What Games Are You Playing?

Lordhippos said:
Played some First Descendant on the weekend just gone with a friend (they had a beta up), good fun so far, it's a free to play sci-fi shooting game, reminds me a lot of The Division in how it plays. I reckon we'll play some more of that on release.

This was on the PC, but it's coming to other platforms for the final launch I think. The game looks and runs good.
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I tried the PS5 beta last year. It made a decent first impression with its controls and gunplay, but the fundamental game structure killed my interest. Playing solo, practically every combat encounter dragged on 5-10 times too long. Early game AI is dumb as a lamppost too; either rushing me or standing around like a plank while I stand in front of them and shoot them in the face. I was getting bored to the point of quitting every few minutes. I presume co-op rebalances this, but I couldn't find any matchmaking options for the main story. Maybe some of these problems have been addressed since last year?
 
I think they've improved things a lot, though the way the co-op system works isn't really perfect, or I lacked some understanding of how it was meant to work.

My friend would do a support request and invite me, we're then together and in the same party for the over world missions, these were generally short/fun to do, and we'd pick up the odd random person who was near us to join in as well.

Then we had some bigger missions that we couldn't join as a party, and that made me a little sad, because we had to try and hit the matchmaking option at the same time. Once it worked, and once it didn't. I hope they're still ironing this out a bit because ideally I would want to just co-op all the missions.
 
Eternights
There are two ways to look at this game. As an action game it's a fairly janky, budget affair. In an attempt to copy the template of licensed blockbuster action games from 20 years ago, it tries to do a bit of everything and ends up not doing any of it especially well. Combat is stiff, unresponsive, and feels pretty basic even once you've unlocked all available abilities. It especially suffers from me playing it immediately after the far superior Stellar Blade.

Locations are bland, boring to explore, and suffer from abnormally poor lighting. I suspect the developers wanted the protagonist's glowing arm to act as a light source a lot of the time, but it casts light in such a short range that some parts of levels are completely black.

It also tries its hand at mandatory stealth segments, a motorbike chase, scavenger hunts, and some basic minigames. It's ambitious for what is clearly a lower budget production, but all the gameplay elements feel undercooked. So as an action game, Eternights is playable, but not particularly good.

If you look at it as a dating sim though, it's relatively lavish. It has 3D animated characters instead of the usual 2D portraits and is fully voiced. While the models fall a bit short of the 2D key art used for certain scenes, the game's saving grace is how expressive and funny the characters are. It's a pleasure to spend time with them, though the post-apocalyptic setting does limit the kinds of activities available. The budget does show on this side of things too though, mainly in how the whole game feels like it's on fast forward. Considering how much emphasis it places on relationship building, individual dialogue scenes tend to be pretty short and the game can comfortably be finished in 10 hours.

I would really only recommend Eternights for the entertainment value of the characters. It's not expensive and is frequently discounted, so it's just about worth a go if it interests you as a dating sim. I might play it again at some point to try one of the other girl's routes, but it's not high on my replay list.

Also, if you do play it, make sure you have a phone with a QR code reader handy during the end credits. I won't spoil why, but it doesn't give you long to scan the code.
 
Dai said:
I would really only recommend Eternights for the entertainment value of the characters. It's not expensive and is frequently discounted, so it's just about worth a go if it interests you as a dating sim. I might play it again at some point to try one of the other girl's routes, but it's not high on my replay list.
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I watched a quick Youtube video about it and one of the top comments was "budget Persona", may give it a go at some point if it's cheap and fairly quick to play :)
 
I finally finished a Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough. Unsurprisingly, it took me 2 1/2 months and around 140 hours lol. I had a great time, although near the end I was losing the desire to play. I think I just played too much (I'm also doing another playthrough with some friends at the same time) but overall, fantastic experience. I will defo try the durge playthrough at some point (although I don't know if I can really pick the cruel options. Some of them are, oof.)
I did boot up Yakuza Like a Dragon the other week so I'm getting into that now. It's no secret that I love the Yakuza games and this is looking like another solid entry, having a great time. The turn base isn't as good as the beat em up style but it still has the Yakuza feel and I'm still enjoying it. I'm getting used to it.
I also planned to play Dragons Dogma 2 after I finished BG3, so that's on the cards to play next too. Plenty to keep me occupied. Not to mention Elden Ring DLC in a few weeks as well. Phew!
 
I’m coming to the end of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth now and it’s been a solid experience except for one overarching issue: the mini games. They’re a mixed bag and some are just awful. Queen’s Blood is fun though and I’ve almost beaten every player now.

I’m also not keen on some story changes and how bits and pieces have been moved around but this has been a better experience than the first remake was, mainly owing to me not being the biggest fan of the Midgar section of the original game in the first place.
 
I recently completed Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga for PS2 and am now playing its sequel.

DDS has some solid gameplay and a mysterious storyline but is hindered by a needlessly high random encounter rate, which made the game more tedious than it needed to be, though I still saw it through to the end.
 
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Stellar Blade by Shift Up is a solid
8/10
VERY GOOD

Gameplay | 10
Design | 9
Performance | 10
Graphics | 10
Sound | 10+
Story | 7
Character | 7
Exploration | 8
Customisation | 10

Overall Conclusion​

A stellar experience all round which only falls slightly short due to its narrative and characters.

Setting aside these flaws, mostly every other aspect is of high quality. Especially the satisfying yet challenging combat, consistent performance in balance mode, stunning graphics as fitting for the next generation experience, excellent use of sound effects as well as tracks to enhance every moment in-game and finally fantastic variety of customisation (outfits, accessories and hairstyles etc.)

