What are you Playing Now? Whatever happens, at least we're out of that mudhole, Gilded Vale.

[Chilloutman]

Bannelords got released out of EA so I am murdering Empire as celt.. eh I mean Battavians

[Keyrock]

I've reached chapter 4 in Plague 2: Rat Boogaloo. Near the end of chapter 3 there was what I guess would kind of sort of qualify as a boss fight. It's the only part of the game I haven't liked so far because it forced me to fight. I mean, this game isn't Deus Ex, but it kind of felt similar to those boss fights in Human Revolution that felt so out of place from the rest of the game. The majority of the game is rather stealth focused and it gives you a decent bit of freedom on how to get through areas, letting you try to ghost an area, have the rats kill soldiers, or kill the soldiers yourself, plus there are multiple paths. Then you have a forced fight and it feels like a different game. Oh well, hopefully there aren't too many more forced fights.

[Majek]

Playing Modern Warfare 2 MP. These days i just want simplicity and lots of bangs and booms. Don't know why. 

[Wormerine]

9 hours ago, Chilloutman said:

Bannelords got released out of EA so I am murdering Empire as celt.. eh I mean Battavians

How is it? Is it a major set up from Warband?

[Chilloutman]

1 hour ago, Wormerine said:

How is it? Is it a major set up from Warband?

I mean, its nice sandbox, pretty much what I expected. Little unsettling because I have my wife in my warband and she is automatically participating in tournaments - so I constantly beating the bejesus out of her with giant sword while she is pregnant xD

[marelooke]

Finished Scorn, well, aside from the branching path

Spoiler

of which there is only one, and it doesn't affect anything later on.

The game really does have a very SOMA feel, gameplay wise, and honestly, removing combat wouldn't have been that detrimental to the experience. That said, do not expect the game to be anywhere near as good as SOMA.

I feel like having the choice of fighting is probably more of a commentary on how we, humans, interact with anything when given tools. That being, our default instinct is to use the hammer we've been given to hammer in every nail, screw, and bolt we see, rather than considering alternatives.

Feels a bit like an inverse Divinity: Original Sin, where in the former it just drives home how non-interactive most games are by giving us options we won't even consider since we're so conditioned by "mainstream" games being so...restrictive, while Scorn in a sort of similar vein makes fun of our tendency to assume any tool we are given must be used, because that's how we are conditioned. "Surely if they give me a gun, they intend for me to shoot things?"

Personally I thought Scorn was a decent game, the atmosphere was great, the environmental storytelling was pretty decent (I got the gist of what was going on, at least). The puzzles are good, not too easy, not too frustrating, at least for me (well, except one, that I knew how to solve, since it was just a harder version of an earlier one, but I just couldn't be bothered). That said, I'm not a puzzle guru, so those among us that eat puzzle games for breakfast will likely think them trivial.

Level design is pretty great. Most levels are like a giant puzzle, and that is kind of a neat idea. Unfortunately the level wide puzzles are rather restrictive, so just interacting with everything will eventually get you where you need to be. There's also enough variation in enemy density between levels that dealing with enemies didn't start feeling like a chore.

Combat was functional. Some more details in the spoiler box, no real story spoilers, but some combat/enemy related ones.

Spoiler

Most of it can be avoided, and I'm fairly confident that someone that really wants to can avoid all of it (barring the boss fights).

In fact, it would be more correct to talk about "hostiles" rather than enemies. They won't actively attack you unless you have a go at them first, or you intrude upon their personal space.

In my playthrough it wasn't until Chapter 4, the penultimate chapter, that I actually started killing a few things. Not counting the dangling spitters (which can be avoided, it's just not worth the risk imho) I killed two enemies in the entire game (again, not counting the bosses), both in instances where bypassing them would have been very risky (I'd have had to rush past them, and they one-shot, so yeah...)

This doesn't include a few other uses of weaponry that strictly aren't enemies (like the drones in Chapter 1)

As for a conclusion, I'm not sure if it's worth the full asking price, maybe if they hadn't cut those two entire chapters, but the game, imho, isn't deserving of the hate it's getting. If you go in with the right, or no, expectations it's a rather good, but short-ish (took me 6.9hours according to Steam, but my actual playtime is probably a bit shorter), horror game.

I'd probably score it a 6/10 or so, worth picking up on a sale, if you're into these types of games.

Edited October 28, 2022 by marelooke

[HoonDing]

I banged werewolf, bone golem, vampire, ice dryad and had a few orgies and threesomes in D:L (and who knows what's still to come). It's like a parody of a Bioware game.

