Whatcha Been Playing?

[Joshihatsumitsu]

Last night I got a little impulsive and decided to get Pysvariar Delta through the Japanese PSN Store. And one of the first screens that come up after loading the game is the language select screen... and there are a ton of languages to choose from, so if ya feeling impatient like me, then you'll be fine!

There is one feature that I'm glad this version of Psyvariar kept, but didn't necessarily advertise, is the manual roll. In the arcade version there's no button to initiate the roll - it requires a quick left-right-left (or vise-versa) of the joystick, and it definitely gives the game a different feel. Delta does use the trigger buttons if you prefer to just press a button, but I'm glad they included the manual version. And it works well with the standard controller too.

Visually, it certainly got a make over! The PS2 version of Psyvariar (also available through PSN) is more faithful visually to the arcade version, so that version exists if you prefer that.

I do have to wonder why Psyvariar 2 was not included. I knew it wouldn't be prior to buying it, but it seems like a wasted opportunity. Not a deal breaker by any means, it just would have rounded out the package, made it more complete.

And that's the PS4 version. I may cave and get the Switch version later, if only for the easy-to-setup tate mode!

[Craig]

Just picked up Okami for Switch and playing through it for the first time - it's a bit good, innit.

Absolutely loving how colourful it is, and the music is wonderful. I've tried using the analogue stick for the brush, but the motion controls on TV or touch screen when handheld just do the job perfectly. The latter is especially swift.

There's the odd moment of things not registering, but I feel that's more the game than my input.

[stvnorman]

Donkey Kong on the Switch has been seeing me through some severe jet-lag in Japan this week - it’s the perfect 3am game when you’ve realised you’re not going to sleep any more tonight!

I’ve also put a few hours into Owlboy, which I bought in a Nintendo e-shop sale a couple of weeks ago and was saving for the plane journey. It’s some of the best pixel art I’ve seen, the soundtrack is beautiful, the world is sprawling and magical, and its all just so uplifting to play through. Absolutely loving it...

Which is more than I can say for Dr Wily’s evil hideout in Megaman 2, though I did get to the second part of it this morning - as always with this game, it takes you to the point of feeling useless and giving up, then it just clicks. I am determined to beat it!

[Stanshall]

Azure Reflections (Switch)

Despite telling myself that I wouldn't get this Touhou bullet hell spin-off, having just picked up Shikhondo, and having looked at vids and reviews which seemed a bit underwhelming, and finding the whole waifu maid aesthetic pretty gross, there was still something about this which looked to scratch a certain itch. So the inevitable happened.

I liked that the boss battles looked like duels, and I kind of felt in the mood for a horizontal shmup for some reason. It reminded me slightly of what little I'd played of Deathsmiles (more on that in a moment) and while I've enjoyed Shikhondo, it's never quite given me that sense of overwhelming cosmic despair which I crave in shmups. And this doesn't really, either, but it's good enough at what it does.

You play some kind of witch/maid and you shoot your way through some pretty inane stages, nothing particularly notable happens but they're quite short, at least. The pick-ups charge up your shield meter and also charge up your wallet to add librarian type glasses, cat's ears and devil tails, etc. to your character which do actually affect their stats, rather than pure cosmetic perv stuff as I'd expected. The stages seem basically there to get cash and make sure you're at full fire power for the bosses which are the undoubted highlights of the game.

Each boss fight is preceded by some chat (in Japanese) and I've no real clue what they're going on about, but from what I can pick up it likely involves drinking tea and preparing snacks and maid/witch pastimes. Then you get into it and the bullet patterns and shapes and sense of goofy spectacle are actually really good fun when it all clicks. When you whittle down the boss' health bar, you can unleash a shield breaker attack but if you dash into bullets en route, you absorb their points and power, or so I can surmise. If the boss has used a Spellcard on you, and you haven't died or used your Spellcard, you will absorb this when you do a successful shield break. Sounds nonsensical, perhaps, but it's a fun way to add variety. You can also just use your shield meter to deflect bullets which adds another element.

And that's pretty much it. The sound effects are a bit tinny and bip bip bippy, the graphics ain't all that much beyond the characters and their little animations, but it's a surprisingly fun little game which suits my mood on a lazy Sunday afternoon. That said, I can't recommend it especially enthusiastically.


Deathsmiles (Steam via Shadow)

And having been interested in Azure Reflections because it reminded me of this game, I unexpectedly found that I could actually run it via the Shadow streaming app (check it out!) to my ancient decrepit laptop. I'd only ever played bits and bobs before, mostly for performance reasons but also because that goofy Halloween Jack O' Lantern vibe was off-putting. Turns out I'm an idiot and it's a monster (intended) of a game.

