The Video Game Thread

[rags]

If you liked the game RETURNAL, look at the game Scars Above.

 

[Shinaoi]

Got wo long fallen dynasty. I’m a sucker for anything souls like. Loved nioh 2 which same team made.

 

[The Ominous]

Got wo long fallen dynasty. I’m a sucker for anything souls like. Loved nioh 2 which same team made.

Been waiting for a minute for Wo Long. Played the demo...loved it. Team Ninja practically started the genre before From Software with the GOAT Ninja Gaiden. Can't wait to smash this monster as well!

 

[Doomsday]

I am always a ways behind everyone else and recently got Elden Ring it is a really good game, but, I gotta say I get a bit frustrated with some of the new open-world designs.

It is nearly impossible to figure out what the main storyline is and the side quests are complex and there is very little information about them in the game. You have to research everything online to have any shot at figuring some of it out. Also not a big fan of how FromSoftware always seems to give you cool items at the very end of the game that you never got to use during the first play-through. I really don't want to play a game twice to enjoy everything it has to offer.

Curious about what others think of huge open-world games.

 

[Crazed Liotta Eyes]

I am always a ways behind everyone else and recently got Elden Ring it is a really good game, but, I gotta say I get a bit frustrated with some of the new open-world designs.

It is nearly impossible to figure out what the main storyline is and the side quests are complex and there is very little information about them in the game. You have to research everything online to have any shot at figuring some of it out. Also not a big fan of how FromSoftware always seems to give you cool items at the very end of the game that you never got to use during the first play-through. I really don't want to play a game twice to enjoy everything it has to offer.

Curious about what others think of huge open-world games.

I finished Elden Ring and I know what you mean about the lack of direction. I'll give them credit for trying to do something different but there were a lot of times where I was like what am I supposed to do now? I also was not a huge fan of the encounters just resetting when you returned to an area. Ultimately, it was necessary for me with their design because I could grind those encounters enough to make my character good enough to advance in the game.

Huge open world games are definitely my favorite now, but I prefer the ones that give you some indication of what you need to do and where to go. I also like being able to save whenever I want.

 

[Crazed Liotta Eyes]

I started Atomic Heart and had to give up. A lot of the first-person games give me motion sickness, and this was one of the worst. I might have tried adjusting some settings to improve it, but I couldn't stand the player character. Whoever wrote his lines should be embarrassed.

 

[Juggernaut]

GIVEAWAY: tycoon strategy PC game Rise of Industry from Epic 'til Thursday 10 am.


And Steam is also giving away the PC games Figment and Black Desert free to own.

 

[mattjames2010]

I am always a ways behind everyone else and recently got Elden Ring it is a really good game, but, I gotta say I get a bit frustrated with some of the new open-world designs.

It is nearly impossible to figure out what the main storyline is and the side quests are complex and there is very little information about them in the game. You have to research everything online to have any shot at figuring some of it out. Also not a big fan of how FromSoftware always seems to give you cool items at the very end of the game that you never got to use during the first play-through. I really don't want to play a game twice to enjoy everything it has to offer.

Curious about what others think of huge open-world games.

No other huge open world is doing what Fromsoftware is doing what Fromsoftware is doing, it's just their way of doing things all the way back to Demon's Souls.

If you miss quest progression, you miss it - it's not a HUGE deal in this game. They very much take the approach of "Stumble across it during a playthrough" for some of the quests, others are actually hidden in notes you can buy from some merchants.

 

[Doomsday]

No other huge open world is doing what Fromsoftware is doing what Fromsoftware is doing, it's just their way of doing things all the way back to Demon's Souls.

If you miss quest progression, you miss it - it's not a HUGE deal in this game. They very much take the approach of "Stumble across it during a playthrough" for some of the quests, others are actually hidden in notes you can buy from some merchants.

I purchased the notes, but the issue is everything has to be done in a specific order or the NPC can just disappear. I put 2 hours into the Sulivus quest and 3/4 of the way through he was suddenly just dead for no reason lol.

I loved Sekiro and Elden Ring is overall a great game but all the different quests are very a bit too busy for my liking. The lack of guidance is frustrating for me in Elden Ring, I almost quit after the first 15 minutes because I had no clue where to go or what to do. I was wandering around on foot and didn't come across anything and was like ***.

 

[mattjames2010]

I purchased the notes, but the issue is everything has to be done in a specific order or the NPC can just disappear. I put 2 hours into the Sulivus quest and 3/4 of the way through he was suddenly just dead for no reason lol.