[Gfted1]

2 hours ago, Chilloutman said:

...while she is pregnant xD

Wait what!? HUZZAH!

[Theonlygarby]

On 10/26/2022 at 3:56 AM, Wormerine said:

haha, traumatic memories?
I am doing my first real dungeon dive in P5 - good stuff. I usually dislike jRPG combat due to how uninteractive it is, but so far I enjoy the game very much. More decisionmaking and way more interactivity outside combat then I expected. Really loving the game so far.

Not traumatic memories, just feel weird being a mid 30s man going back to high-school, even if its just a game.  I actually like super basic jrpg combat, but persona does do it very well, all about weaknesses and getting new monster personas(I think that's what they are called? Guardian forces?)

 

Its the only game i use a guide for, because the first time i played i got to the final dungeon and realized i made like every mistake you could make (which is common for me) but this game really needs you to so things right

[Hawke64]

"Completed" Sable. With the quotations marks, because the ending can be triggered after 2-3 masks have been collected. I had expected something slightly more epic than "go on your coming-of-age journey and come back" - there has been no grander purpose. On the other hand, there is one lore-related mystery I am going to explore more, which also has some light puzzle-platforming elements to it.

[kanisatha]

In the Lost Valley DLC of Solasta ...

Spoiler

I have now managed to get all the way to the last quest in the questlines of four of the five factions, having burned my relationship with the Valley's tyrant very early on. But, from experimenting using saves, you cannot do the final quest for either the Forge or Rebels factions without totally tanking the reputation for the other one. But you can do the final quests for the People and Mask factions without any problems. So, since all faction questlines eventually lead to the exact same location and task as their endpoints, I'm going to do that final quest through the People faction, as they're clearly the most "good" faction.

Edited October 29, 2022 by kanisatha

[Mamoulian War]

Finished my first playthrough of Atelier Lulua on PS4. I've purchased it few months ago, but never had a chance to play it. Now I spent more than 90 hours with the game and even without a walkthrough, I was able to unlock the true ending and Her Choice trophy. The biggest positive change from previous installments is, that there is no time limit anymore, so you can spend as much time as you need discovering the world. The biggest negative change are the enemies. Even on Normal Difficulty, they have loads of HP, and even with the best weapons synthesized, it takes long time to finish them all off, so at some point the fighting becomes a chore. Story has more depth than original Arland Trilogy, and is satisfying for this kind of game.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Mamoulian War

[Keyrock]

I started up Bayonetta 3. What is there to say? It's Bayonetta, it's ludicrously over the top action schlock. The hardware is really holding the game back. While the character models look great, the backgrounds look like something out of an early XBOX360 game, really flat and washed out with hardly any detail. I can't blame Platinum for that, they did the best they could with aging hardware that was already underpowered when it came out over half a decade to go. The good news is that the framerate is solid and the action silky smooth, which is what really matters. Still, it's pretty obvious that the Switch's lifespan is about over, Nintendo needs to introduce a more powerful system soon.

I'm going to set it aside until I finish Plague 2: The Ratening.

[Lexx]

Oh, so it's only out for the switch? Guess that explains why all the videos of it looked so... dated. Are there no plans to release this on modern hardware? Why is it switch-only? Seems like a waste to me.

[Keyrock]

13 minutes ago, Lexx said:

Oh, so it's only out for the switch? Guess that explains why all the videos of it looked so... dated. Are there no plans to release this on modern hardware? Why is it switch-only? Seems like a waste to me.

Much like with Bayonetta 2, I suspect Nintendo partially funded the game. If that's the case, the chance of it ever appearing on a non-Nintendo platform is 0%.

[Lexx]

Ah damn. I never even finished the first game, though, so I know nothing. Always liked the style of the game and the main character and that whole very-woman attitude. It's just that there is always so much going on around the player that I just can't see things. It's literally blinding me with effects and things going on.

[Hawke64]

I suppose, I could try Bayonetta 3 with an emulator at some point. Not going to purchase a console for 1 game (again, did it for Bayonetta 2).
---
Completed Sable to a satisfactory point - found out why there are crates manufactured in London. Also it nicely explains why everyone wears masks.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Hawke64

[Keyrock]

I'm in chapter 9 in Plague 2: Plague Harder. I'm not sure how many chapters there are, but this feels halfway-ish. The game is quite good and there is a surprising variety of things to do. While the majority of the game is stealth focused with light puzzle elements, as you figure out how to navigate through rats and soldiers with your constantly growing array of abilities, there are Tomb Raider-esque run for your life sections, combat sections, a turret section, and there's even a decently complicated optional puzzle that gets you something cool.

