Whatcha Been Playing?

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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

I've been playing Monster Hunter Rise , but actively trying to slow down with it, because I feel like I'm already on 4 star quests after a few days, and I heard it only goes up to 7 star, and I don't feel like I've actually played it for too long so far.

Other than that, Borderlands 1 on Switch. Picked up the triple pack (1, 2 + Pre-Sequel), and been really enjoying it, especially so with the Hori Split Pad. I played it a bit back in the day, but didn't get too far because the lack of story bothered me, but as a portable game to stick on when I'm watching TV, it's perfect. Runs great in handheld, and the graphics barely look like they've aged a day.
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jon Cheetham »

I don't think you need to worry about getting through the quests in Rise too quickly. It lets you smash through the village stuff and the story is a bit frontloaded. There's masses still to do at the hub afterwards, and they're still adding more.
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Alex79
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Alex79 »

Ah cool, yeah I did notice there are more quests in the hub than in the village at the same level. Like I mean four 1* quests in village and about ten in the hub. I was joining other people's games for hub quests but found quite often you'd join moments before the monster is defeated, which is a bit annoying, so now I always start my own mission and leave it open, and ever time other people have always joined after a couple of min. Still annoying when someone joins seconds before the monster is killed and then they get their full share of the winnings, haha.
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

First trial done in Pokemon Sun. I’ve really enjoyed getting back into the series after a huge hiatus since Black. Something that I love about all the Pokemon games is that anticipation and feeling when your Pokemon evolves. My Litten evolved earlier
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Scrustle
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Scrustle »

Still plugging away at Nier ver. 1.22, just finished off Ending B. I spent a lot of time lagging around in Route B since I've been trying to go for the platinum trophy. So I was trying to clear up as much side stuff as I could before moving on, which mostly consisted of waiting around for flowers to grow. While I managed to get that all done, it turns out there are a couple of things that I have missed, making the platinum impossible. So from now on I think I'm just going to give up on that and go at my own pace. The story additions in Route B are good though. There's the stuff from the original where it gives you insight in to the bosses to make them more sympathetic, but they also do this with the new content as well. They probably add in more for that in this route than gets added for the original bosses too. The main cast get more time to talk to each other as well, fleshing out their relationships. It's good stuff.

Also something that I forgot to mention in my last post was that I found out this game actually has quite a few hidden combat mechanics that have been added in this version. You can quick-swap weapons on the fly, and magic spells also change how they behave if activated after other specific actions. So despite the combat feeling very faithful to how it was originally, it's also subtlety a lot deeper too, in ways that may not be immediately obvious. Also apparently the ability to charge and fire spells at the same time as using a melee weapon is new in this version, which I didn't remember not being in there originally. It just feels like such an obvious thing that I didn't realise it wasn't always there.

I also started playing Pandora's Tower through Dolphin. I have actually played this before, since I have the Wii version digitally on Wii U. I bounced off it before though, since it felt so clunky, and the resolution was so bad I could hardly make anything out. Didn't care for the voice acting either. Playing through emulation however allows the resolution issue to be fixed, and I'm enjoying it much more. It's still a pretty clunky game, and the voice acting is rather... unrefined. But I think playing through the Drakengard games has done something to my brain, and I now have a much higher tolerance for jank.

It a strange game though. It's an action RPG which takes place within a collection of towers that act as dungeons, where you have a time limit for how long you can be out dungeon crawling. You have a home base area too, and there you have a companion character who is the reason for the time limit. She is inflicted with a curse that gradually turns her in to a horrible slimy tentacle monster if she goes too long without eating flesh from other monsters. So you need to take flesh from the enemies you defeat and bring them back to her every so often to avoid her turning in to some disgusting squid thing. And the sequence they show of her eating the flesh makes it look very unpleasant too. So the game has this strange tone to it where you feel the pressure to make sure you're keeping her healthy and avoid her from suffering, but at the same time feeling a bit guilty having to put her through the experience of eating the horrible looking meat over and over.

