What are you Playing Now? - Games don't make you violent, lag does

[Hawke64]

22 hours ago, MrBrown said:

My favorite weird thing: I spent the first two rounds of the first combat encounter wondering why my attacks weren't hitting, only to find out I was targeting the floor instead of the enemy. Apparently even basic weapon attacks can target the floor, for whatever reason.

The surface effects were more prominent in D:OS2, so one might have wanted to hit an oil puddle with a fire sword. I think, they were lessened somehow, the cantrips used to create them on contact. I guess, I'd prefer more typical actions (such as reviving a knocked out companion or hitting a foe instead of the floor) to be the default ones, with specific keys to access all available actions.
I'm also curious how the stat unrestricted multi-classing is going to work and whether it will be possible to create the whole party at the start without running 4 instances of the game.

Finished Blasphemous. Overall, a very well-made and good-looking action-adventure/Metroidvania. The combat, traversal, and exploration are enjoyable, though there are significant difficulty spikes in the DLC areas and the insta-killing spike pits are extremely irritating. Also, the "true end" version of Crisanta is an amazing farming point, as each stage counts as a separate boss battle.
Review:

Spoiler

Blasphemous is an action-adventure/Metroidvania. The protagonist is the Penitent One in Silence whose goal is unknown until the epilogue, the world is generally a rather grim place filled with the undead and people enthusiastically engaging in self-harm. There are 3 endings which depend on completing optional objectives before specific points of the story.

The combat is satisfying, including the ridiculously gory execution animations, which provide invincibility and mana regeneration, thus, encouraged by the game.

The bosses and regular foes are diverse in appearance and behaviour, offering engaging and rewarding combat encounters, with the exception of the ones introduced in the final DLC, who have significantly higher health, damage, and longer attack patterns.

The location design is varied, with different areas having different environmental obstacles and hazards. The downside is the presence of instantly killing spike pits and in the few platforming sections, the swinging blades easily throw the protagonist into these pits. The instantly killing falls can be overcome with an optional item. In general, the items providing traversal or non-combat abilities offer a significant benefit, though none of them is required to finish the game. Additionally, only 3 of these relics can be equipped simultaneously resulting in swapping them in the middle of a session. Their interaction points are clearly visible, it is easy but inconvenient to switch between them, never more than 3 are needed at exactly the same time, and having them equipped is almost always beneficial.  

Other aspects of the character upgrade system are health, mana (Fervour), the number and potency of the healing flasks, the attack power and moves, the spells (Prayers), and the number and setup of the passive abilities (Rosary Beads). All of them, except the attack moves which also require experience (Tears of Atonement) to unlock in addition to the shrines, are discovered during exploration and some might require additional items and NPCs. There are also several colour palettes for the armour, which are unlocked by performing specific feats during the game, and offer only visual changes without any gameplay benefits. In other words, at no point the main character is locked into a poor build, as the only unchangeable upgrades are the positive ones, and specific items can be changed freely.

In general, a lot of gameplay systems are not explained clearly, while heavily affecting the experience. From something so simple as scrolling through item descriptions (H and Y, hard-coded) to side quests to mechanics (the donation box in the main hub unlocks teleporting between saving shrines, apparently). Also there are several side quests that require collecting certain items throughout the whole map, one of them without the ability to see which quest items are still missing. Though, it is possible to put custom markers on the map to track temporary unreachable passages, items, and quest NPCs.

The saving system is reasonably forgiving - dying results in returning to the last shrine interacted with and a debuff that slightly decreases the experience gain and the maximum mana and can be removed by either collecting the corpse or sacrificing some experience points at specific altars. All items found and experience gained are preserved. There are several save slots, but each playthrough auto-saves into a single one. There are also NG+ and Boss Rush modes which are unlocked after finishing the game.

The controls are mostly rebindable and reasonably comfortable, with several actions bound to logical button combinations, and 5-button mice are supported. Some of the controls are hard-coded and not listed anywhere, making the empirical approach the only way to discover them.

