What are you Playing Now? - Right Now at the moment edition

[majestic]

3 hours ago, Hawke64 said:

I admire the location design, the style (both artistic and technical), and the stealth and traversal gameplay aspects. The ironic thing is that there are quite a few boss battles with limited stealth options and the open combat and controls, as was mentioned before, are horrible and the MC feels like a wet paper doll.

The battle against the Guardian Ape, which I have spent about an hour on, reminded me of it. The boss was moving erratically, occasionally resisting the firework prosthetic tool, and once chain-grabbing me. I am aware that all hand slaps are possible to parry, despite the boss being a giant ape using his hands to hit or slap. The above-mentioned grab attacks also repeatedly messed with the camera - after being thrown into the walls, I was unable to see where I or the boss was. And if the latter was nearby, due to the MC’s inability to face the target it locked on automatically, it meant restarting the battle. The key to victory was to stun the Guardian with the fireworks and use the combat art while he was trying to get up and hope that he would not go for a grab, as the combat art was locking me in the animation.

It does not really help to be aware that you can parry everything that does not show you a red kanji warning on screen, you have to fully accept it or you will not have fun for the entire time you're playing Sekiro. The game is not designed to be played like Dark Souls, and for the most part, dodging attacks and waiting for openings to strike not only takes much longer, but it is also not fun and in plenty of instances flat out impossible. In Sekiro you have one viable way to play the game, so engage it on its terms: stick close to the enemies, attack them relentlessly and when they counter-attack, parry. If they do a perilous attack, counter that as appropriate. If they try to get away from you, chase them down.

Isshin doesn't tell you that hesitation is defeat for no reason.

Everything else in the game is meant as support. It is fine to use the fireworks to stun beast type enemies, that is what it is meant to be used for, but it should not be your winning strategy for the entire fight.

3 hours ago, Hawke64 said:

I suppose, if the main character was more controllable, I would have less issues with the combat.

Sekiro has the arguably tightest controls of any of the FromSoftware games, and you can even smoothly cancel your attacks into a parry if you find you have overextended yourself. Compare and contrast that to the lumbering but yet floaty behemoth you play in Dreck Souls 2. The actual problem of Sekiro's combat, and that is certainly a valid argument if one values variety and options in combat more than refinement of its chosen core aspect, is that the game expects you to play it in one specific way, and if you do not, you will just be miserable.

2 hours ago, Wormerine said:

I love Guardian Ape - I think it's make or break Sekiro boss. I find his timings to be very satisfying to parry. He is not predictable, but there is a nice rhythm to his dance. 2nd phase is a kind of FromSoftware cruelty that I really appreciate.

Not so much Guardian Ape redux, though it makes sense for story reason. I find it too tedious to be fun, though I think the power scaling doesn't make it as hard as it seems at first.

The Guardian Ape is also one of the best animated bosses in all the 3D games I have played, and its second phase is world class trolling, unless you got spoiled ahead of fighting it. I am also always rather surprised that people have trouble fighting it after getting past Genichiro(, Way of Tomoe), but my experiences with these type of games is always vastly different than those of most other players.

Edited September 12 by majestic

[Hawke64]

19 hours ago, majestic said:

Sekiro has the arguably tightest controls of any of the FromSoftware games, and you can even smoothly cancel your attacks into a parry if you find you have overextended yourself. Compare and contrast that to the lumbering but yet floaty behemoth you play in Dreck Souls 2. The actual problem of Sekiro's combat, and that is certainly a valid argument if one values variety and options in combat more than refinement of its chosen core aspect, is that the game expects you to play it in one specific way, and if you do not, you will just be miserable.

Thank you for sharing your experience with the game, especially considering that you have played other FromSoft titles. I would like to start with explicitly stating that this is my personal opinion, based on the abilities and experience, and this is the hill I shall defend. I strongly disagree on Dark Souls II - it had very tight and responsive controls, so the avatar was acting as expected. I was dodging in the correct direction, facing the targeted enemy unless sprinting, and not getting stunned from every slap. It was as good as it could be. I am also fairly certain that the target lock was not breaking from me moving the mouse slightly (there were dedicated keys to switch between targets), but I have not checked.

19 hours ago, majestic said:

It does not really help to be aware that you can parry everything that does not show you a red kanji warning on screen, you have to fully accept it or you will not have fun for the entire time you're playing Sekiro. The game is not designed to be played like Dark Souls, and for the most part, dodging attacks and waiting for openings to strike not only takes much longer, but it is also not fun and in plenty of instances flat out impossible. In Sekiro you have one viable way to play the game, so engage it on its terms: stick close to the enemies, attack them relentlessly and when they counter-attack, parry. If they do a perilous attack, counter that as appropriate. If they try to get away from you, chase them down.

Isshin doesn't tell you that hesitation is defeat for no reason.

Everything else in the game is meant as support. It is fine to use the fireworks to stun beast type enemies, that is what it is meant to be used for, but it should not be your winning strategy for the entire fight.

