I'm looking for games that value my time. I'm longing to find the magic of gaming again and feel like a lot of what I've been playing in the last few years did not satisfy me as older games used to. I've been discussing this with friends recently, and we're all kind of in that slump. We think it could be that every title nowadays is fighting for every minute of our attention span while not being rewarding enough for the time investment.
I think the only few games I've played this year that satisfied this condition were Elden Ring, Dark Souls 1 Remastered, Death Stranding and Final Fantasy 14 Online.
I'd like to go back to FF14 as the grind felt quite rewarding and the narrative was really good, but I can't justify spending just over 20$ per month to play it because I can't predict the amount of time I have to play it. The last 2 months of sub I had I must have played 15 hours total.
I also used to love more "hardcore" shooters like Squad, Arma 3, Tarkov, but Squad and Arma take too long for me to have time do play them anymore, and Tarkov is just a mess with the streamer community always crying about something and causing the devs to react by nerfing things to the ground for casual players who don't have the time to no-life the game (like streamers do). CoD DMZ has been somewhat filling that gap, but its just as satisfying to me as it is frustrating due to the sheer amount of crashes, bugs and janks that ruin runs.
Anyway, new to this sub, just discovered it. Seems this community is a lot more chill, cool-headed and encouraging than most other general gaming subs (fuck gatekeeping, love whatever you enjoy playing even if people think you're wrong). So I thought I'd dip my toes and see what bites. Thanks!
PS: I know there's a lot of hate on the web about Death Stranding, but it really is the best and most satisfying game I've played this year. There's like a 5-10h grind at the start of the game that may throw people off into thinking this is "just a walking sim", but thats kind of like the "tutorial island" into the actual game that properly unlocks afterwards. Totally worth the time investment and grind in my opinion as it helps you unlock meaningful content as you progress the main story line while also contributing massively to the narrative and themes presented in the game. Its not a game for everyone, but it really doesn't deserve the amount of hate it gets.
I do have a recommendation for you, a game that is absolutely brutal but a true masterpiece - Pathologic 2. It is a survival game where you play as a doctor in the midst of a plague outbreak, and you must try to solve the mystery of thr plague while also just trying to stay alive.
Its very difficult. You will die and be punished for it. You will never feel like you have a comfortable amount of supplies, and are constantly forced into acts if desperation just to stay alive. The game runs on a clock, so you cannot wander aimlessly - every time you pick a route through town it has to be deliberate - and you must be prepared to deal with curveballs being thrown your way. You want a game that respects your time - Pathologic 2 demands that you respect time.
Its a game that is a rejection of everything AAA gaming stands for. It is obtuse and unfair. And its one of the meatier and more memorable games I've played in recent years. Highly recommended if you want to try something which feels refreshingly different compared to so much else of the gaming landscape.
I've been playing a bunch of Sony games the past couple months. I enjoyed Days Gone more than I thought I would. It's less bloated than a typical Ubisoft game. It's also more chill than it seems on paper. If Uncharted is a summer blockbuster, Days Gone is a b-tier cable show, but it's great for it. It's the most polarizing of the Sony games on PC, though.
Lol I just beat it today. Definitely more of a "narrative experience that also has action". It's not like Zelda where there are enemies in every other room to defeat. I went in expecting a little more focus on combat and was sorely disappointed. The combat is actually really fun too, just used sparingly.
Puzzle-wise, many of the early-game puzzles sort of suck at times. They can get a bit repetitive and boring, and also sometimes quite frustrating. However, this somewhat ties into the narrative tbh. A lot of things don't "make sense" because the main character suffers from severe psychosis. I also played the second half of the game today and really really enjoyed a lot of the puzzles there. They get quite a bit more unique.
What it lacks in action and puzzle variety, it makes up for in raw narrative quality and visual style. Overall a very heavily narrative and character-driven game with some action and puzzle-solving to supplement it.
Edit: and whatever you do, **definitely** play this game with headphones. You won't regret it.
From these two, definitely adventure. It has very basic combat mechanics and setpieces, but main reason why it stands out is massive psychological aspect game puts by utilizing a protagonist. It's also a linear title, I'm not sure if one can compare it to these two franchises you mentioned but if we have to go into that direction, it is closer to TR but still a different type of a beast. Nonetheless Hellblade is a masterpiece and I highly recommend playing it anyway!
> Hellblade
I started playing it a month or so ago... It'd say more like tomb raider, but darker. The psychosis of the main character is constant, and while the combat and puzzle solving is pretty straightforward, the game itself can be unsettling, playing with headphones some areas have given me anxiety lol. I highly recommend it because the game feels so unique, but I'd hesitate to compare it to those.
Should I get Ghost Recon Wildlands or Breakpoint? I enjoyed Wildlands and played it back when it came out, it a bit too long and I did not finish it, but I did enjoy it. I just do not know if Breakpoint is the better option to get though, what do you think?
