Games you are currently playing - Part 7

[syz]

Honkai: Star Rail is like what if Disco Elysium was a turn based JRPG.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Replaying via PS1 emulation:

 

[SimGrindcore]

Paused my Resident Evil Revelation 2 playthrough for free online multiplayer game,

I tried Enlisted and I must say that I quite enjoy it since I'm not really skilled at aiming haha, But God, the menus are overwhelming!

I also when achievement hunting in Rocket League, Crossfire X and PUBG.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

I started Grounded last night. I wasn't expecting a hardcore survival game with hunger, thirst, base building, a million things to analyze and craft and enemies that can one-hit kill me. It reminds me of Subnautica in a lot of ways, except, of course, that I'm on foot in a backyard instead of underwater in the ocean. I love Subnautica, so this is up my alley, but it's going to take longer to finish than I was anticipating. It's particularly more complex, stressful and challenging than I was expecting.

Grounded is fantastic. It's definitely tough, but I really enjoyed it.

 

[x Tame Impala]

I loved the premise of Grounded but hate the survival/crafting genre so much.

 

[PK Cronin]

I loved the premise of Grounded but hate the survival/crafting genre so much.

I played for a couple hours when it was free and it didn't seem to be much different than other survival/crafting games so I stopped. The Honey I Shrunk the Kids vibe was fine but didn't add enough for me.

 

[Osprey]

I'm still enjoying the premise of Grounded, but the gameplay is getting more tedious and grindy the longer that I play.

I'm spending so much time just walking across the map to get a resource and bring it back to my base to craft something from it. I can set up crafting stations anywhere on the map, but that would take a lot of work and be rather pointless without storing caches of each resource at each one, which would just mean grinding resources even more. Subnautica didn't really have this problem because your sub was like a base that you could bring with you everywhere, complete with crafting station and ample storage. Grounded is a bit like the on-land portions of Subnautica, which were the less fun portions of that game.

Another thing is that there are several items that would be very useful that I can't craft because I haven't found the resources or am still too underequipped to kill the creatures that provide them. For example, I'm always running into things that require a level II hammer to harvest, but crafting that requires stinkbug parts and stinkbugs are still too tough for me to kill. I suspect that a bow and arrow would help, but, even after 15 hours, I still don't have the most basic set because I haven't stumbled upon enough of the seemingly rare resources needed to make them. I could melee the stinkbugs if I had a gas mask, but crafting one requires stinkbug parts, so it's a catch-22. There's a lot of "I need A to craft B to kill C, but I need D to craft A and can't find D" in this game.

Finally, a lesser annoyance is that each insect foe has weaknesses and resistances, which is kind of cool, but means that I either have to memorize them or switch to my "binoculars" before every encounter to be reminded of them.

The game still has its moments, I'm enjoying it enough and I'll still finish it, but I think that the gameplay could use some tweaking to be a little more fun and less tedious and grindy, at least for solo players. In fact, that could be most of the issue, that it was possibly balanced around the co-op experience.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Started the Dead Space remake/remaster

As it has been an age since I played the original I can't fairly compare the two but I can say the new one looks and sounds amazing, the game has such great atmosphere, the feeling of dread over any strange noise and wondering what might be sneaking up on you is about as good as it gets

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I'm still enjoying the premise of Grounded, but the gameplay is getting less fun and more tedious and grindy the longer that I play.

I'm spending so much time just walking across the map to get a resource and bring it back to my base to craft something from it. I can set up crafting stations anywhere on the map, but that would take a lot of work and be rather pointless without storing caches of each resource at each one, which would just mean grinding resources even more. Subnautica didn't really have this problem because your sub was like a base that you could bring with you everywhere, complete with crafting station and ample storage. Grounded is a bit like the on-land portions of Subnautica, which weren't the best portions of that game.

Another thing is that there are several items that would be very useful that I can't craft because I haven't found the resources or am still too underequipped to kill the creatures that provide them. For example, I'm always running into things that require a level II hammer to harvest, but crafting that requires stinkbug parts and stinkbugs are still too tough for me to kill. I suspect that a bow and arrow would help, but, even after 15 hours, I still don't have the most basic set because I haven't stumbled upon enough of the seemingly very rare resources needed to make them. I could melee the stinkbugs if I had a gas mask, but crafting one requires stinkbug parts, so it's a catch-22. There's a lot of "I need A to craft B to kill C, but I need D to craft A and can't find D" in this game.

Finally, a lesser annoyance is that each insect foe has weaknesses and resistances, which is kind of cool, but means that I either have to memorize them or switch to my "binoculars" before every encounter to be reminded of them.

The game still has its moments, I'm enjoying it enough and I'll still finish it, but I think that the gameplay could use some tweaking to be a little more fun and less tedious and grindy, at least for solo players. In fact, that could be most of the issue, that it was possibly balanced around the co-op experience.

I played it during the free weekend and it was so annoying just building a small base because you could only carry 5 planks at a time. Then if you want to build somewhere further away from grass leaves, you were just running back and forth carrying 5 planks at a time over and over.

