What Are You Playing?

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
He did the same thing for me with Mass Effect. He’s two for two, far as I’m concerned. :guts:

Did the same for me with SotC and MGS3 as well, including letting me borrow a PS2, plus he and Aaz turned me on to Infinite Space, and of course the big one, after much effort he got me into Souls, the series of the decade for me (wish I could have returned the favor with Bloodborne =). What a mensch.

I used my inside voice, but yeah, pretty much.

Wasn't much different for me; getting the N64 was a big deal. I remember playing Mario 64 at Toys R Us and getting the blue and yellow pre-order slip... speaking of feeling old. =)

Anyway, to the games...

Vader Immortal Episode III was definitely the best bang for your buck with all the Imperial action you could want, though the first episode was probably the most polished and immersive. The main drawback to this experience, aside from the length, parts and price, is they get in their own way too much with locking you in place to view story-driven moments and in combat. It's counterintuitive and counterproductive to the immersion. There's really no reason to put such artificial constraints on you when you could simply use natural logistics to guide the experience like any other game.

I'm waiting for the Oculus Summer Sale to grab Lone Echo, Stormland, Asgard's Wrath and maybe Phantom: Covert Ops. In the meantime, since they're dirt cheap, I picked up Doom VFR, The Mage's Tale, In Death and Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality.

The Mage's Tale controls weird, has an quirky sense of humor, but looks promising so far.

Virtual Rick-ality makes me think I need a bigger play space since it's so movement based (of course Rick will make me walk through a wall =). It seems endlessly inventive, but not sure what the point is yet other than doin' stuff in VR.

Doom VFR was better than expected given it's reputation! I turned on smooth locomotion, high speed, and smooth turning and was rockin' out blasting imps... until I got nauseous. :ganishka: Maybe normal speed and snap turning with continuous locomotion will be good enough, plus you can strafe/dash, shades of Doom Eternal and impressive since going in I thought the controls were going to be a turn off. But seriously, with the music and everything going, I was pumped!

Sadly it was so late by the time I finished with Doom, I didn't have time to try In Death, purportedly the closest thing to Souls in VR, but hopefully will tonight. Oh yeah, and still playing...

Mortal Kombat 11, where I feel like I've plateaued in growth and enthusiasm; sometimes I don't know how I ever felt so confident in my mediocre Shang Tsung abilities. =) I'm kind of stuck because offline is too boring at this point and online is increasingly frustrating. I'm now just knowledgeable enough to recognize how deficient I am, there's the fact that players in Kombat League will totally kill their internet to screw you out of a hard fought win, and I think I even ran into a guy with a lag switch or something, which is always fun. I wish there was just a way to play online matches to practice or have fun without it counting against your record so you could experiment or just fuck around without worrying about your win/loss ratio. "Kasual" isn't really casual when you're keeping score, it affects your stats across the board, and there's a leaderboard, etc. I mean, the stakes of the Kombat League are basically no less made up (oooh, that one has made up titles, which is actually even more meaningless), so if you want a just-for-fun mode that doesn't count then make it not count, except for maybe towards your total matches played or something. I hear SFV online has a much better system where instead of keeping score like that it moves you up or down into tiers based on your performance and matches you up with similar performers for really competitive fights.

Update: And after a great night of Kombat, including causing multiple Quitalities and an ongoing 19 game winning steak... I'M BACK, BABY!! :badbone:
 
Last edited:

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
In Death was tough, and the sound and/or controls are a little janky with my setup; if I plug in for sound it often statics, if I use bluetooth, it seems to interfere with my controllers, so I'll definitely need to get that sorted out. I want to make it work because it definitely has that Dark Souls vibe from top to bottom, including the PC port issues for me apparently. =)

Doom VFR is good! Stayed up way too late playing it. I don't know if they updated it after launch but the controls are working great for me. As far as I'm concerned it's like Doom 2016, some enhancements later seen in Eternal, in VR. This is a real positive for me because it shows that a "bad" VR game can still be a favorite of mine or fun as hell rather than it having to be some transcendent experience.

What are 5 games you highly recommend as must plays from this console generation?