Regarding the prosthetics, the shinobi MC is like a witcher - you must correctly identify the foe and use the proper tools to overcome it. If you try to deflect everything directly, that would be miserable, with the purple necromancers (S-something Warriors) being the best example. Not impossible, but more similar to the DS SL1 challenge run. Finding creative ways to avoid open combat is the most fun and enjoyable part of the game for me. A ninja is not a samurai/knight, but a rogue who uses tools and wits to avoid direct confrontations.

22 hours ago, Wormerine said:

I love Guardian Ape - I think it's make or break Sekiro boss. I find his timings to be very satisfying to parry. He is not predictable, but there is a nice rhythm to his dance. 2nd phase is a kind of FromSoftware cruelty that I really appreciate.

Not so much Guardian Ape redux, though it makes sense for story reason. I find it too tedious to be fun, though I think the power scaling doesn't make it as hard as it seems at first.

 

19 hours ago, majestic said:

The Guardian Ape is also one of the best animated bosses in all the 3D games I have played, and its second phase is world class trolling, unless you got spoiled ahead of fighting it. I am also always rather surprised that people have trouble fighting it after getting past Genichiro(, Way of Tomoe), but my experiences with these type of games is always vastly different than those of most other players.

Genichiro had roughly the same moveset in his lightning phase, but with 2 lightning attacks with reasonably long wind ups that were not possible to deflect (as far as I know, have not tried). In his archer samurai guy phase, it was possible to walk away from his combos, let him finish, then close in and start hitting after he’s done. Or, with deflections, hitting until he parries, parry twice, then hitting twice again, mostly worked - it was interrupting some of his attacks, while the combos, as mentioned, were possible to avoid after he committed to them (ironically, occasionally, I was ending up behind him when trying to Mikiri counter). Though, the Perilous attacks seemed chosen oddly - Genichiro usually was using only 1 type throughout the battle.

The Guardian, on the other hand, was tracking much better and had poise, so his attacks were harder to interrupt. The animations, while beautiful, also made it harder to read. He was not the first boss with hidden marks at that point (Genichiro and Lady Butterfly were similar, but their subsequent phases did not change the movesets significantly), but he had the longest phase transition window. Which was the perfect opportunity to have a drink, eat a Pacifying Agent, and apply a box of Divine Confetti. If Miyazaki did not want us to use consumables, why did he give us the time?

---

Today’s progress. I have cleared most of the Senpou Temple and obtained the Mortal Blade, meaning that I can go and meet the zombie Guardian again. I spent quite some time on the Folding Screen quartet, because I forgot how to get them into specific rooms. I did manage to chase the hearing monkey successfully (the idea was to get him into the waterfall room, I assume), but not the sighted monkey (as intended, the monkey got stuck in the dark room). Robert’s father went down fine, though not on the first attempt - I kept throwing him into columns instead of the windows. I am somewhat annoyed that the fire and poison did not kill him, but whatever works. I suppose, storywise, he was trying to find a cure for his son’s illness?

I cannot quite recall the requirements for the not-bad endings, beyond not facing the Divine Dragon before fulfilling them, so there is quite some time to figure it out or to look up the guides if the former fails. I think there was something with the Divine Child of Rejuvenation, so I kept asking for rice and feeding the old ladies on the cliffs, and the quest line seems to have progressed. Then the Divine Heir told that I was eating the rice incorrectly. Clearly, he was wrong - what is the point of rice if it is not crunchy?

On another note, I find it deeply ironic that if Genichiro did not kidnap the Divine Heir, a large chunk of Ashina forces would not have died to the MC’s blade. Including, but not limited to, Gyoubu who was defending the gates, the Chained Ogre, the Blazing Bull, and a pack of feathered ninjas. If I am not mistaken, the “Great Unifier”’s forces invade later on and quite successfully.  

---

Lunacid. It is a more old-school dungeon crawler. After avoiding the foes for 2 areas, I decided to face them. Which brought some more levels and I learnt to charge my attacks. I can’t say that clicking things to death while walking back is the most engaging experience I’ve ever had, but it is fine. The music and location design are great. There are also quite a few secret doors (the ? symbol appears in the corner when one is in front of you), so I am trying to look at the walls while running.

The goal, if I understand correctly, is to kill the Moon Beast and return to the surface. Though, considering that the only person from the surface who was shown directly chops off your arm (which then levitates), while the locals are quite friendly, returning seems less reasonable.

The only negative I can point out at the moment is the lack of quick saving, with the checkpoints being placed quite far from each other. Otherwise, the game is quite enjoyable.

---

On another note, if anyone would like to team up for writing for the Community Blog, it would be great. Also, if anyone would like to accept 2 Game Pass keys, that would be welcome too.

