It’s ok to not like a game.

Is it also ok to try and shed some friendly light about why a particular game might not appeal to some people?

Sure, I just don’t understand why people beat themselves up over not liking a thing other people like.

One of the core tenets of CaR is that *every* game is divisive, but also that sharing why we like or don’t like them is fun, and can be enlightening.

Dark souls 3- Yeah played it again this time with a strength build and now I have a sneaking suspicion that Strength weapons are super Overpowered, for comparison my last playthrough late last year took me around 60 hours with the DLC this one took around 25, granted I wasnt being much of a completionist this time around but in reguards to bosses I was able to defeat both Friede and Gael on my first attempt with no Summons and the Bane of my existence Midir took only 3 tries sure I fought against those bosses before so I could've just "gotten good" but I think my weapon doing around 500 damage also helped. Still a great game what else can I say.

KSubzero1000 wrote: ↑June 9th, 2018, 8:43 pm Is it also ok to try and shed some friendly light about why a particular game might not appeal to some people?

Of course it is

I appreciate the insight.

ratsoalbion wrote: ↑June 9th, 2018, 9:18 pm One of the core tenets of CaR is that *every* game is divisive, but also that sharing why we like or don’t like them is fun, and can be enlightening.

Indeed, what I’m saying though is that I don’t get the ‘i didn’t like this thing that other people did so there must be something wrong with me’ attitude.

Flabyo wrote: ↑June 9th, 2018, 9:33 pm

ratsoalbion wrote: ↑June 9th, 2018, 9:18 pm One of the core tenets of CaR is that *every* game is divisive, but also that sharing why we like or don’t like them is fun, and can be enlightening.

Indeed, what I’m saying though is that I don’t get the ‘i didn’t like this thing that other people did so there must be something wrong with me’ attitude.

It’s more that I’m worried that sometimes I’ve missed the point.

Hearing others describe why they love something can offer an alternative perspective which in turn can make me appreciate something more. This happens quite a lot when I’ve gone back to try something again. It’s one of the reasons I love the podcast.

Bayonetta is a critical darling and revered in the medium so that’s why it’s more significant to me at least.

It’s less I’m beating myself up and more that I was hoping (like Alex did) that someone else would have the same reaction.

Flabyo wrote: ↑June 9th, 2018, 9:33 pm

ratsoalbion wrote: ↑June 9th, 2018, 9:18 pm One of the core tenets of CaR is that *every* game is divisive, but also that sharing why we like or don’t like them is fun, and can be enlightening.

Indeed, what I’m saying though is that I don’t get the ‘i didn’t like this thing that other people did so there must be something wrong with me’ attitude.

Totally agree.

And Simon, you are right about Bayonetta, but I also know plenty of people who get little to nothing from it.

I know that feeling of wanting to understand and not wanting to miss out. Especially as I sit here 40 hours into Final Fantasy IV...

ratsoalbion wrote: ↑June 9th, 2018, 11:11 pm And Sumon, you are right about Bayonetta, but I also know plenty of people who get little to nothing from it.

Raises hand. Sold it on the same weekend I bought it.

And yet I played all the way through Lollipop Chainsaw.

I am not a hugely consistent man.

Yeah, I mean, I also played through Lollipop Chainsaw and safe to say I prefer Bayonetta just ever so slightly.

ratsoalbion wrote: ↑June 9th, 2018, 11:11 pm And Simon, you are right about Bayonetta, but I also know plenty of people who get little to nothing from it.

I know that feeling of wanting to understand and not wanting to miss out. Especially as I sit here 40 hours into Final Fantasy IV...

Ouch.

You’ve all set yourself a mammoth task with the final fantasy series this year!

06 Jan: Resident Evil: Director's Cut (PAL PS1 on PS3)
09 Feb: Final Fantasy II (GBA)
16 Feb: Resident Evil 2 (NTSC PS1 on PS3)
26 Feb: Yoshi's Woolly World (WU)
09 Mar: BioShock Infinite (PC)
10 Mar: BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One (PC)
12 Mar: BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode Two (PC)
18 Mar: Shadow Complex Remastered (PC)
19 Mar: Splatoon (WU)
29 Mar: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (NTSC PS1 on PS3)
06 Apr: Actual Sunlight (Vita)
08 Apr: Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (PS4)
27 Apr: God of War (PS4)
07 May: Resident Evil - CODE: Veronica X HD (PS3)
20 May: Pikmin (Wii on WU)
28 May: Zone of the Enders HD Edition (PS3)

10 Jun: Final Fantasy IV (PSP on Vita)

Alex79uk wrote: ↑May 5th, 2018, 8:56 am JAN - Lumino City (Android)
MAR - Dark Souls 3 (PS4)
MAR - What Remains Of Edith Finch (PS4)
MAR - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS4) MAR - Infamous: Second Son (PS4)
APR - Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception
MAY - Shadow Of The Colossus (PS4)
MAY - Uncharted: Lost Legacy (PS4)

JUN - God Of War (PS4)

Thoughts in the game thread, but fantastic from start to finish.

