Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of September 29th

Started Horizon Zero Dawn. I usually don't like open world games, but this one has an interesting setting and the gameplay seems fun, so I'm giving it a try.

Finally finished Trails of Cold Steel which was meh. It felt needlessly padded (it could have been shortened to like 30 hours instead of 60 IMO) and there were too many uninteresting characters (I actually can't think of an interesting one). Hopefully the following games are better, as now the setting should be more interesting.

I tried darkwood this weekend, and it's left me torn. I really enjoy certain aspects about it, but I feel like the pacing is weird.

I finished Still wakes the deep the other day and I thought it was ok. It was an interesting environment to explore, but I didn't think it was all too scary.

I'm off to find a different horror game to play now.

Got back into Yooka Laylee after a fairly long hiatus. Still on the first 2 levels because of the high amount of exploration and things to do, so I'm not far at all, but definitely having fun.

Lots of Skyrim!
Also this game for Playdate called Spilled Mushrooms, I’d been waiting for it to come out a while. It’s a nice blend of simple card game and puzzle, each round only takes a few minutes. The goal is to pick animals to help collect your mushrooms from different areas, animals have different abilities and each biome can have modifiers. It’s pretty much endlessly replayable and very satisfying once you get into a groove! I’m glad it’s not on more platforms because I’d lose so much more time to it

I need to get UFO 50! It looks like so much fun

I have been playing Evoland Legendary Edition. The 2 games bundled are surprisingly dissimilar, with the first being almost a parody game of extremely short length, and the second being a fairly fleshed-out, 20 hour RPG-lite, with a story of real stakes (highly inspired by Chrono Trigger).

Very worth it if picked up on sale, just be prepared for the tone-whiplash between games.

The Forever Winter. Released in early access due to popular demand. It's rough, divisive, and difficult as hell. It's also incredibly grim and hauntingly beautiful. It's a PvE-only, stealth-based, extraction (non-)shooter where you scavenge resources to survive in the shadow of a military-industrial complex run absolutely amok. You are incredibly underpowered, outnumbered and outgunned, to the point where if you need to start shooting, you're probably already dead. Gameplay is tense, frightening, and really drives home the overwhelming feeling of being a small fish in a really fucking big pond. It's the opposite of a power fantasy and I'm really glad someone is doing something that different.

I'm not sure I'd recommend it in the state it's in, if at all, but it's definitely making me feel some kind of way. I don't normally enjoy extraction shooters, but I find myself coming back to this one. Not that it's really a shooter. Maybe that's what's doing it for me. The most divisive part is the water mechanic. It's a key resource for your settlement; If you run out of water you lose all your stuff. But, it drains in real time not game time so it's kind of a big commitment at the moment. Personally I understand both sides of the argument and I haven't decided where I fall yet. It's definitely worked on me because I find myself thinking about the game when I'm not playing, but if I end up taking a break I'm not sure I'll have the commitment to build back up from scratch again.

I made the mistake of starting Frostpunk (1) since I saw that 2 released. It's an incredibly well-made game. The art style is beautiful, the game is intense, there is a lot of emotion, and it does its one thing just so well. Unlike a lot of modern games these days, Frostpunk wants you to lose, which is fitting for its setting. It sees that you're behind, then kicks you in the shins for good measure rather than lending a helping hand. I've lost so many hours of my time to this game in the past week.

I've read that Frostpunk 2 is a completely different game. That one might be next on my list if I get to it before Factorio updates and the expansion for it comes out.

Finished Deus Ex: Human Revolution last week, and I while i enjoyed it I didn't want to jump into Mankind Divided right away. It was a fine game but I felt like going back for more straight away might make me burn out.

Decided instead to finally get through Metro: Last Light. I really enjoyed 2033, but when I started LL right after I just couldn't get into it. This time it's going better and I'm having a good time playing it - very immersive on Ranger Hardcore. I still prefer the first game so far though, I think. Still not thrilled about the way checkpoint saving interacts with the moral points system (you sometimes have to sit for minutes on end rewatching the same conversation), but it's not enough to completely sour me on it. Looking forward to eventually getting to Exodus.

Also playing some Deadlock games, though despite loving the game I'm already noticing it's not always great for my mood.

