Novamdomum

Novamdomum, 4 dni temu

Multiplayer games are absolutely off limits cheating wise for me. HOWEVER... using trainers and mods and things like Cheat Engine in single player games is not only ok, but I often treat it like it's a mini game. Can I give myself an extra 100k gold? Hmm fire up CE and let's see :)

The immense thrill I get from reducing some horrible grind from hours to minutes is just huge fun. I'm basically a sandbox guy. GTA5 cheats, for example, have led to more unexpected sandbox fun than I could ever have imagined over the years.

Not using cheats in single player grindfests is like having a first class ticket on a plane but choosing to travel economy. I think it's basically that I don't like being told to grind for the sake of it or for some "moral" reason.

I love a FUN grind though. I've spent days in games like My Time At Portia just fishing for example. It comes down to this: If a grind is fun, I'll happily do it but if it's just like I'm a mouse being toyed with by some cat then hello God mode lol

Novamdomum, 12 dni temu

I used to buy Steam games without a care in the world. Now to spend even 5 bucks I make myself go through a quality control checklist so vast it would impress a space shuttle commander. There's just been too many abandoned games, terrible sequels, fake reviews, unnecessary game launchers and disappointing Steam sales. That's not to say there isn't still an excellent bunch of games on there, but they're all hidden deep in the forest and I have to go sniff em out like a basset hound.

Novamdomum, 11 dni temu

Well ok but I did say it was long. Tbh, my checklist is almost a minigame itself now 🤣

So once I've found a game that looks interesting, I do the following:

Google video search for the game's title and filter to past week, then month, then year and that shows me how many people are actually talking about this game right now and who's doing the talking.

I look at the Steam reviews and initially filter to only show negative ones. I find it's a lot easier to see if the game's been review bombed that way. Also, a lot of negative reviews complain about features I find positive so that's helpful too "This game was way too easy! I finished it in 30 hours and I still had all my hair at the end, harumph!". I also check phrases like "Abandoned by the devs" or "Yet another asset flip" or "Beware! The EULA is a privacy nightmare".

I then switch to positive reviews and read the short ones. The dissertations are just way too much detail at this stage (or any stage really for me).

At some point early on I check the Steam update history. If the last update was years ago I factor that in. I also try to keep on top of relevant news like that time the entire staff of Annapurna Interactive quit, making a sequel to Stray unlikely.

Also, if it hasn't had that many recent updates I'll join the Discord and see how active that is. That's usually so revealing. Often in a positive way like with the G-Rebels devs.

Then I go through my top YT game reviewers like Raptor, Scarlett Seeker, Splattercat Gaming, Orbital Potato and Nookrium and see if they've talked about the game.

I look for the title on Allkeyshop to see if there's a cheaper EU unlockable Steam game key available.

I check for trainers in case I need an escape hatch if it turns out to be too grindy or tedious but still worth playing.

If all the searches have been positive so far I'll wishlist it around this point. If there's a demo I'll play it. If it looks amazing from the start I'll install the demo after looking at a couple of gameplay videos.

I also have a 21:9 monitor so I hop into the Steam discussion group for the game and look for confirmation that it's compatible.

If it's too expensive I'll check SteamDB and look at it's price history. My personal limit is <7 bucks for an old game and <18 for a relatively new one (unless something exceptional suddenly appears like Eriksholm).

I'll check if there any Steam sales coming and if the theme is likely to match the game I'm looking at.

I really do actually do all this by the way. It's the only way I've been able to get more sensible about the games I buy.

Novamdomum, 11 dni temu

Oh yeah definitely :) Also I've noticed there's kind of a new feeling of satisfaction when a game does somehow make it through this assault course and I buy it finally. It feels like an achievement in itself.

Novamdomum, 11 dni temu

Excellent! Thanks for those :)

Novamdomum, miesiąc temu

Didn't want to mention the name of the game cos some might claim I'm stealth marketing for it or some bs like that.

Novamdomum, miesiąc temu

That's good to know.

Novamdomum, miesiąc temu

Really well explained thanks! 🙂

Novamdomum, miesiąc temu

Oh ok 🙂 It was Seafarer: The Ship Sim. A day after they launched they got a load of negative reviews that took them down to a "Mostly Negative" rating. That's improved since then, presumably once more genuine reviews came in.

