tedious, arbitrary, even broken. (This seems to have worsened now that I’ve arrived in Battahl.)

NPCs will talk to you without any prompting while you’re trying to execute one quest, thereby initiating a second quest simultaneously, which will maybe annoy an NPC you’re escorting, which will maybe cause them to vanish. And maybe (according to Google, which I shouldn't need to consult in order to play a video game) that NPC will mysteriously re-exist if you go back to the place where they first spawned, but then you’ve got to get them back to your destination, to the tune of two Ferrystones. And maybe you can test this out but maybe not because you never know when that f***ing autosave is going to randomly trigger. The last time I played, I walked into a room, someone automatically started babbling about a major storyline quest, and before I had any idea what they were on about, I’d failed it. I immediately quit without saving, reloaded, and found myself in a location I’d never visited before… having failed said quest permanently. I’m 50 hours in, so I guess that’s that.

These kinds of things devour good will very quickly. It’s a good thing my first ~40 hours with the game were plenty of fun, for the most part.

 

[mbenigni]

Really? I've found it pretty rough tbh. But I feel like I've gotten really sensitive to it

Let’s see if we can turn this into a latency thread!

 

[Aelred]

I don’t know if I played it too much for the first few days, or whether it has some legitimate pacing issues, or what. All I know is I went from frighteningly addicted to burnt out and indifferent very abruptly. I kind of made my peace with the so-so combat, and I was really enjoying the exploration, etc., but the quests can be quite tedious, arbitrary, even broken. (This seems to have worsened now that I’ve arrived in Battahl.)

NPCs will talk to you without any prompting while you’re trying to execute one quest, thereby initiating a second quest simultaneously, which will maybe annoy an NPC you’re escorting, which will maybe cause them to vanish. And maybe (according to Google, which I shouldn't need to consult in order to play a video game) that NPC will mysteriously re-exist if you go back to the place where they first spawned, but then you’ve got to get them back to your destination, to the tune of two Ferrystones. And maybe you can test this out but maybe not because you never know when that f***ing autosave is going to randomly trigger. The last time I played, I walked into a room, someone automatically started babbling about a major storyline quest, and before I had any idea what they were on about, I’d failed it. I immediately quit without saving, reloaded, and found myself in a location I’d never visited before… having failed said quest permanently. I’m 50 hours in, so I guess that’s that.

These kinds of things devour good will very quickly. It’s a good thing my first ~40 hours with the game were plenty of fun, for the most part.

One of the things that dampened my enthusiasm was the first Quest stuff I botched without realizing how. I also feel as if I shoud be playing this with a game Wiki/Google next to me.

And fetch quests. I didn't miss fetch quests in FROM games - I just spent hours and many deaths trying to get to a useless shiny object for no reason at all.

 

[mbenigni]

One of the things that dampened my enthusiasm was the first Quest stuff I botched without realizing how. I also feel as if I shoud be playing this with a game Wiki/Google next to me.

And fetch quests. I didn't miss fetch quests in FROM games - I just spent hours and many deaths trying to get to a useless shiny object for no reason at all.

I think it’s a great game overall, but these observations are entirely fair. It can be really off-putting.

Overall, there’s frequently more a sense of “watching a game” rather than “playing a game”. To be fair, this is true of many games in the genre, but 15 years (can you believe it?) of good soulslikes have spoiled me with constant, consistent gameplay.

 

[Devin]

It's definitely not the type of game where you can properly do every single quest in a single playthrough; even if you could many of them have different outcomes/rewards depending on your choices.

Embracing the random ass shit that can happen is part of the charm for better or worse

I had a fucking drake invade the middle of the Vermund capital city on me last night and just start yeeting NPC's lmao

I've had that happen plenty of times with other monsters but that was the first time with a drake for me

 

[Aelred]

It's definitely not the type of game where you can properly do every single quest in a single playthrough; even if you could many of them have different outcomes/rewards depending on your choices.

