What Are You Playing?

I decided to finally finish up the last of us 2 with the release of its s2 for the show after having it up in my library for the past 2 years. Close to wrapping it up but this kind of made me buy the first game which I'd have already watched an entire playthrough about awhile back. I had known it had a multiplayer aspect and surprisingly it's still decently active though sometimes you could queue with the same people a bunch. I've been weirdly drawn to it and it kind of makes me wish they didn't cancel the online mode they had in store for the second game.
 
I am mostly finished with clair obscur: exhibition 33. @Lawliet Already made a good extensive post about the game. I would say at this point it is in my fluctuating list of top ten favorite games of all time.

Not only could I gush about the story, gameplay and art direction for hours. But I also love the story behind the games development. It's no sage news but smaller development teams seem to create the best stuff. So of course I have been listening to some developer interviews now that I finished the main story up.

The lead developer Guillaume Broche is on record in this interview saying he is a big manga reader. Some of the manga he listed by name as inspirations were Monster, Berserk and Attack on Titan.

I mentioned in the chat but I am not surprised at all as while I played there were a few areas and points that made me think "I feel like someone on that team has read Berserk." I wasn't surprised when the developer confirmed it but it just makes me love the game that much more.The music also did remind me some of the different Berserk anime OSTs but that could just be more coincidental. Where ever the the composer Lorien got his influences from though I want to know because the soundtrack is also game of the year material.

He mentions Berserk around 36 minutes in.

 
Dragon Quest VIII: I've been excited about playing this since I first got into Dragon Quest many years ago and it didn't disappoint. The cell shaded graphics still look beautiful, even by today's standards, and the symphonic soundtrack is my favorite of the series so far. We Americans lucked out by getting that version of the music, though I'm glad they eventually released an International Version in Japan with the symphonic version of the soundtrack so they could enjoy it, too. The gameplay and various storylines were standard Dragon Quest, which isn't a bad thing as far as I'm concerned. It's probably been my favorite game of the series, Dragon Quest V aside. Looking forward to playing IX and XI one of these days.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: I really love these Mario RPGs. Each one is better than the last and I thought this sequel to Superstar Saga improved a lot upon the original, while also adding new gameplay elements that were just as fun. The way they incorporated all of the action buttons into the battles made each encounter engaging. Even the addition of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi didn't ruin the time I spent with this one. Really looking forward to playing future installments of this series and Paper Mario.

Daxter: Good for a PSP game in terms of graphics and some gameplay elements, but I kind of wished I'd skipped this one. It was basic, even for a portable game, and way too short. Oh, well. They can't all be winners.

Kingdom Hearts II: I still can't believe the first Kingdom Hearts game worked as well as it did, so I remember being surprised when a sequel was greenlit back in the day. And like all sequels to surprise hits, they seem to have thrown all the money in the world at this one and given Tetsuya Nomura free reign to make it was Nomura-like as possible. When it was good it was great, but most of the time I found myself rolling my eyes. Despite the gorgeous graphics and some fun boss battles, KHII felt bloated but pared-down at the same time. The battles were even more "hit the attack button over and over again" than the first game, just with quick-time events (different button over and over again). All that being said, it was great hearing Christopher Lee's voice again and I was really surprised when Bruce Boxleitner showed up as Tron, especially because my wife and I are in the middle of watching Babylon 5 right now. :ganishka:

Tomb Raider: Legend: This ended up being a lot more fun that I thought it would. It played a lot like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, which isn't a bad thing. The graphics were great and the gameplay was fun (although I wish the shooting segments had a little more depth), but it was way too short. I figured I was about 3/4 of the way through when the credits rolled. At least there's a sequel.

Mother 3: I finished this one earlier today. Whoa. I haven't had a gaming experience like this one in a long time. I loved EarthBound (a.k.a. Mother 2), so I was really looking forward to its sequel. When I found out it was on the Game Boy Advance, I thought the experience might not be as good as the one I'd had on the SNES. For those who've played it, you'll know that the game is massive and packed with classic JRPG turn-based combat, the wackiness characteristic of the series, and more heart than I can adequately describe. Rarely does a video game make me cry like a good book or movie can, but this one had me in tears at the end. Chapter 6 is one of the most surreal, beautiful things I've ever seen, and the ending was about as perfect as endings get. I'm going to need to sit with this one for a few days, I think. Just amazing.
 
Playing High On Life. Basically like a Rick & Morty game. If you're a fan of the RedletterMedia guys, you'll recognize that they do some random voices throughout. There's also a part where you can sit down in an alien movie theater behind 3 aliens (MST3000 style) and watch a full length B horror movie with their commentary.
 
Just got the Platinum trophy for Expedition 33, which is now one of my favourite games of all time. Others have already written extensively about it, so I will only say that I highly recommend it, even for those who normally don't play turn-based RPGs.

Since I don't have much time for videogames and I am a completionist, I have to be very selective. I feel I was extremely lucky with my latest choices of Elden Ring (+DLC) and Expedition 33, and I hope I can keep that streak going. However, I am currently undecided what the next one should be. Maybe Sekiro or Baldur's Gate 3.
 