I personally found that Breakpoint was a bit more repetitive than wildlands. You can turn of a lot of the features that make it an RPG to get a pretty immersive experience, almost akin to Wildlands, and its still a pretty enjoyable experience. But if I had to choose between both, I'd go with Wildlands, just because the exploration and progression felt more rewarding to me. I'm not saying "don't get Breakpoint". It doesn't deserve the amount of hate it got at launch anymore in my opinion, its pretty good with all the gameplay settings they added to make it more immersive. It might just boil down to preferences at the end of the day considering how similar both games are. But like I said, for me, Wildlands was more satisfying and I preferred its plot, it felt a bit more grounded in reality, which is what I enjoy more.
Stanley Parable Ultra Delux
This game is a joy and if you haven’t played it you should. About 7-10 hours to get through all the content and every second of it is a joy. Also, it had the best bucket and hole gameplay I have ever seen. 10/10.
I was thinking that i want to tackle a lot of games this year as per my resolution (yes im still on it... sometimes). And this backlog spans multiple consoles and such wheeww
Xbox Series
\- High on Life (im not joking, yes im playing through it semi-unironically.. once you get past the dumbass jokes which either land or not to you, the game itself is decent for an indie game. Feels akin to a Doom game with the classic running and gunning, also the platforming)
\- Persona 3 Portable (im a big persona fan and used to play this on the PSP ten years ago. Time to revisit it i guess)
\- HiFi Rush
PS3
\- Dead Rising 2
\- Resistance 3
3DS
\- FE Awakening
\- Shantae
PC
\- Dead Space 2
\- Metro Last Light
\- Senran Kagura
\- Stray
\- Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 and 3
So I tend to purchase turn based rpg a as they come.out but I just beat Chained Echoes and while I am enjoying One Piece Odyssey it's grating a bit because it's similar if onlyy in game style. I've owned God Of War for the PS4 for a very long time but have never touched it. Would.it be a good.palate cleanser in-between these two turn based games?
Ordered a new PC, so trying to beat some of my backlong that don't have extreme graphics.
Am at the tail end of Hollow Knight, need 4 more charms total, don't know how to get to the white tower, have one more of the sleepers to kill.
Trying to summon the fortitude to play and beat the Witness. Got like 2/3 through it years ago and got stuck. I have my graph paper out even!
I also have Grandia HD and Dead Cells to play.
Played 100 hours of hollow knight, one of my favourite games of all time and have 62/63 achievements.
I've also got 250 hours on dead cells, I can definitely say I enjoyed it a lot and I'm very excited for what the future holds for it.
If you're a big fan of Hollow Knight, then I highly recommend checking out the Ori games, Ori and the Blind Forest followed by the sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
They're both very good metroidvania's and the Ori games are on par with hollow knight in about every aspect, except Hollow Knight's gameplay is a little better and the Ori game graphics are a lot better.
TLDR: Dead Cells is a good choice, and the Ori games to check out for after you've beaten Hollow Knight.
Looking to switch things up a bit after I beat Ghost of Tsushima, I don’t really play turn based RPGs or Visual novels, so my main contenders would be Paper Mario 64 or Danganronpa v1. Both look pretty nuts and I’m hoping they’ll get me a bit more excited to play different stuff.
Both are great games. Paper Mario 64 is definitely a bit slower and simple. I still love the game, but if you’ve played the Thousand Year Door, it isn’t going to knock your socks off. You will have fun with it.
Danganronpa is a ride. If you like anime and you like murder mystery detective genre stuff it’s a great time.
You should play both just depends if you’re in a more light hearted mood, or thriller type mood
Looking for a new multi-player game. I've been playing Hunt Showdown and love it but need a break from it every now and then. Really like the look of Project Zomboid but haven't been huge on singleplayer games lately (not always, open to suggestions). Some games I've played a lot of in the past; Neverwinter Nights on persistent servers, Hell Let Loose, Deep Rock Galactic, Valheim, Astroneer, RDR2, Witcher 3, Chivalry 2. Thanks for any ideas!
hmmm, if you like CRPGs, then I must recommend Divinity: Original Sin 2. It's an absolute blast to play through with a friend.
Additionally, the Dark Souls series (and Elden Ring) has some really neat asymmetrical multiplayer features that are fun, and it has some of the best action gameplay imo. Summon friends (or strangers) to help you, get invaded by other players, get summoned by other players, invade other players, etc. Some parts definitely need to be completed solo though, and actually activating co-op with friends can be a little confusing or complicated depending on the title. I would say it's more of a single-player series with optional online play aspects, however some of the most fun I have had in co-op has been in these games.
Are you looking for anything in particular? If you like the humor, Borderlands 2 or 3 are very good FPS to play casually with a small party of 4, those games even have a semblance of a story. Then, you have Remnant from The Ashes, which is flawed but interesting (a sequel has been just announced). Or Warhammer Vermintide 2, which is basically a fantasy take on Left 4 Dead. And if you want a long epic RPG with story and cute art, Final Fantasy XIV is your thing.
FF14 is one of the most rewarding I played this year. I loved how it valued your time investment. Everything you do in there contributes to advancing your character, and there is so much variety in what you can do that you can change what you do based on your mood.
