Video Games

[Devin]

I played a bit, too. Not far enough along to know whether I love it or just like it - but your testimonial is a reminder to get back to it.

I *think* i'm at the final boss now


There are at least a couple very frustrating points in the game but overall I think it's a great MV with a very cool story/setting

 

[Jynx]

I'm finally starting to get bored with this now, but OMG the game loop is like crack for the first <embarrassing number, maybe 40> hours or so.

I think maybe I spent too much time optimizing my base, and it did that Vampire Survivors thing where it was briefly thrilling to be so OP, and then suddenly boring. But whereas Vampire Survivors got to that point inside about 3 hours, Ball x Pit entertained for a good long while.

Winding down on it too. I don’t think it's designed for the long haul.

I've moved on to Monster Train 2. Bought it months ago and couldn't gel with it the first time. The graphics are too busy or something.

Gave it another shot and I get it now. Top tier deck builder. Maybe even the best.

 

[Jynx]

When the the campaign launched its intro I thought, That’s a very bad Jeff Goldblum impression.

Turns out it's really him!

I abandoned the campaign after the fourth mission because it's boring, and launched a free-play map instead, starting with minimal money, and am loving every bit of Jurassic World Evolution 3. Slowing building my theme park and increasing my profits.

It's a long time since playing this type of game, and I think my favourite part is just driving around the world I've created. I'm sure it's not the first game of this type to do it, not even of this series, but I could only dream of this in games of old.

 

[Jynx]

Yes! I was hoping this game would deliver. Getting 9-10/10 everywhere.

From Super Meat Boy and Binding of Isaac creators.

 

[mbenigni]

Yes! I was hoping this game would deliver. Getting 9-10/10 everywhere.

From Super Meat Boy and Binding of Isaac creators.

Just read a review. Sounds wonderful! :)

 

[mbenigni]

Trying to get into Nioh 3 again, but I'm really not bonding with the Samurai/ Ninja dual build concept. I'm hoping I'll start to "get it" eventually, because Nioh 1 and 2 are easily in my top 10 GOAT (games of all time) list.

 

[laxu]

Trying to get into Nioh 3 again, but I'm really not bonding with the Samurai/ Ninja dual build concept. I'm hoping I'll start to "get it" eventually, because Nioh 1 and 2 are easily in my top 10 GOAT (games of all time) list.

Nioh 1 is a bit meh due to poor enemy variety etc. but Nioh 2 is excellent. Nioh 3 based on the demo is largely more of the same, which is not a bad thing. The loot system is exhausting though with its 99% crap drops and way too many items to make good use of them.

Still, the combat is top tier but I think I will wait for the game to be well patched an on sale. Maybe with mods on PC. I've decided to go for a "don't get new games on day one" approach to get a good experience from the start, and to work through my backlog.

I'm most of the way through Silent Hill F and it's been both good and mediocre. I added a mod that tweaks the combat to feel better and that helped a lot. It alternates between intricate overworld levels and kinda samey underworld ones that are a bit of a slog.

 

[hemmelight]

I really wanted to get into Nioh when the original was released, but I gave up on the first boss. I was not in the right mood for that kind of challenge at the time. I’ve been meaning to check out Nioh 2 for ages but this demo for 3 appeared at just the right time.

I think the change to the formula is enough to get me on board with this one. I like the change to larger maps and the Samurai / Ninja split is super fun IMO. The apparently easier difficulty also helps as someone who doesn’t usually play these kinda games but wants to get better. This is gonna be the one that hooks me!

 

[Jarick]

Got sucked into "Game About Digging a Hole" for a few days until I was done digging. That's a fun game like Powerwash Simulator with a neat little loop. Recommended for under $5.

Not sure what to play next so decided to pop back into Stardew Valley for a bit. Nowhere near as fun after I already got 100% in it.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Picked up Resident Evil 4 Remake for PS4 over the weekend. Also found my official PS controller that actually works (so as to avoid the continual "this isn't an official PS controller and might not work as intended" notification onslaught). Got everything up and running. I actually made some great progress. Up to chapter 4? Thank god for Assistive mode for impatient noobs with one step above zero playing skills

Game looks GREAT. I am not sure what you are gaining visually going to the next gen? I'm going to finish this one out and see what other games I can pick up for decent $ used.