One of the things I really like is how the game periodically has cool off sections where you aren't being threatened and you get to bond with Hugo. It's not just constant tension and oppressive dread, you get moments to relax and let yourself and Hugo enjoy yourselves for a bit. This very much works in the game's favor. The pacing of both the gameplay and the story is handled excellently, which is helped by the linear nature of the game.

[Hawke64]

ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights. It is a metroidvania game. It looks and sounds beautiful, runs well, supports 5+ button mice. Despite the Souls-like store tag, I could not see any Souls-specific influence - the protagonist loses nothing upon death, awakening at the last not-bonfire rested at; attacks don't cost stamina (there is no stamina in general) though non-main attacks have limited uses between rests; character progression is linear - higher level equals higher stats and there are collectibles giving insignificant improvements (e.g. +5 HP).
The story follows an amnesiac priestess called Lily and her retinue of purified spirits on a journey to regain her memory and save the kingdom from the Blight. Each spirit gives an ability or attack type, which can be upgraded. I have found 2 more main (infinite uses) attack types, but no upgrades for the original sword/knight yet. The bosses are diverse and challenging and the battles become harder as they progress. I have noticed 2-3 stages for the main story boss battles. The protagonist's appearance has changed slightly during the game - story-wise, purification corrupts the person conducting the ritual.

[Mamoulian War]

I have finished Platinum Demo: Final Fantasy XV on PS4 to unlock Carbuncle Summon for the full game. I did not expected much, and still ended up disappointed. Big empty Open World, and clumsy real-time combat. I am not looking forward to play the full game.

[BruceVC]

Im about 15 hours into Exanima and 13 hours of that was learning how combat works in the arena. I moved onto the main game when I defeated all the enemies in the arena under Novice

First impressions, its by far the most realistic and exciting combat I have ever encountered in any game. Learning the physics of movement and combat swings and watching enemies groan and die has been very rewarding 

Its a hard game, I am only on level 1 of the dungeon  and Im still learning new things around effective combat movement now that I face enemies outside of humans. I dont like how your red health doesnt restore itself but from what I read thats part of what makes it a hard game and challenging?

But so far so good, I will give further updates once I have progressed further in the main game

[Keyrock]

Anyone here play Star Ocean: The Divine Force yet? I'm kind of itching for a science fantasy JRPG and since SEGA is never going to make another single player Phantasy Star, because SEGA hates me and doesn't want me to have nice things, the series I can think of off the top of my head are Xeno and Star Ocean. Xeno has been Nintendo exclusive for seemingly decades now and, while I do own a Switch, I'm feeling a bit graphics whore-ish. That leaves Star Ocean... Man, I haven't played a Star Ocean game since... PS2 days, I think. I need some angsty teens with spikey hair and impractical weapons and armor, but IN SPAAAAAACE.

Points for Not M Bison seemingly as the main villain.

Edited November 2, 2022 by Keyrock

[Theonlygarby]

Been playing mount and blade bannerlord.  Didn't enable the death and babies mod, now I gotta restart.  It's a real fun game that is lacking heavily in some areas.  Mainly that diplomacy is essentially non existent. 

Tried to download some mods from the workshop but the game is very strict on what versions of certain mods work with other mods and just gave up on that.

 

If you could scheme, backstab and make alliances it'd be a great game.  However as it is, it's a fun time waster with little depth.

Edited November 2, 2022 by Theonlygarby

[Chilloutman]

yeah anything outside of battle field is really lacking

[Mamoulian War]

17 hours ago, Keyrock said:

Anyone here play Star Ocean: The Divine Force yet? I'm kind of itching for a science fantasy JRPG and since SEGA is never going to make another single player Phantasy Star, because SEGA hates me and doesn't want me to have nice things, the series I can think of off the top of my head are Xeno and Star Ocean. Xeno has been Nintendo exclusive for seemingly decades now and, while I do own a Switch, I'm feeling a bit graphics whore-ish. That leaves Star Ocean... Man, I haven't played a Star Ocean game since... PS2 days, I think. I need some angsty teens with spikey hair and impractical weapons and armor, but IN SPAAAAAACE.

Points for Not M Bison seemingly as the main villain.

I am planning to purchase ot, but, I am also Waiting for a pricedrop. Square Enix after their shift to live services and NFTs is on my deep discount purchase list.