Hawke64

The Outer Worlds So at this point I decided what to do with Rockwell. Considering the increasing body count of the party (how many random guards and pirates, not to mention the wildlife, were dead because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time), the party could be quite desensitised to violence. And there were no negative consequences, mechanically or narratively, for it. Quite the opposite, in fact, - loot and XP. I like the environmental storytelling, though, I would like the companions to comment on it. That's a quite direct explanation of the just-world fallacy. He had some sense. Got a fancy hat. The ability to kill NPCs at will without loudly announcing it is greatly appreciated. I was trying to avoid harming the sprats. One somehow got into the elevator, so I reloaded. It would be great to be able to avoid accidental combat more easily and have more feedback for choosing not to murder random lizards.

You can just throw a Bonfire Ascetic into the bonfire next to the boss room after killing Vendrick. It will respawn also the Watcher and the Defender, but you should be able to dismiss the summons and feather out at the start of Nashandra's battle (same for Aldia, the summons tend to burn during the second phase either way). This method also works for NPC quest lines (with some restrictions, but I do not remember at what point it becomes impossible to do so) and allows to get NG+ boss souls in NG. If I am not mistaken, some of the merchants have their inventory updated (I got the Butterfly set from the armourer in Majula), but not all. The partial difficulty increase is limited to the respective area and it was slightly different from the actual NG+ in the vanilla DS2 (e.g. no Freja appearing earlier, no additional red phantoms with the Lost Sinner). However, it carries over to the next NG cycle, so one must be careful. --- The Outer Worlds. Finished Monarch. Some thoughts on the area's main quest. Reached Byzantium. The streets are covered in trash, a lot of buildings are locked down, and the service bots are dusting holes in the walls. I've been thinking about Encased while playing. In particular, the non-combat skill checks and the writing for the low-int PC (I cannot tell if it was ableistic or not, so not commenting on that aspect). It feels like Encased had more options and supported more playstyles (a certain companion quest in TOW had an unavoidable battle against a mantiqueen, while my PC had the highest combat-only skill at 20), including a fully implemented non-lethal path, with the PC being reasonably motivated to avoid killing most people in-character. Also a low-int PC had most dialogues adapted, with several exclusive to them options available. As far as I know (haven't tried yet, will update if incorrect), TOW has fewer. On the other hand, TOW is more coherent in terms of narrative (the quality of writing is undoubtedly higher in TOW) and gameplay systems, even if, as mentioned, the systems are less developed. Though, I do like that I have only 4 slots (2 weapons and 2 armour pieces) to equip for each companion.

That's a lot of particle effects. Also, the cat is very cute.

The Outer Worlds It would probably look nicer with better lighting, but still. I am happy to share that the cow and the human survived my visit. Also now one of the companions looks like a candy or a pride flag (the armour was possible to pickpocket without killing the hostile NPC). A different set, but the colour scheme the same as for the other Rizzo's set. The story acknowledges the level architecture. Somehow, Sanjar is one of the most likeable NPCs.

One should not underestimate the appeal of power and numbers going up. So, there are, at least, Good, Best, Board, and Chaotic Murderous (must try all those cool guns) paths for the story. I think, In terms of combat gameplay, the FPS aspect encourages the ranged combat or chasing the foes with a melee weapon while getting shot at. The stealth is there, but since creating corpses gives XP to invest into skills, not killing hostile NPCs (which are already described as aggressive, be it raptidons or marauders) is hard to explain. They also interfere with looting by attacking the party, while sneaking is rather slow and it is harder to see some of the loot in stealth. I can't say that more corpos being terrible adds anything new to the narrative (Edgewater did just that well enough), but more varied examples are fine and mostly fit the story. Though, the pacing somewhat breaks - I played the DLC shortly before the point of no-return, so it was rather odd to do freelance contracts when the Hope colonists and Welles needed saving. (I am aware of the date of the post. I was looking for input for a story choice between a Good and the Best outcomes. An achievement said that the Best outcome was the preferred one).

GreedFall 2 | Early Access Overview Trailer Greedfall 2 is RTwP, though I am concerned about the performance. Otherwise, Spiders do make something close enough (but not on the same level) to Bioware. Their games have been mostly technically solid (either tactical or fast enough; on the other hand, rogues/consumables users have been OP) and the stories have had only one major weird drama plot twist per game (e.g. the gates in the frozen city in Bound by Flame; splitting the squad was clearly impossible /s). I am curious how the story is going to work to logically lead to the start of GF1, though if I am not mistaken, the communications with the island were scarce, so it is possible that GF2 will end at the same time as GF1 without the plot lines affecting each other, especially if the MCs are in different continent cities. It would be great if the saves were transferable, of course. --- Edit. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/greedfall-2-developers-call-a-strike-over-working-conditions-lack-of-gender-equality-and-parity-and-global-mismanagement I hope that the employees will achieve adequate working conditions and fair salaries. Considering that the developers are based in France, it should be the likelier outcome.