I loved Sekiro and Elden Ring is overall a great game but all the different quests are very a bit too busy for my liking. The lack of guidance is frustrating for me in Elden Ring, I almost quit after the first 15 minutes because I had no clue where to go or what to do. I was wandering around on foot and didn't come across anything and was like ***.

I don't know what to tell ya, that's the draw of these games. Getting lost in the world and only having specific items giving you tidbits about what is going on - if you just want to follow along the main path or to main points, the sites of grace give you the general direction.

As for the Seluvis' quest, he served his purpose and you still get all the items you need from him by picking up his bell. Not missing much from that.

 

[SlammedZero]

Ok, finally took my Saturday afternoon and wrapped up Last of Us II. I enjoyed it. I know the story got some hate from the fans, but I honestly enjoyed it. I also thought the gameplay/controls overall felt smoother. Post-apocalyptic Seattle was super creepy, albeit really fun to "explore" (I use the term explore loosely, as it's mostly a linear game). If I had one spoiler-free complaint, I would say the game was just a touch too long. It felt dragged out in certain areas and I think I beat it somewhere around 21 hours. I think 15-17 hours would have felt much better.

Spoiler

I thought the way they split the story up, so you get both sides of the story from each character, was great! Kind of played into the idea that there is a thin line between good and bad. From our view, with Ellie, we have the idea driven into us that Abby and her friends are the bad guys. On the flip side of that, as you navigate Abby through her life, you realize that maybe she isn't so bad after all. Does that make Ellie the bad guy? Love that they blur the lines there. I did feel a little annoyed at Ellie though. She started to feel unlikeable, from being a jerk to Joel, to her turning into this blood-thirst killer that would rather give up her quiet farm life to hunt down Abby. I get she wanted to get revenge, but at that point in the story, why? Just let it go. All in all, I know a lot of people hated it, but I quite enjoyed it.

 

[BigStar]

I am always a ways behind everyone else and recently got Elden Ring it is a really good game, but, I gotta say I get a bit frustrated with some of the new open-world designs.

It is nearly impossible to figure out what the main storyline is and the side quests are complex and there is very little information about them in the game. You have to research everything online to have any shot at figuring some of it out. Also not a big fan of how FromSoftware always seems to give you cool items at the very end of the game that you never got to use during the first play-through. I really don't want to play a game twice to enjoy everything it has to offer.

Curious about what others think of huge open-world games.

Man, your review matches my take punch for punch. The general progression is usually a bit clearer due to the "mini-open" world nature of the levels in Dark Souls, but that wasn't the case in Elden Ring. I rarely knew what I was doing and fell backwards into things but not in the "awe inspiring" discovery vibe; more of, now what do I do with this item, and did I ruin some other quest, etc.

This did remind me of Demon Souls where the world tendency aspect isn't really explained, so you have to rely on the internet to walk you through it. I wasn't immersed in the setting, I was wondering where I was supposed to be going 90% of the time and felt like a lot of wasted time wandering.

I had to resort to FightinCowboy to walk me through the story progression. You're hopping back and forth to these obscure locations with NPCs that are spotted in the middle of nowhere that are essential for quest progression. I could do away with that whole schtick bc that got really old.

Was the easiest of the souls games by far outside of Malenia as well which wouldn't be terrible by itself, but coupled with the lack of direction I wasn't vibing with it. I could tell they nerfed the difficulty to welcome newcomers but I was a bit later (fall 2022) and heard that wasn't the case out of the gate

 

[Crazed Liotta Eyes]

Man, your review matches my take punch for punch. The general progression is usually a bit clearer due to the "mini-open" world nature of the levels in Dark Souls, but that wasn't the case in Elden Ring. I rarely knew what I was doing and fell backwards into things but not in the "awe inspiring" discovery vibe; more of, now what do I do with this item, and did I ruin some other quest, etc.

This did remind me of Demon Souls where the world tendency aspect isn't really explained, so you have to rely on the internet to walk you through it. I wasn't immersed in the setting, I was wondering where I was supposed to be going 90% of the time and felt like a lot of wasted time wandering.

I had to resort to FightinCowboy to walk me through the story progression. You're hopping back and forth to these obscure locations with NPCs that are spotted in the middle of nowhere that are essential for quest progression. I could do away with that whole schtick bc that got really old.

Was the easiest of the souls games by far outside of Malenia as well which wouldn't be terrible by itself, but coupled with the lack of direction I wasn't vibing with it. I could tell they nerfed the difficulty to welcome newcomers but I was a bit later (fall 2022) and heard that wasn't the case out of the gate

Malenia had me yelling at my monitor. Must have died 50 times there. Never a fan of that kind of "power" for a boss.

