Now Playing (Video Games)

[JudasMyGuide]

So, like I said previously in the 1M thread, I've decided to switch back to Windows with my new laptop... which means my options game-wise have significantly broadened. Apart from the original Black Mirror I already wrote about and the first Broken Sword I'm playing right now, I tried out the new Tony Hawk remaster, but I definitely liked the other games more, so I gave a run-through of THPS3 and now playing THPS4 (still my favourite, I'd say).

Also, I'm preparing for the Opeth game by listening to Orchid while playing Painkiller (to quote a certain reviewer, "If video games got drunk and had one-night stands that resulted in pregnancy, Painkiller would be the product of the frenzied, S&M-laden coupling of Doom and Serious Sam.") and I love the pure FPS gameplay combined with the gothic, doomy atmosphere.

Among other things, I'm hitting my nostalgia vibes playing Warcraft 2 and the original Far Cry (the latter is definitely worse than I remembered, though, at least IMHO).

Oh, and I'm playing Diablo II, in preparation for the remaster.

Combine that with continuing with Skyrim, and Dragon Age: Origins and Dead Space on the xBox.

And I also tried out Frostpunk. So far I don't know if the game's awesome, excellent and genius or manipulative, toiling slog of a game. We'll see later on.

 

[Onhell]

So, like I said previously in the 1M thread, I've decided to switch back to Windows with my new laptop... which means my options game-wise have significantly broadened...

What OS did you have before?

Combine that with continuing with Skyrim, and Dead Space on the xBox.

Fallout 3 grabbed me from the start... Skyrim on the other hand.... had no idea what I was doing, never "got it." It is being released... again... is it really the must play everyone makes it out to be? I've been told Oblivion is better.

Dead Space... I played that game months ago and I still think about it, as well as Dead Space 2. Great games.

 

[DJMayes]

Fallout 3 grabbed me from the start... Skyrim on the other hand.... had no idea what I was doing, never "got it." It is being released... again... is it really the must play everyone makes it out to be? I've been told Oblivion is better.

Skyrim is probably the most influential game of the past decade, but it's not perfect. The gameplay itself is honestly pretty shallow, with bad difficulty options and frankly awful mechanics (like enemy killcams). On top of that, the game is notoriously buggy and very often falls apart underneath its own weight. That said, all the flaws are part of the charm, and the world is genuinely compelling.

For what it's worth, if you don't like Skyrim, I can't see you liking Oblivion - they aren't that different to play. Personally I prefer Skyrim, if only for the fact the levelling system in Oblivion is obtuse and essentially requires you to keep a spreadsheet and play the game in an unnatural manner if you want optimal level up bonuses (which is pretty important on the highest difficulty).

 

[Jer]

Finally finished the main portion of RDR2, just starting the epilogue. I did fully come around in my opinion about the game by the end, and realized that some of the things that were annoying me earlier could have been managed through on-horse outfits, wilderness camping, and stocking up on canned goods. Oh well. Based on my completion percentage it looks like the epilogue might be reasonably long, but I’ll have to see.

Picked up “The Persistence” on sale for $10 and it’s pretty cool in VR. Only about 2 hours into it, but the rogue-lite elements combined with sci-fi survival horror are a nice pairing. Truly bizarre that they offer a free PS5 upgrade, but the PS5 version drops PSVR support, so I’m stuck playing the PS4 version on my PS5.

 

[LooseCannon]

Oh well. Based on my completion percentage it looks like the epilogue might be reasonably long, but I’ll have to see.

I can confirm it is quite long indeed, I think it was around 6 hours of actual play without exploration time (of which I did a fair bit).

 

[Maturin]

Fallout 3 grabbed me from the start... Skyrim on the other hand.... had no idea what I was doing, never "got it." It is being released... again... is it really the must play everyone makes it out to be? I've been told Oblivion is better.

You don't have to know what you are doing, really. Just play... That's the great thing about Skyrim. Initially I didn't get it either, but after letting that feeling go and just playing on and doing my own thing in that world, that's when I understood it. Just go out on the adventure.

 

[Onhell]

You don't have to know what you are doing, really. Just play... That's the great thing about Skyrim. Initially I didn't get it either, but after letting that feeling go and just playing on and doing my own thing in that world, that's when I understood it. Just go out on the adventure.

Funny you should say that. I am currently destressing from everything playing The Long Dark. Survival game that takes place in the Canadian tundra. I'm doing the story mode, but it also has a survival mode that, in theory, can last forever, it ends when you die. The story mode is sitll pretty intense from the survival aspect. It's like.... you have to get here. How you get there, if you get there, is up to you. You wander, take shelter in caves and abandoned houses and flipped train cars, etc. Point is, I'm ENJOYING the adventure, the not knowing whether I'm going to survive the next trek or not.

