I'm a bit if the opposite, I seem to thrive on games that have a lot of collectibles and side missions/tasks because it turns into mindless fun between emails.
But I get where you're coming from, and I think that one of the game's pitfalls is the collectibles/side missions to main story ratio. Like finding the stickers/graffiti has been the most difficult for me, so I probably could have done without that one. The relics are really cool, and I love reading about them, but they kind of have a weird spread over the map.
I think the devs could have either made the map smaller (not that it's that large to begin with) with less "stuff", since you don't unlock at least half the map anyway if you just stick the main storyline, or they could have padded out or lengthened the main story so you do unlock all the map before you get to the point where you move "off map". (Edit to add) It seems like the devs got so caught up in creating a realistic version of Shibuya that it kinda got away from the main point and plot of the game.
This game gets a lot of (rather justified) flak, but I'll be honest, the first time I played this, it scared the bejeesus out of me. So much so that whenever I would play other games and the lights would start to flicker, my first thought would be "Fuck, the manpigs are coming."
Still working on clearing the map in Ghostwire: Tokyo. There is just so, so much. But even as I'm going through and tying up lose ends, I am loving all the little easter eggs. There's references to previous Tango games, Resident Evil, horror movies, Wizard of Oz of all things... Also, this game has a serious thing for aliens and UFOs? I'm not sure why though. Still fun, even though some tasks have been a little time consuming.
After weeks of playing Diablo 4: Season 3 off and on, I've finally hit level 100 (yes, I know, I'm incredibly slow at leveling). I've got one objective left to complete the season, but right now I'm focusing on continuing to level up my glyphs before I go showdown with Duriel or Uber Lilith.
I've been really interested in Ghostwire: Tokyo for a while now, especially since it's made by the same developer at The Evil Within. Even though the game needs a little polishing (it took me way too long to get the controller settings adjusted to something I could comfortably use; idk what they were thinking with the defaults), I am having so much fun with it. But I kinda had to stop reading all the animals' minds for a little bit because it was making me sad. Hearing how some of them are confused and missing their owners was hitting me right in the feels. I've also been playing it with Japanese audio, which is really great and immersive, except for in the boss fights when they're just casually dropping lore but I'm too busy trying to stay alive to read the subtitles. Right now, I've finished up the main story line and am now just mopping up the rest of the map. But there's a lot, so I might be floating around Tokyo for a while.
I have various lists here and there, like one for everything I have on Steam, one for Epic, one for GOG, another for games I'm playing through GamePass.
Don't even get me started with the physical binders I have dedicated to achievement hunting, maps, and notes. So, I get it.
I've been meaning to play Amnesia: The Bunker for a while now, since I love the series. You're in a tighter space than the previous installments, and it doesn't go as quite deep into the lore as Rebirth does, but it felt so much more like an Amnesia game then Rebirth did, since you're learning the story through the notes and whatnot, and there's not really any other characters to interact with for the most part. My first playthrough was super stressful because of the fuel and shitty flashlight situation, and there were a couple of times I didn't think I would actually end up finishing the game. But through the power of crawling around in the dark Alien Isolation style, I did! After finishing, I was going to set this aside until I saw all the features I could change and switch up on a ng+ customized difficulty, which I thought was really cool, so I ended up playing another round for some mild achievement hunting.
During a monthly get together with a few of my friends, we played Worms W.M.D. as a filler between conversation. I had never played any of the Worms games before, but this one was so much fun. I'm sure part of it had to do with us not really knowing the game and just fucking up trying to learn it, but it was still a good time all around.
Totally agree! I love how faithful the devs were to the original, and all the enhancements they made, story or otherwise, only add to it imo. Although I think my favorite thing is that they gave Isaac is his voice, and with the original voice actor from 2 & 3 at that.
One of the reasons I replayed Dead Space (2023) was to get the ng+ ending. Did I get all the Marker collectables that I was supposed to gather? Yes. Did I know I had to put them in a special place before leaving the Ishimura? No. No, I did not. So guess who's playing Dead Space again? (Yes, I know I could just YouTube it, but that's not the point.) Anyway, still having fun with this game.
I had an itch to replay Resident Evil 5, so I did. I had no idea that there was an update that made all the QTEs optional (except for some of the bosses). But apparently there was. I'm surprised that almost 15 years later they made a change to it. But thank the elder gods they did, because the QTEs during the cutscenes always made me anxious, especially towards the end.
Played a demo for a game called Haunted House Renovator. It was actually kind of lengthy for a demo and pretty fun. It will be interesting seeing the full product when it comes out.
I'm despising the growing trend of devs/publishers not offering a physical option for consoles (looking at you, Alan Wake 2). I like having the disc on my shelf, especially if it's a series.
Alan Wake is actually back on Steam! Remedy was able to work something out with the music rights (the reason why it was delisted) that put it back on virtual storefronts.
I've been replaying Dead Space (2023) on ng+. This game is my life now.
I found a fun little walking mystery sim on GamePass called Return to Grace. It had a pretty neat little story for it being only a couple hours long. The ending (or at least the one I got) was a bit obvious, but I had a good time, and there were some nice screenshots I got out of it.
Also of course have been playing Diablo 4: Season 3, but nothing notable is going on there.
I've been wondering the same thing. I really like kbin's interface, so I'm holding out that he comes back before I think about trying another instance.
I have one season objective left for Diablo 3: Season 30, and it's to complete another conquest. All three that I have left are driving me nuts because I just am not fast enough and/or get bad layouts. But I still have another month or so left before the end of the season, so I might be ok.
I finished my first run of Dead Space (2023), and it is absolutely amazing. I could rant on and on about it, but for the sake of sanity I'll just say, this is probably one of the best and most faithful remakes of a game I have ever played. They lift so much from the original, and every change in the story only adds to it, or makes it better. Plus, while I understand that the original never intended Isaac to talk, I love that they gave him his voice (with the same VA from 2&3, I might add, which makes it even better imo). It makes him seem more like a part of the Kellion crew rather than just some dude running around being told what to do. It's all just chef's kiss.
For this next week, I think I might find a quick one/two night game before I go into ng+ for Dead Space '23. I need a breather before I reboard the Ishimura.