Sir Laban said:
I am currently undecided what the next one should be. Maybe Sekiro or Baldur's Gate 3.
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I quite enjoyed Sekiro, but Baldur's Gate 3 is in another league, especially if you've played the old Bioware games. I would say that it comes down to what you're in the mood for, though. BG3 is an RPG through and through while Sekiro is a very action-oriented game.

EDIT: I guess I should mention what I've been playing too. I recently 100% completed Donkey Kong Bananza. A really masterful game, fun and fresh all the way through. Highly recommended.
 
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Aazealh said:
I quite enjoyed Sekiro, but Baldur's Gate 3 is in another league, especially if you've played the old Bioware games. I would say that it comes down to what you're in the mood for, though. BG3 is an RPG through and through while Sekiro is a very action-oriented game.
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To me the biggest issue with BG3 is time. I've heard it takes 200+ hours to get the platinum for it (much longer than Elden Ring), so it sounds like I could complete 2-3 games in the time it takes to complete BG3. On the other hand, I've heard Sekiro could take around 80 hours for those experienced with FromSoft games. Do these time estimates sound accurate based on your experience?

Of course, time is one factor, but if BG3 is that superior it might go for it anyways.
 
Sir Laban said:
To me the biggest issue with BG3 is time. I've heard it takes 200+ hours to get the platinum for it (much longer than Elden Ring), so it sounds like I could complete 2-3 games in the time it takes to complete BG3. On the other hand, I've heard Sekiro could take around 80 hours for those experienced with FromSoft games. Do these time estimates sound accurate based on your experience?

Of course, time is one factor, but if BG3 is that superior it might go for it anyways.
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Both are great. You won’t go wrong with either. Speaking of BG3, I went back and replayed BG1&2 and all their associated dlc, and man those games still hold up (BG2 especially) even after the 20+ years since their release.
 
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My son (age 12) spent a lot of his game time this summer playing and re-playing Delta Rune on Switch 2. I had already finished it back in June. I thought it was fun, though it didn't hit me nearly as hard as it did him and kids his age. But watching his fascination with it and how it rewards players who try do to weird stuff (routes), it made me realize that my lack of connection with the game was probably equivalent to how traditional roleplaying game dads would have reacted to Squaresoft RPGs back in the 90s.

I remember some aspects of being 12 pretty vividly, and among those memories, I remember being asked to stop playing and go to dinner around the exact same time I was walking through the Lost Woods to retrieve the master sword for the first time in Zelda 3, and how nothing else was more important than experiencing that precise moment (and it's still not). It's a bit like a superpower as a parent, having the capacity to recognize how their connection to something might not make any sense to you, but it's still absolutely valid.
 
New Super Mario Bros.: Finally, Mario's back in...2.5D? And it works! While not as great as the all-time classics, SMB3, SMW and Yoshi's Island, it was still a lot of fun. The new gimmicks were okay (it was kinda fun smashing everything in sight with giant Mario) and didn't add all that much to the gameplay, but that didn't really bother me, because it still felt like a great 2D Mario game. Some of those stars were really hard to get, though.:SK:

Hitman: Blood Money: The most enjoyable Hitman game I've played so far. I still don't like the limited saves on normal difficulty, but this game felt far more forgiving than the ones that came before it. Didn't like the new graphics engine when it came to the characters (every dude is ripped, no matter who they are, which looked really strange sometimes), but the environments looked great and the gameplay was really terrific on most of the missions.

Half-Life 2: Episode One: I got a new PC earlier this year, so Half-Life 2 finally runs smoothly. I might go back and play the original one of these days, since it was a little jittery on my old computer. It was great getting back into that world, but just when things were getting good, it was over. Still looking forward to Episode Two and Alyx, though. And keeping my fingers crossed for 3.

Okami: What an odd little Zelda clone, but damn it was fun. A little long, but completely worth it. The art style is really something; I imagine it looks pretty incredible on the recent HD remasters. The character voices were a little annoying in that Bajo-Kazooie nonsense-speak, but it didn't get in the way of an otherwise enjoyable game.
 
Rhombaad said:
Half-Life 2: Episode One: I got a new PC earlier this year, so Half-Life 2 finally runs smoothly.
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Wow, what the hell where you playing on so far?! :ganishka:

Rhombaad said:
Okami: What an odd little Zelda clone, but damn it was fun. A little long, but completely worth it.
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Okami was great. And they're making a sequel!

Personally, I've been playing an indie game called UFO50. It's a fictional game console with 50 games styled like they're from the 80s. They really nailed the old school feeling, and the games are all charming so far. They take some real effort to beat, too. Before that I did Thronebreaker, a solo card game set in The Witcher's world and based on Gwent. I had a good time with it.
 
