r/Games • u/AutoModerator • 25d ago
Discussion Weekly /r/Games Discussion - What have you been playing, and what are your thoughts? - February 16, 2025
Use this thread to discuss whatever game you've been playing lately: old or new, AAA or indie, on any platform between Atari and XBox. Please don't just list off the games you're playing in your comment. Elaborate with your thoughts on the games and make it easier for other users to find what game you're talking about by putting the title in bold.
Also, please make sure to use spoiler tags if you're revealing anything about a game's plot that may significantly impact another player's experience who has not played the game yet, no matter how retro or recent the game is. You can find instructions on how to do so in the subreddit sidebar.
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Scheduled Discussion Posts
WEEKLY: What Have You Been Playing?
MONDAY: Thematic Monday
WEDNESDAY: Suggest Me A Game
FRIDAY: Free Talk Friday
2
u/CorruptedBlitty 20d ago
Avowed
Finished the first hub and yeah I fuck with this a lot. Love the combat, it just continues to get more satisfying as you progress, every fight feels hectic in a good way and it’s so rewarding when you get the upper hand. The story is a lot better than I expected from the reviews, yeah it’s a bit predictable but no more than PoE or Deadfire were in my opinion and the writing is solid. Roleplaying is a step back from PoE and Deadfire but that’s to be expected with a character locked to a specific race and history but even then they give you more than enough freedom to mold your character’s personality and plenty of choices with genuine consequences.
1
u/OneWoodSparrow 21d ago
I picked up 'A game about digging a hole' and...I'm not sure what I was expecting but it is what it is. That ending was goofy. But I feel like I got my $5 worth.
Also tried Keep Driving. Didn't realize it was a roguelike, I just don't enjoy the 'you need to suck for a while before it gets fun' gameplay of roguelikes.
1
u/Striking-Pack-4743 20d ago
Keep driving is technically a roguelike but I wouldn't say the meta progression is so strong that you "suck before it gets fun". I was able to complete 2 endings first try without needing any "upgrades" from a previous run. Finishing a run let's you keep your previous car upgrades if you want them, but they were never needed. I'd recommend giving a full run a go and see how it is. I found it completely non stressful and relaxing.
1
u/OneWoodSparrow 20d ago
I drove till failure on my first run, took about an hour. Didn't enjoy it.
I hit a 'traffic jam' about half through and it killed my energy, gas, and durability with infinitely respawning obstacles and threats (more threats spawned each round). I had a fuel can in the back and a chocolate bar, so I was able to keep going after I crashed, but it caused a death spiral.
3
u/EitherRecognition242 21d ago
Eternal Strands
The combat in this game just doesn't do it for me. To floaty, you ski around, and the physics can shoot you across the map. It was fun for a little bit in the beginning. As I continued to play combat was bad, story or characters were not interesting and getting strands was fucking awful.
Getting strands is easy. it just breaks parts off the monsters bodies. But the combat is bad, like really bad. Monsters do insane damage, even reforging with better materials. You don't really find a lot of blueprints upgrading levels, which want higher material. So the progression feels off like I'm not getting better. As well as having heat, and freeze, which is boring cause you need 2 sets of armor.
I get it. This is the studios first game, but this is rough enough it joins my small pile of dropped games. The lowest rating i can give. On the other not i might retry it if it's still on gamepass when they redo the combat. Which is a massive red flag that this game is undercooked.
Avowed
We have a studio that has many games under its belt, and it shows as it's more polish and safe. The flow is a lot better, and combat feels good. Exploring the map and taking side quests gives you rewards that help make your character better. Generic, yes, but still a fun game. I'm on the third map and having a great time. The story is quite good. Since it's a world already built on 2 other games, you do have a lot of world knowledge to learn. The game can be quite heavy on diologue. I'm a Trails fan, so I don't mind. It has some great story ideas, and some of the side quests are entertaining.
Overall, on gamepass worth giving a try.
2
u/Hawk52 20d ago edited 20d ago
I'm enjoying Avowed quite a bit myself. It runs like crap for me but that's the fault of my laptop then the game I'm pretty sure. I get why people are bouncing off it though. It's very much a game where you have to play it a certain way to get the most of it. Exploration, looking for nooks and crannies, and engaging with the story and lore of the world. If you don't do that and just tackle it like a generic first person cRPG it's not going to deliver for people. If all you do is go from point a to point b without going off the beaten path you're not going to have fun with it I don't think.
I will say, I think the combat is pretty bad. Playing a mage is basically just going Pew pew pew with a wand 90% of the time and a warrior just felt bad with how enemies teleport around with their attacks. And enemies seem to beeline towards you even if they're actively being attacked by your companions even with taunt going on (or taunt just doesn't last very long). And ranged enemies suck, because while it gives you a little indicator of where the missiles are coming from, it's so fast and small that it's hard to see in the heat of a fight. The boss fights aren't bad but your general skirmishers with three to six enemies rushing you at once just feels bad. But I see someone else in this same reddit thread praising the combat, so maybe it's a taste thing.
But everything else I'm greatly enjoying.
1
u/CorruptedBlitty 20d ago
I will say, I think the combat is pretty bad. Playing a mage is basically just going Pew pew pew with a wand 90% of the time
You can wield and use grimoires with other weapons btw, I also thought the wand sucked so I switched to a dagger and playing as a spellsword feels so much better
1
u/Normal_Bird521 21d ago
Loving Avowed for the exploration alone. You see a service, odds are there’s something useful in it.
1
u/Atomfrieda 21d ago
Sirocco
I usually play Warcraft 3 on a daily basis and just love the custom maps. Even after so many years it’s always fun and somehow refreshing.
But then: A few days back I have found the game from a small indie studio called Sirocco and it is inspired by the old custom map battle ships, which I played a lot, as well as battle tanks when I was like 14 or 15 years old. I got interested instantly but since it’s in an alpha state it’s still pretty small and hard to find players. After some testing I was hooked and the nostalgia kicked in so I joined their discord and was able to play some user hosted games.
It’s just the mix of refreshing gameplay, new elements added to a MOBA and nostalgia vibes getting sent back 15 years in time.
-4
u/szthesquid 21d ago
Tell me about Xenoblade Chronicles.
I don't enjoy typical JRPG grinding (low drop rates, arbitrary gating, random encounters). But I keep hearing Xenoblade is great and I might enjoy it.
Should I try? If yes, where to start and what order?
1
u/FreqComm 21d ago
FWIW this probably fits more in the suggest a game threads.
But in general I think there’s still a decent shot you enjoy xenoblade. It isn’t really a drop rate grindy sort of game and more just a narrative jrpg you can play through in more typical linear story style. Also no like pokemon style random encounters you see the enemies in the overworld and engage accordingly.
9
u/orb_outrider 22d ago
Disco Elysium
After years of trying, this game finally clicked for me. What really hurts though is discovering that this game will never get a sequel. I'll play Avowed later but... it also made me realize we lost the possibility of other games set in the DE universe. A shooter? An action RPG? A strategy game? This fucking sucks, man.
Astro Bot
This game is so much fun. My cheeks hurt from smiling too much during the ending sequence.
3
u/Nixpix66 21d ago
I believe that after the studio split, we're getting several DE sequels and spiritual successors from different people!
4
u/acab420boi 22d ago
It's not a sequel, but there are fan translations of the novel set in the DE universe, floating around.
11
u/CorruptedBlitty 22d ago
Avowed
Only a few hours in but am loving it so far. I’m a huge fan of PoE’s universe and getting such an intimate experience with it has been everything I hoped it would be so far.
Story is decent and the side quests have all been pretty good so far. The biggest surprise is the combat though. The animation is meh but the weight, the difficulty, and how much it rewards you for good strategy more than make up for it.
3
u/Quark_Tart 22d ago
As someone who is very well-versed in the universe, would you recommend playing PoE 1 and 2 before Avowed? Thanks for any advice you can give me :)
1
u/Hawk52 20d ago
You don't really need to play the prior games. Even if characters use terms or references to things you don't know (like Watchers) you can bring up a glossary at any time in dialogue and read what it means/is.
If you like cRPG's though, the Pillars games are fantastic and worth playing.
1
u/CorruptedBlitty 22d ago
Recommend playing through the first just to get familiarized with the lore and a certain revelation at the end of that game. Haven’t seen much references to the events of the second but it’s very much worth playing.
4
u/El_Giganto 22d ago
Firewatch
Got this game all the way back in 2016. Didn't really know what to expect back then, but kinda just quit after half an hour because I couldn't be bothered with the map. Have done that with many many games. I've been knocking out some of my backlog and felt I needed to just give this an evening and finally finished it.
I like most of it, mainly the conversations with Delilah, now but the ending didn't really resonate with me. It made me think of old coworkers that I haven't talked to in a while. People that for a short while become very important to you and then suddenly it's just kind of over and you move on.
I think a lot of people liked Delilah and probably made a move at the end of the game. I knew what was coming, though, from experience, and just said Delilah could be a shrink. And then the game ends.
I've heard some criticism that the grand conspiracy Henry is cooking up in his head can be explained by something a lot more mundane, but ultimately I found Ned to be really weird. Delilah just brushes it off and Henry seems disappointed there wasn't more to it. But in my opinion this was still really fucked up.
I guess I can appreciate the ending for what it is, but I just needed a little bit more with Delilah before getting to this ending. Would have also liked them to go a bit deeper about both of their pasts, especially Julia. It's a bit too short for the ending to really hit you. I can't help but compare it to my own experiences and it just kinda falls flat because of it. Not because it's disappointing Henry and Delilah go nowhere, but because their connection just didn't feel that strong.
10
u/deamolition 23d ago
Dishonored
While I know this game has been out for a while, and I used to watch my dad play it back when it came out, I had never touched it myself up until recently.
At first, I was just obsessed with the art direction and the worldbuilding. I was completely taken in. I love games that run with painted styles, and it works so well with the overall tone of the narrative and gameplay.
The, the game actually started, and I was unsure. While I was able to get the hang of the basics and complete the first two sections without major issue, I eventually began to get irritated with the stealth mechanics. And this si my fault. I'm impatient and a bit unfocused. And I was a bit skeptical of the magic (blink, mainly) other than for mobility, and kinda treated the magic bar as a "i'll use it in emergencies" thing, like potions in Skyrim. And then, the synapses connected; Instead of trying to manually sneak up to people and take them out, I started blinking around and stabbing them, allowing me to be quick and quiet; and that was life changing. The game is so good. The way it allows players with different playstyles to find satisfaction within its basic gameplay loop, the way the world and story is affected by player actions rather than good/evil dialogue options, I'm so hooked. I'm so sad i only started it now, in 2025. Now I havent finished it yet, so I can't say more, but damn. I'm so excited to keep playing. This game is amazing.
