What game are you playing?

[KnightoftheWind]

Finally playing Cold Fear after hearing about it years ago. Compared to other "Resident Evil-likes" I've tried, it's definitely the best, and comes the closest to capturing the same feel with the same gameplay. Although, interestingly, this game doesn't appear to have a map or inventory management whatsoever. The camera, while being fixed, is also dynamic and shifts perspectives a lot, including when you aim. The story is nothing remarkable so far, it's definitely inspired by John Carpenter's The Thing and movies of that type, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it all progresses and if anything interesting happens.

Essentially, it's Resident Evil 4 if the franchise continued to iterate on the gameplay of the PS1 games, and a part of me wishes we could see more games that look and play like this.

[wndrbr]

Cold Fear was pretty disappointing. It doesn't have inventory/resource management mechanics, it's way too short, it lacks the replay value, and worst of all - only like half of the game is good - once you leave the ship and arrive to the oil rig, things become really boring.

Cool water effects though.

[Roguey]

Finished Solasta: Crown of the Magister. Very French with its humor and snark. I played on Authentic Mode with a few modifications to avoid a reload-fest (auto-succeed dialogue and crafting checks, retry exploration checks) and thought it was challenging enough in enough spots. The Dark Castle dragged on with its repetitive undead encounters though. The final battle (survive four turns as more and more enemies pile in) and the extremely brief ending cutscene were also irritating, but that was to be expected.

There are two mini campaigns that were included with the base game, but I'll save those for later. After 50 hours I'm a bit worn out for now.

[KnightoftheWind]

Cold Fear was pretty disappointing. It doesn't have inventory/resource management mechanics, it's way too short, it lacks the replay value, and worst of all - only like half of the game is good - once you leave the ship and arrive to the oil rig, things become really boring.

Cool water effects though.

That's the conclusion I came to also. The lack of a proper map screen made exploration tiring and tedious, and the gameplay wasn't interesting enough to sustain my interest in completing it. It's a shame because it has all the ingredients necessary to be a proper Resident Evil-like. Same setup, cheesy but likeable characters, a small but decent roster of weapons. It's too bad.

Darkworks as a developer is an unfortunate case of never having a chance to shine. A lot of their stuff ended up being cancelled, and they folded due to lack of publisher support. They were also screwed by fellow fr*nch "people", Ubisoft.

[wndrbr]

Darkworks as a developer is an unfortunate case of never having a chance to shine. A lot of their stuff ended up being cancelled, and they folded due to lack of publisher support. They were also screwed by fellow fr*nch "people", Ubisoft.

their original version of 'I am alive' looked really interesting, shame it got cancelled.

The final version was alright, but a bit generic.

[KnightoftheWind]

Darkworks as a developer is an unfortunate case of never having a chance to shine. A lot of their stuff ended up being cancelled, and they folded due to lack of publisher support. They were also screwed by fellow fr*nch "people", Ubisoft.

their original version of 'I am alive' looked really interesting, shame it got cancelled.

The final version was alright, but a bit generic.

I remember being intrigued by that game when the teasers first came around, then was disappointed when it released years later as a budget title that had little to do with those teasers. As it turned out, everything about the original concept had been gutted, with only the title itself and the premise of a city devastated by an earthquake remaining.

[gerey]

Recently finished the Excavation of Hob's Barrow. You'd think the game would be right up my alley - 2D adventure game about cosmic horror, and you'd be wrong.

tl;dr - nice graphics, very few instances of Moon logic, interesting premise and mystery, but undermined by insufferable protagonist and the last 1/3 of the game being puzzles and little else - 5/10

We're greeted with a cold opening of the protagonist going to see her father, who is convalescing in a hospital, before we are thrown back a few days in the past to experience what led her to come visit her father. We then rewind a few days into the past, with the protagonist arriving at a remote village in the English countryside, very excited to being excavating a local barrow and adding her findings to the book she is writing on the subject.

