Whatcha Been Playing?

[Joshihatsumitsu]

I've just started Skyrim for the first time and I'm beginning to realise the enormity of what lies ahead.

A variation of what you just wrote is exactly how I felt when I started playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on the 360 years ago. I pick it up pretty early to the initial release, and after playing it for a bit I realised that tangents became the norm, and in many ways, the freedom that the younger me always looked forward to in games had finally arrived, and it was a little terrifying! It was a strange feeling to get what you thought you always wanted from a game, and for me... I eventually turned away from it. Just personal preference.

I never appreciated the skill it takes to create a focused game experience, and just how much talent it takes to get good design right in a game until that game. It's certainly not a terrible game by any stretch, but that's when I discovered that personally I wanted more focus in my games. I still have not played Skyrim or any of the Fallout games, and it's not because that I fear I won't like it, but that I fear I would. It's a similar feeling to how I've heard other people talk about MMORPG's, this fear that it's going to utterly consume them!

But again, that's just my personal feelings. It's great that others get joy out of those games, and that they find a passionate audience.

[Stanshall]

My enduring enjoyment of the game is almost entirely due to the sense of atmosphere when wandering the environment. I really feel it's second to none in that respect. The quests and pretty much everything else is just to prompt me to wander and to give some structure and purpose to my rambling. I did wince when I saw you wondering about how long it would take you to tackle the main quest, and didn't reply because I didn't want to impose my viewpoint on how you 'should' approach the game, but given you've perhaps hit a wall with it, I just wanted to repeat my opinion from the Elder Scrolls thread.

It does fall down when you analyse any one element of the game. I can barely be arsed listening to the dialogue, even though I do find the sincerity of the voice acting quite immersive in its own way. The quests are seldom anything other than completely generic. The combat is objectively floaty and shit, compared to any genuine third person action game. The graphics aren't particularly good. And yet, that lack of stand-out detail is what helps sell the immersion. Whereas The Witcher has peaks and troughs with quests, where some just aren't as good as the big ones, this is almost all quite flat, they're all much of a muchness. The only meaningful variable is the environment, which is why the wandering and travelling is the real joy of Skyrim. Anyway, that's my take. Oh, and the music is wonderful.

[Alex79]

Skyrim and Oblivion are porbably the only games I never wanted to use fast travel. Just walking through that world was amazing. Spotting giants in the distance and carefully skirting around the edge of them so's not to be spotted, finding a river and just following it, or even just making a detour on a long trek to find an inn for the night, it was all so immersive.

[eastmcduck]

I'm the same way with Skyrim and Fallout 4. I want to revisit Oblivion at some point. I really wanted to play it when it came out, but my PC was garbage at the time. Started Skyrim Special Edition when it dropped last Friday and I think I've spent more time wandering around than I have actually doing quests. That's probably a big reason why I've never finished Skyrim. I love just moseying around checking stuff out.

[Stanshall]

even just making a detour on a long trek to find an inn for the night

You nailed it, Alex.

It's clearly such an absurd idea, you don't need to do it for any real gameplay reasons but you wander off track in the freezing cold, the night comes in, you sneak past a pack of wolves and run alongside a hare, just for the feeling, and then you see the lamppost glow and find yourself at an inn. You buy an ale, listen to a couple of songs and decide to spend the night. There's nothing quite like it. Hygge as fuck. Any work going? Yeah, I'll clear out such and such cave, when I feel like it, it's on my list, mate. I'm just off to walk for twenty minutes around a mountain range when I could fast travel in thirty seconds.

[macstat]

I bought Deus Ex Mankind Divided two days ago. So far i only played about two hours so i cant say that much about story. Interface and inventory management still seems a bit clunky. Also since ive been playing a bunch of Far Cry Primal lately, Deus Ex in comparison feels like you control a camera on tripod dolly. Also im doing my playthrough with mini-map turned off So far im really digging this ... less directed way of experiencing it

Also while writing this post i got an invite to GWENT closed beta So i guess im gonna play some of that as well.

[KSubzero1000]

But since then I've played Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3, which were my first RPGs

Wow, quite the introduction to a new genre.

[JaySevenZero]

Also, it feels as if the secondary quests are worth exploring for the characters and stories alone, rather than just being opportunities to earn XP and collect loot. That's very significant for me. With Skyrim I'd been looking for the quickest way through the game because I know from the Fallout games that I don't enjoy Bethesda's side-missions. However with The Witcher I'm just gonna take the game it as it comes, no matter where it brings me or how long it takes, because it all feels like one complete experience. That speaks volumes as to how quickly I bought into the world.

Yeah, this is one of the many things that drew me into this game. It felt that every side quest had a level of care and detail invested in it, that few games manage to pull off.

[Stanshall]

The Witcher is better than Skyrim in almost every single way, even though I never quite connected with it to the same degree. There's a lot less wandering for the sake of wandering, but the writing and characters are absolutely tremendous. Every quest is worth doing, just for the dialogue.

[KSubzero1000]

That sounds awfully naive but, crucially, I missed out on almost the entire PS2 generation. So with the odd exception here and there (GTA), think of me as someone that went from Metal Gear Solid on PS1 to Oblivion on PS3! I simply did not know how to engage with those new forms of experiences.

Talk about a disorienting leap into uncharted territories! I'd actually recommend checking out some of the PS2 generation gems you've missed out on if you ever felt so inclined. That generation had more than its fair share of masterpieces.

Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 were the first two that I actually sat down with for anything more than a few hours, and the first two where I knew what RPG meant in terms of mechanics and game design. For the first time I knew why those games felt 'different'. Since then the only other RPGs that I've tried are Fallout 4, Skyrim, and The Witcher 3. It was interesting to return to Bethesda's games with some idea of what I was doing wrong the first time, but unfortunately for me they're not what I'm looking for in a game. So I'm absolutely thrilled to be enjoying The Witcher 3 so much. It's proof to me that there's something fundamentally attractive about RPGs. I just need to fine the correct ones!

