Wormerine

I don't think they do. Last (first?) time they tried to do it was PoE2 and I though it wasnt good. And while I am free to mostly ignore romances, it still simply limits what kind of characters our companions can be. Thinking of an interesting range of characters we get when Obsidian doesn't have to think first of what player might want to have sex with, it would be shame to sacrifice a great cast for characters for, what is ultimately, an underdeveloped "romance" feature. You "could" not think about romance from get go, and just write those with specific NPC when it feels appropriate. But being an RPG with custom character - who is to decode what is appropriate. And looking at BG3 there isn't an NPC that some player wouldn't want to have a sex scene with, as long as it'a vaguely humanoid and sometimes even if it isn't. So I just prefer Devs to not do it. Nothing to gain, much to loose. I know though, that some people care for romances in RPG, and I simply don't. And I find games without them to work better.

I don't think VR could salvage anything from DA2, nor could it make it's romances any less awkward.

Hitman3 finally getting released for real on the 20th. New Elusive Target Arcade sounds better then ET as they are not time limited and they are retryable (although one attempt per day) - I felt that one attempt ET encouraged looking at walkthrough rather then experimenting yourself. Freelancer mode sounds potentially interesting. Depending on how good the roguelike structure will be. Most importantly, for anyone who didn't yet give this game a go the whole trilogy will be out on Game Pass. I will probably end up buying H3 on steam anyway - if not now (depending on price) then later. The only shadow hanging over the game is always online nonesense. It would be shame if the game would go offline sometime in the future. Oh, and I would actually like to try the VR. Too pricey piece of equipement for me, though.

Uf, that's a good question. I would also add Skull&Bones to that. I really don't get that one. You had ship combat in AssCreed. You have Sid Mayer Pirates. Marry the two and you have a game. Add grinding, and microtransactions and you have a Ubi game.

I do mind. They are constanly awful. Leave dating to dating sims. Let murderhobo simulators be just that.

I need to give the game another go, now when I have a better PC. I know I have first one, and I might have some base version of the sequel, not sure. I used to love Total War games - it was my entry to strategy games. Nowadays it feels more like all flash no substance. Tried to get into Shogun2 and couldn’t. Shame, I do adore the setting.

Yak-0. It could be because it was my first one, but from the ones I played so far (Yak0-3+LaD) it was the one with the most coherent storyline.

Finished Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I think it is my 2nd favourite in the series so far, even though I rather disliked the combat. Combat’s only saving grace is presentation and trademark Yakuza wackiness, though once I got to the bit where I had to grind I lost any patience I had for it. I also found the fan service near the end of the game to be much too heavy handed. I like Ichi as protagonist. He fits both melodramatic and silly parts of Yakuza. Having a party of characters is a nice change.

I think there is a difference of enjoying someone company, and enjoyment coming from interacting with other players only. I also disagree with the latter half. I would say most of my fav games would be worse with a company. Backseat or otherwise.

I finished Forgotten City. Very very junky, and "true" ending is incredibly corny but I enjoyed my time with it. Played it through gamepass, and that's the way I would suggest trying it out, as I think it is greatly overpriced. It took me less then 6 hours to thoroughly explore, and the experience is rather janky. Entertaining nonetheless.

I have been watching top-tens and there really is no GOTY contender - at least on PC. Returnal looks interesting but didn't play it.

Good luck. There is a lot of it to soldier through.

No more NieR. Maybe. Probably not.

From the ones I actually know stuff about: Elden Ring and Hitman3 Stuff I am looking forward to learning more about: Obsidian Trinity (Avowed, Outer Worlds2, Pentiment) Tactical Breach Wizards Sings of Conquest Metal Slug Tactics

I really liked how DMC5 looked - it’s a nice mix of “realism” and over the top absurd. I remember having doubts about this character from trailers, but honestly, it works in context. DMC5, just like Bayonetta - you play it for gameplay. Everything else is absurd, loud, and occasionally entertaining in its own right. Best actions games out there, though. EDIT. SD looks very good. Being able to swap out the sticks is a great info - that’s a main thing I would worry about In handheld like that. More consoles and peripherals should allow swapping of components like that. It might be a bit too price for me to ever get one, though. I don’t travel that much nor feel a need to have a gaming device while on the go these days.

I did. And I hated it. Dark Souls style boss just didn't fit that game.

I am glad you are liking it!

Finished Sekiro. And just in time for December gaming break.

I did. In Fallout1 timer might have not been there, in Kingmaker it was one of the conflicting design choices which made it insuffarable for myself. Darn I loved the game. And in spite of loving it, I never got close to finishing it. I think last time I tried I got stuck in some tree city thingy.

Finally a Deathloop review that aligns more or less with my personally experience with the game

As Oner said. Knowledge that Fallout1's timer is generous comes from metaknowledge. In my case, from looking it online and learning that: 1) I don't need to worry about it 2) there are ways to extend it if I need it. And if the situation is "time is generous enough that you can complete everything in the game before it runs out". Then there is no point to the timer being in the game in the first place. It adds to new player anxiety while objectively not adding anything of value to the game. Fallout1 with or without timer plays and works the same, only missing the failed ending if you manage to have it run out. People don't like it, when it is implimented in games not fit for it. If you create a handcrafter RPG when you want players to explore (or demand for them to explore) then threatning them with gameover if they explore too much is not what you want in your game. If you don't want them to access all content - then fine. But then you need to give players a way to gauge how much content they can do before running out of time, and what more or less can be consequences of ignoring content. and IMO even so, there are better ways of achieving it in a cRPG then a timer.

I think it is simplifying problem. I am not against racing against the clock by priciple. I am big fan of roguelites (in this bit I will quite Invisible Inc) and the very premise is about picking what you will be able to do and gain and make hard choices. The problem is that RPG so far haven't been well designed for that. Same with resting system, resource management etc. I am not against those things, but they need to be implemented in appropriate setting. A handcrafted open RPG designed to have enjoyable side content is not a place where a timer adds something positive. Perhaps RPG makes should reconsider stories they are writing, I will agree with that. Back to my Sekiro. I knew the previous fight I mentioned was suspiciously easy and basic (no perilious attacks at all?) Uff ,the real version took me a few tries and was far more satisfying

Uf, I disagree. Timers like that (or ones in Kingamer) add problems instead of fixing anything. One either designs the game so it is about making choices on what to do (or in what order to do them like in Alpha protocol) or one doesn't. I find adding generous timers, just so there is illusion of pressure frustrating - do I need to rush through the story? Does timer not matter (it really doesn't in fallout and kingmaker? It's a pointless addition, which creates unnecessary frustration and anxiety on first playthrough, and is irrelevant on consequent playthoughs.

Fair enough, though personally I didn’t find it to be the case. I felt at times compelled to continue story back to back, and at others I felt it gave me a breather to do other stuff. There were one or two instances in particular when the game gave you narrative reasons to not progress the story immediately. I often have the issue you are describing in other open world games, but not in tW3. Or it might have been just me wanting to play more Gwent. You know, I would have a session when I would do storyline, and I would have sessions where I would do side stuff. Perhaps, they are more separate in my mind, then they were for you. I also avoided using fast travel, unless here was literally nothing on the way - so a lot of “openworld busy work” was part of the journey for me, rather then a distraction.

27 hours into Sekiro and still digging it. Here is posing after fight. Just did some reading on the endings, and it seems I am mostly set for the good good ending, but as is tradition there is alternative version of Hirata Estate that I would have missed otherwise.