Novamdomum, miesiąc temu

I believe how it works is people buy the game, write the negative review and then refund it. Review bombing is not only definitely a thing but Steam have gone to great lengths to combat it, which would be odd if it was imaginary.

Novamdomum, miesiąc temu

You've just reminded me actually, there was a game I loved playing the demo for called "Truck World: Australia - First Haul" I saw back in June that got hugely review bombed (maybe by ETS2 fans?). "Worse than a mobile game" and "It's way too red" were two I remember 🤣

Novamdomum, miesiąc temu

Absolutely. Also, I'd love to make it a rule that you can't start a review with:

"I really wanted to like this game but..."

Aww... Did you pumpkin? Are you SO disappointed that you don't get to like a thing you wanted to like? That must be so rough for you.
Anyone using that opener is immediately suspicious to me.

Novamdomum, 2 miesiące temu

Played the demo of Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream a while back so might buy it now it's 20% off. Not surprised it got "Overwhelmingly Positive". Bloody excellent game.

Novamdomum, 2 miesiące temu

This is the sort of thing that caught my attention:

STAR CITIZEN is Getting DESTROYED by No Man´s Sky
The TRUTH About Star Citizen vs Starfield vs No Man´s Sky
No Man’s Sky Just Changed Space Games Forever with Voyagers
5 Ways No Man’s Sky Outshines Star Citizen’s Overpriced Dreams

Novamdomum, 2 miesiące temu

Yeah some of those comments are insane... 😲

Novamdomum, 3 miesiące temu

This seems deliberately bad. It kind of reminds me of those games designed to prove a point about Steam or something "HAHA Nobody saw the trick I was playing on them. I made this game in 20 minutes and thousands of people wishlisted it." That sort of thing? I could be wrong though. Just feels like it's something along those lines.

Novamdomum, 3 miesiące temu

Maybe the reveal will be that it was made entirely with AI? Shenanigans vibes for sure...

Novamdomum, 3 miesiące temu

That looks pretty cool actually and I've just seen you can get self checkout tills too. Might have to give it a try. Not a big fan of them adding crime though. I used to run a shop a few years ago and crime was never a fun thing to have to deal with.

Novamdomum, 3 miesiące temu

I just bought Supermarket Simulator and played it for 5 hours straight. It's so addictive!! 😆 That birdsong gets on your nerves after a while but I saw there's a mod that removes it so I'll try that tomorrow.

Novamdomum, 3 miesiące temu

I would have said Super Mini Mart when I started this thread but then @Kolanaki mentioned Supermarket Simulator and I've been playing it ever since (13hrs so far lol). It's got a few issues out of the box, including some oddly loud chirpy bird sounds but also has such an active nexus mod community that you can pretty much fix anything you want that you don't like in it (including those damn birds😆). Id' say give either that or Super Mini Mart a go. The inKonbini prologue demo is great too.

Novamdomum, 3 miesiące temu

Quick update apparently 5 days later, I've now played 55 hours of this... Such an addictive game! 😁

Novamdomum, 3 miesiące temu

I've got 500hrs in that game! This is the best news I've heard all year 😆 Signed up for the Pioneer Program immediately, of course without reading the T&C's properly, just like any loyal LYNX employee should! Oh boy, can't wait to "disagree and commit" some more.

Novamdomum, 3 miesiące temu

Terrible title Louis and Miikka... Now, both of you go to your rooms and think about what you did 🤣

Novamdomum, 4 miesiące temu

For me Just Cause 4 is the worst one for too many reasons to list. Also, I'm still not sure about Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but that could have a lot to do with not being ready to play a middle aged, yolked Henry lol

(Edit: Oh and Sniper Elite 6 seems like a contender too. Although SE5 was very poorly received at the beginning until they fixed the issues and then it turned into one of the most awesome games ever so who knows...)

Novamdomum, 4 miesiące temu (edited 4 miesiące temu)

Wow! That takes me back 😁

(Edit: Although I was more of an Android Attack cartridge on the Dragon 32 guy)

Novamdomum, 4 miesiące temu

Surprised this didn't come up sooner to be honest.