Edited September 13 by Hawke64

[Bartimaeus]

Of all the Soulsborne games I've played, Dark Souls II is by far the...second worst, only beaten by Nioh. The thing is, Dark Souls II coulda theoretically been almost tolerable if not for the trash-tier controls that made me question the health and sanity of the people who made it, whereas I'm not sure if there's a single thing I didn't eventually hate about playing Nioh, so I can't rightfully say Dark Souls II is worse...but certainly more disappointing given that I quite liked the first Dark Souls.

[Mamoulian War]

Hmm, strange, I like DS2 controls more than DS1 and Demon’s Souls PS3 The only thing I “hate” about DS2 is  trashmob placement and aggro range in some areas. Insee everything else as an improvement over the previous games

[Hawke64]

9 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Of all the Soulsborne games I've played, Dark Souls II is by far the...second worst, only beaten by Nioh. The thing is, Dark Souls II coulda theoretically been almost tolerable if not for the trash-tier controls that made me question the health and sanity of the people who made it, whereas I'm not sure if there's a single thing I didn't eventually hate about playing Nioh, so I can't rightfully say Dark Souls II is worse...but certainly more disappointing given that I quite liked the first Dark Souls.

I agree that comfortable controls are crucial, especially for the more action-focused games. I cannot recall any issues with it specifically in Nioh or Nioh 2. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, on the other hand, was extremely uncomfortable (which improved immensely, along with the FPS in Blighttown, in Dark Souls: Remastered) and Dark Souls II was much better in this regard.

4 hours ago, Mamoulian War said:

Hmm, strange, I like DS2 controls more than DS1 and Demon’s Souls PS3 The only thing I “hate” about DS2 is  trashmob placement and aggro range in some areas. Insee everything else as an improvement over the previous games

My hunch was that it was due to me playing with keyboard and mouse, so the people who used controllers might have had a different experience. Now I am unsure.

---

Sekiro. Defeated the Headless Ape + the other ape. Can't say that I like it technically as a boss battle (too little space and the bosses' attacks did not hurt/clipped through each other), but it did make sense for the story and design, unlike the Pursuers in the Throne Room of the Drangleic Castle. I love that the environment changes based on the story progress, though I should have gone through that cavern before killing the Guardian (I missed the Bottomless Pit passage earlier in this playthrough), so I would be able to face the bosses when stronger.

The forest went reasonably well - I collected everything that was not nailed down, used the Finger Whistle on the not-Juzou's monkeys, let him calm down, backstabbed once, then set him on fire twice. I vaguely remember it being harder on the previous playthrough. The injured monk helpfully pointed towards the area’s main boss and explained how to enter the building, while the boss itself died quickly. The forest was free from the mist, the illusions blocking the passage were dispelled as well. I had no intention to fight the Headless apparition on the forest floor, but probably could try the one at the cave between the Demon Bell and the Chained Ogre later.

I am somewhat annoyed by the repeating bosses, though, not too much - each of them still feels more meaningful than it was in Elden Ring.

[Mamoulian War]

Back to DS2:SotFS. Two more bosses down. The no phantom attempts work so far.

I have started out with Belfry Gargoyles. The interesting thing, I have found out, that summoned phantoms boost up elemental resistances more, than I have expected. In NG, the lightning bolt did almost insignificant damage to them, so I have tried to go full melee on them in my first failed attempt. Unfortunately the only non-infused weapon, which I had was Grand Lance+10, which was not the best choice for the encounter, so in the second one, I have tried lightning spells again. And to my surprise, two casts of great one and one cast of basic one were enough to defeat single Gargoyle. I have used that to my advantage and won the second attempt.

Now that I got Covetous Gold Serpent Ring+2 from them, I went to Forest of the Fallen Giants, so I tried my luck again with a rare Hollow Soldier Shield drop. Aaand I got two of them In the meanwhile, I have visited the Last Giant as well.

The next goal is to get to Mytha as soon as possible, to get the Covetous Silver Serpent Ring+2 from her. So I will have to get through Skeletal Lords and one Red Phantom with rare drop, which I would love to have as well. Probably, I will have to grind a little bit for the rare Lizard Staff in Chariot arena as well.

[Mamoulian War]

Played little bit today again. Well more than little bit. I had a lot of time today, due to my wife being at work Unfortunately most of this time was eaten up with the stupid gauntlet towards Executioner’s Chariot

Anyway. The way to Skeletal Lords has been fine today. I have cleaned up most of the mobs with no wipes, and I was even lucky with some rare drops, which I was still missing. Then I jumped off the cliff by mistake Then the fight with Skeletal Lords went awesome as well. A lot of help was Yearn sorcery, which attracted all spawned skeletons, which I have been slowly defeating. Few minutes later, soul and new ring have been in my possession.

