Thanks, and no problem! Reception here has been awesome for the project. I also actually developed my own Reddit alternative just for the game, which is the WalkScape Portal
Faster hardware doesn’t always translate to better graphics. The PS2 is the second-slowest system of its generation, just ahead of the Dreamcast, but it’s capable of unique graphical effects that other systems and even the PC cannot easily replicate due to the PS2’s unique ability to quickly process huge numbers of transparent textures; only recent PC hardware can replicate this through shaders; it was impossible at the time. That’s why all ports of GTA San Andreas look dull and lack the complex effects of the PS2 original, even if they are better in some regards (like shadows). Mods can replicate this sometimes, but in case of San Andreas, this was only achieved in recent years - and I’m not aware of any other game having received the same treatment by modders.
This also applies to the Sands of Time trilogy. PS2 versions are better looking than other console versions and the PC ports. The best experience with it is through emulation. You get the high frame rates and resolution of the PC version, but the unique atmospheric effects that are only present on Sony’s system. Higher-res textures alone can not make up for this, let alone the ones you linked to, which just deliver ugly AI upscaling noise instead of actual detail.
I already have a special place for ps2 in my heart. Furthermore all the prince games were developed firstly for ps2 and then ported to other platforms. I will try them on pcsx2.
Wizardry V, The Heart of Maelstrom was probably the hardest game I’ve ever played. Without the internet to cheat, it was a incredibly frustrating challenge and I never beat it until much later when I used walkthroughs and an emulator. Great game though. RIP, Andrew.
As a background, I loved the Ezio games and also enjoyed AC3 somewhat. I also love open world RPGs in general. But I hate grinding and mandatory generic side quests.
I tried it years ago, but did not like it and stopped playing after some hours. Assassinations via sneaking up and one-shotting were not possible AFAIR, which ruined the fun on assassinations for me. RPG mechanics like leveling and skills were present, but were designed in a way that added nothing of value to the experience while requiring a boring grind. There were many side quests, but they felt boring and generic and. I could have overlooked these things and concentrated on the main story, but engaging in the level grind and the generic side quests was to a large degree mandatory to be able to continue the story. That made me feel like I’m wasting my time and made me stop playing.
Overall I felt that the game tried to find some compromise between story-based action adventure and open-world RPG, but just ended up combining the worst of both worlds. It felt like the RPG features were pushed in top-down (“everyone is doing open world, levels and skill trees now, we should put that in the game”) without any regard to WHY these features work well in some games and how they have to be integrated in order to make the experience more fun.
It’s alright. It’s the only one of the newer AC games I’ve played so I don’t know how it compares, but exploring ancient egypt was neat and the combat was fun enough.
As with most Ubisoft games, I never finished it. The open world is very copy pasted and it gets repetitive ~15 hours in.
This is almost exactly my experience, but I stuck it out for more like 30 hours because I really dug that desert setting, which is criminally under used in games.
Also, does anyone remember the Animus Save Editor? Back when Ubisoft Connect was still called UPlay, there was a tab in the in-game overlay that allowed you to change a bunch of parameters of your save game, including disabling enemy leveling, making assassinations insta-kills on any enemy, adjusting DPS for your character as well as NPCs, etc. For some reason though, after Ubisoft rebranded UPlay, they removed the feature. I still have my modified save, but can’t make any further adjustments. It sucks because I was able to make the game feel much closer to the old AC games, and new players can’t.
Tinykin
I know you said less than 1,000 reviews but this is at 1,500 so I think it just squeaks by.
This game for lack of a better description, adorable and over too soon.
Like a mashup of pikmim, Spyro 2, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater. It’s got lots of fun platforming and new puzzle mechanics in an ever adding open world that is a true joy to traverse and cute silly little side plots that make for rather grand set pieces when it all comes together. I got 100% in 12 hours but also collect-a-thons are my jam and I was plowing through the game with grin on my face for everything but the platinum time trials.
To me, Ctrl Alt Ego is not well known enough. It is an immersive sim in the style of Prey. You play as a robot roaming a station, where your Ego (like a spirit) can pass into and control all sorts of objects to solve puzzles, evade, control or kill enemies. The graphics aren’t impressive (it was made by a 2-person team) but the gameplay is so interesting and the story is surprisingly compelling and funny!
This one is really fun and very underrated indeed. It gives you a level with an objective, how you solve it is entirely up to you. You can sneak to the objective, shoot your way through or cause mayhem by stacking boxes, explosive barrels and more. Also, the achievements on steam are all pictures of the developers cats.