 

[Deadpan]

Picked up Resident Evil 4 Remake for PS4 over the weekend. Also found my official PS controller that actually works (so as to avoid the continual "this isn't an official PS controller and might not work as intended" notification onslaught). Got everything up and running. I actually made some great progress. Up to chapter 4? Thank god for Assistive mode for impatient noobs with one step above zero playing skills

Game looks GREAT. I am not sure what you are gaining visually going to the next gen? I'm going to finish this one out and see what other games I can pick up for decent $ used.

The input lag on the PS4 is an issue for me.

VRR and 4k is a bonus also.

 

[Aleksi]

Picked up Resident Evil 4 Remake for PS4 over the weekend. Also found my official PS controller that actually works (so as to avoid the continual "this isn't an official PS controller and might not work as intended" notification onslaught). Got everything up and running. I actually made some great progress. Up to chapter 4? Thank god for Assistive mode for impatient noobs with one step above zero playing skills

Game looks GREAT. I am not sure what you are gaining visually going to the next gen? I'm going to finish this one out and see what other games I can pick up for decent $ used.

I'm on my 4th or 5th playthrough on PS5. I've played through the original on Wii maybe 10 times Now I got the infinite rocket launcher for some fun!

PS5 version looks better and runs smoother. It's still a great game on PS4

 

[mbenigni]

Nioh 1 is a bit meh due to poor enemy variety etc. but Nioh 2 is excellent. Nioh 3 based on the demo is largely more of the same, which is not a bad thing.

Yeah, we've talked about this before. Kind of agree to disagree. By any objective measure, Nioh 2 is the better game over Nioh 1; but personally, I feel Nioh 1 is the most elegantly designed game of the 3. Yes, Nioh 2 is bigger, has more enemies, etc. But Nioh 1 was already a generously complex game, and throwing additional mechanics on top in Nioh 2 didn't consistently improve the game IMO. (Likewise, Nioh 3 doubles or triples down on these subsystems - too much and too quickly IMO.)

(Also, the writing used to present side missions in Nioh 2 was so lazy it seemed like a parody of the already terrible writing in Nioh 1 LOL.)

The loot system is exhausting though with its 99% crap drops and way too many items to make good use of them.

Without a doubt. It seems like I had more patience for it with the first two games. I don't know if it's gotten worse in Nioh 3, or if I just feel more pressed for time IRL and get annoyed more easily. They did add all kinds of features designed to automatically offer/sell gear, but since this is seldom one size fits all, it just turns into another meta-layer of annoyance deciding how to configure things.

I really wanted to get into Nioh when the original was released, but I gave up on the first boss. I was not in the right mood for that kind of challenge at the time. I’ve been meaning to check out Nioh 2 for ages but this demo for 3 appeared at just the right time.

I'll give you a word of warning then: the first proper boss in Nioh 3 (you'll know) makes the first boss in Nioh 1 look like a pawn. I threw myself against this guy for a couple of hours, almost rage-quit, and then noticed that you can summon human players (i.e. from the shrine menu) to help take him out. Do that. (But be warned: this is a persisting game balancing issue throughout - bosses that are nigh impossible if taken on alone, and then absurdly easy if you summon human allies.)

I think the change to the formula is enough to get me on board with this one. I like the change to larger maps and the Samurai / Ninja split is super fun IMO. The apparently easier difficulty also helps as someone who doesn’t usually play these kinda games but wants to get better. This is gonna be the one that hooks me!

Agree about the easier difficulty except as noted above. As for the samurai/ ninja split, I can't really get into the default mechanic of automatically switching whenever you block a burst break. That just seems really arbitrary and disorienting to me. I separated the two controls and I've been getting on much better since - although this mostly results in my ignoring the damningly slow samurai build altogether.

