Games you are currently playing - Part 7

Mikeaveli

Registered User
Sep 25, 2013
5,972
1,889
Edmonton, AB
Playing Silent Hill 2 having never played the original.

I'm enjoying it a lot so far though the game is insanely stuttery. Like every few feet you walk there is a big stutter. There are also some visual bugs which can be fixed by installing DLSS Ray Reconstruction though a mod. Aside from those issues I'm loving the game. Much more up my alley than Alan Wake 2 was.
 

Frankie Spankie

Registered User
Feb 22, 2009
12,433
443
Dorchester, MA
Playing Silent Hill 2 having never played the original.

I'm enjoying it a lot so far though the game is insanely stuttery. Like every few feet you walk there is a big stutter. There are also some visual bugs which can be fixed by installing DLSS Ray Reconstruction though a mod. Aside from those issues I'm loving the game. Much more up my alley than Alan Wake 2 was.
Huge reason to not buy games on release, wait for them to go on sale months later with more content, patched, and cheaper.
 

Dolemite

The one...the only...
Sponsor
May 4, 2004
43,328
2,301
Washington DC
Diablo 4 - Vessel of Hatred DLC - While the content is absolutely stellar, the XP gains in the DLC are astronomically slow (the XP gains in the Helltide is lightning quick).

Destiny 2 - Revenant - I’m having fun with it l. The content is really quick as there’s a new Dungeon launching at 10 AM PST tomorrow.

NHL 25 - I want to say I’m having fun but the game is just so poorly constructed in the game play that it’s maddening.

Silent Hill 2 Remake - Good god this is an amazing game. Bloober (who made the Medium) did a stellar job with the environment, the setting, and the gameplay. The near perfect scores from the games media are 100% accurate.
 

Mikeaveli

Registered User
Sep 25, 2013
5,972
1,889
Edmonton, AB
Huge reason to not buy games on release, wait for them to go on sale months later with more content, patched, and cheaper.
I doubt it will be patched, its a problem with Unreal Engine that Epic has to fix. I loaded up Hogwarts Legacy a week ago and had the same stutters.

Even if Epic does fix it, the chances of Bloober going back and upgrading the game to a newer version of Unreal are pretty much zero.
 
Last edited:

Frankie Spankie

Registered User
Feb 22, 2009
12,433
443
Dorchester, MA
I doubt it will be patched, its a problem with Unreal Engine that Epic has to fix. I loaded up Hogwarts Legacy a week ago and had the same stutters.

Even if Epic does fix it, the chances of Bloober going back and upgrading the game to a newer version of Unreal are pretty much zero.
That's a shame if true, I don't know anything about game development. Hopefully they figure something out.

Well I mentioned I started Batman Arkham Knight, gave up after 3 hours, here's my Steam review:

I really loved Arkham Asylum. I thought Arkham City was a bit of a step back from the focused level design to an open world but it was still a good game. Arkham Knight is just meh in my opinion.

The best part of the previous Batman Arkham games in my opinion was the stealth areas where you would take down a whole group in a focused room using fear to separate them and strike at opportune moments. I played about 3 hours and only had 4 of those sections. Each one was very small and uninspired despite being in an open world. None of them were particularly challenging or thought provoking. In fact, combat in general is very minimal. Taking down thugs is the best part of being Batman and there's not many sections where you actually do it.

What we do have is a lot of driving in the Batmobile. Now I'm going to preface this by saying I do enjoy driving games. I wish there were more arcade racers out there, it's sadly a dying genre. However, this is just not it. The controls are unorthodox which is fine, I could learn to adjust. Driving through the city feels like a bit of a bore, the driving physics aren't great. They're serviceable for what it they are and I could have forgiven it given the fact that this isn't meant to be a driving game. The main problem is the battle mode...

Pretty much every time you need to drive anywhere, you enter a battle with tanks. It is legitimately the most uninspired game play I've seen in years. There's absolutely 0 challenge. The reload between shots just feels incredibly tedious. Every time I've entered a battle vs tanks I don't get excited for the combat, I don't get nervous for the challenge, I just roll my eyes and think "please just let this be quick."