Yep, it lives up to the best of what immersive sims set out to be. You have point A, point B, and a million ways that you can go about getting from A to B
I’ve always heard it described as Minecraft meets Primitive Technology. I would say that is quite accurate. Maybe some (optional) Don’t Starve like elements where you have to worry about the temporal rift (sort of like insanity) and drifters (largely at night).
Technology progression is much slower than Minecraft. Also much more involved. Want a stone axe? You have to place a stone on the ground and use another stone to knap it into shape first. Make an iron shovel? You have to heat up the ingot first and then beat it into shape on an anvil. If you are too slow and it cools down you have to heat it up again.
Farming has 3 nutrient groups, so fertilizers and crop rotation is important.
Leather making is a multi step process of soaking hides in various liquids.
It has a built in and very extensive guide/wiki. It also has a native Linux build.
I was just recommended a video about this game earlier today. I had already opened this thread, but had not read everything yet. I’m taking it as a sign. Terrafirmacraft is one of my fav Minecraft modpacks, and Vintage Story looked to lean into what TFC was trying to do to Minecraft. Cheers for the recommendation!!
But so much other content, from books (High Republic and other novels) to games (Jedi and Battlefront) to other movies (Rogue One, Solo) and shows (Andor, Ahsoka, Mandalorian, Bad Batch, Clone Wars) have been mostly amazing.
Star Wars is only “dead” if you live in that artificial negative hellhole the online community created.
Most of what you’ve listed haven’t been great to put it lightly.
I’m tired of the Internet trying to gaslight me into thinking that Star Wars is doing well when it’s not. The past few shows/ movies that have come out have basically been:
“Creator” gets hired that knows nothing about Star Wars and wants to make their own thing under the Star Wars brand,
new thing flops,
“Creator” blames the fans.
What makes The High Republic books, Ahsoka, The Mandalorian and The Bad Batch amazing? What about “gems” like The Acolyte, The Book of Boba Fett and Kenobi which I’m sure most people have forgotten about? Are they amazing?
Star Wars is only alive if you live in the artificial consumerist hellhole that the online community created.
Dave Feloni, the producer behind Mando, Boba Fett, and Ahsoka isn’t some outsider who knows nothing. He was the producer of the Clone Wars and Rebels, and has a deep love of the franchise and its lore. In fact, what alienate many people about his shows are that they are so incredibly respectful of what came before that newcomers don’t follow it.
To understand everything in Ahsoka you needed to be familiar with so much lore that wasn’t in the films that it felt more like homework to understand for some viewers.
Dave Feloni is a clown. If you are familiar with the lore you end up being more pissed off with how he fumbles it. This is especially true if your a fan of Thrawn, Boba Fett or the Mandalorians.
There are plenty of shows that are still entertaining without knowing the lore. How can you claim that Feloni is respectful of the source material when he’s turned light sabers into non lethal weapons, given Mando a ship that doesn’t fit with his role as a bounty hunter, or how he’s turned Thrawn into an idiot?
A deck construction game where the cards you choose to put in the deck are the challenges you will face on your run. You unlock more cards by completing challenges on the cards you have.
You can skip the first one and play the sequel, it’s more polished.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone’s waiting for a Silksong release date. I am too, if for no reason other than Fantasy Critic. I do still expect this game to release this year, given it got age rated in some territories back in February, but if it does release this year, it’s strange that it’s taken this long to get a release date. Every showcase where Silksong doesn’t have a release date is one where people are underwhelmed by any other game shown off.
As for games I’m looking forward to release dates for far more, I’d love to see them for:
Commandos: Origins (not so much the indie showcase but maybe in the partner direct)
Alan Wake 2 was by far my standout choice for GOTY last year. I’m still bummed it didn’t win more awards, particularly narrative ones as I think it handily beats BG3 in that department. I love Remedy and Sam Lake, and I love them pushing the envelope of AAA games. It’s one to add to the example list of “video games as art” in my opinion.
I’m glad the DLC was great, I’ve been trying to hold off until I can play both at once but maybe I’ll need to cave soon…
If it helps you decide, the Night Springs DLC is technically a prequel to AW2 but more or less standalone. The DLC is also pretty short with 3 separate chapters that are just a couple hours long total, and locations are reused from the base game. I believe there were supposed to be a couple extra chapters that got scrapped (partially due to James McCaffrey’s passing). That being said, I did enjoy it and think the third episode in particular was pretty interesting.
In a similar vein to another commenter wanting a pre-Paradise style Burnout; I’d like another NFS:U entry, but honestly am so over ‘open world’ racing games… give me a good ol’ fashioned menu any day of the week!
bin.pol.social
Ważne