Embracing the random ass shit that can happen is part of the charm for better or worse

I had a fucking drake invade the middle of the Vermund capital city on me last night and just start yeeting NPC's lmao

I've had that happen plenty of times with other monsters but that was the first time with a drake for me

Actually, I found that very encouraging to continue fumbling my way through. Again, thanks to FROM games, I'm used to creating multiple builds. I know you can change Vocation, but it isn't quite the same.

I'm not sure how many playthroughs I'm up for, but thanks for that.

 

[mbenigni]

Actually, I found that very encouraging to continue fumbling my way through. Again, thanks to FROM games, I'm used to creating multiple builds. I know you can change Vocation, but it isn't quite the same.

I'm not sure how many playthroughs I'm up for, but thanks for that.

I think having your character level up through multiple vocations, and building a strategically sound party around yourself as you do, is a major part of the gameplay. I didn’t really understand that at the onset, but the variety it lends is a major strength of the game.

Of course some vocations are more fun to play than others, so the game will inevitably ebb and flow accordingly.

 

[Jarick]

Okay I hit 100% in Stardew Valley and had to find a new game. But the bullet and got Breath of the Wild. Hopefully that holds my attention for 100 more hours!

 

[Mongillo19]

Okay I hit 100% in Stardew Valley and had to find a new game. But the bullet and got Breath of the Wild. Hopefully that holds my attention for 100 more hours!

But is this with the new update they just released for Stardew ,

 

[Devin]

I think having your character level up through multiple vocations, and building a strategically sound party around yourself as you do, is a major part of the gameplay. I didn’t really understand that at the onset, but the variety it lends is a major strength of the game.

Of course some vocations are more fun to play than others, so the game will inevitably ebb and flow accordingly.

As underwhelming as the Trickster is (it's fun in a goofy way, but not fun enough to main lol) you NEED to get it's first augment

I finally found the Warfarer last night; shit is so rad

 

[mbenigni]

As underwhelming as the Trickster is (it's fun in a goofy way, but not fun enough to main lol) you NEED to get it's first augment

I finally found the Warfarer last night; shit is so rad

SPOILER ALERTS!

 

[mbenigni]

I know it's hard when you're dying to talk about a video game, but you don't know where anyone else is at. I have more thoughts about the way the story was handled in Lies of P - particularly things that a lot of people will have missed entirely - but... spoiler alerts.

Anyway, I wasn't that serious about your post above. :)

 

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

The current hit.

Helldivers 2 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Jarick]

But is this with the new update they just released for Stardew ,

That hasn't trickled down to Switch yet, so still on v1.5!

I absolutely love the Switch format, and I am able to play so much more with it. I'd like a Steam Deck at some point but there's so many Switch based games I can move through first.

With the stress of my job and life over the last several months, I've been really enjoying playing for an hour or two per night to just mentally check out. So the low stress "cozy" games have been fun. I've also enjoyed the heck out of these addictive pixel games like Moonlighter and Forager too.

 

[mbenigni]

I've also enjoyed the heck out of these addictive pixel games like Moonlighter and Forager too.

I got really addicted to Moonlighter last year! Forgot all about that one. :)

 

[Jarick]

I got really addicted to Moonlighter last year! Forgot all about that one. :)

It's a really fun game! I got into it with the Xbox game pass a few years ago and when I found out it was on Switch (along with Forager and Ori), I ended up buying a Switch to play those games along with old Nintendo games and RPG's.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

The current hit.

Helldivers 2 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This is my 12 year old son’s absolute jam at the moment. Which I approve 100000%, especially since it means this is the number one played track in our house this week. It is a very strong introduction to satire AND thrash metal, and he is eating both up:

 

[Aelred]

Grinding skill points in the Stellar Blade demo – the Beta Energy skills are fun but cost lots of points…

Dragon’s Dogma 2 I’ll potter away at but hasn’t grabbed me, and I don’t know why.

And I still need to kill Mohg a couple of times before the Elden Ring DLC drops. Assisting with low level co-op in NG4 has been fun recently, but a distraction.