Been playing lots of The Finals Lately, and recently jumped back into Titanfall 2. Really enjoying the creative gameplay of the Finals, and Titanfall is just so damn good.

I finished Doom II and some levels were an absolute pain. I gotta say though, this re-release (Doom + Doom II) is a bit disappointing. There are a bunch of glitches, although pretty minor, that are just annoying. The most frustrating one for me was, when you have the Pistol Start option activated (to automatically start all levels with just the Pistol), the Backpack is bugged and doesn't give double ammo capacity. Once you die and restart the level it's fixed, until the next level. I don't know if it ever made the difference with me dying or not, but it just sucks.

Today I started Final Doom, specifically TNT:Evilution, which I've never played before. Just like before I'm trying UV, Pistol Start, no mid-level saves, but depending on how it goes I might start using saves. I'll probably try a different source port though, since this KEX engine port isn't the best.

I also played through Horizon Forbidden West: The Burning Shores DLC, although only the main quests and almost nothing else. It was kinda meh. The story was fine, but the final boss fight was complete garbage. The romance part also felt really rushed, especially since I went through everything over just two days/seven hours in total.

Then, I'm also kinda in-between games right now, since I'm waiting for the Diablo 4 expansion release in a bit over a week. There are a bunch of games I want to play, but probably won't finish in time, so they have to wait. I tried Ace Combat 7, played through the first mission, but it didn't really grab me (KB+M is definitely more playable than the Steam forums made it seem). I'll probably play through one of the dozens of metroidvanias I bought, but never played.

Late to the party, but I finally picked up Helldivers 2. My friends have had it since it came out, but I was being the "hipster gamer" and didn't get the popular game. Plus, our group has a tendency to do "flavor of the week"/FOMO gaming, where 1 or 2 people buy a new game, convince/guilt trip others into buying the game, we all spend $30-50 on it, play it for like 2 days, then never touch it again. So I was hesitant to get it, lest I get burned again (a la Starfield). Lastly, I'm also not a huge shooter player.

But I wanted to played with the boys, and they were playing it again recently, so I picked it up. And I'm glad I did. Because it's fun. Stupid fun even. Which is right up our alley. Already put 20hrs in over the last week.

The mechanics are simple. The missions are straightforward. And I like that it's a pickup/putdown game. Play a 20-40min round, then come back later or tomorrow. It's not like we're playing hours on end, which is great. We'll play a match or two, then maybe do another before we start signing-off for the night.

Lorn's Lure - This game absolutely enthralled me over the past 2 weeks. It's a parkour/exploration game, one developer, and it's just so well designed. Punches way over it's price for $15.

The maps are these enormous sprawling runes of an ancient machine, and there so much to find and see in each level. Then after beating the game you can go back with all upgrades and there are so many new paths, new secrets. There's this special feeling when a developer adds so much in just for their love of the game. Things that don't unlock new content, don't satisfy any goals, just more fun and interesting stuff to look at and play around in, if you want. Then you get to the last level and it's such an emotional peak. It's like the dev spent 7 chapters just teaching us, preparing the player for the final level, and then doesn't hold anything back.

AND it relates to both Hatch and Kill the K.O.T.H., Hatch specifically could be a lesson in pacing, I recommend that as well for anyone interested.

Making my way through Like a dragon: Infinite wealth Loving it so far, and think this might actually be the first Yakuza/LAD game I finish, always got distracted in the past.

Elden Ring - Shadow of the Erdtree

I'm 160 hours in, completed the base game, and now am on what I believe to be the final boss of the DLC. I got to phase 2 on the first try, only to hit a brick wall lol.

The DLC is a lot bigger than I was expecting, and some of the bosses are the most difficult I've faced. The highlight for me has been Cerulean Coast and

Looking forward to NG+ and beyond as I work towards the 100% achievement - speaking of which, it's a little disappointing how little is required to get it compared to DS1/2/3, especially since ER is so much bigger of a game. I really enjoyed hunting down all the rings for DS3 and felt they could have had a talisman achievement to match in ER.

My favourite moment of the past week was when I summoned two players for a certain boss (another phase 2 kicking my ass), but we got invaded by "Jesus" who just kinda lore-walked around and gestured, and eventually we followed along. Nobody got hurt, and they even gave some gestures of encouragement for us to go beat the boss.