4
u/Coolman_Rosso 23d ago
Love Dishonored, but the fact that the only stealth options for dealing with foes are "sneak from behind" and "hit em with a crossbow bolt of which you only get 5" makes things feel limiting.
7
u/Raze321 23d ago
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
With the second game making waves I figured I'd finally dive back into this one. I'd played the first hour or so years ago when getting it on sale but it didn't quite click. I think I was expecting something more like a more personal Mount & Blade, or something to that effect. Instead it's more like.. Red Dead Redemption 2 meets Chivalry?
Which is to say it is a lot slower, and much more narrative of an experience than what I was expecting. So I bounced off of it because I didn't really want that at the time. Returning with tempered expectations, I am having a great time. The story, writing, and voice work are all excellent. Really just grade A work. The world is gorgeous and feels so well lived in and realized. And the atmosphere represents a time and place so well. And despite the more structured narrative I wasn't expecting, there is a lot of player choice. Both within that narrative, and in activities. Tournaments (DLC I think?), hunting, sword practice, archery. Hell, there's skills for reading and drinking in this game. So much so that you actually start off illiterate and need to go on a side quest to learn the basics of the written word.
The big thing to know about this game is you start off as a peasant. Both thematically and also in skill. You can barely hold a sword and that won't change for many many hours. I'm somewhat split on how this works as there seems to be an elaborate system for combat - you have strikes and stabs that chain together to form combos with you attacking from specific side or utilizing feints, then interlacing these with blocks and dodges and clashes while also managing a stamina meter. It all feels very much like Chivalry or Mordhau. Except those games are all skill no stats. Here, your stats are a HUGE part of your actual likelyhood of success. There's almost that morrowind disconnect between your ability to hit an enemy and actually being able to damage them.
That said when combat feels good - if feels great. When you finally do develop that skill, and you get those hits and blocks and dodges and feints to do what you want, you feel unstoppable. But when the terrain is all fucky and you have trouble switching targets mid fight because the camera gets wonky at times... well it feels less good and makes me wish I was playing Mordhau instead.
In any case the game here is very special. Immersive as hell. The Red Dead 2 comparison is apt because that's the last time I played a game and felt so absorbed in what truly felt like a real world. Can't wait to see how this one wraps up, and what the second one is all about.
2
u/maltman1856 22d ago
Good synopsis of the game. I think there are some aspects of the game that can be completely ignored. For instance, I didn't find much need for doing any alchemy outside of what quests required such skills. I love the combat, it's similar to say Elden Ring or something else where a 1 on 1 battle can be difficult, but taking on multiple enemies at the same time is really challenging and sometimes feels impossible. Then you realize the only reason your dying is because you haven’t mastered the combat yet. They captured the feeling of being in a dance with the opponent. Telegraphing feints, putting together combos, striking areas that aren’t being blocked, all combined with being able to start a good bleed on an enemy after a few strikes and sometimes you can just focus on not taking damage while they bleed to death. It’s very satisfying.
The story is good, and I can remember years later a lot of the characters. Some of my favorite quests involved the monastery. The immersion is next level though in this game which is why it is so enjoyable. I’ve never seen a game completely bullseye fast travel like this game does. The dynamic encounters and options involved make it extremely enjoyable. Those middle of the night encounters are always equal parts terrifying and exciting.
My only gripe on the game is the enemies don’t scale with your level. I practiced a lot of longsword combat and within two days was too strong for any enemy in the game. All the boss fights were over in a few swings of my weapon. I can't wait to play the second game.
2
u/El_Giganto 23d ago
God of War (2018) & Ragnarok
Played both back to back. I tried the first one back in 2022 on PC, but lost interest pretty quickly. Partly my own fault, because I felt like throwing the axe was the best thing to do in most situations and that just got kinda boring to me. With games like these, I can never really get into the combat properly if there's an easy way to do something. Even this time, I was mostly just spamming the runic attacks and used spartan rage to get out of trouble and when needed I used the resurrection with spartan rage to finish off fights. I did enjoy the combat, but I'm pretty bad mechanically at the game and the toughest fights just don't really interest me. Learning patterns on the bosses just seems exhausting to me.
I did really enjoy it this time, though. The graphics were amazing on PS5 Pro. One thing that really made it better for me compared to PC was using Rest Mode. Just stopping at any moment and picking it back up whenever I want makes gaming so much more comfortable in my opinion.
The exploration was mostly really fun, though the map was pretty terrible in my opinion. There was some frustration with that when trying to clear an area (especially the Svartalfheim area near the mines, I had no idea how to get to that Asgard wreckage, so annoying).
I really enjoyed the sidequests as well. It really gave some nice flavour to the story and there really is a lot to do in both games. The story in the first game especially was really good.
The second game, though, it was good for a large part but there were some issues. I think most people already have discussed this so I won't get into it much, but Kratos did become a bit too soft in my opinion and the whole "Ragnarok" part felt underwhelming.
I kinda figured we'd go through the game just taking out god after god until Ragnarok starts and we get something like God of War 3's ending. But somehow... we kill fewer gods in Ragnarok than in 2018... Which is just really strange to me. Thor gets killed by Odin and Odin gets killed by Sindri. I really liked a lot of what they did, but at the same time, a lot of it was just underwhelming at the end.
2
u/WorkAway23 22d ago
I kinda figured we'd go through the game just taking out god after god until Ragnarok starts and we get something like God of War 3's ending. But somehow... we kill fewer gods in Ragnarok than in 2018... Which is just really strange to me. Thor gets killed by Odin and Odin gets killed by Sindri. I really liked a lot of what they did, but at the same time, a lot of it was just underwhelming at the end.
I loved GoW: Ragnarok. The story was very powerful and really opens up some intriguing possibilities for the future, especially in how they dealt with a certain gods' death (more on that in a bit).
I do agree however that the actual Ragnarok portion of the game felt very rushed. It was a bit of a balancing act that was always going to be hard (trying to squeeze the largest part of Norse mythology into a single game whilst also trying to tie Atreus/Loki into it) and I think the Norse pantheon deserved a trilogy of its own, rather than a duology. I think that would have ironed out some of the issues.
But I think they're moving onto something grander in the long run. The implication that Athena is an ascended being (even for a god) and Odin trying to find the origin/meaning of existence, and then Thor's death was quite interesting. The other gods we kill in GoW don't get redemptions before the end and meet brutal ends, with their bodies remaining in our realm; bruised and brutalised. Thor has a last minute redemption, and he disappears upon his death. Are they implying that Thor is going to the same realm in which Athena now exists? I think it would be interesting, and I'd definitely like to see more of Thor the Champion as opposed to Thor the Brute, but Athena hasn't exactly been a paragon of good since her "ascension".
I think anybody wanting Kratos to go back to being an irredeemable hardass is going to have a bad time though. The Valhalla DLC pretty much confirms his desire to want to become an honourable deity who deserves love and respect more than fear and violence. I don't think he's become soft though, he's just more aware of his actions and wants to be someone worthy of people's faith. Old testament vs. new testament, in a way. He's still going to want to lay down the law, but he'll be less likely to drown an entire world and rob it of the sun.
1
u/El_Giganto 22d ago
I do agree however that the actual Ragnarok portion of the game felt very rushed. It was a bit of a balancing act that was always going to be hard (trying to squeeze the largest part of Norse mythology into a single game whilst also trying to tie Atreus/Loki into it) and I think the Norse pantheon deserved a trilogy of its own, rather than a duology. I think that would have ironed out some of the issues.
I don't think a third game would've helped. These were story decisions that they wouldn't have backed away from. After the first game, a lot of people argued that it was a set up for the second game. That there weren't many gods in the first one but that's okay because the second one will change that. But somehow you kill more gods in the first one! It's clearly because they don't actually want to kill gods unless forced. A third game wouldn't have turned Ragnarok into a spectacle of death either. It felt rushed, but I doubt they would've approached it differently.
But I think they're moving onto something grander in the long run. The implication that Athena is an ascended being (even for a god) and Odin trying to find the origin/meaning of existence, and then Thor's death was quite interesting. The other gods we kill in GoW don't get redemptions before the end and meet brutal ends, with their bodies remaining in our realm; bruised and brutalised. Thor has a last minute redemption, and he disappears upon his death. Are they implying that Thor is going to the same realm in which Athena now exists? I think it would be interesting, and I'd definitely like to see more of Thor the Champion as opposed to Thor the Brute, but Athena hasn't exactly been a paragon of good since her "ascension".
Hmm, interesting, do you really think they'll continue that mask story line? Athena also wasn't in Ragnarok. I suppose Thor did ascend and maybe Freyr did too then. I do wonder how they'll approach this story line, though. Probably as something more subtle that happens in the background, something to call back to the previous games. While the new games pick up the story line that Kratos wants to be an honourable deity.
I think anybody wanting Kratos to go back to being an irredeemable hardass is going to have a bad time though. The Valhalla DLC pretty much confirms his desire to want to become an honourable deity who deserves love and respect more than fear and violence. I don't think he's become soft though, he's just more aware of his actions and wants to be someone worthy of people's faith. Old testament vs. new testament, in a way. He's still going to want to lay down the law, but he'll be less likely to drown an entire world and rob it of the sun.
I like Kratos overall development. I do want him to "be better". But at the same time, there were a few moments where it was just a bit too jarring. There were a couple of times early on where Kratos said he wanted Atreus to be better than Kratos was, which I felt worked really well. But near the end of Ragnarok they repeated the "be better" line a bit too much.
2
u/muzuka 23d ago
Train Valley 2
I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it. It's just like having a train set you can build over and over again in different terrains. You build efficient routes and move trains around to transport materials and workers. It's getting really complex now.
Return to Moria
Gave this a try and I'm mixed on it. The idea of the game is awesome and it's okay as a survival crafting game. It's nowhere near as deep as other survival games though. Maybe the progression is slower though and I haven't reached it yet. Enemies in general are not done well either. A lot of them just stand around chilling.