Then, I have decided to go grind for the Lizard Staff… My oh my, From Soft has made this one pretty annoying to get. They definitely hate the completionists To make it short, I made a lot of silly and stupid thing in the arena, so I have been gangbanged few times by the skeletons there, while trying to get the drop out of necromancers. Then I had to run through the stupid gauntlet again. And on the end of the gauntlet, there was red phantom as a bonus encounter. Worst encounter of NG+ so far. His sword has some homing “magic” programmed to it, so whenever I have rolled next to it, he changed his trajectory mid-swing and hit me hard when I was standing up out of that roll Probably 100k lost souls due to this clown… Bleh… Anyway after I have found a pretty good strategy against the skeletons, and purchased one more Yearn Sorcery, I did not needed to run so many times through that gauntlet as before. Still the redphantom clownshoe ended few of them anyway… In the end, I got from the Necromancers the Lizard Staff and their armor pieces so I could finally attempt the boss. Unfortunatelly all this running around through the gauntlet and grind for the loot has made me pretty tired, so I have wiped few times on the boss as well So one of the easiest bosses in the game made me the most trouble in NG+ so far  

[Mamoulian War]

Oh, and I have completely forgotten the first Sunday boss, the Pursuer Now I definitely can say, that it is much much easier to fight him as melee compared to caster. As a caster I had a lot of trouble to be able to fight him and all other Pursuer mobs most of the time. Now I can defeat them, unless I missclick something on hot bar, on first try. So now I have also unlocked the McDuff infusing services

[bugarup]

I've been playing Enderal, Skyrim mod that's, like, entirely its own separate game with production values that of a B game rather than a mod. Skyrim's gameplay got modified quite a bit, i.e. you get XP from quests and killing things to level up and then buy skill books, also they completely nerfed stealth archer and the crown of "Laughably unbalanced easy mode build" there belongs to mages, I don't even to imagine what a pain in the ass melee must be, the way AI behaves in the game. The story is that the low fantasy world has a bit of a Mass Effect reaper problem and you're discount Shepard, though in the end it diverts enough to not be a too blatant copycat. It's also very, very grimdark with absolute majority of quests having downer endings and main quest splitting into downers but with caveats, even I thought it's way too grimdark, and I like grimdark and downer endings. Writing's might be a wee too self-indulgent sometimes - too many moments with our character rooted in spot while a NPC delivers a speech at them, a couple of moments when you gotta walk into obvious trap like a dunce to progress the story, and the most inexcusable travesty of game design - unskippable, unkillable ending credits, but otherwise very positive experience. 

[kanisatha]

2 hours ago, bugarup said:

I've been playing Enderal, Skyrim mod that's, like, entirely its own separate game with production values that of a B game rather than a mod. Skyrim's gameplay got modified quite a bit, i.e. you get XP from quests and killing things to level up and then buy skill books, also they completely nerfed stealth archer and the crown of "Laughably unbalanced easy mode build" there belongs to mages, I don't even to imagine what a pain in the ass melee must be, the way AI behaves in the game. The story is that the low fantasy world has a bit of a Mass Effect reaper problem and you're discount Shepard, though in the end it diverts enough to not be a too blatant copycat. It's also very, very grimdark with absolute majority of quests having downer endings and main quest splitting into downers but with caveats, even I thought it's way too grimdark, and I like grimdark and downer endings. Writing's might be a wee too self-indulgent sometimes - too many moments with our character rooted in spot while a NPC delivers a speech at them, a couple of moments when you gotta walk into obvious trap like a dunce to progress the story, and the most inexcusable travesty of game design - unskippable, unkillable ending credits, but otherwise very positive experience. 

Thanks for this. I have that mod downloaded but have never played it, for exactly the reason you mention, that melee combat seems to be very problematic in the game. And for me, I almost exclusively prefer to play melee.

[Hawke64]

Sekiro. Finished the game. Spoilers for the late-/end-game ahead. (Also probably the last opportunity to write at length until the winter holidays).

Mibu village. There was something unsettling about a single ninja entering a random village and slaughtering the locals. Regarding the mini-boss, O’Rin aggroed when I tried to run past her (because I remembered her being a rather challenging foe), so I turned around and ran to the idol to reset. Then I remembered that it was possible to get her stuck in one of the boulders on the path, which worked. This time, I also found the High Priest, and, after exploring the Fountainhead Palace, I was able to kill him. Unfortunately, it did not help with the state of the village. The Illusion Monk was defeated quickly due to being the last of the open area bosses.

After the battle and picking up the suspicious rock, I had planned to return to the Castle and get the Gourd upgraded. Which was prevented by Owl. There were the first noticeable point of character development and several attempts in open combat. Owl’s voice started to annoy me quite quickly, so I muted the VA for the rest of the battle. In general, most of it consisted of trying to bait punishable attacks and not die. I did try to corner him, but was not able to keep the boss stun-locked. The Mortal Blade special attack, on the other hand, was rather effective and the older ninja died.

Also the Ministry forces were surrounding the Castle, with the ninjas in red hats running around and slaughtering the Ashina soldiers.