EDIT: Plot twist, I'm far from finished with this game! I've decided to go and mop up all the side quests before seeing the 'ending'...

Spoiler: show

3rd Jan - Hidden Folks (Android)
13th Jan - Bleed 2 (PC)
13th Jan - Bleed (Xbox One)
14th Jan - The Sexy Brutale (Xbox One)
16th Jan - Scanner Sombre (PC)
17th Jan - Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (PS4)
21st Jan - Dear Esther: Landmark Edition (Xbox One)
24th Feb - Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (RetroPie - PSX)
13th Mar - BioShock Infinite (Remastered) (Xbox One) [1999 Mode]
13th Mar - BioShock Infinite: Burial At Sea - Part 1 (Remastered) (Xbox One)
15th Mar - Actual Sunlight (Android)
18th Mar - BioShock (Remastered) (Xbox One)
19th Mar - BioShock (Remastered) (Xbox One) [Survivor Mode]
21st Mar - BioShock Infinite: Burial At Sea - Part 2 (Remastered) (Xbox One)
23rd Mar - BioShock Infinite: Burial At Sea - Part 2 (Remastered) (Xbox One) [1998 Mode]
26th Mar - BioShock 2 (Remastered) (Xbox One)
10th Apr - Marvel Puzzle Quest: Dark Reign (Xbox One)
11th Apr - Blackwood Crossing (Xbox One)
24th Apr - Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands (Xbox One)

27th Apr - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (Xbox One)
3rd Jun - Dark Souls: Remastered (Xbox One)
9th Jun - Cuphead (Xbox One)

A few to catch up on. All tremendous experiences. Can't believe I waited so long to get around to Hellblade, glad I waited for DS Remastered, and completely unsurprised that it took me so long to finally finish Cuphead (I'm really, really bad at that game, folks!)

Oh, I rolled straight from completing DSR into NG+, and then NG++, and now have another completed achievement list for a Souls game (my third for Dark Souls alone).

I can't wait to see what Ninja Theory work on next. The atmosphere alone in Hellblade completely sucked me in, but the story and main character were also quite excellently done, I thought.

For anyone asking if I'll be trying Cuphead's Expert difficulty... AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
No.

Spoiler: show

Jan 7 - Bleed (PC)
Jan 19 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Feb 11 - Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
Feb 28 - Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC)
Mar 8- Final Fantasy III (PSVita - PSP version)
Mar 21 - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) Three stars on all 150cc cups.
Mar 24 - Golf Story (Switch)
Apr 2 - Nier: Automata (PS4)
Apr 23 - Yakuza Kiwami (PS4)
May 3 - Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies - Turnabout Reclaimed DLC (3DS)
May 5 - Final Fantasy IV (PSVita - PSP version)
Jun 4 - Advance Wars: Dark Conflict (3DS - DS cart)

Jun 9 - Ratchet and Clank (PS4)

A disappointment compared to Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time for the PS3. That it is a remake of the PS2 original seems to have saddled it with smaller level design without capitalising on the PS4 itself.

Dark Souls Remastered

Thank heavens for that. I was stuck on Gwyn for a while there at the end, now I can move onto something else.

Given that we are all sick to the back teeth of Dark Souls after the last seven years, I will say no more, except that it's still good.

Spoiler: show

04/01 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Normal)
05/01 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - Jetstream Sam DLC (Normal)
06/01 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - Blade Wolf DLC (Normal)
10/01 - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Hard)
14/01 - Killer Is Dead (Hard)
18/01 - Q.U.B.E: Director's Cut
20/02 - Okamiden
23/02 - Bayonetta 2 (Normal)
27/02 - Shadow of the Colossus
02/03 - Monster Hunter World
06/03 - Snake Pass
08/03 - Deus Ex: The Fall
10/03 - Bayonetta 2 (Hard)
22/03 - Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
28/04 - Warden: Melody of the Undergrowth
03/05 - Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
05/05 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Nero/Dante - Devil Hunter)
08/05 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Vergil - Devil Hunter)
12/05 - Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
13/05 - Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition (Lady/Trish - Devil Hunter)
21/05 - Omensight
26/05 - Mafia II
27/05 - God of War
31/05 - God of War: Ascension