Gameplay is somewhat interesting. It has a few neat ideas, but I'm not sure how well it actually pulls them off. You have some basic sword attacks and stuff, but a lot of the combat also focuses around a chain weapon that you have. You can use it to bind enemies to stop them moving, and it has a different effect depending on what part of their body you tie up. You can also build up tension in the chain and rip it out for a big chunk of damage, as well as tie enemies together, or throw lighter ones around, stuff like that. So far the bosses have focused almost entirely around this chain rather than the more traditional attacks, as you have to use it to hurt their one weak spot. So bosses are less about a straight up fight and more avoiding attacks while optimising when you decide to use these chain pull attacks. But to aim all these chain mechanics, the game uses an on-screen cursor. The game clearly expects you to be using a Wiimote, although it does have support for normal controllers too. Although I have heard it's pretty easy to set up a Wiimote with Dolphin, I've just been using my usual Xbox One controller. It makes aiming a bit fiddly, but it seems to be doable so far.
HaloFandango
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by HaloFandango »

markfm007 wrote: May 14th, 2021, 10:14 am
Jon Cheetham wrote: May 14th, 2021, 1:56 am A lot of people have said the Ringed City's central design thesis of "F*****G RUN!" harms the exploration that's important to Dark Souls, and I agree, particularly when those giant sorcerers respawn which I think is unnecessary.

It's a shame because the environments themselves are really good, and I love that that Gael boss fight. If only you didn't have to go through the Ringed City to get to him. At least there's always the sunbro option.
Haha yeah, seems like it's meant to be a sort of final test of the series. It's a bit too hardcore for me but I did appreciate the bosses and environments. I ended up looking up how to get past the laser angels though as they were driving me up the wall.
HaloFandango wrote: May 14th, 2021, 5:44 am Beating a Dark Souls' boss during a lunchbreak is pretty impressive! I'm imagining you brought a PC or console to work with you (unless you work from home ;))

Dark Souls is one of those games I want to beat at some point in my life. Hopefully I won't be too old when I do, otherwise I'll have a heart attack.
Cheers, I work from home! They're definitey worth a go, can test your patience but there's a lot of good stuff there
Ha ha, that's a hardcore lunchbreak. I believe the entire trilogy is available to buy on the Xbox One, so I'll look into it :)
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Seph
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Seph »

I started 428: Shibuya Scramble today. I'm not far into it, but I like the presentation and the fun cast of characters. It's a good idea to not have a voice audio, as I always read ahead anyway, plus the music is fantastic too. There have been several nods to Twin Peaks already, which is making me think this might not turn out to be a straight forward detective story (though I wouldn't be disappointed if it was).
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Simonsloth
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Simonsloth »

Seph wrote: May 18th, 2021, 8:47 pm I started 428: Shibuya Scramble today. I'm not far into it, but I like the presentation and the fun cast of characters. It's a good idea to not have a voice audio, as I always read ahead anyway, plus the music is fantastic too. There have been several nods to Twin Peaks already, which is making me think this might not turn out to be a straight forward detective story (though I wouldn't be disappointed if it was).
Let me know how you get on with it. It’s on backlog having bought it a while back in a sale but never got around to playing it.
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Feirsteax
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Feirsteax »

Playing GTA V for the first time. There's some genuinely funny moments, and some great cinematic moments too. But wow, there's a hhhhhhell of a lot of misogyny in this game. The writing is really inconsistent for me, sometimes I enjoy it, other times it falls completely flat and feels juvenile, other times it just feels unfinished, like they couldn't think of how to tie two story segments together and just end up hand-waving a bunch of stuff to drive the story forward.

I don't overly mind this though because it means I don't feel bad if I want to stick on a podcast and play the game with the audio turned to low for a while. The gameplay itself is pretty solid, though I can see it getting a bit repetitive soon. The most fun part so far was unlocking Trevor and suddenly having access to grenade launchers, sticky bombs and sniper rifles. The chaos factor increased dramatically and it was really fun.

The heist missions have been excellent as well, and very replayable thanks to the different approaches and sidekicks you can choose to go in with.
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Truk_Kurt
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Truk_Kurt »

So you're the one behind why it's still in the top 10 sellers every week after all these years! :P
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Miririn
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Miririn »

Haha I also bought GTAV for the first time a couple of months ago. It's cheap as chips at the moment!
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Jon Cheetham
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jon Cheetham »

I'm nearly through my second run of Resi Village. I'm halfway through the
Spoiler: show
factory
at the 5hr mark, it's a very breezy campaign once you know where to go. And that's with me taking my time to visit secret areas I missed last time, and shooting any fish I find.

