What game are you playing?

[BlackMastodon]

Just "2023" they've said most recently. In other words when it's done. I'd rather they not rush it to be honest.
D: OS 2 is one of my favourite games ever, so i bought BG 3 immediately to support them. I've completely avoided everything but the anouncement cinematic and a couple basic combat demonstration videos with no context, partly for no spoilers, but partly because it makes waiting less frustating as well

I got D:OS2 when I heard that Larian was doing BG3 to get a feel for it and also loved it. Got stuck at a point and haven't picked it up again in over a year, may try it again and see if I can work through it, but I was also hoping BG3 would be out by now.

 

[Ralyks]

This seems like a good candidate for something to buy when it gets to like the 10 dollar range if everything other than Turtles in Time really does not hold up. I think maybe I played Hyperstone Heist for a little while on Genesis and found it was basically a remixed version of Turtles in Time and was pretty good, too. But Tournament Fighters and the old NES ones, yuck!

In your case, maybe wait for a sale. What made it easy for me is having a 7 year old son that I can show a huge part of my childhood too. Plus the controls are simple enough for him too (I say as he's probably better at Minecraft than I'll ever be) so we have fun doing multiplayer. Obviously, Shredders Revenge is better than any of these games, but it's nice to take my son on a stroll down memory lane.

 

[Werecow]

I got D:OS2 when I heard that Larian was doing BG3 to get a feel for it and also loved it. Got stuck at a point and haven't picked it up again in over a year, may try it again and see if I can work through it, but I was also hoping BG3 would be out by now.

Yeh, good chance it would have been if not for them remote working during the pandemic.

The good thing about it though is that they're great at using early access to actually improve and tailor their games. They work with the fans to get the basic RPG systems working well.

 

[p0ke]

Kids got hooked on Super Bomberman R. It's great because it's really simple and has local multiplayer support, so all the 3 of us can play it together. I also set up the old Xbox One controllers such that they automatically sign the kids in, now I just gotta customize the controllers so they know which is which when they pick the controllers up. That way they don't have to touch the account stuff on the console at all. Already ordered some colored silicone covers for them...

... and DS3 wise, I'm *still* fighting Midir I've got the strategy down perfectly, but I always get some kind of focus fatigue a few minutes in and fail to dodge some stupid attack and get stuck in his combo. Also I tend to get too aggressive when he starts to do his abyss stuff. I know I need to back off when he does it, but I just always keep thinking "I'll get the critical hit soon so I'll keep whacking him".
I'm sure it won't be long until I have him beat, and I think I might even be able to do it without taking any damage if I can just stay focused and calm throughout.

 

[wankerness]

Midir's stupid, I hate him. I might try doing a 2H playthrough someday where I try to fight him legit, but it's kind of like, why would I do that to myself?! After finally whittling him down to second phase he does the automatic 1-shot laser moves that seem like luck whether they miss you or not! Thus I've only ever fought him with the stupid toxic cloud strategy where you still have to avoid his bullshit for a while but you don't really have to worry about openings and committing to swings, you just plop toxic clouds around where you think he'll be for the next several seconds.

 

[TedEH]

Got to the end of God of War today, and it's pretty solid all the way through. The combat is satisfying, the story accomplishes what it sets out to do (in my opinion), I like the ways it both does and doesn't tie back to the previous games. Good game. I have some nitpicks (like Kratos sometimes is so much louder than everything else, but I'm not sure if that's my own setup problem), and maybe the ending is a little.... cliffhanger-y? Sequel bait? I definitely want to play the sequel now.

 

[gabito]

Got to the end of God of War today, and it's pretty solid all the way through. The combat is satisfying, the story accomplishes what it sets out to do (in my opinion), I like the ways it both does and doesn't tie back to the previous games. Good game. I have some nitpicks (like Kratos sometimes is so much louder than everything else, but I'm not sure if that's my own setup problem), and maybe the ending is a little.... cliffhanger-y? Sequel bait? I definitely want to play the sequel now.

Yeah, the ending was unsatisfying, that’s probably my only complaint about GoW.

And the kid is pretty annoying… Kratos used to kill people for way less. But he’s a changed man now.

 

[wankerness]

The bosses are also pretty lame. Oh, a different colored troll holding a big stone obelisk? Another? ANOTHER?

There’s like five actual different bosses! Plus the valkyries which are also pretty similar.

 

[hilljack13]

No me, but the wife is playing the Saints Row prequel. I restarted Skyrim a few weeks ago and have been going through the Assassin's Creed series. I

 

[TedEH]

The bosses are also pretty lame. Oh, a different colored troll holding a big stone obelisk? Another? ANOTHER?

There’s like five actual different bosses! Plus the valkyries which are also pretty similar.

That element didn't bother me too much - since the line between boss and just a strong but otherwise normal encounter is pretty fuzzy. The setpiece bosses did the job well enough most of the time.