The graphics and visual style are expressive and readable. The fonts, on the other hand, are extremely hard to see or read, making some of the actions unnecessary difficult (e.g. which key is to hold to unlock an attack upgrade). The style in general is inspired by religious art. The soundtrack is fitting and not irritating, all NPC lines are voiced, the item descriptions are not.

Overall, recommended.

 

[Hurlshort]

One thing JA3 does better than JA2 - The map is huge and complicated and feels like a real place. In both JA1 and JA2, you just kind of worked your way across the square map until you had it conquered. This map is a lot more dynamic. I just took over my 2nd mine and now I'm thinking about fielding a 2nd squad. Still broke though. Also Omryn is terrible and I think I'm letting him go at the end of his contract. I hired Nails because I needed a psycho for a quest, and he is a good back up bomb guy for Red.

[ShadySands]

I'm about to restart because Omryn has been letting me down too

[Wormerine]

So…. JA3 is good? So far the reception seems to be positive.

[Keyrock]

1 hour ago, Wormerine said:

So…. JA3 is good? So far the reception seems to be positive.

It's easily the best attempt to either reboot or restart the series in the 20+ years since JA2, not that that's a high bar to clear. The game feels properly Jagged Alliance; all the tactical options you could reasonably want, interesting cast of characters, and a story that feels like it was ripped out of an 80s action movie. I think the most contentious point is that the game doesn't give you a % chance to hit, it instead lists off pluses and minuses (e.g. +high ground +aiming +upgraded scope -dark -enemy in cover) from which you can infer a vague probability of success.

I'm done with the island.

 

I ratted out Herman but then talked Basil into letting him live.

After some well deserved R&R, my crew took a boat over to the mainland and now I'm ready to assault my first diamond mine on the way to Fleatown. My team's biggest weakness is that I don't have anyone good with explosives. I've got psycho covered with my own created merc, Paul Kersey, and if you've ever watched the Death Wish movies (and if you haven't, what are you doing with your life?) you know that that's an accurate character trait. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Keyrock

[Hurlshort]

1 hour ago, Wormerine said:

So…. JA3 is good? So far the reception seems to be positive.

Yep. It's fantastic.

[Hurlshort]

JA3 - Machine guns are crazy in this game. I mean, it has some limitations, but a properly placed MG is an absolute terror on the battlefield.

[Gorth]

12 hours ago, Hurlshort said:

One thing JA3 does better than JA2 - The map is huge and complicated and feels like a real place. In both JA1 and JA2, you just kind of worked your way across the square map until you had it conquered. This map is a lot more dynamic. I just took over my 2nd mine and now I'm thinking about fielding a 2nd squad. Still broke though. Also Omryn is terrible and I think I'm letting him go at the end of his contract. I hired Nails because I needed a psycho for a quest, and he is a good back up bomb guy for Red.

Does JA3 have a "sci fi option" too? While a bit silly, it was quite fun exploring the mines in JA2 with it enabled. Probably no chance of seeing poor Elliot again. Loved the little sequences in the palace with the interactions between Deidranna and Elliot

 

 

[Hawke64]

Elden Ring. Somehow, not as well-paced, enjoyable, or engaging as Blasphemous. The hand spiders are amusing, though. Defeated Loretta, then watched a dragon boss fleeing at half health bar while I was shooting at it from the safety of the nearby tower. 

Get in the Car, Loser. Despite a relatively interesting plot and social commentary, the combat outside of the boss battles can be bound to a macro seemingly without losses. The equipment system encourages it - each equipment item grants 1 ability, which are used in order in combat. The controls are only partially rebindable, and considering that the inventory management is a major part of the gameplay, makes the process rather unpleasant. The first boss battle required some tactical thinking and remembering how to switch targets.

[Zoraptor]

4 hours ago, Gorth said:

Probably no chance of seeing poor Elliot again.

I could have sworn he ended up dead. But apparently he survived being shot in the head by Deidranna...

