Whatcha Been Playing?

[Todinho]

Man Shovel Knight on NG+ is hard everything does double damage and you only have 2 checkpoints per stage slowly making my way through it though cant wait for them to include the playable Shield Knight campaign and the playable bosses.

RE is going well but I cant remember what I have to do to get the good Barry(best character ever btw) ending I probably screwed myself over in this one,also fuck hunters!

Still trying to learn Skullgirls switched to Painwheel as my main and im liking her style a bit more but im still getting obliterated online...

[RoboticMonk3y]

doki doki universe on vita
I don't really understand what i'm doing, and it's reliably crashed about once every 10 minutes or so.
Frame rate regularly drops to a stutter which has led to me accidentally picking things up in game I didn't want to.
I don't really get what I'm meant to be doing, it seems like 120 random personality questions with a pseudo-game built around them.
Glad I grabbed it as a freebie, but I can't see myself keeping it, not really sure how it got a 7.3 on metacricket.

[ratsoalbion]

I had some fun with it on PS3 and PS4 last night. It's more of a plaything than a game as such, but there are aims.

You're trying to complete all tasks for all people on all planets and find/receive every present in the universe. The key is to interacting with the NPCs to discover their likes and dislikes and work out their motivation for giving you a gift (if they have one).

On top of this you can decorate your own home world and visit those of your friends. I'd say it's more like something along the lines of Animal Crossing than a regular game, although this does have a criteria for story completion and 100% completion.

So far I've found quite diverting, though I can't imagine myself playing it for very long.

I do like the way the save game works seamlessly between versions - no cloud upload/download. Strangely although the save game is shared between all three versions, the PS4 version has separate Trophies.

[dezm0nd]

Played a few hours of Strider on PS4 and its been okay so far. However, it has introduced some cool gameplay ideas and visually striking areas now and has made me want to play more.

[Flabyo]

Started playing Guacamelee on my XBO last night (this months Games with Gold freebie).

I already prefer it to Strider. There's way more character and heart to this than the Capcom game, and it hasn't had any ludicrous difficulty spikes yet.

I love the silly art style, the video game reference humour, and the combat actually feels interesting.

[AndyKurosaki]

Yeah I only recently got Guacamelee the other week, but it's definitely worth playing. I'll upgrade to the PS4 version when I get back tomorrow.

[Scrustle]

I've been playing Guacamelee too, and it's definitely pretty good. Really nice art style, and sense of humour and fun about it. Gameplay is really smooth too.

In comparison to Strider, I'm not sure which I like better. As cool as Guacamelee looks, I really like the aesthetic of Strider too. The soundtrack is pretty great as well. And I like the combat feel. The way the sword feels to swing, and how you can literally swing it as fast as you can press the button. The difficulty spikes are stupid though, and I think I've gotten to a point in that game I'm probably never going to get past.

That said, I've hit a spot a bit like that in Guacamelee too. It's probably just that I'm no good at platformers, but it's that bit where you get chased by that big monster that destroys the platforms behind you. Really hard for me, and I've already died several more times on it than it took to get frustrated with it.

And keeping on free platformers I'm stuck on, I tried to go back to Max: The Curse of Brotherhood the other day too, except it seems I've hit a massive glitch in it. I'm still on that boss I was stuck on last time, except every time I try to play it now the game breaks every time I die. Instead of respawning at the checkpoint, the game just points the camera at some random room with an enemy in it somewhere and becomes totally unresponsive to controls. I can't even reboot the game. I need to reboot the entire console. And of course, given how hard that boss is, I die seconds in pretty much every time. And anyone else with an XB1 knows how long it takes to reboot that thing. I've Googled the problem and there doesn't seem to be any mention of it anywhere on the internet either.

[NokkonWud]

Been playing quite a bit of Battlefield 4 online.

[stvnorman]

I've also enjoyed a few hours in Strider on PS4. So glad I simply never got around to buying it in the sale last month! I remember being hugely impressed by the original Strider and from memory this played similar. I had a hugely frustrating time with the first elite guard - died several times, and didn't really appreciate being sent back a mile to try again; on the other hand, it was a nice throwback to how games used to be! And doing that also made something click, and I got good all of a sudden. Now I'm really enjoying everything else it's throwing at me. Nice looking too.

For anyone that's interested, there's a quick video by Kotaku on Strider's history here: bit.ly/1qGfCIc

[Scrustle]

Played some more Guacamelee today. Got past the point I was stuck on. As seems rather predictable in these cases, I actually found it pretty easy this time, and did it on the first try. Carried on until I hit another roadblock though. It's an enemy gauntlet I need to beat to progress, and it's kind of a pain. They throw loads of enemies at you at once, and loads of them have those magical shields on which you need to do a special move against to beak. I feel like the controls of the game are a little lacking too. It doesn't feel quite as responsive as I would like, at least when it comes to those special moves. Platforming feels great, but there have been many instances in combat where I've felt like I got screwed because the controls didn't register my input in time. Still enjoying the game though. Although there was one other thing that irked me a bit too actually... The foregrounds in the levels look a little bland. Characters and background look great. All colourful with a very distinct style. But the foreground platforms just look like kind of generic platformer assets, if there is such a thing.