The combat and especially the stealth sections of the previous Batman Arkham games were where the game shined. So why did they remove so much of it for this awful Batmobile game play? I personally loved Arkham Asylum because of how focused the level design was. I thought making Arkham City open world took away from that, making the open world portions feel more like a chore padding time to get between missions. What does Arkham Knight do? Make you spend even more time doing tedious, repetitive stuff between the actual missions.

In fact, there are several sections where the game focuses too much on cinematics and not enough on game play. One early mission has you going into a chemical plant where you have to slowly remove canisters and move them to place inside another contraption on the other side of the room. Move to fast and game over. You have to move incredibly slowly for the sake of having a cinematic. There's absolutely 0 game play there other than holding your analog stick 25% of the way and watching everything move in slow motion. It doesn't evoke a feeling of tension, which is what I assume the devs aimed for, it just makes me bored and angry if my finger slips.

Technically, the game runs great, which is a bit surprising considering how bad of a port this was at launch. The combat is still solid, the stealth sections work but the level design took a step back. Then they made the open world sections even worse. In my opinion, this is a step back in every way from the other Batman Arkham games.
 

Bocephus86

Registered User
Mar 2, 2011
6,360
4,095
Boston
Been replaying Kingdom Come: Deliverance since I got hyped from the KCD2 trailer a month ago or whatever. I just love this game. Things are janky for sure, but it scratches all of my game itches. Solid story. Engaging combat (IMO). A real sense of progress / growth. Looting for a reason. Skill paths that I can switch between. I am even one of those people that likes to have to manage equipment condition (loved it in FO:NV too, gives me a reason to switch things up and plan).

This time around I knew what I was getting into so I 'power leveled' I guess. Spent the time in the prologue getting Herbalism to level 10 for that strength perk, sold the ingredients for some cash. After that, 'rushed' to Rattay and kept training with Bernard until I had master strike & some decent levels in combat skills before moving the story along to Neuhof. Grinded alchamy a bit making Marigold Concoctions. That kind of thing.

Now I'm in the middle of 'All that Glisters' but have also completed the Hans & Band of Bastard DLCs, nearly finished Pribyslavitz, and have focused on side quests. While I definitely over did the power levels, I've had a ton of fun taking it much slower, focusing on the side quests, hunting, etc. It's a little cheesy but I am enjoying rich & powerful Henry a bit more than I did my prior version. Honestly I might have finished my first play through with lower skills than I have right now, and without realizing how useful potions are. For example, I've been close twice but I haven't died in an ambush yet, and that was such a reoccurring problem for me last time I spent half my groschen on Savior's Schnapps...

TL:DR - gem of a game if you can overlook some of the rough edges. Really looking forward to the next one.
 

Frankie Spankie

Registered User
Feb 22, 2009
12,433
443
Dorchester, MA
I tried playing a spooky game since we're getting close to Halloween and I feel like horror games just aren't for me...

Condemned: Criminal Origins - An absolute broken mess on modern machines. I'm not sure if the movement is really clunky or if it's just an engine that can't handle higher frame rates when I finally figured out how to get the frame rate past 30 fps... The combat is also super clunky but again, could be an engine issue with higher frame rates.

Zombi - This just needs to be removed from Steam, Ubisoft requires an activation key but doesn't give you one. DRM is there to make sure people who don't pay for the game don't get to play, pathetic that Ubisoft uses it to make sure people who do pay for the game can't play it. Meanwhile, I bet it has been cracked for years now and I could pirate it if I want to but I don't want to pirate stuff. I'd rather just leave a negative review on their Steam page to warn others and move on.

Resident Evil 0 - Man I hate the controls in this... I got about 45 minutes in, forcing myself through the clunkiness. Everyone told me "you're not supposed to kill the zombies in RE games! Just shoot them so they stagger and run by!" Well it's super hard to aim with these controls and the train is so damn tight you can't run by zombies without getting grabbed. So you end up hanging way back to shoot as much as you can but they're also bullet spongey and might still grab you even as you're shooting. The controls mixed with the clunky combat made me uninstall before I hit the hour mark.
 
