ConstableJelly

ConstableJelly, 23 dni temu

So close to great. I wish more developers were making environmentally detailed, high production value, single player linear games like Callisto Protocol. Just that little bit better executed to round out the total package.

ConstableJelly, 29 dni temu

I played the demo up to the first couple battles just to get a taste of how that works. No question, I am very excited to get my hands on it. I’m generally a sub-$20 patient gamer, but this is one I’ll be getting sooner. I’ll still probably wait for the holiday season to see if it drops down at all because I’ve got plenty to keep me busy in the meantime.

ConstableJelly, miesiąc temu

If I may, I’d recommend starting with the Demon’s Souls remake if you’re interested. Bloodborne was the first Souls game I ever played, and it was quite punishing. I got quite far and greatly enjoyed parts of it, but it was my experience that it was extraordinarily challenging for a newcomer. Among all the Souls and Soulslike games, BloodBorne is intended to be played aggressively, which is not a good starting point in my opinion.

It was actually Returnal that taught me how to approach challenging games, i.e., almost like a puzzle game in how you try new things to break through impasses. That being said, I also found the Demon’s Souls remake to be a much more forgiving entry point, especially if you play as a magic caster. MP is limited so you still need to engage in melee, but magic is a powerful tool to play things safe if you play smartly.

It’s also just a fantastic game with great level design. I actually kind of like the segmented levels with a central hub.

ConstableJelly, miesiąc temu

I loved it. I’ve since also played 100+ hours of Elden Ring and some other challenge-heavy games like Hollow Knight - I’ve thought about going back to Bloodborne with some experience under my belt because it really is a great game. But for me it feels like a lot to start over (and as much as I hate to be an fps snob, they never released a next-gen update and playing a game like this in 30 fps is a turn-off).

ConstableJelly, miesiąc temu (edited miesiąc temu)

I gotta vent a little about Jedi Survivor - I really did not enjoy it much at all and am surprised it was so critically lauded. The combat aims for souls-like but is way too twitchy and glitchy to make it feel fun and rewarding. I came out of 60% of combat encounters feeling bored, 20% feeling relieved that some erratic imbalance or technical tomfoolery didn’t make me repeat it, and 10% feeling frustrated for the same reason but on the other side.

The same core issues affected the bosses too. I didn’t feel like the game earned my dedication to “solving the puzzle” the way games like Elden Ring and Returnal do.

Exploration was mostly fine in a zone-out kind of way but grew quite stale by the end, being the same vertical platforms and grapple spots on every section of every world. And the story too was just too out of focus. The whole Tanalorr thing was a late first-act development completely divorced from the course of the opening, and there was never a clear or necessary enough idea of why they wanted to get there to justify it becoming a priority to drive the story.

spoilerBy the time they were trying to chase down the last compass, they’d garnered enough attention from the raiders and the empire that it no longer felt like a hidden secret. And the fact that all Cal had to do to get there was press a button to align the arrays…how long will they be safe on Tanalorr before the empire figures that out? It simply never felt like it was worth the trouble everyone was going to for it.

I still like the characters, but I was desperate to be done by the time I was fighting a notable turn-of-the-second-act boss, whose appearance elicited an eyeroll rather than excitement. I set the game to story mode at that point and just rushed the ending.

While that was going on though, I did play Animal Well all the way through (“layer 1” anyway), and that was extraordinary fun.

Oh, I also tried out the Metaphor Refantazio demo and that feels incredibly promising, especially with the incredible reviews it’s getting today.

ConstableJelly, miesiąc temu

Fatal Frame has gotten lost to history a bit, but I remember those games having the reputation as being the scariest that games have ever gotten when they were new.

ConstableJelly, 2 miesiące temu

Same here. Loved the setting and style, and the story and characters were admirably close to (the good) 3rd-person bioware stuff.

I don’t usually pay full price for games, but I was thinking of buying Greedfall 2 near release to support what they do. This puts a real taint on things.

ConstableJelly, 2 miesiące temu

The turn-based with real-time elements reminds me of Sea of Stars and Shadow Hearts, which are both excellent titles in my mind for this game to associate itself with. Looks really flashy too with the menu, camera movement, and slowdown effects (hopefully that wouldn’t get old with too much repetition).

ConstableJelly, 3 miesiące temu

Same, though interested is an understatement. Prey is one of the greatest games I’ve ever played. I enjoyed Weird West, but it left me feeling more like a POC of what the studio wants to do than anything up to the actual standards of Arkane’s best.