More interested if Calvin Barkmore is in, especially if he's recruitable. Those titanium bones would make for an excellent merc even if everyone else in the squad hated him.

[Wormerine]

On 7/18/2023 at 11:44 AM, Hawke64 said:

whether it will be possible to create the whole party at the start without running 4 instances of the game.

Yes, almost every spell left surface at the start of EA. I think I have seen saving throws from fire arrows in recent Panel from Hell, so maybe they won’t be a guaranteed hit in 1.0. They have been completely wrecking concentration spells, together with guaranteed damage granades.

It doesn’t seem like BG3 will support starting with custom party (though 4 instance multiplayer trick will likely still be a thing). There will be hirelings available through the camp ghull. I got an impression we will need to collect them but I am not 100% sure. 

I think hirelings are to some extend pre-made, but respec allows to not only reset levels but also change class of our hirelings, PC and companions.

[majestic]

Can you show me on this Barbarian doll where the bad patch touched you?

Feeding on gamer tears. Aaaaah. Exquisite.

Edited July 19, 2023 by majestic

[majestic]

Season one of Diablo 4 delivered what the actual launch of the game failed to do. Crashes, lag, the inability to join games. Game booted me out of a malignant tunnel and now I can't get back in - neither on the Seasonal nor on the Eternal realm. Ah well, all's right with the world again.

[melkathi]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:56 PM, Wormerine said:

So…. JA3 is good? So far the reception seems to be positive.

The consensus here seems to be JA3 is as good as Omryn isn't.

[MrBrown]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Season one of Diablo 4 delivered what the actual launch of the game failed to do. Crashes, lag, the inability to join games. Game booted me out of a malignant tunnel and now I can't get back in - neither on the Seasonal nor on the Eternal realm. Ah well, all's right with the world again.

They should have made it possible to pay to get early access to it. That'd distribute the player base.

[Malcador]

2 hours ago, majestic said:

Season one of Diablo 4 delivered what the actual launch of the game failed to do. Crashes, lag, the inability to join games. Game booted me out of a malignant tunnel and now I can't get back in - neither on the Seasonal nor on the Eternal realm. Ah well, all's right with the world again.

I thought there'd be a boycott

[Hawke64]

Elden Ring. Watched a quest NPC being fatally bitten through a wall by a dog t-Rex. Closed the game with Alt+F4.
Looted the academy key and rode away from a dragon. Realised that blocking was not viable with the current shield - 1-2 attacks drained the stamina bar. Curious if it is possible to play sword&board at all.

Get in the Car, Loser. Got through most of Act 3 with 1 macro, which was activating all abilities with 0.1 delay between them then switching to the next set. Hit the wall at the boss.

[uuuhhii]

6 hours ago, Hawke64 said:

Elden Ring. Watched a quest NPC being fatally bitten through a wall by a dog t-Rex. Closed the game with Alt+F4.
Looted the academy key and rode away from a dragon. Realised that blocking was not viable with the current shield - 1-2 attacks drained the stamina bar. Curious if it is possible to play sword&board at all.

Get in the Car, Loser. Got through most of Act 3 with 1 macro, which was activating all abilities with 0.1 delay between them then switching to the next set. Hit the wall at the boss.

shield need upgrade too

only a few great shield can block many hit after upgrade

[InsaneCommander]

Played a little bit more of BG3. Tried to avoid something that is supposedly inevitable.
 

Spoiler

Playing as a Githyanki, I killed Shadowheart and left the artifact in her body. Apparently, it will stay there.

This was a bit complicated. It didn't come to me because I had already killed her once and resurrected her. I returned the artifact, but when I tried to leave she attacked me. I guess being a Githyanki Cleric of Selune, not saving her on the ship and killing her once was too much for her and she decided I was not going away.

I'll have to try this after early access and see if Larian predicted it.