Well, after consulting my yearly list and thinking about the question:

Bloodborne
Zelda: BotW
Shovel Knight
The Last Guardian
Death Stranding


This is a combination of favorites, unique experiences, and/or ones I think are objectively best, I didn't include some obvious hits like Red Dead Redemption 2, The Witcher III and Metal Gear Solid 5 or games from this year due to recency bias, but if I did: Half-Life Alyx if you have access to VR, FF7, and The Last of Us Part II if you really want to see what the PS4 can do. So, enjoy my top eleven best five games of this generation (honorable mentions to DS3 and RE7/RE2 =).
 
Last edited:
Hey everyone,

What are 5 games you highly recommend as must plays from this console generation?

1). The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2). Bloodborne
3). Monster Hunter World
4). XCOM 2
5). Dishonored 2

The top three are my definites. I didn't need to think twice about listing them here because they are just that fantastic. I put hundreds of hours into all of them even before their excellent expansion packs came out and made them even better. Blood and Wine for The Witcher 3 in particular could easily have been sold as a full-priced standalone game, and it likely still would have been worth every penny IMO, so the fact that it was released as a $20 expansion pack really made it a gem.

The bottom two though, I'm a bit more iffy on. They are excellent games and have great replay value as well that I could see myself playing again and again (and which I...have)...but they were in a very tight competition with a number of other titles that I think could, at any moment, possibly trump them depending on how my mood shifts, like Salt and Sanctuary, Nier: Automata, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Divinity: Original Sin 2, and Shadowrun: Dragonfall (though this one exists more on the cusp of this console generation and...isn't on a console anyway, so I don't think it really counts, but whatever). So there, you effectively got my Top 10, though even that might change as I still have a backlog that consists of things like Sekiro and a bunch of indies. And Cyberpunk 2077 is fluttering its augmented eyelashes at me.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Doom VFR - Almost done with it and it's pretty rad. I don't know why this one isn't held in higher regard other than people didn't have the same experience (which I know first hand because I tried it on PSVR years ago and was VERY unimpressed). It's basically the equivalent of a Doom remake, literally from Doom 2016, in VR! It's even got some elements of Doom Etetnal as well like the central hub you do missions from and the dash mechanic. I'll probably play it again on higher difficulty because if I have any complaint it's that all your movement options make you too powerful.

Batman: Arkham VR - Hoo boy, another one that suffers from "control issues," literal and figurative. Like, just let us move around freely! Anyway, I was also having some technical issues with the controls that required a fix from the developer, so hopefully tonight's experience will be less frustrating. I basically got this so my wife could try VR and be Batman but it was so frustrating I don't know if that's going to happen.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Doom VFR - Almost done with it and it's pretty rad. I don't know why this one isn't held in higher regard other than people didn't have the same experience

It's not super well optimized and was very expensive at launch (talking like $59.99). Still unplayable on Oculus HMDs, which is unfortunate. Zenimax, the company that is behind Bethesda, Id and others, was really pissed that Carmack left for Oculus and made it into a feud with lawsuits and all that. They eventually relented and settled out of court but that means their early VR efforts (which were mostly an attempt to show they had "invented" VR) were not optimized for those headsets. That said I'm actually curious to know whether they'll ever do another VR game now, or if it was all just to bolster their case in court.
 
Hey everyone,

What are 5 games you highly recommend as must plays from this console generation?
Not necessarily in order:
  • The Witcher III: Wild Hunt – For me, this ties with the below game as the game of the generation. The scale and scope are mind-boggling. Geralt is a great leading man, so you’ll enjoy his company as you go through the many different quests in this game. It’s DLC Blood and Wine alone is better than most complete games.
  • Bloodborne – I’m going to echo Griffith and Cyrus Jong in this one. I think this is where From Software’s formula was perfected. The atmosphere, lore, story, soundtrack, etc… are all top-notch. One of the most intense games out there. Speaking of intense,
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – This might sound dramatic, but this is the first game I played during adulthood that I genuinely doubted if I could beat (of course, once I got the hang of it, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought). Still, the challenge and the sense of achievement you get from this one are unparalleled.
  • The Last Guardian – I don’t know where to begin with this one. Just know that’s it’s a unique, deeply emotional experience and you’re not going to want to miss this one.
  • Yakuza 0 – Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it’s a fantastic game. The plot is just masterful, and the missions and sub-missions are top-notch. Plus, it’s a prequel to the entire Yakuza series, so you won’t need to have background knowledge.
  • Resident Evil 2 Remake – I had to put a sixth entry here. I loved this one. It truly gets under your skin, especially with its dark hallways and Mr. X. A must-play.
I’m also going to mention Shadow of the Colossus 2018. I didn’t put it up there because it’s a remake (unlike RE2 above, it's purely a visual remake, rather than an overhaul, so I don’t think it counts). But SotC is my number 1 game of all time, and I think no one should miss it. It’s a great chance to experience it if you haven’t already.