At that point I noticed that I had missed several steps in NPC/ending quest lines I should have completed by that point. It turned out (I checked the wiki) that defeating Genichiro moved an important NPC and a quest item to a more remote and less obvious location, so I spent some time picking up quest and important items and got the Frozen Tears required for the Return ending.

Afterwards, I also received Owl’s bell and entered the more challenging version of the Hirata Estate. I did not want to fight another ninja mini-boss, so I just ran past and fought Juzou again (after clearing the bandits around). In retrospect, I should have puppetered the purple ninja there. I left Owl be in his arena for the time being and returned to the main story.

Which led me to the bridge to the Fountainhead Palace. The Monk took several attempts as well, including shortening phase 2 by jumping on the Monk during casting.

At the Fountainhead Palace I discovered that it was possible to swim to the second idol and not die, though I ran out of not-Estus, then returned back to the start and cleared the area as expected. The rest of the area went reasonably well, though I had to use the Puppeteer Ninjutsu several times - the ball players were hitting rather hard. After defeating the main ball player, I could enter the lake safely, not counting the giant carp and the headless. Somehow I dodged the fish, looted the lake, and entered the last part of the Palace - the road leading to the Dragon, whom I was to make cry. So, it was the perfect spot to turn around and wrap up everything.

That included mostly the younger version of Owl. I remembered a rather long battle against him on the previous playthrough and decided that the time had come to mod. My audience of one declined my suggestion to use the Jump Force Shaggy skin, so the mods were only to increase the health bar and the deflection window. Owl technically still could defeat me, but with the power of mods and determination I emerged victorious on the first try.

The next stop was the Dragon who, after some inelegant lightning reversal in his face and being cut in the eye, cried. The on-screen message told me that it was a “Gracious Gift of Tears”. Then I teleported to the Castle.

The Ministry forces were in full offensive, Issin’s corpse was lying on the floor with Emma next to him and the Divine Heir nowhere to be found. Emma told me to follow the smoke trail to reach him and leave Ashina. The only recently reactivated idols were blocked again and I spent several minutes trying to find a way to the Ashina Reservoir, also discovering and defeating another Iaijutsu samurai boss. At the Reservoir, I looked at the spear-wielding samurai boss and ran to the final boss idol. After activating it, I teleported back to the Castle and explored more. The merchant next to the Temple told me that the Sculptor had run out towards the battlefield. With the grappling point burnt, I had to look for another way to get there.

From the Grave idol, I saw that the broken bridge to the earlier area was rebuilt. Another Juzou, this time in blue, was waiting on the other side. After careful consideration, I ran past and reached the battlefield with the Demon of Hatred sitting in the middle. I managed to get him stuck in a tree, scale the wall, and bait him into falling to his death.

So, the only meaningful battle left was against the final boss. The mini-bosses, including the Headless, were not inspiring at that point. I reached the hill covered in silvery grass, with the Divine Heir being stabbed and Genichiro holding the other Mortal Blade. Even with the land on fire, he still believed that it could be held. Genichiro could not stand against the wider deflection window and resurrected his grandfather, because why not. The grandfather highlighted that I was still getting full damage from the status effects, then pulled out a gun. Still, without hesitation, I  defeated him on the first attempt and gave the Divine Heir a slightly cool Dragon Tears ****tail. The Heir became pink fog and the credits rolled. On the first playthrough, I was greatly annoyed by the moveset switch from Genichiro to Issin and the first, Genichiro, phase being unskippable.

Afterwards, I backtracked to the fire Juzou, discovered that I still had no poise, and died. The second attempt involved avoiding getting hit and was more successful. I also activated Sir Alonne’s outfit, though the weapon did not quite work with the special attack, so I used the default sword. Another surviving mini-boss was one of the Ashina Spears and again took 2 attempts, as the sword samurai standing nearby seemed to share the aggro range with the mini-boss. The last mini-boss whose location I knew was the ninja with dogs in the Hirata Estate. Using the Finger Whistle every time he summoned the dogs was somehow amusing.

There are 3-4 Prayer Beads left and I would like to try and collect them and kill one of the Headless. Then I might try to sequence-break the game with the Puppeteer Ninjutsu by going to the Temple and then killing the Great Serpent before facing Genichiro.

I am unsure how I feel about the higher health and deflection mods, but I know that I do not want to fight Issin head-on. In general, the significant moveset changes and ridiculously high damage from the bosses were more irritating, than engaging. Genichiro, ironically, kept his moveset consistent between phases and the damage from most of his attacks did not take a half of my health bar off (except the charged shot and lightning strike).

In terms of story, the state of Ashina was conquered and it was not the MC’s problem. Isshin did not seem to care about it (he passively worked against his grandson), while Genichiro was the antagonist, so whatever he was doing was of inadequate quality. I suppose, the Owl/Shura ending provides some reflection on the social status of the shinobi - disposable and unknown. The MC does not seem to care deeply about anything but the Divine Heir’s objective. Is the Dragonrot bad? Is it worth the ability to continue to pursue one’s own goal? Is the Ministry better than the Ashina ruling family for the population? But it in itself is commentary - the two existing social and personal links were to the father, who had backstabbed the MC, and the Divine Heir who had his own personal and exclusive to him decisions to make. So, the Ashina family and the local population were inconsequential.

