I think VII being the first 3D FF also was a big reason for being so suited to remake. VI still looks awesome today, it’s peak pixel art era and a lot of the sprites are really beautiful. Original VII looks like pure ass. Nothing has aged worse graphically than old, first generation 3D games.
I’m with you completely though, VI is my favorite and a modernized version would be a sight to see. I wonder what they’d do with the opera scene.
Did you end up playing around anything further with the combat and the combos? I ended up really enjoying fighting in the game, I just wish the bosses were a little more refined maybe. The feeling of being in sync with the voices and dodging instinctively when they yell a warning is really cool, and unlike any other game I’ve played.
The ending didn’t click for me immediately either, but I ended up replaying it and giving it some more thought and I think I get what they’re going for. Really looking forward to the sequel.
And sorry again that I spoiled that trial! I hope you enjoyed it anyway, it’s still my favourite part I think.
Yeah, the combat has some depth to it but it’s never really explained nor needed. I guess the only truly useful one is the melee button pommel smash after a parry which stuns the enemy for like 15 seconds, very useful against the horde fights. I liked playing around with it and the animations and combos are satisfying, but that’s about it.
They had enough of a foundation there though that I’m hopeful for the sequel.
Probably Civilization V (with the difficulty set below maximum so you’re not too restricted and don’t have to play so sweaty). I like just seeing whatever the Planet Simulator map spits out, putz around with half my brain turned off, trying out niche civs and basically just playing it like solitaire.
I don’t play it even every week anymore, but when I need some distraction and relaxation that’s a comfort game go-to.
Haven’t watched the video but wasn’t Throne of Bhaal originally intended to be BG3 and was later downscaled to an expansion because of reduced time and resources?
I loved my playthrough of Elden Ring - and I’m happy I got to play it at launch and participate in the zeitgeist and discovery of it at the point where the wikis weren’t even populated etc - but I’m not super keen to play the DLC. Finishing the game was definitely a little more of a relief that it was over than I would have hoped to feel. It didn’t help that the last boss is terrible, so the game kind of ends on a sour note.
Also, FromSoft DLCs are always much harder than the base game. I already didn’t enjoy what they did with Malenia, if they try to top her in the DLC I honestly just can’t see myself having any fun.
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Still strolling through my snails pace playthrough of RDR2, haven’t left chapter 2 yet and mostly been doing side stuff, hunting fishing and completing challenges. Looking for a damn badger and beaver but can’t find either anywhere.
I also wish RDR2 had the same fishing minigame as FFXV. Not that it’s terrible, but I wish it had the same depth. That game had the best fishing minigame I’ve played, almost worth the price of admission for that alone.
Sounds like what I’ve been doing, too. Finally found a badger yesterday for the satchel but still on the hunt for some other assorted animals. Sadly I think I’m locked out of some stuff because I killed the legendary bear as part of the story quest so the pelt despawned before I unlocked the trapper. Currently trying to plow through some gambler challenges for the gear, it might actually kill my enthusiasm though. And I’d like to combine them with some Bandit pieces but I’ve been hesitant because I am playing high honor.
The White Arabian seems great, im personally going back and forth between the Warped Brindle Arabian and the Tigerstriped Bay Mustang (was hell to acquire) for horses.
I played through Hellblade recently and mostly loved it. I do however, agree that the quality of the hidden object puzzles vary a lot and there are a few too many of them. Sometimes it feels more like padding than enjoyable content.
I also wish the combat was slightly more demanding and involved. They have an amazing foundation with fantastic animations and a surprisingly robust combo system that just never actually demands you to explore its depths and nuances. The focus mechanic is also a little too powerful, which again doesn’t encourage you to utilise the combo system. More enemy/boss variety and more refined enemy movements would also be preferable, but they were working on a small budget so it’s understandable. It feels like they were so close to something amazing, and that makes me very hopeful for the sequel.