Honorable mentions:
  • God of War 2018 – A great, if overpraised, title. Should definitely give it a go.
  • Nier: Automata – I didn’t like the way it was made, but it’s definitely a unique experience.
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn – I went into this one with no expectations and enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
  • Red Dead Redemption 2 – A prettier version of the original, but worth it. It was my 2018 GotY.
  • Dark Souls III – the usual From Software affair. Worth going for.
 
Last edited:

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Did you by chance play Rouge Legacy from a few years ago?

I don't think I've even heard of it, but it definitely looks interesting to me even if it isn't about a rouge-colored warrior like I imagined. =)

It's not super well optimized and was very expensive at launch (talking like $59.99). Still unplayable on Oculus HMDs, which is unfortunate. Zenimax, the company that is behind Bethesda, Id and others, was really pissed that Carmack left for Oculus and made it into a feud with lawsuits and all that. They eventually relented and settled out of court but that means their early VR efforts (which were mostly an attempt to show they had "invented" VR) were not optimized for those headsets. That said I'm actually curious to know whether they'll ever do another VR game now, or if it was all just to bolster their case in court.

I recall all that but didn't know it was so directly tied to why and how the games were made. With that context and baggage I can see why it soured everyone on what's a pretty fun, though modest as far as VR interactivity goes, experience. It's basically Doom 2016 environments ported to VR, which is still a hell of a lot of fun, but not really all they could have done with the medium. I'm really looking forward to playing the classic levels after the campaign though. =)

Also, it was a nice time for Bethesda to BS for VR because they ported over some of their all-time biggest titles. I haven't bought or tried it yet but my dad is thrilled with Fallout 4 in VR because he spent a lot of time building his base/community in that game and now can load his saves in VR and suddenly he's actually standing amongst his creations. Pretty cool. Anyway, speaking of cool VR ports...


Doom VFR - Wrapped it up, and was a bit disappointed you don't get to fight the Spiderdemon, but then I was pleasantly surprised the game didn't end after you beat the Cyberdemon anyway. They probably should have moved that to the end, but to be fair the final battle royale they pieced together was more challenging than the Cyberdemon. Anyway, played some classic maps and that's a trip (it's weirdly more interactive than the base game as you physically hit doors and switches with your left hand). I might go back to unlock and play them all sometime, but for now there's other games to try...

Batman: Arkham VR - I had some control issues with this one to start, needed a custom dev fix for WMR controllers, but having solved those this game kind of sucks (I was warned =). Like, you can't move! That's my main bitch of what holds any VR game back so far, just get out of your own way and let me move and interact with the environment freely. If you can't move freely as Batman, you ain't Batman. Anyway, I only got to where you start examining the first crime scene and got so frustrated by the forced interactivity, or lack of freedom within it, that I quit. Contemplating a refund before I pass the two hour threshold. It didn't help that I was playing during the day and it was hot as hell, and you can't even keep yourself positioned in front of a fan. =)

Virtual Rick-ality - Overcame my space issues (I didn't have the room to cross Rick's garage =) to continue this one. I still don't like that I can't, or don't know how, to reorient my relative position centered in my play area. It is interesting to have the same place in the virtual room remain consistent with the physical location within your play space though. Eventually gives you some peace of mind. Anyway, almost done with this one too judging by the number of chapters left, but it's not so much a game as a simulator or VR tech demo of interactive things you can do in VR. So, the opposite problem of Doom VFR where you're basically just playing a port of regular game in VR-Vision. It gives me new appreciation for a game like Half-Life Alyx that truly threads the needle using interactivity to serves the greater overall gameplay and immersion. It's a AAA VR game where one of those traits doesn't get in the way of the other. Speaking of threading that needle...