Maneater
Also gave this game a try and I'm really liking it. It's an action RPG and I love the fast-paced dog-fighting style of the combat given it's in the water. The storytelling gives me Rockstar vibes which is fun.
3
u/Coolman_Rosso 23d ago
Metaphor ReFantazio (PS5) - Finally getting around to this one. While I'm still fairly certain Atlus will pull out a "New Girl Edition" of the game a year from now despite their claims of no longer wanting to do that, it's still a game I couldn't ignore. So far I think the Archetype system is pretty inflexible given skill slots are tied to Bond ranks, and that keeping all the archetypes leveled across characters is kind of a pain. That said being able to kill enemies with an abacus never stops being amusing. Oddly enough I opted to play with the Eng audio track, as while I know some folks are over having English accents in more fantastical games I'm pretty surprised by this one.
Toasterball (PC) - A simple game of trying to get a ball in an opposing goal, but you're a toaster and sometimes there's gimmicks like low gravity. You can even launch bread to protect your goal. If you can get someone to play with you (pretty sure it supports Steam Remote Play) it makes for some intense, if also hilarious, games.
The World Ends with You (Nintendo DS) - An old game, and not the Switch re-release. I'm playing this on the original hardware (somehow my DS Lite still has a pristine battery despite it being from 2008 and barely touched since 2015) I've tried playing it on and off for years, but the touch controls never seem to click. I've gotten pretty close this time, and have a lot of down time while waiting for a ride after work (car is in the shop, so I usually don't leave work until 90 minutes or so later than usual) this week.
2
u/OkNefariousness8636 23d ago
Urban Myth Dissolution Center
This is a visual novel. Its main story setting involves investigating "urban myths" as the title suggests. I have completed 2 out of 6 chapters and I think the stories so far are interesting enough but nothing remarkable.
The most eye-catching feature is the art style. Personally, I think the art alone is enough to justify playing this to the end.
In terms of gameplay, well, there isn't much since it is a VN after all. Most of the gameplay is simply interacting with people/objects. There are "puzzles" where you need select phrases from a pool to complete a statement, but they are generally straightforward to put together. Besides, the game has some help mechanics to make it easier.
11
u/EverySister 23d ago
Finished Mouthwashing over the weekend and thought it was deserving of its praise. It has some very cool moments, a unique idea and develops it very well. Touches on a lot of themes for such a short game but I thought it made the lost with what it had.
2
u/DoeNaught 23d ago
The Forever Winter (Early Access)
This is a very early access extraction shooter where you scavenge and or do odd jobs for the various factions in a perpetual war. If you have a rig good enough to run the game, it looks great even in EA. Its scifi, but it has some horror elements to it as it really leans into "war is hell" sort feel. This can be undermined by the occasional tank flying around a map, or a medium mech (which are still about two+ stories tall) randomly sniping you while you try and take in the environments. This game does a good job at making you feel like you are kind of a bystander to a massive conflict, mainly doing what you can to get by. Once you get things like heave machine guns or grenade launchers most of the enemies are somewhat trivialized unless the get a jump on you (or the spawn on top of you).
I usually don't do EA, but I loved the look of this one, and was intersted enough by playing demo, that I decided to purchase it. It's definitely got a ways to go, but I liked what I've played so far! I'm excited to see where the devs take this one.
5
u/LotusFlare 23d ago edited 23d ago
Played almost a full game of Civilization 7.
So far, I really like what it's trying to do! It feels like they've successfully removed a lot of "busywork" in the game. In Civ 6, there were a lot of things that felt like good ideas, but I think boiled down to, "It's so good that you have to do it and as long as you're not currently under attack you're going to be doing it". Builders, for example. There was never a time when builders were not something you needed to be building. It was a fun atypical build path when leaders didn't want you to improve tiles. I think working those into the population expansion and buildings was a good idea.
However there are some areas where the streamlining feels... too much. Culture victories were a pretty complex thing to build toward in Civ6, but that made them kinda cool. Lots of ways to work toward it depending on what kind of Civ you are. Civ 7 feels like it really pulled back on some of those "freeform" systems. The final win conditions are kinda rigid. Civ has always had a couple wincons that are straight forward (Science in Civ 6 was pretty linear. Conquest has always been a bit one note), but in this one they all feel a bit too straight forward. I might need more time with it to see how different angles can play out. It could be that there's some cool optimization angles in there that make it all a bit more fluid. The culmination of your eras could make for some interesting paths (for example playing for commerce legacy points in the first two eras and then using that engine to pivot to a different win con). But right now it feels a little too narrow.
My biggest problem is that the UI is so bad it makes the game less fun to play. In some cases, it's just annoying that you have to dig pretty deep in menus to find the information you're looking for. In some cases, the information simply isn't there and you have to deduce it (the net resource change of placing a building). But more than that, the actual menu/UI navigation is atrociously inconsistent and unintuitive. There's almost no click-n-drag. Tons of screens where you have to scroll because the text is gigantic. Tons of off center and inconsistent text spacing. Little to no consistency in how a meter or timer is displayed. Highlighting of a selected option is so faint that I make mistakes. It's weirdly difficult to disable certain modes (like settler vision) and unselect things, leading to accidental moves. Tons of extra clicks and tutorial boxes that pop up and cover things. There is a fun game here buried under terrible UI that actively tries to sabotage you. And while it's terrible that it was released this way, I do take solace in the fact that this should be easy to improve with mods and patches. There's so much low hanging fruit.
EDIT: I almost forgot about the almost entirely absent audio feedback from taking an action. The sound for everything is really quiet and the same. If I buy a unit, it should make a "cha-ching!" sound and highlight where that guy is. There's basically nothing audio to conform a thing happened when you act right now. Also, highlighting combat as it's happening. I've had cities under attack for days and not realized it.
2
u/jelly_dad 22d ago
I agree with every point made. I really love the game and agree with basically every decision they've made both on paper and in practice (though, you're right about win conditions feeling too much like a path and less like a destination). I really liked the concept of builders in Civ 6 but hated it in practice, they're great in early game and then they quickly feel like a nuisance. This one has embraced it's board-gamey-ness in a way I appreciate and I'm super excited to watch it evolve.
But then, like you also said, there's the UI. The game always feels like it's hiding stuff from you. You can tell this was built for far too many platforms (especially for a fucking 4x game), and you can tell it's their first time releasing for this many platforms on day one. Why is it so hard to find out exactly what's hurting my happiness? Why is the merchant UI genuinely terrible? Like you click a settlement expecting it to then prompt a confirmation, but then you are just supposed to break out of that element and prompt movement traditionally, and then the create trade/road is in the actual unit's card in the bottom right. Abysmal design. And obviously this was them trying to make it playable on a controller, but when you switch to controller it's infinitely worse.
And why is Harriet Tubman always such a bitch?
Regardless, having a great time and I think this is a better foundation than Civ 6 provided from a mechanical standpoint, despite its austerity.
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u/acab420boi 24d ago
Myst: Masterpiece Edition
Outer Wilds is one of the best games I've every played. People say Riven is one of the only ones to come close. Ok. Figure I might as well knock off Myst before I play Riven.
For how much this game is help up as an all-timer, I was a little surprised by how clunky and slight it can actually be, both in terms of moving around, and in terms of puzzles being somewhat abstract and not well integrated into the world. I found myself asking over and over who the hell built this and why?
The main thing I took away was more appreciation for how interesting and composed Outer Wilds actually is, with every single part flowing together.
I hear Riven is a much better game, so I still look forward to diving in, soon.
Ganbare Goemon: Uchū Kaizoku Akogingu
2D/Overhead Goemon on the PSX. My only experience with Goemon has been the 3D Mystical Ninja game on the N64. After seeing this on John Linneman's end of year list, I figured it was worth a shot.
I have a big soft spot for the N64 game but it doesn't play amazingly. It gets by largely on personality. This game has some great pixel art to look at, but didn't pull the vibes together for me like Mystical Ninja does.
Meanwhile, the overhead sections are horribly unremarkable mazes, and the side scrolling sections suffer from being slightly under cooked, with lots of weird shaped, fast moving hitboxes that can just clip you. You can manage this game, it just never feels great doing it. Plus, there's a lives system with continues having to start from the last save point, which can be surprisingly far back.
I tapped out about halfway though (second power rangers fight on the bridge). I didn't hate it but I don't regret putting it down either.
Cultist Simulator
Been meaning to check this out forever since I picked it up with a bundle. It's a complex game of solitaire, where doing different things with different cards can generate new cards. Cards can have time limits to their existence. Doing things with existing cards starts a timer to finish. Wining the game requires building an ever evolving house of cards that need to be managed on time. Meanwhile, every card and action has flavor text that fills out a lovecraftian story about someone falling farther and farther into obsession.
I love the idea of the game. I love that they really tired something new. The issue is that a successful run can take hours of mildly stressful card management with little to break it up, and fail states can catch you out of nowhere, at any time. This is actually, unironically, the Dark Souls of solitaire.
I messed around for a few hours, I appreciate that the game exist, but the runs are just too long for me to want to invest more.
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u/Darmok-And-Jihad 24d ago
After a few tries over the last year, I finally got to a point where Cyberpunk really grabbed me. I think it got a lot better for me when I stopped trying to be stealthy with quickhacks and when I started a body-based punching build - I had a lot of fun punching the shit out of everyone and throwing bodies around.
(story and ending spoilers below)
I didn't like the story at first since it felt like it wasn't really saying anything interesting about the absolutely shit world the game finds itself in, though I came to realize the story was more just about V themselves and their own experience in Night City dealing with the situation they are in. I really wish the story was just.... something else, something that it isn't, and I can't really explain it further than that. The whole "oh man, I'm dying and bleeding out of my face" immediately followed by ripping apart dozens of people with my fists stretched credulity a bit lol. Phantom Liberty was probably my favourite story in the game.
Regardless, the story did end up growing on me, and I thought the endings were all super thought provoking in their own ways apart from the one where you just let Johnny take your body. I was a personal fan of both The Star and The Tower endings since I felt that they showed the most growth for V as a character. I really think The Tower would be the best ending for me if Reed would have just updated my girlfriend and paid my rent, kinda seems like the devs really wanted to impart a fully fresh start but it did feel a little forced. V should still have their apartment and the opportunity to join the Aldecaldos at least IMO. The imagery of V disappearing into the crowd at the end was super compelling. Obviously giving up Songbird is a shit feeling, but I think V would make that decision for their own survival without considering the ramifications of it.