The positives of the game are in the presentation, the pixel art is nice to look at, sometimes switching to a cutscene with a more realistic style, where we are subjected to the ghastly, ghoulish appearances of the natives of Perfidious Albion.

Below you can see a prime example, a purebred son of Britannia, with only slight hints of inbreeding.

► Show Spoiler

The puzzles are also very logical, the game does a good job of directing you towards your next objective, and with enough exploration and sleuthing the solution to your obstacles is made clear - I only had to consult a guide two times. In both instances I knew what the game wanted me to do, but couldn't figure out the minutiae of how to achieve it.

The mystery is well presented, and is the driving force behind wanting to progress further into the game... up to a point.

See, the game isn't perfect, and several issues detract from the overall experience:

• The protagonist is insufferable, which should come as no surprise since the game was published by Wadjet Eye Games kike - she's an opinionated girlboss that dislikes the church, doesn't want to get married, doesn't believe in God and constantly berates the locals for their "silly" beliefs, blathering on about science and reason like she just stepped out of r/Atheism. She is genuinely the single worst aspect of the game.

• The game presents you with quite a few times when you can choose what to say to NPCs, usually also with an option to outright lie to them, yet to my disappointment none of these choices change anything substantial - there are no alternative endings to unlock.

• The last third of the game is a big disappointment - consisting of room puzzle after room puzzle. If anyone here has played Gray Matter (a game I actually did like a lot), it's very similar to the last part of that game, and just as in that game, felt like it was only implemented to pad the game out.

Below are a few spoilers about why the story is, ultimately, a big let down:

► Show Spoiler

The protagonist eventually witnesses a scene between the villain and a villager, where the villains pretty much spells out what his plan is and what part the protagonist will play in it, yet this strong, independent female academic walks right into the trap they set for her (that she knew about in advance) and does everything the villain asks of her, ultimately undoing her father's sacrifice in true feminist fashion. The ending left a sour taste in my mouth, not because the protagonist suffered her just rewards, but because the ending felt so forced.

[maidenhaver]

I reurned to New Vegas on steam deck, with Viva New Vegas. Then, MCM and VUI+ conflicted, and I can't resolve it, but at least I made it out of doc's house. I just want to play a fps rpg that doesn't need mods to be good. I will try Brigand: Mexico.

[rusty_shackleford]

I just want to play a fps rpg that doesn't need mods to be good.

strife (veteran edition probably)
Nu-deus ex games (first/third person)
boiling point/xenus 2 white gold/precursors — slavjank, sorta similar to the brigand games tho. Precursors ends abruptly.
prey
elex (third person)

[Tweed]

I just want to play a fps rpg that doesn't need mods to be good.

Anomalmeme only needs one mod, the RPG skill mod and then presto, you have an fps rpg.

[maidenhaver]

I got Viva New Vegas on my deck working, with exactly 100 mods. A new record for a Bethesda game.

[Oyster Sauce]

I got Viva New Vegas on my deck working, with exactly 100 mods. A new record for a Bethesda game.

I dare you to not take the intended route through the game

[rusty_shackleford]

@maidenhaver's HRT must have arrived

[maidenhaver]

I got Viva New Vegas on my deck working, with exactly 100 mods. A new record for a Bethesda game.

I dare you to not take the intended route through the game

I saved Goodsprings, and I'm on my way to the quarry for a set of op armor. I will be helping House and taking the Boomers and Enclave to Hoover Dam, like always.

[junior]

Been enjoying EQ for past couple of weeks. Playing SK.

Favorite things so far: Dropped weapon always faces true north, your compass CAN lie to you, there's no map, coins have weight.
Things that 'm not a big fan of: No auction house(perhaps this was viable if there were thousands of players on a server), limited alternatives for getting XP outside of grinding mobs.

[rusty_shackleford]

Been enjoying EQ for past couple of weeks. Playing SK.

