Games you are currently playing - Part 7

[Frankie Blueberries]

Try not being a condescending prick for once.

He’s a troll a lot of the time. He posted how he’s a bigger fan of the Canucks than I am because I disagreed with his argument that Brian Burke is responsible for the current Canucks’ issues (Burke hasn’t been a employed by the Canucks since 2004).

 

[Gecklund]

Been playing DioField Chronicles while waiting for Fire Emblem to come out. The story isn’t great (it’s okay but not great) but gameplay is fun enough. I was very hesitant about the combat style but it’s no where near as bad as I expected. I haven’t quite beat the game but I’m close and I’m pretty sure I already know where the story is going. I’d give it like a 5-6/10. Probably not worth it at full price but could be a good pick up if it’s cheaper.

 

[Dolemite]

Been playing Goat Simulator 3 lately and it’s just stupid fun…emphasis on Stupid.

He’s a troll a lot of the time. He posted how he’s a bigger fan of the Canucks than I am because I disagreed with his argument that Brian Burke is responsible for the current Canucks’ issues (Burke hasn’t been a employed by the Canucks since 2004).

No hockey allowed here.

Also, I’m right and you’re wrong about Burke.

::edit::

Just to rub it in…

Canucks - To Trade or Not to Trade, That is the Question

As the trade deadline approaches on Canucks GM Mike Gillis he is faced with the dilemma. Do I risk losing the few prospects I have started

vancouversun.com

Since the terms of previous Canucks GM’s Brian Burke and Dave Nonis, the cupboard has been bare for years, and what draft picks there are, have either been traded away or have never proven out.

Have a nice day.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Been getting into War Thunder recently. Pretty difficult to get the hang of flying the war planes and fighting. Haven't even touched the tanks or boats yet and it's a lot of fun.

A really involved game so it'll take me a while to get used to everything, but it's pretty fun so far. The dedication to realism is admirable.

 

[93LEAFS]

Have put like 6 hours into Psychonauts 2 on PC. Really enjoying it so far.

 

[Osprey]

I got Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection for free with my CPU. I'm about 3 hours in and on chapter 7. Is this supposed to just be an interactive movie? I'm pretty sure I've only held a gun for a collective 20 minutes so far...

I finally gave this a try an hour ago and it's definitely not for me. It does appear to be more of an interactive movie and the little gameplay was on rails and handholdy. To be sure and fair, though, I skipped around a YouTube gameplay run and the rest of the game didn't appear much different. Also, the PC version seemingly doesn't have any way to skip cutscenes (not that I would the first time, but I don't want to be forced to re-watch them), so my patience would be tested even if I continue. I think that I'll just quit. I satisfied my curiosity. If I want an Uncharted story, I'll read an Uncharted book.

 

[Soedy]

FIFA 23 Pro Clubs with 3 friends. Game is shit, but a lot of fun when playing in a team with some friends. Ditched Witcher 3 close to the end, just didn't like it that much and didn't care for the characters or story. The last few hours already felt like a chore so I uninstalled it. Didn't help that I played Breath of the Wild right before it and absolutely loved the freedom and nearly zero hints gameplay.

Still some PUBG (with the same guys I play FIFA with) and on the Switch Super Mario Bros with my wife, Pokemon Shield, Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I finally gave this a try an hour ago and it's definitely not for me. It does appear to be more of an interactive movie and the little gameplay was on rails and handholdy. To be sure and fair, though, I skipped around a YouTube gameplay run and the rest of the game didn't appear much different. Also, the PC version seemingly doesn't have any way to skip cutscenes (not that I would the first time, but I don't want to be forced to re-watch them), so my patience would be tested even if I continue. I think that I'll just quit. I satisfied my curiosity. If I want an Uncharted story, I'll read an Uncharted book.

The action definitely picks up but you run into more lazy design choices. It was just pretty good.

I've been very disappointed with the PS exclusives coming to PC lately though. I've been hearing for a long time now how games like God of War and Uncharted are system sellers. If this is the best Playstation has to offer, I'm glad I stopped buying Playstations after the PS3...

 

[Dolemite]

I'm going for the platinum now that I finished these two triumphs tonight.

 

[pistolpete11]

Like some of y'all recently did, I started Witcher 3.

I can see why people like it, but not really feeling it personally. I'm not really a fan of open worlds to begin with and I can already feel the loop of "go talk to this person who can help, but first you help them with something" setting in. The stories are fine enough, but the combat is really rough. I knew it wasn't great going in, but man, it's not even a little bit fun.