I'm generally not a fan of open world games, and I wish Team Ninja had moved from small, individual maps to a more curated, connected, but essentially linear experience a la Dark Souls 1. I love the way the classic soulslikes are also metroidvanias at their core, and this is something that gets lost in open world. Everything just starts to feel like a fistfull of content flung randomly across a huge landmass, which can get a little dull at times. (Though, if the game is a good one, individual missions might deliver the metroidvania/ dungeon crawl experience I prefer.)

 

[mbenigni]

tl;dr - I finished the demo (again) after cheesing that first boss, and broke down and bought the full game. So I'm clearly not hating it or anything.

 

[laxu]

I love the way the classic soulslikes are also metroidvanias at their core, and this is something that gets lost in open world. Everything just starts to feel like a fistfull of content flung randomly across a huge landmass, which can get a little dull at times.

Yeah this is a problem with lots of games today. It seems like going from setpiece to setpiece and everything in between is basically nothing. Metal Gear Solid V is perhaps the worst example where there is literally nothing in the game world except outpost type areas to conquer.

I don't know what the scale is like in Nioh 3 later on, but the demo felt like it at least didn't go too big with the few levels available.

 

[mbenigni]

Yeah this is a problem with lots of games today. It seems like going from setpiece to setpiece and everything in between is basically nothing. Metal Gear Solid V is perhaps the worst example where there is literally nothing in the game world except outpost type areas to conquer.

I don't know what the scale is like in Nioh 3 later on, but the demo felt like it at least didn't go too big with the few levels available.

Too soon for me to judge. There's no real precedent since earlier Nioh's were relatively tiny little maps with single-serve missions. (Which, IMO, actually served those games quite well.) Obviously, Nioh 3 presents on a much bigger scale, but probably not as big (nor as densely packed), as e.g. Elden Ring?

Sometimes (even in the demo) I'll be looking for one place/thing and I'll stumble into a whole new section of the map that looks almost identical. A younger me might have thought, "Yay, this game is huge!"; older me thinks, "Ugh, sprawl." On the other hand, just when I thought things were getting a bit samey last night, I found a new "biome" (to use spoiler-free Minecraft vernacular) whose color palette, fauna, etc. were quite refreshing. So the thrill of exploration is still there, at least occasionally. :)

 

[Devin]

Got sucked into "Game About Digging a Hole" for a few days until I was done digging. That's a fun game like Powerwash Simulator with a neat little loop. Recommended for under $5.

Not sure what to play next so decided to pop back into Stardew Valley for a bit. Nowhere near as fun after I already got 100% in it.

Bought this game a while back but still haven't launched it yet; seems rad haha


I been playing the Elden VINS Nightreign mod lately which is insane; changes practically everything in the game to sort of a Devil May Cry style

It's so well done it feels like it should be part of the official game tbh


Oh, also Guns of Fury which is fucking dope. Imagine Metal Slug if it was a Metroidvania

 

[mbenigni]

Yeah this is a problem with lots of games today. It seems like going from setpiece to setpiece and everything in between is basically nothing.

One more thing I dislike about open worlds: it's way too easy to break the difficulty curve, one way or the other.

1. Sure, there's all kinds of grind-fodder scattered around. But if you don't feel like making annoying little problems for yourself (the open world "let's pretend this is an objective" phenomenon), you head off in the direction of the main story content. As any sane person would do. As the game is telling you to do, right there in the corner of the screen.

2. OK, you probably don't belong here, but you persist, and you slowly acquire a mountain of cool loot.

3. Eventually you hit a wall, put your tail between your legs, and retreat.

4. Now, everywhere else you go (and realize you should have gone sooner), you're an OP twink - and the game is pointlessly easy.

Shouldn't preventing this have been, oh I don't know, a video game designer's job?



Still having fun, but I've managed to turn a soulslike into a walking simulator. Oops.

 

[Devin]

^ that's been a thing forever though (see the original Legend of Zelda)

The designers give you the tools and freedom to essentially play the game however you want


There are even some psychos out there who grinded to level 99 in the opening sequence of Final Fantasy 3

 

[Jynx]

This might be the best game soundtrack ever.



Game is great too, of course. Option paralysis is pretty high, though. I'm still figuring it all out.