Whatcha Been Playing?

[Scrustle]

I've gone back for another run through Darksiders 3, since I was recently excited by the teaser confirming that the series is in fact not dead after all. I've been enjoying coming back to it. I forgot how good the writing is in the intro to this game, there's some great lines in there. Fury herself as a character is entertaining and pretty well realised by the standards of this series too.

I started off playing this run on the highest difficulty, which was added in a post-launch patch at some point, but I came to the conclusion that I don't think it's a good way to play the game. At that level, basically every enemy above the lowest tier can kill you in just a few hits, and it narrows the dodge invincibility window massively too. But at the same time you still have access to your very powerful invulnerable Havoc Form mode, which recharges pretty quickly, so it's really easy to just lean on that and use it any time anything remotely dangerous shows up. So it ends up being way too punishing for its own good, but simultaneously way too easy to undermine and circumvent. It doesn't feel like a very well balanced mode. So I decided to bump it down one level to what was the highest difficulty in the 1.0 version. It's a much better experience that is still challenging, but in a much more satisfying way. I do think that the combat mechanics of this game are pretty solid, once you get used to all the enemy placements so you don't get caught off guard by ambushes.

Also started another run through Control since I finally picked up the DLC for it. Turns out that stuff is all endgame content, so I'm not getting to it for a while, but it's still fun to play the main game again, especially now that I've played Max Payne and Alan Wake. It's cool to compare this against those and see how they lead to this one.

One thing that stands out about this game, on the PS4 at least, is how soft and fuzzy the image is. It's still a great looking game aesthetically, but it's very obvious that this is one of the earliest examples of image reconstruction technology that has a lot of flaws that are easy to see. But in this game it manages to not come across as a problem. Because of the setting and presentation trying to evoke an older mid-20th century style, it makes sense visually. As if you're seeing the game through an antiquated analogue medium that is prone to the same kind of flaws as you see in the way this game renders its image.

[markfm007]

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - I've had a very solid time with this. Beaten three bosses and done a decent amount of exploration. The platforming and puzzles are really good, and each boss fight has been better than the last. Although there's a bit too much combat for my tastes, it can get a bit hectic and frustrating at times. Overall I've had a solid time, but I'm going to leave it for now for....

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - I've decided to restart my save and put my energies into TOTK, rather than picking it up once in a blue moon. I'm still at the beginning of the game, retracing my steps. I think the main reason I tend to drop this game is that it can be a bit fiddly and slow going. But when I push past that I really enjoy it. Links power's are just so good, and the world is brilliantly designed and beautiful to look at and listen to. Looking forward to making some decent headway into it.

[Truk_Kurt]

I think I need to knuckle down and get back to Zelda ToTK too as I've fell off it twice now. What always stops be is getting the feeling like I'm not utilising Links powers as much as I should, mostly the building one because I just find it all too fiddly and frustrating. And then I also feel like there is too much busywork involved to get the crystals you need to upgrade the battery to make a decent machine. I feel like I really like the game but mostly because of the same reasons I loved Breath of the Wild rather than anything new they have added, in fact the new stuff they added is the barrier to making me going back and sticking with it. The only thing they added I like and use regularly is ascent power.

[markfm007]

I haven't built too much yet either. I like using ultrahand but I'm not particularly interested in building big vehicles. As you say it's fiddly enough that it could be a pain. I have enjoyed using it for making platforms and such. Everything's so flexible that I already feel like I've been pretty creative with getting myself up walls and bringing items to me.

I didn't get very far in BOTW, which might be why Tears is feeling fresher to me. I did go back and forth on if I should try and play both or just Tears, but they're both so big it seemed like too much work.

[Jobobonobo]

I decided that I have not played a game from the 6th generation of consoles in a very long time so decided to do just that with Ape Escape 2. I am having so much fun with this, the controls feels smoother and the little sideway swipe with the net you can now do is satisfying to pull off and makes some problematic monkeys a bit easier to deal with. I am impressed with how nice it looks for being over 20 years old with bright and colourful locales and the enemies are just fun little goobers such as a pink creature with a poo-like topping and a pig's snout charging at you. It is still a bit strange acclimating to using L1 to center the camera behind you and using R1 or R2 to jump but as long as they keep the platforms to a reasonable size for landing on like the original then the jumping should not be too bad. Also collecting prizes from a gacha machine from the coins you collect gives the player a lot of incentive to grab every coin you see. The gacha prizes include artwork, photos, fortune cookies and monkey stories and it adds so much personality to a game that is brimming with it already. So far, this game just exudes fun and I can't wait to play more.