Arizona Sunshine - This feels more like the indie game equivalent. Not as interactive and not as advanced in gameplay, but it has a balance of VR interactivity and immersion that mostly doesn't get in the way of straight up zombie head-exploding gunplay fun. I'm a big fan of the reload mechanic that keeps you manually involved but is a lot loss cumbersome or likely to make you bang your controllers into each other or your headset. The movement and boundary/hit detection leave something to be desired though, as it's real easy to get snagged or stuck on shit, even some things you can't see like rocks or other terrain, especially when you run, which obviously isn't fun when you're trying to escape a horde. This is probably the most challenging aspect of the game unfortunately (besides the menu =), that and managing my max ammo because no matter how many zombies they throw at it me I mow 'em down with headshots. So far only Alyx has had somewhat balanced difficulty that wasn't just coddling you for accessibility purposes because obviously if you're new to VR, and particularly if you're also new to gaming in general, this could all be very overwhelming.

Subnautica - Can't tell you much because I had to quit before I even got moving! I have this one free with my Microsoft PC game pass, so of course running it in the native Microsoft Windows app launcher using Microsoft Windows Mixed Reality... DOESN'T WORK! I started with my head sticking out of the sub, so I could see the lovely view outside, or look down at my virtual body. Then when the actual gameplay started I was stuck and couldn't move or see my hands. Then it was back to Arizona where I COULD shoot zombies. I have a cynical suspicion if I had this in Steam VR it would probably work fine, but of course Windows can't run it in all its own native software.
 
I can't believe no one's made this thread yet. Well, here's what I've been doing in gaming recently:

masseffect.jpg

I'm currently working on my second playthrough of Mass Effect, which needs no introduction.

monkeyisland.png

And I just got Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on Steam last night, so I'll be playing through that for the first time (yes, I know I should have played it by now).

Other gaming goals this summer are finishing FF4 and Dragon Quest V for DS, and playing through all the DLC of Fallout 3.

Well if you guys are looking for berserkish games (that dont suck like that one muso game) you could always check out the dark souls trilogy, its heavily inspised from the berserk series and has some top notch gameplay with a deep lore and world building
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Well if you guys are looking for berserkish games (that dont suck like that one muso game) you could always check out the dark souls trilogy, its heavily inspised from the berserk series and has some top notch gameplay with a deep lore and world building

Dark Souls you say? Never heard of it. Doesn't seem very interesting either, just generic heroic fantasy, plus I like a challenge in a game and these look slow and boring.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Dark... Souls? Sounds like a ripoff of Demon's Souls. I'd better stick to fighters and VR...

Mortal Kombat 11 - The Kombat League layoff is starting to break the cycle of grinding and setting me free. I'm tired of Kasual matches, towers are a bore, but I'm still looking for some action, and preferably something a little different, so...

Street Fighter V - Haven't played a Street Fighter since IV on 3DS, and I was never really good at them or felt compelled to play more (I was an MK guy, after all =). I fired it up with Ken, was sad to see over half the roster is basically made up of ads for the characters I didn't get with the game, but had a good enough time playing the arcade modes. After 250+ hours of MK11 doing the classic SF moves and some basic combos was easy to pick up so I'm probably already better at SFV than any SF before it (I'm sure I'd get waxed by anybody online though). I even ordered a cheap arcade fight stick, and I probably haven't used one in earnest since Mortal Kombat 3 came out, to do this proper. The stick seems fine but I SUCK with it. I couldn't even do the basic moves on it anymore, but after a little time with it I could pull them off regularly and just think my timing was off and I wasn't following through on the final motion of the attacks before hitting the button. I was trying to execute the moves the same way as on a gamepad and it's just a whole different set of motions, timing and execution. I'll keep practicing but if I can't even get comparable to how consistent I am on my gamepad there won't be much point except for goofing off like it's 1993 (should be fun in any case). But let's talk about some SERIOUS stuff...

In Death - The initially debilitating sound issues don't seem to be a factor with my new earbuds, so I was able to really dive in and boy is it addictive in that Souls way. I played for a couple of hours, or maybe it just felt like it, and got to the boss area but got ganked by some knights and archer monks. Like Souls, this game really starts when you're low on life and deep behind enemy lines just trying to survive long enough to reach the next section, but there's no bonfires here so it's arguably even more unforgiving.

