I started Planet Crafter and I’m hooked. It’s a low budget yet brilliant Subnautica like game with a higher emphasis on crafting.
I’ve been playing Tyranny as well. It’s a nice CRPG with factions in a bleak setting. A little obtuse with the consequences of dialog options. Still refreshing. I really could use the tank character in my party composition, but he’s such an insufferable square I’d rather not use him.
Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn made me realize I vibe so well playing as a woman. If I had had the choice I probably would have picked the masculine option since that’s my gender. I’m glad that game forced my hand, now when I have a choice I give it a real thought.
The NES was epic for its time, but nowadays those controllers make my hands cramp after minutes. Thank God for the modern big curvy controllers.
Some classics of that time might be of interest to the contemporary gamer, although I think you need to have some kind of historical curiosity for it to be worthwhile. The tools of the times were rudimentary to an extent that hurt what the devs could do even more than the capacity of the consoles imho. I mean, they were flipping bits in assemblers.
The audio though. 8-bit music is fucking stellar. The energy contained, the catchiness, it’s amazing.
As for recommendations: The Guardian Legend is my pick. Cool scifi action-adventure/ shmup hybrid.
I’ve been progressing through Divided Reigns. Very indie, retro JRPG. The story reminds me of FFIV & FFVI in good ways. Battles are much more involved then the aforementioned classics though: while remaining turn based there are plenty of types, effects and skills involved. A rage meter brings in some form of planning ahead between turns, somewhat like Octopath Travellers or Bravely Default. All around solid game. Only downside is the dialogs being sometimes pretty silly.
Been playing Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla as well. So here’s my theory: inside Ubisoft there are two wolves. The first wolf is made up of thousands of creative, talented, diverse artisans working hard to make the open world formula fun and beautiful. The second wolf is a handful of suits looking for ways to milk the first wolf’s output for money in all sorts of shit ways. I’ve found out that if you put the Ubisoft launcher in offline mode, you’ve blocked the second wolf. As for the game itself, it remains faithful to the series. There are some welcome improvements, such as the end of garbage equipment loot. In terms of storyline, I can’t say I’m feeling especially involved so far. There is a certain cruelty to the protagonist which I struggle with. On the other hand I must also say that at times the game feels unapologetically woke which I thoroughly enjoy. The side quests are also super goofy.
I can’t say I have a favorite, but I do strongly favor anything strictly turned based. I’ve been playing Divided Reigns and its combat system is stellar imho, so there. Lots of weapon types, lots of attacks for each types, lots of skills, lots of magics. Makes non magic users at least as satisfying to use as spell casters.
I only played Animal Crossing on the switch right into the pandemic. I was sick in the first wave and that strain was wild. The whole world was in a state of panic and AC was a cute little haven while we bunkered down. I played every single day until two llamas got married and I was hunting for little hearts… then I had a moment and I never touched it again.
It’s funny that that franchise shares the same acronym as Assassin’s Creed.
Well, if the parents are both working 40+ hours and spending 10+ hours in transit every week, there will be no free time. It’s kind of unfair to solely blame parenthood for that though imho. Another important point to remember is that kids grow fast.
Super Mario is today what Mickey Mouse wishes it still was: a joyful, universally recognizable character deeply entrenched in the childhood of millions.
There is a special place in my heart for the infamously strange Super Mario Bros 2. Many connoisseurs will justly mention that it is merely a reskin of the lesser known Doki Doki Panic. What is often left out is that Doki Doki Panic was created as well by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and that it originally contained references to its previous work on Mario, such as the POW blocks. In the long run, I feel that Nintendo of America’s decision to adapt DDP as SMB2 for the occidental plebs boosted the series with several charming monsters, a more interactive world, as well as multiple playable characters. We owe Bobombs, Shyguys and Ninjis to this very title.
I’ve been playing Etrian Odyssey 3 HD and I’m enjoying it. It’s a lovely blobber with an interesting take on mapping. You can choose between full, minimal or no automapping. I’m playing with minimal automapping and I’m rediscovering the joys of mapping a dungeon crawl, a thing which I thought I was officially done with. At “normal” the difficulty is just right for me. I’m particularly enjoying the total absence of brutally obtuse puzzles, a staple of western RPGs for some reason. Only downside is the fan service some of the art suffers from, a staple of JRPGs for some reason.
Siralim Ultimate is a very special monster collector. The sheer amount of everything is delightfully overwhelming, the depth is nonsensical and the grind is real. I love it.