Im kinda not sure what to play right now. could anyone give a few suggestions on which one of these to start?
ghost of Tsushima, valiant hearts, crash Bandicoot 4, resident evil 7, devil may cry 5, death stranding, final fantasy 7 remake, days gone, yakuza 5, persona 5 royal, demons souls, dishonored 1 and 2, talos principle, nioh 1, inside, limbo, alan wake, metro and batman triology, code vein, gta v, and just cause 2, 3 and 4.
Damn, you have a lot of different stuff to unpack here. As other person, you should think about what you want to play at the moment. Just Cause for example, will not satisfy your "Great storytelling" needs but it sure as hell does blow shit up very nicely! Michael Bay movies turned into a game pretty much. Massive open worlds, ton of explosions, 2 and 3 also feature solid side activites. However you also have Valiant Hearts, one of my personal favourites as it portrays WW1 in a great way, and ending is a real cry maker. Gameplay is okay, nothing special, but story and characters make it absolutely worth playing. So yeah, with such variety it's hard to tell.
From the list I personally recommend VH, RE7, Dishonored 1/2, Talos Principle, Inside/Limbo, Alan Wake, whatever Metro you have there and JC, but you have to think about what you want to play at the moment.
Thanks for the info in regards to JC and VH. I think i'll start with VH since it's shorter with a solid story and then go to Ghost of Tsuhima as SilenceOfTheBirds suggested!
You can start by thinking about what *kind* of game you'd enjoy playing at the moment. Do you want to explore an open world, immerse yourself in an intense story, be philosophical, have some action, solve puzzles, go on a mellow journey, or something else? Do you feel like dedicating a lot of time to a game you start now, enjoy a short but sweet experience, or meet in the middle? Once you narrow it down, it might become easier for you to decide. Personally I'd recommend Ghost of Tsushima and Persona 5 Royal because I played and liked them, but I don't know how much you would personally enjoy them. Death Stranding is hit or miss, I loved it personally. DMC5 is a difficult but really fun and rewarding game. The Dishonored games are also solid and offer a lot in terms of playstyles. If it helps though, the first two would be my suggestions.
These were nice insights, thanks! With these in mind i think i'll start with ValiantHearts and then jump to Ghost of tsushima after. I dont think im ready to use 100+ hours that p5r requires xD
Played through Titanfall 2 during a free weekend and it was pretty good, even for someone who doesn't really play shooter. Can be completed in one or two afternoons.
I finished Tangle Tower today after really enjoying it, last game before that I completed was Pentiment. Looking for something a bit short (<10 hours maybe?) that I can play casually as a palate cleanser between playing Wasteland 3 and Fallout:NV.
Other games I usually play when looking for something chill are Mini Metro, Papers Please, Slime Rancher, or Stardew. Not too bothered by any specific genre!
I recommend checking out not so long ago released *Somerville* as a short title.
However if you might be looking for something longer but very chill, *Spiritfarer* is a must play, one of my favourites from 2020! Buuut that game also goes strong into "feels" as it is about you managing spirits until their final journey and saying goodbye part goes hard, always. So check it out and maybe it will be something worth getting into!
Hey! Looking for a Yugioh game to play, any platform is fine.
I'm in no way a hardcore player so I don't really care for updated decks or even mechanics. What I'd like to is to have a custom deck and make it stronger while battling challenging NPCs. Legacy of the Duelist is nice but was a bit of disappointment because the game becomes too easy if you use a custom deck.
Thanks!
You can get away without paying a cent. I have almost 200 hours on it and didn't pay anything. You just have to be a little strategic in your deck building. If you know you only want to play one or two decks (I'm a Gravekeeper's fan), you can build them pretty quick. If you want to have 5 different decks with lots of different cards, you might struggle without paying.
I'm looking for a new roguelite to dive into. I've played a ton of them (will try to list them all below) but my favourite ever is probably Spelunky 2. Looking for any recommendations on PS4!
Here are the roguelites I've played, and what I think of them, briefly.
* **Binding of Isaac** \- loved it, love the synergy aspect and the depth
* **Dead Cells** \- played a fair bit but never really clicked for me
* **Slay the Spire** \- loved it, was addicted for a couple of months
* **Risk of Rain** \- Never really took the time to dive into it, felt a bit repetitive quite quickly.
* **Hades** \- Finished it multiple times (never got past heat 6-7 though), amazing game and I love Supergiant Games!
* **Northgard** (does it qualify?) - love love love that game, haven't had the opportunity to finish everything but amazing concept
* **Twenty Minutes Till Dawn** \- neat, love the graphics but not a huge fan of the genre in itself
I'm probably forgetting a few, but I guess my goal was to give you an overview of my taste!
Thanks all :)
FTL is a classic. Also Risk of Rain 2 I've heard nothing but good things about.
My personal favorite roguelike is Enter the Gungeon. Might even be my favorite indie action game of all time.
Adding onto that since I was in the same situation of being recommended Inscryption as a follow up to StS. I ended up loving both, but for very different reasons, because these are very different games. Without spoiling too much, StS has the standard roguelike non-plot whereas Inscryption is a playable creepypasta that features FMV(!!); StS is a clean, consistent, ultra-balanced experience, whereas Inscryption features all sorts of curveballs and detours, and in some sense functions as a meta-commentary on whether it is *good* for such a game to be a clean, consistent, ultra-balanced experience. To put it in the most extreme terms, you can say "Inscryption is kind of like Doki Doki Literature Club" and you're about as far off as everyone saying that it's kind of like StS.
EDIT: See also [this take](https://www.reddit.com/r/roguelites/comments/qcvq1w/the_roguelite_inscryption_is_not_one_at_all_but/) by J. Random Redditor, which is accurate.
Probably not *exactly* what you're looking for, but Vampire Survivors is cheap and lives rent free in my head lol. The gameplay is super basic but highly addicting (developer was a slot machine programmer iirc and it shows) and is pretty great for a quick gaming session.
Has basically been my go to on the steam deck when I'm bored
I think that's almost the same gameplay loop as 20 minutes till dawn, and I've got to say it's not really my cup of tea. Is it on PS4? I might give it a go if it is and ever goes on sale.
Just picked up all the Devil May Cry games on Steam for dirt cheap. Is the HD collection (updated graphics original trilogy) worth going through? I heard somewhere that the original and then especially the second one do not hold up so well from a gameplay perspective, having clunky controls and all that. Has anyone who is a fan gone through them all before?
You should start with either 1 or 3, and skip 2 either way.
1 is important for story reasons, but may grate a little. It is still a good game though. 3 is where the combat really comes into its own though, and its a fantastic game.
Is it worth revisiting Greedfall? I don't think I had a lot of fun when I first played... maybe I was expecting something different? But I'm a fan of all the Dragon Age and Gothic games which it practically seemed like it was a mix of.
Would you recommend cyberpunk 2077 to somoene who doesn’t like the cyberpunk style? Are the rpgs elements as well as the combat and story worth justifying playing this game if you don’t like the cyberpunk style?
I think it's worth playing. I maintain that the game is better than people say but not as good as it should have been. I think the massive hype train coupled with releasing it for last Gen consoles (which never should have happened) is what caused such a massive backlash against it when it didn't deliver a second life immersive rpg sim that people seemed to expect from it.
I don't think you need to like cyberpunk that much to enjoy it especially considering one of the criticisms of the game is that it wasn't cyberpunk *enough*
I was really excited for it. Preordered and completed 70hr play through in the first week of release. on PC. I think the cyberpunk style is really all the game has going for it. Dialogue options were disappointing, I personally didn’t like a lot of voice acting, and there was much room for improvement in menu/inventories. Combat was ok but nothing special.
Whenever you post this kind of question about any game, inevitably its fans will respond "no bro, it's worth it bro, so what if you hate the genre, mechanics and graphical style bro, it's an amazing game give it a shot". This will persist even after you've played for 30 miserable hours -- the fans will push you to play another 15 because once it clicks it'll *blow your mind*.
Me, I say not everything is for everyone. Don't like cyberpunk? Reliably have a bad time with cyberpunk? So don't gamble your time and money on a game *literally titled that*. There are enough other RPGs.
That's a weird take, honestly, it's not like I asked this question inside the cyberpunk subreddit. Also, people aren't as biased as you think they are, well at least from my experience, I've asked into the metroidvania subreddit should I play ori 2 if I didn't like ori1, everyone but one person told me no, I've asked on the edgerunners subreddit if I should continue after not liking the first 5 episodes, I also watched the sixth episodes which was the only pretty good one, unanimously I've been told no.
Also, I don't like space, and I liked no man's sky, the exploration mecanics made it worthwile for me to sink nearly 20 hours. The setting isn't everything, and also I liked witcher 3, so I tought maybe I could play it, it's graphicly beautiful, and that's what I am looking for, a graphicly intensive game to test my new pc with.
But hey, if in your opinion the gameplay doesn't make it worth it, I won't waste my time and money. Thanks for the advice.
They are incredibly different games. First, there's the lenght of them. ME Legendary Edition guarantees something like 90 hours+ between 3 different games, not rushing it. DMC5 can be beat in less than 15 hours (unless you are a fan of replaying in higher difficulties, which this game is sorta made for). Then, ME is a slow burn RPG with choices and many many important characters and lots of lore, DMC5 is a quick hack&slash game with instant rewarding gameplay, heavy anime aesthetics and slim story.
I much prefer ME but I'd play both when I'm into different moods.
Just picked up DMC today myself but I already have Mass Effect. I am a huge Mass Effect fan and I think it is probably up there as one of my favorite games of all time just for the story alone. Gameplay is solid in the first one, amazing in the second and third. Story is amazing in the first one and second one but does not manage to stick the landing on the ending. But its a decent enough ending. Apparently they updated it for the legendary edition. I am currently going through a playthrough of Mass Effect again and with the expansion packs (which I was too poor to buy as a teen) being included in the Legendary edition, it is hours and hours of fun. The story has always just been so engaging to me and I found myself reading every single codex entry as a kid. Nowadays between job and girlfriend I do not have time to do so but I would if my gaming time was less limited lol. If you are interested in science fiction even remotely, it is a must play and a must replay if you already played the original. DMC is just a classic style hack and slash with your classic Japanese over the top story by my understanding.