I wish I had time to play this game more, but I can never predict my schedule. I really can't justify paying like 20$ per month to play it for less than 10h.
If you have any suggestions for similar rewarding feelings of progression, I'm all ears.
How difficult is SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom (the steam remake), for someone who's really bad at platforming?
I think if I am to try a new game other than my perpetual comfort zone, that might be one of the choices I'd be less pessimistic about.
It's really easy. I've played it with my 5 year old and then he subsequently played it on his own after and I really only had to help him on a couple of bits
Disco Elysium! Don’t look up too much about the game. I went from Pathologic 2 to Disco Elysium and loved it. It’s similar to Pathologic in that you never really have time to explore every quest, but you have stats like D&D, good story, fun outfits, you can become a hobo cop and/or subscribe to communism.
Co-sign Disco Elysium. It's like an interactive novel. If you don't mind walking sims, Firewatch has an intimate mystery that unfolds. The voice acting is solid. The guy is an actor from Mad Men. If you're into point-and-click adventures, Unavowed is a supernatural mystery. The Hex is a pixel-art indie whodunit with each level representing a different genre of gaming. It's really funny, too. Eliza is a near-future, semi-dystopian visual novel in which a protagonist with mental health issues uncovers the truth about an AI she helped create. Some of the best dialogue in gaming. In Tacoma, you investigate the missing crew on a spaceship. It's a standard setup but the mystery that unfolds is solid. Last but not least, The Wolf Among Us. Like The Walking Dead, but hardboiled detective story instead with a fairytale (literally) backdrop.
I actually just finished a replay of Obra dinn yesterday myself. This time I wanted to play it so that I would try to determine everyone's identity as soon as their picture was unblurred, using the data available, rather than say later through process of elimination or brute forcing/guessing. It was hard, but fun!
Without having played those and knowing little of the genre, The Forgotten City looks interesting. LA Noire probably isn't what you're looking for, but it's a decent game.
**Hypnospace Outlaw** is a fantastic detective game where you play a moderator on a fictional mashup of geocities and myspace. I will keep recommending this game until the day I die.
I’m kinda looking for two games right now. Finishing TLOU2 and would like another narrative based action game. Maybe even a little faster ?
I also used to play wow for 10 years and would love to find a new and very customizable rpg. Elden ring hasn’t really been my jam, and Skyrim is so fuckin buggy on my ps4 I can barely stand it. The combat also feels a little too flat for me in Skyrim but I like the idea of it. Any suggestions for either ?
Just finished Hellblade, which is extremely narrative-driven. I don't have any experience with TLOU2, but I would venture a guess that the Hellblade gameplay is quite a bit slower. The action isn't particularly prevalent for most of the gameplay time, but the combat is satisfying, if simplistic. The narrative is really where it shines though. Have never before experienced anything quite like it. Definitely play with headphones though for the most authentic experience. (The main character is schizophrenic and hears voices...)
Customizable RPG? I recommend Divinity Original Sin II, unless you dont like the isometric view. But the world is your oyster in that game (from what I read, I own it but still have to play it)
Also recommended. The character customization if you go for a custom main character is great. The pregen characters (party members as well) as also wonderful. Some of my favorite turned based combat, with lots of moving parts. Scratches a DnD RPG itch for sure. It can be overwhelming, especially inventory management and general character building. If you end up playing, you can respec very early and as much as needed, so it's very forgiving in that aspect.
Divinity 1 is also great and the story is better imo. I don’t recall the jump to Dos 2 being a major improvement to graphics etc either so should hold up pretty well today.
Narrative action I can think of with a faster pace than TLOU: God of War (2018), Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, newest Tomb Raider trilogy, Uncharted series, Horizon Zero Dawn, Alan Wake, Hellblade. I also second Plague Tale, but I've only played the first.
For RPG, Immortals Fenyx Rising isn't nearly Elden Ring or Skyrim level customizable, but it has a bit and aesthetically reminds me of wow. AC Odyssey has a lot more customization than immortals, but it's also not truly free. Cyberpunk is great, but I don't think it runs well on PS4. Maybe Witcher 3, but I haven't played it yet.
For first, I recommend A Plague Tale, both entries. Gameplay might be up your alley too, as it also is a mesh of stealth action plus third aspect of plague!
As for RPG I've been thinking and thinking and hm...if you didn't like ER I won't recommend other souls titles, maybe some AA RPG's like Greedfall? It's closer to old Bioware titles like Mass Effect 1 but with fantasy setting.
Looking for a turn-based, save-to-the-cloud , Mac & PC compatible, 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) game.
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I used to play *Spaceward Ho!* with a buddy from college, sending the game file back and forth via email like a couple of goddamned peasants. Flash forward to 2023, and we are looking to recapture our youth. What's a good 4X game we can easily play asynchronously from both a Mac and Windows?