[Alex79]

I think I need to knuckle down and get back to Zelda ToTK too as I've fell off it twice now. What always stops be is getting the feeling like I'm not utilising Links powers as much as I should, mostly the building one because I just find it all too fiddly and frustrating. And then I also feel like there is too much busywork involved to get the crystals you need to upgrade the battery to make a decent machine. I feel like I really like the game but mostly because of the same reasons I loved Breath of the Wild rather than anything new they have added, in fact the new stuff they added is the barrier to making me going back and sticking with it. The only thing they added I like and use regularly is ascent power.

It took me about four years to finish BOTW and I expect TOTK will be the same. I'd play 15-20 hours of it every few months, and found that to be a really good way to play it to be honest. Meant I never got bored of it, and the lack of any really meaningful story meant you never forgot what you were supposed to be doing. I love the building in the game and make all sorts of flying machines and stuff. Love the weapon fusion too. It feels like a real evolution of BOTW to me.

[Truk_Kurt]

I think I need to knuckle down and get back to Zelda ToTK too as I've fell off it twice now. What always stops be is getting the feeling like I'm not utilising Links powers as much as I should, mostly the building one because I just find it all too fiddly and frustrating. And then I also feel like there is too much busywork involved to get the crystals you need to upgrade the battery to make a decent machine. I feel like I really like the game but mostly because of the same reasons I loved Breath of the Wild rather than anything new they have added, in fact the new stuff they added is the barrier to making me going back and sticking with it. The only thing they added I like and use regularly is ascent power.

It took me about four years to finish BOTW and I expect TOTK will be the same. I'd play 15-20 hours of it every few months, and found that to be a really good way to play it to be honest. Meant I never got bored of it, and the lack of any really meaningful story meant you never forgot what you were supposed to be doing. I love the building in the game and make all sorts of flying machines and stuff. Love the weapon fusion too. It feels like a real evolution of BOTW to me.

It's no doubt cool and an evolution on ToTK, it's just that I found it all too fiddly to do and I also lack the imagination to create a cool machine.

[Alex79]

Been playing a few things lately. I'm towards the back end now of Death Stranding: Directors Cut on PS5. I loved this on PS4 and the Directors Cut has some nice new additions, different tech you can use and some handy quality of life improvements. The game now features a really nice widescreen mode too which looks really cinematic. Brilliant game.

I'm 60+ hours in to my EAFC 24 career mode. My created player had a season with Walsall, winning promotion, then transferred to West Brom for two good seasons, winning promotion then finishing 5th in the Premier League (would have won except my player got injured for 3 months and the AI made us drop a load of points). Also won the World Cup that season with England, before transferring to West Ham.

I played the Demons Souls remake on PS5. Got a couple of hours in before deleting it. I enjoyed the PS3 original and this new one looks incredible, but I have had enough of Souls games for a while I think.

But what I've been playing the most lately is No Man's Sky on Switch. The 5.0 patch dropped recently, adding so much stuff and changing the way the worlds are built, adding new skies and clouds, new effects etc. Even on Switch it looks a lot better and the game plays brilliantly. I've always had this thing about having big open world games on handhelds, there's just something about the idea of a world or a universe you can just explore whilst in bed before going to sleep, and this game has even sneaked in to my dreams at times recently. Just amazing what Hello Games have done to this over the years. If you've never tried it yet, there couldn't be a better time.

[dannyabbasi]

Hi all, re: Doom 2016, which I'm giving another go after checking out episode 367 about it -

I tried the game on Switch a year ago and couldn't get into it. I gave up after getting an hour into the game and realising I didn't have a handle on the combat and wasn't enjoying myself.

Just tried the PS4 demo and found I enjoyed it a lot more. Did a direct comparison of that early part of the game with the Switch version (docked mode on a nice big TV) and enjoyed the PS4 version way more. It's not just about graphics - somehow it just feels way better to me. So, if you're struggling to get into this game having only played the Switch version, try it on PS4.