More RDR2 this week, still haven’t finished Chapter 2 as there is just an unbelievable amount of stuff to be distracted by. Apart from further fiddling with some mods I’ve just been enjoying my time hunting and fishing and completing challenges, events and side missions.
I might need to lay off the pursuit of the challenges as they seem extremely grindy and I don’t want to burn out before I finish the story, but so far it’s not started to wear me down and I’ve been enjoying just playing poker with the boys and whatnot.
Yeah the game never even hints at any combo system, though to be fair they never explain any mechanics (I guess in pursuit of immersion).
This video is not completely exhaustive, but goes through a fair amount of combos. In general, you can always interrupt a combo after the 1st, 2nd or 3rd attack with the melee button to punch/kick and follow up with a different two-attack combo. The finisher where Senua impales the enemy and pushes off with her foot can also be interrupted and extended by pressing light attack three times (which I don’t think the video covers).
I didn’t completely hate the find-the-symbol puzzles but they were definitely not particularly interesting. I think moments like the >!blind trial!< were where the game really shone. >!Navigating purely off of sound and controller vibration and avoiding the monsters in the dark!< is an experience that will stay with me for a while.
Completely agreed about the linear structure, I always thought it was the success of Witcher 3 that started an open-world craze, but regardless of where it came from it definitely ended up negatively impacting some games.
In general I think Ninja Theory did an amazing job at hiding the budget constraints. Another great example is the use of superimposed footage of live action instead of attempting to render characters and doing it poorly. The overall length of the game is also a part of this; they didn’t attempt to stretch too far and spread too thin but instead just made something brief but with the best quality they could. The game is short, but it didn’t feel too short. It felt perfectly measured for the story they were trying to tell.
As much as I’d love for more actual, true DE content, I’m actually happy this expansion is cancelled. Doing a content release without Kurvitz, Hindpere and Rostov would just be wrong, and would create an awkward situation for new players in the future. If we can’t have more real DE content, I’m happy the existing game at least gets to remain as an intact monolith rather than be diluted by additions outside the original writers’ vision and without the inimitable art of Rostov.
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
Alternating between playingRDR2 for the first time and fine-tuning the mods I’ve got installed. Really enjoying my time so far, but Jesus this game is just impossibly large. I’ve got something like 40 hours in the game and still haven’t unlocked fishing. I get that they don’t want to overwhelm you with mechanics but gimme my damn rod already!
I’m super impressed with the visuals, too. I guess it’s no coincidence it still is used for benchmarks. I finally have a PC capable of maxing it and it puts many more recent releases to shame despite being over 5(!) years old now.
I also wish I hadn’t gotten the ending spoiled for me way back. It’s still a great experience, but I’m sad I’ll never get to experience the impact it would have had if I was not spoiled.
I finished Hellblade and am feeling ready for the sequel that’s coming soon. It wasn’t a perfect game, but I really appreciate what they tried for and I think a lot of it was successful. The visual and (especially) audio design was stellar and the narrative is really interesting and touching and the presentation was mostly great. The trials were my favourite part, in particular the blind one where you have to navigate by sound and controller vibration and ignore the scary enemies. I almost wish they went all in on that sort of thing. Or if not, that they tuned the combat encounters differently. I actually quite enjoyed the combat system but there wasn’t much of a reason to fully explore its nuances.
After that, I finally started Red Dead Redemption 2, which is my current game. So far it’s mostly living up to the off-the-charts hype, though as usual I had to tweak some things to taste through mods (yes even on a first playthrough). I’m really enjoying it so far and can see myself either spending 400 hours on this game or get completely burned out (as I was by Ghost of Tsushima). Curious to see which it will be. I also sadly got the ending spoiled for me (way back) and I’m really sad about it because I can already tell the impact it would have had on me and I’m deeply sad I’m never going to get to experience that.
Now does RDR2 need these mods? Of course not, it’s perfectly fine out of the box. But with all the great games out there I’ve yet to play (existing and upcoming), I probably will only play a game of this length once. Might as well tweak it to my tastes to get as good of an experience as I can.
