Whatcha Been Playing?

[Alex79]

Yeah DDNeon was on PS+ a while back. I only managed about 10 minutes before turning it off.

[Jobobonobo]

There was a sale on the Playstation Store and seen Grow Home was only 3 euros so I snatched it up as it always looked intriguing to me.

Real glad I spent as little money on this as possible.

I found this game horrible. The controls are dreadful, the character won't stop moving after you have stopped moving the analogue stick so he will careen off ledges or plants. Climbing feels really stodgy. The amount of times I tried to climb higher only to run off the ledges and flail about trying to grab onto any surface while falling to my doom was way too many to count. Jumping also feels weird and the camera bugs out far too much. If you want to make a 3D platformer enjoyable, your character has to be fun to control. If this is not nailed down then, for me the rest of the game will fall apart. I gave this game multiple chances but each play session would end with me falling off the plant and cursing at my stupid robot character. Lovely idea, dreadful execution. So far one of my most miserable gaming experiences this year.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

I wasn't sure when to post it here or "Games completed in 2017", but I finished Stein's;Gate, which is to say I got one ending out of a possible six, so not really complete.

Because I went into this game with as little knowledge as possible, I'm going to keep my post that way too! It's the best way to experience it.

I will say that the opening credits took on new meaning when I started the next playthrough. The only other thing I could compare that feeling to is a little movie called "Primer", in which subsequent viewing resulted in greater clarity. Also, it's time travel related, so a relevant comparison.

[Alex79]

There was a sale on the Playstation Store and seen Grow Home was only 3 euros so I snatched it up as it always looked intriguing to me.

Real glad I spent as little money on this as possible.

I found this game horrible. The controls are dreadful, the character won't stop moving after you have stopped moving the analogue stick so he will careen off ledges or plants. Climbing feels really stodgy. The amount of times I tried to climb higher only to run off the ledges and flail about trying to grab onto any surface while falling to my doom was way too many to count. Jumping also feels weird and the camera bugs out far too much. If you want to make a 3D platformer enjoyable, your character has to be fun to control. If this is not nailed down then, for me the rest of the game will fall apart. I gave this game multiple chances but each play session would end with me falling off the plant and cursing at my stupid robot character. Lovely idea, dreadful execution. So far one of my most miserable gaming experiences this year.

And bizarrely, it was mainly the controls and the climbing mechanic that made me love it so much! I think it's meant to have a fluidity or an inertia to it. But then, I can also see how that might put someone off, too.

[gallo_pinto]

I wasn't sure when to post it here or "Games completed in 2017", but I finished Stein's;Gate, which is to say I got one ending out of a possible six, so not really complete.

Have you played any of the Zero Escape games? I had similar questions where I wasn't sure how to count them as complete. After seeing all of the endings, I realized that that is the intended way to play it. Is Stein's;Gate similar?

[Joshihatsumitsu]

I wasn't sure when to post it here or "Games completed in 2017", but I finished Stein's;Gate, which is to say I got one ending out of a possible six, so not really complete.

Have you played any of the Zero Escape games? I had similar questions where I wasn't sure how to count them as complete. After seeing all of the endings, I realized that that is the intended way to play it. Is Stein's;Gate similar?

I've played through 999 and Zero Escape (with Zero Time Dilema waiting patiently to be played, sometime the future), and while the choices you make in those games are apparent, I didn't realise I was making choices in Stein's;Gate. It very much plays out like a straightforward visual novel, though there is some interaction with the main character's mobile phone.

It's so incredibly subtle that it was only after the end credits rolled that I realised I could effect the outcome. Of course, I'm yet to discover everything myself, and I've only just started the second playthrough, so if there's a "true ending", Zero Escape style, I think I'm yet to stumble on it.

There's sooooooooooooo many good games on the Vita!

[Michiel K]

I also tried Double Dragon Neon via PS Now last night. Big fan of the originals and it starts off brilliantly recreating the original and the music is sampling the original music also. After the wonderful 60 seconds of nostalgia the fact it is totally crap kicks in. Awful hit detection, animations and if you choose to continue you are sent back to the start of the level. It is sadly poor.

Maaaaaan... that's always the impression I got and all my fears about this game confirmed, looking at videos etc. You make me want to jump off the DD Neon podcast.

[MagicianArcana]

Has anyone else played Streamline? It's in early access right now and I got it through the Humble Freedom Bundle. I was looking at screenshots for all the games I didn't know, and it stood out to me. I've been playing it quite a bit these past few days and I really enjoy it. It's a neat multiplayer parkour game. But the playerbase is pretty small so I can't always find a game. I made a Tweet about how I really like the game but wish the playerbase was more active and the official Streamline Twitter saw it and responded to me. Thanking me for the positive feedback, and telling me about their Discord server. So I joined that so I could see when people are making matches. I hope they can expand their community because I see so much potential in this game.
I'd recommend it if you'd like to try a different kind of multiplayer game.