 

[pistolpete11]

After bailing on Witcher 3, I started Returnal. What a difference. Witcher 3 was a slog for a few hours before I decided it wasn't for me. Returnal immediately sucked me in from the first run.

I'm trying to think if there are any games that I powered through the beginning and ended up enjoying. RDR2 I enjoyed a little bit in the middle, but ultimately by the end I was ready for it to be over. Almost bailed on Bloodborne which is now 1 of my favorites, but that was more because it was too hard than not liking it . I was a FromSoft newbie.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Witcher is warming up to me after some key changes I made...

1) I upped the difficulty level to the highest level (not the level matching toggle)
2) I cleaned up my HUD, removing weapon damage, quest title and descriptions, and the white lined quest guider on the minimap.
3) Changed my camera distance from far to close, which puts me more on eye level with the towns, characters, and environments
4) Forced myself to pay full attention to the cutscenes

This game really is about narrative and world immersion as much as anything. Going for a more minimalist HUD and focusing on the characters/story has helped make the game a lot more enthralling. I'm enjoying the game much more the last few days as I let myself get sucked in to the world.

So i'd recommend @pistolpete11 you stick with it and turn off your criticisms. I had the same issues and I'm falling in love with the game now

 

[pistolpete11]

Witcher is warming up to me after some key changes I made...

1) I upped the difficulty level to the highest level (not the level matching toggle)
2) I cleaned up my HUD, removing weapon damage, quest title and descriptions, and the white lined quest guider on the minimap.
3) Changed my camera distance from far to close, which puts me more on eye level with the towns, characters, and environments
4) Forced myself to pay full attention to the cutscenes

This game really is about narrative and world immersion as much as anything. Going for a more minimalist HUD and focusing on the characters/story has helped make the game a lot more enthralling. I'm enjoying the game much more the last few days as I let myself get sucked in to the world.

So i'd recommend @pistolpete11 you stick with it and turn off your criticisms. I had the same issues and I'm falling in love with the game now

Maybe after Returnal

Honestly, though, probably not. It just seems too heavy on the elements that I don't typically like (open world, RPG) and light on the elements I mostly play video games for (good combat). There are exceptions. I liked Elden Ring and Ghost despite being open world and Celeste despite almost no combat. So maybe someday it will hit the spot for me, but it seems more likely to be RDR2 all over again for me. I.e., a lot of time to get invested, a little amount of time actually enjoying it, and then a lot more time finishing it off because well...I came this far.

 

[Andrei79]

Witcher is warming up to me after some key changes I made...

1) I upped the difficulty level to the highest level (not the level matching toggle)
2) I cleaned up my HUD, removing weapon damage, quest title and descriptions, and the white lined quest guider on the minimap.
3) Changed my camera distance from far to close, which puts me more on eye level with the towns, characters, and environments
4) Forced myself to pay full attention to the cutscenes

This game really is about narrative and world immersion as much as anything. Going for a more minimalist HUD and focusing on the characters/story has helped make the game a lot more enthralling. I'm enjoying the game much more the last few days as I let myself get sucked in to the world.

So i'd recommend @pistolpete11 you stick with it and turn off your criticisms. I had the same issues and I'm falling in love with the game now

I had to play on death march to get full enjoyment of the game. The build you make also makes a difference, but CPDR has never been very good regarding combat.

 

[Osprey]

I started Dome Keeper on PC and it's addictive. It's a 2D pixel art roguelike that's part mining game and part tower defense game. I'm really going to show my age here, but it's like if you combined Dig Dug with Missile Command. You start with your base on the surface of a harsh planet, protected by a glass dome, and must dig down into the ground for resources and haul them back up to your base. There, you can spend them on upgrades which can be to your suit (ex. drill power, movement speed), your dome (ex. laser power, health) or on new gadgets.

Every few minutes, a wave of creatures on the surface attacks your dome and you have to get back in time and kill them with your laser before they destroy your dome (which is game over). The waves get increasingly harder and you end up having to dig really deep to keep finding resources (making the trip longer), so it gets pretty challenging. In the end, what you're really looking for is a well-buried artifact that, once found and recovered, initiates the final wave. Surviving that achieves victory and unlocks a new tech that you can then use in the next game.