 

[BigStar]

Malenia had me yelling at my monitor. Must have died 50 times there. Never a fan of that kind of "power" for a boss.

Hear you there brotha! Sekiro's final boss gave me half-PTSD...I saw someone playing on youtube recently and my palms got sweaty immediately. At least 50 times on Isshin and the Owl Father and hands were shaking from the nerves by the time I finally got through it.

 

[Shinaoi]

So wo long fallen dynasty is a difficult game which I knew it would be.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

Starfield has a release date, September 6th. Hopefully will have a new GPU by then.

 

[SlammedZero]

I started Atomic Heart and had to give up. A lot of the first-person games give me motion sickness, and this was one of the worst. I might have tried adjusting some settings to improve it, but I couldn't stand the player character. Whoever wrote his lines should be embarrassed.

I ended up deleting it. Glad it was on Game Pass. It was an "almost there, but not quite" game for me. Also, totally in agreeance with you. The main character was super cringe.

 

[Jammer]

So, having a few days with the PSVR2........I'm digging it!! It's been fun. It's definitely an upgrade over the last generation. Gran Turismo 7 is just fantastic. It's so much fun in VR that I'm now shopping racing simrigs. I think a chair/wheel/pedals/shifter setup would just make the immersion that much better.

I have yet to really dive into any of the games I have downloaded on the VR2 as I've been incredibly busy lately. I'm currently on hiatus from working so you would think I would have all the time in the world, but it just gives me the time to catch up on all the needed home projects I've needed to do over the years, and my daughter just bought a house in Dallas so I spent the last 10 days "personalizing" her brand new home for her.

From all the reviews Gran Turismo 7 was a must have, so I downloaded. I haven't played it yet. Is the game really playable using the PS5 controller? Getting a steering wheel might be a stretch with my wife.

I still have RE Village, Gran Turismo 7, Kayak, a few demos, and I have Switchback waiting to download when it's released. One of the demos downloaded was Puzzling Places. It's a 3D puzzle game that is really cool, and pretty hard as it's 3D puzzles. When I'm doing a puzzle I can almost "feel" the puzzle in my hand as I rotate it around trying to figure it out. I went ahead and purchased the game to get the other puzzles. It's relaxing. It's really the only time I've been able to dabble with the VR2 and I was so excited to get it on day one.

 

[Jammer]

I finished Elden Ring and I know what you mean about the lack of direction. I'll give them credit for trying to do something different but there were a lot of times where I was like what am I supposed to do now? I also was not a huge fan of the encounters just resetting when you returned to an area. Ultimately, it was necessary for me with their design because I could grind those encounters enough to make my character good enough to advance in the game.

Huge open world games are definitely my favorite now, but I prefer the ones that give you some indication of what you need to do and where to go. I also like being able to save whenever I want.

I am okay with open world games, but it seems like I spend so much of my time traveling from one destination to another to get stuff done. I will give up real quick if I just aimlessly wander around with no clear direction until I find what I need to do. I also much prefer games where I can save where I want to. Why don't game developers do that anymore? It seemed back in the day I was able to save whenever I wanted. Now there are checkpoints you have to go through and if you die you have to start all over again. So annoying.

 

[Jammer]

Ok, finally took my Saturday afternoon and wrapped up Last of Us II. I enjoyed it. I know the story got some hate from the fans, but I honestly enjoyed it. I also thought the gameplay/controls overall felt smoother. Post-apocalyptic Seattle was super creepy, albeit really fun to "explore" (I use the term explore loosely, as it's mostly a linear game). If I had one spoiler-free complaint, I would say the game was just a touch too long. It felt dragged out in certain areas and I think I beat it somewhere around 21 hours. I think 15-17 hours would have felt much better.

Spoiler

I thought the way they split the story up, so you get both sides of the story from each character, was great! Kind of played into the idea that there is a thin line between good and bad. From our view, with Ellie, we have the idea driven into us that Abby and her friends are the bad guys. On the flip side of that, as you navigate Abby through her life, you realize that maybe she isn't so bad after all. Does that make Ellie the bad guy? Love that they blur the lines there. I did feel a little annoyed at Ellie though. She started to feel unlikeable, from being a jerk to Joel, to her turning into this blood-thirst killer that would rather give up her quiet farm life to hunt down Abby. I get she wanted to get revenge, but at that point in the story, why? Just let it go. All in all, I know a lot of people hated it, but I quite enjoyed it.

Thanks for review. I must admit I am mellowing on the game so I will probably play it. I did read your spoiler (I already knew the ending and plot points) and it's an interesting take on the plot. I never thought of that as I was too upset with what happened in the game. LOL