Whatcha Been Playing?

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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Feirsteax »

I finished Shovel Knight: King of Cards this evening after listening to the Cane and Rinse episode on it about a week ago inspired me to jump in. Fantastic game all round!

What they said about how the short, mario-esque level design was what sold me on it and it's an accurate description. It really nails that concept of hitting you with novel gameplay twists that last a single level and don't outstay their welcome, making blasting through dozens of levels a joyous and varied experience.

Joustus, well I kind of enjoyed the first few rounds of it but at about the halfway point of the game I decided to abandon playing it seriously and just took to buying the gem-swap cheat as much as possible. It was a fun little strategy card game but it wasn't the main attraction for me, I was here for the platform adventure and so I avoided it quite a bit in the end. Luckily it's not mandatory, I don't think, it only provides you with extra merit medals which you can use to buy vigor upgrades or new items, but you get plenty of those just from the main playthrough so you won't be maligned if you do forego them.

All the items were super cool and fun to use, I like how they have a fair few options in there to mitigate falling in pits and spikes, as that was probably my most common cause of death in the game. As soon as I bought the armour suit which allowed you to survive a pit/spike fall so long as you had enough hearts in the bank, I used it exclusively for the rest of the game. Dying instantly to spikes is a real mood-killer for me.

The final bosses were tough! But not impossible. I found myself jussssst managing the last three bosses (after many failed attempts) with 1 HP left, so it felt like they were perfectly balanced, to me. You could definitely give yourself a slightly easier time if you stocked up on decrees of rejuvenations before heading in, though I'm not sure that if you did that you'd have to go and beat the level leading up to the boss again or not. 🤔

Anyway. Extremely good game, levels are bite-sized and packed full of surprising gameplay ideas and secrets. And I haven't mentioned it yet but the writing is brilliant. So charming and funny, the characters are all great. Would highly recommend if anyone enjoys a good 2D platformer!
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Angry_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Angry_Kurt »

Alex79uk wrote: November 26th, 2020, 11:19 pm Is Rez HD on the 360 available via backwards compatibility? If so, get that sorted ASAP!

EDIT: Actually hang on, you've got a PS4: get Rez Infinate! I had another run through of it the other night, and it's still just amazing.
I do have the PS4 still but it's also on Quest which I hear is an even better way to experience the game.
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Megadirt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Megadirt »

I'm still working my way through (pretty much) every game in order of the podcast so my current playlist is :

Ghost Trick : Phantom Detective on my 3DS, which is a great way to spend 30 minutes before bed with a bit of logic puzzling, it's not perfect but it's fun.

Eternal Darkness on the Gamecube. This game makes the end of Metal Gear 2 look super tame. It is messing with my head in so many ways, psychological jump scares are a thing apparently.

No More Heroes : Heroes Paradise
on PS3 - sometimes the satirical dig at a genre from within the genre makes for a tedious game, re: Bulletstorm, but I'm finding this ok at the moment, about 2 hours in. A little repetitive but I don't think it's bad, and the characters are pretty interesting.

Then for fun:

Demon's Souls PS5 - I've never enjoyed souls games, but for some reason the whole concept has finally clicked with me and I'm loving this so much more than I expected to.

Sackboy PS5 - This is a great way to take a break from Demon's Souls, I always forget how truly challenging Little Big Planet games are. It's a really joyful fun platformer.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey PS5 - Still cleaning up the DLC after 2 years.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Feirsteax »

I loved Eternal Darkness. Such an oddball game with its eons-spanning horror plot. Very Lovecraft. Very good.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

Megadirt wrote: November 27th, 2020, 3:46 pm...sometimes the satirical dig at a genre from within the genre makes for a tedious game, re: Bulletstorm,
Whaaat!? Bulletstorm was great!
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I've been playing Fantasy Zone arcade on Switch. When I was a kid, my friend had this game on the Sega Master System, and I thought it was good, but too hard and I didn't really like the stupid babyish graphics (!). Still enjoyed playing it mind. But after getting hooked on the game in the arcade in Kamurocho (uh, in the game Judgment) I really wanted to get it on Switch. Imagine my delight on discovering it was in the sale for a couple of quid yesterday! The game is fantastic, and I think I'm fairly close to a 1cc (on easy...)

I also started Cuphead properly. I'm on the first aeroplane boss at the moment.
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ThirdDrawing
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ThirdDrawing »

DomsBeard wrote: November 24th, 2020, 10:10 am I'm still on with Ghost Of Tsushima.