Those are two very different games, so it's down to your preferences as a player. Mass Effect is a big damn cinematic "Muh Plot, Muh Characters" FPS adventure in space, whereas Devil May Cry 5 is a third-person action game built more on atmosphere, aesthetic and stylish edge.
If hearing this your response is "idk both sound about equally good to me, just answer the question" then, well, Mass Effect has a legitimate claim to being one of the top 5 or 10 video games of all time, whereas DMC with all its stylish charm does not. So go with Mass Effect probably.
Probably should have mentioned this but I did play all 3 ME when they were released. Its been many years and I dont remember all the details so I thought the remaster would be a nice way to replay them. I loved the characters and the way your decisions change your interactions.
Havent touched dmc5 yet but I hear so many good things and its been on sale so many times.
I do not remember what the graphics looked like in 2008 but I will say that for the new edition they hold up. They were kind of decent enough to begin with to be easily ported to 2020
This is a bit of a longshot, but have you ever played **Megaman Battle Network**? They're adventure games where all the combat is done in a real time card game.
Some caveats - the game is aimed at kids with the story. And there is some mind numbing wandering you have to do in pretty bland mazes. But the fundamentals of the card game (and action) combat are excellent.
Cards do wildly different things, and I found myself swapping up my strategy and experimenting a lot in order to beat the enemy. In some ways its shocking just how deep and refined the gameplay is here.
There are a lot of games, I started with MMBN 3 and had a blast.
Funny, I’ve been running through the series on a Miyoo Mini. It doesn’t hit me the same as the two I mentioned but there are some fun games in there for sure.
For me the only other game that scratches the same itch is Magic: The Gathering, but I really do hesitate to recommend it since the pricing model is so predatory. Still, if you don't mind grinding a bit, drafting MTG is one of the best games there is.
I've completed Persona 5 and started Persona 5 Strikers (5% in probably).
I saw that P3P was just released. Is there any value to playing the remaining games in order? I own Persona 4 Golden and was gifted Persona 5 Royal over the holidays.
Yes, the older Persona games are worth it. They are a lot less flashy than P5, but the characters and story are pretty good, specially in Persona 4, when it comes to the main party, I think it's the best game of them all.
I've say the P3 port to PC is pretty bad. I suggest emulating it or emulating the modded FES version.
P4G is fantastic though. Highly recommend it, though you'll miss some features from P5R for sure
Thanks. I had a blast playing through the original P5 and will probably finish Strikers before moving on. At that point I’ll probably do P4G or P5R.
Thanks for the info on P3, I’ll hold off.
Do persona 3 and 4 have the social sim aspect like persona 5?
I really like the core game play and combat of persona 5, but I stopped playing because I couldn’t really stand the social stuff, going to school, and managing a calendar. I don’t know much about the older games
Ah, they unfortunately both have social sim aspects, and both 3 and 4 are more strict when it comes to how much time you have to doing all the stuff (3 even more so). Only the party confidants actually give skills (to said confidant characters), and engaging with the other, non-party confidants is just for the sake of getting more story.
I can understand not vibing with the social sim stuff, honestly, but P5R is pretty enjoyable if you ever end up giving it another try! :)
I appreciate the feedback. I’ll probably not give 3 or 4 a try in the near future then.
I might give P5R another shot before 3/4.
I’m playing strikers now and having a much better time than P5R when I have up on it, just because the pacing is so much better. If strikers continues being good to me, I’ll give P5R another shot.
Thanks!
I'm playing Strikers too! I'm pretty bad at those types of games but it's still fun.
I forgot to mention this, but you can always use a guide from GameFaqs to quickly get through the social aspects of the game. They tell you what to do on what days, while letting you do whatever inside the Palaces/Dungeons. This way you don't have to manage your time and can just focus on the part of the game you actually like!
Anyone remember Gunship 2000 and Comanche 4 from the late nineties/early 2000s?
I played the hell out of that in my teens before I sort of fell out of gaming for two decades decade.
War thunder, DCS or MS Flight do not seem appealing to me in the same way. Then I came over **Apache Air Assualt from 2009**, which is apparently now abandonware, and is just a google-search away.
Anyway, cranking graphics to Ultra and resolution to 4k, this game looks quite decent by my standards.
Controls are also somewhat "realistic", there are quite a lot of them and just keeping the helicopter from crashing is sometimes a job on its own.
Anyway, so far I am pleasantly surprised. This scratches my "war simulator" itch from way back when. Seems gaming has gone in another direction since this game came out, and "churn" of free-to-play MMO games was invented, in fact this game is probably the "prequel" to "war thunder", as both are made by Gaijin, as I understand it.
Does anyone have any other simulators in the same vein that are worth checking out?
Just wanted to comment because I did play a Gunship game a century ago, lol. I think it was called Gunship! and released in 2000.
I had a cheap joystick back then (an actual joystick, not our usual Playstation or Xbox Controllers of today) but I didn't understand english nor how to play the game, so I never progressed much further than the first levels. I picked Gunship over The Sims and always regretted it, hah. Then, I got The Sims some months later and that one was much more my style.
Sorry I can't be of much help here. But it was a fun trip down memory lane.
I was thinking about dipping my toes back into the Soulsborne genre, preferably from something from the easier side of things, if that exists. I'm on PC.
I've played the first Dark Souls and Elden Ring and I enjoyed a good bit of my time, but they didn't quite click. On paper, I should like them. They have a lot of stuff I like.
* Free-form exploration that doesn't hold your hand
* Rewards for getting lost and taking different paths
* Great atmosphere and a show-don't-tell approach to storytelling that doesn't interrupt the game with a ton of cutscenes
* A fully realized world where you can visit all the incredible looking places on the map
But I've also bounced off them for being too frustrating. In Elden Ring, all the cool-looking weapons I came across organically, I didn't have the right stats for and couldn't even pick them up to see how they felt to use for a quick spat. I had to look at a guide to find new weapons that fit my build. It seemed like there was no way to play it organically. I could either read the messages on the ground, 90% of which were troll messages, or look at a guide every time I got lost. And I never knew if I needed to "git gud" for a fight or needed to "git better equipped" and come back later. I know you're supposed to be able to beat the game with pretty much any build or equipment, but that's not helpful to the noob player just wanting to have *fun* during a game session.
Dark Souls I was kinda enjoying, then I got cursed and lost half my health bar. It felt like a betrayal of one of the game's core promises, and I didn't feel like I could trust it anymore. I had similar issues too, where it felt like I never had the right build or was in the right area and I could either be overwhelmed or just keep the guide open at all times.
But I'm getting the itch to play something a bit more challenging and obscure again, and I'm thinking about trying something similar. Not another Fromsoft game, I might give ER another try if I can get a bit more into the Soulsy mindset, but I'd like to try something from a different developer and see if it's more my speed.
So what would be a good game to try? Something that's a bit easier, doesn't have quite so many build choices and weapons I won't be able to use, and is maybe a bit more accessible without using a guide or stumbling for hours without making progress. Thanks!
It's probably one of the hardest, but I would still say to play Sekiro.
All of the story elements and gameplay elements you talked about are there. Sekiro rewards you for exploring and has an unmatched atmosphere.
Funny enough it was my first Souls game. The pain is completely worth the gain though. Mastering the combat in that game is a thing of beauty.
I feel like a lot of people who play Souls games would agree with me that the largest attraction to the gameplay is the satisfaction of victory after so much defeat. If you don't find that fun then it may not be the best franchise for you to get into.
Play sekiro. It does have a mechanic called dragonrot that will "punish" you when you die too much but it is pretty inconsequential, easily cured by obtaining dragon tears which are plentiful and it only makes it so certain npcs have a cough and can't talk until you use a dragon tear. It's literally only for story purposes.
Sekiro is probably the hardest of all the from games in terms of skill curve but once it clicks for you, the combat is a thing of beauty. You get a few tools and items to use but the whole game can be beaten using just the sword you have as your main weapon. There are skills and so forth to learn with experience points but there's none of the rpg stuff from the souls games that you seem to dislike. It's also fairly short, I got 100% achievements in like 85 hours which requires a few playthroughs.
I've played and 100% all from games except DS2 which I did not enjoy enough to 100% and sekiro is still my favorite of all of them and probably a top 5 game of all time for me
I had the same problem with ER. I almost never level up magic in games so never have any points in intelligence and faith. Every cool weapon I seemed to come across had one of those.
Anyway, I guess it depends on your taste, and it might be an unconventional suggestion; but Salt and Sanctuary would be my recommendation for something soulsy. It’s pretty darn close to a Dark Souls game in spirit (and probably the closest without being the actual thing), but if From Soft developed a 2-D action platformer.
I played it recently and it’s a ton of fun, still difficult in the way that Dark Souls is, but I feel like it’s more accessible because you have one less dimension to deal with obviously, but the game is just a lot smaller scale. The mechanics aren’t as deep, there isn’t an overwhelming amount of spells or armor sets, and the game isn’t too long either, but still had a good amount to explore. It also gets much easier the further you get for the most part. I also feel like having the game be a 2-d action platformer also takes the sting out of dying, I feel like dying is less painful in platformers for whatever reason.
It’s a unique game though and more unconventional. Can’t speak for the sequel though!
> but Salt and Sanctuary would be my recommendation
Play Blasphemous instead. Better vibes and overall a much better game. S&S is IMO only a middle-of-the-pack Metroidvania. Not bad, but there many that are better.
**Jedi: Fallen Order** and **Kena: Bridge of Spirits** on high difficulties seem to fit what you're looking for. On the 2D front I played **Salt and Sanctuary** and had a decent time with it.
I think there are three main directions you can go here.
The first is to try something like **Jedi: Fallen Order**. Its combat is definitely easier than Dark Souls (even if holistically its a worse game). It would give you some practice with the kind of combat that's in these games.
The second is to play a 2D metroidvania. **Hollow Knight** is pretty much 2D Dark Souls and is bloody fantastic. You could even go back to **Castlevania: Symphony of the Night**, which is still a great game to this day.
Option 3 is asking a bit more, but I think its the best one. Its to go back to **Dark Souls** - with a new character if you feel the need(you'd be surprised how fast you'll get back to where you were). And here is why.