So, since you framed it that way... I might give it a second chance when it goes on sale at some point.

 

[Jer]

So, since you framed it that way... I might give it a second chance when it goes on sale at some point.

I do think Skyrim is way overrated, too buggy, etc…but playing it in VR with motion controls for bow combat was pretty revelatory. I think Skyrim VR was the first game to get VR movement controls spot-on, with analog strafing control via the left hand and pie turning on the right (and I think a 180’ turnaround too, but it’s been a while), so you really do have fine-tuned control of your motion without getting nauseated. And even simple things like riding on horseback get an extra oomph from VR. Definitely the best way to play it overall, though VR makes melee combat ridiculous if you do the “death wiggle”.

 

[Courbet]

I have been playing Reternal for the ps5 and am liking it very much! Great atmosphere and the mechanics are smooth as can be.
I dont think I suck at games, but man do I suck at this game.

Almost 6 hours of play time and I am still in the first biome.

 

[Onhell]

I do think Skyrim is way overrated, too buggy, etc…but playing it in VR with motion controls for bow combat was pretty revelatory. I think Skyrim VR was the first game to get VR movement controls spot-on, with analog strafing control via the left hand and pie turning on the right (and I think a 180’ turnaround too, but it’s been a while), so you really do have fine-tuned control of your motion without getting nauseated. And even simple things like riding on horseback get an extra oomph from VR. Definitely the best way to play it overall, though VR makes melee combat ridiculous if you do the “death wiggle”.

I've heard good things about VR in general and how certain games, like Alien Isolation, were "meant" for VR. That being said, it might be me being a grumpy old man stuck in his ways or just a grumpy poor man stuck in his ways due to lack of money, but I don't think I'll make the VR investment any time soon lol. The games I've been playing for the past three years have been on sale for 60-80% off or "free" with my Gold suscription. Otherwise I'd own and play WAY more games.

I dont think I suck at games, but man do I suck at this game.

That's how I felt with FPSs for the longest time.

 

[Jer]

I've heard good things about VR in general and how certain games, like Alien Isolation, were "meant" for VR. That being said, it might be me being a grumpy old man stuck in his ways or just a grumpy poor man stuck in his ways due to lack of money, but I don't think I'll make the VR investment any time soon lol.

It’s definitely a boutique thing, and it’s not for everyone. VR also hasn’t wound up working as well for the things where you’d think it would be a natural fit (driving games, flight sims, etc.), because involuntary rotation and weird in-game acceleration tend to make you nauseated in VR. But for certain types of experiences there’s nothing better.

For example, first-person horror in VR is just a fundamentally different experience from playing it on a flat screen, because your brain is convinced that you’re there, in the game world, rather than participating from a distance. Resident Evil 7 in VR was just insane because of that. Pakrement-inducing in places. The Persistence is another example of a game that’s really elevated by VR for similar reasons. Your body just has a visceral reaction to that kind of fright when things are directly happening to you.

When PSVR2 comes out about a year from now, I bet the first-gen headsets are going to become pretty cheap, and the PS4 itself will obviously be super cheap at that point, so the barrier to entry for VR will be as low as it’s ever been. But the best way to give it a shot is to find a buddy with a rig and see what all the fuss is about.


Finished up the RDR2 epilogue, which pretty much leads right up to the beginning of RDR1. Not surprisingly, a remaster of RDR1 is coming early next year, but I think I’ll pass on it — I still have the PS3 hooked up if I want to revisit that one. Gave Red Dead Online a whirl too, but it didn’t seem to have the same wild abandon in free roam that RDR1 did — instead it does live matchmaking when you decide to take on a mission, rather than having a bunch of randos riding around on the server wreaking havoc. Or maybe there are people running around in free roam, but I never encountered any, because I never left New Austin during my session and the game’s been live for nearly 3 years already.

Also spending a bunch of gaming time with The Persistence in VR, which sometimes feels like a loot & collect fest, but it keeps introducing new things often enough to keep me interested, and it’s scared the shit out of me at least 3 times, almost badly enough to take off the headset (but not quite). Unfortunate that it only uses the standard controller instead of the Moves, but using your head for aiming gives you enough control fidelity that it still works out.

Need to figure out what part of my backlog I’m going to jump into next — probably Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War.

 

[Edington]

Currently playing this, it's a 16-bit style medieval/fantasy Metroidvania. Not much to say on the gameplay, if you've played any sidescroller before you've played them all, but it's got really cool, almost horror-influenced visuals and enemy varieties and some gory and brutal finishing moves. It's also as unforgivingly difficult as the old school games it's influenced by, either that or I just haven't unlocked as many upgrades as I should have.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

Currently playing this, it's a 16-bit style medieval/fantasy Metroidvania. Not much to say on the gameplay, if you've played any sidescroller before you've played them all, but it's got really cool, almost horror-influenced visuals and enemy varieties and some gory and brutal finishing moves. It's also as unforgivingly difficult as the old school games it's influenced by, either that or I just haven't unlocked as many upgrades as I should have.

