Whatcha Been Playing?

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markfm007
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by markfm007 »

seansthomas wrote: August 23rd, 2021, 9:00 am In a real fug with gaming right now. Can't seem to bring myself to want to play much, bar the odd GTAV session with friends.

Only got a PS4 last year so have an insane wealth of great games to play bit just can't bring myself to plough the time in.

Beat MGS: Ground Zeroes but couldn't find the energy to start MGSV proper. Gave up on Hades as I got close to the end. After three chapters of Yakuza 0 I can see it's merits and charm, and want to see how it unfolds, but when I realised I'm only on Chapter 3 and there's about 14 of them, I couldn't face going back to any more cut scenes or random encounters.

Managing the odd half hour here and there of Tony Hawk's or SORage4 but yeah... just not sure I can ever see myself tackling stuff like Hitman 2, HZDawn, Outer Wilds, Days Gone, FFVII remake, God of war etc anytime soon.

Not sure what game I could play right now that would get me excited again? I've had these lulls before but never for this long.
Might be best to have a break, that helps me. I also find it easier not to have a list of things to play, as then it becomes a chore. Just finish one thing and move on to whatever I want to play in that moment. You could also try playing something in a genre you don't play often, or that's very different to what you normally play.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

seansthomas wrote: August 23rd, 2021, 9:00 am In a real fug with gaming right now. Can't seem to bring myself to want to play much, bar the odd GTAV session with friends.

Only got a PS4 last year so have an insane wealth of great games to play bit just can't bring myself to plough the time in.

Beat MGS: Ground Zeroes but couldn't find the energy to start MGSV proper. Gave up on Hades as I got close to the end. After three chapters of Yakuza 0 I can see it's merits and charm, and want to see how it unfolds, but when I realised I'm only on Chapter 3 and there's about 14 of them, I couldn't face going back to any more cut scenes or random encounters.

Managing the odd half hour here and there of Tony Hawk's or SORage4 but yeah... just not sure I can ever see myself tackling stuff like Hitman 2, HZDawn, Outer Wilds, Days Gone, FFVII remake, God of war etc anytime soon.

Not sure what game I could play right now that would get me excited again? I've had these lulls before but never for this long.
I was feeling like this a couple of months ago, still do to an extent, but I've found myself playing loads of old, shorter games. Arcade games, NES and SNES stuff, can't seem to commit to a big one at the moment. Even stuff like Bayonetta 2 which only took 10 hours, and Ashen which took about 25, just shorter more manageable stuff.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jobobonobo »

I really have a schedule lately that makes it very hostile to gaming so I have been slowly plugging away at Dragon Quest XI after greatly enjoying the demo. Interesting to play a more "traditional" DQ considering IX on the DS was the only other one I have ever played. It is actually quite nice to play something so unashamedly proud of its roots and there is a really pleasant silliness throughout the whole thing which prevents it from taking itself too seriously. Engaging in horse racing in a desert town which is called the Sand National and fighting enemies such as Weartigers which is literally a monster wearing a tiger suit are a good indicator of the kind of vibe you can expect from this game. And unlike the Trials of Mana remake, the voice acting is decent enough and even does an alright job with various regional accents form around the UK. Enjoying it but wish I could spend more time on it.

Also got Bird Game + which is a on rails shooter where you are a tiny bird flying over a giant pond. It is alright, have not played enough of it to go more in depth at the moment.
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seansthomas
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by seansthomas »

Thanks markfm007 and Alex79 - yeah maybe just sticking with short blasts of whatever takes my fancy or taking a break is the way forward.

Have been enjoying Tony Hawks of late so perhaps that's the palette cleanser I need.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Plugged in the SNES Mini again there and have been playing through Secret of Mana.

Feel like I'm really getting the hang of it now, understanding how to level up not just my characters, but their weapons and their elementals. Once I grasped that, I found that I was enjoying myself a lot more, even the grindy sections of walking through the wilderness fighting endless waves of monsters became more satisfying.

I'm loving it, it has a really cosy vibe and the music is beautiful. Some really sweet melodies and more mysterious ones, it's reminding me of Chrono Trigger a lot with its OST.
Here's one of my favourites from the soundtrack, it's a very melancholy and mystical sounding one. Love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUoNe3DUIT4

I was struggling for a while to defeat certain bosses and make progress (getting lost a lot, classic I-haven't-played-this-in-months-where-am-i-supposed-to-go type stuff), but once I figured out how to level up all the abilities, i've made loads more progress.