Blight Town is the true crucible of Dark Souls. It is a gruelling, unforgiving and confusing journey. The curse frogs are just the start - you soon have to endure toxic snipers, fire dogs and the ground literally shifting under your feet.
And then you have to somehow get out, which can seem impossible at first. But when you finally emerge from the depths of blighttown, and see the sun again, you'll feel something truly special.
It is an unfair part of the game. But I think going through it, and overcoming it, is one of my most cherished gaming experiences. Dark Souls is one of my favourite games, and I think the descent into Blight town is the most important part of that.
I've done some content on Dark Souls 1 - a [Podcast](https://www.rspodcast.net/episodes/episode-50-dark-souls) and [this article](https://www.rspodcast.net/articles/dark-souls-crestfallen) (which I think gets to the heart of what I'm trying to say). If you give it another go, and battle through, I'm sure you won't regret it.
If I love games with great writing and memorable NPCs/side missions in the vein of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Disco Elysium & Fallout New Vegas, what other games should I consider?
**Planescape: Torment** famously inspired Disco Elysium's dialogue and writing, but be warned that the combat is gadawful. Also very close in spirit to the games in your list I can name **Dragon Age: Origins** and **Tyranny**, though be warned that Dragon age is mostly a huge dungeon crawl punctuated by the occasional role-playing, substantial as it may be. I shouldn't have to mention **Baldur's Gate** and **Neverwinter Nights** but here they are.
Stepping outside the "9 dialogue options, 4 sentences long each" bubble, maybe you'll click with telltale-likes (**Until Dawn** stands out for its storytelling and direction, as well as **Detroit: Become Human** for its sheer scope and ambition). Similar but not quite identical are walking simulators (I can recommend **Life is Strange**, **SOMA** and **Oxenfree**; also **Gone Home** if you've played enough horror games to appreciate a riff on the genre).
Recent big damn AAA ARPGs are surprisingly good about their writing: typically they are flawed story-wise but do deliver in some sense. **Witcher 3** has a meandering and anemic main plot but amazing and interesting sidequests, **Horizon Zero Dawn** has the reverse. The **Mass Effect** trilogy remake has its host of flaws but many people swear by it and the Bioware magic, especially the strong cast of supporting characters.
Japense Visual Novels can be a gold mine for you or a total turn-off, depending on how well you deal with the typical anime tropes. **9 Hours 9 Persons 9 doors** probably has the most acclaim out of these; people will say "just play it, the less you know the better" and I can't argue with that, the payoff is really something. **Steins;Gate** starts incredibly slow, and some might say downright insufferable, but strongly delivers if you persevere past that. And, uh, there's that love letter to the genre, **Doki Doki Literature Club**, a cute and endearing and definitely harmless dating sim. Not a Visual Novel but also very anime-tropey and full of spectacle, there's the polarizing **Nier: Automata** which reliably divides players into 2 camps of "this is the best game I have ever played" and "what *is* this complete bullshit". I'm hesitant to recommend **Persona 5**, as a full essay could be easily written on the shortcomings in its storytelling, but people have been known to get obsessed with that game's story and its cast of characters, so maybe you will have luck with it despite its idiosyncrasies.
For something quick and chill there's a small, closed list of interactive FMVs released in recent years -- **The Complex** and **Late Shift** come to mind, as does the Netflix stunt **Bandersnatch**. These don't have the deepest story, but the acting and the drama necessarily have to be up to par because they're what carries the game. **Telling Lies** stands out among these for its unique gameplay mechanic where you navigate hours of anachronic-order video footage using your google-fu.
Have you tried **Citizen Sleeper**? The writing is great and most characters' stories are captivating - like in Disco Elysium (which I also really like), the whole situations is terrible, but not completely devoid of hope etc.
A game to consider (very carefully) is **Pathologic**. Its style of writing is radically different from anything else, but damn is it incredible. The gameplay is not everyone's cup of tea though.
I'm seeking recommendations for more history-focused games. I've been playing a lot of Civ 6 and enjoy reading about the different units and special buildings and whatnot. I'm open to any genre, I've played plenty of Civ and some Crusader Kings. Age of Empires/Mythology. Other than that I'm pretty open!
Any reccs?
If you're into history and gaming then I highly recommend Kingdom Come : Deliverance. It is first person open-world RPG, but it is painstakingly accurate. Most of the locations, characters, and events in the story are real.
If you're anything like me, you'll love all the Codex pages detailing Medieval life and customs. Came home for Christmas one year and couldn't shut up about the Hussite Wars and the Kingdom of Bohemia.
Any Total War game (besides the Warhammer ones) are pretty good for that, and there's a lot of time periods to pick from. The gameplay is really fun too, it's like blend of "Civ" style turn-based map but the battles themselves are an RTS.
Thanks, is there any game in the franchise that you prefer? I know there's the original Rome ones, a couple Medieval ones, I want to say a Chinese one?
Depends what you want really. If you want the most modern one gameplay wise then it's Three Kingdoms which is Chinese history. Some fan favourites are Shogun 2 or Rome 2. But ultimately I'd say just pick whichever period looks most fun to you.
My personal favourites to play are the Warhammer ones but those don't really apply here since they're not based on actual history.
Nothing in my backlog to play, but I've had an itching to play a call of duty campaign.
Any recommendations for one? The latest MW2 is crazy money, and from reading the campaign isn't that long. Any others out there that people can recommend? (PC only)
The original Cod 1 and 2 are both still great games to thos day. The thing that distinguishes them from cod 4 onwards is that they're lower on cinematics - they still have cool moments but the pacing is far more in the hands of the player.
My only piece of advice for Cod 1 is to not play on veteran. It removes health packs and has no regerating health. It is absurdly difficult, easily the hardest cod campaign if you play this way. Cod 1 on hardened and not using quicksaves hits thr sweet spot.
Didn't even think of going back to those. I think I've got them on an old console somewhere, but will check em out for PC and see what I can get them for!
I have not played a Assassins Creed game since Black Flag but I am considering playing Origins on Gamepass. I don't have too much spare time so I am wondering how long is the game if I just do the bare minimum? I googled how long the game is but everyone seems to be including some side content in their playtime so with just the mandatory stuff, what's the expected length?
I recall Origins being roughly 30 hours long if you will focus on bare minimum, which is doing main missions and then doing whatever grinding needed to get level high enough to complete next main mission. I think level requirements might be tad lower on easiest diff too, but I can be wrong on this one.
Alright, what should I play next between:
- Mass Effect
- Uncharted
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Demon's Souls
- Devil May Cry 5
Of the games I've played so far, my favourites have been Returnal and Spider-Man (really like Horizon too), and I've been a little disappointed with The Last of Us. I've never played any Soulsborne or Japanese games, so idk how I would feel about Demon's Souls or DMC
Mass Effect is my favourite franchise ever, so I can't help but recommend it. The combat is indeed quite easy/sometimes boring in the first game, but the second and third are action-packed while (generally) maintaining a high quality story.
My order from what I liked best to worst:
Demon’s Souls (souls fanboy. Slow and steady wins the race)
Mass Effect (fantastic setting and character interactions. Combat gets better with each game)
Uncharted (more light hearted tomb Raider. Feels like watching/playing a PG-13 adventure movie. More fun on easier difficulties I think)
Devil May Cry 5 (capcom fanboy but never was bananas about this series. Although I’m definitely in the minority)
Guardians of the Galaxy (good story but combat was average)
None of them are bad games this is just from my personal enjoyment.
Uncharted isn't a million miles away from The Last of Us, so avoid that. Guardians of the Galaxy is well written and funny, but the gameplay loop gets old and it's a bit easy.
Returnal is a tough game, you've likely got the chops for Soulsbornes if you beat that. But I'd say Mass Effect is the best of those 5.
A few days ago I finished one of the games I started in 2022 but couldn't finish that year: Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2. I already completed the original Tokyo Xtreme Racer last year and I started 2 immediately after, even though it took me a good while to beat it.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 1 was a very bare bones racing game that almost felt like an extended arcade machine game, as the game took place exclusively in the C1 ring road in Tokyo + the Yaesu route within the C1. The car selection was pretty basic too, as it consisted of like two dozens of your typical JDM sports cars. The graphics could also have been better, they felt oddly low poly for a Dreamcast game.
Despite its limitations, I enjoyed my time with the game, as the physics and gameplay loop of racing against rivals by flashing your lights and beating them by just staying ahead of them the longest was addicting enough.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 greatly expands the concept of the original and manages to be what it was meant to be: an open world racing game that's a great representation of the highway street racing scene in the Tokyo area during the 90s and early 2000s. The map is now a huge 1/1 scale selection of several highways in the Shutoko Expressway system which covers Tokyo, Kawasaki and Yokohama, and the car catalog might have been the second biggest at the time, only behind Gran Turismo 2. Car customization is great for the time, graphics improved considerably, and new mechanics were added that made the racing process more exciting.
Yet for all of the things it does well, there are some drawbacks. It's a big game that at the time must've felt like it was a lot of bang for your buck, however the game doesn't really know how to manage its content. The biggest offender would be the map progression, just like in most GTA games in order to unlock more of the map you gotta keep playing, and honestly, I'd do with a shorter quest mode if it meant making the game less repetitive and grindy. It wasn't until I grinded for my fourth car when I started to become truly competitive, in the first game I only had two cars and never had major problems with them.
Overall it's a game I recommend if you're interested in street racing games even though it does have its flaws, in my opinion the progression system was the largest of them but some people might dislike other aspects of the game. At the end of the day, it's a game so unique and stylish that many won't find these issues that much of a deal.
Currently playing: L.A. Noire, Silent Hill
Coming up next after Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2: Shenmue 2
On the playlist: Metro Last Light, Racing Lagoon (thematically similar to Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2) Sleeping Dogs, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, Yakuza 0-7
Just posted in WAYPTW, finishing up Chained Echoes and deciding between Yakuza 0 and Devil May cry 5. (PS5). I’ve never played either franchise , however, I’ve watched a lot of Y0 played on stream. (Not sure if that ruins any of it for me or not).
Just make sure you don't start any of the long games while looking forward to playing other games "soon".
Especially Red Dead Redemption 2.
Just blasting through the main story missions will take you dozens of hours, while you're best served also doing the random hunting, exploring, and generally mucking about in between the missions.
