OT: Video Game Talk (oh, also the Week before the All-Star Break Pre-Game Talk "archive")

[henchman21]

View attachment 896542

I see you got the stains out.

 

[The Moops]

Feels like ages since I played a really good couch co-op game I think I finally found one in Nobody Saves the World. It has a fantastic, charming 2D art style with some surprisingly compelling and deep RPG mechanics for an action game. The gf and I are having a blast with it. Highly recommend

For couch co-op, I really enjoyed "It Takes Two". I also had fun with "A Way Out", but the mechanics on that one weren't as good.

 

[MacKaRant]

Feels like ages since I played a really good couch co-op game I think I finally found one in Nobody Saves the World. It has a fantastic, charming 2D art style with some surprisingly compelling and deep RPG mechanics for an action game. The gf and I are having a blast with it. Highly recommend

Good couch co-op games are surprisingly rare, and I'm always on the lookout for them. What are some of your other past favorites?

Our list is something like Overcooked, Portal 2, Rayman Legends, TowerFall, Super Mario 3D World, Snipperclips, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Streets of Rogue, and, most recently, Escape Academy.

We've also had fun together with some narrative- centered games not explicitly designed for co-op such as The Wolf Among Us, Heavy Rain, and Telling Lies.

 

[UncleRisto]

Good couch co-op games are surprisingly rare, and I'm always on the lookout for them. What are some of your other past favorites?

Our list is something like Overcooked, Portal 2, Rayman Legends, TowerFall, Super Mario 3D World, Snipperclips, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Streets of Rogue, and, most recently, Escape Academy.

We've also had fun together with some narrative- centered games not explicitly designed for co-op such as The Wolf Among Us, Heavy Rain, and Telling Lies.

Unravel 2, Lego games.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Feels like ages since I played a really good couch co-op game I think I finally found one in Nobody Saves the World. It has a fantastic, charming 2D art style with some surprisingly compelling and deep RPG mechanics for an action game. The gf and I are having a blast with it. Highly recommend

Did you ever give Tom Clancy's The Division 2 a chance? I think you both have to have your own system to run it on. I've only played with buddies who are located all across the US and we PCs game. But playing with others actually allows you to really crank up the difficulty, and then try and theory craft your build for maximum damange and get to work. You can really impress yourself or others with some of the builds you come up, but then again, I can also impress some with the sheer stupidity or audacity (actually not sure which is the correct term for half the stuff I try and pull off) with my builds as well.

Can't remember what it was called, Maybe the Deadzone, but they have an area where it's pretty much pure PvP. Don't think it was required for my playthrough, but I think was intended to be a purely competitive gameplay mode thrown in to give folks something to do after the story is over.

As for couch coop, I did just remember Little Big Planet. Not sure what the current status of the game is, but when it droped on the Play Station 3, it was capable of plugging in as many as four controllers. Basically a science expirement in building a platformers and playing them. Many moments where things go hilariously sideways leading to either moments of glourious shit talking or side splitting laughter. My wife and I loved that as one to play together.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

What a crappy gaming year it has been so far. Can't say anything has really left much of an impact. Balatro is the only thing that had me hooked for a while.

 

[sethro109]

What a crappy gaming year it has been so far. Can't say anything has really left much of an impact. Balatro is the only thing that had me hooked for a while.

I thought Infinite Wealth and Persona 3 reload were really good. I also enjoyed Stellar blade, but this year does seem to be pretty hollow. A lot more flops than hits this year.

• Persona 3 reload, success.
• Infinite Wealth, I personally loved it, but fans were a bit disappointed in this one. Sold great though.
• Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, flop.
• Helldivers 2. surprise hit, but tons of controversy and Sony being assholes.
• Skull and Bones, the world's first quadruple A game, huge flop.
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Not really a flop, but didn't hit expected marks, and I'm personally a little disappointed in it.
• Dragon's Dogma 2, not a flop, but didn't meet expectations.
• Stellar Blade, sold great for a new IP, but was mired in controversy. I thought it was a blast. Souls like, but with nicer checkpoints.
• Rise of the Ronin, flop.
• South Park: Snow Day! Flop.
• Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, flop.
• The First Descendant, bad review scores, but tons of people are playing it and seem to enjoy it.
• Flintlock: Siege of Dawn, flop.