It's funny, I had been struggling so much that I assumed "Fire Gigas" was the final boss, since he was so hard and I only reached him after months of meandering around the world and trying to figure out what to do. I was quite surprised then to find out that I had to go retrieve a further 8 mana seeds from 8 more palaces, clearly this is just the beginning of the game rather than anywhere near the end! :D
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Switchsayer
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Switchsayer »

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
I love Zelda games and I had missed this one when it came out on Wii- so I thought this was the perfect time to dive in on my Switch.

After the incredible but very different Breath of the Wild, it was very comforting to slip back into the 'old style' Zelda, lots of dungeons, non-breakable weapons (though the breakable shields was something that surprised me) and a linear style. I think it's great they introduced the stamina meter in this game, as Link can finally sprint instead of his not-quite-fast-enough jog he does otherwise.

I found it quite difficult to get used to the controls at the beginning though, as I decided not to use the motion controls and instead use the right thumbstick to slash my sword. That took time to get used to and I found that I kept taking my sword out instead of moving the camera, so its a bit clunky but eventually you get used to it.

I have to say though, despite the game looking gorgeous and the ability to soar through the clouds on your loftwing, I am finding the bits before getting into the dungeons tedious. I've just got into the Lanayru Mining Facility and all the faff I had to do messing about with the time shifting stones in the desert began to grate on me.

I assume this is going to be the case for the other (5??) or so dungeons I have to do after this and the very idea of doing all of that sort of thing again makes me feel very impatient. I want to finish this game as soon as possible as there are so many more games coming out I want to play (Far Cry 6, Pokemon Diamond/Pearl remakes, Pokemon Legends, Horizon Zero Dawn) but I can see my playthrough of Skyward Sword is going to drag on and on.
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

If you're at the Lanayru Mining facility, you don't have as much left as you think. Certainly if you're not doing side stuff.

I agree with you on the stuff between dungeons being a bit tedious after a while, just seems like a lot of filler to extend the game length.
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SludgeWizard
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by SludgeWizard »

I'm about 3 hours into Ys: Origin and I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far.

It was on sale for somewhere around $5 so I decided to give it a go, since the Ys series has always been a blind spot for me. I'm really enjoying the combat, and the story/writing is just self-serious and stuffy enough for me to get into it, without pushing over into a lore and proper noun salad.

Does the series vary much, or is this the general feel? I like the idea of discovering and digging into an entire franchise I've never played before.
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Kasuga-san
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Kasuga-san »

Sludgewizard: The Ys games released around the same time as Origin play fairly similarly. The last three are more modern looking ARPGs. I have yet to play Monstrum Nox, but the series has always been fun to play so I have no doubt that it's another great entry. Origins is the only one that doesn't star Adol, and I think one of the characters you could choose in Origins feels more like a shooter (been a while since I played it). Each one is standalone, so it doesn't matter much which order you tackle them.

Jobobonobo, I really wish I could go back and experience DQXI for the first time again. I loved that game so much even though I didn't have close ties to the series outside of the first game and 8. It actually got me to get a hold of a bunch of the older games to play (though I wish the DS versions weren't so dang expensive on the market).

I finished up Yakuza Like A Dragon earlier in the week and loved every minute of it. Now I'm already almost finished with Psychonauts 2, which has been equal parts funny and emotional. No Lungfishopolis standouts for levels, but the game can be downright gorgeous at times. Not sure what I'll move onto after. I've had Westwood's Bladrunner game on the backburner and a handful of Game Pass titles to look into.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

SludgeWizard wrote: August 27th, 2021, 2:22 pm I'm about 3 hours into Ys: Origin and I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far.

It was on sale for somewhere around $5 so I decided to give it a go, since the Ys series has always been a blind spot for me. I'm really enjoying the combat, and the story/writing is just self-serious and stuffy enough for me to get into it, without pushing over into a lore and proper noun salad.

Does the series vary much, or is this the general feel? I like the idea of discovering and digging into an entire franchise I've never played before.
I'm never going to miss an opportunity to champion Ys: The Oath In Felghana on PSP (and Steam, I think). It's an older title in the series, having more of a top down, old Zelda style view, but the game is just fantastic from start to finish. Great combat, looks lovely and plays brilliant. Check it out!
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Scrustle
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Scrustle »

More Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3. Still finding it strangely compelling, and there's a few little quirks that have shown up that help give the experience a little bit of nuance to it. I discovered that there's a setting where you can change how much boost your turbo is producing, that you can turn on and off at will. But doing so causes a massive increase in the rate your car will overheat. So it creates a little wrinkle of strategy in how you use that, which can make races a little bit more tense than it just being a test of who has the more powerful car.