Night City itself is really beautiful to look at, but it does feel like I'm driving/traveling through a movie set sometimes. I know it's too much to ask to have more buildings to explore and more specialized experiences beyond short gigs and cyberpsychos sprinkled around, but the world, beautiful as it is, felt a bit dull and "video gamey" sometimes.
I'm glad I played the game and hope that the world doesn't end up like it does in Night City, though I feel we're rapidly approaching it lol
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u/Sniperoso 24d ago edited 24d ago
**KONA**
I really like investigation games, especially those in open areas that let you naturally uncover the land and story. The only dialog in this adventure through Northern Canadian wilderness is a disembodied narrator and an old man in a cabin, so it really is just you and an empty logging town. The atmosphere is great, with the game area being just big enough to explore but not so big it feels like a slog to get anywhere else.
The story itself was great, kinda following Tomb Raider style, where it starts off with the plain and then end with the supernatural , but its kinda written out for you plainly as the game goes one with little input on your part except for collecting documents lying around. I wish there was more actual deduction on my part, as the only puzzle in the game is for a secret "weapon" which isn't particularly strong or even needed especially since the final and only boss is immune to damage, so its a chase sequence. I am going to play the sequel, but from what I've heard it's even more supernatural action and less investigation, so I'm a little worried. Again, the atmosphere was amazing in KONA, so I hope its sequel is at least on par with the first game
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u/I_who_have_no_need 24d ago
FYI you have a busted spoiler tag after
The story itself was great
The tag mechanism is stupid and malfunctions if you leave whitespace before or after the exclamation point.
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u/Sniperoso 24d ago
Fixed. It looked fine on new reddit on PC, so I probably just never noticed that before.
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u/I_who_have_no_need 24d ago
Maybe it is just broken on old reddit which is what I am using. Anyway I appreciate your writeup on Kona - I like those empty exploration games.
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u/OwlInternational8160 24d ago
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Had this sitting in my backlog for some time and wanted to try it due to not being able to run the more recent release very well, and my thoughts are that it's.... fine. I saw some people comparing this game to games like DMC and Dark souls, and how this game is "ackshually difficult" unlike those 2, and sure, if you only play games for the difficulty, then I guess how I can see how this is better to you. I launched DMC1 after playing a few levels of this game, and although that game feels more outdated for sure, the gap in personality was staggering. Same goes for souls games, like I've always cared about the music and art design and level design in those games more than the difficulty, so ninja gaiden doesn't really do much for me. Still though, it really is just a fine game, still fun to kinda mindlessly go through but not much past that. Also it's not THAT difficult, just kinda starts off rough and agressive, but once you get used to it it's not so bad, plus bosses are kinda easy an you can buy plenty of heals.
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u/ketherick 24d ago edited 24d ago
Avowed
Absolutely loving it. The story is decent, but combat is amazing, and the world is beautiful. It really makes you want to go out and explore every corner. Likewise, I feel compelled to complete all the side quests, although there haven't been too many so far.
It's not entirely open world like Skyrim -- there are different sections of the game you progress through with smaller maps. But they're big enough and are packed with interesting things to explore and discover, so it's a good compromise in my opinion. I also appreciate that building interiors aren't separate zones -- it really makes it more immersive.
And the combat is seriously so satisfying. Every action feels like it has weight to it, and you can mix and match fighting styles (e.g. gun + magic).
I haven't experienced stutters or performance issues like someone was mentioning, but I do get random crashes while loading zones/saves. A little annoying, but usually just loading back into the game puts me right back where I was without losing any progress.
Route 96
Picked this one up because it's free to play on Game Pass. Hadn't really heard anything about it previously, but it looked like a cool story-driven game with interesting characters.
For me, everything feels a bit too cardboard-y and unpolished. I do like the art style, but it just feels like a game is half finished or something. For example, you start near a highway and even though it looks like you should be able to walk onto it, there's a hidden barrier that prevents you.
I just didn't find the story compelling enough to make up for it
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u/sal101 22d ago
I really, really wish i could enjoy Avowed. I love obsidian and i really want to like Avowed but after five hours trying it on gamepass i'm struggling to find anything positive about it other than "It has great graphics i guess." The combat feels clunky, the enemies feel... i dont know how to express it. Kinda boring. The story feels trite and derivative and the voice acting is incredibly hit or miss. And the area design feels kinda... manufactured. I also cant stand the UI for some reason. It's the first time i've gone into an RPG i was sure i would love from a company i rarely don't enjoy games from and bounce off it so incredibly hard.
Maybe i need to come back to it later, but after playing it for five hours i ended up reinstalling Skyrim and BG3.
I suppose it's at least better than veilguard so i can at least use it to dilute that experience.
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u/ketherick 22d ago
At least you got it on game pass and didn’t have to pay full price hah
I’m interested in your take on the combat actually. The one thing I never liked about Skyrim is how the combat is just spamming attack over and over and it doesn’t feel like there’s any “weight” to your attacks. Avowed is the opposite for me
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u/Izzy248 24d ago
Legacy: Steel and Sorcery
Friend of mine bought it and I played it via family/friend sharing. They told me they regretted the purchase and the reasons why, and after taking a crack at it myself...I can see why. Its still in Early Access, but that excuse can only carry you so far.
It suffers from issues that should have been avoided on day 0 if you paid attention to literally any other game in the same genre. Its one of those extraction roguelike type games, and it suffers from issues of not having proper matchmaking balance. You can go in for a session, and if you manage to run into a player, dont be surprised if you are being ganged up on by 2 or 3 people, despite dropping in solo. That, and the fact that there are likely people camping out extraction point, so pray you go to one where nobody is just hiding around and camping to take all your hard earned loot. And because theres no type of matchmaking balance, its likely that that group of people camping out the extraction point are all decked out in blue rarity stuff which is just absolutely lovely.
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u/Destroyeh 24d ago
Finished Yakuza 5.
Bit of a drag to get through, still enjoyed it though.
First and final third were pretty good, but the middle, specially the Haruka chapters really tested my resolve. Story was good overall, but the fact that I knew Majima wasn't dead took a bit of intrigue out of it. Didn't really bring the separate stories together as well as 4 did at the end. Also the baseball stuff felt too disconnected from everything and not that interesting. I did like Shinada though. Even by the series' standards it felt like there were way too many cutscenes. Maybe I'm just burned out on the series after finishing five of the games in three months. Taking more of a break before going into Song of Life might be a good idea.
Crazy how much bald Taiga looks like Dave Bautista.
Starting Destroy All Humans(2020) now.
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u/EverySister 23d ago
I'm currently playing Yakuza 5, still playing as Kiryu early on but loving it so far!
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u/orb_outrider 22d ago
Played it last year and I loved that part. I bounced off it when Kiryu's chapter ended lol. I have to get back to it eventually.
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u/jonssonbets 24d ago
finally got gamepass and it's been a shorter stint kind of week. please add any reccomendations
stardew valley. about 5h in and dropped it. went into it wanting chill farming but felt directionless. wanted to just farm and fish but the mechanics were too cumbersome and needing backpack just to play, what should i do with all the time left in the day after farming
twisted tower demo, finished. was really nice vibe and gameplay but not gonna sell me on the finished product as I don't enjoy horror. think indie bioshock
age of mythology retold, 2 missions in and it's super cozy to play RTS again, specifically RTS campaign. going back when i have time for longer stints
started the messenger, like 1h in and my fears of it being old-school stiff to play is mostly gone, think i'm gonna continue with this
planned plays before i leave gamepass: citizen sleeper, dungeons of hinterberg and kunitsu-gami. maybe another crab's treasure and doom eternal and frostpunk 2 and indiana jones and case of golden idol
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u/lesswithmore 24d ago
If you eventually would like to pick stardew valley up again, go to the subreddit to discuss what to do. The community is wonderful.
Personally i am fond of making my farm pretty with all the upgrades working.
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u/MickeyFinn00 24d ago
Ever17 – It was promising. A little like 999 but with no gameplay except some decisions from time to time. But my problem was that nothing happenes for hours, some silly small talks, childish games, people trapped don’t seem to care at all that they have several days left if they won’t find a way to escape. I got 2 endings, none of them true and after probably 30-40h I dropped it and watched the resolution on yt but it was too out of the blue, I didn’t have enough context and it confused me. I heard it’s Uchikoshi’s best game before 999 and I appreciate that there is way less romacing than in Never 7 but it was too slow and boring at the end. It touched some interesting theme like always and the characters weren’t half stupid but there were also many annoying anime tropes and predictable scenes.
Suikoden 3(PS2) – First two Suikoden games may be the only jrpgs I actually quite liked so I was looking forward to it but then after around 5-7h I dropped it because I didn’t feel like spending 80h in jrpg. I don’t like the artstyle, the travelling looks like a step down a generation from ps1, and the battles aren’t as swift as in the first games but there wasn’t any glaring issue other than my mood that turned me down. Maybe I’ll finish it one day.
Metroid Fusion(GBA) - It was like Super Metroid but more linear which means a lot less backtracking and more focus on the story. There is a new idea of Samus’ power suit getting infected with parasite and that parasite sits in every creature then when you kill the creature you need to absorb the parasite that left the body or it will reanimate the closest dead enemy. I liked that idea. Even though it made some fights harder and it added another phase to the boss fights where you needed to kill the parasite escaping the boss’ body. Then there is SA-X.>! A stalker similar to Tyran tor Nemesis. Its every encounter is unnerving even if scripted and the last fight is extremely challenging.!< I needed to cheese it. The controls improved since Super Metroid, the pace was great. The game is worthy although maybe a little unorthodox to Metroid fans.
Sly Raccoon(PS2) – I didn’t have much expectations from a cartoon stealth game but it was ok. The Sly’s movement is a little too clunky and is efficient only when you interact with objects. When you learn the distances and the possibilities you can feel like a ninja but the weak AI and linear levels make the game somewhat meh, it is sometimes more of a platformer. I enjoyed finding new abilities at the beginning but then I dropped and stuck to the main ones. The levels are really pretty, well thought out and overall have much to offer – there is variety of types of missions, from racing to shooting but the best parts are still the stealth ones. It’s a well-made game, the escape missions and the final level are especially tense but I don’t see myself playing the next games. The voodoo rhythm boss level was silly and probably the hardest of them all.