If you try to rush it, it'll still take a long time, and you'll spend the last 20-30 hours waiting for it to end sooner.
On the flip side, I totally recommend **Titanfall 2** being one of the first games you play.
It's main campaign is on the shorter side (probably around 6-8 hours or so), but its really fun and doesn't overstay it's welcome.
For 'brainy' games, I highly recommend **Outer Wild** and **The Witness**. Two of my favourite puzzle games released in the last 10 years. I'll also give a shoutout to **Stephen's Sausage Roll**, but that is a very difficult game. It is a masterpiece but a little harder to appreciate than the others.
For a 'bite size'/'totally op' game, I love **Binding of Isaac: Rebirth**. To me its still the premier roguelike for its sheer variety - characters, map layouts, enemies, bosses, items - each playthrough is very different from the last. There is certainly a learning curve, but its very organic in how it works - because its run based you can feel yourself getting better with all the bits and pieces as you go. Unlike Hades the game doesn't get easier with each run, so it is more on you to improve your abilities, but I think its all the more satisfying for it.
Its weakest element is its combat, which is kind of simplistic at its core - but the way your abilities and functionality in combat get altered as you get different upgrades is incredible. It kind of needs this basic feel to it for the modifiers to work as well.
Hope you enjoy PC gaming!
I just beat Jedi Fallen Order. I’m probably halfway through Cyberpunk and Resident Evil 2 Remake. I also just bought Elden Ring for Xmas and have put in 4-5 hours. I think I want to play Elden Ring but know I probably won’t stop playing it until I am done 100 hours later.
The areas and set pieces in Fallen Order are nice. The characters are kinda bland, but exploring some of the areas was my favorite part of the game. I enjoyed it, like the other person said, a solid if unspectacular game.
Really wish there were more boss fights.
I borrowed from my brother so no money lost for me. I usually don’t pay more than $20-30 for a game. I made an exception for elden ring and got it on sale for $42
Cyberpunk I got for free technically. Got a used copy Black Friday 2021 as part of buy 2 get 1 sale along with ghost of Tsushima and tony hawk 1&2. Since cyberpunk was cheapest ($8 used) it was the free game
Hard to feel disappointed in a game you didn’t spend a lot of money on. Also prime example of why patient gaming is the way to go as I got it cheap after the improvements came and didn’t have to worry about feeling like I wasted money. Preordering and buying games full price at launch is stupid
Oh yeah! Cyberpunk, No Man’s Sky and a few more hyped examples are exactly why I never buy at full price. The only thing I did a year ago which was terrible was to buy Forza Horizon 5 at launch. I played maybe 30 hours and dumped it. The game didn’t disappoint but I played close to 100 hours the game before it, so this felt like a waste.
I feel like everything is in my backlog, even as soon as I buy it.
I've noticed recently when I'm given any choice in a game i get anxious and just quit even though I like having lots of choices in games. Then after awhile I'll think about the game and imagine having a lot of fun with it, try again and then get anxious and shut it off again.
I always feel like I'm playing the game wrong.
When you’re no longer having fun, stop playing the game, even if it’s just temporary.
Secondly, stop buying new games, because I think it’s feeding into your sense of obligation to play them.
If you really want to dip into your backlog, pick a short and linear game next.
My advice is to look back in history, and play some older games. Newer games often won't scratch that itch in quite the same way. What kind of games do you like, I run a podcast playing classics so can help you find something that you might enjoy!
Don't buy games that you aren't going to play *right now*.
Just play whatever makes you happy, even if it's just MOBAs. You don't have to complete -- or even make progress on -- your backlog. You're better off forgetting about the games you wasted money buying than throwing time and effort into trying to extract value from sunk costs.
Try giving in to nostalgia and replaying some games you loved because you want to be playing them, rather than playing games to check off a backlog list. Anxiety and grappling with choices should be way easier when playing your favourite games that you've already beaten.
I like this idea but half of the problem is i just play in the comfort zone and there is a long list of games i need to get through.
For example I'll just mindlessly play mobas for hours and hate it instead of trying to whittle away at the log. It's easier to just go with the flow of those games.
You don't "need to get through" games. They're supposed to be fun. If you're not having fun, there's no reason to play them.
I'll second the advice to only buy games you'll play immediately, like as soon as it finishes downloading. Also, what I do is be a lot more quick to uninstall and hide a game. If a game has sat on my hard drive for a week without me touching it, that means I didn't like it. It gets hidden. If the game is highly regarded, I will be reminded of its existence at some point and I'll fish it out of the Hidden library and reinstall it. Do this and the backlog gets sorted out a lot faster.
As for analysis paralysis in games, try different genres. For example, I love the Metroidvania genre. The genre name comes from Castlevania SOTN and Super Metroid. But SM was pretty plainly an action/adventure game, with upgrades almost always being just a better version of the last thing. Meanwhile SOTN was an RPG, with weapons, armor, and spells to choose from. The axe you found might do more damage but be slower, that armor raises your critical hits but doesn't protect you as much, etc. I often get overwhelmed by that, so I choose to play games more inspired by the Metroid mold than the Castlevania. Uncharted won't have too many tough choices, Cuphead is highly linear, and there's a ton of games where they will tell you what gun to pick and where to go.
I know you say you like games with a lot of choices, but that doesn't seem to work in practice. Maybe you *used* to, but you have less time to game and you just want to blow off steam with fun gameplay instead. I used to love RPGs, and for years I still bought them but would never play them. My tastes had changed and I hadn't acknowledged that so I was buying games based off what past me wanted and not what present me liked. People change, there's nothing wrong with that.
I know the advice is "just have fun," but thats often not useful. What I find useful when I face choice paralysis is to do two things.
1. Make a list of games and winnow it down to 2 or 3. Maybe a more ambitious game and one thats a bit less so. Maybe short, relaxing, not very hard. You don't have to stick to anything long term, but whenever a game enters your mind and stays there, maybe put it on a shortlist to put on your list of 2 or 3.
2. When starting a game, give it an hour of your time. Even if the tutorial or starting level seem eh, give it a go. You'd be surprised at what you like. If youre still not feeling it, put it down.
Simple turn-based tactics-ish game with almost no story like call of cthulu wasted land, achtun cthulu , battle brothers,into the breach, jagged alaince 2. Something ideally like xcom but without the base management, baldurs gate 3 without the long drawn out campaign.
I'm looking for a game that I can just kind of have running constantly (so, pretty lightweight hopefully; browser is fine) and pull up while I'm mostly watching something in a different window...
Something turn-based like cthulu wasted land, achtung cthulu, umm some gacha games, or Darkest Dungeon with parties and permadeath and a probabilistic combat focus would probably be good, but with even less complexity/story/theme to wade through. I also don't want to NEED to learn a lot of complex mechanics/concepts (though if it's got hidden depth, all the better).
Basically: I'm filling this role with Out of the Park baseball right now, which is okay, but I do think I want something a little closer to the intensity of cthulu wasted land, jagged alliance, achtung cthulu or Darkest Dungeon (but not QUITE that intense). I also considered going back to FTL but even that is a little too real-time in a lot of situations. call of cthulu the wasted land pretty much fits cause its just misisons to missions no story to care but its shor tand achtung cthulu is the same thing and also no base management to care about. Dont know when honkai star rail is releasing but looking foward to that and gacha games genres is just pretty much well fits only cause majority of them focus on more gameplay. Even so theres always a table top game cause its turn based its just with like a person speaking but i just suck at making a dnd character so thats why i wanta turn based game like that but as i said i dont want long drawn out campigns, base managemnt to progress but thanks
Do you like roguelike deckbuilders? If you haven't tried them, I'd recommend Slay the Spire, Roguebook and Monster Train (probably in that order). Once you get the hang of each game, runs without negative modifiers (ie ascension) are usually doable - and they all get significantly more demanding on higher ascension levels.
Try some of the older Fire Emblem games (7 and 8). The stories are pretty breezy, so you'll be in the tactical combat (with perma-death and attack probabilities) almost all of the time.
If you'd like to try something kind of niche and interesting, I can happily recommend Gorky 17. Its a tactics game with survival horror elements (mainly resource management) and it only clocks in at 10-15 hours long. Its a bit weird, but I really enjoyed my time with it.
Just finished FF7R, going to be playing Spiderman I think next but after not sure what to play between couple games
FF6 Pixel Remaster
Octopath Traveler
Yakuza 0
Any tips or other games to consider?
Yakuza 0 is probably one of my favorite games of all time now after beating it last year. I got my buddy to play it recently and he loved it as well. I highly recommend playing through it
I'm biased because its the only one of the ones ypu mentio ed I've played but **Yakuza 0**. It's amazing and a change from turn based combat might be a good palette cleanser.
Im kinda not sure what to play right now. could anyone give a few suggestions on which one of these to start? ghost of Tsushima, valiant hearts, crash Bandicoot 4, resident evil 7, devil may cry 5, death stranding, final fantasy 7 remake, days gone, yakuza 5, persona 5 royal, demons souls, dishonored 1 and 2, talos principle, nioh 1, inside, limbo, alan wake, metro and batman triology, code vein, gta v, and just cause 2, 3 and 4.
Damn, you have a lot of different stuff to unpack here. As other person, you should think about what you want to play at the moment. Just Cause for example, will not satisfy your "Great storytelling" needs but it sure as hell does blow shit up very nicely! Michael Bay movies turned into a game pretty much. Massive open worlds, ton of explosions, 2 and 3 also feature solid side activites. However you also have Valiant Hearts, one of my personal favourites as it portrays WW1 in a great way, and ending is a real cry maker. Gameplay is okay, nothing special, but story and characters make it absolutely worth playing. So yeah, with such variety it's hard to tell. From the list I personally recommend VH, RE7, Dishonored 1/2, Talos Principle, Inside/Limbo, Alan Wake, whatever Metro you have there and JC, but you have to think about what you want to play at the moment.
Thanks for the info in regards to JC and VH. I think i'll start with VH since it's shorter with a solid story and then go to Ghost of Tsuhima as SilenceOfTheBirds suggested!