I think I read about that remake. Did they also change the soundtrack or am I tripping? I loved Mafia 1 back in the day, and the Django Reinhardt songs in the original were iconic.
I’m enjoying it a lot, I’m maybe two hours in or so. The game is beautiful in HDR and with ray tracing on and the art direction and sound design has been immense, as has the voice acting. I’m interested in the narrative also, though I’m only at the beginning.
Combat-wise I’ve beaten the first big boss and although I’m enjoying it a lot, I don’t think it would suffice as the lone selling point. The combo system is cool (though the lack of tutorials makes it a little opaque) but there isn’t much need for subtlety or mastery (at least so far). It’s all been pretty easy. If you’re hoping for a souls-like challenge that requires you to really master the combat system you’ll be disappointed, at least that’s what I’ve seen thus far.
I recommend it if you’re interested after watching the trailer, especially at this price. The presentation is really unique and I love games that do their own thing and put more of an emphasis on art. As others have said, wear headphones!
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
Playing Metro 2033 Redux at the moment, finally got my new gaming PC and Metro Exodus with full Ray Tracing has been on my radar but wanted to start from the beginning since I haven’t played this series before. You can clearly tell it’s made by ex S.T.A.L.K.ER. devs and sometimes you get weird almost deja vu, like the guitar playing around camp fires. Overall the setting and atmosphere is really cool. The lore seems interesting but the actual plot hasn’t been stellar so far. Gunplay is okay.
Just finished the Trolley Combat mission, and it’s been a hot minute since I played a level in a game that bad and unfun. Here’s hoping the final stretch is better.
I’m baffled that they mismanaged to get the team that made this and Prey to push out Redfall? Man.
It wasn’t actually the same studio, Dishonored was made by Arkane Lyon while Redfall was made by Arkane Austin. Arkane Lyon are the ones working on the upcoming Marvel’s Blade game, however.
Sales follow the tradition of supply and demand. Products come out at their highest price because of expectations and hype. Then, as interest wanes, the publisher continues to make some sales by reducing price to tempt the less interested parties....
In addition to this there is also occasionally the case where playing an extremely popular game right at launch lets you participate in the zeitgeist in a way you can’t really do if you wait a year and a half for a sale. I imagine whether this matters to you is extremely subjective, but I remember this being a big thing for me with both Elden Ring and BG3; being able to participate in discussions and discovery at the point in time when not everything about the game has been mapped out. Watercooler talk or chatting on Discord with others and sharing your respective findings during that early time when the Wikis aren’t filled in yet.
Alan Wake 2 is the reward for doing your Remedy homework, I feel. Like sure, the game is good enough that you can probably enjoy it if you just watch a story summary on YouTube and jump in, but it really has a different level of impact if you not only played the first one and Control, but are also familiar with Max Payne and Quantum Break.
I think what Remedy are doing is so cool and I’m glad they’re getting the recognition they deserve. It’s also a drop dead gorgeous game and a great advertisement for their Northlight engine.
Game of the year for me, despite having played BG3.
Hello all! I have played Ghost of Tsushima last year, and while I thought the visuals were stunning and the gameplay and atmosphere were tremendous, the game felt a bit too long and repetitive for me. The story was nice, but due to the slow pace it didn’t have the emotional impact it might have gotten if the game was a bit...
Good to hear that the DLC is different and better, I too finished GoT this last year and by the end I was so worn out by the game that I had zero desire to keep going into the DLC.
While it has good parts for sure, I think GoT is massively overrated by many. I keep hearing people say it’s one of the best games they’ve ever played and I just can’t see it. It’s a solid open world collect-a-thon with a fairly satisfying combat system but it’s way too long for what it offers and wears out its welcome pretty fast, especially since the quest design is so bland and repetitive. Almost all side stories are just “talk to person, go somewhere and kill enemies, return”, and main stories overuse walk-and-talk way too much.