Each game takes up to an hour and is a learning experience. On my first game, I lost because I was figuring out the mechanics. On my second, I had a much better idea of what to do (especially early on) and won, but could've done things even better. I'm already thinking about my next game. As I said, it's addictive. That said, I can see the replay value dropping off once I've beaten it half a dozen times and unlocked and tried out every tech in the game, but I'm enjoying it so far and I'm not the biggest roguelike fan.

 

[Tw1ster]

Started playing Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order since it’s on PS plus this month and I’m loving it so far. Some decent gameplay and a good Star Wars story, can’t ask for much more than that. Only thing that kind of bothers me is the slides seem really out of place

 

[Mikeaveli]

Playing the new PC release of Persona 3 Portable, man these AI upscaled backgrounds look terrible lol. I hope the rumors of a remake are true because this is not great

 

[Gecklund]

Currently playing Fire Emblem Engage. This is a must play for anyone that likes that sort of battle system. It went away a bit from the character building that was in Three Houses but feels like it was massively overstated how much. I don’t believe I’m even halfway through but oh man it’s good.

 

[Chaels Arms]

I'd also suggest, regarding the Witcher 3, don't feel obligated to do all the side quests, fetch quests, monster quests etc. It's perfectly acceptable to just stick to the main storyline which is incredible IMO.

I personally loved the sidequests and activities in the game but I could see other people getting bored of them quickly, especially if you don't like the combat.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

I'd also suggest, regarding the Witcher 3, don't feel obligated to do all the side quests, fetch quests, monster quests etc. It's perfectly acceptable to just stick to the main storyline which is incredible IMO.

I personally loved the sidequests and activities in the game but I could see other people getting bored of them quickly, especially if you don't like the combat.

So I want to do that, but the recommended level on every mission goes up and some of them get tougher. What’s an easier way to level up if you aren’t doing side missions?

 

[SimGrindcore]

I'd also suggest, regarding the Witcher 3, don't feel obligated to do all the side quests, fetch quests, monster quests etc. It's perfectly acceptable to just stick to the main storyline which is incredible IMO.

I personally loved the sidequests and activities in the game but I could see other people getting bored of them quickly, especially if you don't like the combat.

It's the same with Cyberpunk 2077. Typical CDPR.

 

[flyersnorth]

Started playing Monster Hunter Rise with a friend... my first Monster Hunter game. I don't know... it's kind of... boring? The music is awful to the point of being a distraction. And the gameplay is just, pick weapon, mash buttons, and barely put a dent in monster who shows no visible signs of actually receiving blows. Not my kind of game.

The other one I started is Solasta: Crown of the Magister. If you enjoy Divinity Original Sin 1/2 and D&D type games in general, give it a shot. Really deep ruleset and character customization, amazing UI, and fun dynamic combat with a lot of verticality in the environments. Character models and animation are mediocre at best, but doesn't affect my enjoyment of the game.

 

[Jovavic]

Was reading some top 100 list and noticed Inside and it looked interesting so I looked to see how much it was on PSN and it's actually on the Plus Extra tier that I started a month ago (and that has already paid for itself within that month), pretty good game so far, I like the puzzle/platforming and that you have no idea why this kid is running. Interesting game

 

[Shareefruck]

Was reading some top 100 list and noticed Inside and it looked interesting so I looked to see how much it was on PSN and it's actually on the Plus Extra tier that I started a month ago (and that has already paid for itself within that month), pretty good game so far, I like the puzzle/platforming and that you have no idea why this kid is running. Interesting game

Inside is absolutely incredible, IMO.

 

[Andrei79]

Started playing Monster Hunter Rise with a friend... my first Monster Hunter game. I don't know... it's kind of... boring? The music is awful to the point of being a distraction. And the gameplay is just, pick weapon, mash buttons, and barely put a dent in monster who shows no visible signs of actually receiving blows. Not my kind of game.

The other one I started is Solasta: Crown of the Magister. If you enjoy Divinity Original Sin 1/2 and D&D type games in general, give it a shot. Really deep ruleset and character customization, amazing UI, and fun dynamic combat with a lot of verticality in the environments. Character models and animation are mediocre at best, but doesn't affect my enjoyment of the game.

DnD and DOS2 are right up my alley.

Right now I'm playing Pathfinder:WoTR and it's looking like it'll be my favorite crpg. It's Pathfinder rule set, so DnD 3.5. It's a hard, deep, but brilliant game if you can get over the crusade mechanics.