This is following recent playthroughs of many of the preceding id Software FPS games on Switch; loved 'em all, and listened to all the corresponding podcast episodes, too; great stuff. Loved the episode on Quake in particular - Jesse Fuchs was a great guest

I'm also playing a tonne of other games. Too many, probably

[ratsoalbion]

As great a port as Panic Button managed for DOOM on Switch, it only runs at 30fps. The PS4 version manages 60fps (as well as running at a higher resolution), hence it feels nicer to play!

[Alex79]

Are we talking about the very newest version of Doom on Switch? I played through the first remaster they did a few years back, but just been playing the new Nightdive (??) ports of Doom 1 and 2 and it's brilliant. It feels 60fps but it might not be.

Aside from that, I've just started the Witcher 3 port on Switch and it's incredible! How they've crammed this, plus the DLC, on a Switch cart is pure dark magic. Looks and plays brilliantly!

EDIT: Sorry I'm an idiot, you're talking about the reboot Doom, not the 1993 version.

[ratsoalbion]

Yeah, the NightDive ports of DOOM and DOOM II are absolutely 60. Given that you can run DOOM on a microwave at this point I would flipping hope so.

[Alex79]

Started The Case Of The Golden Idol (thanks Netflix) today after Leon spoke about it on the monthly and the TCGS boys have been on about it for a while.

Only a few scenes in so far and I like the idea but it does seem like some of it is pure guesswork and illogical. It's quite possible I'm just not smart enough and the links are there, I'm just not making them, but hopefully I can get in to the thinking mode the game is asking of the player before too long.

[Truk_Kurt]

Started Tactical Breach Wizards which came out on Friday and a game I had steam wishlisted since I first saw it. Despite it crashing my steamdeck multiple times, I have been really enjoying it. The developer describes it as a mix between XCOM and Into the Breach, I would say it is more the latter as each level is a small room which is almost puzzle like in how you solve it. The games mechanics also rely on how being able to push enemies around like in Into the Breach to get the either blasted through a window or into the firing line of an enemy. It also kind of reminds me of the Hitman Go, Deus Ex Go etc games a little too.

With your crew being wizards, there are some really fun and unique abilities they each have too which makes it stand out from similar games. I do really hope they patch it so it stops crashing the steamdeck though as that has been the only blight on my experience.

[Jobobonobo]

Finally beat the final boss and caught Specter in Ape Escape 2 but of course the little bugger escaped and I have to catch all the monkeys now. Which I will gladly do, catching a few monkeys in a couple of levels every evening is a great way to unwind after a long day of work. I'm usually not one to get everything in collectathon platformers, even ones I utterly adore, as there is typically always one or two challenges that are too much of a ball ache to deal with (Canary Mary from Banjo Tooie comes to mind here!) but capturing the monkeys in this is so much fun that I am determined to net the lot of them. I had a PS2 growing up and I completely missed out on this lovely game way back then. Glad I got to give it a go now, may just be my favourite platformer on the system.

I am also chilling out with Pac-Pix which like Kirby Power Paintbrush, is an early title for the DS which really goes all in on the stylus and touchscreen gimmick. It is basically Pac-Man but you need to draw him to gobble up the ghosts and draw lines to guide him in the right direction. Simple but it works. As the game goes on, more mechanics are introduced such as drawing arrows to reach enemies on the top screen which you cannot reach, needing to hit switches to access areas and new ghosts which have different abilities making them harder to attack. As a showcase of the DS abilities, it does so admirably and it is a nice thing to play when I just want to veg out and chill.

[Scrustle]

The Splatoon 3 Grand Festival happened and I have to gush about it. What an amazing finale to this game. A fantastic event that created a wonderful moment. Usually I don’t care much for Splatfests, and I wasn’t sure if this one would be able to top the Final Fest from Splatoon 2, but they nailed it.

The festival grounds they created to act as the hub for this event were brilliant. A bustling and impressive venue with an electric atmosphere, set in the middle of the desert like some kind of cephalopod-themed Burning Man. There were so many great little touches like merch booths full of activity and fun details, all the characters from the story showing up to join in and help out, fireworks and light shows all synced up to the music, colourful ink everywhere coating all the player avatars, and details off in the distance like the skyline of Splatsville. The lighting starting off with a gorgeous glowing sunset that progressed to a dramatic twilight as the event entered its final phase. There were three different stages as well for each of the idol groups that they rotated between as they performed loads of different songs from their catalogue. A lot of them were based on the audio recordings and choreography from their real world live shows too. Then in the last day all the idols came together to sing a single anthem on the huge main stage in new costumes specifically for this performance. A long song that went through several movements, giving each group their own chance to take the spotlight on floating platforms flying over the crowd. The pyrotechnics catching the stage awning on fire in a kind of perpetually burning flame. It was an amazing, joyous and triumphant celebration of everything the series has built up to with a hint of wistfulness about it looking back at what brought us here. It was pretty moving to see as someone who has been so deeply in to these games for all these years.