Aazealh said:
Wow, what the hell where you playing on so far?! :ganishka:
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An old ASUS PC I picked up in 2012. It was a pretty decent gaming computer when I got it, but by the time I got to Half-Life 2, I think the graphics card was starting to fail. That's eventually what happened and what resulted in me getting a new PC.

It was still very playable on my old PC, only lagging occasionally. Lost Coast on the highest settings lagged a lot more. Episode 2, though? Like butter. :badbone:

Aazealh said:
Okami was great. And they're making a sequel!
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I know! Better late than never. I'm looking forward to it.
 
Anyone playing Hollow Knight: Silksong on September 4?

I don't know if I'll start it right away, but for sure I'll buy it on day one as a form of support and appreciation. From rumors it looks like it's gonna cost just 19.99€, an insane price point nowadays.
 
Goat said:
Anyone playing Hollow Knight: Silksong on September 4?

I don't know if I'll start it right away, but for sure I'll buy it on day one as a form of support and appreciation. From rumors it looks like it's gonna cost just 19.99€, an insane price point nowadays.
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I probably will. As for it being $19.99, that's a common price point for indie games, it's not out of the ordinary. They could have gotten away with pricing it $29.99, but that would have lowered the "impulse buy" factor. Instead they're reproducing the conditions that led to Hollow Knight's success, which I think is very smart.
 
So far, Silksong is just bad.
4 hours in, and everything is c&p from Hollow Knight, but worse.
Level design, controls, lore, it's like amateurs took the formula and tried to recreate everything, but didn't get what made the original such a great game. Incredible. I'll keep going, because I refuse to believe what I'm playing, but I'm not optimistic.

Edit; why castrate the perfect charm system in such a limiting way? dash/run feels awful, man, what a letdown.
 
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ahwala said:
So far, Silksong is just bad.
4 hours in, and everything is c&p from Hollow Knight, but worse.
Level design, controls, lore, it's like amateurs took the formula and tried to recreate everything, but didn't get what made the original such a great game. Incredible. I'll keep going, because I refuse to believe what I'm playing, but I'm not optimistic.
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I'm about 1.5h in and well, it's pretty much what I expected: More Hollow Knight platforming, but with a slightly more expansive move set. The same thing that grated me about the combat in Hollow Knight grates me here (it's boring and repetitive). I wouldn't call any of it bad. It's just a little boring to me.
 
I love Hollow Knight despite its problems (mainly boss rng). The controls are intuitive and responsive, the atmosphere is absolutely unmatched for such a simple game, the world/level design rivals Dark Souls, almost right from the start. I love the mapping system, how you can explore multiple ways etc.


Silksong on the other hand appears to share all the systems in one way or another, but everything is dumbed down: 5 hours in, the progression through the world is still mostly linear. The moveset sucks, the story and atmosphere are whatever, there's a rudimentary "quest"-system which gets in the way, charms are replaced by way more limiting crests, etc.

I just can't believe they ruined the game in every way.
It feels like a bad joke, much in the same way the Berserk continuation does.
 
ahwala said:
I just can't believe they ruined the game in every way.
It feels like a bad joke, much in the same way the Berserk continuation does.
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This is pretty hyperbolic, from my experience with the game.

✅ hitting things and sometimes JUMPING and hitting things
✅ collecting little bouncing things that sometimes fall into spikes
✅ talking to bugs, and they're like, "Hey I'm a bug too. Go find some more bugs, please"
✅ paying hard-earned loot just to see where I am on the map

I mean, it's definitely more Hollow Knight. When Igarashi made Aria of Sorrow, it was definitely more Symphony of the Night, and that was fine, too.
 
ahwala said:
No reason to discuss it with someone having such a rudimentary understanding of Hollow Knight.

If you think this describes what Hollow Knight is, I understand why more casual fans like post-Miura Berserk.
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I was posting in defense of Silksong, but in the process, I've been reduced to a filthy Hollow Knight casual?! Nooooooo!!:magni:

I don't even hate the game. It's fine. But having played plenty (a majority?) of games from the genre since I was a kid, Hollow Knight has always felt ponderous by comparison. If that's upsetting to you, take my cue and register PaleKing.net or something similar and gather the biggest fans out there over the next 25 years. Go for it!
 
Guess I'm a filthy Hollow Knight casual too because I quite like the game so far and don't understand that overly harsh reaction (based on only 5 hours of game time no less). Like Walter said, it is more of the same and that is fine. That gamers are obsessed with changing things up for sequels has always been strange to me.

Anyway, I wanted more Hollow Knight, and I got it, so I'm happy. :ubik:
 
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Lawliet said:
it is more of the same and that is fine
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Wasn't it initially meant to be DLC for the first game? "More of the same" makes even more sense if we take that in consideration. I don't really have interest in the game personally, never finished the OG, but all I'm hearing about Silksong from friends who adored the first game is praise (and that it's tough as nails).
 
It's not more Hollow Knight.
It's worse than Hollow Knight in every way, except maybe graphics/detail/polish.
The game-part of it is awful.

By the way, how far in are you guys?
 
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