Will post the screenshots later. I acknowledge the length of the post and that most of it is of little interest due to it being statements like "I defeated Bob and it felt good" rather than any reflection or analysis.

[Wormerine]

ALAN WAKE II

About 5 hours in - got to play a bit with our titular protagonist. Man, I love this game so much so far. I thought Remedy found it's footing with Control, but this so far has been firing on all cylinders. I love the narrative and how they are using FMV's so far. I also love their callbacks and nods to wider "Remedy Universe".

Gameplay is... servicable (very much Resident Evil2 Remake inspired, but much, much more shallow) but unlike, lets say Control, here combat and puzzles play 2nd fiddle to the narrative stuff. And with Remedy doing the narrative I can get behind it. For a game that takes soo long before you get to do "gameplay" (aka. Shoot) it's been really well paced.

I heard Alan Wake II went all survival horror this time around, but outside the tense opening, I thought the game is quite similar to Alan Wake1 - armospheric but not very scary. And I am someone who quit RE2Remake, as I just didn't enjoy the tension and gore.

[Hurlshort]

Enshrouded - I was looking for a good survival game to play. Green Hell was a bit too hellish for me, 7 Days to Die had too many zombies, and Mines of Moria is too lonely and dark, so I loaded up Enshrouded. I bought it awhile back but didn't play it much, since it was early early access.

It has progressed a bit, and I've gotten pretty deep into it. I love the class system and the world is well developed. This game also needs more NPC's (like Moria) but at least you have crafters to recruit.

[mkreku]

i accidentally played through (almost) all of Fallout 4 again..

I read about the Fallout: London mod and wanted to try it. Turned out that installing the mod on the Steam version of Fallout 4 was kind of a hassle so I checked out GoG and luckily they had a sale for the GOTY version of the game for like 8€. I bought and installed it and was ready to install the London mod when I realized I had never played the official DLC's before.. so I decided to play a little just to try them out and see if they changed the game any.

Why didn't anyone tell me the Fallout 4 DLC's were actually good?? The Far Harbour one especially, but I didn't mind Nuka World or that robot thingie either. Anyhow, long story short, I can now chalk up another 100 hours played in Fallout 4, making it my most played Fallout game ever by a mile.

How I wish some clever modder would convert Fallout: New Vegas to the Fallout 4 engine and maybe update the textures a little bit too.. I just can't get into Vegas anymore, the combat feels like a chore instead of fun. Compared to Fallout 4, they are worlds apart and not in Vegas' favour.

[Azdeus]

13 hours ago, mkreku said:

i accidentally played through (almost) all of Fallout 4 again..

I read about the Fallout: London mod and wanted to try it. Turned out that installing the mod on the Steam version of Fallout 4 was kind of a hassle so I checked out GoG and luckily they had a sale for the GOTY version of the game for like 8€. I bought and installed it and was ready to install the London mod when I realized I had never played the official DLC's before.. so I decided to play a little just to try them out and see if they changed the game any.

Why didn't anyone tell me the Fallout 4 DLC's were actually good?? The Far Harbour one especially, but I didn't mind Nuka World or that robot thingie either. Anyhow, long story short, I can now chalk up another 100 hours played in Fallout 4, making it my most played Fallout game ever by a mile.

How I wish some clever modder would convert Fallout: New Vegas to the Fallout 4 engine and maybe update the textures a little bit too.. I just can't get into Vegas anymore, the combat feels like a chore instead of fun. Compared to Fallout 4, they are worlds apart and not in Vegas' favour.

Look up Project Mojave, and there's also https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/85307

[keryboros]

with clenched teeth in Tainted Grail - Fall of Avalon

There is someone inhabiting some crypt, someone else wanted the unnamed problem of the crypt removed from their task list, I was willing enough to indulge myself in a little pass time while figuring out what the hell i am doin in this world. As it turns out, the person inhabiting the crypt is the problem for someone else. If i had been strong enough i could forcefully persuade the person to leave the crypt but alas i ain't build in a fearsome manner, at least, not, i mean, even nerds look cool yea, maybe even manage it without to much dark arts **** what always seems to be an answer in that respect " Mom i want to look cool, just go evil son, the girls will appreciate " anyways, how to remove someone, yes by killing them if you don't want to continue on any other given path for whatever reason. OF course this a battle that expects all and everything from you. As i said before, i ain't physical powerful, swinging a long sword, sure but only two times and them i'm to tired to even swoosh away with my winged dodge so there you have it, confined surroundings, multiple ops and a sucker who instantly recovers from any damage from the moment you lose sight on him! Like Dracula, but a bit different...