The story is pretty mediocre and the consistently dour and overly serious tone makes the game a true slog once the novelty wears off. Kenji alone is not enough to balance it out.
The bossfight duels are cool though and good fun, often with really cool settings and gorgeous visuals, like floating lanterns in shallow water. I wish there were more of them, and that they were repeatable at will.
There is no way they actually gave “Most innovative gameplay” to Starfield. And on top of that Best Soundtrack to Last of Us Part 1? Did they change the soundtrack for the remaster? How is it even nominated in 2023?
As has been mentioned already, Disco Elysium should be right up your alley. Not exactly Sci-Fi but has very interesting alternative reality world building and suits your wishes perfectly otherwise.
Don’t be afraid to be wild and weird in dialogues and remember that failure is often just as good or better as success in this game (they pioneered a fail-forward type design). Basically, treat it like an interactive book and you won’t be disappointed.
This one hit hard, he was truly iconic. I haven’t played Max Payne 1 or 2 for decades but I still remember his performance vividly. I wonder what will happen now with both Alan Wake 2 DLCs and the Max Payne remake on the horizon.
I was so happy he got to return for that Ghost Recon cameo. I was pissed at Ubisoft for a while for replacing him for Blacklist, but then it turned out he couldn’t do it for health reasons and just wanted to keep it hush-hush.
I’m glad he’s doing better now, can’t believe he beat three different cancers.
I don’t play too many JRPGs but I watched the whole trailer. The story and writing didn’t convince me but I could believe there are some characters among the one hundred on offer that are compelling.
I do love the art direction. A really smart blend of pixel art and 3D that is perfect to appeal to millennial nostalgia. I wish we got to see more of the combat, but at least the game systems they previewed seemed failry interesting and a variety of mini games is always fun. I do love me some good fishing, and there was a card game too?
The art direction is on point and that goes a really long way. Hard to gauge how the gameplay feels from watching a video (though it looked a little basic and clunky?). If they deliver a good story and nail the humour this style calls for this could end up a surprise hit.
Best game i played this year was Alan Wake 2, though I can imagine it’s probably not for everyone. The Marvelesque “homework” you’re recommended to do before playing to catch all the references and understand the interconnected lore might seem daunting, but the world and narrative Remedy has built continues to impress me. A lot has been said already about how Remedy has been pushing innovation and mixed media, but I’ll also add how impressed I am with the level of writing in general. Not only is the narrative mind bending, but all the characters are compelling and distinctive and all the different styles employed are nailed perfectly and mesh surprisingly well, from the Noir-caricature Alex Casey monologues to the goofy Koskela brothers TV ads.
The worst game I played this year was Ghost of Tsushima. Okay hear me out. The game is beautiful, well optimised and the combat is solid and satisfying. The game is just roughly twice as long as it should be considering what it is. The story is only okay at best, but suffers from a consistently dour and overly serious tone which really starts to drag as time goes on. The only bit of comic relief is Kenji, and he is barely around. On top of this the quest design is 90% “talk to person, move to area, kill the enemies there, go back and talk again”. Main story missions overly rely on walk-and-talk and/or ride-horse-and-talk. There are a handful of missions with more to it than that and those are good, but there just isn’t enough variation to sustain interest over the playtime (especially if you’re attempting to do everything and thus have to chase down the Ubisoft level open world stuff). After about 10h playtime I was loving the game, but by the third act I was thoroughly worn out and bored.
Outer Wilds. I played this game through PS Plus, and it is the best game I have ever played in my life. The gameplay, the puzzles, the music (!!!), the characters, the story, the ending. Just a masterpiece. I’m not even sure if it was this year or last year that I finished it, but the soundtrack was number 4 in my Spotify...
The first 20 hours of Ghost of Tsushima. This game is absolutely amazing on all fronts. It’s just way too long with not enough variation. 9/10
I’m glad to hear someone else say this. I’m currently on a push to finish the game after having it on hiatus for over a year and I have to mentally force myself to keep going.