Favorite things so far: Dropped weapon always faces true north, your compass CAN lie to you, there's no map, coins have weight.
Things that 'm not a big fan of: No auction house(perhaps this was viable if there were thousands of players on a server), limited alternatives for getting XP outside of grinding mobs.

only people who enjoy not having an auction house are jews

[Roguey]

Finished The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. I had a bit of a rough start trying to figure out what it wanted me to do to solve the puzzles, but I eventually adjusted to the game's logic and had a pretty good time. The last level goes overboard with the armor lord minibosses and final boss rush though.

[LemonDemonGirl]

WoW Ascension
Literally just WoW (Private Server) but without all the the [Current Year] bullshit.
The custom classes are pretty neat. Witch Doctor is literally "Troll: the Class"

[Vergil]

WoW Ascension
Literally just WoW (Private Server) but without all the the [Current Year] bullshit.
The custom classes are pretty neat. Witch Doctor is literally "Troll: the Class"

I tried playing that because there was a "vampire lord" class but it was a healer so I dropped it

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Just started Eiyuden Chronicle.

English dub is mediocre. As usual. Switched to Japanese voices, but that doesn't fix the wonky lines.

The game is way too sensitive to the thumbstick. You can not be moving the thumbstick and it will start flipping through menus and blaring sound effects.

Story wise, so far not a compelling start like the original Suikoden games. Suikoden 1 started with a high tension meeting with your father a general, the emperor, and the big bad evil witch. S2 had the iconic intro with your fellow Youth Brigade members being slaughtered by your instructor and your kingdom's prince and you fleeing into hiding. S3 and S5 took a bit to get to some exciting stuff but immediately started off with an endearing cast of characters (Chris' knights and Geddoe's mercenary band of middle-aged men, the Falena royal family and bodyguards).

WoW Ascension

I played on Ascension for a bit a few years back. It's fun to dabble around on for a bit but it didn't have longevity for me. It is fun being able to mix and match transmog items without armor restrictions. Ie, you can wear plate and cloth transmog pieces. It is also fun being able to have a hunter pet (or an elemental, or an undead, or a dragon) as any build. I thought that the high risk PvP where you lose a piece of equipped gear if you die was fun. I'd avoid draft servers if you can, just go with free pick and play the build you want.

Unfortunately, the game is locked to vanilla Kalimdor/Eastern Kingdoms, and to Outland. Not the most exciting places to spend hundreds of hours in today. If I could play in newer zones I would have enjoyed it more. Also, the game only has the vanilla class talent trees, so you don't have access to exciting stuff like warrior's heroic leap talent from Cata, or monk rolls/chi torpedo. There are original enchant abilities but they're not conceptually super cool IMO. Another thing I wasn't a fan of was the cash shop where a lot of cool transmogs were locked behind.

I was a little excited for Conquest of Azeroth when it was announced (it had some new, original classes like a Burning Legion themed fire Death Knight, or troll venomancers who turn into snakes and spiders and scorpions, and tinkers), but last time I checked it still wasn't out. You have to pay to access the WotLK content and Death Knight talent tree and to get into the CoA beta.

[Anon]

Turtle wow is the most vanilla classic wow server that I know, and has a pretty good community.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

I am 11 hours into Eiyuden Chronicle, got the castle. Thoughts:

► Show Spoiler

The Forest Eater boss hanging from the ceiling rather than walking on the ground is interesting.

I'm not feeling the art direction of the environments. It looks too clean and plastic. Doesn't feel like the gritty (S1 through S3) or even lived in world of the Suikoden games. The sprites are pretty decent, though.

I accidentally held B and skipped a cutscene, couldn't rewind the text to see what I missed so I had to reload an earlier save and spend 15 minutes retracing my steps just to get back to that cutscene. Argh.




Joji Nakata is in this game. Nice.

It's 2024. Why do I only have 20 save slots? Why can't I have 500?




Okay, this is looking a little bit more like the lived in world of Suikoden, at least architecturally. Still not a fan of the modelling/texturing/lighting.




Huh? But I OTKoed each add and there was just the one guy left!

