What are you playing right now?

[Orogun01]

Finished Kingdom Come, the ending was very lackluster and it definitively feels like half a game even though I spent so many hours in it. Hopefully the expansion will come soon and it really needs it, as well as bug fixes. Talking to Hans whilst he got stuck his horse between two trees isn't the ending I had in mind.

[SonicMage117]

Second playthrough of Hollow Knight is going well, I've come to realize that even though my first playthrough was around 25 hours, I seem to have missed alot or maybe I just don't remember? There's alot of places that seem or feel new to me. Thus, seems like my second playthrough is completely different than my first playthrough.

 

Worse thing is when you travel so far into a zone, lose your soul and currency, then you find the map salesman, who is asking for 70 for a map but you have a long way to go to get where soul is. Contemplating whether I should continue or move on to something else. I love the game, but I've fotgotten how tiring the backtracking is!

Edited March 24, 2018 by SonicMage117

[HoonDing]

Twisted Rune encounter had some Cult of the Dragon big name mofos iirc, surprised you were allowed to kill them at all.

[Orogun01]

Second playthrough of Hollow Knight is going well, I've come to realize that even though my first playthrough was around 25 hours, I seem to have missed alot or maybe I just don't remember? There's alot of places that seem or feel new to me. Thus, seems like my second playthrough is completely different than my first playthrough.

 

Worse thing is when you travel so far into a zone, lose your soul and currency, then you find the map salesman, who is asking for 70 for a map but you have a long way to go to get where soul is. Contemplating whether I should continue or move on to something else. I love the game, but I've fotgotten how tiring the backtracking is!

Serendipity; I started my second playthrough of Hollow Knight after I finished KCD.

[GhostofAnakin]

Two of the new combat features in AC Origins that don't seem to actually work 99% of the time.

 

1-Blocking.  This one I don't think has worked even once since the tutorial mode that originally shows you how to do it.  Every single time I block, the enemy just hacks into me as though I didn't even do anything.

 

2-Double assassination.  On the PS4, you're supposed to press the triangle button when the prompt comes up right after you assassinate the first enemy in order to instantly throw a knife to assassinate the second one.  Cool feature, when it works.  Which is rarely.  Usually I assassinate one enemy, in slow motion, while the other enemy turns and sees me and pressing the triangle button does nothing.

 

So frustrating.

[Bartimaeus]

Twisted Rune encounter had some Cult of the Dragon big name mofos iirc, surprised you were allowed to kill them at all.

Might have had something to do with why it and the quests related to it were mostly cut (although time constraints were said to have been the problem). Seemed like there was meant to be some greater conspiracy involving the various evil groups in the game, including all the different slaver movements (they're freaking everywhere!), the Twisted Rune (who were allied with the Shadow Thieves to some extent...who had slavery connections themselves), the skinners (who make some kind of reference to the Twisted Rune, IIRC), the de'Arnise Keep invasion (who Tor'Gal mentions as having been directed by someone else, someone stronger that he feared - not someone who simply paid him off like the Roenalls might've...although now that I think of it, the Roenalls were involved with the slavers, too! Further, Tor'Gal was working with Umber Hulks, who are...unusual monsters that seemed to always be in mindflayers' company...and also Glacias, who was apparently permanently dominated and helped betray de'Arnise, who was ardently anti-slaver, IIRC), and possibly the mindflayer infestation in the sewers (along with the Hidden and the Jysstev nobles...and there's a note that mentions them soon taking control of the entire..., but doesn't specify what)...who were also possibly connected to Firkraag but at the very least Tazok. Whatever it was supposed to be never fully apparated, though.

 

(e): I'm reading elsewhere that it even goes back to Durlag's Tower, where it was said that the doppelgangers were directed by the mindflayers as well. And with that connection, suddenly you have to wonder about the Iron Throne and Sarevok who also had doppelgangers in their employ...and Tazok, who held the key to the mindflayers' secret layer. FURTHER furthermore, if Sarevok was involved with the mindflayers, suddenly we have a connection back to Firkraag again - Firkraag was seeking revenge against Gorion for unspecified actions during his Harper days, and what do you know, the first thing that happens in BG1 is that Sarevok tears Gorion to shreds. Egads, the connections are everywhere! There are even connections to Irenicus and the Githyanki (Irenicus had part of the Silver Sword...and also, the Githyanki were in the Drow City at the time you and Irenicus go into the Underdark, while the Matron Mother's daughter is also kidnapped by the mindflayers? So many connections...): https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/4030/the-great-shadows-of-amn-conspiracy/p1

 

Out of curiosity, I started reading about the origin of the mindflayers in the D&D cosmology. It seems like there's no concrete explanation for their origin. One explanation is that they're from the "Far Realm", an incomprehensible alien realm that's considered to be outside the normal cosmological boundaries that's home to hyperintelligent cosmological alien horrors. Another explanation is that they're a group of space and time travelers that were facing annihilation at the end of time, and so traveled back to try to make their home in the past. Whichever way you look at it, it seems as though they're essentially an alien race...and they're...secretly trying to seize control? So it's basically an X-Files-esque alien invasion, I guess. Huh. Goes well with the slavery elements.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Bartimaeus

[melkathi]

Killed about 1500 enemies in Defiance. 38500 to go.