It's interesting comparing it to how Import Tuner Challenge did things too, which was the game that came after this in the same series, despite the name change. This game has way more actual roads to drive on, with more of the Tokyo highway system included, and two other cities as well. But Import Tuner Challenge included rest stops that were actual locations that had racers parked up to challenge, and NPCs to talk to that gave you hints on how to find obscure opponents. So one gives you more variety in terms of places to actually race, the other goes deeper in to creating the mood of this underground racing scene.

I'm also at a point in this game where it has massively opened up in scope too, where a lot of stuff has unlocked at once. It's kind of a shock to find I'm only 1/3 of the way through the game. Honestly I'm not sure I'll finish it after discovering that.

I've also started No More Heroes 3. I've only done the first two bosses so far, and while first impressions are positive, I'm also left rather confused by it. Combat is fun, the art design is really colourful and vibrant. But the tone is very weird, and I have no idea what it's trying to go for right now. It's nothing like the first two games, and it's not really particularly similar to Travis Strikes Again either, outside of some aesthetic similarities. From trailers and such I assumed this game might be pretty different to older games, and that it would be a deconstruction of superhero media, given how that's a word that showed up a lot. But actually playing it, I have no idea what it's going for. It's all over the place and I can't get a read on what it's trying to focus on. It's still early on so far though, so there's plenty of time to see where it goes.
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Tolkientaters
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Tolkientaters »

Psychonauts 2 is a lot of fun, I'm not too far in, but it's doing a great job being a charming sincere game that's really fun to play.
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frogbeastegg
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by frogbeastegg »

I'm cruising through a very idle replay of Dragon Quest XI. I platinumed the original version of PS4 at launch, and it was firmly settled as my favourite entry in my favourite JRPG series. That makes this Xbox run of the expanded version a good game to pick up when I want to play something and nothing specific is calling to me. Currently in act 2 doing the various spoilery things. I find I prefer the pacing of the original release, the added scenes at the very start of act 2 break up the narrative flow during a crucial time, and damage some of the later reveals. I do like the new costumes and stuff in this version, so it's not all me being a gloomy froggy over Change(tm).

Also working on Dragon Quest III on my Switch. I haven't played the first three before, and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remakes made me want to do so as then I can compare the remake-origins of the two series. I also thought I'd see how well III meshed up with the background described in DQXI. So far, not too well. Early days though; I only just got the ship. As a game, III is a big leap forward over II, which was a good jump over I, but I can't say that I'm enjoying any of them that much outside of the historical perspective I'm gaining. Which I do value, and find worth the time investment. I suppose I expected a bit more, considering I genuinely enjoyed playing through the Final Fantasy I and II PSP remakes earlier in the year. The signature DQ charm isn't quite there yet, and the XP/gold tables haven't been adjusted enough to reduce the grind factor sufficiently for modernised tastes. At least III's translation is closer to the series' standard than the gratingly flowery I and II.

I'm hoping to start my Castlevania project this weekend. I have the long-held ambition to learn to finish classic Castlevanias without needing to save-state my way along. To learn them properly. To develop the muscle memory. All that jazz. The looming podcast is my nudge to get started, as that's the game I want to tackle first. Coincidentally, this is also the weekend where I'm ditching tea and coffee. No particular reason, save that 18 months of covid-brexit supply roulette made me realise I'm drinking them out of habit now that my preferred type is impossible to get and none of the alternatives taste that good to me. Anyway. I feel tired, I have a very faint headache, and I'm going to tackle a demanding game. Excellent combination. I am so doomed.
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Kasuga-san
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Kasuga-san »

Alex79 wrote: August 27th, 2021, 6:00 pm
SludgeWizard wrote: August 27th, 2021, 2:22 pm I'm about 3 hours into Ys: Origin and I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far.

It was on sale for somewhere around $5 so I decided to give it a go, since the Ys series has always been a blind spot for me. I'm really enjoying the combat, and the story/writing is just self-serious and stuffy enough for me to get into it, without pushing over into a lore and proper noun salad.

Does the series vary much, or is this the general feel? I like the idea of discovering and digging into an entire franchise I've never played before.
I'm never going to miss an opportunity to champion Ys: The Oath In Felghana on PSP (and Steam, I think). It's an older title in the series, having more of a top down, old Zelda style view, but the game is just fantastic from start to finish. Great combat, looks lovely and plays brilliant. Check it out!
The original version of Oath In Felghana was my first experience with an Ys game (Ys III: Wanderers from Ys on SNES). That game was tough as nails at times (as younger me remembers) and completely different from the rest of the series as a side scrolling ARPG. That said Oath In Felghana and, after looking it up, Ark of Napishtim are the two similar to Origins that I was trying to recall earlier.
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stvnorman
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by stvnorman »

I noticed that Blair Witch was about to leave Game Pass, which is a strange one because I’m a massive fan of the movies but have never really fancied this game, mainly because I knew there was a dog sidekick! Anyway, I gave it a go, finished it, there’s some nice Blair Witch creepiness, but it’s a bit clunky and I still don’t want dogs in my games!