By the time I stopped playing my neck was really strained though, which could have to do with the constant aiming and tight posture in this game, or because I've started wearing the rim of my HMD on top of my head like a crown now because it holds the visor over my eyes firmly and in perfect focus, as opposed to if I wear it like I helmet where the visor kind of rides up, slightly blurring my vision. I don't want to give myself a chronic neck injury though, so I may need to find another way.

Blade Runner 9732 - I don't think this freebie is available anymore, but fortunately I added it to my steam library long before I had the hardware to run it. I almost didn't bother now figuring it was probably dead, but it worked and I'm glad I did. As far as I can tell, it's simply a gorgeously detailed simulation of Deckard's apartment from Blade Runner, complete with used tumblers everywhere. In addition to checking out Deckard's kitchen, bath and back bathroom if you ever wanted to imagine them, you can play the piano, fire his gun (doesn't seem to affect or initiate anything), analyze the picture of Zora on your futuristic tube television, or you can go out on the balcony to gaze on a lovingly rendered 2019 Los Angeles cityscape, complete with hovering police car fly by and the famous Coca Cola ad directly from the film (LA really was littered with these digital billboards a few years ago until restrictions were put in place). Oh, and if you venture back out into the hallway and look closely between your door and the elevator you might notice a curious piece of origami on the floor. :carcus:

Boneworks - Whoa, now THIS is "virtual reality!" Its vibe feels very much like Half-Life 1 & 2, including prominent use of a crowbar (and coincidentally has the Alyx gravity grab mechanic), and you can pretty much interact with, and by that I mean break, anything. I haven't even got to the plot yet because I spent most of my time and energy messing around with the mechanics in the starting area and now the tutorial museum (actually worth checking out to see all you can do). Actually, I stopped at the first puzzle, which is like the size of a giant room, because it was just too exhausting (that's new for a game puzzle =). I don't know if this game will get too cute by half, like with putting a virtual VR helmet on to exit the game (I get it =), but the potential of the physics is phenomenal.
 
Last edited:

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
All fighting edition!

Mortal Kombat 11 - Same shit, different(?) day. It's hard to tell. I guess according to my stats I'm doing pretty well among MK11 players overall. I wonder how much of that is just cumulative from being on it way too much and because 90% of people that have the game aren't playing, "You're in the top 10%!! ...which is like the bottom of the range of actual active players."

Street Fighter V - Very fun playing on stick. Even won online which I wasn't expecting. I look at SF like a karate match and MK like The Jerry Springer Show. =)

Injustice 2 - Happened to get this for my birthday, so I nabbed a cheap PS4 stick, which I don't like as much as the cheap PC model; same company, Mayflash, and the PS4 stick is technically the higher end (F300), but I either got lucky on the first or it's a later revision with slighty better parts (F101, as opposed to the 100). I was going to return it but now I'd rather dump the new one. Game is fine, but it's not my style of fighting game despite being similar to MK in certain core design. It's more the kind where you have a few regular attack buttons plus a special button, which I'm not big on. I need like three attack buttons controlling each hand or foot!

Killer Instinct - Seems like a compromise between SF precision and MK insanity. Also it must have easy combos on by default or defense is the key (COMBO BREAKER!!!) because you can just tap the same button and rack up consecutive hits into the teens. Not necessarily KI but I noticed a lot of these games are trying to basically be fun mode by default. I'm not even particularly good at fighting games, MK11 is probably my best showing and it's toned down from X, but I don't even know what's good or not in some of these games because some almost seem to play themselves and I know people aren't playing these at EVO and shit trying to see who can tap the X button faster. I guess it's all about the meta and how you use them but some of the basic attacks and combos are just ridiculously over the top.

Guilty Gear Xrded ~REVERECTION~ - This one even has "technical" and "stylish" modes for if you actually want to learn to play or push a button to watch the characters play. A lot of these "2D" styled anime fighters all feel so old, not just the visuals that never quite live up to the promise of cel animation, but even menus (so many needless options to by pass) and presentation overall feels very spartan and outdated like I'm playing a 20 year old game.