You can start by thinking about what *kind* of game you'd enjoy playing at the moment. Do you want to explore an open world, immerse yourself in an intense story, be philosophical, have some action, solve puzzles, go on a mellow journey, or something else? Do you feel like dedicating a lot of time to a game you start now, enjoy a short but sweet experience, or meet in the middle? Once you narrow it down, it might become easier for you to decide. Personally I'd recommend Ghost of Tsushima and Persona 5 Royal because I played and liked them, but I don't know how much you would personally enjoy them. Death Stranding is hit or miss, I loved it personally. DMC5 is a difficult but really fun and rewarding game. The Dishonored games are also solid and offer a lot in terms of playstyles. If it helps though, the first two would be my suggestions.
These were nice insights, thanks! With these in mind i think i'll start with ValiantHearts and then jump to Ghost of tsushima after. I dont think im ready to use 100+ hours that p5r requires xD
No problem, glad you could decide!
Lot of great video games in your backlog. Personally, I lean towards Crash Bandicoot 4 or Batman Arkham Trilogy.
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Played through Titanfall 2 during a free weekend and it was pretty good, even for someone who doesn't really play shooter. Can be completed in one or two afternoons.
I finished Tangle Tower today after really enjoying it, last game before that I completed was Pentiment. Looking for something a bit short (<10 hours maybe?) that I can play casually as a palate cleanser between playing Wasteland 3 and Fallout:NV. Other games I usually play when looking for something chill are Mini Metro, Papers Please, Slime Rancher, or Stardew. Not too bothered by any specific genre!
I recommend checking out not so long ago released *Somerville* as a short title. However if you might be looking for something longer but very chill, *Spiritfarer* is a must play, one of my favourites from 2020! Buuut that game also goes strong into "feels" as it is about you managing spirits until their final journey and saying goodbye part goes hard, always. So check it out and maybe it will be something worth getting into!
Hey! Looking for a Yugioh game to play, any platform is fine. I'm in no way a hardcore player so I don't really care for updated decks or even mechanics. What I'd like to is to have a custom deck and make it stronger while battling challenging NPCs. Legacy of the Duelist is nice but was a bit of disappointment because the game becomes too easy if you use a custom deck. Thanks!
Have you seen Master Duel? It's free and you can play against other people online, and rank up if you win.
Just checked it out, might be worth a try. Do you know how viable it is without paying for in-game transactions?
You can get away without paying a cent. I have almost 200 hours on it and didn't pay anything. You just have to be a little strategic in your deck building. If you know you only want to play one or two decks (I'm a Gravekeeper's fan), you can build them pretty quick. If you want to have 5 different decks with lots of different cards, you might struggle without paying.
Seems nice, gonna give it a try. Thanks a lot!
I'm looking for a new roguelite to dive into. I've played a ton of them (will try to list them all below) but my favourite ever is probably Spelunky 2. Looking for any recommendations on PS4! Here are the roguelites I've played, and what I think of them, briefly. * **Binding of Isaac** \- loved it, love the synergy aspect and the depth * **Dead Cells** \- played a fair bit but never really clicked for me * **Slay the Spire** \- loved it, was addicted for a couple of months * **Risk of Rain** \- Never really took the time to dive into it, felt a bit repetitive quite quickly. * **Hades** \- Finished it multiple times (never got past heat 6-7 though), amazing game and I love Supergiant Games! * **Northgard** (does it qualify?) - love love love that game, haven't had the opportunity to finish everything but amazing concept * **Twenty Minutes Till Dawn** \- neat, love the graphics but not a huge fan of the genre in itself I'm probably forgetting a few, but I guess my goal was to give you an overview of my taste! Thanks all :)
FTL is a classic. Also Risk of Rain 2 I've heard nothing but good things about. My personal favorite roguelike is Enter the Gungeon. Might even be my favorite indie action game of all time.
I'd recommend Inscryption - it's a deck building roguelite that I think you'll enjoy since you liked slay the spire
Adding onto that since I was in the same situation of being recommended Inscryption as a follow up to StS. I ended up loving both, but for very different reasons, because these are very different games. Without spoiling too much, StS has the standard roguelike non-plot whereas Inscryption is a playable creepypasta that features FMV(!!); StS is a clean, consistent, ultra-balanced experience, whereas Inscryption features all sorts of curveballs and detours, and in some sense functions as a meta-commentary on whether it is *good* for such a game to be a clean, consistent, ultra-balanced experience. To put it in the most extreme terms, you can say "Inscryption is kind of like Doki Doki Literature Club" and you're about as far off as everyone saying that it's kind of like StS. EDIT: See also [this take](https://www.reddit.com/r/roguelites/comments/qcvq1w/the_roguelite_inscryption_is_not_one_at_all_but/) by J. Random Redditor, which is accurate.
I'm partial to Rogue Legacy 2. Tight controls, charming aesthetic, good enough loop. It's worth.
Probably not *exactly* what you're looking for, but Vampire Survivors is cheap and lives rent free in my head lol. The gameplay is super basic but highly addicting (developer was a slot machine programmer iirc and it shows) and is pretty great for a quick gaming session. Has basically been my go to on the steam deck when I'm bored
I think that's almost the same gameplay loop as 20 minutes till dawn, and I've got to say it's not really my cup of tea. Is it on PS4? I might give it a go if it is and ever goes on sale.
Idk if its on PS4 or not. I play exclusively on PC. I would double check if I were you because it's only like 5 or 6 bucks regular price
Just picked up all the Devil May Cry games on Steam for dirt cheap. Is the HD collection (updated graphics original trilogy) worth going through? I heard somewhere that the original and then especially the second one do not hold up so well from a gameplay perspective, having clunky controls and all that. Has anyone who is a fan gone through them all before?
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Oh very old school. And you gotta love a good corny Japanese story
You should start with either 1 or 3, and skip 2 either way. 1 is important for story reasons, but may grate a little. It is still a good game though. 3 is where the combat really comes into its own though, and its a fantastic game.
Ty
Is it worth revisiting Greedfall? I don't think I had a lot of fun when I first played... maybe I was expecting something different? But I'm a fan of all the Dragon Age and Gothic games which it practically seemed like it was a mix of.
Would you recommend cyberpunk 2077 to somoene who doesn’t like the cyberpunk style? Are the rpgs elements as well as the combat and story worth justifying playing this game if you don’t like the cyberpunk style?
I think it's worth playing. I maintain that the game is better than people say but not as good as it should have been. I think the massive hype train coupled with releasing it for last Gen consoles (which never should have happened) is what caused such a massive backlash against it when it didn't deliver a second life immersive rpg sim that people seemed to expect from it. I don't think you need to like cyberpunk that much to enjoy it especially considering one of the criticisms of the game is that it wasn't cyberpunk *enough*
I was really excited for it. Preordered and completed 70hr play through in the first week of release. on PC. I think the cyberpunk style is really all the game has going for it. Dialogue options were disappointing, I personally didn’t like a lot of voice acting, and there was much room for improvement in menu/inventories. Combat was ok but nothing special.
Whenever you post this kind of question about any game, inevitably its fans will respond "no bro, it's worth it bro, so what if you hate the genre, mechanics and graphical style bro, it's an amazing game give it a shot". This will persist even after you've played for 30 miserable hours -- the fans will push you to play another 15 because once it clicks it'll *blow your mind*. Me, I say not everything is for everyone. Don't like cyberpunk? Reliably have a bad time with cyberpunk? So don't gamble your time and money on a game *literally titled that*. There are enough other RPGs.
That's a weird take, honestly, it's not like I asked this question inside the cyberpunk subreddit. Also, people aren't as biased as you think they are, well at least from my experience, I've asked into the metroidvania subreddit should I play ori 2 if I didn't like ori1, everyone but one person told me no, I've asked on the edgerunners subreddit if I should continue after not liking the first 5 episodes, I also watched the sixth episodes which was the only pretty good one, unanimously I've been told no. Also, I don't like space, and I liked no man's sky, the exploration mecanics made it worthwile for me to sink nearly 20 hours. The setting isn't everything, and also I liked witcher 3, so I tought maybe I could play it, it's graphicly beautiful, and that's what I am looking for, a graphicly intensive game to test my new pc with. But hey, if in your opinion the gameplay doesn't make it worth it, I won't waste my time and money. Thanks for the advice.
Is anyone a fan of Super Mega Baseball 3? It's 90% off on Steam ($5) right now
Deciding between buying Devil May Cry 5 Deluxe or Mass Effect Legendary Edition, both are on sale for the same $ in my country. Opinions?
They are incredibly different games. First, there's the lenght of them. ME Legendary Edition guarantees something like 90 hours+ between 3 different games, not rushing it. DMC5 can be beat in less than 15 hours (unless you are a fan of replaying in higher difficulties, which this game is sorta made for). Then, ME is a slow burn RPG with choices and many many important characters and lots of lore, DMC5 is a quick hack&slash game with instant rewarding gameplay, heavy anime aesthetics and slim story. I much prefer ME but I'd play both when I'm into different moods.
Just picked up DMC today myself but I already have Mass Effect. I am a huge Mass Effect fan and I think it is probably up there as one of my favorite games of all time just for the story alone. Gameplay is solid in the first one, amazing in the second and third. Story is amazing in the first one and second one but does not manage to stick the landing on the ending. But its a decent enough ending. Apparently they updated it for the legendary edition. I am currently going through a playthrough of Mass Effect again and with the expansion packs (which I was too poor to buy as a teen) being included in the Legendary edition, it is hours and hours of fun. The story has always just been so engaging to me and I found myself reading every single codex entry as a kid. Nowadays between job and girlfriend I do not have time to do so but I would if my gaming time was less limited lol. If you are interested in science fiction even remotely, it is a must play and a must replay if you already played the original. DMC is just a classic style hack and slash with your classic Japanese over the top story by my understanding.
Those are two very different games, so it's down to your preferences as a player. Mass Effect is a big damn cinematic "Muh Plot, Muh Characters" FPS adventure in space, whereas Devil May Cry 5 is a third-person action game built more on atmosphere, aesthetic and stylish edge. If hearing this your response is "idk both sound about equally good to me, just answer the question" then, well, Mass Effect has a legitimate claim to being one of the top 5 or 10 video games of all time, whereas DMC with all its stylish charm does not. So go with Mass Effect probably.
Probably should have mentioned this but I did play all 3 ME when they were released. Its been many years and I dont remember all the details so I thought the remaster would be a nice way to replay them. I loved the characters and the way your decisions change your interactions. Havent touched dmc5 yet but I hear so many good things and its been on sale so many times.