Lots of replay value, you unlock a
Spoiler: show
bonuses shop where you can buy infinite ammo for your guns as well as extra weapons so you can cause a fair amount of mayhem on NG+.
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Seph
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Seph »

Simonsloth wrote: May 19th, 2021, 6:30 pm
Seph wrote: May 18th, 2021, 8:47 pm I started 428: Shibuya Scramble today. I'm not far into it, but I like the presentation and the fun cast of characters. It's a good idea to not have a voice audio, as I always read ahead anyway, plus the music is fantastic too. There have been several nods to Twin Peaks already, which is making me think this might not turn out to be a straight forward detective story (though I wouldn't be disappointed if it was).
Let me know how you get on with it. It’s on backlog having bought it a while back in a sale but never got around to playing it.
Will do. There's a lot of character shifting that reminds me a little of the Zero Escape series so far, but without the puzzle rooms. I've hit a lot of bad endings so far, but I think the game is based a lot on trial and error. It depends on if you have the patience to replay moments to make the right choices. I like the tone, it's very fun.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Simonsloth »

Seph wrote: May 20th, 2021, 5:09 pm
Simonsloth wrote: May 19th, 2021, 6:30 pm
Seph wrote: May 18th, 2021, 8:47 pm I started 428: Shibuya Scramble today. I'm not far into it, but I like the presentation and the fun cast of characters. It's a good idea to not have a voice audio, as I always read ahead anyway, plus the music is fantastic too. There have been several nods to Twin Peaks already, which is making me think this might not turn out to be a straight forward detective story (though I wouldn't be disappointed if it was).
Let me know how you get on with it. It’s on backlog having bought it a while back in a sale but never got around to playing it.
Will do. There's a lot of character shifting that reminds me a little of the Zero Escape series so far, but without the puzzle rooms. I've hit a lot of bad endings so far, but I think the game is based a lot on trial and error. It depends on if you have the patience to replay moments to make the right choices. I like the tone, it's very fun.
Sounds good. The main thing delaying me playing it right away is that it supposedly takes 40-50 hours to finish. Is there a chapter jump/select mechanic or at ability to dialogue skip to the choices that matter?

I’m getting a bit of RPG fatigue from persona 5 which although enjoyable is starting to get repetitive and really slow (for me at least) and I’m 70 hours in. Once I’ve finished with that I’ll probably give Resi 8 a whirl as I’m after something more compact.
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Jobobonobo
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Jobobonobo »

After struggling with the B-Sides in Celeste, I just went "screw it, I'm turning Infinite Dashes on." Might as well use these tools if I am being given them. Also I completed the main story fair and square so I think it is fine to muck around a bit with the after game content, so to speak. It is still balls hard but also still satisfying going through all the challenges. Level 3 B side is still an utter bastard, Oshiro really makes the last haul difficult and even with the safety net of the infinite dashes, my fingers still hurt like hell from smashing the buttons as hard and exact as I can. Definitely not a game I can play in long bursts!

Also started up Untitled Goose Game. Still having trouble getting everything for the picnic near the beginning of the game. Can't find the basket for the life of me and the gardener is a pain in the arse taking back his jam and carrots from the picnic blanket! This looks like it will be trickier than I anticipated. Fun little time with it so far though.
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Seph
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Seph »

Simonsloth wrote: May 21st, 2021, 5:28 pm
Seph wrote: May 20th, 2021, 5:09 pm
Simonsloth wrote: May 19th, 2021, 6:30 pm
Seph wrote: May 18th, 2021, 8:47 pm I started 428: Shibuya Scramble today. I'm not far into it, but I like the presentation and the fun cast of characters. It's a good idea to not have a voice audio, as I always read ahead anyway, plus the music is fantastic too. There have been several nods to Twin Peaks already, which is making me think this might not turn out to be a straight forward detective story (though I wouldn't be disappointed if it was).
Let me know how you get on with it. It’s on backlog having bought it a while back in a sale but never got around to playing it.
Will do. There's a lot of character shifting that reminds me a little of the Zero Escape series so far, but without the puzzle rooms. I've hit a lot of bad endings so far, but I think the game is based a lot on trial and error. It depends on if you have the patience to replay moments to make the right choices. I like the tone, it's very fun.
Sounds good. The main thing delaying me playing it right away is that it supposedly takes 40-50 hours to finish. Is there a chapter jump/select mechanic or at ability to dialogue skip to the choices that matter?

I’m getting a bit of RPG fatigue from persona 5 which although enjoyable is starting to get repetitive and really slow (for me at least) and I’m 70 hours in. Once I’ve finished with that I’ll probably give Resi 8 a whirl as I’m after something more compact.
I think this one is closer to 25 hours, with an extra 10 if you want to 100% it. To do everything you have to see every bad ending (I think there's about 80) and I was incredibly frustrated trying to meet the requirements for this in the first part. But if you don't want to do this, the rest of the game is great. I haven't found a way to skip dialogue, but each character chapter is bookmarked for you to go right to the parts with the choices. It also isn't too overly written, so it isn't dragged out unnecessarily.