[M4xw0lf]

Finished PoE an hour ago. Ok, I'm ready for Deadfire now... did I say I'm cool with the delay? Screw that, gimme game!

[Fenixp]

- Attacking sleeping bandits in KC: D felt like a good idea, until they teleported all their gear on their bodies the moment they got from bedrolls. ... Right.

 

- Finally finished the Paris mission in Hitman. Dropping the entire ceiling on a hall full of people including the target was messy, but extremely satisfying. Dropping a chandelier on the secondary target in sight of a bunch of people was just pure fun. Incidentally, dear god, the amount of simulation that game runs in a single level is insane.

[Keyrock]

- Finally finished the Paris mission in Hitman. Dropping the entire ceiling on a hall full of people including the target was messy, but extremely satisfying. Dropping a chandelier on the secondary target in sight of a bunch of people was just pure fun. Incidentally, dear god, the amount of simulation that game runs in a single level is insane.

There are some really fun kills you can pull off in HITMAN.  My favorite to date is manipulating someone else to kill the target for me in Hokkaido.

Edited March 24, 2018 by Keyrock

[M4xw0lf]

Threw in "What remains of Edith Finch". Sadly, I'm already done with it again.

[HoonDing]

 

Twisted Rune encounter had some Cult of the Dragon big name mofos iirc, surprised you were allowed to kill them at all.

Might have had something to do with why it and the quests related to it were mostly cut (although time constraints were said to have been the problem). Seemed like there was meant to be some greater conspiracy involving the various evil groups in the game, including all the different slaver movements (they're freaking everywhere!), the Twisted Rune (who were allied with the Shadow Thieves to some extent...who had slavery connections themselves), the skinners (who make some kind of reference to the Twisted Rune, IIRC), the de'Arnise Keep invasion (who Tor'Gal mentions as having been directed by someone else, someone stronger that he feared - not someone who simply paid him off like the Roenalls might've...although now that I think of it, the Roenalls were involved with the slavers, too! Further, Tor'Gal was working with Umber Hulks, who are...unusual monsters that seemed to always be in mindflayers' company...and also Glacias, who was apparently permanently dominated and helped betray de'Arnise, who was ardently anti-slaver, IIRC), and possibly the mindflayer infestation in the sewers (along with the Hidden and the Jysstev nobles...and there's a note that mentions them soon taking control of the entire..., but doesn't specify what)...who were also possibly connected to Firkraag but at the very least Tazok. Whatever it was supposed to be never fully apparated, though.

 

(e): I'm reading elsewhere that it even goes back to Durlag's Tower, where it was said that the doppelgangers were directed by the mindflayers as well. And with that connection, suddenly you have to wonder about the Iron Throne and Sarevok who also had doppelgangers in their employ...and Tazok, who held the key to the mindflayers' secret layer. FURTHER furthermore, if Sarevok was involved with the mindflayers, suddenly we have a connection back to Firkraag again - Firkraag was seeking revenge against Gorion for unspecified actions during his Harper days, and what do you know, the first thing that happens in BG1 is that Sarevok tears Gorion to shreds. Egads, the connections are everywhere! There are even connections to Irenicus and the Githyanki (Irenicus had part of the Silver Sword...and also, the Githyanki were in the Drow City at the time you and Irenicus go into the Underdark, while the Matron Mother's daughter is also kidnapped by the mindflayers? So many connections...): https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/4030/the-great-shadows-of-amn-conspiracy/p1

 

Out of curiosity, I started reading about the origin of the mindflayers in the D&D cosmology. It seems like there's no concrete explanation for their origin. One explanation is that they're from the "Far Realm", an incomprehensible alien realm that's considered to be outside the normal cosmological boundaries that's home to hyperintelligent cosmological alien horrors. Another explanation is that they're a group of space and time travelers that were facing annihilation at the end of time, and so traveled back to try to make their home in the past. Whichever way you look at it, it seems as though they're essentially an alien race...and they're...secretly trying to seize control? So it's basically an X-Files-esque alien invasion, I guess. Huh. Goes well with the slavery elements.

 

iirc phaerimm are literally flying polyps. Illithids are supposed to be Yithians.

[Drowsy Emperor]

I'm still playing PoE, with a tenth level party. I guess I'm about 60% in, or a little more. 

 

I won't sing the game's praises here, because I assume that everyone has played it. It is easily one of the best RPG's since the Infinity engine games.

 

Since I'm a negative nancy, I'll point out the things that are not so good:

 

1: Endless Paths dungeon. I'm at the 13th level, and while I'm enjoying dungeon crawling, the design is a bit monothematic (one level for the kobolds, one for the undead etc.), very combat heavy and very light on story. It feels like the simpler DnD modules, and, apart from the cool map, it could have been more complex and, well, more interesting.

2. The random soul reading. The pieces are not that good, and really serve no purpose other than as flavor, but since they're so disparate, they're more random and often pointless, rather than flavorful. 