Hey, I've also been playing this one just now! (it was on sale on Steam)
It's hard, but manageable (well, I'm playing Dark Souls concurrently, so maybe I'm biased), the visuals are awesome and the gameplay is really catchy (in my book, just as playable as both Oris)

Oh, and also... it's actually not that blasphemous at all, possibly less so than some other games/stuff that do not have that in the title. Which of course only I care about, but still.

Also have been playing the aforementioned Dark Souls, started the Mass Effect trilogy (I don't like sci-fi and space opera too much, I expected I would like Dragon Age more, but honestly, the storytelling, the characters etc. are really addictive), Diablo II: Resurrected (on Xbox, though I'm really perverted and think about buying both 2 and 3 for PC also), Black Mirror 2, Desperados 3 (an awesome and really game! A must play for anyone who loved 1 back in the day! It's like someone actually took 1, modernised it and scratched everything that didn't work and came up with a winner) and Dark Deviotion (another hard indie platformer with a lot of personality and churchy-Medieval atmosphere, though this one is also much weirder gameplay-wise - actually somewhat rogue-like as well - you always start from the beginning and get new equipment + you can't jump, though it works really well within the game).

Also tried the original Baldur's Gate, but honestly, just like Daggerfall, it might be just too old for me. I like it for the atmosphere, but the fact the characters can't even run and the areas are rather large makes it annoying.

I also returned to the original Thief, the original hack and slash Return of the King licensed game from 2003 and Painkiller - all are really a lot of fun.

What OS did you have before?

Mac

Also, been continuing with Skyrim and Dragon Age: Origins.

Fallout 3 grabbed me from the start... Skyrim on the other hand.... had no idea what I was doing, never "got it." It is being released... again... is it really the must play everyone makes it out to be? I've been told Oblivion is better.

I'm more of a fantasy guy, so I'm enjoying it a lot, though the story (Skyrim) isn't as compelling and the characters are slightly blander. But there's no(t much) postmodern irony, at least, so there.

Dragon Age has a really compelling story and characters and the quests are rather intriguing, but the gameplay is really skippable, in my book.

 

[JudasMyGuide]

...and I succumbed to my cravings and bought Diablo II + III on the PC as well. I don't know why, but the fact I have both games on both platforms makes me strangely happy.

 

[Edington]

Hey, I've also been playing this one just now! (it was on sale on Steam)
It's hard, but manageable (well, I'm playing Dark Souls concurrently, so maybe I'm biased), the visuals are awesome and the gameplay is really catchy

Ah, I've heard Dark Souls is the benchmark for difficult games, haven't played it myself, maybe I'd find Blasphemous easier if I had. It did get much easier as I progressed a little and unlocked some health and attack upgrades, it also encourages exploration for me, as early on I'd simply try to get from save point to save point without dying. Right now I've defeated my... third? boss and have gained access to a new area. While I've racked up a fair bit of game time I feel like I've gotten through it pretty quickly so I'm hoping I'm not at the endgame just yet.

 

[Samantas5855]

Did anyone see the steam deck teardown?

 

[Mosh]

I just finished my first (really!) JRPG: Dragon Warrior on the NES. I’ve had incomplete sessions with other games (got really far in Chrono Trigger), but I’ve struggled to find one that has kept my interest throughout. Even though I really like them in concept, I’ve found them to be a little cumbersome to figure out. Dragon Warrior struck the right balance for me with a really simple system (no parties, one enemy at a time, small overworld map). It was just really approachable but the leveling system and item upgrades made grinding feel worth it and not too mundane.

I reckon after this I’ll go for the first Final Fantasy, which came later and is a bit more complex. I’ve attempted it before but found it to be a bit overwhelming. I know this is an unorthodox approach but I have a soft spot for NES and I’ve tried all the major SNES rpgs to little interest. I also don’t have a lot of patience for heavy story.

 

[LooseCannon]

That's too bad that you don't like heavy stories - I've always found that to be the best part of a JRPG, getting sucked into the story. NES RPGs are fine, but I find they are often too dated in their engines. Dragon Warrior 1 is a fine game, though.

 

[Jer]

That's too bad that you don't like heavy stories - I've always found that to be the best part of a JRPG, getting sucked into the story.

Yes, arguably heavy story and complex party mechanics are two of the most common elements of JRPGs. Sounds like he may be more interested in Zelda-likes instead.

 

[Maturin]

Installed CS:GO on my new PC for the first time. Did not really enjoy it so started playing CS: Condition Zero with bots instead. More fun!