Whatcha Been Playing?

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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jon Cheetham »

I had a pop at Fall Guys this afternoon as well and liked it. Really funny bumbling through these obstacle courses falling over myself and everyone else. The egg hunt challenge is hilarious, especially when you have to go into other people's "nests" and try to run off with their eggs.

Had a right laugh with it. It had a bit of Heave Ho energy tbh. After I'd qualified in one race I spectated another player who somehow managed to make it to the end despite being swiped off their feet halfway across the course and basically failing forward from that point being knocked about and rolling through the obstacles on their belly to the finish line.
Marley
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Marley »

I'll have to check out Fall Guys. It looks like they've hit the balance of chaos and skill.

I've been playing Drink More Glurp on the Switch, which is a physics based local multiplayer game. It's a blend of Heave Ho, QWOP and Track 'n' Field. It's pretty good fun although a lot of events feel much more like chaos than skill :) It's fun though with the missus and hopefully even more so when we're allowed to have friends round again.
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Scrustle
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Scrustle »

Played through the bonus chapters of Night in the Woods after finishing the main game. Both are pretty short and simple, but they were a nice addition to the full experience.

The first, Longest Night, serves as something of a prequel to the main game. It takes place at some point before it, and consists of the main cast having conversations while stargazing. Talking about the constellations they see as you draw them in the sky. It's a cute little piece that provides a little bit of extra characterisation through the banter. But then at the end there's a twist to it that I think actually lands with more weight after having played the full game, even though this was released before it. Turns out, the whole thing is just a dream, and is a symptom of the Mae's homesickness during her time in college, while she is presumably in the middle of the mental breakdown that leads her to then drop out, leading in to the start of the main story. So having gone through the main game, and having seen her finally open up about her problems, going back and seeing what it was like for her right in the middle of it, it hits hard. Even for something that is only really a few sentences long.

The other, Lost Constellation, is longer and more complex, but still pretty bite-sized. It's kind of a mini adventure game, taking the form of an old folk tale from the fiction of the game's world, framed as a bedtime story being told to Mae as a child by her grandad. This one leans much more in to the kind of surreal fantasy tone that the main game only dabbled in. It's pretty cool, and feel like a genuine archaic tale thanks to the writing and strange logic to events, but with that kind of modern irreverence the whole game has too. It's also punctuated by little sections of dialogue between Mae and her grandad too, commenting on the story and saying silly things. It's pretty fun and charming.

Also I realised that for the full game, I actually missed out on a lot of content. Turns out that each character you choose to hang out with has a full arc that you can only fully see if you focus on them over everyone else. When I played I tried to give time to everyone, trying to not miss anything. Turns out that was the wrong approach. I did suspect as much already, but turns out I missed out on a lot more than I realised. So now I've got like three more runs to do to see everything. But I'm not necessarily upset about it. I kind of wanted to play more anyway. But I'm not sure if it's such a great idea. Not wanting to get burnt out repeating the same main story stuff multiple times, not to mention having to go through all that difficult emotional stuff over and over too...
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hazeredmist
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by hazeredmist »

Scrustle wrote: August 9th, 2020, 9:57 pm Played through the bonus chapters of Night in the Woods after finishing the main game. Both are pretty short and simple, but they were a nice addition to the full experience.

The first, Longest Night, serves as something of a prequel to the main game. It takes place at some point before it, and consists of the main cast having conversations while stargazing. Talking about the constellations they see as you draw them in the sky. It's a cute little piece that provides a little bit of extra characterisation through the banter. But then at the end there's a twist to it that I think actually lands with more weight after having played the full game, even though this was released before it. Turns out, the whole thing is just a dream, and is a symptom of the Mae's homesickness during her time in college, while she is presumably in the middle of the mental breakdown that leads her to then drop out, leading in to the start of the main story. So having gone through the main game, and having seen her finally open up about her problems, going back and seeing what it was like for her right in the middle of it, it hits hard. Even for something that is only really a few sentences long.

The other, Lost Constellation, is longer and more complex, but still pretty bite-sized. It's kind of a mini adventure game, taking the form of an old folk tale from the fiction of the game's world, framed as a bedtime story being told to Mae as a child by her grandad. This one leans much more in to the kind of surreal fantasy tone that the main game only dabbled in. It's pretty cool, and feel like a genuine archaic tale thanks to the writing and strange logic to events, but with that kind of modern irreverence the whole game has too. It's also punctuated by little sections of dialogue between Mae and her grandad too, commenting on the story and saying silly things. It's pretty fun and charming.