Thank you for the clarification. It is quite early in the game, so I agree that getting the next Owlcat game before progressing with WotR at least to Dresen (Chapter 3, I think) might be inadvisable. --- The Outer Worlds. Monarch. Trying to find an in-character reason for doing the side quests before finding the information broker and saving the Hope. Sanjar is persuasive and MSI is the only likeable corporation, thus, one must help them? On another note, the area is rather large - there are 3 settlements and quite a few combat encounters. I guess, the red rocks are supposed to serve as walls, considering that even when jumping from above, the PC slides from them. Edit. I suppose, for the in-character motivation - there is no point in saving the Hope colonists if the colony itself is on the brink of collapse. They would just die a bit warmer.

Shadow of the Road | Announcement Trailer Judging by one of my old Steam posts getting random replies, the game is closer to a turn-based tactical stealth game, rather than a full CRPG, but I might be wrong. So, while I am not particularly interested (unless full stealth/no kills is an option), it might be good for the fans of the genre.

WotR did not have a tutorial village, the tutorial took place in a city overrun with demons. Kingmaker had a castle, then some wilderness with small inns and sort of a village (I think, it required at least a few hours to get there). I have played RT for a bit, but the setting and the combat are somehow unappealing, so the playthrough is progressing rather slowly. I do like Owlcat, but the combination of their usual combat density (possibly a bit lighter) and the combat being turn-based is not exactly the best one. --- The Outer Worlds. I have recovered my save files and reached Monarch the normal way (tried running from Cascadia successfully, then reloaded). Seen the first 100+ (142) Persuasion check, so considering reinstalling the game. Then again, some 100+ skills are interesting. --- Spellchecking does not seem to be working in the browser (despite the setting being turned on), so I am trying to pay more attention to what I am typing.

Soulstice Some combat screenshots. Though, they were taken at the end of encounters. There were some environmental hazards and quite a few large/teleporting/summoning foes. I don't think that it could take more. End-game spoilers (gore).

Enotria: The Last Song - Gamescom 2024 Trailer The video shows mostly the combat, with a boss' intro cut-scene. The boss looks unusual (as far as an armoured lion/chimera can be unusual). I am curious how generous the parry timings are.

The experience with the Iron Passage does sound frustrating, but I am glad that it was positive overall. Killing the blue Smelter Demon used to allow to use the regular Smelter's soul to forge the blue sword, by the way. Not sure if it was changed in the SotFS edition. The Iron Ivory Crown DLC co-op area is widely regarded as the worst area in the Dark Souls trilogy, but the density of the foes is different from the Iron Passage. I was using the summons as meatshields and dismissing them before the fog gate during my playthroughs. About the co-op area (spoilers for the area; I assume you might want to read them after finishing it): About the boss battle (it is a DPS race and, if done incorrectly, it can end painfully after a certain point): Also (not related to the co-op area), if you would like to get the frozen knight armour set, farming the knights might be preferable before killing the final boss of the DLC.

Soulstice At that point, I forgot how to counter the berserk state. Story and boss spoilers.

Soulstice. I think I have reached the late-game (counting by the codex entries, 22 of 31). I like the combat - it is responsive and mostly readable enough, with a lot of unique automatic abilities for the spirit companion/secondary protagonist, and 8 distinct weapons for the main character. There have been no puzzles, only some traversal and combat challenges. I like less that the weapons have very few special moves, cannot chain combos between different weapons, and were granted at random points during the story. The analogue of the DMC Devil Trigger (DT) is achieved by building up the style gauge, so the DT here can be used only in combat and it is not possible to save up before a boss. Speaking of, there are quite a lot of different enemy types, but very few bosses (as far as I can tell, 5-6). The bosses of the earlier chapters return as regular foes later on. The story is reasonably straightforward, with the protagonists' logic understandable, and the protagonists themselves likeable (the line upon entering the Monastery was the best). The things I dislike are relatively small annoyances - any mandatory timed traversal challenges with poor camera angles (so it is hard to see whether the next platform is within reach), the inability to have the HP always shown (it is either hidden or "contextual"), the story starting rather slowly in repetitive locations (it gets better later on).

No strong feelings about the HUD (I would move the mini-map to the lower right, but that's about it), but first-person melee tends to be unpleasant. The subtitles having the speaker's name and a background are most welcome.

But you can So, very good.

https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/dragon-age/dragon-age-the-veilguard/news/pc-features No Steam Family Sharing, though, as far as I can see. Also, I am curious if it is possible to completely disable the grass and the foliage.

Soulstice I used Discord to share the images, so they might not last. The MCs.

Soulstice. I have reached Chapter 9 and the first unique boss. The previous two were mini-bosses, it seems (they have "Defeat N to unlock the next entry" in the Codex and I have met one of them again). I like that new systems and enemies are introduced quite often and that the MC is mostly either stoic or berserk (also the armour and the sword visually remind of the manga of the same name). The NPCs are rather nice (not annoying) as well so far. I guess that at the end the MC will destroy the corruption of the knight order, while keeping own demonic powers, as self-sacrificing would mean no sequel with the same protagonist. I like less that the shop/level up NPC just gives the weapons (got 2 more) and that the areas last a bit too long (the city walls, then the lower city) and hard to navigate (too monotonous and there is no map). I did not learn the attack patterns of the foes due to the magical block working from any distance against most enemies, while the need to use it is clearly communicated (the block button -the exact key bound!- appears on the enemy or in its direction if it is off-screen), so I do not have to look at the animations. Which brings me back to the unique boss - the thing had quite a few unblockable attacks and I had some issues with dodging them. So, the first death. Considering how long Cerberus in DMC3 took me to defeat, I probably should have chosen a higher difficulty. I have also switched to the keyboard only, because the camera can be rotated very rarely, so no point in using the mouse. The platforming with the fixed camera angles and variable depth perception was of variable satisfaction.

