Had a really weird few days with work and other stuff so I’m all mixed up now, sorry about the late post. My schedule is all over the place. Hopefully next week we’ll be back to normal.
Started playing Doom 3 and Avowed on the side.
Doom 3 is really scary, and immersive due to its PDA based story telling. The shooting is largely basic though. I love figuring out the codes for lockers.
Avowed, I just started to see if I like it, and so far I’m enjoying the looting in the game. Every nook is has some platforming puzzle to get to some treasure. I’ve not even done a single quest after reaching Paradis, but have looted maybe 50 chests alread!
I didn’t play much for a while due to life stuff, but lately I’ve been playing Shadow Hearts on the Odin 3 I bought last month. I’m like 18 hours in and probably past the first half of the game. It’s a PS1 RPG in execution but with higher quality assets and an interesting setting: it’s set in 1913, not many RPGs (or games in general) are set in that time.
I should probably finish Quantum Void, but it’s going to make me think of things I don’t want to, so I’ll probably leave it unfinished.
Playing some Tyr, believe it or not. Sci-fi Tank Game that is like a mix of Overwatch and WoT.
Also fired up my old copy of Freelancer.
I’m back on the Warframe grind, still working towards my original goal of playing 1999
The single-player (and lots more) update to Dune: Awakening released a few days ago, been wanting to try the game for a while but have no interest in multiplayer so had to wait for this. Started playing yesterday and it’s really fun so far! It’s certainly not a superb game but not bad either. Hopefully it stays interesting and fun.
I played through Portal for the first time and I found it kind of underwhelming. I can see why it was a big thing two decades ago, but as a new player today the experience doesn’t really feel special.
Have you played Portal 2? I found that one to be by far the better of the two. Though with that being said I did still really enjoy the first one.
I’ve been playing Dredge and Night in the Woods this week for some nice autumnal vibes. I also played Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping, and while it’s not quite as good as The Secret Salami, I still enjoyed my time with it and I hope there are more games in the series to come.
Also, I plan to be impatient this week and get the new Control game. I know, blasphemy, but the heart uh wants what it wants.
I’ve been playing Dread Templar.
It’s an indie shooter with a Quake like aesthetic.
Replaying A Hat in Time after about eight years. I decided to get some cheap DLC in place of more games during Steam’s summer sale, and that includes A Hat in Time’s Nyakuza Metro. With that, I thought it was worth a full replay of the game.
Still really liking the game. With more hindsight, I’ve realized the game’s plot makes barely any sense. And it has an oddly dark sense of humour that contrasts with the game’s otherwise kiddy presentation, even outside the spooky forest.
I love Hat. There are community-made levels in the Steam workshop that are worth trying if you want more content.
Oh yeah. I never got around to that on my first run.
Does revisiting Civ 4 (again), originally released in 2005, count?
Brief off-topic aside: This recurring thread has been a bright spot, for me, in a sad Internet, this year. Thank you.
As for what I’m playing - mostly Palworld. The late game has allowed me to try to breed perfect pals while getting as deep as I like into farm management and interior decorating. It’s been very fun. Well worth the sticker price.
I’m glad you’ve been enjoying it. It’s been hard to be consistent lately but hopefully it’ll be back to normal again now.
I already knew I didn’t like soulslike combat because it’s slow and nearly all attacks are annoyingly high commitment so it relies more on pattern recognition, strategy, and patience than quick reflexes and high-speed improvisation.
Playing Stranger of Paradise this week made me realize why even Nioh was a bridge too far for me: stamina bar.
I just can’t help but see it as a made up problem: I’ll give you an arbitrary limitation that sucks the fun out of combat… and a bunch of advanced mechanics to overcome it and give you your fun back.
I just play these games and I wonder why these combat designers hate me, and why am I not playing action games that actually let me have fun without passing some arbitrary rhythm test.
I know the answer is curiosity, but I often wonder if it’s worth it.
It’s not even a question of difficulty: no permutation of factors will make Nioh or Stranger of Paradise as difficult as fighting Gracious and Glorious on Infinite Climax in Bayonetta. It’s gating fun behind arbitrary busy work… for reasons.
I know this isn’t a real response on your opinion of souls likes, but did you play Ninja Gaiden 4? Was a really, really fun action game. Based on your Bayonetta playtime it feels like you would enjoy it!
Patiently waiting for it to drop below $20 in my region. I love Ninja Gaiden and Platinum.
Thankfully, we got a bunch of new indie action games this year: Homura Hime, Mahou Arms, Dead As Disco, Jenny the Witch, and Kijutsu Rider, so waiting hasn’t been difficult.
Not everyone has the same idea of fun, and not every game needs to be catered to every player. I happen to love soulslikes specifically because of their combat, but I get why others don’t like it.
I’d be curious if you’d like Sekiro.
Mafia 3. Struggled to get it working on my Steam Deck because of its controls, but now it works. The first few hours were great but now I’m scared the repetitive tasks are gonna appear…
Red Dead Redemption 2; just reached the Epilogue.
So this is technically a new release, but Pokemon Ghost Grey. I think it’s the best romhack I’ve played in years. It’s so creepy and really shows off how Pokemon’s Gen III engine can really work for item-management survival horror. Lots of great psychological horror and dystopian themes. The protagonist looking intentional different in his/her metagame character portrait vs. actual mirrors and photographs is, um, relatable 😅.
Oh, Summer is the best rival too.