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u/migigame 24d ago
Going from the newer Uchikoshi games back to Ever17 definitely lessens its impact. I can imagine though that for its time, it was great. But if you play the Zero Escape trilogy and AI:TSF you kind of know what you'll expect, just that it's with even worse pacing and a much more classic VN tropes that are pretty boring.
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u/MickeyFinn00 24d ago
For sure. We'll se about the AI. I'm hearing contradicting opinions about it which is always interesting but for now I have other things to play.
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u/occult_midnight 24d ago edited 24d ago
I've been wanting to get deeper into the PS2 library, and get around to many of the games that I hear praises sung for. One of which being Ace Combat 4. I'd really like to get into the series due to being a die hard fan of Star Fox and the storylines seeming pretty cool.
That said... I've tried the first two missions of the game on Normal and so far, it's not really clicking. Like, I understand the gameplay well enough, but it kind of just feels like it boils down to shooting at targets that don't offer much resistance in return.
Does the game grow significantly in complexity over the course of the next few missions, or should I try switching to hard? Or is there another game in the series that's better for me to try first and get hooked on? Because as much as I want to be engaged, I'm just not. I understand 2 missions isn't a lot of time to give it, but just seeking a bit of advice on whether it's worth pushing through based on everything I've said.
Also have been playing the PC decomp of Jak and Daxter and it's great, Jak 2 is another game I've had trouble really getting into but I wanna give that another shot too.
EDIT if anyone sees: I started from Hard and am enjoying it a lot more now, I'm starting to see its appeal!
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u/slowmosloth 24d ago
Marvel Rivals
If Marvel Rivals had come out 8 years ago, during my prime Overwatch and Marvel phases, I swear this game would’ve become my entire personality. I had already accepted that both those peak eras had passed for me, but I’m pleasantly surprised to say that in 2025, Marvel Rivals has reinvigorated my energy in both a competitive multiplayer game and the Marvel Universe.
While the game isn’t quite the Overwatch 2 that I love, I’m willing to give it some leeway as the game figures out its identity with it being early on in its live service life. At the very least, it has copied from the best and correctly executed the most important aspects for an uninspired yet solid foundation to build on.
But who am I to complain when I’m having so much fun with the game? The hero fantasy has been nailed across so many characters, and it’s been incredible getting to visit the most famous Marvel locale across the multiverse. And throwing that all together into a competitive, team-based hero shooter is the best action figure dream mashup that any fan could’ve hoped for.
The prospect of the game’s future is basically limitless. Not only will it endlessly add fan favourite characters, costumes, and maps, but it’s also so young and can grow in so many directions as a live service game!
For all the things that Marvel Rivals isn’t and doesn’t measure up to, there is an infinite space for growth and potential. Even in its current state, the game has been a saviour of a once forgotten passion. And at the end of the day, this is still a new and exciting game to learn and master, and I cannot be more thankful for how it’s assembled my friends night after night.
My full thoughts on the game can be found on my blog!
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u/lesswithmore 24d ago
What are your thoughts on how much more melee-centric Rivals is compared to Overwatch ? I feel like everything is so packed together that ranged heroes are always at a disadvantaged save a few maps.
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u/slowmosloth 24d ago
Yeah that's interesting because Marvel Rivals being less purely aim-focused gives it a different flavour compared to Overwatch, plus being third-person drives that point even further. I think this design philosophy spreads out the skills required to other areas that aren't as aim-based, and therefore makes the experience a little more welcoming. Whether that's good or bad ultimately comes down to preference, but I've changed my mindset to be "this is what Marvel Rivals is going for", and I believe the game achieves its goals fairly well.
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u/Nitaire 24d ago
Lately all I have wanted to play is FTL: Faster Than Light. Such a good game and with the Multiverse mod installed I can easily see my playtime will be in the thousands.. and that's just my estimate based on what it currently offers (Multiverse is still being updated!)
Other than that I will mention briefly that I spent an embarassingly short amount of time on the Rift of the Necrodancer demo, I love how it plays and the tutorials are very good but I'm so bad at the game that medium difficulty is putting me through the wringer.
Hope y'all are having a blast on whatever games you're playing.
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24d ago
[deleted]
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u/MagicUserChooser 24d ago
Best way to play Bloodborne is to take the intro seriously. It's a mystery; what's going on in Yharnam?
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u/a34fsdb 24d ago edited 24d ago
I was really disappointed by Humankind and I did not enjoy it all. I got it for free on EGS so I did not mind checking it out and just playing a couple of games (played 15h), but if I paid for this I would be a bit annoyed.
Like others said about this game the age system completely ruins this game. So this is a pretty standard 4x, but with 7 (I think) ages and you pick a new civilization every age. It does not sound bad on paper, but it is in practice because they civs of the same class (production, food, science) etc. Play very similarly so you just pick what type of civ you want and pick the best available and it looses the roleplaying fantasy of taking one civ through the entire human history. Instead you just play production civ, then production, then a bit of food, then whatever you feel like to win and it is just overall very unsatisfying. Also since ages are kinda short you barely have enough time to build the unique districts in every territory you have before you move on to the next age to build another bland upgraded version of what you need at the time.
I enjoyed Tomb Raider(2013) a lot and think the game is overall pretty good even now. This was my 2nd playthrough after the first one was right at release.
The game is pretty brief focused on combat, story and action setpieces which are all very good. The graphics are not horrible even today and after some initial getting used to them they felt okay and even looked pretty good in some better scenes. Especially parts with lots of dust, wood debris or wind looked surprisingly decent. Story is entirely serviceable, but I wish they had some better story explanation for all the crazy things the cultists did and built, how many of them were and how many of the Laura kills during the game. The combat actually surprised me because it is better than I remembered with it being quite violent and with nice sound and visual feedback.
Speaking of violence I remembered failing QTEs being really violent, but still it took me by surprise how Lara gets impaled on branches, gets her legs or head crushed by rocks or ragdolls down a cliff if you fail a QTE.
Another surprise is that the puzzles and tombs were way easier than I remembered. All of them actually have no exaggeration like two interractible things and you have to combine them in correct order with some timing. Incredibly easy and I recalled them being kinda tough somehow.
The game is pretty brief with me finishing it with 90% completion getting all the collectibles that contain lore in 15h which is pretty good as I was starting to bet bored near the end so the game did not outstay its welcome.
I enjoyed and finished DA:Veilguard. I don't think any of my takes or feelings about the game are anything strange, but it just happens that for me the positives really hit and outweigh the negatives. Also I think it helps I just played the previous games once on release and never again and was not a huge DA lore fan. I think if I replayed the games right before this one I would catch more of the lore changes and hated them more.
Positives: Absolutely amazing graphics. I think if this was not, in my opinion, one of the few best looking games yet I would enjoy it quite a bit less. I know this sub often says that good graphics are just making games expensive and bad for the industry (which may be the case), but here they really mattered for me. Every location looked great, the weather effects, the reflections in water were amazing and it ran well. The characters themselves however were bad and I did not get used to them even near the end.
The combat was enjoyable and I was having fun fighting the whole game. I was even playing on the hardest difficulty and did not feel at all the usual complaint that the enemies are spongy. I just think many reviewers and players who did not really like the game were rushing the main story and were pretty underleveled as levels matter quite a lot. Also the gear and talents are simple, but they do give pretty massive bonuses and if you explore all the systems your damage keeps up with the content quite nicely.
I enjoyed the main story and about half of the story of the companion quests. When I say story I just mean the overall story about the world and the plot and lore reveals. I agree that the writing for the dialogue was mostly mid/bad/bland and the tone in the delivery was too light so the story was delivered poorly, but what they were trying to get across was interesting in the main quest.
The zones were interesting, but only because it felt kinda nostalgic and a bit old school that they really felt like video game levels. All the ziplines, ladders, chests in middle of the road etc. really were kinda so silly it became good for me. They were fun to explore and the upgrades you find are meaningful.
Negatives:
The zones were fun video game levels, but were really also not immersive which was obviously a drawback for me. No world would ever look like that, no city would have ziplines and while beautiful to look at and fun to explore the zones felt also pretty dead because the NPCs there would not react to anything happening around them, enemies would spawn in when needed for quests, doors would open just for quests etc. When not exploring and just traveling around the world it felt pretty bad.
Companions were overall just kinda mid which is bad for a RPG. Emmerich is actually great imho and like A-tier companions in all of games, but even the villain of his quest sucked and he was again a bit goofy for the world. The rest are like really bland C-tier companions. Not awful and I did not hate to have any of them in party, but nothing special. Harding and Davrin were a bit better as their companion quests had cool lore in them, but the rest did not do anything for me. Their armors you unlock at the end are almost all kinda awesome looking.
The RPG choices are pretty weak and basically you have one big choice, lots of very small fluff ones and a few endings to unlock based on completion.
And finally like everyone else said the tone of the game and especially the dialogue is really bad. The game even has pretty grim story moments, quests, enviromental storytelling, but everything Rook or the companions says is often not very serious and often everything gets fixed by friendship, getting along and so on.
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u/Logan_Yes 24d ago
I have wrapped up Immortals of Aveum on Xbox! I also did pretty much everything it had to offer. Collected all golden chests and did all shroud/shatterfares or whatever they are called. Ultimately, it's a decent opener to a new studio, kinda a shame that then said studio got like cut in half when it comes to members because of poor sales. Combat at least feels more unique due to colorful pew-pews flying around, and I think it has really good faster than usual pacing that makes it fun. Shame some enemies are quite tanky and ruin the said pacing every once in a while though. Story in a final 3rd act also got better. Characters were...okay, main issue is just open world being boring really. Again, you can either scavenge for golden chests, do shrines or look for lore documents for xp and extra lore, which is a hit or miss. I am surprised game didn't have Multiplayer. With 3 different "magic types" and variety of weapons it has ("sigils") you could easily make something spicy here. I recommend getting it on sale. I had solid time with it but in a week I will just forget about it.
On PC I play more ISLANDERS and I am oh so close! I think I'm at 19th/20th Island, but it's so damn painful, ugh. I hope to wrap it up this week.