12/06 - Unravel Two

Picked this up as soon as they announced it was available at the EA show at E3. Was expecting I might finish it before E3 was over, and that's exactly what happened. Just half an hour before the final conference starts. It might have been a surprise for some people, but the developer has actually mentioned that this game was coming for quite a long time. I was intrigued to play more, since I loved the first so much. But at the same time I was kind of apprehensive. The first was such a great little self-contained thing that got its message across wonderfully and then wrapped things up perfectly. There was no need for a sequel. Turns out I was right.

Aside from the the actual content of the game, the thing that made the first game so special was what an emotional impact it had on me personally. Playing through it, it was charming and pleasant, but it wasn't actually until I got right to the end, during the closing moment and then reflecting on the game as the credits rolled, that it really hit me hard. A massive wave of emotions that came over me as I was mulling over what the game was trying to get across, and my own experiences with that kind of message. That's something you can only do once, regardless of the quality of the game. So no matter what this sequel was, it was always going to be a less impactful experience because of that.

But in terms of what the game actually is, it kind of feels like just more of the same. In some ways you could say it's better, but in other ways worse. The controls are tighter, and they add in a few new mechanics with platforming to capitalise on that. So I suppose it's better in that regard. But personally, not being much of a fan of platformers, I found some of the trickier sections somewhat frustrating. The new second co-op character makes for some new possibilities in terms of puzzles, but it doesn't really change the way the game feels in any large regard. Since it's designed so that it can be played totally solo, the co-op feels more like an addition for its own sake, rather than something that is a necessary component that explores a whole new realm of possibilities. I think perhaps it lead to some unnecessary confusion with puzzles too. To facilitate the co-op, some puzzles come across as being more complex than they really are, which can lead to red herrings for solutions appearing. I tend to really dislike stuff like that in games, and here was no exception. The game also tends to have the camera very far zoomed out for the whole run time. In the first game, it zoomed in and out as necessary. But here, it's almost always really far off, making it very hard to see where you are or what you're doing in certain situations.

The story of the game too feels kind of underwhelming. It's not exactly a "story" per se, as all the events that one could consider that are relegated to occasional ghostly figures in the background, which have little to do with what you're doing in the foreground. The same was somewhat true in the first game as well, but there it felt like what you were doing had some kind of metaphorical significance. The story that was hinted at mirrored the tasks and sequences that you played through as Yarny. All the levels had a different feeling to them as well, which helped the pacing and gave peaks and valleys to the experience. In this sequel, the trials of your woolen characters don't feel like they really matter much, and most of the levels have a pretty similar tone to them, and none even try to aim for the high points of the first, aside from perhaps at the very end. So it all feels a bit samey, and it didn't resonate with me like the first.

In a similar vein, the soundtrack is quite a bit of a downgrade. This was probably my favourite aspect of the first game. Had many truly amazing and moving tracks. Despite the music here being from the same artists and in the same style, it fails to even come close to the same level of impact. Most of it is pretty understated too. Barely breaking out in to full instrumentation, except in a few select spots.

So overall, kind of underwhelming. I was mostly expecting that, but I think it even managed to be just slightly less enjoyable than I was anticipating. It wasn't a terrible time, but it was incredibly unnecessary as an artistic statement, and felt like it didn't have anywhere near the same level of inspiration or energy behind it.

Spoiler: show

January 2018:
Bleed
Crackdown
Rez Infinite
Resident evil directors cut
Bioshock
Resident evil 2
Bioshock 2
Resident evil 3:Nemesis

Feb 2018:
Bioshock infinite
Def Jam: fight for Ny
Zone of The Enders
Resident Evil:code Veronica
Resident evil zero
Hyper light drifter
Braid
Yoshi’s Woolly World
Resident evil 4

March:
resident evil 5
resident evil 6
Lostwinds
lost winds 2
Ico 3D
Dead space
Dead space 2
Heavenly Sword

May:
Horizon Zero Dawn plus Frozen Wilds
Enslaved
Dmc
Steinsgate 0
Hellblade
Shadow of the Colossus Remake
Resident Evil 7

June:
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Bastion
Detroit
Vanquish

13/06 Battlefield 3 singleplayer campaign

I wish I’d listened to the podcast before playing this. It felt like left the actual campaign on the cutting room floor and left the set pieces in. So sub-par in so many ways. Thank goodness it was so short.