Also I realised that for the full game, I actually missed out on a lot of content. Turns out that each character you choose to hang out with has a full arc that you can only fully see if you focus on them over everyone else. When I played I tried to give time to everyone, trying to not miss anything. Turns out that was the wrong approach. I did suspect as much already, but turns out I missed out on a lot more than I realised. So now I've got like three more runs to do to see everything. But I'm not necessarily upset about it. I kind of wanted to play more anyway. But I'm not sure if it's such a great idea. Not wanting to get burnt out repeating the same main story stuff multiple times, not to mention having to go through all that difficult emotional stuff over and over too...
Yeah, I focused on Bea during my playthrough and found it very rewarding but I do like knowing I can go back and focus on the others which I'll do when ready. It's definitely a game which takes it out of you emotionally.
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

All right, haze! You've been missed (no guilt trip). Hope all's well at your end.
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hazeredmist
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by hazeredmist »

Aw thanks mate. It's actually a good time to hear that - been a strange time. Yeah a lot going on really but I'm here and healthy and pressing on! I trust all's well your way?
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jobobonobo »

While shopping for something to play for my DS, I came across Kirby Super Star Ultra. Never played the SNES original and I do like the pink marshmallow quite a bit so thought why not pick it up? Went and blazed through Spring Breeze and Great Gourmet Race alongside some of the minigames such as the target shoot out and the eating minigame. I am enjoying it a lot so far. Kirby is such a chill series, just play at your own pace and no worries about insane difficulty spikes. Perfect games if you just want to forgot your worries and relax.
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NoMoreSpearows
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by NoMoreSpearows »

I've been playing Cruel Bands Career, and if I'm not the only person on this forum who's played Cruel Bands Career I will be stunned.

It's a weird little game where you have to balance the happiness of a three-person band. Greetings from groupies will increase the happiness of whoever met them, but lower the other two; a meeting with a grumpy hater will just lower happiness. It's a weird balancing act of making sure everyone's happiness is at a decent level, making sure you're taking advantage of the various statuses (dizziness, fear, whatever "tech" means), and making sense of the not-quite-right English translation. I personally love weird little games like this, and I think it's still less than a fiver on both Steam and the Switch eShop, so if you're looking for something a little different you could do a lot worse.
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Stanshall
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Stanshall »

hazeredmist wrote: August 10th, 2020, 2:16 pm Aw thanks mate. It's actually a good time to hear that - been a strange time. Yeah a lot going on really but I'm here and healthy and pressing on! I trust all's well your way?
I hope not too full on for you, I know you've got the family responsibilities keeping you busy. Glad to hear you're healthy and hope everyone is well. I'm doing all right, thanks, generally quite sane and healthy. No Ikaruga trauma! :D
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stvnorman
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by stvnorman »

Finally got some Carrion time on my son’s Xbox! Think I’m about three quarters through, and I just love everything about it - how it looks, how it feels, how things progress, and maybe more than anything, how it sounds - which is made all the more disturbing at points when you realise the sound has all gone! A beautiful, terrible thing.

Bit further into Rise of the Tomb Raider, but I’m still thinking I’ll give it one more chance every time I load it up! Similarly Fall Guys, though that’s because of network issues more than much being wrong with it. Really hope they fix that before everyone drops off.

Also played a load of unforgiving but beautiful racer Victory Run on PC-Engine Mini, and my old Atari ST favourite Stunt Car Racer, but on the Spectrum! It’s slow and looks a bit basic, but all the strategy and tension is still there. And regardless, that it exists on the Spectrum at all is awesome!
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Gone back to Cross Code after finishing Ghost of Tsushima, and the plot has really started to thicken now. It’s a pretty challenging game, some of the puzzles have had me stumped for longer than this kind of thing usually does.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I've just finished stage 5, the Mirror Temple, in Celeste. This game... It's incredible. So often I'll come to these indie games late, and end up feeling a little underwhelmed after all the hype. But as with Hyper Light Drifter recently, this is managing to surpass all my already high expectations. It's just so perfectly designed. It really is a work of genius. It's not really like I was expecting, either. I was imagining a straight up platformer, but all these little extra mechanics for moving around, all the hidden areas, the stringing together combos of jumps and dashes, it's such an exciting and interesting game. It really is an absolute masterpiece, and a joy to play. I've beaten one of the B-sides, not sure I'll do all of them, but I think I'm determined to find all the strawberries and other collectables at least.
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Angry_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Angry_Kurt »