While it's very accessible indeed, bump up the difficulty and you've got a game every bit as intense as the other top tier Cave shit. This is what I'm talking about! Bullets and crowns and skulls and ogres and hell hounds and cyclopses and who knows what are crammed into every pixel of screen space and it's glorious. The music is spot on and the graphics have a wonderfully comforting naff charm. It's truly committed. All of the bosses look superb, too, and show plenty of imagination.

I'm really glad I finally came back to this and it's pretty much all I want to play now this evening. Looking forward to getting stuck back into this. I finally understand the hype. 

[dezm0nd]

Far Cry 5 has a dull story despite the great setting but is doing a marvellous job of keeping the missions (both story and side) varied and interesting. The preppers stash locations are probably the highlight for me though, as they’re completely unique from one another. They’ve ruined the killing and looting animals imo as before you made stuff out of the mats but now they’re just sellable items. A small blight on a fun game.

I’m also playing Two Point Hospital which is basically Theme Hospital in 2018 and it’s brilliant.

We’ve just finished playing Super Mario World just by going through the regular levels. Me being my 2 year old and me. It’s taken over a month as we play only a couple of levels whenever it felt right but I still enjoyed the life out of it again. She’s eyeing up Super Mario Sunshine by asking for “Water Marri” but I reckon I get Galaxy 2 on the go instead

[Stanshall]

Water Marri is very cute. Happy days!

[Suits]

We’ve just finished playing Super Mario World just by going through the regular levels. Me being my 2 year old and me. It’s taken over a month as we play only a couple of levels whenever it felt right but I still enjoyed the life out of it again. She’s eyeing up Super Mario Sunshine by asking for “Water Marri” but I reckon I get Galaxy 2 on the go instead

I've been thinking about busting out the Wii again for this as it goes, I've had a real hankering for using a Wii Mote for some reason.

Also, I can't wait for my little one to really start getting into watching me play. He sits for a bit on my lap and holds a spare pad but soon gets too fidgety and starts going for my face and hands.


I've been all over the place this weekend.

Firstly, I've put a good 10+ hours in to PES 2019 on the PS4. Solely MyClub at the moment as the European transfer deadline hasn't closed yet (today) and the final squad patch is yet to come. Once that lands I'll be Master Leaguing my way to the end. I have patched in all the badges, leagues and kits though - ready.

Then, every night since Friday I've been readying up with my mates and playing Strange Brigade on the Xbox One. It's a sort of CoD Zombies, L4D game. It's fun, it's really basic with limited weapons and basic items. The Map design is good though and is a lot of fun with mates. It's made by Rebellion (Sniper Elite, AvP, etc...) so teh shooting feels solid, if a little too precise.

Then, since Wario Ware Gold came out, I've been spending an awful lot of time with my 3DS, which is wonderful. I've gone back into Luigi's Mansion 2 and started poking about in that game again, turns out from my save data, that I never actually finished it, or got very far at all really for some reason. So I've been playing that as my PES MyClub Sim matches tick by. 3D on FULL by the way.

[Michiel K]

I played a bit of Dead Cells, and here's my hot take on it:

It's pretty fun to play, but it's really not a whole lot like a "Metroidvania", because of the linear level progression and map layouts that lead to mostly dead ends. True, you get key items later on, to unlock shortcuts, but they don't have other uses BUT being key items. Also, as I feared and as is typical for games (especially side scrollers) with procedurally generated maps, there isn't a whole lot in the way of interesting set pieces and level design that's truly impactful. The music rocks, though, and I like how open ended the combat is. I can see myself playing it more, but I'm far from hooked. Not my jam, I'm afraid.

Also have been messing with Dragon Ball FighterZ, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Resogun and Bloodborne on my brand new second hand PS4. All to much satisfaction. Wish I had more time to play stuff!

Then, since Wario Ware Gold came out, I've been spending an awful lot of time with my 3DS, which is wonderful. I've gone back into Luigi's Mansion 2 and started poking about in that game again, turns out from my save data, that I never actually finished it, or got very far at all really for some reason. So I've been playing that as my PES MyClub Sim matches tick by. 3D on FULL by the way.

Same for me since I got Mario Kart 7. I dropped Luigi's Mansion 2 as well, need to get back on that.

[Alex79]

Well I buckled and bought Shenmue

I played about 90 minutes last night, but was so tired I don't remember a single thing about it. I actually fell asleep a few times whilst playing. Not sure if that's my critical review of the game or what, haha.