 

[wankerness]

That's another thing I vaguely remember about that game, the setpiece boss fights are EXTREMELY spaced out. Like there's one to open the game, a bug guy, a dragon, some twins, and then you're at the end of the game!

I haven't actually played the game since the week it came out. I played it like ALL DAY for that few days, got the platinum, and haven't touched it since! I have mostly fond memories, though. But my memory was that there were a LOT of trolls and barely anything else. I think maybe some of those ice guys were set up as bosses, though they're also a regular enemy? And then there's the valkyries which are all optional and all pretty similar.

I should really play it again before the sequel comes out just to get back in the mood. I do remember the early game being pretty dire before I'd unlocked enough abilities with the axe to make the combat feel fluid.

 

[feilong29]

I decided to take a stab at Yakuza: Like a Dragon. First Yakuza game I've tried and I'm loving it! Has a battle system like the old FF games, and lots of homages to Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy in terms of battle music, themes and such. Solid story, mechanics and side quests that keep you engaged. I have to run a frikkin business in the game, lol.

 

[wankerness]

I decided to take a stab at Yakuza: Like a Dragon. First Yakuza game I've tried and I'm loving it! Has a battle system like the old FF games, and lots of homages to Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy in terms of battle music, themes and such. Solid story, mechanics and side quests that keep you engaged. I have to run a frikkin business in the game, lol.

Great game unless you try to take on the final challenge tower, in which case you're going to be grinding things like running circles around in the park to collect insects for hours and killing the same enemies in the sewers hundreds and hundreds of times to max all your characters out.

 

[feilong29]

Great game unless you try to take on the final challenge tower, in which case you're going to be grinding things like running circles around in the park to collect insects for hours and killing the same enemies in the sewers hundreds and hundreds of times to max all your characters out.

I find myself running around between the same areas/groups to grind now--that is my only critique is that it takes FOREVER to gain experience and some mobs are hella-strong.

I remember trying to do that final dungeon in Final Fantasy XV and kept going in circles and eventually gave up.

Back to Yakuza--made the mistake of finding a chance to sell items, and sold ALL my "crap" materials and then shortly discovered I could upgrade my gear lol...$100k of stuff, gone and when I actually needed it. Lesson learned hahaha

 

[CanserDYI]

Im playing Hollow Knight and loving the hell out of it.

 

[wankerness]

I find myself running around between the same areas/groups to grind now--that is my only critique is that it takes FOREVER to gain experience and some mobs are hella-strong.

I remember trying to do that final dungeon in Final Fantasy XV and kept going in circles and eventually gave up.

Back to Yakuza--made the mistake of finding a chance to sell items, and sold ALL my "crap" materials and then shortly discovered I could upgrade my gear lol...$100k of stuff, gone and when I actually needed it. Lesson learned hahaha

You'd be better off reading guides on grinding and upgrades. You absolutely should not spend money on upgrading anything other than the final weapons, since you're just throwing it down the toilet before then. You do have access to most of those "final weapons" early on. The game just doesn't make it clear that certain weapons can be upgraded incredibly far while others start out stronger but can only be upgraded a couple times and thus are a waste of time.

Regarding grinding, there are these really specific mobs that spawn in the same few places in late game that give radically more (like, 100x more) experience than anything else. They're the equivalent of the Metal Slimes from Dragon Quest if you're familiar with those. But basically you only need to do the grinding necessary to get through the story until you have those guys unlocked cause otherwise it is painfully slow.

 

[feilong29]

You'd be better off reading guides on grinding and upgrades. You absolutely should not spend money on upgrading anything other than the final weapons, since you're just throwing it down the toilet before then. You do have access to most of those "final weapons" early on. The game just doesn't make it clear that certain weapons can be upgraded incredibly far while others start out stronger but can only be upgraded a couple times and thus are a waste of time.

Regarding grinding, there are these really specific mobs that spawn in the same few places in late game that give radically more (like, 100x more) experience than anything else. They're the equivalent of the Metal Slimes from Dragon Quest if you're familiar with those. But basically you only need to do the grinding necessary to get through the story until you have those guys unlocked cause otherwise it is painfully slow.

Greatly appreciate the tips!

 

[wankerness]

Greatly appreciate the tips!

The only time you really have to do any grinding to get through the story is a certain very difficult boss in the later middle of the game. I just looked it up - it's Chapter 12, and you want to be level 50 for that. Before then the game's pretty lenient IIRC. Besides a couple randomly really hard side missions (I remember a giant vacuum robot and a backhoe being two that wrecked me that I just came back to later when I had better/more electrified gear).

 

[TedEH]

Next on the list is...... Stray. Seems like it'll be a short one, I got something like a 3rd of the collectible memories in the first session.

 

[StevenC]

I am going to be playing at least two good games in 2023