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Rodgerwilco

Entertainment boards w/ some Hockey mixed in.
Feb 6, 2014
8,035
7,529
I tried playing a spooky game since we're getting close to Halloween and I feel like horror games just aren't for me...

Condemned: Criminal Origins - An absolute broken mess on modern machines. I'm not sure if the movement is really clunky or if it's just an engine that can't handle higher frame rates when I finally figured out how to get the frame rate past 30 fps... The combat is also super clunky but again, could be an engine issue with higher frame rates.

Zombi - This just needs to be removed from Steam, Ubisoft requires an activation key but doesn't give you one. DRM is there to make sure people who don't pay for the game don't get to play, pathetic that Ubisoft uses it to make sure people who do pay for the game can't play it. Meanwhile, I bet it has been cracked for years now and I could pirate it if I want to but I don't want to pirate stuff. I'd rather just leave a negative review on their Steam page to warn others and move on.

Resident Evil 0 - Man I hate the controls in this... I got about 45 minutes in, forcing myself through the clunkiness. Everyone told me "you're not supposed to kill the zombies in RE games! Just shoot them so they stagger and run by!" Well it's super hard to aim with these controls and the train is so damn tight you can't run by zombies without getting grabbed. So you end up hanging way back to shoot as much as you can but they're also bullet spongey and might still grab you even as you're shooting. The controls mixed with the clunky combat made me uninstall before I hit the hour mark.
I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but if you're looking for a good spooky game I would highly recommend Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Viscerally creepy environment and lore in that game, simple and mostly clean controls and a great "Sanity" mechanic which affects you. There's no combat, so the atmosphere and movement are the crux of the game. Definitely mf favorite true horror game that I've ever played.
 

JaegerDice

The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA
Dec 26, 2014
25,589
10,286
The more I play Street Fighter 6, the more confident I am that it's the best fighting game since Virtua Fighter 5, and has a case to be the best Street Fighter since Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. Which, for the record, would put it above Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike, two of the best fighting games of all time.

Everything just feels so damn gooooooood, the systems are all intuitive but deep, and every character feels viable, even if there is a clear tier list (they nerfed by boy Luke, but they gave me Terry, so I'm happy).

Gonna go into withdrawals when I sell my PS5 to a buddy this week in preparation for the PS5 Pro.
 

Frankie Spankie

Registered User
Feb 22, 2009
12,433
443
Dorchester, MA
I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but if you're looking for a good spooky game I would highly recommend Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Viscerally creepy environment and lore in that game, simple and mostly clean controls and a great "Sanity" mechanic which affects you. There's no combat, so the atmosphere and movement are the crux of the game. Definitely mf favorite true horror game that I've ever played.
I tried it but for me, a lot of these horror games with no combat just feel like hide and seek games to me. I understand that making you weak and defenseless adds to tension but it just doesn't do it for me. I wouldn't mind trying Amnesia: The Bunker because I know you at least get a gun in that one.
 

Rodgerwilco

Entertainment boards w/ some Hockey mixed in.
Feb 6, 2014
8,035
7,529
I tried it but for me, a lot of these horror games with no combat just feel like hide and seek games to me. I understand that making you weak and defenseless adds to tension but it just doesn't do it for me. I wouldn't mind trying Amnesia: The Bunker because I know you at least get a gun in that one.
I can absolutely get that take on it.
 

Unholy Diver

Registered User
Oct 13, 2002
20,255
3,888
in the midnight sea
Planet Coaster console edition

Every once in a while I'll give one of the park sims a whirl, quite enjoyed the first Jurassic Park one, and also Theme Park going way back a few system generations, so far Planet Coaster has been ok, a bit of a learning curve, and the controls are a tad wonky, but its been enjoyable so far
 

Sniper99

Registered User
Jan 12, 2011
13,009
5,936
Edmonton
Completing the "RPG Trilogy" in Assassins Creed.

- Played Origins first and loved it. the open world RPG concept worked really well and was a welcome change up from the stale AC formula

- Played Odyssey next and as great as Origins was, this was that much better. Massive world, they fully went for it on the gear/attributes aspect of an RPG and a great variety of missions between bounties, raid, storyline missions, random NPC encounters.