Finished Chuck Tingle's novel, Camp Damascus. No unicorns or even raptors, which was most disappointing. Some spoilers below: Overall, it is very well written and I would recommend the book, though, it is not as wholesome as the short stories, due to the elements mentioned above.

@Mamoulian War About the Gank Squad, the easiest option for me was to get the archer first in melee, then to run around to bait Alva's fan for punishable attacks, then to poison Havel with arrows. I think, at least Havel had Estus, but I do not remember the other two healing. I also hard-saved before the bosses' fog gate, so replaying the battle was easier (I had no summons and still had to get there in the best state, but only once). The bosses of the co-op areas in general were rather difficult, and, ironically, felt more approachable solo (might have something to do with scaling). --- Inmost. A platformer with Metroidvania and puzzle elements. The story is split between 3 protagonists, 2 are metaphorical, 1 is literal. I played it in co-op (by passing the Steam Deck from and to the other player) and missed the start of the game, so some parts felt flat to me, in particular the main/overarching story. The music and the art style are gorgeous, the controls are as comfortable as they can be on the device (I probably will try to replay it on my own with KB+M). The puzzles were generally easy (except one where we didn't notice the quest object), the checkpoints generous, and the combat functional (the knight protagonist can dash and has directional attacks). The location design for the adult protagonist was the most Metroidvania-like - the areas were fully connected and the tools found allowed to progress further. So, overall, I would recommend it. Spoiler, sort of: --- Soulstice. A hack-and-slash action game, very similar to DMC, though the visual design invokes Dark Souls - a city with a demonic portal where the population turned into rather quick zombies. The protagonsit and her undead sister are there to find out what happened and stop the demons. I've finished only 3-4 chapters so far (out of 26?) and encountered 1 mini-boss, which was fine, though the "block at any time" ability at the moment seems rather overpowered. The traversal abilities, such as double jump, are unlocked from the start, and I have received a new weapon in the middle of a chapter from the level up NPC. The former is rather convenient, the latter is somewhat anticlimatic. I suppose, the other weapons (there are 4-5 left to unlock) will be aquired in more interesting circumstances. The combat abilities are either weapon-specific or for the undead sister, Lute. She follows the MC, generally is either silent or comments on point, cannot be harmed, occasionally auto-attacks, and blocks or creates auras on command, so she is a very likeable sidekick. The controls are rebindable and 5-button mice are supported. There are some accessibility options which I have not tried. The camera is mostly fixed, so the mouse is less important, but still nice to have. I suppose, the only thing I am not particularly fond of are the system requirements and the technical aspects of the visual style caused by it - too much visual noise, while the breakable barrels are glowing either way, because at this point there is no other way make the interactive objects noticeable otherwise. So, a lower number of polygons per model and less post-processing fluff would have been better, as the character models are stylsed already. --- Creepy Tales. I had thought it to be just a point-and-click adventure without timers. The issues are that 1. interactive objects are hard to notice and 2. the puzzles are timed and occasionally require precision, while the MC's movements are quite "floaty" and the animations take relatively long to play. I guess, I would have felt worse about it if I didn't get the game in a bundle. The story is straightforward enough - the MC's friend got kidnapped by fairies, and the MC is bravely charging through a cursed forest to save the friend.

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/beamdog-owlcat-rpg-masters All DLC for PFKM and WotR for £11.60. With RT for £27. The keys are for Steam, which might not be preferable, considering the Steam update policy.

Batora: Lost Heaven. Not as good as I hoped it would be. I have finished the first area and the thoughts are below.

Pretty much. 2 things to add - the prisons are at 99% capacity as is and the far right violent protesters at the moment received at most 3 years in prison (I might be wrong here and there have been longer sentences which I have missed). Non-violent environmental protesters received 5 years for trying to sit on a road (this particular group being rather not effective is another matter). I cannot say how much the previous government affected the current situation, with blaming immigrants, people with disabilities, and transgender people for the economic situation in the UK. Musk has been doing irrational things (or inciting violence against vulnerable social groups, if I am being less polite) for quite some time now. I am curious if he is going to face any consequences beyond the advertisers leaving Xitter*. He seems to be trying to sue them, though. *Unfortunately, GARM is hurting not only Musk, but it is another topic.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/07/thousands-of-anti-racism-protesters-take-to-streets-to-counter-far-right-rallies 3 British children were lethally stabbed by a British teenager. The racists claimed that the teenager was a Muslim refugee (due to him being a teenager, the personal details were not released immediately) and attacked asylum centres and mosques. It is comforting to know that there are more anti-racism protesters.