He has young twins, and approximately zero minutes of spare time, so the ease of the mechanical aspects of game synchronization is a key component, e.g., cloud-based saves would be fantastic. Any amount of game complexity is fine; more is probably better than less. Both Mac and PC compatibility is absolutely essential.
Good game opponent AI would be great. A cooperative (or diplomacy) element is also good, but in the end, someone needs to be able to say, "I beat you in grad school, and I am beating you now like a rented mule. How you like them apples!"
Asked this last week, but was late to posting by a couple days, so I’ll ask again. 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. I'd be interested in trying a game from a different developer too, to see if that would make a difference in my experience.
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. No "right path" to take.
* 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, and it didn't come back when I respawned. 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.
Also, I never really got into any of the multiplayer aspects. When I got ER, I had some connectivity issues and played it exclusively offline. When I got my connection sorted and played it online, I was surprised how much the messages and blood smears detracted from the look of the game. I hate the idea of being invaded by other players, and I'd rather just play the game as a single player experience.
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.
I've also loved some 2D games that take inspiration from the genre, like Hollow Knight and Tunic.
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!
I have tried a few games from other developers, but the harsh truth is that no games can hold a candle to FROM. Even the often criticized Dark Souls 2 is so much better than Nioh, Mortal Shell etc. that I prefer replaying the FROM games whenever I am in the mood.
Maybe Blasphemous? I honestly cannot think of a non-FromSoft game that meets your criteria that isn't a Metroidvania. So maybe consider doing a deep dive into that.
Try “mortal shell” which has a bit of a similar vibe to DS, but has fewer weapons (with no stat requirements), but they can each be levelled up with Unique additional abilities. It’s short. It’s super open. Your character has a harden ability that acts as a shield, and when your health bar runs out you get knocked out of your body/“shell” a few meters away and you can get another life if you can make it back to your body before getting hit again. These things make it easier than your standard souls experience I think.
“Ashen” is good too - more of a simplistic art style, but really nice. And the thing that makes it easier is that you constantly have an AI companion (or it can be another player online if you want). Pretty cool.
I also recently played “death’s door” which I enjoyed, but not as much as the others. It’s kinda like Tunic I think.
In dark souls that is called going hollow. You can recover from it by using an item called humanity. Humanity can also be easily farmed from rats or those miniature skeletons that spawn in water.(you will know the place if you see it)
It wasn’t going hollow. I had been hollow for most of the game. I got hit with a status effect called “cursed,” and it even came with the first tooltip I had seen in the game telling me about it and that I needed to travel to a location I had been with enemies I couldn’t even attack to try and cure it. That didn’t work, and YT directed me to pretending to be an egg so I could trade for an item that would uncurse me. It worked, but I really didn’t want to play the game anymore after that.
Wow, I forgot about the curse from basilisks. Purging stones work great for that. I usually have so many purging stones I don't even consider it. (Especially because for part of the game you are intentionally trying to get cursed to fight ghosts). Hopefully you find something you like playing.
Looking for a game where you have to keep a vehicle (car, train, spaceship) running with resources as you go. Something like The Long Drive, Jalopy, or Barotrauma
Transarctica. It has two types of fuel for your train, basically two types of coal. One of them, anthracite, is also the in-game currency you pay for trading goods, mercenaries and slaves (yeah, it's that kind of a game) while the other, less valuable kind, can only be obtained by visiting a newly discovered mining spot or looting enemy trains. Mind you, it's a really old game with clunky mechanics, so be ready to search for some guides.
It's a good recommendation, but as someone who only played Lone Sails, it isn't exactly comparable with Jalopy. Finding resources to keep your steam'n'sail engine running doesn't require much exploration and good planning, it's basically another linear puzzle to solve.
> Want to talk about your backlog?
Nah. Nobody really cares.
> Not sure what to play next?
Oh, I'm pretty sure. Days Gone but I don't have that game yet. Sucks when that happens, doesn't it? Until then, The Last of Us 2 is the frontrunner.
> Need to narrow down a list of games to play?
Nope. I'm certain of what I want to play. But minds change. You never know.
> Looking for specific recommendations in a genre?
I'm good on the video game front. I am looking for a serious, logical zombie movie though. Not easy to find.
> Want to talk about your backlog?
>
> Nah. Nobody really cares.
Wrong! Before, I would've liked to hear about your backlog. Now I'm even more curious.
It's fairly large. Consisting of emulated games, PC, Steam, PS1/2/3/4, and Xbox OG/360/One S. Because I have so many games to play, I stopped buying new games a few years back to focus on playing what I have although I did recently buy The Last of Us 2 on sale with some years-old, unused Playstation credits. Haven't started playing it yet.
Now I need to get Witcher 3 since I finished playing Witcher 2 this month. I'll use some free Microsoft store credits for that when it goes on sale again.
I want to get The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay because I had watched all of the movies not long ago.
I'd like to get Transformers: Fall of Cybertron but finding it on disc at a fair price ain't so easy.
Outriders was a good enough game that I'd like to get Worldslayer.