Unlike its predecessor, Psychonauts 2 isn’t clunky at all! Guess I’ve played about 3 hours, and it feels exactly how I always dreamed that Mario Sunshine would, with oodles of polish and just about enough story to stop me skipping every cut scene so far. Just get the feeling I might fall off it if it goes on too long.

I picked up Arcade Archives Star Force on Switch after coming across the NES version last week, instantly loving it and wanting the original. It’s a brilliant, pure vertical space shooter from 1984, and it’s a keeper!

Tried the Wario Ware Switch demo, but it’s never really been for me; which isn’t the case for Silent Hill 2, and I finished the HD version on Xbox this time around. Bit more Luigi’s Mansion on GameCube, and I reckon I’m most of the way through now. Few levels of Quake via Game Pass, which still feels great but is causing a bit of motion sickness, so I’m a bit wary of much more of that one. Loads more Art of Rally on Xbox though, which I’m really into now, and same for Wonder Boy on Sega Astro Mini. Wonderful!
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Eterno
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Eterno »

Played and finished Ghost of Tsushima: Iki Island DLC and while it was more of the same, since I enjoyed the main game I had a blast. The island itself is not too different from Tsushima, which is realistic I guess, but it has a few great vistas, mostly revealed through the few "Tomb Raider" portions of the DLC which are always my favorite. My character was already pretty much maxed and still there was a slight raise in enemy difficulty, making combat interesting again. I really like the new enemies.
Where the DLC really shines for me is in Jin's story and how they look back on his past and who he is today. He is one of the most realistic character in a videogame I've seen in a while and it felt great being able to identify to pretty much all his choices and reactions.
If you didn't like the main game this DLC will not change your mind, but otherwise I highly recommend.
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

I started Hollow Knight again after giving up on it when I played it a couple of years ago with some additional tips from friends as to what to do. But unfortunately I have put it down for good again this time. I used to think it was overrated but I no longer feel that way, it's just not for me. I got further than I did last time in that I managed to unlock more of the opening area and got the quill and compass, but the straw that broke the camels back was the first boss. I can't stand the mechanic of not putting a checkpoint right in front of the boss in any game, I just don't enjoy dying at the boss and then having to go to the last save point such as a bonfire in the Souls games or a bench with Hollow Knight which then means you have to work through a part of the level again just to get to attempt the boss again, during which journey you could get killed along the way. I'm sure there is a very good reason for this mechanic but it's just something I find really off putting.
So after that I went to another game I put down a couple of years ago, Into the Breach. I really like the core puzzle style turn based combat and the variety on offer for such a small grid but it is the roguelike aspect I don't enjoy, however I seem to have made more progress than ever before on my first run and am yet to die. I know I will fail soon and have to start from the beginning but I was under the impression you kept your upgrades, but a friend told me that isn't the case so I'm not sure how the game expects me to progress further the next run? I will press on though as I am enjoying it currently.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Feirsteax »

Played a bit more of the first Psychonauts there. I'm enjoying it, and so far the characters and world etc. are quite charming.
Platforming hasn't been too difficult yet but I'm only around the beginning, so I am sure it will get tougher and potentially more annoying as I make my way through the story.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

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Currently suffering from too much to play syndrome. I keep starting things but because I've literally got Gamepass last week I'm like a kid in a sweetshop and can't stick with anything. I've played the first hour or two of Flight Sim, Hellblade, Nier Automata, Forza Horizon 4, Forza Motorstorm 7, Yakuza 3, Red Dead Online... Probably half a dozen other games too!
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

Alex79 wrote: September 1st, 2021, 5:00 pm Currently suffering from too much to play syndrome. I keep starting things but because I've literally got Gamepass last week I'm like a kid in a sweetshop and can't stick with anything. I've played the first hour or two of Flight Sim, Hellblade, Nier Automata, Forza Horizon 4, Forza Motorstorm 7, Yakuza 3, Red Dead Online... Probably half a dozen other games too!
Forza Motorstorm 7! I didn't know Microsoft and Sony had teamed up to reboot the Motorstorm franchise :P
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