Streets of Rage 4 - Tried it a while back on game pass but it wouldn't work with my controllers at the time. Now with the stick, as my wife unintentionally put it perfectly, "It's like you're playing at the arcade." :badbone:

A strange, sweaty man will even come collect quarters out of the machine on Fridays. :carcus:
 
Last edited:
I play mostly the dark souls games And bloodborne. I’ve beat every one. Dark Souls 3 has the berserk look and feel almost dead on. It’s fantastic aesthetically and gameplay wise
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
SoulCalibur VI - This is basically a reboot of SoulCalibur, so it brings back a lot of nice Dreamcast memories (WELCOME TO THE STAGE OF HISTORY!). Gorgeous game, fun controls, over the top attacks, but the AI is pretty easy. I played through arcade mode as Geralt, and it basically looks like they imported his character model from Witcher 3. He says some dumb funny shit after winning like, "I've never seen equipment like that before. I better investigate." You do that, witcher.

On a related note, I also ordered a nice inexpensive Hori SC6 themed fight stick to replace my cheap Mayflash models; I'm definitely returning the F300 because its joystick feels wonky and it's redundant now that I got this one for almost the same price. I'm not sure about the F101 yet though, I like and am currently using it, so we'll see if the Hori makes it completely obsolete (it has a lot of familiar looking weapon and armor designs on it too =).

71GhM9EdrdL._SL1500_.jpg


Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Another trip down memory lane. I just fired it up to see if I could hang, didn't intend to play though arcade mode but I kept advancing with Ken. Messed around with parrying and managed to pull off some though I mostly stuck to a traditional defensive strategy to get through (when in doubt, hold back). Gill and his goddamn resurrection super was a pain in the ass though! If he wasn't the last boss I would have quit, but ended up cheesing him by spamming trips and supers I'm not ashamed to say. Anyway, it looked and felt really good overall for a 20 year old game. They don't make 'em like they used to (though to be fair it was the third try =).
 
Last edited:
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing Disguise- Only a few hours in but this game is very quickly ramping things up and has revealed and dealt with things that only happened in the last quarter or so of the first game, so I'm really excited to see how far things go and where they take this one. I'm a big fan of the original and love sinking into the bizarre world full of unique characters and eyebrow raising dialogue. After playing for awhile I honestly sometimes feel like I'm taking crazy pills but its a testament to surreal kind of world Swery can craft in these games. As anyone knows who has read about the game, there are big performance issues/bugs and the like but I haven't really been bothered by them. I went in expecting them and sort of just blends in with the weirdness of the game for me. Like I said, only a few hours in and started yesterday but have been thinking about it all day at work today and can't wait to get back to it!
 
Mega Man 2. I really love this game. Even though I’ve been playing it for thirty years and I know it by heart, the game just doesn’t get old.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Mega Man 2. I really love this game. Even though I’ve been playing it for thirty years and I know it by heart, the game just doesn’t get old.
Same. I end up playing through it at least once a year. It was also the first game my son really got into (at least, got into watching me play). I've memorized the levels at this point of course. I've played MOST of the mainline MM games, but the ones that stand out to me are 2, 3, and X1, with 2 being my favorite.
 
I'm gearing up to pick up Zelda BOTW from where we left off a few months ago and also anxious about it. It's at a point where there's a considerable amount to explore but it's also getting a lot harder to go for all the shrines and upping your armor etc.

Since the pandemic hit, a group of friends have been playing the mobile game version of Through The Ages which's a civilization building game dealing with tech/ ore/ culture production. I can't remember the last time I paid for a mobile game but this has been well-worth it. I come in last a lot (80%) of the time or second last if I'm not last. So it's been a bit frustrating at times (maybe a lot of times if I'm being honest with myself) but there's constant learning from different strategies or advantages from different leaders in the game. Overall, it's been a good way for the group to keep in touch when we can't meet up due to the pandemic.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I'm gearing up to pick up Zelda BOTW from where we left off a few months ago and also anxious about it. It's at a point where there's a considerable amount to explore but it's also getting a lot harder to go for all the shrines and upping your armor etc.

You definitely don't need to find all the shrines. Once you're able to wield the Master Sword, you're pretty much good to go finish the game. And of course, that's not even a prerequisite, it's just the natural path the game urges you along.
 
You definitely don't need to find all the shrines. Once you're able to wield the Master Sword, you're pretty much good to go finish the game. And of course, that's not even a prerequisite, it's just the natural path the game urges you along.

Sweet, that makes it a lot easier - good to know, thanks. I was stressed out by how much of the map is left unexplored, thinking there are shrines or important things I'd miss out on. I'd love to complete the game and check that box off, especially since this's our 3rd attempt at it before things/ life happens and it's put on hold again. It's a collective, collaborative effort with my wife, so hopefully she's down to scratch this off our list.