- Playing through Valhalla now and loving it as much as Odyssey even with the changes. Way more of an RPG with a much more complex abilities tree, having to supply and upgrade your camp to upgrade your gear, and getting fatigued in combat/needing rations to recover.
How is AC Mirage? worth picking up? lot of reviews on youtube are dumping all over it.
 

BigBadBruins7708

Registered User
Dec 11, 2017
14,600
20,036
Las Vegas
How is AC Mirage? worth picking up? lot of reviews on youtube are dumping all over it.

Havent gotten to Mirage yet, still playing through Valhalla.

From what I've seen it was supposed to be a DLC for Valhalla and is far more focused on stealth rather than combat. Going into it with that mindset I'd expect to like it if you liked Valhalla/Origins
 
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Jovavic

boohoo, Pens "fans", BOOHOO
Oct 13, 2002
15,814
3,505
New Born Citizen Erased
Nothing on my list is on sale so when that happens I go back and give a game i didn't like before another try. I previously have done with RDR2 and this time I'm retrying Elden Ring. I ended up having to change the attacks to the face buttons instead of the right shoulder to emulated Wukong, moved my flask to dpad down, also. I've only played about an hour but I'm liking it alot more now with my custom mapping.
 
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Andrei79

Registered User
Jan 25, 2013
16,539
30,767
Been replaying Kingdom Come: Deliverance since I got hyped from the KCD2 trailer a month ago or whatever. I just love this game. Things are janky for sure, but it scratches all of my game itches. Solid story. Engaging combat (IMO). A real sense of progress / growth. Looting for a reason. Skill paths that I can switch between. I am even one of those people that likes to have to manage equipment condition (loved it in FO:NV too, gives me a reason to switch things up and plan).

This time around I knew what I was getting into so I 'power leveled' I guess. Spent the time in the prologue getting Herbalism to level 10 for that strength perk, sold the ingredients for some cash. After that, 'rushed' to Rattay and kept training with Bernard until I had master strike & some decent levels in combat skills before moving the story along to Neuhof. Grinded alchamy a bit making Marigold Concoctions. That kind of thing.

Now I'm in the middle of 'All that Glisters' but have also completed the Hans & Band of Bastard DLCs, nearly finished Pribyslavitz, and have focused on side quests. While I definitely over did the power levels, I've had a ton of fun taking it much slower, focusing on the side quests, hunting, etc. It's a little cheesy but I am enjoying rich & powerful Henry a bit more than I did my prior version. Honestly I might have finished my first play through with lower skills than I have right now, and without realizing how useful potions are. For example, I've been close twice but I haven't died in an ambush yet, and that was such a reoccurring problem for me last time I spent half my groschen on Savior's Schnapps...

TL:DR - gem of a game if you can overlook some of the rough edges. Really looking forward to the next one.

I love this game. It's so immersive. One of the best RPGs I've ever played.
 
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Andrei79

Registered User
Jan 25, 2013
16,539
30,767
I want to play this one but at the same time it kind of intimidates me...

How may hours should I give this one before i give up on it?

I don't know if I'm the right person to ask that question as I give up on games relatively quickly if I don't feel them. I liked it almost right from the start. It had elements of old school RPGs like Ultima that I loved. it's a proper RPG, but I don't know if it's as hard or hardcore as they make it out to be. I found that once I understood the mechanics, things went pretty smoothly. I loved getting my first weapons and armor.
 
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robertmac43

Forever 43!
Mar 31, 2015
25,099
17,314
I don't know if I'm the right person to ask that question as I give up on games relatively quickly if I don't feel them. I liked it almost right from the start. It had elements of old school RPGs like Ultima that I loved. it's a proper RPG, but I don't know if it's as hard or hardcore as they make it out to be. I found that once I understood the mechanics, things went pretty smoothly. I loved getting my first weapons and armor.
I think i'll check it out for at least a couple of hours. PS plus game at one point so no loss in starting.
 
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