If WolfEye fills the void of Arkane’s deplorable closure, they’ll get all the support I can give.

ConstableJelly, 3 miesiące temu

Tried The Ascent because of just how slick it looked in the previews I saw. And you’re right, the atmosphere is great. But I have a low tolerance for the looter shooter format and I don’t play much online coop, so I got real bored of it real fast.

ConstableJelly, 4 miesiące temu

I’ve been enjoying Pacific Drive this week. It’s a great survival crafting game in the vein of Subnautica, which is to say there is a linear progression path for upgrades and improvement, and a well-defined objective and end goal.

I just wish it was less stressful. Even just the normal act of activating a gateway to end a run requires a race through your current zone where one misstep can cause you to get stuck long enough to fail. And sometimes conditions just really stack up against you in a way that can be unexpected and frustrating.

Overall though it really hits the spot with its loop. I love returning to the garage and going through the ritual of healing, fueling up, recharging, transferring supplies, and checking on upgrades.

Oh…I also finished and platinumed 13 sentinels earlier this week. I enjoyed that one a lot more than I expected. It’s as compelling as it is eye-rollingly funny how many sci-fi tropes the main story burns through, but I i was frequently and pleasantly taken by surprise. And the battle system, which through the first area I thought was so easy it was basically a formality, really did become more challenging and tactical, especially when trying to get S ranks.

ConstableJelly, 5 miesięcy temu

Good luck my friend. Hollow Knight is a special one, but those bosses can be punishing. A few of them took me separate sessions over a few days, which is a frustrating way to play games for me, but it’s such a rewarding experience otherwise. I recently rewatched my recording of beating one of the bosses and I was fumbling so bad, I could see my own desperation in the way I was playing.

Apparently there’s a secret phase for the final boss that I was more than happy to experience via YouTube. I was perfectly satisfied with just rolling the credits.

ConstableJelly, 5 miesięcy temu

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. I am about 25% through with both Remembrance and the battles… Destruction? I’m in awe of the narrative’s complexity. It’s also a little overwhelming, it feels impossible to get any kind of handle on things. The game adds new layers every time you think you’re getting it.

Im really enjoying it though, the mystery is really fun to dig at.

I also beat Malenia this week, which is pretty much the last major thing I had left in my first Elden Ring save. I got help of course (thanks superelva11), but it’s been really satisfying tying a bow on that. 140 hours, plus another 30-35 on a second save - Elden Ring is officially the most time I’ve ever spent on a single game by quite a large margin.

ConstableJelly, 5 miesięcy temu

I kind of love Control’s navigation. The map is helpful enough to point you in the right direction, but also shitty enough that you have to pay attention to the diagetic signage. It’s uniquely immersive.

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu (edited 6 miesięcy temu)

I don’t know if Prey is my favorite game of all time, but it’s on the short list. I can, however, say that it is the game that most fills me with awe. Talos 1 is an extraordinary playspace filled with incredible detail, choice, style, and diversity. The narrative, possibly the weakest element of the game, still packs in a lot of cool ideas and genuine surprises.

Prey also contains by far my favorite opening “level” of all time. Without spoiling, the immediate tonal shift, the creepy mystery, the complete recontextualization of your first 10 or 15 minutes, it’s an absolute spectacle.

In a perfect world, all these devs get absorbed by WolfEye Studios or something and they get a bunch of funding to make another massive masterpiece.

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

The Nightmare Typhon that has a timer? That sucks. I don’t remember having too much trouble in my first playthrough - I have memories of just hiding in a bathroom that it was too big to enter until the timer ran out for one of the encounters. But I can imagine that if you’re in a particularly bad area when it comes for you it could cause problems.

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

Via Kotaku:

Bloomberg previously reported that the vampire shooter’s [Arkane’s Redfall] troubled development grew out of a push by top Bethesda leadership to make a live-service game, a decision that ultimately led to sky-high attrition and multiple delays.

All reward, no risk for the executives demanding that their best-in-class immersive sim developer create an empty live service shooter. Stupid decision led to predictable outcome and the workers feel the ax for it.

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

May I ask what the appeal is to that over just the base game?

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

Interesting. Uncharted territory!