As for games that aren't out yet.

• Black Myth: Wukong, I'm excited about this one. I hope it lives up to the hype.
• Concord, judging by the player count in its open beta.... This one is already DOA.
• Star Wars Outlaws, Ooooohhhhh boy did that new gameplay trailer look rough. I think a delay would help this game a lot.
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, this game should be a blast. I hope it does well enough that they keep making more 2.5D Zelda games.
• Lollipop chainsaw, inject the nostalgia directly into my veins!
• Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, More nostalgia! MORE!
• Silent Hill 2 Remake, this game has some controversy around it already. I'm personally, more worried about the team making it. Bloober team kinda sucks, and it's Konami.
• Avowed, Obsidian is a great studio, but Xbox hasn't really been instilling me with confidence lately.
• Assassin's Creed Shadows, this game might set the world record for controversy.
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard, this game so badly wants to be BG3. I'm pretty sure this entry will kill the franchise.
• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, I still don't trust Konami, but I'm optimistic about this remake.

I think that's pretty much all the major releases. It seems like a lot, but it also seems like it's going to be really weak. The Elden ring DLC, might be this year's best release.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Stellar Blade, sold great for a new IP, but was mired in controversy. I thought it was a blast. Souls like, but with nicer checkpoints.

What a controversy it was. How dare devs have a visually pleasing main character. We all demand fat ugly leads, that makes it soooo much more appealing.

I probably liked Balatro, Elden Ring DLC, Prince of Persia the Lost Crown and Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth the most. A really soft lineup of games considering its already over the halfway point.

Some possible early access bangers are out as well like Hades 2 and Manor Lords. However, I don't touch early access. Wait for the full release and thoroughly complete the full game and thats that.

 

[henchman21]

What a crappy gaming year it has been so far. Can't say anything has really left much of an impact. Balatro is the only thing that had me hooked for a while.

Frankly this generation as a whole has been a a bust. 21 and 23 were at least good years, even great. So much meh or worse in between.

CFB25 is all I need for a while though. Yeah it is EA and yeah it sucks in so many ways. But it is scratching that phantom limb

 

[Vaslof]

What a controversy it was. How dare devs have a visually pleasing main character. We all demand fat ugly leads, that makes it soooo much more appealing.

I probably liked Balatro, Elden Ring DLC, Prince of Persia the Lost Crown and Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth the most. A really soft lineup of games considering its already over the halfway point.

Some possible early access bangers are out as well like Hades 2 and Manor Lords. However, I don't touch early access. Wait for the full release and thoroughly complete the full game and thats that.

You can have visually pleasing characters without objectifying women.

 

[Grackle Party]

Frankly this generation as a whole has been a a bust. 21 and 23 were at least good years, even great. So much meh or worse in between.

CFB25 is all I need for a while though. Yeah it is EA and yeah it sucks in so many ways. But it is scratching that phantom limb

Is Dynasty mode any good? Been on vacation but plan on picking it up when I get back

 

[henchman21]

Is Dynasty mode any good? Been on vacation but plan on picking it up when I get back

It seems the sim and rankings are kinda broken, but I kinda feel that is the case for all the EA games and back to OG CFB games.

I still find it fun. I have a sim one that I'm getting wild results from and one I play that seems much more normal.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

If any of you are old like me and want a chill game to play, Dungeons of Hinterberg is fantastic.

 

[UncleRisto]

You can have visually pleasing characters without objectifying women.

Yeah, but who are we kidding, it's for anime gamers.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

You can have visually pleasing characters without objectifying women.

Oh please. We objectify men all the time as well, somehow thats not an issue though. Visually pleasing males or females appeal to the majority of the population on planet earth. A videogame is pure fantasy, why the hell not make the most appealing experience to most users?

I get not having sex appeal when the emphasis is to make a grounded hard hitting story like the Last of Us. However, when the game is an intentionally ridiculous anime inspired hack and slash just go with what the people want.

 

[henchman21]

It really feels like the whole Stellar Blade controversy is simply people looking to be offended. It is Japanese Anime hack and slash... people should very much understand the target market there. If you don't like it, simply ignore it.