From the marketing, I was worried that this game was going to be a repeat of Riou and Jowy's story from S2, but here I feel like they have sufficiently differentiated Nowa and Seign's relationship. Riou and Jowy were childhood friends from the same country, with Riou betraying his country and Jowy betraying his friend for his country. Here, Nowa and Seign are from two different countries and becomes friends, but they are both loyal to their people. There is no betrayal here. Lian doesn't have as much prominence as Nanami, and also isn't a childhood friend either.




The attendant party member slot is very much appreciated. You can bring 2 or 3 of your favorite optional party members, AND still have story characters show up in cutscenes.





In Suikoden 5, I was disappointed how Lucretia was hyped up as being a sinister strategist, but then once you acquired her she doesn't actually do anything dubious. Here, Perrielle is actually being scummy with her deception and propaganda.

Come on, don't play a Disney animated movie song.

[Roguey]

Finished Resident Evil Village. I really liked exploring the village and how each monster boss area had its own unique gameplay hook. Yeah it's a shame that the weapon upgrade design is a downgrade from RE4, but overall I had a blast.

[gerey]

Yeah it's a shame that the weapon upgrade design is a downgrade from RE4, but overall I had a blast.

Another thing I disliked is that they streamlined inventory management by separating crafting components into a separate inventory, unlike in RE7. In practice this means you'll never actually run out of space. The shooting also felt underwhelming, but at the very least they added a bunch of variety when it comes to enemies, so you're not fighting the same three fungus blobs all the time.

[Roguey]

Another thing I disliked is that they streamlined inventory management by separating crafting components into a separate inventory, unlike in RE7. In practice this means you'll never actually run out of space.

Don't buy any inventory upgrades and I'm sure you'll find yourself packed.

[Tweed]

I forced myself to quit wasting time with Noita so I could get Iron Oath finished and then move on to some more slop to record.

[wndrbr]

at the very least they added a bunch of variety when it comes to enemies, so you're not fighting the same three fungus blobs all the time.

the enemy variety is still poor, though.

Each major area basically has two enemy types at best (outside areas - werewolves, castle - female zombies, factory - cyborgs, and that's it), and the game never mixes those enemies in some interesting fashion like RE4 did. In fact, I don't remember a single encounter where the game pitted you against more than one enemy type. Usually you walk into some basement, and there's a dozen of female zombies slowly walking towards you. Or you walk into some workshop, and there's a couple of cyborgs slowly walking towards you. Or you walk into some open area, and there's a bunch of werewolves slowly walking towards you. At least the werewolves sometimes can use bows, castle and factory don't have even that.

[gerey]

Don't buy any inventory upgrades and I'm sure you'll find yourself packed.

That's a dumb take. In RE4, RE7 and RE4R you could also expand your inventory, but you will very quickly run out of space and need to manage your inventory, especially since crafting components share space with the rest of your inventory.

I never had this issues in Village, the inventory is so large that I never had any issues cramming all my weapons, grenades, ammo, healing items etc. It's basically a superfluous mechanic, about the only thing it does is to use up your money.

At least the werewolves sometimes can use bows, castle and factory don't have even that.

Werewolves come in a few varieties, true, but the cyborgs do too - you have the standard variety, the better-armored ones, the ones with jetpacks, the "panzer" type. Only the zombies have one variety of enemies, but the gimmick with that section is the vampire chasers.

Granted, it's still not nowhere near the variety of enemy types you'd encounter in older RE games, but it was an improvement compared to what RE7 had on offer.

[rusty_shackleford]

do they have cyborg werewolves?

[wndrbr]

Werewolves come in a few varieties, true, but the cyborgs do too - you have the standard variety, the better-armored ones, the ones with jetpacks, the "panzer" type.

cyborgs all behave mostly the same, they just get more HP or maybe deal more damage if you let one to get close. Would've been better if there were fast cyborgs, or cyborgs with ranged weapons, or cyborg-dogs that ambush you. Would've been even better if those enemy types were intermixed, for example you had to fight a tanky cyborg who tries to shield his weakspots while a ranged enemy harasses you from above.