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

Finished the main campaign in Midnight Suns. I maintain what I’ve said previously about the dialogue and characterizations bearing heavy MCU fanfic vibes. None of these versions of the characters qualify among my favorite iterations. But hot damn if it isn’t super well balanced, addicting, and fun to play. The 60 or so hours I spent on it went by like a breeze and I still dip in to raise my remaining friendship levels.

I tried out Sifu from PS Plus and am glad I hadn’t ever bought it. Seems like a super cool idea and good execution, but it felt a little like a fighting game with its button pressing combos (plus I hate combos where you have to flick the movement stick around). I also didn’t fancy the idea of having to worry about how old I was gettiing in the early levels and potentially have to play them over again just to lower my age for later level runs. Broke my threshold for punitive tedium.

Now I’m a few hours into Outward, and it’s promising so far. I’m loving the promise of the new stuff I can find and make, although I’m taking it super slow because the power dynamic is (intentionally) very intimidating.

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

Aw man, I forgot about Splatoon, and I think that would have been great but apparently there’s no splitscreen multiplayer. Good suggestion though!

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

TOTK is basically the same game but 1000x better

I hear ya, but I think that’s why I’d like to try them both, in order. More game, without tarnishing the experience of the first.

I’ve never particularly cared for Mario, but in retrospect it’s always felt somehow alien when I’ve tried playing them, like they all have this particular identity, and I’m not in its clique. Maybe I should actually sit down with one on my own and give it a solid try (rather than just sampling at someone else’s place).

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

Nice, this was totally off my radar but looks very promising, thanks!

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

Hell yeah, that’s perfect! Kinda forgot that I did also have the original Gameboy, and Kirby’s Dreamland was almost certainly my favorite game on it.

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

I remember hearing about that one, I’ll definitely check it out, thanks.

ConstableJelly, 6 miesięcy temu

Thanks, he’s obsessed with Pokemon and has been glued to the game so far. I’m interested in checking them out myself and will try popping in as second player!

ConstableJelly, 7 miesięcy temu

Marvel Midnight Suns. Disregarded it on announcement and launch because I wasn’t interested in the core card-based system. Played a little bit of Slay the Spire, which didn’t catch with me but did suggest I might actually be able to enjoy a card-based system with enough narrative context to keep me interested.

So far, so good. I just completed Act 1 (which prompted me to exclaim “that was only act 1??”) and I’m a little worried that I’m going to tire of the side missions soon and lose steam overall, but it hasn’t happened yet. The characters are fine enough, although they definitely give off MCU fanfic vibes (it’s jarring to me having a Peter Parker voiced by Yuri Lowenthal who is such a little remora sidekick in his characterization). The loop is pretty satisfying, if not a little clunky, and I wish the balance between doing battles and running around the abbey grounds leaned a little less on the abbey stuff.

But it’s a lot of fun and very addictive. I’m saddened that it performed poorly but I bear my part of the responsibility willingly.

ConstableJelly, 7 miesięcy temu

I don’t know if my fondness for any game tanked as steeply as Ghostwire Tokyo. I started out really enjoying it gameplay and traversal, the environmental design and level of detail, the style and enemy design. But it just did not last. I got reasonably swept up in map-clearing activities myself but grew bored of them so quickly I could barely bring myself to finish the game’s relatively swift main campaign.

ConstableJelly, 7 miesięcy temu

I actually do enjoy a bit of tedium, but it very specifically has to be building to something (I’ll swim around breaking rocks as long as Subnautica demands me to if it means getting to build some cool new thing).

Your point about not opening half the map just on the main missions is salient too for the same reason. Collecting for collecting’s sake is not enough for me, and too much of this game is just…there.

ConstableJelly, 7 miesięcy temu

That’s cool. I do enjoy lore, but more in an “explain it to me on YouTube” kind of way than an “uncover it organically through gameplay” way. I need characters, acts, and arcs to be immediately engaged.

ConstableJelly, 7 miesięcy temu

The most recent detective game I played (if it qualifies as such for you) was Paradise Killer, which surprisingly I enjoyed quite a bit. Again though, the lore has close ties to the interpersonal relationships of all the characters on the island.

ConstableJelly, 7 miesięcy temu

Home entertainment is such a closed system that all these companies are just beta testing shitty ideas for each other. Eventually they all do the same thing as long as any backlash was neither too destructive to revenue nor sustained. See endless streaming services price hikes, account sharing lockdowns, or the fact that you just can’t buy dumb TVs anymore.