Would've been on course for my GOTY if not for FFVII remake. Interested to see how it ends.
I'm honestly stunned you thought the remake was better than Ghost.

I *hated* the remake.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by stvnorman »

As much as I’ve enjoyed it for years, I’d never finished any version of Splatterhouse when it was the first thing I played on my PC-Engine Mini back in June, but I’ve been chipping away on there ever since and finally beat it! Excellent port. Also been chipping away at Resident Evil 4 on GameCube. About five hours played, just started the second chapter and it is really special despite the controls!

What isn’t that special is Friday the 13th on Spectrum - C64 marginally better, but I’m not sure what compelled me to spend so long beating both of them! Despite a lot of trying I still can’t beat arcade Continental Circus on PS2 though. Can set myself up perfectly to win the final race then blow it every time. Great game and I’ll keep trying!

I did have an hour enjoying Hollow Knight, free on PS+, but as much as I love (and hate) it, I deleted it before I got too carried away! Saving myself for the sequel, should it ever appear! Finally, like Alex above, I picked up the Sega Ages version of one of my all time faves, Fantasy Zone, for a couple of quid in the Switch sale, and Namco Museum Archives Vol. 2 was half price too, so I got that for other favourites NES Pac-Land and Super Xevious. And a lot of fun was had by all!
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Megadirt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Megadirt »

Alex79uk wrote: November 27th, 2020, 8:24 pm
Whaaat!? Bulletstorm was great!
[/quote]

You know, I was playing it, and I was loving it. Then suddenly, but entirely, every ounce of interest I had in it evaporated. I enjoyed it so much at the beginning because I have such strong reservations about Gears of War's writing and characters, but then it stopped seeming satirical and ended up just feeling like Marcus Fenix in a funny hat. I looked at the 400+ games I was gonna have to work through to catch up with my back cat and I just thought, "this is not worth it".

I understand completely why people enjoy it, but it's just not for me.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

ThirdDrawing wrote: November 29th, 2020, 9:43 am
DomsBeard wrote: November 24th, 2020, 10:10 am I'm still on with Ghost Of Tsushima.

Would've been on course for my GOTY if not for FFVII remake. Interested to see how it ends.
I'm honestly stunned you thought the remake was better than Ghost.

I *hated* the remake.
I loved it as for me personally I got what I wanted out of it, no doubt it has its issues and there's a bit of rose tinted bias in there. To be honest I've just started Act 3 of Ghost (I've been completing every side mission and shrine/den/etc before progressing the main story it might pip it yet.

At the start of 2020 I had little interest in Ghost and thought it would be a straight up fight between TLOU2, FFVIIR and RE3 but the former and letter were big letdowns for varying reasons personally.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I think I must be right at the end of TLOU 2. In fact, I thought it was going to end about three times in the last hour. Some really powerful scenes where I just got to, which I'll go in to in the game thread once I've finished.
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shadowless_kick
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by shadowless_kick »

I was hoping to be playing The Pathless now, but they're being stingy by only offering a physical version for the PS5 ...so far. I'll get the digital on PS4 if I absolutely have to, but I can be patient a little longer. anyone here played it?

I recently got Spider-Man: Miles Morales, but I'm saving it so I'll have something fresh to play when it's too cold to go out ...or when the government declares another lockdown/state of emergency. very few games really get my attention, so I've gotta ration them out.

in the meantime, more Tetris Effect and ESP RaDe...
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by duskvstweak »

The newest game I've ever played! I started Death Stranding!

I tell you what, my head was spinning by the end of the prologue, and in a good way. I'm very much in and it sucks I have to be up early in the mornings and can't go for longer in the game. But, so far, I'm enjoying it, in all it's weirdness.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

Just tried Rage 2 after noticing it was on PS Now. Played about an hour...

WAAAAWAAAAA BOOOOMTHUD WAKKKAWAKKKA AWOOOOGA WOMWOMWOMP WIKKKAWIKKKKA BWOOOOWAM BWOOOOWAM AEIIIIIIIIIDANANANANA AROOOOOOOOO AROOOOOOOOO DANANANAREEEEEK REEEEEEK DIGGGGADIGGGGA WOOOOOOM WOWOWOWOMMMMMWOMMMMMMM!!!

I ain't sure it's for me.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

duskvstweak wrote: December 1st, 2020, 2:17 pm The newest game I've ever played! I started Death Stranding!