Ilamentia

Very weird indie puzzle/platformer. It feels like a fever dream. You have a FPS view and (some of the time) a set of hands that shoot projectiles (reminds me of Gauntlets of the Necromancer from Heretic), except they don't necessarily do damage, they interact with the puzzles in each world.

There are some abstract hints for each level, but I find myself really having to think about what's in front of me to solve the puzzles (in a good way). I noticed a negative review complaining about the game mechanics not being consistent, but I think that is completely intentional and serves the overall feel of the game nicely. It's not meant to be obvious or easy, you have to figure it out. I don't think this is a game for everyone, but I am enjoying it for what it is. Apparently there are 96 levels so I'm more than getting my money's worth.

Bleak Sword DX

Action/roguelike/soulslike? Each world is broken into about 10 levels + boss fights, and from what I can tell there are about 10 worlds. I'm enjoying the feel of the gameplay a lot - blocking and dodging are satisfying like a souls game. The difficulty is starting to ramp up as I work to finish world 3. Surprised I hadn't heard of this sooner. Probably a good one for Hollow Knight fans, but there isn't exploration. It's bite-sized action and it's done well imo.

Noita

What a game. Alchemy, wand-building, every single pixel is trying to kill you. Especially the water which is also on fire. It's amazing and highly addictive. I have no idea how large the world actually is yet, since I've been busy discovering new ways to blow myself up. Pretty much every run I see something new. This will easily get 100+ hours out of me.

Darkwood and Disco Elysium, as games recommended by friends. Darkwood scares the crap out of me, maybe because I'm more alert to sounds in general. Disco Elysium is very interesting, but a tad slow, and not as engaging as other games.

Most of ny playtime now is Dark Souls 3. I only played 1 and 2 before, and this is about what I expected, more, slightly better and different Dark Souls. I'll probably replay it more than DS 2, but that depends, because I might prefer 2's less linear progression.

Also, still grinding supports I want to see (which is a lot) in Fire Emblem Revelations on bus rides.

Finished Limbo after it was sitting in my library for years and it was really emjoyable. I did not expect to like it as much as I did but the puzzles were all completely doable (

.

Also played through Mouthwashing and was pleasantly disturbed. The lasst 20 minutes get a bit long in the teeth but overall a great experience.

Cult of the Lamb - Got this for my birthday from my buddy and it's been very solid. I see why the reviews hype this game up; it's a weird rpg with base building elements and that's right up my alley. I've been playing it on the steam deck with a conservative power profile and it's been a lot of fun.

Tactics Ogre Reborn - I'm a FF Tactics fan and I was told this game would scratch the itch. So far I can say it's at got a captivating story. It's great that my choices matter in this game and that character development is based on those choices. The gameplay is familiar and fluid. The AI also seems to scale well with the difficulty setting. I'd say fans of FF Tactics should definitely pick this up.

Working on a last hurrah for Diablo 4: Season 5, just finishing up max leveling glyphs for my Scorcerer before I completely set it aside for next season.

Right when I was getting bored playing Sims 3 in my current save, my eldest... disappears. I mean, I saw her die, the Grim Reaper showed up and got her, but that means nothing to this buggy mess of a game. She left no tombstone or anything. So, my current save now is now at four generations, due to an adoption. But, I'm at a point where I want to play other stuff, so this game's going back on the shelf for a while until I need another reset.

Finished Amnesia: The Bunker and managed to get a couple achievements out of it. I might do some serious achievement hunting, but I also kind of want to play a new game, so we'll see how this week goes.

Echoes of Wisdom

Let me try this

I have been playing City of Heroes, which is a superhero MMO and I'm surprised how much I dig it despite multiplayer games not being my thing. PVE is much more comfortable for me and the game let's you make any kind of hero you want, and u can make ur own battle cry as well which is funny.