As for the actual battles themselves, they were surprisingly fun. This is often what I don’t like about Splatfests, being forced to play nothing but Turf War the whole time, while also being under time pressure to grind through the ranks to get the rewards. None of that bothered me this time though. Having an extra day meant the time limit felt a lot less pressing, and the specialness of this event made me way more motivated to naturally play more too. It also helped that there was a bunch of music returning from the previous games’ fests, and even some new ones. I ended up playing this way more than any other Splatfest ever before, and I had a blast the whole time. The extra surprising thing is that I also really enjoyed the Tricolor Turf War event on the last day. Usually I hate this mode, with it being a weird, confusing, and unbalanced variant of a mode I already don’t like very much. This time it took place on a completely new map that was built from scratch for this mode, so it ended up working a lot better. It still felt like it favoured the defending team way more than the attackers, but it was still fun to play no matter what side you were on. They also played a unique music track on this mode. A mash-up remix of all the most iconic tracks of the three idol groups, with a massively hyped up tempo. The vocal track also changed in the latter parts of the match depending on what team was in the lead, as the associated idols take to the stage on the edge of the map to cheer on their team. It had an amazing energy to it that activated something in me that got me to push extra hard to win, like that moment was something unique.

Overall an incredible time then. One of the best moments I’ve had with this series that brought out the absolute best it has to offer, firing on all cylinders and hitting a home run on basically every front. Comparing it to both S1 and S2’s finale Splatfests, this one takes the cake. The only thing I can think that they might have over this one is that in S2’s unique map Pearl actually came down in the middle of the stage and you could get really close to her as she set off her Killer Wail. With how chaotic and fast paced the final day Tricolor battles were in this event, it was harder to get a sense of the idols actually being there next to the stage. But I would say the actual battles themselves were probably a lot more fun this time around.

As for the future (coincidentally the team I picked for this Fest, who came stone dead last, RIP) of this game, I’m still going to be playing it of course. But the devs have said it is now officially done and they are not adding any more new content, aside from minor balance patches. Some future Splatfests will happen, but fewer of them and they will be repeats of old ones. Limited time Salmon Run events will return as well. It’s a bit disappointing there will be no third variants of weapon kits like the previous two games had, especially when there are a bunch that could really use them. But in light of everything this game has it’s not that big of a problem. I’ve still got a few goals I want to go for too. I’m getting close to 1000 hours of playtime, so I intent to keep going until I get that. I also do want to try to hit 2000 X-Power too, if I can even manage to unlock X Battles again at some point… But last time I did that felt achievable, so that’s something I still want to aim for.

[ratsoalbion]

Great write-up, thanks for sharing your experience.

I wasn't able to join in, but I've seen some footage and it looked like a good time.

[Jobobonobo]

I am currently playing what is nowadays known as a "cozy" game, Mail Time where you are a little delivery person delivering letters and gifts to woodland creatures. It is pleasant enough but not really gripping at the same time. The only other game I played similar to this would be A Short Hike which I loved and wanted to explore as much of the island as possible. So far, this is not really grabbing me in such a fashion. It is a nice brainless little game where you are just pottering about. Maybe I will get more into it when I get further into the game but so far this is sitting on just alright for me. Meant to be a short little title so no big time commitment to finish this one off.

[Alex79]

I am not playing Balatro.

I've been waiting months for the mobile release which came out today. The exact same day there's some issue with the Google Play store meaning it cannot be purchased.

[Alex79]

I am not playing Balatro.

I've been waiting months for the mobile release which came out today. The exact same day there's some issue with the Google Play store meaning it cannot be purchased.

Ok well I have now played a few hours of Balatro and I am in to it.

One thing I'm not sure about - is there any sense of permanent progression in the game? Levelling up hands, the jokers you've got, special cards etc, none of that carries over to new runs, so are you literally starting from scratch every run or am I missing what's happening?

I'm fairly early on, still not even cleared the first 8 ante's, so not sure what the game offers after that.