The Soulsborne games can be quite difficult to get into at first, so I'm very glad to hear about your positive experience. Very much a sink or swim situation, but probably oh so rewarding! I completely understand your disappointment with Fallout and Skyrim. They're very expansive games in their own right with a clear emphasis on quantity and "freedom", but they unfortunately don't have anywhere near the polish and attention to detail of something like Bloodborne. Sometimes less is more.

I completely ignored The Witcher 3 at launch on account of me being disillusioned with western-developed open world games in general. But the praise became too loud to ignore and so I gave up and bought the GOTY edition recently. Really looking forward to that one. I hope it's as good as everyone says, but impressions like yours sound very promising.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

With modern(ish) RPG's, for me personally, Dragon Age Origins gave me the fix that Elder Scrolls Oblivion failed to provide (can't speak on Skyrim as I haven't played it). Both games are set in an asthetically similar fantasy world, but only one engaged me with characters and story that I was invested in all the way through. Having played Bioware games before that (KOTOR, Jade Empire, And the Mass Effect series) I find I prefer the comparatively limited freedom they give me (compared to Bethesda): just enough rope.

Community question: having heard some hype about the Witcher series, and attempting to play through the Witcher 2 only to give up after a few hours, for reasons I'm not sure of, can you recommend Witcher 3 considering that history? How do others feel about Witcher 2?

[Stanshall]

A much easier game to get into. Mechanically very sound and the UI has been overhauled significantly. There are plenty of characters and back stories you'll be missing out on, but that's more from reading the books than just playing the games, and it does a very good job of giving enough context for the various old pals you meet.

It's also (despite the massive open world) much more linear than Skyrim, because you're best off discovering the world through doing quests, rather than wandering the world until a quest appears for you.

[Todinho]

You can easily jump into 3 without playing any of them and even if you didnt get on with the previous ones,it's a totally different game structurally and the mechanics are both streamlined and easier to grasp,dont worry storywise you wont feel lost the game does a great job getting you up to speed.
On Witcher 2 well to me it's the best RPG of the last generation just slightly above New Vegas and Dragon Age Origins to me and depending on the day I'd put as a better game then 3 but that's just my crazy opinion most people will see 3 as dwarfing it's predecessors in everyway,it's a game I highly recommend for RPG fans and people who want a good story but I can understand why many bounce off it.

[Jobobonobo]

Congrats on finishing 3D Land, KissMammal! Hope I get to pluck up the courage one day and finish off the last few levels myself.

I have returned to Gotham with Arkham City and I am really digging it so far. Fun to move around the world and Cockney Penguin is a true delight. Catwoman is fun as hell to control from what little I have played of her. The sheer amount of side missions is pretty overwhelming and I have yet to tackle any of them. I am still thinking of City as a more linear story driven experience like Asylum but after I tackle Freeze I might do some of them. But this game already feels so much bigger than Asylum, I will probably be sticking with this one for a while.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

Thanks for the feedback. Now it's way past launch prices I might hunt around for a reasonably priced copy of Witcher 3... and Dragon Age: Inquistion. My PS4 collection needs a bit of expanding...

As we're in this thread, whatcha I've been playing: Sengoku 3 (MVS, 161-1 Multicart). It is certainly a vast improvement on previous games in the series, with the ability to dash (the first Sengoku is very slow and stiff), the combo system is pretty fun, and like many SNK games at the time (and even now) it's very pretty, but then I do love my sprite-based artwork.

I should point out I only played one player with one credit (after building my arcade cab, I thought I should embrace the spirit of arcade gaming), but it may be better with two people.

[Flabyo]

I didn't particularly get on with the Witcher 2, but Witcher 3 is one of my favourite games of all time.

[KissMammal]

I followed up Mario 3D Land with Star Fox 64 3D - like 3D Land, a game I bought with my 3DS a few years ago but never really invested much time in.

The N64 original is pretty much my favourite videogame of all time. I was absolutely obsessed with it back in the day, got every single medal and used to be able to complete it with my eyes closed, but I'm finding it way tougher than I remember this time round! Such a great game. On rails shooters ftw - the most underrated (and underpopulated) genre in my opinion. It has made me think though - wouldn't a Nintendo-developed 2d (side or vert scrolling) Star Fox Shmup be amazing? Something like Einhander.

It got me listening to the Star Fox C&R episode from a few years back. I've always enjoyed C&R but it's amazing how far the show has come even in that short space of time. It seems a lot more tightly edited and professionally produced these days, and it was a little jarring to hear how much swearier the show used to be!

[ThirdDrawing]

I'm in the middle of Wasteland 2 (which I really like) but I also got the Sega 3DS collection yesterday (which is fun!) and Aragami, which I am kind of eager to start, because I really miss stealth ninja games.

[Flabyo]

With the newest Sega 3D collection I kinda wish they had the option to just buy individual titles. I only really want Power Drift.

I've been mostly playing multiplayer Titanfall 2 this week. I'm enjoying it, but it does feel like I'm just killing time until they add Sombra to the console version of Overwatch and start the next competitive season.

I've bought yet another arcade stick for my PS4. This time one of the pricey Madcatz ones (because it was in an Amazon lightning deal). I own two other cheaper sticks. Both are broken. And I don't think I treated them particularly badly. So might well go back to Gulty Gear Revelator and see about doing the story mode this weekend.

[ThirdDrawing]

I was actually pretty happy with the collection as they are all games that are kind of perfect for playing on the go.