And yeah, the progression felt terrible. The gear you can create from killing bugs that you're strong enough to kill aren't strong enough to kill the next tier of bugs which you need to mine better resources. And no, a bow and arrow won't help. I crafted one and they feel like a pea shooter. I only ever killed one stink bug and it was because it got bugged on a wall while I was able to keep my distance from its gas attacks with a bow.

 

[Osprey]

I played it during the free weekend and it was so annoying just building a small base because you could only carry 5 planks at a time. Then if you want to build somewhere further away from grass leaves, you were just running back and forth carrying 5 planks at a time over and over.

That's largely why I have only the one base and it's as basic as can be. Another issue with the planks is that you can't really fight while carrying them, so it's dangerous to transport them long distances. The game is realistic like that, but, sometimes, realism isn't much fun.

And yeah, the progression felt terrible. The gear you can create from killing bugs that you're strong enough to kill aren't strong enough to kill the next tier of bugs which you need to mine better resources. And no, a bow and arrow won't help. I crafted one and they feel like a pea shooter. I only ever killed one stink bug and it was because it got bugged on a wall while I was able to keep my distance from its gas attacks with a bow.

I was afraid of that, that bows and arrows would be underpowered, but you were able to cheese one stinkbug and that's what I'm hoping to do, too. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who needed to cheese creatures. Some are so tough that I end up save scumming to find just the right strategy for beating them. For example, I must've re-played a battle with a ladybug two dozen times until I found a way to kill it without taking much damage (by hitting it a few times, backing way off to coax it into charging and missing me, then repeating). I prefer not to save scum, but I can only imagine how long it would've taken me to figure out that strategy if I had to re-spawn, run all of the way to my backpack and then try to find the ladybug again each time.

Edit: Shortly after this, I happened upon a stinkbug that was in battle with a few ants and had only half health afterwards, which I was able to finish off by meleeing it. I immediately made a gas mask and, now, stinkbugs are easy to kill.

 

[Soldier13Fox]

Really enjoying Dead Island 2. Nothing groundbreaking and it's certainly not a very deep game, but it is just a ton of fun.

 

[Jovavic]

Got Dredge, it is pretty fun if a little shallow and repetitive

 

[Osprey]

Got Dredge, it is pretty fun if a little shallow and repetitive

If it's too shallow, head out into deeper water.

 

[GreytWun]

I'm still enjoying the premise of Grounded, but the gameplay is getting more tedious and grindy the longer that I play.

I'm spending so much time just walking across the map to get a resource and bring it back to my base to craft something from it. I can set up crafting stations anywhere on the map, but that would take a lot of work and be rather pointless without storing caches of each resource at each one, which would just mean grinding resources even more. Subnautica didn't really have this problem because your sub was like a base that you could bring with you everywhere, complete with crafting station and ample storage. Grounded is a bit like the on-land portions of Subnautica, which were the less fun portions of that game.

Another thing is that there are several items that would be very useful that I can't craft because I haven't found the resources or am still too underequipped to kill the creatures that provide them. For example, I'm always running into things that require a level II hammer to harvest, but crafting that requires stinkbug parts and stinkbugs are still too tough for me to kill. I suspect that a bow and arrow would help, but, even after 15 hours, I still don't have the most basic set because I haven't stumbled upon enough of the seemingly rare resources needed to make them. I could melee the stinkbugs if I had a gas mask, but crafting one requires stinkbug parts, so it's a catch-22. There's a lot of "I need A to craft B to kill C, but I need D to craft A and can't find D" in this game.

Finally, a lesser annoyance is that each insect foe has weaknesses and resistances, which is kind of cool, but means that I either have to memorize them or switch to my "binoculars" before every encounter to be reminded of them.

The game still has its moments, I'm enjoying it enough and I'll still finish it, but I think that the gameplay could use some tweaking to be a little more fun and less tedious and grindy, at least for solo players. In fact, that could be most of the issue, that it was possibly balanced around the co-op experience.

You can kill a lot of the tougher insects if you get really good at blocking. Make sure you carry something to heal yourself as well. Build a few bases in multiple areas of the map that way you don’t have to keep running back to the main one. Get the mints to craft the mint hammer (or axe). There is one near the starting spawn.

Don’t travel too far north until you have stronger weapons and armor.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Borderlands 3

Playing this with a few friends and enjoying it quite a bit as a game to play in the background while talking, aside from the dialogue

Mega Man 11

I'm liking this game a lot, the controls are nice and responsive (unlike the Mega Man Legacy Collection) and its tough even with the gear abilities. It looks good graphically as well

Redfall

Played for about an hour solo and dropped it, probably the most generic game I've ever played. The gunplay and movement are below average as well which is not good at all for a looter shooter. With those issues compounded by the technical problems, you have a complete disaster.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Spoiler

Dropped after 45 minutes when I reached the first shrine puzzle

 

[Jovavic]

Going to try Yakuza 0 again, then maybe Yakuza 5 before FFXVI comes out. A did a two hour Game Trial on Phoenix Point and I dunno, liked some things about it and not others...maybe it'll come on the Plus service eventually and I won't have to pay for it lol

 

[Osprey]

You can kill a lot of the tougher insects if you get really good at blocking. Make sure you carry something to heal yourself as well. Build a few bases in multiple areas of the map that way you don’t have to keep running back to the main one. Get the mints to craft the mint hammer (or axe). There is one near the starting spawn.