Also it has one of the best gender options in gaming: Male, Female or Huge. Badass

Another one I'm playing rn is Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, this is a remaster of the old Alex Kidd in Miracle World game which I never played but I'm digging this remaster as well. The new graphics and art is gorgeous and the ability to switch seamlessly from new to old graphics is spectacular. I have always loved old 2D side-scroller even though they are always more challenging than modern games, I like having to fight through something after multiple tries. I was having trouble with the game and after reaching one of the later levels of the game, my save file glitched and reset everything(cloud sync issue probably, I need to turn that off) which almost made me quit the game but I had learned so much so I gave it another try and was surprised that I got to where I was in an hour and beat the boss I was on before in first time. Very very satisfying

There are some other games I'm playing rn but I don't wanna write too long so here are just their names: CLeM (amazing, intriguing puzzle game), Skies of Arcadia (emulated through Flycast with RetroArch, has achievements even!) and Peggle which I'm trying to 100% even after 30 hours haha

Mostly random indie titles, such as nova drift, rollscape, and peglin.

Nova drift and peglin both recently came out of early access, both are rogue lite games that offer unique scenarios each time you play, one is a top down shmup with loads of customizations and interesting builds to try out, the other being a bit of a deck builder with interesting setups to keep the ball bouncing.

Rollscape is a relaxing random number generator with some decision making guesses along to the way to attempt to get further. It's way too random to be truly skill based, but knowing more of the game does diminish a bit of the random.

On mobile it has been egg, inc. and idle cave miner.

Egg, inc. used to be a very player friendly idle incremental game that offered years of play time in a very relaxed setting. It didn't require spending money on it unless you really wanted to speed things up.. Until a bit ago when they took away one mission a week, which was the catch up mission players kind of need to progress and locked it behind a subscription service. I'm still playing because as much as I don't appreciate that change, I've been playing long enough that I don't need the catch up mission. I still don't suggest it for new players though.

Idle Cave Miner is a basic incremental idle game, you set your little dudes to mine a cave and see how deep they can get. It does have a bunch of micro transactions, including premium characters that probably mine harder than the rest. I don't really care about that though. Spending money really isn't needed on this one, but since it's a single dev and I'd rather not deal with ads, I'm happy to toss a few bucks to remove those and help out.

Otherwise, I've been enjoying helldivers 2 every couple days to keep the medals rolling in, and the samples collected. The latest patch has been quite game changing. It's nice to have more options to handle the opponents, but I finally had to change armors as my paper thin light armor wasn't doing the job it had been from previous versions of the game

Currently? Potionomics. I just wanted something that I can finish quickly, because of the upcoming release of House of Light, but now I am still not done with my play-through, so I kinda cannot start House of Light just yet.

But in a couple of days, as soon as I am done with Potionomics?

House of Light. And that for quite some time, I expect.

Started and finished 1000xResist over the course of a few days. In general I often find myself turned off by games with aging graphics, not for any good reason but more that I just find less of a pull towards them. I have more trouble being engaged or immersed, unless there's a really strong art focus. This is one such game that I was worried I wouldn't get pulled into, and in fact one that sat on a list of "maybe I'll pick it up" because it was so highly reviewed but I was worried about that facet. It did not take very long for the game to grip me, however, because of it's excellent storytelling. In fact, the game is almost entirely about storytelling, so there's not a ton that I can share other than to say that it deals with a lot of difficult themes like intense trauma, bullying, having a tough childhood, extreme ideologies, and the long term effects of violence. It also deals with more societal and human issues like protests, fascism, extreme duress, how self-interested and powerful individuals can cause serious problems and inflict violence, being optimistic or nihilistic in the face of overwhelming odds, and the threat of extinction.

While it isn't a very long game, consisting of maybe a dozen hours of gameplay, I found myself putting it down for a while after certain chapters in order to process what just happened. The story throws a lot of curveballs and reveals information that can easily change the way you frame entire chapters of the story from earlier, but it never feels like it's done in a way that inspires whiplash - nothing ever feels like a 'sudden' realization and I'm honestly not sure how much of it can be attributed to such a difficult story (if everything is fucked, what's one more thing?) and how much is because they do a masterful job at slowly unraveling the enigma of the story that very few pieces of information ever really feel out of place. There's unfortunately only so much I can write without spoiling the story, but I will say that it was one of the best stories I've heard or played through and I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes a good story or wants to explore the themes I've mentioned above. Also, if anyone else out there played through this, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story... what did you think? Do you have any lingering questions left over? Were there parts of the story that irked you or that you found particularly moving?

Resident Evil 1 for the first time. The voice acting is very silly.

Don't oPen that door!

Chris is our old partner ya knoow.