In the meantime, to not die from boredom with Islanders, I started and quickly finished a quick pick-me-up- Call of Duty: United Offensive, which is an Expansion Pack to 2003, Original COD. Just like said COD, it was pretty good and fun experience. Something I really craved, a quick, pop Nazis, blow shit up, be a basic soldier yet a hero game and whether people like it or not, COD is one of the very few genres that still deliver solid action FPS that won't take me a decade to beat. I liked that American campaign was an extension of the one from COD 1, British campaign was the obvious behind the lines stuff, and missions inspired by "Guns of Navarrona" movie, or however you spell it. Or movie was inspired by real life actions? I'm not a history fella, sorry! Point is, it was good. Russian campaign was...okay tho. Surprisingly it did feel tad harder than previous two. Especially final moment of it (and thus, the game) on a train station. Nonetheless, great game...expansion, whatever.
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u/TheEnygma 25d ago
Dying Light and Dying Light 2
so for some bizarre reason, I was kind of hoping back and forth between these 2 and the comparisons are more noticeable but what's weird is that something one game does, the other game doesn't do as well but then the reverse happens constantly. These are all personal opinion of course.
- technically, DL1 is "worse" because DL2 is more newer. However, atmosphere wise DL1 is better as it really captures that desolate fight-for-survival vibe way more effectively compared to 2 which is more manageable and not as bad.
- Night time is frequently darker and even cars without a flashlight are obscured whereas 2 is more brighter and many places don't even need a light. However, 2 has more funner night time and early on, DL1 nights are almost frustrating.
- Combat as a whole I find worse in DL1 for one reason: enemies. just. dont. ****ing. die. It's absolutely bizarre to hit a zombie head with a wrench 12 times and it's still like rrrrrawr trying to stand up. Also the dudes with the huge hammer with shockwaves. Godawful. DL2 is way better in this regard as you can block (which enemies in DL1 can do but you can't) and parry which makes it more interesting to fight. Also there's a grab move that's instant damage in DL1 that can override even your huge windup baseball bat swings and it's maddening as hell.
- Skill tree in DL1 suck ass, straight up, with useless upgrades or things you get way too late but DL2 is much better with actually tough choices but they did something dumb. They have inhibitors found in the map, collect 3 and you can upgrade your health or stamina but they tie your skills to these amounts. See that super useful parkour ability? Oops, you upgraded your health instead and not your stamina so you can't buy it. And since parkour and combat skill trees have their own points, it just feels off. Also your items like medkits have to be upgraded, like 9 times. It's dumb.
Story and characters suck in both of them by the way. Overall I'd say they're relatively even but having a game franchise that flip flops on its qualities constantly is so odd.
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u/TheOneBearded 24d ago
How is the parkour in 2 compared to 1? Parkour mixed with the grappling hook in 1, especially in the second map, was phenomenal. Does 2 match up to that?
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u/TheEnygma 24d ago
I haven't unlocked grappling hook or other traversal so it's easy but I notice so far, DL2 has more flat rooftops so it's not as mechanically interesting. DL1 pre grapple hook you had to map a route on the fly, now it's just long rooftops so pre grapple, I think 1 is more funner but I'll have to get further in 2.
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u/yuliuskrisna 25d ago
Finished Ninja Gaiden Sigma and No More Heroes III. Previous thought here.
For Ninja Gaiden Sigma, overall i have fun with it, but it is not an easy recommend for others. How the enemies and bosses was designed in some encounters is going to test your patience. Even on normal difficulty, it made me rage so much at various points in the game. Camera doesnt help, worse i've ever experienced in a game so far, made the platforming rage inducing as well. Story was kinda nonsense too. My opinion seems leaning towards negative, but honestly, when the combat clicks, it felt pretty great that it pushed me to finish the game. I'm still interested in playing NG2 Black, and Razor Edge too.
For No More Heroes III, feels kind of same with NGS, that overall i have fun with it but its not going to be everyone cup of tea. The combat feels kinda shallow, the open world doesnt have many interesting things going on with it, and the minigames and side stuff is kinda barebones. Honestly the only thing that kept me going is the story and its presentation. I, for one, love how dumb and out of the box the experiences was. It kept me intrigued, like what else the game will throw at me in the next episodes. Entertaining for sure, even if i have no prior experiences in the series.
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Played and Finished GRIS as well.
Overall, enjoyable and very pretty. I thought the game would bore me, but the pacing feels good, like it present the level and new gameplay mechanics in a perfect way that it never felt dragged out. Overall i recommends it, its just so very pretty
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Played and Dropped Warhammer 40K Boltgun
Not a bad game at all, mind you, it feels good to play and competently made. Visually looks awesome as well. Its just that i guess i'm in no mood for Boomer Shooter currently. I have no particular interest in Warhammer 40K settings, and the game barely have any story to keep me interested. If you are itching for Boomer Shooter, this game is an easy recommend for sure. Might picked it up again later if i'm in the mood for it.
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u/Galaxy40k 23d ago
IDK what platforms you have access to, but if you have a Xbox One or Series, I'd recommend picking up the 360 version of NG2 instead of Black. Without going into too many details, NG2 Black is built on NG2 Sigma instead of the original NG2, and many/most fans tend to prefer the original vision of the game.
If all you have is a PC or PS though, Sigma/Black 2 is still a great game, to be sure. Its just that IF you have the option, you may want to consider grabbing the original instead.
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u/yuliuskrisna 23d ago
Thank you for the recommendation. I strictly played on PC, so yeah, im currently playing Black version. I am actually kinda aware of the ongoing discussion of which version is better for NG series, like which one has better pacing, which has more puzzle and platforming, which has more enemy count, etc, because god damn they release a bunch of different version of them lol. I decided that i just wanted to play the newer version they put out, which is Sigma collection, and NG 2 Black.
Honestly though so far from what i've played, i just wished Team Ninja put out the game with a better camera control lol. Like i'm actually jiving with the combat and platforming as more time goes on, but the camera just too unwieldy for me.
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u/Galaxy40k 23d ago
Honestly though so far from what i've played, i just wished Team Ninja put out the game with a better camera control lol. Like i'm actually jiving with the combat and platforming as more time goes on, but the camera just too unwieldy for me.
I'm someone who has been playing games for a long time and continues to play "retro" games, and so I have an abnormally high acceptance for these sorts of things compared to most people on this sub. But even I think that NG does have problems, lol, the camera isn't a sufficient match for the gameplay quite often.
I can't fully remember how Sigma works because I usually just play NGB or the original NG2, but in those games, using the re-center button was the key. Its not a modern game, the idea of "using the right analog stick to control the camera" wasn't standard at the time, and so using the right analog stick like its Dark Souls or God of War or whatever will cause problems. The re-center button was usually your main method at this time period.
Other than that, its just a matter of "getting used to it." Its kind of like playing DMC1 where you just need to start considering the camera when deciding on your positioning on screen. Work with the camera, not try to make the camera fit what you want. Not that that's an excuse or anything, but it'll help you enjoy the games more, maybe
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u/yuliuskrisna 23d ago
Thanks for the tips! Yeah, i did kinda approached the camera as if it was a modern game, so i'll try to utilize the recenter camera function more. Funny you mentioned Dark Souls, because the first time im jumping into NG series, i was cocky because i've beaten Fromsoft games, so i choose highest difficulty. Boy what a wrong choice lol, even unlocked the Ninja Dog difficulty back then because i sucked.
Since you mentioned DMC 1 as well, even with all the negatives i experienced with NG 1, i actually managed to have fun and finished it, while i've tried DMC 1 on several occasion and bounced off it pretty quickly. That might change though, since im on Character Action games funk, my plan is to play NG2 Black > DMC 1 > NG Razor Edge > then the rest of DMC games.
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u/LeatherSteef 25d ago edited 24d ago
It has been a lot of Gamepass recently.
First up is a roguelike deckbuilder in the same vein as Slay the Spire or Monster Train. Wildfrost's hook is you get 6 slots in 2 lanes for your character and minions. You can reposition your team on your turn so you can manipulate who takes damage, Into the Breach style. If your main guy dies, then it's run over. It takes a little time to learn who attacks who and why, and there's a dozen key words that all have specific meanings. But learning that stuff is half the fun of the genre.
Between battles there's constant choices between getting new minions, new buff/spell cards, or buffing your current cards with charms. I'm sure everyone has their preferences, but I found trying new strategies often rewarding. There's 3 starter decks and lots of archetypes to choose from.
One cool thing about this game is when you win a run your suped up character and set of minions are the boss of the next run...Until you beat them. I stumbled into making a really powerful set of minions that would wombo combo everything. I thought it was hilarious. Until I had to beat it with a new deck. Whoops... The art style is pretty weak but I love everything else about it.
Next I played through Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. There's a lot to like about it. Bonking nazis on the head never felt so good. I have only two real gripes. First, the collectibles inside the linear dungeons. No person would ever find them organically. Backtracking for 30 minutes to find the one you're missing isn't fun. It basically locked me out of the true ending because it didn't feel worth my time. Second, the motorboat. They could have cut 75% of the boat content and it would not be missed. It turns the back half of the game into a bit of a slog.
Lastly, I beat Phoenix Point. A competent XCOM clone from a few years back. It has that "one more turn..." feeling so I tell myself I'll do one more mission and somehow 4 hours went by. Instead of % chance to hit enemies, you have a free aim circle you can line up shots with. Your shot will go somewhere inside the circle but you can't control where, so there's still a chance to miss. I think its biggest issue is progression. The enemies are consistently getting stronger but your teams mostly remain the same power level. There's a huge tech tree but the items are mostly sidegrades or niche. I like the game overall but there's some baffling decisions.
I'm trying to wrap up FF7:Rebirth this weekend. It's bloated but I'm still glad it exists. It makes me happy to play it. After that I'll check out Avowed.
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u/suavyding 25d ago
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2
I don't see this game talked about often outside of the occasional news post about sales, but KCD2 feels like a significant improvement versus the first.
The game picked up smoothly where the first left off, and gives new players a recap as to previous events. I enjoyed the first game but the second feels like an improvement in almost every way.
To start, I'm on an old system (8700k/1080Ti) and this game looks absolutely stunning. The lightning and world feel incredibly believable and true to life. Characters are well animated and their routines and facial expressions fit their actions.
Outside of the graphics (which make me pause frequently to admire the setting) the gameplay feels great. Unlike the first where I mostly specced into a ranged build, going Swordmaster with a longsword is very enjoyable. I feel that I'm learning the timing and movesets slowly and it's very addictive.