I remember getting the Master Sword right before we put a pause on the game and I think we have just 1 divine beast left to defeat (the one in the sand area). I'll take a screen shot of the stats/ progress soon.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Sweet, that makes it a lot easier - good to know, thanks. I was stressed out by how much of the map is left unexplored, thinking there are shrines or important things I'd miss out on. I'd love to complete the game and check that box off, especially since this's our 3rd attempt at it before things/ life happens and it's put on hold again. It's a collective, collaborative effort with my wife, so hopefully she's down to scratch this off our list.

I remember getting the Master Sword right before we put a pause on the game and I think we have just 1 divine beast left to defeat (the one in the sand area). I'll take a screen shot of the stats/ progress soon.

I've got something like 300 hours invested in that game, so let me know if I can help.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Enjoying Streets of Rage 4 on stick the most out of anything now. Trying to get a better controller for MK11, tried several including an Hori Fighting Commander, which seemed great at first but then a little off (could just be me, the button placements throw me). I might just use my DualShock 4, but I want to convert the d-pad to button inputs...

Mega Man 2. I really love this game. Even though I’ve been playing it for thirty years and I know it by heart, the game just doesn’t get old.
Same. I end up playing through it at least once a year. It was also the first game my son really got into (at least, got into watching me play). I've memorized the levels at this point of course. I've played MOST of the mainline MM games, but the ones that stand out to me are 2, 3, and X1, with 2 being my favorite.

I'm always ready for an excuse to talk about the Blue Bomber! I actually haven't played MM2 in a while, though... the last Mega-Man I played was 11, which was nice if a bit fleeting (it did facilitate my months old daughter's first in-game kill =). 2 and 3 are indeed the best of the classic Mega Men, and I'd put 4, Mega Man World V (for GameBoy), and Mega Man 9 in the top 5, though MM6 and MM8 are the only ones I really consider bad. MMX is a different beast to me, it's like Star Trek TNG to classic Mega Man's TOS, but MMX1 would definitely be in the mix if combined.

I'm gearing up to pick up Zelda BOTW from where we left off a few months ago and also anxious about it. It's at a point where there's a considerable amount to explore but it's also getting a lot harder to go for all the shrines and upping your armor etc.
I was stressed out by how much of the map is left unexplored, thinking there are shrines or important things I'd miss out on. I'd love to complete the game and check that box off, especially since this's our 3rd attempt at it before things/ life happens and it's put on hold again. It's a collective, collaborative effort with my wife, so hopefully she's down to scratch this off our list.

I remember getting the Master Sword right before we put a pause on the game and I think we have just 1 divine beast left to defeat (the one in the sand area).

Doesn't sound like you'll have any trouble since your concern is more maximizing than only finishing and you're already pretty far along. I would recommend just exploring and having fun with it until your interest eventually bends back towards Ganon. The time I happily wasted on horses...

I've got something like 300 hours invested in that game, so let me know if I can help.

Daaaaaamn duder, those extra playthroughs with your son added up!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: m

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Doesn't sound like you'll have any trouble since your concern is more maximizing than only finishing and you're already pretty far along. I would recommend just exploring and having fun with it until your interest eventually bends back towards Ganon. The time I happily wasted om horses...

Agreed, re-reading my post, I didn't mean to direct @IncantatioN straight to Hyrule Castle. I only meant that there's nothing really holding you back at that point, if you want to finish it. The most fun to be had in this game is from exploring a new environment. So if you skip out on big chunks of the map, that's ultimately your loss. Some of my favorite moments in BotW were chance encounters, or stumbling accidentally into some huge environmental detail or location I wouldn't normally have seen.

Daaaaaamn duder, those extra playthroughs with your son added up!

Three times through the game so far, once with just me, two with him. And this most recent time, we unofficially 100%'d it, doing all the shrines, including all the DLC. As you probably know about me by now, I don't do that very often. I'll more often drop a game right before the endgame if I feel like it's going downhill, or has simply failed to retain my interest. A game really has to put a ring on my finger for me to commit to it like this.

The downside of that level of focus is that I'm afraid I've played it so much that I can't recapture that same "fresh" feeling when I start a new game with it. So I'm relying on the sequel to re-inspire that feeling in me.
 
Top Bottom