Oh for sure I definitely agree there haha. As far as software is concerned I don’t like the epic store. Steam is much better on that front. But I also don’t have any true moral issue with the epic store. Especially for playing a game they funded. Epic also funded and published the Alan Wake remaster. They effectively were able to bring back a long dormant series, and for that I am happy since Alan Wake 2 ended up being one of my all time favorite games.
I wish they didn’t have to keep it in their store, since I like steam more, but at the end of the day I’m not too bothered by it
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.
Achron A RTS with time travel. You can actually send troops and orders in the past to change the outcome of the battle. youtu.be/b6YYWCW1wVs?si=UfuVQX0j4c8fFIkZ
It’s a shame it never got big. The time travel mechanic is awesome.
It did pop up in my feed when it was in development. I think the time travel is neat in concept but just becomes too hard to wrap one’s head around - and from what I remember, the core RTS elements were a bit lacking.
The core RTS is very standard like the first command and conquer. The visual were a bit lacking not becaus ugly but hard to differentiate between untis when in the heat of battle. The single player mission is like a large training. And I kept getting destroyed by the AI even on easy.
I might give it a try again to play with my son, now that he is old enough. It’s really the time travel that should be revived by a bigger or more experienced studio. Lots of potential in there.
Pioneer is a great remake of the original Elite Space Sim.
It simulates the entire galaxy (core systems are hand-built, everything else procedurally generated), allows landing on planets, trading, combat, etc.
It features the original game’s Newtonian physics, so actually arriving safely at your destination is a challenge in itself, similar to flying in Kerbal Space Program. But the HUD gives you all the info you need for that.
I’m currently playing The Final Draft. Totally agree, I think AW2 is a masterpiece and has sold me as a big fan of Sam Lake and his work. I liked the first game (and loved Control), but the sequel is a lot more fun than the first gameplay-wise.
Night Springs DLC spoilerI was a little confused by the three episodes, obviously they’re intended to be other characters (Rose, Jesse, Sheriff Breaker), but apparently they are all just stories written by Wake as attempts to escape the Dark Place prior to AW2. The third episode talks about how all characters have “echoes” and with the multiverse are basically real and canon (even relating to their real-life counterparts). Sam Lake = the Director = Alex Casey = Max Payne, etc - each is as real as the others and they’re tied together by a string. Pretty interesting take, and I like that this episode basically canonizes Max Payne and Quantum Break in the Remedyverse.
After I finish the Final Draft, I will have to play Quantum Break. I think a Max Payne remake is rumored, so hopefully that will see light not long after. I have already played Control and it’s DLCs multiple times and can’t wait for that sequel.
I’m debating to play ‘‘The Final Draft’’. I read its basically the same game but with a slightly more story regard the ending of the game. I did not notice/ know that;
spoilerThe three stories were written by Wake to escape prior Alan Wake 2 story. I probably have missed that somehow.
I unfortunately never played any Max Payne games, are they worth to get into?
Yeah if you just finished your first playthrough it might be a little soon for the Final Draft. I beat it a few months ago and just finished the DLC a week or so ago, so I think it’s a good time for me. I bet you could just watch the cutscenes or differences on YouTube though.
I actually haven’t played the Max Payne games, but I’ve heard good things. I think there’s a remake of those rumored, so I’m probably going to wait and go check out Quantum Break next!
The original two Max Payne games are lovely and a favorite of mine to replay every few years or so, personally. They are very straight forward shooters though and can be a little hard at times, but extremely fun.
If you enjoy Sam’s writing, you’d very much enjoy Max Payne 1+2. Experience where it started, as it were.
The Last Sovereign(NSFW) is an 18+ RPGmaker game. The basic premise is this: What if you had a setting with a bunch of hentai tropes lumped together and played straight, with no porn logic or stupid characters?
You play as a middle aged, very competent army veteran who gains the powers of an incubus, and reluctantly uses them with the aim of making the world a better place, slowly developing a harem of well realized, cool characters along the way. There’s sex scenes, obviously, but you very quickly forget all about them as you are plunged into an underdog story where you have to manage your fledgling armies + resources and have to constantly make tough decisions.
The Black Pool is a game I decided to try recently. It reminds me a lot of Returnal in terms of visuals and gameplay, but I don’t expect the story to evolve much beyond the initial “kids lost in the woods trying to get home.”
It’s a 4-player roguelike where you get to choose random elements to slot into different abilities, namely a Primary, Secondary, and AOE attack as well as a jump, dodge, and once-per-world ‘rally’ buff. Each element makes the ability act differently, like a light primary is a slow charging piercing laser while wind is a projectile with knockback, and you also get to upgrade your elemental abilities after each stage you clear. I’m only about an hour into it so far, but I definitely think it deserves a little more than the 29 player peak it got right after it launched.
I think this is the only thread where I actually haven’t seen any of the games before.
Another game I enjoyed was The Eternal Castle (remastered). It’s a remake of a game from 1987. The animation is great and the visual style is really cool.
Encased is a CRPG, heavily inspired by the classic Fallout games, bringing it’s mechanics into the modern age. It’s story is based on the classic book “Roadside Picknick” (known for being the inspiration of the Stalker series) and is very well written. It has a story narrator, similar to the Divinity: Original Sin games and a very in depth character creation. At the start you choose a department of a research company to work in, which will change the way you interact with many characters, adding some replay value. Anything more I could say would be a spoiler, but the entire beginning (first half to one hour) is an absolute banger.
It’s my favorite indie game of the last few years and at the time of writing this, it is currently 90% of on steam, an absolute bargain
I may have to try it again some day. I thought the story and world was interesting and engaging. I played without guides and despite trying to explore and do everything while following the main story line, I soon found myself extremely underleveled to enemies. I thought it was hilarious that each person in the game is assigned a color based on their role in the colony so sometimes you meet someone who is introduced a being “a black”
Nexus: the Jupiter incident. It is a now a bit old tactical space combat game with a big focus on the narrative. It’s awesome, but I never see it mentioned anywhere.
God how badly do I want to see a remaster/remake. So under rated. With a bit more fleshing out (It’s a pretty short, pretty linear experience) it could easily compete with the mechanics in Homeworld.
Voices of the Void a free (likely while it's in pre-alpha) light simulational game about receiving outer space signals and recording them to sell. You use the currency to clean up, upgrade, and decorate your small facility while moving around the Swiss forest valley you're in to repair and upkeep the satellite dishes that make the operation function.
It sounds very purely simulational, but there are a lot of secrets and interesting signals that are more than signals. It's also an Unreal engine game, but features a lot of Source engine love, for example the art style is reminiscent of Half-Life 1, all of the sound effects are EXTREMELY Source game nostalgic, and there's crouch jumping.
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