Novamdomum, 4 miesiące temu

100% agree which also leads to one of the biggest disappointments in JC4 for me; re-spawning enemies... It was so satisfying to conquer bases in JC3 and you knew that was it then. That base belonged to the rebellion for good. Also they changed Rico's ethnicity and bodyshape. Here's the hero you love except he's South American now and his muscles are gone. He's meant to be an ironic cliche "Thees could be traaable". That was the whole point. It was fun. I think the thing that ticked me off the most though was that all they had to do was make a graphically updated clone of JC3 with another land to fight over and they could have spawned an endless amount of sequels. I've played through JC3 so many times and the second that Firestarter soundtrack comes on it's just so. damn. perfect 😎🍷

Novamdomum, 4 miesiące temu

Also surprised this one didn't come up sooner.

Novamdomum, 4 miesiące temu

Thanks for the suggestions! :) While I was looking I also stumbled across Monomyth. That seems like it could scratch my Stygian Abyss itch as well.

Novamdomum, 5 miesięcy temu

I feel exactly the same as you. I have ADHD so fluff is painful and pointless grind is just depressing. I thought the most obvious way to recommend my favourites would be to go by hours played, so here's my top four:

My Time At Portia - 594hrs
Hardspace Shipbreaker - 498hrs
Kingdom Come Deliverance - 370hrs
Just Cause 3 - 255hrs

Special mention too for Assassin's Creed Odyssey (164hrs) because that is one well made game in almost every respect. Very little fluff, grind and you're always in control of how big a challenge you feel like facing. To my mind it makes all the other AC games look clunky and drab.

Also I hate difficulty spikes so much that whenever they happen and just seem to be there so the devs can grind a few more hours of playtime out of you for their analytics, I just reach for WeMod. Big shout out to WeMod in fact :) It's made so many games I'd abandoned fun again.

Novamdomum, 5 miesięcy temu (edited 5 miesięcy temu)

I know right. I think it's the worst I've ever seen. I kept scrolling through for something good but all of it is was like those bargain bins you used to see in petrol stations full of old DVD's. Honestly they should be ashamed of this. I went through my whole wishlist to check if any of the games on there had demos and literally none did. Last Next Fest most of them did. That's some impressive enshitification right there...

Actually I was wrong... Probably just needed to eat something and be less grumpy lol. Just found a fantastic demo that I'm downloading now. it's called Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream. Amazing people animation and great dialogue. I love top down games and this is easily better than anything I've seen before. Thanks to a NextFest roundup from Nookrium or I would never had spotted it.

Novamdomum, 6 miesięcy temu

There must be so much paid review manipulation out there but I don't know if it amounts to much. At the end of the day, if the game is good people will play it. I mean No Man's Sky came back from the entire world dumping on it from the stratosphere. Also, often overly negative reviews will actually make me more interested in a game, specially if all the negatives don't sound that bad "Horrible game! I didn't continuously die and how dare they allow the player to explore anywhere!".

Novamdomum, 6 miesięcy temu

I've tried to guess what prmart means but I just can't imagine what you meant to type hehe can you clarify?

Novamdomum, 7 miesięcy temu

The games I've really enjoyed fishing in so far have been:

My Time At Portia
Palia
Spiritfarer

Of those 3 I've easily spent the most time in Portia. I really love the fishing in that game and when you get the super valuable fish you really feel like you earnt it :)

Novamdomum, 7 miesięcy temu

Yeah it kinda does. It's this weird sandfishing minigame though with a kind of claw thing that you throw out. Nowhere near as fun as the fishing in Portia imho.

Novamdomum, 7 miesięcy temu

So... will this mean we'll finally be able to restart as a new player in the offline mode? I've wanted to start from scratch with TC2 for ever. It's been such a frustration that you can't have more than one player profile per Ubisoft account.

Novamdomum, 7 miesięcy temu

Ooh that looks really interesting. Feels a bit like a single player Sea of Thieves maybe? Also 50% off right now on Steam... nice.

Novamdomum, 7 miesięcy temu

Really appreciate the effort you put in your reply :) Thanks, lots to look at!

Novamdomum, 7 miesięcy temu

Ooh Coral Island sounds interesting... Wishlisted! Thanks :)

Novamdomum, 7 miesięcy temu

Just nabbed Salt 2 and it's so good already and I've only just started! I love how colourful everything is. Also, I made the mistake of going for a wander on the first island too late in the day without realising how DARK night times get. Fumbled my way to the nearest beach and managed to spawn my little raft and just about navigate back to camp. Thanks for the recommendation. I can see this is going to claim many, many hours of my life already 🤣

Novamdomum, 7 miesięcy temu

Wow that's exciting! Huge fan of Bannerlord anyway. Wishlisted and looking forward to June :)