I put 150 hours into one run of Persona 5, so I get you there. It's a great game, but they could have cut out one dungeon and character at least, as it really feels like a chore at times. I never felt that with 4 though.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by stvnorman »

I managed one more chapter of Final Fantasy VII Remake before the pull of another game of Resident Evil Village sucked me back in, and that’s mostly what I’ve been doing with my limited gaming time this week. It’s just wonderful! So much more you can get out of it on a second run too, and even after finishing that I’m not done yet!

I did play the first level of SnowRunner (newly on Game Pass), but I don’t understand! If it’s any more than a dreadful driving game then I’m clearly missing the point!

Also caught up on a few Switch demos. Rising Hell is like a reverse Downwell, but I was bored before I died the first time. Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is a stylish runner like you got on phones 15 years ago, but was way too stylish for my colourblindness! Thief’s Shelter is an unwieldy point and click mystery. Yuck! King of Seas is a pirate strategy-action game that has way too much talking going on to be any kind of fun for me. I keep going back for the R-Type Final 2 demo but it’s ruined on Switch by ridiculous loading times every time you die - demo did its job though, and I’ll stick with Xbox for that! And I’ve no idea why I even downloaded the Miitopia demo! Thankfully, faith in demos restored by some Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, where I’ll never need to buy the full version to have my fill!
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by ThirdDrawing »

Started up Yakuza Kiwami 2 to get it done in time for the podcast. Looking forward to that one.
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Marlew »

Cleared the flip phone port of the CAVE classic shmup, Dodonpachi Daioujou, released last week on the Japanese eShop. It's very cute and plays well considering what it is. My second favourite Switch release of the year behind Monster Hunter Rise. It's very accessible and fun but builds to a decent challenge, as well.

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Scrustle
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Re: Whatcha Been Playing?

Post by Scrustle »

Finished off Endings C and D in Nier 1.22 today. Route C is less interesting than B. It does add in a few new tidbits, but not much in comparison to what B did. There is one thing about this version that they didn't change that I wish they did now. Ending C and D are done by a simple choice at the end of the game, like the last few endings in Automata. But unlike that game, here you can't go back to a recent save after getting one ending to quickly get back to the point where you make the choice so you can see the other option. It places you back at the start of Route C again, making you go through the latter half of the game one more time just to get to that choice. And it's still the same route, so no new story for this last run. I've always been supportive of the idea of how this game does repeating content, as it does evolve each time through, and the context of having that previous experience helps enhance future runs as well. But in this case I don't think it's justifiable. There really is nothing new to see, and no good reason why it couldn't have been made more convenient. You can at least cut down the time it takes by just focusing on the main quests and skipping cutsenes etc., but even doing that it's still a pretty big chunk of time of repeating identical content for no good reason.

This point would count as completing the game if it were the original version, but this version has a one new ending left to go. I'm pretty excited to se what it brings. I haven't got to the point where I'm seeing new stuff yet though. I do have some expectations of what it will be like, since I have heard about the Ending E that was cut from the original version, and showed up in an audio drama or something. But with the way this new game is structured, it seems like it won't be identical.

I played a bit of Pine recently too. I've had my eye on this for a while, but picked it up as it was one of the Epic freebies not long ago. First impressions were really good, but it quickly became pretty disappointing unfortunately. It presents itself as a sort of indie Breath of the Wild, with a twist on the formula of having different tribes of creatures whose villages can grow based on whether you interact and trade with them. But they also have a reputation mechanic with the player, and between different tribes. So if you interact with one who it an enemy of another, the latter will dislike you for associating with their enemy. Visually it's very nice too. It does a pretty good job of evoking that same kind of simplistic, colourful, yet convincingly naturalistic look of BotW, but it has its own spin on it too. Characters look pretty unique with oversized facial features, but in an appealing way.

But to actually play, it's not very good. Combat is extremely slow and clunky. Inputs feel very unresponsive, and animations are vague and floaty feeling. Enemies also hit really hard, so it makes for some really frustrating encounters when you're getting punished really harshly for the game not keeping up with what you want to do. Objectives for quests are really boring and tedious too, at least as far as I've seen. They're all just gathering a certain number of a specific drop. And that's made so much worse by how terrible it is at giving you direction. It's often not clear where you get a certain item from. The hints that you do get are often unhelpful, and most places on the map don't tell you what their names are. So most of the experience of playing just ended up being roaming around aimlessly hoping that maybe at some point I would stumble on what I needed by chance, and getting ambushed by monsters and helplessly trying to wrestle with the controls to defend myself. I got to a point where I finally managed to gather all the materials I needed for a certain quest, only to find out the next objective was to find an even greater number of far more obscure materials. So my patience was exhausted and I gave up. Never got near the point of seeing how the tribe dynamics worked out, but given what I had seen of the game already, I don't feel like I'm missing much.
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