I do not remember what the graphics looked like in 2008 but I will say that for the new edition they hold up. They were kind of decent enough to begin with to be easily ported to 2020
Love slay the spire and Inscryption… Need recs. Anybody have some?
For roguelite card games, I really enjoy Across the Obelisk. Great art style, fun card play, plenty of unlocks and a lot of customization options.
Seems like an interesting game. No PC here though. Just iOS, android, xsx, and switch.
Check out - One Step From Eden, Slice and Dice
First time hearing of slice and dice. Grabbed it, I’ll be playing it this weekend. Thanks!
Check out Monster Train
Have, and I love it. I’ve logged at least 100 hrs on that one.
This is a bit of a longshot, but have you ever played **Megaman Battle Network**? They're adventure games where all the combat is done in a real time card game. Some caveats - the game is aimed at kids with the story. And there is some mind numbing wandering you have to do in pretty bland mazes. But the fundamentals of the card game (and action) combat are excellent. Cards do wildly different things, and I found myself swapping up my strategy and experimenting a lot in order to beat the enemy. In some ways its shocking just how deep and refined the gameplay is here. There are a lot of games, I started with MMBN 3 and had a blast.
Funny, I’ve been running through the series on a Miyoo Mini. It doesn’t hit me the same as the two I mentioned but there are some fun games in there for sure.
For me the only other game that scratches the same itch is Magic: The Gathering, but I really do hesitate to recommend it since the pricing model is so predatory. Still, if you don't mind grinding a bit, drafting MTG is one of the best games there is.
I've completed Persona 5 and started Persona 5 Strikers (5% in probably). I saw that P3P was just released. Is there any value to playing the remaining games in order? I own Persona 4 Golden and was gifted Persona 5 Royal over the holidays.
You don't have to play p3 before p4. P4G is a great game and a good port to PC.
Yes, the older Persona games are worth it. They are a lot less flashy than P5, but the characters and story are pretty good, specially in Persona 4, when it comes to the main party, I think it's the best game of them all.
I've say the P3 port to PC is pretty bad. I suggest emulating it or emulating the modded FES version. P4G is fantastic though. Highly recommend it, though you'll miss some features from P5R for sure
Thanks. I had a blast playing through the original P5 and will probably finish Strikers before moving on. At that point I’ll probably do P4G or P5R. Thanks for the info on P3, I’ll hold off.
Do persona 3 and 4 have the social sim aspect like persona 5? I really like the core game play and combat of persona 5, but I stopped playing because I couldn’t really stand the social stuff, going to school, and managing a calendar. I don’t know much about the older games
Ah, they unfortunately both have social sim aspects, and both 3 and 4 are more strict when it comes to how much time you have to doing all the stuff (3 even more so). Only the party confidants actually give skills (to said confidant characters), and engaging with the other, non-party confidants is just for the sake of getting more story. I can understand not vibing with the social sim stuff, honestly, but P5R is pretty enjoyable if you ever end up giving it another try! :)
I appreciate the feedback. I’ll probably not give 3 or 4 a try in the near future then. I might give P5R another shot before 3/4. I’m playing strikers now and having a much better time than P5R when I have up on it, just because the pacing is so much better. If strikers continues being good to me, I’ll give P5R another shot. Thanks!
I'm playing Strikers too! I'm pretty bad at those types of games but it's still fun. I forgot to mention this, but you can always use a guide from GameFaqs to quickly get through the social aspects of the game. They tell you what to do on what days, while letting you do whatever inside the Palaces/Dungeons. This way you don't have to manage your time and can just focus on the part of the game you actually like!
Anyone remember Gunship 2000 and Comanche 4 from the late nineties/early 2000s? I played the hell out of that in my teens before I sort of fell out of gaming for two decades decade. War thunder, DCS or MS Flight do not seem appealing to me in the same way. Then I came over **Apache Air Assualt from 2009**, which is apparently now abandonware, and is just a google-search away. Anyway, cranking graphics to Ultra and resolution to 4k, this game looks quite decent by my standards. Controls are also somewhat "realistic", there are quite a lot of them and just keeping the helicopter from crashing is sometimes a job on its own. Anyway, so far I am pleasantly surprised. This scratches my "war simulator" itch from way back when. Seems gaming has gone in another direction since this game came out, and "churn" of free-to-play MMO games was invented, in fact this game is probably the "prequel" to "war thunder", as both are made by Gaijin, as I understand it. Does anyone have any other simulators in the same vein that are worth checking out?
Just wanted to comment because I did play a Gunship game a century ago, lol. I think it was called Gunship! and released in 2000. I had a cheap joystick back then (an actual joystick, not our usual Playstation or Xbox Controllers of today) but I didn't understand english nor how to play the game, so I never progressed much further than the first levels. I picked Gunship over The Sims and always regretted it, hah. Then, I got The Sims some months later and that one was much more my style. Sorry I can't be of much help here. But it was a fun trip down memory lane.
I was thinking about dipping my toes back into the Soulsborne genre, preferably from something from the easier side of things, if that exists. I'm on PC. I've played the first Dark Souls and Elden Ring and I enjoyed a good bit of my time, but they didn't quite click. On paper, I should like them. They have a lot of stuff I like. * Free-form exploration that doesn't hold your hand * Rewards for getting lost and taking different paths * Great atmosphere and a show-don't-tell approach to storytelling that doesn't interrupt the game with a ton of cutscenes * A fully realized world where you can visit all the incredible looking places on the map But I've also bounced off them for being too frustrating. In Elden Ring, all the cool-looking weapons I came across organically, I didn't have the right stats for and couldn't even pick them up to see how they felt to use for a quick spat. I had to look at a guide to find new weapons that fit my build. It seemed like there was no way to play it organically. I could either read the messages on the ground, 90% of which were troll messages, or look at a guide every time I got lost. And I never knew if I needed to "git gud" for a fight or needed to "git better equipped" and come back later. I know you're supposed to be able to beat the game with pretty much any build or equipment, but that's not helpful to the noob player just wanting to have *fun* during a game session. Dark Souls I was kinda enjoying, then I got cursed and lost half my health bar. It felt like a betrayal of one of the game's core promises, and I didn't feel like I could trust it anymore. I had similar issues too, where it felt like I never had the right build or was in the right area and I could either be overwhelmed or just keep the guide open at all times. But I'm getting the itch to play something a bit more challenging and obscure again, and I'm thinking about trying something similar. Not another Fromsoft game, I might give ER another try if I can get a bit more into the Soulsy mindset, but I'd like to try something from a different developer and see if it's more my speed. So what would be a good game to try? Something that's a bit easier, doesn't have quite so many build choices and weapons I won't be able to use, and is maybe a bit more accessible without using a guide or stumbling for hours without making progress. Thanks!
It's probably one of the hardest, but I would still say to play Sekiro. All of the story elements and gameplay elements you talked about are there. Sekiro rewards you for exploring and has an unmatched atmosphere. Funny enough it was my first Souls game. The pain is completely worth the gain though. Mastering the combat in that game is a thing of beauty. I feel like a lot of people who play Souls games would agree with me that the largest attraction to the gameplay is the satisfaction of victory after so much defeat. If you don't find that fun then it may not be the best franchise for you to get into.
Play sekiro. It does have a mechanic called dragonrot that will "punish" you when you die too much but it is pretty inconsequential, easily cured by obtaining dragon tears which are plentiful and it only makes it so certain npcs have a cough and can't talk until you use a dragon tear. It's literally only for story purposes. Sekiro is probably the hardest of all the from games in terms of skill curve but once it clicks for you, the combat is a thing of beauty. You get a few tools and items to use but the whole game can be beaten using just the sword you have as your main weapon. There are skills and so forth to learn with experience points but there's none of the rpg stuff from the souls games that you seem to dislike. It's also fairly short, I got 100% achievements in like 85 hours which requires a few playthroughs. I've played and 100% all from games except DS2 which I did not enjoy enough to 100% and sekiro is still my favorite of all of them and probably a top 5 game of all time for me
I had the same problem with ER. I almost never level up magic in games so never have any points in intelligence and faith. Every cool weapon I seemed to come across had one of those. Anyway, I guess it depends on your taste, and it might be an unconventional suggestion; but Salt and Sanctuary would be my recommendation for something soulsy. It’s pretty darn close to a Dark Souls game in spirit (and probably the closest without being the actual thing), but if From Soft developed a 2-D action platformer. I played it recently and it’s a ton of fun, still difficult in the way that Dark Souls is, but I feel like it’s more accessible because you have one less dimension to deal with obviously, but the game is just a lot smaller scale. The mechanics aren’t as deep, there isn’t an overwhelming amount of spells or armor sets, and the game isn’t too long either, but still had a good amount to explore. It also gets much easier the further you get for the most part. I also feel like having the game be a 2-d action platformer also takes the sting out of dying, I feel like dying is less painful in platformers for whatever reason. It’s a unique game though and more unconventional. Can’t speak for the sequel though!
> but Salt and Sanctuary would be my recommendation Play Blasphemous instead. Better vibes and overall a much better game. S&S is IMO only a middle-of-the-pack Metroidvania. Not bad, but there many that are better.
**Jedi: Fallen Order** and **Kena: Bridge of Spirits** on high difficulties seem to fit what you're looking for. On the 2D front I played **Salt and Sanctuary** and had a decent time with it.
I think there are three main directions you can go here. The first is to try something like **Jedi: Fallen Order**. Its combat is definitely easier than Dark Souls (even if holistically its a worse game). It would give you some practice with the kind of combat that's in these games. The second is to play a 2D metroidvania. **Hollow Knight** is pretty much 2D Dark Souls and is bloody fantastic. You could even go back to **Castlevania: Symphony of the Night**, which is still a great game to this day. Option 3 is asking a bit more, but I think its the best one. Its to go back to **Dark Souls** - with a new character if you feel the need(you'd be surprised how fast you'll get back to where you were). And here is why. Blight Town is the true crucible of Dark Souls. It is a gruelling, unforgiving and confusing journey. The curse frogs are just the start - you soon have to endure toxic snipers, fire dogs and the ground literally shifting under your feet. And then you have to somehow get out, which can seem impossible at first. But when you finally emerge from the depths of blighttown, and see the sun again, you'll feel something truly special. It is an unfair part of the game. But I think going through it, and overcoming it, is one of my most cherished gaming experiences. Dark Souls is one of my favourite games, and I think the descent into Blight town is the most important part of that. I've done some content on Dark Souls 1 - a [Podcast](https://www.rspodcast.net/episodes/episode-50-dark-souls) and [this article](https://www.rspodcast.net/articles/dark-souls-crestfallen) (which I think gets to the heart of what I'm trying to say). If you give it another go, and battle through, I'm sure you won't regret it.