Don’t travel too far north until you have stronger weapons and armor.

Yeah, I've gone with blocking boost armor and have recently gotten and fallen in love with the Mosquito Needle, which steals health with each attack. I practically don't need to heal myself because combat does it for me.

Like I said, building multiple bases around the map seems sort of pointless because there's no central storage. If my resources are spread out among multiple bases, then I likely won't be able to craft much and would need to visit them until I found all of the ones that I need. It's easier to just have one base in the middle of the map where all of my resources are.

As for mints, I finally have them, but don't have recipes for a mint hammer or mint axe, so those aren't options yet. I feel really behind because it took so long to get a level II hammer. Now that I finally have one, I can use use the molars to upgrade my stats and it feels like I'm making faster progress.

 

[Shareefruck]

Honkai: Star Rail is like what if Disco Elysium was a turn based JRPG.

Really? In what sense?

 

[syz]

Really? In what sense?

The delivery and style of a lot of the secondary text/dialogue options are extremely Disco. Big difference obviously being that all of the dialogue options don't have stat requirements, etc.; it's all bonus content as opposed to being something that defines your progression. The game is full of Disco Elysium, Hades, Hitchhiker's Guide, and Phillip K Dick around the edges.

Everyone is lining up to talk to a trash can in Honkai: Star Rail

Wash your hands, please.

www.pcgamer.com

Almost every trash can in this city has a different piece of dialogue attached to it.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I've been really getting into the Resident Evil 4 Remake. I tried playing the original like 8 years ago and thought it aged terribly, giving up after like 2 hours. I'm pretty far in and just started Chapter 12. It's great. I'm glad they remade it because I wouldn't have realized how great of a game it was without a remake.

I also got a bundle on Fanatical and have been playing Bloody Rally Show which is a top down rally racing game. It's actually a ton of fun. The weight of the cars feel perfect. I feel like cars in games like this always feel too slippery or too grippy. This one feels just right. It also has a fun Carmageddon vibe where you can run people over to refill your boost faster.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Borderlands 3

Playing this with a few friends and enjoying it quite a bit as a game to play in the background while talking, aside from the dialogue

Mega Man 11

I'm liking this game a lot, the controls are nice and responsive (unlike the Mega Man Legacy Collection) and its tough even with the gear abilities. It looks good graphically as well

Redfall

Played for about an hour solo and dropped it, probably the most generic game I've ever played. The gunplay and movement are below average as well which is not good at all for a looter shooter. With those issues compounded by the technical problems, you have a complete disaster.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Spoiler

Dropped after 45 minutes when I reached the first shrine puzzle

You're playing Tears of the Kingdom already?

 

[Mikeaveli]

You're playing Tears of the Kingdom already?

I gave it a try as the game leaked last week and is playable on emulators.

 

[pistolpete11]

Kena : Bridge of Spirits

I've been wanting to play it for a while and since it was recently put on PS+, what better time than now?

At first I thought it was going to be too cutesy, but on the medium-hard difficulty, it's quite challenging. The combat is not reinventing the wheel by any means. It's most light/heavy attacks, a bow, jumping, dodge rolling, etc. but except for a few of the boss-type encounters, there's no healing and the enemies hit hard.

The story is kind of basic so far, but the animation is really good and helps provide some unspoken depth to it.

 

[Dolemite]

Kena : Bridge of Spirits

I've been wanting to play it for a while and since it was recently put on PS+, what better time than now?

At first I thought it was going to be too cutesy, but on the medium-hard difficulty, it's quite challenging. The combat is not reinventing the wheel by any means. It's most light/heavy attacks, a bow, jumping, dodge rolling, etc. but except for a few of the boss-type encounters, there's no healing and the enemies hit hard.

The story is kind of basic so far, but the animation is really good and helps provide some unspoken depth to it.

Keep at it. It's a great story. IMO, this is top three of independent games in the past 3 years.

 

[flyersnorth]

Going to try Yakuza 0 again, then maybe Yakuza 5 before FFXVI comes out. A did a two hour Game Trial on Phoenix Point and I dunno, liked some things about it and not others...maybe it'll come on the Plus service eventually and I won't have to pay for it lol

I am a huge XCOM fan so I've tried just about everything that even comes close to being similar, and yeah, Phoenix Point didn't really do it for me. The execution is flat - I guess that's the difference between a big budget and a small budget. But it's not just that - I usually prefer indie / smaller titles to the AAA games that, to me, are just Hollywood generic stuff.

XCOM just nailed the game loop better, and it's a dead simple system with complexity coming in the form of how you strategize your battles. With Phoenix Point, it felt like they added complexity that just didn't add much value to the gameplay.

Mutant Year Zero was a much better title. Also very simple, and instead of being a direct knockoff like Phoenix, it does its own thing, has its own personality. Quite fun. The developer has a new one coming out called Miasma Chronicles or something like that.