It’s strange because it’s a beautiful game and the combat is satisfying enough, but something about the story and the pacing just wore me out somewhere in the third act
BG3 winning the GotY was something we all could see coming I think and even though it’s not my personal pick I’m hard pressed to argue. It’s a great game, it opened up many in the mainstream to a new genre and Larian is a great company with consumer-friendly policies. It’s hard to be mad.
I’m very glad Alan Wake 2 got a couple of awards, though. Hopefully this recognition means Remedy keeps pushing the boundaries and keeps going with their crazy mixed media and weirdness. We need someone doing innovation in the AAA space.
I am a little pissed they lost out on best music to FFXVI though.
I’m convinced they had Cyberpunk win it because they don’t have a “Best DLC/Expansion” category (yet) and felt like Cyberpunk deserved to win something for the way 2.0 and Phantom Liberty revitalised it.
I just love what Remedy did for the music, and I’m not just talking about Poets of the Fall. Having a bunch of established artists write original music based on a bunch of story related poems written by Sam Lake was such a cool idea and makes the end-of-chapter songs land so well. But the competition was tough, for sure.
I haven’t heard those comments about Game Direction but I can’t understand that at all. The direction is absolutely first class, from the tension-release work to the cinematic shots and framings to the double-exposure overlaps and the reality rewriting and dream logic of the Dark Place. It was a masterpiece in my opinion.
When was the last major Rockstar release that came out simultaneously on consoles and PC? Max Payne 3 maybe? I assume it will be console exclusive and then PC a year later.
I don’t know, I think it’s more down to personal preference than that. I get that competitive FPS players want to push frame rates as high as possible, but for me personally I have the exact opposite opinion as you. I have no real need to chase hundreds of FPS, at a stable 60 games feel smooth enough (maybe my eyes are bad). On the other hand, several games have a dramatic improvement in presentation with Ray Tracing on, in my opinion, which I value a lot. Both Cyberpunk and Alan Wake 2 for example look notably better with RT on.
I used the modded Metro System for my playthrough along with a mod that adds basic primary needs (hunger/thirst/sleep). Many of my favourite moments were realising it was late after doing a gig, hopping on the metro and watching the city as I rode back to the apartment for a night’s sleep.
Small things like that really help me with immersion, so I’m really happy they added this officially.
I forgot, you also probably want to get a modded timescale. I made my own custom one, but if you use vanilla you risk getting on the train at midnight and coming back home at sunrise. Here are some to choose from if you don’t want to set up your own.
I’m not convinced by what I’ve seen just yet, but I’m happy we’re getting a game at all and I’m trying to be hopeful. Every fiber in my being is wishing for this to end up a GotY slamdunk after all the developers have been through.
I loved Shadow of Chernobyl and I probably have a couple hundred hours in Anomaly so I will buy it regardless, not least to show my support.
There are so many other games to play that I’m still probably on the plan to postpone my second playthrough until the Definitive Edition comes out (probably next summer), but this is a much needed patch.
The way Larian describes the new epilogue, I’m thinking this is them re-adding some of the “17 000 endings” they were talking about pre launch. In any case, more and better epilogues were sorely needed so this is great.
Hopefully they can keep salvaging cut content and polish up Act 3 until it reaches the same quality of the other two.
It brings up some valid points about how the PeopleMakeGames video frames the issues, as well as criticizes how they press the creator of the IP very hard while being extremely lenient in their interview with the corporate suit who did the takeover.
While the PMG video is very impressive (at least the first half of it), it derails toward the end in a way that sadly might influence the opinion of many viewers. Even if the allegations are all true and Robert Kurvitz actually was a terrible boss who was a bit of a jerk and created a toxic workplace environment, that does not mean he deserves to have his IP stolen from out under him.
It’s not just AAA gaming but all over Hollywood too, has been for a while. Nostalgia is a powerful force and churning out sequels or prequels or spinoffs off of recognizable IPs is just less risky an investment than trying to make something new.
