Whatcha Been Playing?

[Alex79]

I only ever played the first two seasons of Walking Dead, but noticed they were all on Gamepass the other day, so downloaded Season 1 to play through them all. Looking forward to getting back in to them. They're pretty perfect for streaming to phone.

[Truk_Kurt]

I only ever played the first two seasons of Walking Dead, but noticed they were all on Gamepass the other day, so downloaded Season 1 to play through them all. Looking forward to getting back in to them. They're pretty perfect for streaming to phone.

I don't think the final season is as I had to buy it

[Alex79]

I only ever played the first two seasons of Walking Dead, but noticed they were all on Gamepass the other day, so downloaded Season 1 to play through them all. Looking forward to getting back in to them. They're pretty perfect for streaming to phone.

I don't think the final season is as I had to buy it

Oh you're right, I could have sworn I'd seen it on there! Never mind, might be by the time I've played the first 3 haha.

[ThirdDrawing]

I picked up Cruis'n Blast, and man is it fun. It is quite a throwback to 90s arcade racers. Even has local co-op!

[DeadpoolNegative]

I wasn't expecting to see that reaction to the game haha. I actually quite enjoyed it, as you say it is pretty gruesome but I enjoyed playing as someone else in the series for a change and didn't think the tone was any worse than the TV show or other games. I am yet to play the final season but out of the 4 I've played I would say New Frontier is my second favourite in the series.

The second series was where the wheels came off for me; it felt like they were torturing Clementine for funsies yet it was still compelling. There are parts of A New Frontier that really do work, I must add- the relationship between David and Miguel, for one thing- but eventually it becomes too, too much. Thanks, XBox GamePass, I guess. I did also play the Michonne series and that felt even in tone and not trying to grind the player down.

And despite all that, I do miss the Telltale games. Wish someone would try and revive them.

--Dan

[Truk_Kurt]

They have been revived

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telltale_ ... 93present)

I think that is how they managed to get the Walking Dead Final Season out as at one point it looked like it wouldn't get released.

[Kasuga-san]

After all the positive things that had been said about Tetris Effect and the fact that I love a good game of Tetris, I was looking forward to finally downloading the game on Game Pass to check it out and... man, I didn't like it that much. Conceptually it's great. I love the whole vibration and pulsing to the music with easily the best soundtrack of a Tetris game, but the presentation is a mess outside of that. Over half the themes are a mess to discern for me, even with the visual effects toned down as much as possible. I'm not a huge fan of the sudden game tempo shifts, though that's not a dealbreaker. For me, Tetris DS is still the best Tetris game I've ever played. I loved the alternate modes, the game itself always felt good to play, and I'm a sucker for Nintendo themes. Tetris Effect is probably somewhere just below the two NES Tetris games but above Puyo Puyo Tetris for me. If the game wasn't visually a mess for these eyes, it would get a higher ranking because the controls are the tightest they've been since the originals.

[Alex79]

Yeah, sadly Tetris Effect just didn't click for me, either. I like Tetris, but it was the sudden difficulty spikes where it sped up dramatically for no apparent reason that put me off. I couldn't get my head around the point of the slow-mo system, either. Because, the lines you create in that mode don't seem to add to your total, so if anything it felt like using that mode just made things more difficult for you. Sure I'm missing the point somewhere, but for as much as I liked the presentation and graphics/music within the game itself, I just didn't quite gel with it.

[Truk_Kurt]

I did enjoy Tetris Effect but didn't get too far due to the difficulty spikes you both mention. Although I do disagree that the bits where it sped up were for no reason as it was to match the tempo of the music. I also thought visually it was spectacular too. I was just disappointed I couldn't get further in it. I kind of wish there was an even easier mode than easy where you couldn't fail just so that I could see and hear the remaining levels.

[Truk_Kurt]

I noticed over on Monday that Katana Zero was about to leave Game Pass on the 16th and remembered it was reccomended to me a while ago due to my love of Hotline Miami, so I downloaded it and boy is it great. I think I am about 2/3s of the way through and it really is very reminiscent of Hotline Miami. The main difference is that it's a side scroller rather than top down and there is no firearms. You have a sword and that's it but you can pick up weapons to throw at enemies. The levels are all quite short and has a slo mo ability which allows you to pull off some spectacular sequences. It's really cool because at the end of each level you get to watch a real time replay of what you have just done which more often than not looks amazing and makes you feel like a badass. The soundtrack is nearly as good as HM and the story is very intriguing. Looking at How Long to Beat it looks like it's only 4-5 hours long so a quick one to get through. Anyway, if you liked Hotline Miami, I urge you to play this.