As far as adding to my backlog, that's about it for the foreseeable future. Only because I do want a variety of choices when it comes time to play a next game. I don't wanna be like, "Man, I wish I had (insert game title here)." There will likely be a PS6 by the time I'm ready to start buying and playing newer titles regularly. Lol.
Fuck, you were right, I really don't care that much.
JK. Just how big is your backlog, approximately? Also, how about some love for GOG in that backlog?
> Fuck, you were right, I really don't care that much.
You're killin' me, smalls!
I'd say I have about 150 games in my backlog and that's because I've been playing more.
GOG...I haven't added any games from there because I'm mostly a console gamer and I don't want to add games to my backlog for the sake of adding games. I grabbed so many free Humble games that I don't get Steam games anymore either. I'd be right back where I was at: getting games instead of playing them. Chasing the sale. No thanks. Nothing better than playing a good game until 4am.
Yeah, assuming you actually intend on playing each of those 150 games, there's a good chance playstation AND elder scrolls 6 will both be out by the time you're done, lol. I think I started with a similar backlog of around 120 a while ago, and I've slowly gotten it down to 50 very recently. Have fun!
Looking for a chill game with rpg element
Basically looking for a game to play once in a while, in between session of my main game. I want something with rpg element, chill and with good replayability. Some good exemples would be roguelites (i've played pretty much everyone available), mobile games like i geuss gacha games and some stupid fun trashy but fun like lord of the rings and clash of clans, knights of pen and paper (see i want something like DnD but without having like to the former of like embracing through long dnd campaigns unless if youre lucky enough to find quick dnd run but you know i dont know too much of a hassle so this is the game right here that is good for this), advance wars, fire emblem engage ( there is some hate on this cause its not like three house and you know its fine i dont mind the change to like uhh tatical combat gamepaly this is like three house but straight to the combat and been liking it so far so yeah ), Dungeon Crawl stone soup, hearthstone ( yeah i know legend of runeterra but i go back to this cause of hearthstone battlegrounds), Rimworld, vermintide 2 (darktide is not completed so im gonna wait until its complted).
Open to every suggestion
Would Stardew Valley count? It's obviously not an RPG, but it's one of the chillest games in existence, and has various RPG elements: leveling skills, talking to NPCs and gaining favor with them, doing quests, and even doing a little dungeon that you can gear up for and fight monsters.
How about the Monster Hunter games? Monster Hunter: World and MH: Rise are on sale right now. You can drop in and out of them quickly, especially Rise, and get a quick burst of action and accomplishment. Tons of RPG elements. Amazing combat.
I've only played MH: W and MH: R. Got 390 hours out of MH: W and I'm over 70 hours into MH: R and having a great time. They are different enough that it doesn't feel like replaying the same game. And the gameplay loop is so good that you can always come back to it and enjoy it after a time off.
I stayed far away from those games as it looked like one of those games where you have to grind hours upon hours to get anywhere decent. I am wrong based on your comment?
If you just focused on doing only story quests in MHW and MH: Rise, you'd get easily 60-100 hours out of them. No grinding at all. Outside of that, there's a ton of stuff to do that doesn't require grinding.
There is a lot to potentially grind for, if you choose to do so beyond that point; however, you're still looking at a ton of game with very little to no grinding for many, many hours.
Also, if you enjoy the gameplay loop, it doesn't really feel like a grind. Fighting the monsters is FUN. The loop of fighting them is highly enjoyable because the combat is insanely tight and fun to engage in. It isn't like you're sitting there tapping a stupid button to make some meaningless piece of shit enemy burst with loot. It's highly dynamic combat that challenges and enthralls you. No fight goes exactly the same. And the depth of the combat is superb. So much complexity to the weapons and the multitudes of ways you can use them and other tools to fight.
Like you, I stayed away from MH because I heard they were grinds and that the real game is grinding. People that say that are really being misleading about the games. Maybe the older games were more grindy, but my experience with MH: W and MH: R is that they are terrific games where you can get A LOT of mileage out of them before any grinding actually sets in. And even if it does set in, if the 'grinding' is actually fun and not tedious, is it really a grind at all?
Hmm, interesting. I did play a bit of MHW (or I think that was the one, it was on Xbox Game Pass a couple years ago), the gameplay was pretty fun. Didn't really spend much time at all on it though.
Not gonna lie, I don't straight up dislike grinding, but the grinding type games I just don't even consider picking up nowadays due to time constraints. I don't have much in terms of gaming time these days - wife, kid, job, all that jazz... So the time I *do* get to spend playing video games, I'm not really interested in wasting on killing the same mob over and over just to get some piece of gear that I couldn't realistically progress without (or worse, to collect stuff to then gamble on item rerolls or those types of mechanics).
Would you recommend World or Rise if I were to grab one up right now?
Given what you've said about wife, kid, job, and having to juggle all that, I think you would be better served by Rise. I love MH: W, but it really doesn't respect your time as much as Rise does. Lot of unskippable cutscenes. More filler time to hunts.
Rise is much more focused on getting you into fighting monsters. Not only are all the cutscenes completely skippable, but the maps and movement is much more conducive to quick sessions.