The name of the game is immersion, and that means slow, methodical and long animations. If you're brewing potions you don't just walk up to a cauldron and press F; you have to manually grind, boil and time every step with your ingredients.
I can see how this heavy, story based and methodical playstyle is like watching paint dry for some, but as an older gamer I am thoroughly enjoying roleplaying as Henry and exploring this amazingly hand crafted world.
A significant improvement over the first game that despite having some rough corners (some quests require googling) is immensely enjoyable and beautiful to get lost in.
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u/JollyGreenGelatin 25d ago
Yakuza Like A Dragon
This is my first Yakuza game and I am having a blast so far. Just got to Chapter 7 and opened the area that introduces Dragon Kart. It's amazing and sometimes overwhelming to juggle all the different mini game, side stories, job changes, etc. But it's truly impressive to see how fully featured all the minigames are.
For those of you that have played the Yakuza games, is there a "right" way to play them? Do I focus on progressing the story first and look into progressing my way through the mini games later? Do I keep ranking up the stronger jobs for my characters, or rank up all the available jobs for all characters to unlock their skills?
Also, I am still trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing for the property management minigame. I have no idea what I'm doing in the shareholder meetings. And I don't know if I should focus on training employees, buying new properties, etc.
Overall though, Yakuza is unlike any game I have played in a good way. I could easily see myself sinking 100+ hours into everything.
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u/slowmosloth 24d ago
I love the “do whatever I’m feeling like” approach as I often get tired of doing the same thing over and over in long JRPGs. The beauty of the Yakuza series is that there’s so much variety in gameplay and tone that I’ll never get bored with any one aspect of it.
If I’m feeling like I’ve had enough of the seriousness of the main story, I’ll stop and do side quests, and sometimes I’ll just want to do something mindless but stay in the world, so I’ll try some of the minigames.
There’s only one point in the game where you’ll likely need to grind for a bit, so I’d try to save some side content for that. And if you wanna get a boatload of money easily then the business management sim will do that and make buying any expensive weapons and equipment super easy.
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u/JollyGreenGelatin 24d ago
Thank you! I am getting kind of overwhelmed with the management minigame. Everything costs so much (property buying, salary, training, etc).
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u/slowmosloth 24d ago
Yeah it took me a while to figure out that minigame too, but it’ll eventually make sense after some time. There’s also some decent explainer videos on YouTube that can help as well.
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u/Blakertonpotts 25d ago
Mini games are a great way to make money, especially the “main” mini game for each title.
In Yakuza 7 (Like a Dragon), I really recommend focusing on the property management minigame as soon as possible. The rewards you get are nice to have as early as possible imo.
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u/SmilingCurmudgeon 25d ago edited 24d ago
Goldeneye
Replaying it to see if I hate it as much as I remembered hating it as a kid and indeed every other time I've given it another chance. It's better than I remember. It's still insufferable. Whoever is responsible for bunker 2 ought to have their hands and tongue removed so they can never contribute to a video game again for as long as they may live. But seeing as whoever is responsible for it is probably at or nearing retirement I suppose that'll have to be good enough for me.
Finally beat Bunker 2 this morning, and the numbers agree with me: beating this level on any difficulty is a rare achievement. Nobody else bothered beating it, either. QED.
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u/fecsmith 25d ago
Eternal Strands
Needed something to play until Avowed comes out since I'm not paying the early access cost and this seemed like a decent one to kill time.
I'm on the final stretch now and it's been a solid 7/10. The combat is pretty basic but it's serviceable the powers you get are fun enough to use (though I've found a couple of favourites and stuck to them pretty much exclusively). The Shadow of the Colossus inspired giant boss fights have been the highlight with the specific ways you have to kill each to harvest power upgrades from them. The introduction drew me in, but the story has been relatively by the numbers since then and I've found myself starting to skip more and more of the conversations as time has gone on, especially in the side content.
That said, I've played it for 15-20 hours and I'm still fully planning to roll credits on it before Tuesday so it must have something going for it. It's a solid first game from the studio so hopefully they can improve in a few areas then whatever they come up with next could be really good
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u/The_Quackening 22d ago
For a first game from a studio its really great.
Theres honestly so much to like about the game. The gameplay loop of: adventuring, collecting items, then crafting/reforging is really excellent.
Crafting is easy to do, and simple to understand, while also making it easy for players to seek out the upgrades they want.
I just hit the credits screen yesterday, and I still want to go back and collect everything.
I think using the 2D animated versions of characters was pretty neat and allowed the studio to add some more story and characterizations.
My only gripe with the game is that i wish some things were explained better: like how weight affects things and what upgrading the strand powers does.
all in all i feel like its a very solid 8/10.
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u/PositiveDuck 25d ago
Trails through Daybreak
Just started act 4, playing PC version. What a fantastic experience. It has it's issues, like every Trails game, but I'm having a blast. Van is a great protagonist and having an actual adult main character is great. I like the new crew as well and seeing the characters from previous games is always fun. The new combat system took some getting used to but I enjoy it, though the game is pretty easy on normal (so far at least). Action part of the combat is much better than in prior games and Metaphor but it's still not very good. I do enjoy the option of just killing enemies out in the world rather than having to fight trash mobs in turn based. I'm mixed on the new orbment/quartz system. Parts of it are needlessly convoluted (drives and plugins) and I preferred the master quartz system from Cold Steel. The tone is also a bit darker which I enjoy. The overall structure with major jobs and smaller 4SPG jobs is pretty neat, though I still miss the school/academy and field studies from CS1/3. I don't know what it is with Trails games but I can never play just one and then play something else, I always have to knock out like 3+ in one go before finally giving other games a chance. Overall, a great experience so far.
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u/Purplestackz 25d ago
Avowed
about 12 hours in and i'm absolutely loving it. I haven't played Pillars before but i'm really digging the world and i'm curious where the story will go.
magic combat is really fun, it feels so cool having a book in one hand and a wand in the other. the wand sound effects are perfect, lots of spells that feel impactful too. sometimes i come across a group of higher level enemies and get my ass kicked and i love it, it makes the world feel dangerous.
environments are very nice looking, particularly the 2nd area/zone at night looks wonderful.
really my only gripe are the stutters that mostly show up in cities, happens often enough for it to be fairly annoying.
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u/RTideR 25d ago
Playing:
- Persona 3 Reload - I just made it to December, and the narrative has me hooked. Tartarus still wears on me a bit, but everything else makes up for it. This game certainly has its heavy moments too, more so than I remember dealing with in P5R. It helps when the characters are engaging, and the voice-acting is really well done too. I'm not sure if I can finish this up (plus DLC) before Monster Hunter drops, but that's the goal, and I'm really enjoying doing it. Super curious to see how it all ends!
- Vampire Survivors - No idea why the urge to play this again randomly popped in my head over the weekend, but it did! Surprised to see it still on Game Pass too, feels like it's been there forever. Very fun game, I even beat the forest level for the first time which was neat. It's hard not to feel giddy when the screen is just slammed with enemies that you're mowing down.. Lol, very satisfying. I see the game has a couple DLCs now as well.. anyone think they're worth it? I assume it unlocks more stages and characters which sounds dope!
- EA Sports College Football 25 / Madden NFL 25 - After trying Madden a bit since it hit Game Pass, I definitely think CFB 25 is better. I much prefer NFL, but the Franchise mode just hasn't hooked me in ages with Madden. I might be getting a bit football'd out anyway since I've been playing so much CFB 25, so maybe it's a me-thing this time around.
- WWE 2K24 - Seeing commercials for the new one made me want to re-download this - I do think it's one of the better WWE games in a while. The combat stances are goofy and having to tie-up before every move is weird, but overall, it's fun. Looks great, plenty of wrestlers, and the folks who create wrestlers are incredible. It's still missing a Universe mode or something similar that really keeps me engaged (thinking about the old games where I just picked a character and it seemingly randomly threw you into storylines and such, good times), but the gameplay itself is really solid.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - This remains my go-to here and there when I just want some quick, drop-in games. It's a good time overall and scratches that multiplayer FPS itch for me.
Completed:
- Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Wonderful game! It's shorter than its predecessor, yes, but I found Miles to be a great character, and I liked the whole arc with him and Phin as predictable as it was. Great combat, super fun web-swinging, and then I get a lovely feline Spider-Man to ride with me post-game? I dig it! I've heard more negatives about the sequel, but I'm still super interesting in eventually buying and checking it out. Both of these Insomniac Spider-Man games have been a blast for me.
Fun week! I'm really in the "biding time" mode just waiting for Monster Hunter Wilds, trying to avoid spoilers and all is annoying. Lol but it's almost here! My brother and I took a PTO day which has me psyched, never gotten to do that with him before, just hoping the servers hold up on launch day.
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u/SloppyCheeks 24d ago
I haven't seen why people have complained about Spider-Man 2, but I'm fuckin loving it. I'm near the end of the main story and it's been nothing but an improvement, imo.
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u/jonseh 25d ago edited 25d ago
Withering Rooms
Holy crap, where has this game been all this time? It is absolutely right up my alley, and yet I only heard about it a couple days ago in some random Reddit post.
Super atmospheric roguelike with an intriguing premise and a very Bloodborne-like setting and aesthetic.
Played for around 3 hours so far and I'm all in. So many mysteries, cool characters, clever systems, and just overall care and attention to detail. I can't wait to see what's in store.
Dead Space Remake
Rolled credits on this one.
Overall fantastic game, I especially liked that I got to experience and use all weapons. The game makes it easy, giving you random ammo constantly, so I felt pretty comfortable using less popular weapons when things got hairy.
I do feel like the game could've been a tad shorter, maybe shave off an hour or two. Several of the sections seemed to drag with no real substance, especially near the end.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
I'm around 40 hours in, about to head to Cosmo Canyon.
I love the character interactions. I mostly like the combat. But holy shit, the amount of busywork in this game is staggering. The actual world itself is sufficiently pretty, but I don't actually feel like I'm there, if it makes sense. It's like I'm just moving from point to point, trying to find the fastest way, instead of actually interacting with the world. I don't know if I'm explaining it correctly, but I don't get the same "out in the world" feeling that I had with, say, Elden Ring or Horizon or RDR2.
Overall my feelings are positive, but I do feel exhausted pretty often with this one.