 

[Vaslof]

Oh please. We objectify men all the time as well, somehow thats not an issue though. Visually pleasing males or females appeal to the majority of the population on planet earth. A videogame is pure fantasy, why the hell not make the most appealing experience to most users?

I get not having sex appeal when the emphasis is to make a grounded hard hitting story like the Last of Us. However, when the game is an intentionally ridiculous anime inspired hack and slash just go with what the people want.

You can have sex appeal without objectification, that was what I was saying.

They are not appealing to "most users", most people find games like Steller Blade to be creepy. They are targeting a specific demographic. And that's alright by me. I'm only really annoyed by the fans of that game attacking and review bombing games that are not made specifically for them.

 

[henchman21]

You can have sex appeal without objectification, that was what I was saying.

They are not appealing to "most users", most people find games like Steller Blade to be creepy. They are targeting a specific demographic. And that's alright by me. I'm only really annoyed by the fans of that game attacking and review bombing games that are not made specifically for them.

From any perspective... on any side... this is the dumbest shit.

 

[henchman21]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1816488578953675184

Seems relevant... and BRB

 

[MacKaRant]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1816488578953675184

Seems relevant... and BRB

They know what their audience wants.

Also, as a Korean studio, this kind of thing is completely aligned with how Korean gender politics work. There was recently an interesting two-hour deep dive into Korean gender politics and the Korean games industry by a YouTuber called Moon Channel.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

They know what their audience wants.

Also, as a Korean studio, this kind of thing is completely aligned with how Korean gender politics work. There was recently an interesting two-hour deep dive into Korean gender politics and the Korean games industry by a YouTuber called Moon Channel.

Imagine that. Giving the customers what they want, wild idea.

It's a bit silly for some to demand a product that they don't even consume or understand to be made in a way that alligns with their thinking.

 

[PAZ]

What a crappy gaming year it has been so far. Can't say anything has really left much of an impact. Balatro is the only thing that had me hooked for a while.

This is the first year where releases have hooked me back into gaming. I never play FPS games, but Helldivers 2 and Deadlock are loads of fun and I started playing with buddies I haven't gamed in ages with.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

This is the first year where releases have hooked me back into gaming. I never play FPS games, but Helldivers 2 and Deadlock are loads of fun and I started playing with buddies I haven't gamed in ages with.

That's gotta be one of the greatest things about gaming. The online communitities and "digital friends" that you end up actually becoming friends with over the years.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

This is the first year where releases have hooked me back into gaming. I never play FPS games, but Helldivers 2 and Deadlock are loads of fun and I started playing with buddies I haven't gamed in ages with.

Last year was a banger, this year has mostly been a bunch of okay stuff. Still enjoyment to be had, but nothing that I'll vividly remembered years down the line. To be fair, I'm not that much into online games. The scene is so ridiculously sweaty lol.

As to the FPS, glad you are into it. For me the genre has taken a massive nosedive compared to the past. Used to have epic stuff like Half Life 2, F.E.A.R, Bioshock, Halo was awesome, even COD in the early years was super enjoyable. Now it's mostly looter shooters with tons of monetization, very rarely is there quality shooter with an actual campaing. Metro Exodus was a breath of fraish air, but thats already a while ago.

 

[PAZ]

Last year was a banger, this year has mostly been a bunch of okay stuff. Still enjoyment to be had, but nothing that I'll vividly remembered years down the line. To be fair, I'm not that much into online games. The scene is so ridiculously sweaty lol.

As to the FPS, glad you are into it. For me the genre has taken a massive nosedive compared to the past. Used to have epic stuff like Half Life 2, F.E.A.R, Bioshock, Halo was awesome, even COD in the early years was super enjoyable. Now it's mostly looter shooters with tons of monetization, very rarely is there quality shooter with an actual campaing. Metro Exodus was a breath of fraish air, but thats already a while ago.

Helldivers might scratch that it if you haven't tried it yet (albeit no campaign, but it's highly immersive), especially if you have a buddy to play with. Even if you don't, the community is pretty friendly since it's PvE rather than PvP. It's also not monetized which I give the developers huge props for - you can unlock everything F2P and they there isn't any P2W aspect. I refuse to pay for loot boxes, but I actually bought some credits because I felt that the base game was so cheap and wanted to support them.