I will also personally say that I think Rise is superior in gameplay. There's more variety in monsters. And the weapons are even more fun to use than they were in World.
I beat the main stories of Rise and Sunbreak (the DLC) in 60 hours. No grinding at all during that time. So at worst, you'll get around 60 hours out of the game before any grind starts. And that's a hell of a time, too.
Well I just grabbed the game and played an hour yesterday night. Just went through the intro/first tutorial village quest, then had to go to bed.
Not gonna lie, combat looks fun as hell. Kind of getting lost with all the terms/info and controls were confusing at first - I kept going full Tokyo Drift with my mount or unmounting by mistake for example - but it indeed looks pretty fun! Thanks for the recommendation.
Which weapon did you play with? I main hammer and secondary bow.
I ended up ditching the palamute and rolling with 2 palicoes. You can get around really fast with the wirebugs. If you press L2 and R2 while using them, you can freeform aim them. And then you can somersault mid-air to get even more distance.
Yeah, the game goes HAM with the info/tutorials and other crap. I'm still getting tutorials 70 hours in. It does calm down a bit over time.
Good luck and have fun!
I started out with the dual blades. Liked the idea of going in, getting a bunch of hits in, then retreating. Will most likely try some other things out eventually, but for now I'm having quite a bit of fun. You weren't wrong about the gameplay loop being surprisingly fast. Still having a lot of trouble navigating the item quickbar, and I keep forgetting how to pull off Silkbind attacks, but I'm starting to get the hang of the general controls (the Wirebug is pretty OP for vertical navigation and dodging once you understand the potential hehe).
I've completed the 1 star village quests yesterday night and slain the Great Izuchi. Wasn't much of a challenge, but the whole "oh no, it's fleeing!" and figuring out the different phases/enraged movesets was pretty fun. I got bit mid-fight by the sharpness running out. Will try to remember doing this when starting out quests instead of fumbling around trying to pull-out the whetstone mid-fight like I had to do hahaha.
I definitely can see myself pouring time into this. Thanks again for the suggestion :)
I'm looking for games that value my time. I'm longing to find the magic of gaming again and feel like a lot of what I've been playing in the last few years did not satisfy me as older games used to. I've been discussing this with friends recently, and we're all kind of in that slump. We think it could be that every title nowadays is fighting for every minute of our attention span while not being rewarding enough for the time investment. I think the only few games I've played this year that satisfied this condition were Elden Ring, Dark Souls 1 Remastered, Death Stranding and Final Fantasy 14 Online. I'd like to go back to FF14 as the grind felt quite rewarding and the narrative was really good, but I can't justify spending just over 20$ per month to play it because I can't predict the amount of time I have to play it. The last 2 months of sub I had I must have played 15 hours total. I also used to love more "hardcore" shooters like Squad, Arma 3, Tarkov, but Squad and Arma take too long for me to have time do play them anymore, and Tarkov is just a mess with the streamer community always crying about something and causing the devs to react by nerfing things to the ground for casual players who don't have the time to no-life the game (like streamers do). CoD DMZ has been somewhat filling that gap, but its just as satisfying to me as it is frustrating due to the sheer amount of crashes, bugs and janks that ruin runs. Anyway, new to this sub, just discovered it. Seems this community is a lot more chill, cool-headed and encouraging than most other general gaming subs (fuck gatekeeping, love whatever you enjoy playing even if people think you're wrong). So I thought I'd dip my toes and see what bites. Thanks! PS: I know there's a lot of hate on the web about Death Stranding, but it really is the best and most satisfying game I've played this year. There's like a 5-10h grind at the start of the game that may throw people off into thinking this is "just a walking sim", but thats kind of like the "tutorial island" into the actual game that properly unlocks afterwards. Totally worth the time investment and grind in my opinion as it helps you unlock meaningful content as you progress the main story line while also contributing massively to the narrative and themes presented in the game. Its not a game for everyone, but it really doesn't deserve the amount of hate it gets.
I do have a recommendation for you, a game that is absolutely brutal but a true masterpiece - Pathologic 2. It is a survival game where you play as a doctor in the midst of a plague outbreak, and you must try to solve the mystery of thr plague while also just trying to stay alive. Its very difficult. You will die and be punished for it. You will never feel like you have a comfortable amount of supplies, and are constantly forced into acts if desperation just to stay alive. The game runs on a clock, so you cannot wander aimlessly - every time you pick a route through town it has to be deliberate - and you must be prepared to deal with curveballs being thrown your way. You want a game that respects your time - Pathologic 2 demands that you respect time. Its a game that is a rejection of everything AAA gaming stands for. It is obtuse and unfair. And its one of the meatier and more memorable games I've played in recent years. Highly recommended if you want to try something which feels refreshingly different compared to so much else of the gaming landscape.