Alex79uk wrote: August 13th, 2020, 2:16 pm I've just finished stage 5, the Mirror Temple, in Celeste. This game... It's incredible. So often I'll come to these indie games late, and end up feeling a little underwhelmed after all the hype. But as with Hyper Light Drifter recently, this is managing to surpass all my already high expectations. It's just so perfectly designed. It really is a work of genius. It's not really like I was expecting, either. I was imagining a straight up platformer, but all these little extra mechanics for moving around, all the hidden areas, the stringing together combos of jumps and dashes, it's such an exciting and interesting game. It really is an absolute masterpiece, and a joy to play. I've beaten one of the B-sides, not sure I'll do all of them, but I think I'm determined to find all the strawberries and other collectables at least.
Have you played the Guacamelee games? They kind of remind of Celeste, despite being a Metroidvania, in that it requires you to combine lots of different moves for both platforming and combat situations.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

Yeah, really enjoyed the first one, and I'd agree, some of the platforming later on in that game really is quite similar. Never got round to the second game although it's on my list to play at some point.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Angry_Kurt »

I finished the second earlier this year, really good
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

Near what I think is the end of Carrion well I hope so. It is a great fun game but it is just overstaying it's welcome. I think it is around the time you get
Spoiler: show
the biggest you can get
I feel like I've seen everything I need to see.

Fall Guys I keep falling out with as primarily I don't have a crown yet :( however gor some reason I can't do slime climb and get stuck on the same point each time. But it is bloody great fun.

Ghost Of Tsushima continues to be a delightful experience, I hadn't played it for a few days and was back in the groove within seconds. I have a fun time whenever I put it on the plot and protagonist are so straight forward it is the perfect game after TLOU2.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by stvnorman »

DomsBeard wrote: August 13th, 2020, 7:53 pm Near what I think is the end of Carrion well I hope so. It is a great fun game but it is just overstaying it's welcome.
I just finished it. Took way longer than I’d expected it to after reading reviews (probably due to my terrible sense of direction), but I stayed just as happy playing it throughout. What you mentioned was second nature by the end but I get what you’re saying. Something about this game just really clicked with me and I’d have forgiven it a lot more than that!
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jon Cheetham »

Wilmot's Warehouse was free on Epic and I really like it. I have had it on my radar since I saw Kole Ross on stream describe it as a game for people who love the inventory in games like Prey and Resi 4. It's pretty therapeutic getting all your stuff organised and memorising where things are so you can get them to the service hatch when you need to. I dislike being on a timer and was initially disappointed that you only get a minute or so to get things out the hatch, but it isn't an issue so far personally and does give you a reason to be familiar with where you're putting things. Then you get as much time as you need for the "stock take" sections which is when you can create your painstakingly tidy floor plan.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Slime Climb in Fallguys is pretty much the only race stage where you have to be patient.

I still haven’t finished it yet though. Got to the final ramp to the finish, so I was past every obstacle, but one guy was standing near the finish rugby tackling people off the edge for fun and I didn’t realise until it was too late.

I find the tail grabbing stages the most annoying though, the controls aren’t precise enough for it to feel anything other than random.

Great game though, and I know a few people working on it and they have plans. So many plans.
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DomsBeard
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

Flabyo wrote: August 14th, 2020, 8:55 am Slime Climb in Fallguys is pretty much the only race stage where you have to be patient.

I still haven’t finished it yet though. Got to the final ramp to the finish, so I was past every obstacle, but one guy was standing near the finish rugby tackling people off the edge for fun and I didn’t realise until it was too late.

I find the tail grabbing stages the most annoying though, the controls aren’t precise enough for it to feel anything other than random.

Great game though, and I know a few people working on it and they have plans. So many plans.
Switch version would be great, my 4 year old loves it. Finally figured slime climb!. Had no issues since the weekend playing it
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