I just finished Hollow Knight this week (basic ending, didn’t go out of my way to find items I didn’t organically come across). Metroidvanias and 2d side-scrollers in general haven’t traditionally been my thing, but I was persuaded by Monty Zander’s video and…yeah, it’s as good as everyone says. The world is surprisingly immersive for its format and the gameplay is tight and rewarding. Abilities and enemy variety were always changing the way I played, and the different areas each had their own identities and obstacles. The sense of excitement on unlocking a new area and getting to explore it was on par with Elden Ring.
Unfortunately, I moved on to Kena Bridge of Spirits, which I think is a pretty good game so far, but it has some AA jank that I think stands out more after the fine tuning in Hollow Knight, and the combat is a lot more rote. Trying not to be too harsh though because not everything can be what Hollow Knight is, obviously.
I agree about Kena, which I finished a couple months ago. I liked it, but IIRC I didn’t enjoy the parrying in particular, especially compared to Sekiro. Didn’t feel as polished.
I’m honored! I do hope you enjoy Hollow Knight, it really is a standout.
That’s the thing about Kena, everything feels slower and less responsive than I’ve come to expect from other games. Parrying is weird too because it does this camera…jolt to focus on the enemy you parried, but it’s more like a cut than a pan, so it’s really jarring for my brain and requires a moment of readjustment each time.
Love Hollow Knight! I know you said Metroidvanias aren’t your thing, but if there are two that I would recommend it would be Hollow Knight and Environmental Station Alpha. ESA has graphics that not everyone will like, but you get used to them, and the gameplay is great. Well worth checking out if you want to see more of the Metroid inspiration coming through in the genre.
I have been busy this week so I have played mostly Slay the Spire. Being able to get up and walk away at any time let’s me play in my limited down time at work, or while I am working on dinner.
I’ve also been dabbling in a mobile game called To Arms.
I started playing Factorio about a month ago and I’m completely addicted. I love it so much. I guess there’s not much more I can say about it, given how everybody but me had already heard of and played this game. But it’s definitely my #1 gaming highlight of the year.
As of yesterday, Baldur’s Gate 3. Really love shoving gobbos off of rooftops.
Before that, I think Against the Storm might be my pick. I’m usually not in to city builders past the 2-3 hour mark. Basically as soon as my city is functional I want to try again and make something pretty AND functional. Against the Storm basically has you do that beginning stretch over and over in a rogue-like format. It’s fucking awesome.
Edit: now that I see someone mention Deep Rock I gotta make that my pick. Rock and stone!
I finished Omori a few months ago and it was a standout experience, really enjoyed every moment and could sing a lot of praise on its sound design and usage of gameplay mechanics to tell a story!
Deep Rock Galactic (DRG) will always have a special place in my heart for the role it played for me over the pandemic. My late best friend made a discord server for a bunch of his sad and lonely friends over lockdown, and DRG is probably the game we’ve played the most of.
I tend to play the hell out of a game and then get sick of it for a while, and that would’ve happened a couple hundred hours ago at least, but it’s more than a game, it’s a means to connect with my friends. We try to find time each week to do the Elite Deep Dive and having that checkpoint has saved my sanity.
It’s such a well designed game that I don’t just like it, I respect it. I’ve played a lot of co-op games like it, but I love the synergy of the classes and how each class has a wide variety in their potential loadout and how they fit into the team, but also a very clear identity
It is tactical in the sense that the combat arenas and enemies require you to think about what weapon you’re using and when, but all of the decision-making is “in the moment”. I think OP is looking for games that require you to think about your approach to encounters before you start them, but where the game is “arcadey” in the sense that it isn’t a full-on MilSim.
I don’t think you actually committed an act of piracy. Good for you, though. I’m still trying to figure out how to fit a 100GB game into my hard drive (SSD) without slowing my computer down. I, too, may turn to FitGirl for the answer. If my theoretical piracy isn’t piracy (because I bought the game plus DLC, just haven’t downloaded and installed) I don’t think your theoretical or alleged piracy is actual piracy, either. I have SO MANY issues with the username FitGirl, though. They could have figured out a name that wasn’t so sexist. I would have gone with SlimWare.
As a person who isn’t too knowledgeable about the piracy scene, what’s sexist about “FitGirl”? Is there some story behind the username that makes it sexist in use? My outsider’s impression is that FitGirl is a woman who likes fitness, exercise, and releasing pirated stuff for people.
Most people refer to FitGirl as a man. They assume FitGirl is a man or know it’s a man. I thought like you once the first time I saw repacks made by FitGirl. I was like, “Oh, cool! A woman into fitness and computer science!” I hope I was right and I hope your “outsider’s take” is right. I fear that this is not the case. Note that I fear this, I cannot confirm if FitGirl is a man or a woman myself since this person is not my next-door neighbor. I just have been around long enough to see how FitGirl is always referred to as a man. Since I’ve learned more, the idea, as far as I can tell, is that the software gets “slimmed down” and “de-bloated.” Perhaps you’ve heard the term “bloatware?” My understanding is that, if FitGirl is a man, he is referring to women who complain about bloating and he is referring to the “bloatware” that he reduces in size as a woman who has been relieved of the bloating. “Fit” here does not refer to exercise, but rather a body type which, in turn, metaphorically refers to reducing the size of “bloatware.” Anyway, that’s what I’ve been able to piece together over the years. Mind you, it’s an interpretation of mine. Who knows how far off the mark I am? Maybe someone who knows FitGirl personally can tell us more. Maybe she’s somebody’s gym buddy.
Don’t forget to save regularly! Because it was a glitch that happened to me yesterday which caused me to start saving every 30 minutes or so.
So yesterday I was building a base from the surface down to a couple stalkers (to farm teeth). It was really simple; and observation room connected to a T with a door, and vertical connectors going to the surface to an I corridor with a solar panel for air.
Well, I was curious and started to build out of the water, was 3 pieces high, and the game just froze after I placed a room at the top. I play on switch, so I just put it to sleep without saving when I’m done sometimes. So I had lost hours of progress and farming stuff.
I’m fine with it, wasn’t fallout 3 on GOG at some point? You can download those fairly safely. I don’t see it as piracy if you already own the game or a license to the game.
Even if you’re excessively concerned with morality and what people think of you, the only people realistically going to kick up a fuss about “pirating” games one already owns are Nintendo’s lawyers.
Not me, but my little sister was bawling at the end of Undertale.
For me, it’s maybe beating Sword Saint Isshin. I think I almost cried in relief, since I’d been hitting my head against that wall for like a week.
I also liked the Dragon Age Inquisition endings, the one DLC with the Qunari and the palace and going threw Elven ruins shattered through space. The song on the mountains when you find the new headquarters was cool too.
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