Whatcha Been Playing?

[Chopper]

I've kinda been falling into (what I see as) the trap of subscription services - I've been installing games, playing them for ten minutes, and uninstalling again. Whereas that's great to satisfy my curiosity about games that I probably wouldn't buy, but would like to see in action, it's not very satisfying, and I do feel that I'm doing the games a disservice by not giving them a fair whack.

So the answer might be to:
a) Nut up and approach the whole thing in a more structured manner
b) Unsubscribe

b is definitely the easier option here.

I have been playing quite a bit of Out of the Park Baseball as my fallback game to tide me over these troubling times.

[Alex79uk]

That's my only fear about Gamepass. There's no incentive to stick with a game for more than half an hour if it doesn't immediately grab you seeing as there are hundreds more available one click away for 'free'.

Some of my favorite games of all time took hours to click - Mass Effect and The Witcher 3 especially. I'm not sure I'd have stuck with them if I'd not paid cash.

[Jobobonobo]

I just started up Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair and I have to say that I am properly loving it right now. For the most part, I actually dug the original Yooka-Laylee but this is so much more consistent in its quality. The controls are extremely tight and rolling through enemies and jumping out of said roll to cross a large gap brings back some of the best moments from the DKC games. But the real star is the overworld. The decision to have it be an actual hub world you can explore instead of a level select screen was a fantastic idea that was pulled off brilliantly. Exploring this world and all its secrets is a real delight and it drip feeds you new stuff at just the right rate that you want to keep playing. This is a fantastic second entry from Playtonic and if they keep this kind of quality up, then they may just be the return of classic Rare that so many were wanting.

[Flabyo]

Playing ‘The Talos Principle’ on gamepass, and generally enjoying it up until the puzzles where you have to record yourself doing an action then play it back. I struggled with that in Braid and I’m not doing any better here...

[stvnorman]

Finished Uncharted 4. It dragged a bit about two thirds in but the last few chapters were fantastic. They looked absolutely gorgeous too! Still not keen on some of the last-gen gameplay aspects but overall enjoyed it.

Also finished Sneaky Sasquatch on Apple Arcade, which was four hours of innocent, easygoing, addictive and varied adventuring. Definitely recommend it if you’re on there.

And also finished Joe & Mac 2 on SNES on Switch. Not especially sophisticated but there’s fun in its simplicity for its fairly short duration. Reminded me of my old fave Chuck Rock, and I’ve had a good time playing a level now and again over the last couple of months.

Obviously couldn’t resist the new Arcade Archives release of Yie Ar Kung Fu on Switch! A very dear favourite of mine that will never age!

Finally, picked up Sega Rally on PS3 for less than its second class postage cost me! It got mentioned in an article I read last week, then a review and a starting price bid on eBay later and it was mine. Really cool arcade racer with mad handling that still looks nice and is proving great for quick sessions.

[Alex79uk]

Finished Uncharted 4. It dragged a bit about two thirds in but the last few chapters were fantastic. They looked absolutely gorgeous too! Still not keen on some of the last-gen gameplay aspects but overall enjoyed it.

Did you like the ending? It got so close to twee and cheesy without crossing the line, I felt. I loved it, really perfectly done for me.

You have played 1-3 already, right?

[hazeredmist]

Haze, I've added you there tonight, my profile isn't private, you can always see what I've been playing here - https://steamcommunity.com/id/_clippa_/

Accepted

Spoiler: show

Don't hurt me again

[stvnorman]

Finished Uncharted 4. It dragged a bit about two thirds in but the last few chapters were fantastic. They looked absolutely gorgeous too! Still not keen on some of the last-gen gameplay aspects but overall enjoyed it.

Did you like the ending? It got so close to twee and cheesy without crossing the line, I felt. I loved it, really perfectly done for me.

You have played 1-3 already, right?

I could have done without the epilogue, but up until then I think you’re right, completely worked for me, from the moment I dropped down the cliffs onwards.

I’m just off the back of playing 1-3 having only ever played 2 before. I think I got a lot more out of 4 having done that,

[dezm0nd]

I'm slowly enjoying it the more I play but found it a bit bland at first. Admittedly it takes me longer to play through games nowadays so I don't see the rewards instantly but I was kinda hoping for a Force Power to be unlocked a bit sooner.

I'll persist though as it is good and so far on XOX it runs well!

[chase210]

I am also pleasantly surprised by Fallen Order. Possibly because any expectations for it were so low.

[DomsBeard]

32 hours into Death Stranding and I am still enjoying this Kojima inspired walking simulator. I think I got what Kojima was going for early doors so stuck with it plus the story is so off the wall that pushes you on to find out a little more about what has and what is happening. It has kept me from starting fallen order which as a Star Wars fan is praise indeed.

[Alex79uk]

I am (I think) right at the end of LoZ:ALTTP, and can't work out how to hurt Ganon. 18 hours or so on the game, it's been brilliant.

EDIT: Turns out it wasn't Ganon, but the penultimate boss. I need to go find silver arrows for the last fight.

I genuinely do not believe anyone has ever managed to finish this game with no use of a guide or tips from friends etc. Some of its secrets and upgrades would just be impossible to stumble across by accident.

[Flabyo]

Nah, it’s definitely link to the past where you need the silver arrows to defeat the final boss.

[ratsoalbion]

Yaroo!

We've all been (somewhere like) there. It won't feel so keen tomorrow.

[Alex79uk]

Do you not mean links awakening? Isn't that the one that got the recent daft, pointless remake?

Even if we did have friends, we would have been far too proud to ask them for help.
You might have been one of those rich walter softt kids that consulted your big stupid pile of magazines, but otherwise you just bang, banged your head against that brick wall and tried every combination of items and systems until you stumbled across the random arbitrary fuckbrained solution.
It was character building.

I despair for this new generation of wet milktoast floppy pricks, constantly falling down ravines with their infinite lives and regenerating health, aim locking their way to no sort of victory.

Gaming was full of life lessons back in my day, now it's just full of back slapping and dick sucking.

As Flabyo said, it was A Link To The Past.

As for the rest, I'm really not sure what you're saying or where it's aimed!

[Suits]

It’s getting like 4Chan in here.

My 2.5 year old son is obsessed with Dragaux from Ring Fit Adventure and has even taken to asking me if we’re going to chase Dragaux after work.

Gotta be honest it’s one hell of an incentive.

Also, the new Switch SNES pad works perfectly with SMM2 - which has made things sweeter.

Still playing Luigi’s Mansion 2. Very good game.

[Jon Cheetham]

In the early hours of Devil May Cry 4, the combat is fun and I particularly like fighting those dudes with the lances, though it does have some of those classic Capcom puzzles where you seem to wander up and down corridors for ages backtracking - or maybe it only takes ages for me. I'm interested to get through it and then try the other characters like Vergil, Lady and Trish though which is a pretty great addition.

Also finished my first run of Into the Breach, 4 islands, can't wait to run through again with a different squad. It feels easy to learn and as if it will be fun to master, and something about the chess-like gameplay is really relaxing but stimulating at the same time. Felt amazing to get the hang of it and go through an island without taking any grid damage.

[Suits]

Aw, don't say that, is that aimed at me? What do you mean?

Yeah, of course it is you nutter .

What was that unprompted, weird monologue about monkeys and broken PC’s - DAFUQ .

[Suits]

You’d never guess, but I’m a Roy/Clown Car player.

I understand the stats, I just choose to ignore them.

[chase210]

Ring Fit Adventure has been showing me how hopelessly unfit I am.