3. Low difficulty. I'm playing on Hard with Expert mode ticked. Even so, I can storm through at least 70% of encounters on auto-attack. 

 

But by far the biggest fault of the game as a whole, as well as a recurring Obsidian issue, is the lack of compelling content. Everything in the game is very good. The main story, side quests, characters and exploration. However, it lacks the spark of novelty and intrigue, the 'thing' that can set it apart and make it 'special'. Torment had its story and characters, Baldur's Gate 2 had a persistently great adventuring 'anything can happen' vibe and Icewind Dale 1 had the grandeur of its locations and music, a special kind of atmosphere.

 

I don't know what it is. PoE is professionally done, through and through, polished to perfection.The interface in particular, with its popup tooltips is a remarkable achievement of displaying complex information in a simple way - I never grasped an RPG system quicker.

 

But it still lacks a certain something, so far, that is particularly memorable - reminiscent of (but far superior to) Icewind Dale 2. You could even say the same thing about Baldur's Gate 1, if the sequel never appeared, and the series ended there - but that would be unfair, given that 19 years have passed since BG showed up and started the Infinity engine era.

 

I will keep on playing, but I suspect there won't be radical changes of opinion up until the end. 

 

PS: Two thumbs up from me for the development team. You promised and you delivered. 

Edited March 25, 2018 by Drowsy Emperor

[majestic]

The random soul readings are backer content, hence the wildly varying quality. They're not even really part of the world building, so you could just ignore them.

[Blarghagh]

I try to kill every backer NPC I can that doesn't cost me reputation. The exception is Visceris. I just don't have the heart (also the bastard hits like a truck and killed my party once).

[Drowsy Emperor]

The random soul readings are backer content, hence the wildly varying quality. They're not even really part of the world building, so you could just ignore them.

 

Well that explains it. In that case, it's an acceptable 'feature' to ensure that PoE gets funded.

[M4xw0lf]

Started Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Only played half an hour so far and haven't even left the roof of the starting area. ^^

[Malcador]

Chuffed to find people still playing UT and being abusive as in the old days

[Tale]

Some Curse of Monkey Island, probably too much Stellaris, and I hit up some Geometry Wars 3 to kill time.

 

Better in some regards than other adventure games of its time, but I do so prefer adventure games that highlight or shine interactable objects. Nothing more frustrating than checking every room over only to miss out on a single glove.

[Chilloutman]

Some Curse of Monkey Island, probably too much Stellaris, and I hit up some Geometry Wars 3 to kill time.

 

Better in some regards than other adventure games of its time, but I do so prefer adventure games that highlight or shine interactable objects. Nothing more frustrating than checking every room over only to miss out on a single glove.

 

I have big issue with Stellaris, I think they kinda nailed combat now, but I am missing on other interactions, I want interstellar trade independent on trade agreenments and pirates attacking trade routs, I want to see espionage, deeper diplomacy, late game exploration (wormhole space, deep space anomalies..) I only enjoy purging everyone with latest patch :/ Game have so much potential but I fear I will have to buy 10 DLCs before we get it into decent state

[Malcador]

 

Some Curse of Monkey Island, probably too much Stellaris, and I hit up some Geometry Wars 3 to kill time.

 

Better in some regards than other adventure games of its time, but I do so prefer adventure games that highlight or shine interactable objects. Nothing more frustrating than checking every room over only to miss out on a single glove.

 

I have big issue with Stellaris, I think they kinda nailed combat now, but I am missing on other interactions, I want interstellar trade independent on trade agreenments and pirates attacking trade routs, I want to see espionage, deeper diplomacy, late game exploration (wormhole space, deep space anomalies..) I only enjoy purging everyone with latest patch :/ Game have so much potential but I fear I will have to buy 10 DLCs before we get it into decent state

 

You'd think a 4x game would have decent diplomacy and espionage at launch.

[Labadal]

Arrrghhh. Battle Chasers: Nightwar feels terribly unbalanced. I'm getting through dungeons, but at points, enemies do almost as much damage as my max hp. I wish there was a fast forward option in battle. Other than that, the game is decent and fairly enjoyable.

[ShadySands]

^I forgot that I backed that one

 

I need to get back to my Stellaris game but I'm about 35 years deep into my CK2 game. My immortal Duke of Athens who follows the Promethean heresy of the Hellenic religion has caught the attention of some Norse immortal so I'm looking forward to our upcoming Highlander duel. I've got 7 kids and 5 grandkids just in case things go sideways

Edited March 27, 2018 by ShadySands

[majestic]

Arrrghhh. Battle Chasers: Nightwar feels terribly unbalanced. I'm getting through dungeons, but at points, enemies do almost as much damage as my max hp. I wish there was a fast forward option in battle. Other than that, the game is decent and fairly enjoyable.

 

And that's after they tuned the necessary XP for level ups down. Twice.

 

In other words, happy grinding. At the end of the day this is a JRPG style game.

[Gorgon]

I'm kinda tempted to jump on Farcry 5 because I know the first 10 hours before everything turns into grind and repetition will be entertaining.  Change my mind please.