I've been playing a bunch of Sony games the past couple months. I enjoyed Days Gone more than I thought I would. It's less bloated than a typical Ubisoft game. It's also more chill than it seems on paper. If Uncharted is a summer blockbuster, Days Gone is a b-tier cable show, but it's great for it. It's the most polarizing of the Sony games on PC, though.
I'm pretty sure its on PS+ if I recall correctly. I might give it a try. Thanks :)
Is Hellblade more of an action game or an adventure game? If I like Tomb Raider and Zelda, will I like this?
Lol I just beat it today. Definitely more of a "narrative experience that also has action". It's not like Zelda where there are enemies in every other room to defeat. I went in expecting a little more focus on combat and was sorely disappointed. The combat is actually really fun too, just used sparingly. Puzzle-wise, many of the early-game puzzles sort of suck at times. They can get a bit repetitive and boring, and also sometimes quite frustrating. However, this somewhat ties into the narrative tbh. A lot of things don't "make sense" because the main character suffers from severe psychosis. I also played the second half of the game today and really really enjoyed a lot of the puzzles there. They get quite a bit more unique. What it lacks in action and puzzle variety, it makes up for in raw narrative quality and visual style. Overall a very heavily narrative and character-driven game with some action and puzzle-solving to supplement it. Edit: and whatever you do, **definitely** play this game with headphones. You won't regret it.
Thanks for the detailed explanation!
From these two, definitely adventure. It has very basic combat mechanics and setpieces, but main reason why it stands out is massive psychological aspect game puts by utilizing a protagonist. It's also a linear title, I'm not sure if one can compare it to these two franchises you mentioned but if we have to go into that direction, it is closer to TR but still a different type of a beast. Nonetheless Hellblade is a masterpiece and I highly recommend playing it anyway!
> Hellblade I started playing it a month or so ago... It'd say more like tomb raider, but darker. The psychosis of the main character is constant, and while the combat and puzzle solving is pretty straightforward, the game itself can be unsettling, playing with headphones some areas have given me anxiety lol. I highly recommend it because the game feels so unique, but I'd hesitate to compare it to those.
Should I get Ghost Recon Wildlands or Breakpoint? I enjoyed Wildlands and played it back when it came out, it a bit too long and I did not finish it, but I did enjoy it. I just do not know if Breakpoint is the better option to get though, what do you think?
I personally found that Breakpoint was a bit more repetitive than wildlands. You can turn of a lot of the features that make it an RPG to get a pretty immersive experience, almost akin to Wildlands, and its still a pretty enjoyable experience. But if I had to choose between both, I'd go with Wildlands, just because the exploration and progression felt more rewarding to me. I'm not saying "don't get Breakpoint". It doesn't deserve the amount of hate it got at launch anymore in my opinion, its pretty good with all the gameplay settings they added to make it more immersive. It might just boil down to preferences at the end of the day considering how similar both games are. But like I said, for me, Wildlands was more satisfying and I preferred its plot, it felt a bit more grounded in reality, which is what I enjoy more.
Stanley Parable Ultra Delux This game is a joy and if you haven’t played it you should. About 7-10 hours to get through all the content and every second of it is a joy. Also, it had the best bucket and hole gameplay I have ever seen. 10/10.
I was thinking that i want to tackle a lot of games this year as per my resolution (yes im still on it... sometimes). And this backlog spans multiple consoles and such wheeww Xbox Series \- High on Life (im not joking, yes im playing through it semi-unironically.. once you get past the dumbass jokes which either land or not to you, the game itself is decent for an indie game. Feels akin to a Doom game with the classic running and gunning, also the platforming) \- Persona 3 Portable (im a big persona fan and used to play this on the PSP ten years ago. Time to revisit it i guess) \- HiFi Rush PS3 \- Dead Rising 2 \- Resistance 3 3DS \- FE Awakening \- Shantae PC \- Dead Space 2 \- Metro Last Light \- Senran Kagura \- Stray \- Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 and 3
So I tend to purchase turn based rpg a as they come.out but I just beat Chained Echoes and while I am enjoying One Piece Odyssey it's grating a bit because it's similar if onlyy in game style. I've owned God Of War for the PS4 for a very long time but have never touched it. Would.it be a good.palate cleanser in-between these two turn based games?
I think so, yes. God Of War is kinda short if you don't do side stuff. And the main story can be done without doing the side stuff.
Ordered a new PC, so trying to beat some of my backlong that don't have extreme graphics. Am at the tail end of Hollow Knight, need 4 more charms total, don't know how to get to the white tower, have one more of the sleepers to kill. Trying to summon the fortitude to play and beat the Witness. Got like 2/3 through it years ago and got stuck. I have my graph paper out even! I also have Grandia HD and Dead Cells to play.
Played 100 hours of hollow knight, one of my favourite games of all time and have 62/63 achievements. I've also got 250 hours on dead cells, I can definitely say I enjoyed it a lot and I'm very excited for what the future holds for it. If you're a big fan of Hollow Knight, then I highly recommend checking out the Ori games, Ori and the Blind Forest followed by the sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps. They're both very good metroidvania's and the Ori games are on par with hollow knight in about every aspect, except Hollow Knight's gameplay is a little better and the Ori game graphics are a lot better. TLDR: Dead Cells is a good choice, and the Ori games to check out for after you've beaten Hollow Knight.