Anyway, playing this and remembering Strider has reminded me of something I've been looking for recently. I've got a big urge to play something similar to Castlevania again, but not in terms of gameplay. I played quite a lot of various different Castlevania games of late, and I think I've pretty much got all I can out of them for now. Yet I still feel like I want more. But what I want is more of that kind of aesthetic and tone. That kind of intricate, Gothic look, but not with a sombre feel to it. Something with a bit more flair and life. Or at least if it's sombre, I don't want it to be droll and melancholy. I want something with a little melodrama instead. It doesn't have to be a platformer. In fact, I think I'd prefer something more like a 3D action/adventure game maybe, but I'd take a look at anything to see if it might be fun. Does anyone know anything that I could try out?

Oh, and I've been meaning to talk about Grid Autosport some more too, since I've played quite a bit more now. I've still got pretty much the same impression. It's really great, and certainly feels like a proper successor to the first. I've spent a reasonable amount of time in each of the different disciplines, and they certainly feel very different to each other.

I've found pre-race practice and qualifying is essential though. The AI is actually pretty tough in that game, and if you spend time learning the track and trying to qualify near the top of the starting grid, things well be a lot smoother for you. In fact, I've found that the one discipline where you can't qualify has become my least favourite. Despite being pretty fast, AI drivers can be seriously annoying when you're behind a lot of them. It always seems like they're in the completely wrong place whenever you try to overtake. Races have loads of opponents too, so getting past all of them in a single race can be a struggle. But if you get the chance to start near the top and not have to deal with too many people blocking you, it's much more fun.

It seems your AI teammate is usually pretty awful though. They almost always finish really low down the standings, no matter how you tell them to race. That is except from the times when you can't get past anyone and you end up losing. It's really weird. When you do bad, they do good, and vice versa. So if you want to win, you'll basically be stuck with a worthless teammate in the vast majority of races. Overall team standings don't really mean much though, thankfully. The game scores most things on how you do individually.

I also noticed some nice little touches with graphics too. Although overall the detail isn't really that great, there are some instances where I was quite pleased with a little something I noticed. Like on pre-race menu screen you see all the cars lined up on the track while the camera pans past them. You can see heat haze rising from the exhausts of cars, or if you're doing a night race, insects gather around the headlights. There are some nice lighting effects in-race too. Like on some tracks you'll go around a corner and the sunlight will reflect off your windows and it makes for a real nice effect.

[NokkonWud]

Oh, and I've been meaning to talk about Grid Autosport some more too, since I've played quite a bit more now. I've still got pretty much the same impression. It's really great, and certainly feels like a proper successor to the first. I've spent a reasonable amount of time in each of the different disciplines, and they certainly feel very different to each other.

I've heard very little bad said about it, which is great as I really didn't get on with the soulless Grid 2.

[Feirsteax]

Playing kero blaster. It's a new game by the creator of cave story. Quite a fun little shooty game, has a lot less emphasis on story compared to cave story.
It's got nice music, solid controls. It is fun

Playing anodyne too. Just got the 3 keys and things have gone a little strange. I'm not sure exactly where I should go note either

[arry_g]

Anyway, playing this and remembering Strider has reminded me of something I've been looking for recently. I've got a big urge to play something similar to Castlevania again, but not in terms of gameplay. I played quite a lot of various different Castlevania games of late, and I think I've pretty much got all I can out of them for now. Yet I still feel like I want more. But what I want is more of that kind of aesthetic and tone. That kind of intricate, Gothic look, but not with a sombre feel to it. Something with a bit more flair and life. Or at least if it's sombre, I don't want it to be droll and melancholy. I want something with a little melodrama instead. It doesn't have to be a platformer. In fact, I think I'd prefer something more like a 3D action/adventure game maybe, but I'd take a look at anything to see if it might be fun. Does anyone know anything that I could try out?

That is a very specific feel you're going for, I'd say that the Darksiders duo hits many of those points - not sure if all of them. I don't know if you've already played that series though (I imagine you might have, as many people have).

Devil May Cry 1 & 3 (HD) hit some points as well and probably meets the "without a sombre feel" quality you're after (though that is subjective I think).

Some would say Dishonored meets some aspect of your criteria (though again, likely you would have played).

I think certain aspects of the Disgaea series meet some points (though definitely not all and the SJRPG anime sprites might be off-putting).