I'd highly recommend Stellar Blade to anyone who appreciates a mix of NieR: Automata, Sekiro, Metal Gear Rising with other inspirations in the likes of Alita Battle Angel as well as Bayonetta

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If I ever get around to buying a PS5, then Stellar Blade is high on my list of games to buy. Maybe I'll end up getting a PS5 Pro if it ever comes out, but with so many games left to play on my PS4 Pro I'm in absolutely no rush to upgrade unless my console dies...
 
Stellar Blade was indeed a great game. I hope it comes to PC some day!

I've completed more recently:

Still Wakes the Deep (PC)

You're on an oil rig in the Atlantic in the 70's when something goes wrong with the drilling operation...

Nice game if a little short. Played it on the Game Pass version.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (PS5)

This was one game I was looking forward to in my master list (starts here and branches into the next post).

I enjoyed this game, I think I like the life-sim additions of Persona more than the very battle focused SMT side, but a lot of the same sorts of things are there in both.

I did this on Hard difficulty and despite considering dropping it early on with a couple of encounters being challenging, I stuck with it and completed the main game on hard. On hard even basic stuff could wipe you out if you got unlucky with things, less of an issue later on but it's certainly no joke if you don't know fully understand the systems.

I didn't feel like NG+ it though as apparently it's more or less the same but with some extra bosses.

I was focused on my waifu demon army and wound up with the Qadistu girls as my main team. I love the designs on all of these except the melee one really!.

Pro tips for anyone who wants to play this and is coming from a Persona background:

1. Save often. This game doesn't seem to auto-save anything and it cost me time more than once.
2. (in my opinion) ignore the humans you can add to your team. The game seems a lot more fun when you're focused on the demon army and just skip over the humans.

Next?

Not sure. Need to check release dates on below, but also keeping an eye out for general things that I'm not specifically looking for. Edit - updated with release dates so some things have slipped into 2025 it seems and some have no dates at all. But a few games have 2024 releases upcoming from August.
  • Black Myth Wukong 20/08/2024
  • Visions of Mana 29/08/2024
  • Frostpunk 2 20/09/2024
  • Metaphor Refantazio 11/10/2024
  • AI Limit TBC 2024
  • Crimson Desert Q2 2025
  • Vindictus: Defying Fate TBC
  • Unending Dawn TBC
 
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Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 turned out to be a better game overall with a more engaging continuation to the storyline and some quality of life improvements like the better skill board. Random encounters still felt excessive in places but I think these games deserve some form of remaster to iron out these issues.

I’m now playing the original God of War - a franchise I’ve been meaning to check out for years.
 
HWR said:
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 turned out to be a better game overall with a more engaging continuation to the storyline and some quality of life improvements like the better skill board. Random encounters still felt excessive in places but I think these games deserve some form of remaster to iron out these issues.

I’m now playing the original God of War - a franchise I’ve been meaning to check out for years.
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Are you playing all of the SMT games? I'm interested in how you think they compare with V if/when you get to the end.

God of War I've played bits of the OG ones, but mostly just the new wave versions, and I really like them from a cinematic and visuals perspective.
 
Lordhippos said:
Are you playing all of the SMT games? I'm interested in how you think they compare with V if/when you get to the end.

God of War I've played bits of the OG ones, but mostly just the new wave versions, and I really like them from a cinematic and visuals perspective.
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No, just DDS for now, though I do have SMT V Vengeance to play eventually and Persona 4 Golden to revisit once my Limited Run copy arrives - IV and Apocalypse need saving from the 3DS too.

And yeah GoW has aged pretty well graphically and the gameplay has been solid so far too.
 
Yeah I think the old ones would age pretty good!

Alright definitely interested to hear how you think the old ones compare with SMT V when you get to it, but no rush of course, take your time :)
 
SAHO said:
View attachment 34821

Stellar Blade by Shift Up is a solid
8/10
VERY GOOD

Gameplay | 10
Design | 9
Performance | 10
Graphics | 10
Sound | 10+
Story | 7
Character | 7
Exploration | 8
Customisation | 10

Overall Conclusion​

A stellar experience all round which only falls slightly short due to its narrative and characters.

Setting aside these flaws, mostly every other aspect is of high quality. Especially the satisfying yet challenging combat, consistent performance in balance mode, stunning graphics as fitting for the next generation experience, excellent use of sound effects as well as tracks to enhance every moment in-game and finally fantastic variety of customisation (outfits, accessories and hairstyles etc.)

I'd highly recommend Stellar Blade to anyone who appreciates a mix of NieR: Automata, Sekiro, Metal Gear Rising with other inspirations in the likes of Alita Battle Angel as well as Bayonetta

View attachment 34818View attachment 34817
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When the boss battle music is in sync 🔥

View attachment 19064b84bf211-master_playlist.mp4
View attachment 1906e619c5a75-master_playlist.mp4
 
"this isn't just another video game, it's the greatest interactive samurai movie of all time. With over 3 hours of cinematic cutscenes and 40+ hours of gameplay, Ghost of Tsushima is in a league of its own."
note: this breakdown contain spoilers
 
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I've been playing the Beta version of Concord. Personally I've been enjoying it. I've got some early access codes for others who want to give it a go.

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CEBC-NQC2-XXJD
TPE5-PMHT-GH7X
 
So I recently, after a nearly decade long hiatus, got back into playing Guild Wars 2 and I’ve been having an absolute blast with it, the great gameplay and level design mixed with the social features of an MMO and a largely excellent community made this one very hard to stop playing, furthermore this is the game that puts paid to the absolute rubbish that MMO’s can’t work without a monthly subscription fee by being an excellent game that doesn’t require one, an exceptional online RPG.
 
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