The game magazine that spent two years taunting a Final Fantasy VIII hater (ff8isthe.best) angielski
I really like this new blog. Reminds me of ukresistance.
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of February 25th
Hey y’all, what have you been playing!...
What games make you happy?
Hello all! I would like to know what games give you that cozy, fuzzy feeling of simple happiness....
What Ever Happened to the Original Baldur's Gate 3? (yt.artemislena.eu) angielski
The first trailer for #ELDENRING Shadow of the Erdtree will be revealed in 16 hours. Join us at 15:00 UTC. (twitter.com) angielski
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of February 18th
Hey y’all!...
Disco Elysium standalone expansion reportedly cancelled and quarter of staff facing redundancy at ZA/UM (www.eurogamer.net)
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of February 11th
What have you all been playing!...
How do you feel about the expression "updated for modern audiences" in remasters and remakes?
Do alarm bells ring or not?
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The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of January 14th
What are you all playing? I’ve been playing a ton of Mario world ROM hacks. I beat super nothing world. Now I’m playing some hacks by the jump team
Many players have become "patient gamers". What are games people might miss out on by waiting for sales? angielski
Sales follow the tradition of supply and demand. Products come out at their highest price because of expectations and hype. Then, as interest wanes, the publisher continues to make some sales by reducing price to tempt the less interested parties....
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of January 7th
Happy new year!...
Ghost of Tsushima's DLC Iki Island is the best part of the game
Hello all! I have played Ghost of Tsushima last year, and while I thought the visuals were stunning and the gameplay and atmosphere were tremendous, the game felt a bit too long and repetitive for me. The story was nice, but due to the slow pace it didn’t have the emotional impact it might have gotten if the game was a bit...
Baldur's Gate 3 has won Steam's 2023 GOTY Award (store.steampowered.com) angielski
Game of the Year Award - Baldur’s Gate 3...
[F4 Mod] Fallout London - Official Release Announcement (youtu.be) angielski
Some highlights:...
Looking for a rec: story oriented RPG with minimal focus on combat
Preferably in the high fantasy or sci fi genre....
Max Payne voice actor James McCaffrey has passed away (www.videogameschronicle.com) angielski
All You Need to Know About Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes in 6 Minutes! - Key Features Trailer (www.youtube.com) angielski
Mouse is an upcoming FPS heavily inspired by old-school Disney cartoons (www.destructoid.com) angielski
What were the best and worst games you played in 2023? angielski
The title of this post made me think about the best and worst I’ve played this year....
Knokelmaat's Top 10 Patient Games of the Year 2023 angielski
Outer Wilds. I played this game through PS Plus, and it is the best game I have ever played in my life. The gameplay, the puzzles, the music (!!!), the characters, the story, the ending. Just a masterpiece. I’m not even sure if it was this year or last year that I finished it, but the soundtrack was number 4 in my Spotify...
The Game Awards 2023: List of Winners angielski
Here’s the full list of winners at TGA:...
Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer 1 (www.youtube.com) angielski
Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.1 Patch Notes (www.cyberpunk.net) angielski
What game company from your childhood do you remember with fondness?
I was thinking about how I remember Maxis fondly, and I got to wondering what other people’s experiences were like!...
Whats your favorite Main Menu music? angielski
I’ll start it off - Legend of Dragoon has my heart with this one...
Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.1 Announced for Next Week (www.ign.com) angielski
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Has Entered the Final Phase of Development and Reveals New Trailer (techraptor.net) angielski
Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 5 Adds New Playable Epilogue With 3,589 Lines of Extra Dialogue, Much More (www.ign.com) angielski
About the Disco Elysium Investigation (www.youtube.com) angielski
Jamrock Hobo’s response to People Make Game’s investigation
What moment from a video game made you cry? angielski
For me, it was Princess Rosalina’s backstory in Super Mario Galaxy.
Kotaku Asks: How Soon Is Too Soon For A Video Game Remaster Or Remake? (kotaku.com) angielski
When should developers go back and remaster or remake their most popular games?