I’m going to suggest a funny little game I’ve recently been completely obsessed with; HOLE. I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s a PvE only “extraction-lite” shooter. You drop into a procedurally generated map and kill your way through waves of dudes in suits. As the waves drag on, they’ll start showing up in body armor with better guns. You have to find your exfil point and charge it before leaving, kind of like Risk of Rain. Protip if you do end up trying this game out, you can pre-charge the exfil as soon as you find it, then leave it and keep going on the level. Just don’t get lost.
The loot you’re looking for is mostly currency; this comes in the form of dollars and data. You can use these to purchase upgrades for your base, and eventually your weapons. If you go “MIA” (get perforated by a Red Boss’s flechette slinging shotgun or cut to ribbons by the Blueberry), you lose 90% of these currencies. Some special things must be successfully extracted. Some things (namely weapon/upgrade blueprints) are permanently collected once you pick them up, even if you don’t make it out. I feel like they pulled a nice balance between creating a challenging experience but not making it frustrating.
Some things are “soft”; ammo is infinite, bullets are hitscan. There are “crunchy” bits, too. Your gun will occasionally jam. Your barrel will heat up, and getting it too hot will cause more malfunctions. The malfunction will always be an FTE/stovepipe, and you clear it by racking the slide or pulling the bolt. These malfunctions are less for realism, and more for inducing stress, but it’s a nice touch along with the backrooms-esque spooky vibes. The reports of the guns actually sound really spot on. Suppressors sound correct, and there’s even subsonic ammo to make them even better.
I think what this game really works on is the vibes. This game instills a very specific kind of stress no other shooter I’ve played does. It’s SUPERHOT without the gimmick. It’s John Wick the game. It’s SCP Mobile Task Force simulator. It’s quiet and spooky, then loud and angry, and back again. It’s listening for footsteps and voices, creeping up behind them, and getting away scot-free. Or maybe turning around and being face to face with a Yellow Elite in body armor and a juggernaut helmet. It’s mentally screaming “where the hell is the microwave??” at yourself while the chatter of gunfire closes in on you desperately trying to get a fresh mag in and clear the jam before they’re on you.
All in all, I seriously recommend it. It’s $5, and I’ve gotten 10x my money’s worth out of it.
I’ve been playing a couple new-to-me games lately, Plague Inc and Guntouchables.
I can see why Plague Inc is so popular. It has a bit of that “one more turn” feel to it for me, and it is interesting how you can employ different strategies to try to win. I find it to be a decent game for relaxing after a tough day of work (though it could also be frustrating when you lose).
Guntouchables I got for free when it first launched and just played it yesterday with some friends (who also got it for free). It is a fairly simple co-op rogue-lite top down shooter, but I think it is well executed, and I enjoyed the couple runs we had. I’ll probably buy the supporter pack DLC for this at some point, because I do feel it deserves that.
I think you might enjoy Trepang2. It is heavily inspired by the combat in F.E.A.R., has unlockables and arena modes for some replayability. There is a demo and a sale on GOG.
I never played Galaxy 2. I liked the first, but I actually preferred Sunshine. Galaxy just seemed smaller to me. I liked that it was different, and maybe part 2 would’ve improved on the engine, but I just thought the first was almost like a gimmick.
Sunshine was gimmicky too, but it felt more complete overall. But yeah, not sure 1+2 is worth $70. I get that Microsoft and Sony have other things to fall back on, but Nintendo is asking too much this time for 15-18 year old games. $50 is more like it.
Personally I didn't like Galaxy 1 very much, but loved 2 as much as using a Wiimote allows. Came down to more level variety with better design and being more challenging I guess. Hard to remember, never replayed either game.
I can't stand Sunshine however. Multiple revisits trying to get into it, but it's just with how Mario controls. Very SSB Melee twitchy which I don't like.
I played 2 with a friend a few years ago. 2 literally felt like more Galaxy. Which is great if you want more Galaxy, not so much if you want to try something a bit new
For curious reasons, they didn’t keep this loco in the main large museum in New Delhi; probably because it is not connected to active rail tracks. I took a couple of hours local train ride to see this in the small museum tucked there.
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Been playing Hollow Knight: Silksong. I’ve seen credits twice, and am now in Act 3. Currently going through the world again, looking for stuff I missed.
While I do have a good time with the game, I can’t say I love it, because it has a few too many frustrating sections and maybe a few parts that were a bit too difficult for me to really enjoy.
What kind of games are you looking to play, and what form factor do you want?
I bought a Miyoo Mini Plus on sale two years ago and ended up liking it so much I wish I'd bought a more expensive model with analog sticks. There are quite a lot of devices like it on the market, if you want something small for retro emulation look into all the different options.
Meanwhile, my Steam Deck largely gathers dust because it's just too bulky to feel like a replacement for the handheld-sized handhelds I grew up on. Switch (2) is good for running Switch games, and it's at least a bit smaller and lighter than the Deck, but mine rarely leaves the dock.
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