If you played Anarchy Reigns and enjoyed deathball, Streamline has a similar game mode called bitball.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

While I'm hanging back a bit to see how the Switch pans out, I decided to finally stop hanging back and get Waku Waku 7, Japanese MVS version (the AES price is crazy):



This is the second fighting game by Sunsoft (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that!), and is a huge improvement in every way over Galaxy Fight - a game where the easy option feels no different than hard.

Waku Waku 7 is no likely to hit the competitive fighting scene anytime soon, but it is a worthy addition to anyone's library. It's wonderfully bright, colourful and bursting with personality, and it's got some decent fighting mechanics. On the default difficulty it's very accessible (again, compared to Galaxy Fight, which bordered on cheap), and there's some deeper systems in place for those who want to dig a bit deeper.

Which brings me to a relevant question: the company bringing this game to the Switch is Hamster, a name I've seen pop up a few times with Arcade Achives on PSN. Having not bought any games by them yet, would anyone recommend some of their releases?

[Suits]

That's some cool looking stuff .

[Joshihatsumitsu]

That's some cool looking stuff .

If you ever watched My Neighbour Totoro and asked yourself "sure, he's cute, but what would he be like in a fight?", then Marurun (the big purple creature with a little girl on his back) is the character you need to select!

[macstat]

Its not technically "been playing" but i won a "Hollow Knight" key on devs twitch stream and im gonna play it today as soon as i get back from work

[Combine Hunter]

Dipped my toes into Yakuza 0.

I attempted to get into the series ages ago with 3, but it was hard for me to get invested, as it felt like I was starting a serialised TV show from the third season.

0 has been much more approachable from narrative perspective, and I can see my self sticking with it. So far I'm really impressed with how sharp the writing can be. The game can be very over the top and silly at points, but when it wants to be dramatic, it can pull it off. The localisation is really great.

The combat is fun, but is a tad shallow. Maybe it'll deepen later on.

[chrysalice]

I've been trying to play Chibi-Robo along with the podcast and it's just... not clicking for me. I feel like I'm just running around the same space doing the same tasks over and over and not really making any tangible progress. Given it two hours, not sure if worth continuing with or not.

[DomsBeard]

I've been playing a little known game called Bioshock on PS4. I tried and failed several times to get into it on the 360 several years ago but finally want to tick this one off my list.

Just killed a couple of Big Daddy's don't think it really sells to me why

Spoiler: show

you would sacrifice a little sister over saving

and I'm finding Atlas to be an annoyance (I bet I posted that on here several years ago!). But I'm further in than I have ever been and I'm enjoying it!.

[Alex79]

The first and last thirds of that game are amazing, but boy does it sag in the middle. If you've somehow managed to avoid having the story spoiled for you during the last decade, it's worth sticking with.

[Indiana747]

I've been playing a little known game called Bioshock on PS4. I tried and failed several times to get into it on the 360 several years ago but finally want to tick this one off my list.

Just killed a couple of Big Daddy's don't think it really sells to me why

Spoiler: show

you would sacrifice a little sister over saving

and I'm finding Atlas to be an annoyance (I bet I posted that on here several years ago!). But I'm further in than I have ever been and I'm enjoying it!.

What annoys you about Atlas Rich?

[DomsBeard]

I've been playing a little known game called Bioshock on PS4. I tried and failed several times to get into it on the 360 several years ago but finally want to tick this one off my list.

Just killed a couple of Big Daddy's don't think it really sells to me why

Spoiler: show

you would sacrifice a little sister over saving

and I'm finding Atlas to be an annoyance (I bet I posted that on here several years ago!). But I'm further in than I have ever been and I'm enjoying it!.

What annoys you about Atlas Rich?

Him telling me to do this and do that, had the same issue with Dead Space even though that is one of my all time favourites. Never had it spoilt far as I'm aware, I started Burial at sea for Infinite and stopped soon as I saw where it was as I imagine their are various nods I would miss.

[Suits]

Bioshock one of the greatest games I've ever played.

I don't often get drawn into the story of games but this one sucked me straight in.

The whole Atlas thing still makes my hairs stand on end when I think about it. The way it's told, unfolds and the crackle of the way it's delivered over the old radio is sensational to me.

Really great to hear contracting experiences with it though, really broadens the spectrum of tastes in games. Good stuff.

[DomsBeard]

Forgot too add I instantly downloaded when it appeared under new games on xbox one Neo Geo Turfmasters. A tough as nails golf game that I spent many a credit on back in the day. Wonder if Windjammers will appear on Xbox One as well then or if it is an exclusive?.