[Hawke64]

Sekiro. I started NG+ in order to check whether the sequence break with the Puppeeter Ninjutsu was possible. It was not - the Great Serpent does not appear until the Gun Fort gate is unlocked.

Arisen. It is a visual novel. The visual design looks fantastic, the writing not so much, the settings are lacking, including saving - 1 auto-rewriting slot.

Lunacid.
I reached the Sanguine Sea. The name did not lie - it was a vast area, with the floor covered in red liquid and the ceiling shrouded in darkness. The last save point was at the start of the previous area and I could not see another one. But I could see an outline of something on the other side of the area. So, being the reasonable person I am, I jogged towards that mysterious structure. There was another one on the right, but it was less mysterious. The words “Accursed Tomb” appeared on the screen when I entered. I could not see far, so I equipped a torch. As the time for the session was drawing to the end, I checked the first room on the left hoping to find a save point, then quickly looked up the area map. The crystal was in the other room. So, I saved and noticed that I was chased by levitating paintings from the other room, which did not want to burn fast enough from the torch and led me to the Game Over screen.

Overall, I am quite happy with the design, story, and exploration, though not so much with the combat and mildly annoyed with the saving system. Also, the skeleton at the not-Firelink Shrine, Clive, offers bits of lore, so now I know who the alchemist is.

Installed the quick save mod.

[marelooke]

Parked ME: Andromeda because it, well, bored me, probably get back to it later, maybe. Instead I've started playing BG3 since I picked that up when it was on sale.

Game started out well enough, reminded me a bit of DA:O early on ("kinda  yank, but has potential"), while the camera resulted in NWN2 flashbacks, but then the shortcomings of DnD RNG (without a sane DM to temper it) combined with Larian's signature encounter design started kicking in.

I'm not even sure I'm having fun at this point, doesn't feel like I'm making reasonable progress in the story with regards to time spent, and I'm starting to actually dread combat encounters.

Been told it gets better after level5 (level 4 atm), we'll see...

Edited September 22 by marelooke

[Hawke64]

3 hours ago, marelooke said:

Parked ME: Andromeda because it, well, bored me, probably get back to it later, maybe. Instead I've started playing BG3 since I picked that up when it was on sale.

Game started out well enough, reminded me a bit of DA:O early on ("kinda  yank, but has potential"), while the camera resulted in NWN2 flashbacks, but then the shortcomings of DnD RNG (without a sane DM to temper it) combined with Larian's signature encounter design started kicking in.

I'm not even sure I'm having fun at this point, doesn't feel like I'm making reasonable progress in the story with regards to time spent, and I'm starting to actually dread combat encounters.

Been told it gets better after level5 (level 4 atm), we'll see...

From my experience, Larian games tend to assume some level of meta-knowledge. For the D&D one specifically, reloading after each failed skill check and unexpected encouter made it somewhat bearable, though sending a rogue in stealth forward is an option, it is slow and boring. Level 5 does provide a power boost for all classes, so it might help as well. Just in case, most battles up to the end of Act 2 are optional, though the mandatory ones will require some "creativity" (stacking explosive barrels next to the boss or abusing the AI) to get through if the party is underlevelled.

---

Arisen, the VN. I guess, I should not have expected anything different from an EA title, but the "missions" plainly contradict each other - one says that the MC regularly worked with an NPC, while in another the same NPC says we have not seen each other since the prologue; in the prologue, the MC murders large predators with rusty weapons and later trains with the guards, then gets beaten up by a random old man; the text descriptions also do not match the sprites and backgrounds. I was trying to progress through the shapeshifter hunter's quest line, but the next mission is locked (the option literaly has a lock on it) and I have no idea which quest I need to complete in order to unlock this one.

[BruceVC]

On 9/20/2024 at 5:45 AM, keryboros said:

with clenched teeth in Tainted Grail - Fall of Avalon

There is someone inhabiting some crypt, someone else wanted the unnamed problem of the crypt removed from their task list, I was willing enough to indulge myself in a little pass time while figuring out what the hell i am doin in this world. As it turns out, the person inhabiting the crypt is the problem for someone else. If i had been strong enough i could forcefully persuade the person to leave the crypt but alas i ain't build in a fearsome manner, at least, not, i mean, even nerds look cool yea, maybe even manage it without to much dark arts **** what always seems to be an answer in that respect " Mom i want to look cool, just go evil son, the girls will appreciate " anyways, how to remove someone, yes by killing them if you don't want to continue on any other given path for whatever reason. OF course this a battle that expects all and everything from you. As i said before, i ain't physical powerful, swinging a long sword, sure but only two times and them i'm to tired to even swoosh away with my winged dodge so there you have it, confined surroundings, multiple ops and a sucker who instantly recovers from any damage from the moment you lose sight on him! Like Dracula, but a bit different...

I have heard mostly good  things about this game,  I have it on Steam  but Im waiting for final  release  which should be April-July 2025  

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1466060/allnews/?