[ratsoalbion]

I completed Katana Zero where I bounced off Hotline Miami. I back up Kurt's recommendation.

[SludgeWizard]

Anyway, if you liked Hotline Miami, I urge you to play this.

I completed Katana Zero where I bounced off Hotline Miami. I back up Kurt's recommendation.

Good enough for me.
I love the original Hotline Miami (and like the 2nd), but that itch hasn't been scratched in a long time. Adding Katana Zero to my list right now.

[stvnorman]

Finished my first of the proper “Advance” games on the Castlevania Advance Collection on Switch with Circle of the Moon. What a game despite the grind, and what a soundtrack coming out of a lowly Game Boy Advance - love that music player feature in the main menu too! Dived straight into Harmony of Dissonance, which I had but never finished on original GBA; despite that it’s definitely feeling a bit less challenging than the first one (which I’ve finished a couple of times previously). Very good so far though!

Tried but didn’t last long with Scarlet Nexus and Mighty Goose, both recently on Game Pass - the first just isn’t for me, the second controls like a turd. Both lasted longer than Games With Gold Mulaka though, which I might have guessed was coming from the name alone! I did try really hard with other Gold offering and another Castlevania, Harmony of Despair, though, but it’s all so tiny and even more cumbersome to control than the goose game, so I’m saving any more of that for a rainy day!

I’ve never played a lot of Darius Gaiden before, even though it’s predecessor, G-Darius, would be a top five all-time shooter for me. This week I have played a lot of it (on Taito Legends 2 on PS2), and I think it might be staking a claim in that list of its own! It’s absolutely incredible, but I’m now looking into some kind of arcade stick setup because that controller wasn’t made for this!

[Alex79]

I’ve never played a lot of Darius Gaiden before, even though it’s predecessor, G-Darius, would be a top five all-time shooter for me.

I think G-Darius came out a few years after Darius Gaiden.

[stvnorman]

I’ve never played a lot of Darius Gaiden before, even though it’s predecessor, G-Darius, would be a top five all-time shooter for me.

I think G-Darius came out a few years after Darius Gaiden.

Thanks Alex! You’re absolutely right. It was the other way around. Darius Gaiden 1994, G-Darius 1997.

[stvnorman]

Anyway, if you liked Hotline Miami, I urge you to play this.

I completed Katana Zero where I bounced off Hotline Miami. I back up Kurt's recommendation.

Good enough for me.
I love the original Hotline Miami (and like the 2nd), but that itch hasn't been scratched in a long time. Adding Katana Zero to my list right now.

I tried Katana Zero today and quickly found it wasn’t very colourblind-friendly. “Invisible” deaths from the outset, which is a real shame because it seems really good otherwise.

[Truk_Kurt]

That's a shame about the lack of colourblind accessibility. It's not that old a game but these days you see more games having colourblind modes. What do you mean by 'Invisible' deaths? Do you mean with enemies shooting from off screen? If it is what I would do is use the analogue stick to look ahead into the next room to see who is in there and if they have a gun. If they do then I will enter the room in either slo mo to dodge the bullet or go in rolling around to pass through any bullets.

[Kasuga-san]

Started playing Metroid Dread the other day and while I like most of it so far, the EMMI portions I've done have been hit and miss, especially since it decided to respawn the EMMI right inside of a door I needed to go through multiple times and the counter timing feels off all around for me. Maybe I'm having some controller lag that I never noticed before on the system? I essentially have to hit the button before the flash to counter and even then it feels like a crapshoot. The rest of the game so far has been excellent if a bit more linear than I'm used to at this point in the game. Don't know why they block off backtracking early.

[shadowless_kick]

I jumped head first into Metroid Dread despite misgivings the backtrack-heavy gameplay wouldn't appeal to me. after a few hours in, I realized my recent playthrough of Strider of PS4 prepared me just fine for this.

I'm having fun with it. although for a game focused on creating a tense, scary environment, I really wish you could push the stick lightly to have Samus creep slowly, rather than outright running everywhere. maybe that ability comes with an upgrade item...

[Marlew]

I essentially have to hit the button before the flash to counter and even then it feels like a crapshoot.

The game itself says this is exactly what it is. Different EMMI have different attack timings, as well. If you could see the flash and consistently parry, there would be no tension. It's literally an opportunity for a lucky escape rather than guaranteed instakill and so it feels great on the 1/20 that you fluke it.

I'd say it's my favourite Nintendo game since Three Houses and their only essential since 2017.