I'll be starting again.

[mikeleddy83]

Also have been messing with Dragon Ball FighterZ, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Resogun and Bloodborne on my brand new second hand PS4. All to much satisfaction. Wish I had more time to play stuff!

Congrats on the new system purchase, hope to see you on there for some fisticuffs soon™!

Me? Bayonetta and Hollow Knight, both brilliant and filling this void of moving house.

[Flabyo]

Finally got around to MGS5, and I can see why everyone likes it. But the overwrought plot and the earnestness with which some truly awful dialogue is delivered is probably not having the effect on me Kojima was going for, heh.

Stuff like the opening and end credits for each mission feels like parody to me, but I don’t think that’s what they were actually trying to do.

[KSubzero1000]

So after years of pretending to know something about action games, I figured it was finally time to sit down and play The Wonderful 101 from start to finish. Controls are a bit finicky and the learning curve is steep - very steep. Mostly because of how different and idiosyncratic the core systems are. But I'm already noticing an improvement and I can't wait to go back to it. Something tells me perseverance will pay off. It usually does.

In other, tangentially related news: the WiiU apparently received a surprise software update today. Why.

[ratsoalbion]

It’s usually to patch hack exploits.

[KSubzero1000]

That makes sense, although I'm not sure why Nintendo are even bothering with this so late into the console's life cycle.

[Suits]

I know people have been hoping that it would patch out the now defunct Wii U Plaza and Miiverse that now leaves gaping holes and pointless screen space on the UI.

Improved Stability and Performace.

[ColinAlonso]

Finally getting into a groove with Horizon: Zero Dawn at 15 hours in. Its probably because I don't play many open world games but I've finally gotten to a point where I feel more comfortable with enemies that I'm not constantly creeping around in case there are machines about. Just did the bit up at the stadium, which was good and about to head for Meridian.

I've started Final Fantasy VI on my Vita. Gotten over the load times of the PS1 version (there's a second long load when opening the menu that will infuriate many people even if you can get over the longer loads). Enjoying it so far but I really want the game to give me the magic system now. I'm 7 hours in. For comparison the first jobs in V are received in the first hour and it took me about 10 hours to get all bar bonus and hidden jobs so battle and character customisation feel very restricted right now.

Finally, a rant. I've reached Zozo. As early FF dungeon visual design goes its pretty cool, its a town of tall dilapidated buildings with some poor people and thieves living around the place. But, there are loads of horrible things about it. I took too long on the first enemy and he unleashed an earthquake move that nearly killed my party. I beat him, lesson learnt, be quick on those guys and move on, fine, that's ok. One type of enemy then has a physical move that will pretty much kill any one of my party members and there is also a dancer type enemy that will use 2nd tier magic which instantly kills any of my party right now. Magic can be deflected with Celes' Runic ability but the dancer has done this as the very first move of some battles. We haven't got a revive spell yet so the game is basically telling me to burn through Phoenix Downs. Not fun.

Then, a bit in, Shadow decides we only paid him for that much and fecks off leaving me with only three party members. What the hell man. .

One 20 minute round trip to Narshe to pick up Sabin later and I've made it back to Zozo. There's a puzzle involving clocks but I'm not a big fan of puzzles in games with random battles. I think it's just a hump in the game I have to get over.

[Michiel K]

Congrats on the new system purchase, hope to see you on there for some fisticuffs soon™!

Oh, we need to reinstate the Tuesday night lobbies so badly!

[kayjoon]

My current 'drop in' game is Quake Champions on PC, enjoyable arena shooter and instagib games are still as tense as ever.

Otherwise I'm finally playing Dead Space after several previous attempts to get into it, I think I'm probably a third of the way through.

I've got a few fighters on PS4, like Street Fighter 30th Collection, SF4, SFV, Injustice 2 etc. I'd be up for dropping into lobbies for those providing the standard of gameplay isn't too high.

[KSubzero1000]

Otherwise I'm finally playing Dead Space after several previous attempts to get into it, I think I'm probably a third of the way through.

Sweet! I feel the urge to replay the series at some point in the near future. Are you enjoying it so far?

[kayjoon]

Sweet! I feel the urge to replay the series at some point in the near future. Are you enjoying it so far?

Yeah, I love the atmosphere, story and general aesthetic of Dead Space. I did enjoy it each time I tried it before but for whatever reason kept leaving it too long to get back to it and then having forgotten everything that was going on I'd abandon it. I am optimistic that this time I will see the end!