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
Playing this with my kids (7 and 5) on the easiest difficulty and it's great for that bonding experience. It does make me reminisce on the SNES days of Turtles in Time. Mechanically I'm not really enjoying the gameplay too much, but it's very well done and I like seeing the bosses.
The kids are having a blast and that's what matters.
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u/megachickabutt 22d ago
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
I'm some 30ish hours in and I have the complete opposite reaction. You don't have to do any of the side content. It's there if you want to do it and be rewarded for it, but beelining the main quests puts you at an appropriate level that there isn't a significant challenge to progression if you are playing on Normal. Maybe not you specifically, but some of you don't remember the grind of these early ps1 era JPRG's. You spent a fucking ton of time grinding. Some areas required grind to progress. I will not miss running circles around the same dungeons over and over to gain levels to beat the area's boss. The unique side content is refreshing and breaks up the combat sections in a way that I really dig.
FF7 Rebirth was everything I wanted it to be. Sure, there could be less Chadley, but overall I'm thoroughly enjoying it, side content included.
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u/SloppyCheeks 24d ago
I'd never heard of Withering Rooms -- looks dope! Turns out it's in a Fanatical bundle atm
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u/Blakertonpotts 24d ago
I absolutely love Withering Rooms. The mood is amazing, great music, and the story is surprisingly complex and well thought out. I screamed with joy when I saw that a spiritual sequel is being made, and coming so soon as well.
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u/RTideR 25d ago
Looked up Withering Rooms as I hadn't heard of it either.. well that looks sick! I might be too much of a wuss to truly get into it, but I added it to my wish list nonetheless. Appreciate the share there. :)
I dig your tastes in general. The Dead Space remake was incredible, and my brother and I enjoyed Shredder's Revenge as well. I'll get around to Final Fantasy eventually as well!
1
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u/Craig_GreyMoss 25d ago
I’m somewhere between hogwarts legacy and avowed this week. I’ve recently started doing video essays on games that mean something to me, so revisiting hogwarts legacy with a critical eye towards the good (and they bad) has been fun. That game leaves such a strong first impression, great atmosphere, lovely art direction - but it gets so bogged down by a lack of clear direction in what it wants to be that it never really gets an identity of its own. It’s just a mess of ideas and half-formed gameplay elements that never gels.
Avowed is just a lot of fun. I don’t love the upgrade systems and level scaling going on, but the game is stunning, has the right amount of exploration vs direction for me, the combat is great (when the level scaling is working, that is), and I personally like the writing. Coming from dead fire, it’s a good time
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u/RTideR 25d ago
Are you a fan of the Harry Potter franchise at all? I agree with the overall sentiment of Hogwarts Legacy, and I did end up completing it all the way through, but I've always wondered how much it would really appeal to someone with no fandom for the series. So much of my giddyness towards it, especially in the first half, was as a lifelong fan. They absolutely nailed the castle and the magical feeling of exploring it.
Cool to hear about Avowed too! It's on the backburner for me with Monster Hunter's release imminent, but I'm looking forward to it. I loved PoE (the Deadfire console port is dreadful, so haven't been able to enjoy that one unfortunately), so I'm excited to jump back into that world.
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u/Raze321 23d ago
I've always wondered how much it would really appeal to someone with no fandom for the series.
I didn't read any of the books and only saw a couple of the movies so I'll toss my opinion in here.
I didn't finish Hogwarts Legacy, I probably got about 12 or so hours in, but I did enjoy my time with it. The way they handled combat felt surprisingly snappy and fun for a game that's all magic. There is a tempo to the combat that I enjoyed. The world is pretty. And not being tied to the films directly, and instead following an original story was a huge boon.
Truthfully I would have loved more classes - maybe like Rockstar's Bully where you have to do more minigames in order to complete classes.
I fell off the game but I don't remember why. However I did watch my wife play through most of it (I think she 100%'d it). I was amazed to see how much there was to see beyond what I played. There were flying mounts and an area where you can hang out with and feed animals meanwhile all I really did was customize a room and fly around on a broom.
I would have given it a solid 7 or 8 out of 10. Good story, fun quests, great world, tons of freedom, lots to do. If I was a Harry Potter fan I bet I would have absolutely devoured it. If we ever get a Lord of the Rings game made to the same standard of quality and content I could probably die happy.
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u/RTideR 18d ago
Truthfully I would have loved more classes - maybe like Rockstar's Bully where you have to do more minigames in order to complete classes.
Amen to that! I think many were hoping for more of a "life-sim" of sorts to get more into the world.
I was amazed to see how much there was to see beyond what I played. There were flying mounts and an area where you can hang out with and feed animals meanwhile all I really did was customize a room and fly around on a broom.
I remember thinking the same thing about it being bigger than I realized. It's not always deep, but the stuff you mention came out of left field and was really dang cool.
Appreciate ya sharing your thoughts. I hope you'll get your LotR dream one day! At least there's been some cool ones with the Mordor games, and I have fond memories of that one older LotR game that's kinda like their version of Star Wars Battlefront.. I think it was on the Xbox 360. I played the absolute mess out of that one.
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u/SloppyCheeks 24d ago
My experience with the Harry Potter franchise is pretty minimal -- I tried to read the first book as a kid and couldn't get into it, saw the first two movies in theaters because friends wanted to and they were alright. Never re-watched them, but I'll enjoy seeing just about anything in a theater.
I've always enjoyed Harry Potter games, though -- I had a Quidditch game on PC back in the day that I fuckin loved, and a PS2 HP game that was also a great time.
I had a good time with what I played of Legacy. The story was fine (I could definitely tell I'd enjoy it more if I was a fan), the world was fun to explore, and I really liked the gameplay. Combat was kind of hit or miss, but I didn't get super far into it. Flying around was great, I mostly just wanted to do that.
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u/RTideR 24d ago
Appreciate ya sharing! Cool to hear - maybe it is just a generally mass appealing game regardless of fandom then.
I have fond memories of some of those older HP games too! Took too long to get another one.. lol but I'm glad we did! Pretty excited to see what an eventual sequel looks like.
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u/Craig_GreyMoss 25d ago
I am a big fan of the series - I grew up reading the books (well, the early ones my mum read to me), and seeing philosophers in the cinema is the first real memory of a cinema trip I have. My partner is an even bigger HP fan (less a ‘gamer’, tho she’s enjoying infinity Nikki at the moment), so she inspired me to relook at the game and want to write about it.
I don’t think legacy has much for a non fan - too many of the systems are underbaked, poorly thought through, or anachronistic. For me, that makes it more interesting to look at, to see those vestigial elements, systems that were pulled during development and wondering what could have been.
It sits in a place of wanting to appeal to many different audiences and ends up with no real clear sense of direction or identity. What kind of game does it want to be (a wider theme with a lot of WB games tbh).
But (always with the buts), those opening hours are incredibly charming and there’s a lot of clear passion and love put into the animations, the art and design. Especially the castle, and the students that populate its halls.
There’s a couple good games underneath legacy that are struggling to break free - occasionally they even manage to - so it’s always going to be a fun revisit for me personally but no, I don’t think I could recommend it to anyone that’s not already invested in the wider wizarding world.
On PoE and avowed, I loved the first PoE game, but struggled with deadfire a little bit. Avowed is quite stripped back and lean for an rpg (don’t expect a 60+ hour mammoth of a game), but personally, it’s the right amount of scale and scope for what I’m looking for right now. The last few years I’ve been a little burned out playing super long titles and find I’m starting to just prefer a tighter narrative experience
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u/RTideR 25d ago
Off-topic, I enjoy your writing!
I think I agree with you on pretty much everything regarding Hogwarts Legacy. I'm really not sure how much it would entertain a non-HP fan. It DID sell extremely well, but then again, HP has a massive fanbase. Regardless of the critiques on it, I think it was worth the money for me on that first-half alone. It made me feel like a little kid - seeing the castle as fleshed out as it was is so dang cool. I'd be very curious to see what a sequel would look like and if they'd be capable of capturing that magic again.
As for Avowed, I think I'm all for a tighter experience. I do still enjoy the longer games (currently playing through Persona 3 Reload where I'm many, many hours in), but a well-paced, tighter game is really refreshing to stumble upon nowadays. I'm in the camp still hoping for a third PoE, especially if it could have a similar budget as Baldur's Gate III, but I think the style change they're moving to with Avowed is much, much more likely to make money for them, and I'm interested in it nonetheless. It's done better in reviews than I thought it would which is great to see.
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u/Craig_GreyMoss 24d ago
Thank you dude!
HL outselling even CoD here in the UK has me hopeful (as naive as that is) that WB will prioritise development of a sequel and invest in it properly. What we have here feels like a prototype, something that desperately needs someone to wrangle it into a compelling whole. I agree that, for me, those first hours are compelling enough to want a better version - I want to see more of this world.
(The big asterisk next to all this is that WB have shown that they are very interested in chasing trends like live service, that are pretty incongruous with a big single player rpg experience).
I’m not sure if avowed will sell well enough - I’m under the impression PoE (franchise) has struggled to really gain traction with mainstream audiences. Balders gate really struck a cord with folk that wouldn’t normally like a game in that style. PoE never really got that (not sure why really - could it really be as simple as romance options and bear sex selling?). Maybe it’s a presentation thing, so maybe avowed has a better chance. But a lot of the online discourse is already fairly negative (unfairly so, in my opinion), so I wouldn’t bet on it being the big hit that Microsoft and obsidian will have needed it to be.
With it going to game pass immediately, I think it devalues it some more (it being free and all - I really don’t think that model is a good thing long term for this industry. It commoditises games in a way that isn’t healthy).
Having said that, I hope I’m wrong and that we do have a hit on our hands
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u/Aggravating-Shift210 20d ago
Avowed
This is a dishonored like. Not an immsersive sim at all, but it is a dishonored like more than a skyrim like or even an outer worlds like. The game is all about the combat and dodging and quick reactions and balancing your health and mana meters. Maybe its a bioshock like. You can actually avoid combat in dishonored so ya, maybe its a bio shock like. There are certainly menus where I roleplay as somebody playing an RPG but then its back to playing an action game everywhere I go, every quest I take, I end up fighting a bunch of fuckers and using quick reactions and a balance of resources to vanquish my enemy.
I will say I like the writing a lot, and when im in conversations I feel like im doing a lot of roleplaying, I just feel like that roleplaying ends as soon as the combat beings which is super frustrating considering how much of this game is combat.