Bioshock has certain aspects as does Legacy of Kain (though that one is super dated).

I was going to through out Amnesia: The Dark Descent but that is super sombre!

Thief (2014) maybe but that is somewhat risky.

It's the "flair and life" which are difficult to meet; I feel Darksiders meets this because of Mark Hammil but erm... hmmm... difficult, sorry - I think I've been of very little help.

[Scrustle]

I was expecting Legacy of Kain might come up. From what I've seen though, I don't think that series has aged particularly well. It would be cool to see a more modern take on it though, if they ever decide to actually do that.

I should have expected DMC though. I've already got all those games actually. I really like them, but I think they are pretty hit-and-miss overall. The first two have aged seriously badly (although the second was supposedly always hated), but 3 and 4 still stand up. I've actually got an on-going playthrough of both of those, both stuck near the very end too, on boss rush levels. I've been meaning to go back to them.

On that note, I suppose Bayonetta also fits that bill. Love that as well, but I've finished that a while ago. Can't wait for the second.

I'm a big fan of the Darksiders games as well. I wouldn't really call those Gothic though. They've got a kind of comic book aesthetic to them, which is expected given who created that aesthetic.

[Todinho]

Anyway, playing this and remembering Strider has reminded me of something I've been looking for recently. I've got a big urge to play something similar to Castlevania again, but not in terms of gameplay. I played quite a lot of various different Castlevania games of late, and I think I've pretty much got all I can out of them for now. Yet I still feel like I want more. But what I want is more of that kind of aesthetic and tone. That kind of intricate, Gothic look, but not with a sombre feel to it. Something with a bit more flair and life. Or at least if it's sombre, I don't want it to be droll and melancholy. I want something with a little melodrama instead. It doesn't have to be a platformer. In fact, I think I'd prefer something more like a 3D action/adventure game maybe, but I'd take a look at anything to see if it might be fun. Does anyone know anything that I could try out?

Now that's a challenge to think about let's give it a try,hum I dont know exactly what you mean but Im guessing you're looking for the gothic aesthetic with that rock-opera flair.

Well there's the Arkham games that nail the gothic aesthethic but they are not as lively as castlevania.

Maybe Shadows of the Dammed,it has a pretty goth look and it has a rocking soundtrack.

There's also Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines that's an old first person PC rpg now im not sure it meets the criteria you said but it has vampires in it so that's something.

Honestly though I think your best bet is MediEvil 1&2 for the PS1 and/or Nekro an early acess game on steam,MediEvil is a 3D action game I think the aesthetic is more to Nighmare Before Christimas than goth per se but I think it works now the game is a little dated but I still think it's enjoyable.Nekro is a Rts-like game without base management it plays a bit like Diablo but you have to summon minions and stuff but in terms of looks and soundtrack(and that soundtrack is reason alone to play this game) I think it fits your description pretty well but it's an early access game so it's better to wait until it comes out.

[arry_g]

I'm a big fan of the Darksiders games as well. I wouldn't really call those Gothic though. They've got a kind of comic book aesthetic to them, which is expected given who created that aesthetic.

It might well be me remembering the first one wrongly but I thought there was a fair bit of gothic architecture and environments but it's been ages since I've played it so I could well be remembering completely wrongly.

Also, you're right - Legacy of Kain has aged extremely badly though it does still have its fans.

Honestly though I think your best bet is MediEvil 1&2 for the PS1 and/or Nekro an early acess game on steam,MediEvil is a 3D action game I think the aesthetic is more to Nighmare Before Christimas than goth per se but I think it works now the game is a little dated but I still think it's enjoyable.Nekro is a Rts-like game without base management it plays a bit like Diablo but you have to summon minions and stuff but in terms of looks and soundtrack(and that soundtrack is reason alone to play this game) I think it fits your description pretty well but it's an early access game so it's better to wait until it comes out.

Heh! I forgot that old game even existed!

[kappisun]

I've just completed AC3. Whilst not without it's issues I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. It's probably crap but I'm going to have a crack at dead space 3 later. Still loving dragons crown & persona 4 on vita as well

[adwild1982]

Started Dragons Crown on my Vita and am not sure what to make of it so far.

[kappisun]

It's just opened up a bit for me. I still feel like I'm getting to grips with it but fun. Quite liking dead space 3, just gave to accept it's an action game & I'm only a few hrs in

[arry_g]

It's just opened up a bit for me. I still feel like I'm getting to grips with it but fun. Quite liking dead space 3, just gave to accept it's an action game & I'm only a few hrs in

I think I'm in the minority but I really liked Dead Space 3! I thought it has an excellent action game but a bad horror game... unlike the first and parts of the second which were solid horror experiences (the nursery in 2).