 

[Mamoulian War]

Finished first three of the “Otherworld” cameo areas in Tales of Arise and defeated their bosses. The Spirit Forest from Tales of Symphonia really resembles the look in the original game. Unfortunately I can’t remember the Oracle Snowcap from Tales of the Abyss area at all  It should be somwhere close to the end of the game, but my memory is failing on this one. The first area was from Tales of Destiny. Still waiting for the game to get full english fantranslation for DC version, to play it for the first time. So I have no clue where from the Caverns of Fate are as well

[melkathi]

About 62% through Saints Row apparently, though it feels I am farther along due to side content.

Overall I like it.

It has lost some of its grotesque charm. But to be honest, if strippers everywhere were the only thing to make Saints Row (3) attractive, then people should probably play p0rn games instead. Or any Bethesda game with mods.

When ignoring the sanitized tone and sometimes best-friends-squad attitude of the Saints, it may actually be the Saints Row with the most stuff to do and the most meaningful side stuff to do.

The story is what it is:

You are a psychotic murder machine who moved to Santo Ilesso (not Vegas), a city in the desert with casinos, grand canyon style geology and a rich history of ufo sightings, werewolf hunters and other fun facts the Santo Ilesso tourism board will be happy to inform you about - Keep It Strange Santo!

As your criminal aspirations didn't pan out when you first moved there, you ended up sharing an apartment with three friends, Neenah (studied art history only to find out she now had a useless degree she couldn't get a job with, so works as a mechanic for Los Panteros -a gang into street racing, monster trucks and anything cars), Kevin (influencer, DJ, social butterfly with more EXs than Shaundi, often partying with the Idols - an anarchist Burning Man collective) and Elija (wannabe entrepreneur who listens to motivational podcasts) so you can split rent. Since all of you are basically jobless, you end up doing random small crimes to pay for your expenses and once  a month you rob the odd loan shark (a victimless crime) to make rent.

Things look up when you get a new job at Marshal, a private military contractor (among other things), who basically has become the city's main investor after Ultor went bankrupt (not unaffected by the Red Faction miners' strike).

Queue: the intro/tutorial your first day on the job at Marshal.

Things get a bit out of hand fast, and the delicate balance of Santo Ilesso goes boom. You end up with Marshal, Panteros and the Idols having it out for you and in turn your friends.

So you do what any self respecting psycho would do:

Just without the hookers, because this is the new Saints Row. The sanitized, respectful one.

And that is when the game proper starts.

The city is, as always, split into districts, but instead of taking them over by completing all side activities, you build shady businesses in them. These business ventures then unlock new side activities.

For example the Shady Oaks clinic is the facade for your insurance scams. Bright Future is a toxic waste dump, where you can drive trucks with green good, get paid by companies for taking care of their waste, then blackmail them for keeping quiet about it. Some ventures, like the two mentioned, will have these activities repeatable. Others, like the Chalupacabra Food Truck company, which has you taking over the drug trade, are done when they are done.

Other side activities are classified as Side Hustles, where you basically do odd jobs for npcs, like making deliveries, or blowing up cell towers of rival telecommunication companies.

The nice thing is that they made all activities have a point, not just be random stuff you do. Even the good ole kill loads of people activity is a side hustle where you leave bad reviews at establishments the specific enemies frequent.

But, the different tone, the departure from the provocative NSFW theme, will make returning players go "This ain't no Saints Row". Which is a shame, as it may be the best "Saints Row".

And the boss still kinda is the boss. Your plans seem to still involve shooting everyone or something something something we win.

[HoonDing]

Does it make a difference if you pick one of the premade characters or make your own character in Barrel's Gate 3?

[Mamoulian War]

 

1 hour ago, HoonDing said:

Does it make a difference if you pick one of the premade characters or make your own character in Barrel's Gate 3?

Yup, you can’t pick the shape of your pubic hair on premade character

[melkathi]

Surely there will be a mod for that.

[Wormerine]

9 hours ago, HoonDing said:

Does it make a difference if you pick one of the premade characters or make your own character in Barrel's Gate 3?

You won’t get the content and story tied to this origin (though you can see their story as companions). There is also Dark Urge, who is a customisable origin.