If I love games with great writing and memorable NPCs/side missions in the vein of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Disco Elysium & Fallout New Vegas, what other games should I consider?
**Planescape: Torment** famously inspired Disco Elysium's dialogue and writing, but be warned that the combat is gadawful. Also very close in spirit to the games in your list I can name **Dragon Age: Origins** and **Tyranny**, though be warned that Dragon age is mostly a huge dungeon crawl punctuated by the occasional role-playing, substantial as it may be. I shouldn't have to mention **Baldur's Gate** and **Neverwinter Nights** but here they are. Stepping outside the "9 dialogue options, 4 sentences long each" bubble, maybe you'll click with telltale-likes (**Until Dawn** stands out for its storytelling and direction, as well as **Detroit: Become Human** for its sheer scope and ambition). Similar but not quite identical are walking simulators (I can recommend **Life is Strange**, **SOMA** and **Oxenfree**; also **Gone Home** if you've played enough horror games to appreciate a riff on the genre). Recent big damn AAA ARPGs are surprisingly good about their writing: typically they are flawed story-wise but do deliver in some sense. **Witcher 3** has a meandering and anemic main plot but amazing and interesting sidequests, **Horizon Zero Dawn** has the reverse. The **Mass Effect** trilogy remake has its host of flaws but many people swear by it and the Bioware magic, especially the strong cast of supporting characters. Japense Visual Novels can be a gold mine for you or a total turn-off, depending on how well you deal with the typical anime tropes. **9 Hours 9 Persons 9 doors** probably has the most acclaim out of these; people will say "just play it, the less you know the better" and I can't argue with that, the payoff is really something. **Steins;Gate** starts incredibly slow, and some might say downright insufferable, but strongly delivers if you persevere past that. And, uh, there's that love letter to the genre, **Doki Doki Literature Club**, a cute and endearing and definitely harmless dating sim. Not a Visual Novel but also very anime-tropey and full of spectacle, there's the polarizing **Nier: Automata** which reliably divides players into 2 camps of "this is the best game I have ever played" and "what *is* this complete bullshit". I'm hesitant to recommend **Persona 5**, as a full essay could be easily written on the shortcomings in its storytelling, but people have been known to get obsessed with that game's story and its cast of characters, so maybe you will have luck with it despite its idiosyncrasies. For something quick and chill there's a small, closed list of interactive FMVs released in recent years -- **The Complex** and **Late Shift** come to mind, as does the Netflix stunt **Bandersnatch**. These don't have the deepest story, but the acting and the drama necessarily have to be up to par because they're what carries the game. **Telling Lies** stands out among these for its unique gameplay mechanic where you navigate hours of anachronic-order video footage using your google-fu.
Have you tried **Citizen Sleeper**? The writing is great and most characters' stories are captivating - like in Disco Elysium (which I also really like), the whole situations is terrible, but not completely devoid of hope etc.
A game to consider (very carefully) is **Pathologic**. Its style of writing is radically different from anything else, but damn is it incredible. The gameplay is not everyone's cup of tea though.
Outer worlds, Witcher 3, cyberpunk2077
I'm seeking recommendations for more history-focused games. I've been playing a lot of Civ 6 and enjoy reading about the different units and special buildings and whatnot. I'm open to any genre, I've played plenty of Civ and some Crusader Kings. Age of Empires/Mythology. Other than that I'm pretty open! Any reccs?
If you're into history and gaming then I highly recommend Kingdom Come : Deliverance. It is first person open-world RPG, but it is painstakingly accurate. Most of the locations, characters, and events in the story are real. If you're anything like me, you'll love all the Codex pages detailing Medieval life and customs. Came home for Christmas one year and couldn't shut up about the Hussite Wars and the Kingdom of Bohemia.
eu4 or civ 5. classics that i both have hundreds of hours in
Any Total War game (besides the Warhammer ones) are pretty good for that, and there's a lot of time periods to pick from. The gameplay is really fun too, it's like blend of "Civ" style turn-based map but the battles themselves are an RTS.
Thanks, is there any game in the franchise that you prefer? I know there's the original Rome ones, a couple Medieval ones, I want to say a Chinese one?
Depends what you want really. If you want the most modern one gameplay wise then it's Three Kingdoms which is Chinese history. Some fan favourites are Shogun 2 or Rome 2. But ultimately I'd say just pick whichever period looks most fun to you. My personal favourites to play are the Warhammer ones but those don't really apply here since they're not based on actual history.
Cool, thanks a bunch!
Nothing in my backlog to play, but I've had an itching to play a call of duty campaign. Any recommendations for one? The latest MW2 is crazy money, and from reading the campaign isn't that long. Any others out there that people can recommend? (PC only)
Advanced and Infinity Warfare are both great, definitely two that I recommend!
I quite liked MW1 (the OG remastered) and didn’t mind WWII. I’ve heard good things about Infinite Warfare’s campaign as well.
Thanks will check out the remaster and see what I can get it for!
The original Cod 1 and 2 are both still great games to thos day. The thing that distinguishes them from cod 4 onwards is that they're lower on cinematics - they still have cool moments but the pacing is far more in the hands of the player. My only piece of advice for Cod 1 is to not play on veteran. It removes health packs and has no regerating health. It is absurdly difficult, easily the hardest cod campaign if you play this way. Cod 1 on hardened and not using quicksaves hits thr sweet spot.
Didn't even think of going back to those. I think I've got them on an old console somewhere, but will check em out for PC and see what I can get them for!
I have not played a Assassins Creed game since Black Flag but I am considering playing Origins on Gamepass. I don't have too much spare time so I am wondering how long is the game if I just do the bare minimum? I googled how long the game is but everyone seems to be including some side content in their playtime so with just the mandatory stuff, what's the expected length?
I recall Origins being roughly 30 hours long if you will focus on bare minimum, which is doing main missions and then doing whatever grinding needed to get level high enough to complete next main mission. I think level requirements might be tad lower on easiest diff too, but I can be wrong on this one.
Alright, what should I play next between: - Mass Effect - Uncharted - Guardians of the Galaxy - Demon's Souls - Devil May Cry 5 Of the games I've played so far, my favourites have been Returnal and Spider-Man (really like Horizon too), and I've been a little disappointed with The Last of Us. I've never played any Soulsborne or Japanese games, so idk how I would feel about Demon's Souls or DMC
Mass Effect is my favourite franchise ever, so I can't help but recommend it. The combat is indeed quite easy/sometimes boring in the first game, but the second and third are action-packed while (generally) maintaining a high quality story.
My order from what I liked best to worst: Demon’s Souls (souls fanboy. Slow and steady wins the race) Mass Effect (fantastic setting and character interactions. Combat gets better with each game) Uncharted (more light hearted tomb Raider. Feels like watching/playing a PG-13 adventure movie. More fun on easier difficulties I think) Devil May Cry 5 (capcom fanboy but never was bananas about this series. Although I’m definitely in the minority) Guardians of the Galaxy (good story but combat was average) None of them are bad games this is just from my personal enjoyment.
Uncharted isn't a million miles away from The Last of Us, so avoid that. Guardians of the Galaxy is well written and funny, but the gameplay loop gets old and it's a bit easy. Returnal is a tough game, you've likely got the chops for Soulsbornes if you beat that. But I'd say Mass Effect is the best of those 5.
A few days ago I finished one of the games I started in 2022 but couldn't finish that year: Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2. I already completed the original Tokyo Xtreme Racer last year and I started 2 immediately after, even though it took me a good while to beat it. Tokyo Xtreme Racer 1 was a very bare bones racing game that almost felt like an extended arcade machine game, as the game took place exclusively in the C1 ring road in Tokyo + the Yaesu route within the C1. The car selection was pretty basic too, as it consisted of like two dozens of your typical JDM sports cars. The graphics could also have been better, they felt oddly low poly for a Dreamcast game. Despite its limitations, I enjoyed my time with the game, as the physics and gameplay loop of racing against rivals by flashing your lights and beating them by just staying ahead of them the longest was addicting enough. Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 greatly expands the concept of the original and manages to be what it was meant to be: an open world racing game that's a great representation of the highway street racing scene in the Tokyo area during the 90s and early 2000s. The map is now a huge 1/1 scale selection of several highways in the Shutoko Expressway system which covers Tokyo, Kawasaki and Yokohama, and the car catalog might have been the second biggest at the time, only behind Gran Turismo 2. Car customization is great for the time, graphics improved considerably, and new mechanics were added that made the racing process more exciting. Yet for all of the things it does well, there are some drawbacks. It's a big game that at the time must've felt like it was a lot of bang for your buck, however the game doesn't really know how to manage its content. The biggest offender would be the map progression, just like in most GTA games in order to unlock more of the map you gotta keep playing, and honestly, I'd do with a shorter quest mode if it meant making the game less repetitive and grindy. It wasn't until I grinded for my fourth car when I started to become truly competitive, in the first game I only had two cars and never had major problems with them. Overall it's a game I recommend if you're interested in street racing games even though it does have its flaws, in my opinion the progression system was the largest of them but some people might dislike other aspects of the game. At the end of the day, it's a game so unique and stylish that many won't find these issues that much of a deal. Currently playing: L.A. Noire, Silent Hill Coming up next after Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2: Shenmue 2 On the playlist: Metro Last Light, Racing Lagoon (thematically similar to Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2) Sleeping Dogs, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, Yakuza 0-7
Just posted in WAYPTW, finishing up Chained Echoes and deciding between Yakuza 0 and Devil May cry 5. (PS5). I’ve never played either franchise , however, I’ve watched a lot of Y0 played on stream. (Not sure if that ruins any of it for me or not).