 

[Mamoulian War]

Two more days of Dark Souls II behind me. 
 

During the first one, I had decided to go to Earthen Peak. It started fine, the DLC Poisonbite Ring+1 helped a lot to make this area more bearable. The fun thing was, the Artificial Undead ambush in a small one way room, where now even red phantom variant was present I am still wondering how I was able to survive that But the room design is pretty favourable to kiting the mobs. Soon afterwards, I have joined the Heirs of the Sun Covenant again, and without much hesitation, I went directly to Covetous Demon, which was defeated promptly on first try.

The way deeper into the Peak went smooth as well. But then after one stupid hickup, I have lost a little bit of concentration and the Manikins with claws started to tear me apart pretty frequently. Their damage output in NG+ is pretty high, when using my item grinding set. I was still missing few items from them, so I had pretty low AC. Sigh . After few more ****-ups, when I missed a jump now and there, I went finally for Mytha. The first attempt was almost perfect for my clumsy standards, but then, when she was under a 1% of HP, she has thrown her explosive head, and me, thinking that I was at safe distance from the blast, went for the final hit. Well, her final hit went off sooner The next try, I was still angry, so it went downhill pretty fast, but the third one, despite some stupid moves by me, was successful and I got new shiny Silver Covetous Ring+2 as a reward.

Unfortunately, I became so exhausted because of the Manikin quickness, that I have decided to quit DS2 for the day. During DS2 play, I have noticed, that Sony is running free Multiplayer Weekend, so I dusted off my Mortal Kombat 11 and went for 3 out of 5 online only trophies, for which I still had enough time before midnight. In the end, I have ended up almost three hours watching AI matches of my toons, and reading some news This gave me two Trophies. And then, I went watching while reading King of the Hill battles for one more hour to get one more online exclusive trophy

[Sven_]

Solasta: Palace Of Ice (DLC). Bit easy again, will ramp up difficulty. Still reminds me of oldschool D&D romps. No bull****,  just a simple scenario, off ya go.

Also maybe this time I'm pulling it through: Baldur's Gate (Enhanced). Never finished the Enhanced so far. The original is of course a classic from ye olde Interplay catalogue. 


 

Edited September 26 by Sven_

[BruceVC]

Im 60 hours into Kenshi and its time for my first detailed " newbie Kenshi review "

Firslty Im loving the game and its highly recommended. You just need to learn mechanics and what the game is and what it isnt

I was considering quitting after 2-3 hours because I didnt really understand the design, mechanics and point. When people say its " open-world and sandbox " I misunderstood what that really means and how effectively that is a part of the game

But you can choose a myriad of different roles, professions and activities and this applies to the decisions you make. So you can decide to be a slaver, bounty hunter, trader or get involved in factional wars. You dont have classes and whatever you decide to do there are several things you have to do and always be aware of and the 2 most important considerations are raising your combat skills and finding ways to generate money because everything costs money

Combat for me is the best and most rewarding part of the game, especially as you become more skilled and you can defeat powerful enemies

I am focusing on exploration and bounty hunting. I have a 12 man party and I have dedicated teams of 2 people to skills like lockpicking, crafting and healing. Everyone in my party can fight but not everyone is an effective healer

I have bought a property in Worlds Edge, I like the ethos and views of the Tech Hunters and they control this city. I also use this property for research, training and crafting, I havent really got into crafting in a detailed way but I imagine I will

My focus is finding ruins and looting them and then completing bounties.

The exploration part of the game often yields random, interesting and rewarding places to discover . I came across the hidden HQ of the Flotsam Ninjas, the creatures and forgotten ruins of the Leviathan Coast and other sites that make exploration worthwhile

In one ruin in one building behind a locked door I came across a high level NPC who I could have extorted for money but instead he joined my party and he has become an invaluable combat addition because his melee attack is 60 and my party was around 35-45. This is just another example of how exploring gives you Easter Eggs and outcomes that are very beneficial to your party

Im not sure if I will try to build a city, maybe I will. But right now Im really enjoying my current activities

[melkathi]

I tried giving Fallout 4 another chance but I loath the settlement thing so much that I just can't play this.

Uninstalled and moved from the RPG category to the Junk category in my Steam Library.

The terrible writing about the Minutemen didn't help. WTF would I want to join an organization that is non-existent so I can do things that I could do just as easily without this organization that in fact I am the only person doing cr@p for? Classic case of writers deciding people need to care because the writers want them to, not because they gave them a reason to.

[Zoraptor]

Well... the minutemen thing kind of makes sense from a role playing/ character pov along with the settlements in terms of you 'refounding the US' amid the Fallout theme of hyper nationalism, especially for someone who has been frozen from pre apocalypse rather than brought up post so might realistically have bought into that hypernationalism. Same for looking for jr too really, you are told you care rather than being made to; but logically you would.

I won't defend it any more than that since pretty much only the base idea is fine, the implementation is definitely typical Bethesda.