I tell you what, my head was spinning by the end of the prologue, and in a good way. I'm very much in and it sucks I have to be up early in the mornings and can't go for longer in the game. But, so far, I'm enjoying it, in all it's weirdness.
I'm going to give you one tip, which I think would have really enhanced my already enjoyable playthrough. I'll spoiler it just in case, but it's really not story related in the slightest...
Spoiler: show
Acts 3 and 4 are both fairly long - do a few side deliveries, but don't get bogged down in them, it can really cause the game to lose momentum, and ultimately, you really don't get a huge amount out of doing them. For some reason, those two acts in particular, there seems to be a real temptation to just spend ages on side stuff. There was for me, at least. I spent hours and hours just grinding side deliveries in those sections, and had an awful lot more fun when I cracked on with the story.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by duskvstweak »

Alex79uk wrote: December 1st, 2020, 11:12 pm
duskvstweak wrote: December 1st, 2020, 2:17 pm The newest game I've ever played! I started Death Stranding!

I tell you what, my head was spinning by the end of the prologue, and in a good way. I'm very much in and it sucks I have to be up early in the mornings and can't go for longer in the game. But, so far, I'm enjoying it, in all it's weirdness.
I'm going to give you one tip, which I think would have really enhanced my already enjoyable playthrough. I'll spoiler it just in case, but it's really not story related in the slightest...
Spoiler: show
Acts 3 and 4 are both fairly long - do a few side deliveries, but don't get bogged down in them, it can really cause the game to lose momentum, and ultimately, you really don't get a huge amount out of doing them. For some reason, those two acts in particular, there seems to be a real temptation to just spend ages on side stuff. There was for me, at least. I spent hours and hours just grinding side deliveries in those sections, and had an awful lot more fun when I cracked on with the story.
I read one or two "Things I Wish I Knew Before..." articles and they all mentioned this too. I guess it's a pretty important piece of advice! I'm only on chapter two, so I'll be ready!
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DomsBeard
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by DomsBeard »

Good tip Alex!.

Played the first hour of Twin Mirror last night and so far so good.

Won't go into too much detail but it's refreshing to start as a protagonist who is an arsehole by all accounts.

Also graphically it's noticeably better than Tell Me Why and there an aspect of the gameplay which is a bit similar to Remember Me (how that didn't get made backwards compatible still baffles me).

Intrigued to see where this goes.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Simonsloth »

duskvstweak wrote: December 1st, 2020, 11:18 pm
Alex79uk wrote: December 1st, 2020, 11:12 pm
duskvstweak wrote: December 1st, 2020, 2:17 pm The newest game I've ever played! I started Death Stranding!

I tell you what, my head was spinning by the end of the prologue, and in a good way. I'm very much in and it sucks I have to be up early in the mornings and can't go for longer in the game. But, so far, I'm enjoying it, in all it's weirdness.
I'm going to give you one tip, which I think would have really enhanced my already enjoyable playthrough. I'll spoiler it just in case, but it's really not story related in the slightest...
Spoiler: show
Acts 3 and 4 are both fairly long - do a few side deliveries, but don't get bogged down in them, it can really cause the game to lose momentum, and ultimately, you really don't get a huge amount out of doing them. For some reason, those two acts in particular, there seems to be a real temptation to just spend ages on side stuff. There was for me, at least. I spent hours and hours just grinding side deliveries in those sections, and had an awful lot more fun when I cracked on with the story.
I read one or two "Things I Wish I Knew Before..." articles and they all mentioned this too. I guess it's a pretty important piece of advice! I'm only on chapter two, so I'll be ready!
It’s a tricky one because although I know exactly what Alex is saying (and the article) by spending more time doing deliveries the additional resources you gain, roads you build can make the later game much quicker and easier. There’s probably a perfect balance somewhere.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

Simonsloth wrote: December 2nd, 2020, 12:08 pm It’s a tricky one because although I know exactly what Alex is saying (and the article) by spending more time doing deliveries the additional resources you gain, roads you build can make the later game much quicker and easier. There’s probably a perfect balance somewhere.
Spoiler: show
I would say a really robust zip line network is a lot more useful, especially through the snowy mountain region, and doubly useful when you hit a certain story point right at the end game... ;)
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Simonsloth »

Alex79uk wrote: December 2nd, 2020, 12:52 pm
Simonsloth wrote: December 2nd, 2020, 12:08 pm It’s a tricky one because although I know exactly what Alex is saying (and the article) by spending more time doing deliveries the additional resources you gain, roads you build can make the later game much quicker and easier. There’s probably a perfect balance somewhere.
Spoiler: show
I would say a really robust zip line network is a lot more useful, especially through the snowy mountain region, and doubly useful when you hit a certain story point right at the end game... ;)
Absolutely!
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