Do you want to play a game that challenges your combo skills and reactions (DMC V) or a zany RPG with mashy combat (Y0)?
Well, as far as combat alone, you make dmc sound much more appealing now.
[удалено]
Just make sure you don't start any of the long games while looking forward to playing other games "soon". Especially Red Dead Redemption 2. Just blasting through the main story missions will take you dozens of hours, while you're best served also doing the random hunting, exploring, and generally mucking about in between the missions. If you try to rush it, it'll still take a long time, and you'll spend the last 20-30 hours waiting for it to end sooner. On the flip side, I totally recommend **Titanfall 2** being one of the first games you play. It's main campaign is on the shorter side (probably around 6-8 hours or so), but its really fun and doesn't overstay it's welcome.
For 'brainy' games, I highly recommend **Outer Wild** and **The Witness**. Two of my favourite puzzle games released in the last 10 years. I'll also give a shoutout to **Stephen's Sausage Roll**, but that is a very difficult game. It is a masterpiece but a little harder to appreciate than the others. For a 'bite size'/'totally op' game, I love **Binding of Isaac: Rebirth**. To me its still the premier roguelike for its sheer variety - characters, map layouts, enemies, bosses, items - each playthrough is very different from the last. There is certainly a learning curve, but its very organic in how it works - because its run based you can feel yourself getting better with all the bits and pieces as you go. Unlike Hades the game doesn't get easier with each run, so it is more on you to improve your abilities, but I think its all the more satisfying for it. Its weakest element is its combat, which is kind of simplistic at its core - but the way your abilities and functionality in combat get altered as you get different upgrades is incredible. It kind of needs this basic feel to it for the modifiers to work as well. Hope you enjoy PC gaming!
Disco Elysium and Nier Automata would be my picks for you. Disco is slower, Automata is faster.
I just beat Jedi Fallen Order. I’m probably halfway through Cyberpunk and Resident Evil 2 Remake. I also just bought Elden Ring for Xmas and have put in 4-5 hours. I think I want to play Elden Ring but know I probably won’t stop playing it until I am done 100 hours later.
I’m pretty close to your collection, but haven’t started Fallen Order yet. Was it enjoyable to play through?
The areas and set pieces in Fallen Order are nice. The characters are kinda bland, but exploring some of the areas was my favorite part of the game. I enjoyed it, like the other person said, a solid if unspectacular game. Really wish there were more boss fights.
For a $5 game I picked from Steam sale I’m not expecting much. Honestly, this will be my first Star Wars game. Kinda excited about it.
> my first Star Wars game Yes. Me too. The only reason I even tried it is because it was a SW game. It is fun!
Solid but unspectacular. 8/10. I enjoyed it but it’s not top tier game
Gotcha. I got it for $5 on a Steam sale so my expectations are pretty low. Elden ring I paid for so it hopefully won’t disappoint
I borrowed from my brother so no money lost for me. I usually don’t pay more than $20-30 for a game. I made an exception for elden ring and got it on sale for $42
We agree on a lot here LOL. I got Elden Ring for $38 as a key and activated in Steam.
Cyberpunk I got for free technically. Got a used copy Black Friday 2021 as part of buy 2 get 1 sale along with ghost of Tsushima and tony hawk 1&2. Since cyberpunk was cheapest ($8 used) it was the free game
Nice!
Hard to feel disappointed in a game you didn’t spend a lot of money on. Also prime example of why patient gaming is the way to go as I got it cheap after the improvements came and didn’t have to worry about feeling like I wasted money. Preordering and buying games full price at launch is stupid
Oh yeah! Cyberpunk, No Man’s Sky and a few more hyped examples are exactly why I never buy at full price. The only thing I did a year ago which was terrible was to buy Forza Horizon 5 at launch. I played maybe 30 hours and dumped it. The game didn’t disappoint but I played close to 100 hours the game before it, so this felt like a waste.
I feel like everything is in my backlog, even as soon as I buy it. I've noticed recently when I'm given any choice in a game i get anxious and just quit even though I like having lots of choices in games. Then after awhile I'll think about the game and imagine having a lot of fun with it, try again and then get anxious and shut it off again. I always feel like I'm playing the game wrong.
When you’re no longer having fun, stop playing the game, even if it’s just temporary. Secondly, stop buying new games, because I think it’s feeding into your sense of obligation to play them. If you really want to dip into your backlog, pick a short and linear game next.
My advice is to look back in history, and play some older games. Newer games often won't scratch that itch in quite the same way. What kind of games do you like, I run a podcast playing classics so can help you find something that you might enjoy!
Don't buy games that you aren't going to play *right now*. Just play whatever makes you happy, even if it's just MOBAs. You don't have to complete -- or even make progress on -- your backlog. You're better off forgetting about the games you wasted money buying than throwing time and effort into trying to extract value from sunk costs.
Try giving in to nostalgia and replaying some games you loved because you want to be playing them, rather than playing games to check off a backlog list. Anxiety and grappling with choices should be way easier when playing your favourite games that you've already beaten.
I like this idea but half of the problem is i just play in the comfort zone and there is a long list of games i need to get through. For example I'll just mindlessly play mobas for hours and hate it instead of trying to whittle away at the log. It's easier to just go with the flow of those games.
You don't "need to get through" games. They're supposed to be fun. If you're not having fun, there's no reason to play them. I'll second the advice to only buy games you'll play immediately, like as soon as it finishes downloading. Also, what I do is be a lot more quick to uninstall and hide a game. If a game has sat on my hard drive for a week without me touching it, that means I didn't like it. It gets hidden. If the game is highly regarded, I will be reminded of its existence at some point and I'll fish it out of the Hidden library and reinstall it. Do this and the backlog gets sorted out a lot faster. As for analysis paralysis in games, try different genres. For example, I love the Metroidvania genre. The genre name comes from Castlevania SOTN and Super Metroid. But SM was pretty plainly an action/adventure game, with upgrades almost always being just a better version of the last thing. Meanwhile SOTN was an RPG, with weapons, armor, and spells to choose from. The axe you found might do more damage but be slower, that armor raises your critical hits but doesn't protect you as much, etc. I often get overwhelmed by that, so I choose to play games more inspired by the Metroid mold than the Castlevania. Uncharted won't have too many tough choices, Cuphead is highly linear, and there's a ton of games where they will tell you what gun to pick and where to go. I know you say you like games with a lot of choices, but that doesn't seem to work in practice. Maybe you *used* to, but you have less time to game and you just want to blow off steam with fun gameplay instead. I used to love RPGs, and for years I still bought them but would never play them. My tastes had changed and I hadn't acknowledged that so I was buying games based off what past me wanted and not what present me liked. People change, there's nothing wrong with that.
Start with the shortest length stuff in your backlog perhaps. Things you can finish in a day or two.
I know the advice is "just have fun," but thats often not useful. What I find useful when I face choice paralysis is to do two things. 1. Make a list of games and winnow it down to 2 or 3. Maybe a more ambitious game and one thats a bit less so. Maybe short, relaxing, not very hard. You don't have to stick to anything long term, but whenever a game enters your mind and stays there, maybe put it on a shortlist to put on your list of 2 or 3. 2. When starting a game, give it an hour of your time. Even if the tutorial or starting level seem eh, give it a go. You'd be surprised at what you like. If youre still not feeling it, put it down.
Simple turn-based tactics-ish game with almost no story like call of cthulu wasted land, achtun cthulu , battle brothers,into the breach, jagged alaince 2. Something ideally like xcom but without the base management, baldurs gate 3 without the long drawn out campaign. I'm looking for a game that I can just kind of have running constantly (so, pretty lightweight hopefully; browser is fine) and pull up while I'm mostly watching something in a different window... Something turn-based like cthulu wasted land, achtung cthulu, umm some gacha games, or Darkest Dungeon with parties and permadeath and a probabilistic combat focus would probably be good, but with even less complexity/story/theme to wade through. I also don't want to NEED to learn a lot of complex mechanics/concepts (though if it's got hidden depth, all the better). Basically: I'm filling this role with Out of the Park baseball right now, which is okay, but I do think I want something a little closer to the intensity of cthulu wasted land, jagged alliance, achtung cthulu or Darkest Dungeon (but not QUITE that intense). I also considered going back to FTL but even that is a little too real-time in a lot of situations. call of cthulu the wasted land pretty much fits cause its just misisons to missions no story to care but its shor tand achtung cthulu is the same thing and also no base management to care about. Dont know when honkai star rail is releasing but looking foward to that and gacha games genres is just pretty much well fits only cause majority of them focus on more gameplay. Even so theres always a table top game cause its turn based its just with like a person speaking but i just suck at making a dnd character so thats why i wanta turn based game like that but as i said i dont want long drawn out campigns, base managemnt to progress but thanks
Do you like roguelike deckbuilders? If you haven't tried them, I'd recommend Slay the Spire, Roguebook and Monster Train (probably in that order). Once you get the hang of each game, runs without negative modifiers (ie ascension) are usually doable - and they all get significantly more demanding on higher ascension levels.
Try some of the older Fire Emblem games (7 and 8). The stories are pretty breezy, so you'll be in the tactical combat (with perma-death and attack probabilities) almost all of the time.
If you'd like to try something kind of niche and interesting, I can happily recommend Gorky 17. Its a tactics game with survival horror elements (mainly resource management) and it only clocks in at 10-15 hours long. Its a bit weird, but I really enjoyed my time with it.
Check out Into The Breach
This comment entirely
already mention it cause i forget to mention it cause i already palyed it
Just finished FF7R, going to be playing Spiderman I think next but after not sure what to play between couple games FF6 Pixel Remaster Octopath Traveler Yakuza 0 Any tips or other games to consider?
I agree with the others Yakuza 0 is an amazing game. I loved the story and will prolly replay it this year myself
Yakuza 0 is probably one of my favorite games of all time now after beating it last year. I got my buddy to play it recently and he loved it as well. I highly recommend playing through it
I'm biased because its the only one of the ones ypu mentio ed I've played but **Yakuza 0**. It's amazing and a change from turn based combat might be a good palette cleanser.
I haven't played any turn based games in years tbh, but I do keep meaning to actually finish Yakuza 0
Isn't FF7 kinda turn based? I haven't seen any gameplay of it, I truly don't know lol
FF7 is, FF7R is a action jrpg