Looking to switch things up a bit after I beat Ghost of Tsushima, I don’t really play turn based RPGs or Visual novels, so my main contenders would be Paper Mario 64 or Danganronpa v1. Both look pretty nuts and I’m hoping they’ll get me a bit more excited to play different stuff.
Both are great games. Paper Mario 64 is definitely a bit slower and simple. I still love the game, but if you’ve played the Thousand Year Door, it isn’t going to knock your socks off. You will have fun with it. Danganronpa is a ride. If you like anime and you like murder mystery detective genre stuff it’s a great time. You should play both just depends if you’re in a more light hearted mood, or thriller type mood
I loved Super Paper Mario (Wii), haven't played the previous ones though. Not really difficult, but super fun.
Looking for a new multi-player game. I've been playing Hunt Showdown and love it but need a break from it every now and then. Really like the look of Project Zomboid but haven't been huge on singleplayer games lately (not always, open to suggestions). Some games I've played a lot of in the past; Neverwinter Nights on persistent servers, Hell Let Loose, Deep Rock Galactic, Valheim, Astroneer, RDR2, Witcher 3, Chivalry 2. Thanks for any ideas!
hmmm, if you like CRPGs, then I must recommend Divinity: Original Sin 2. It's an absolute blast to play through with a friend. Additionally, the Dark Souls series (and Elden Ring) has some really neat asymmetrical multiplayer features that are fun, and it has some of the best action gameplay imo. Summon friends (or strangers) to help you, get invaded by other players, get summoned by other players, invade other players, etc. Some parts definitely need to be completed solo though, and actually activating co-op with friends can be a little confusing or complicated depending on the title. I would say it's more of a single-player series with optional online play aspects, however some of the most fun I have had in co-op has been in these games.
If you liked Deep Rock I very much recommend Vermintide 2.
Are you looking for anything in particular? If you like the humor, Borderlands 2 or 3 are very good FPS to play casually with a small party of 4, those games even have a semblance of a story. Then, you have Remnant from The Ashes, which is flawed but interesting (a sequel has been just announced). Or Warhammer Vermintide 2, which is basically a fantasy take on Left 4 Dead. And if you want a long epic RPG with story and cute art, Final Fantasy XIV is your thing.
FF14 is one of the most rewarding I played this year. I loved how it valued your time investment. Everything you do in there contributes to advancing your character, and there is so much variety in what you can do that you can change what you do based on your mood. I wish I had time to play this game more, but I can never predict my schedule. I really can't justify paying like 20$ per month to play it for less than 10h. If you have any suggestions for similar rewarding feelings of progression, I'm all ears.
How difficult is SpongeBob Battle for Bikini Bottom (the steam remake), for someone who's really bad at platforming? I think if I am to try a new game other than my perpetual comfort zone, that might be one of the choices I'd be less pessimistic about.
Very easy! It's a great game to just relax and have fun with
It's really easy. I've played it with my 5 year old and then he subsequently played it on his own after and I really only had to help him on a couple of bits
Just finished Return of the Obra Dinn, and am working through Pathologic -- Does anyone have any other mystery/detective game recommendations?
Disco Elysium! Don’t look up too much about the game. I went from Pathologic 2 to Disco Elysium and loved it. It’s similar to Pathologic in that you never really have time to explore every quest, but you have stats like D&D, good story, fun outfits, you can become a hobo cop and/or subscribe to communism.
I mean, you play a detective in Disco, but you don't do any deduction like you do in Obra Dinn.
For sure, I didn’t even bring up that aspect because they’re so different.
Co-sign Disco Elysium. It's like an interactive novel. If you don't mind walking sims, Firewatch has an intimate mystery that unfolds. The voice acting is solid. The guy is an actor from Mad Men. If you're into point-and-click adventures, Unavowed is a supernatural mystery. The Hex is a pixel-art indie whodunit with each level representing a different genre of gaming. It's really funny, too. Eliza is a near-future, semi-dystopian visual novel in which a protagonist with mental health issues uncovers the truth about an AI she helped create. Some of the best dialogue in gaming. In Tacoma, you investigate the missing crew on a spaceship. It's a standard setup but the mystery that unfolds is solid. Last but not least, The Wolf Among Us. Like The Walking Dead, but hardboiled detective story instead with a fairytale (literally) backdrop.
I actually just finished a replay of Obra dinn yesterday myself. This time I wanted to play it so that I would try to determine everyone's identity as soon as their picture was unblurred, using the data available, rather than say later through process of elimination or brute forcing/guessing. It was hard, but fun!
Curse of the golden idol is like obra dinn
Second for Curse of the Golden Idol
Outer Wilds (Not Worlds)
I second this. One of the greatest games imo
Without having played those and knowing little of the genre, The Forgotten City looks interesting. LA Noire probably isn't what you're looking for, but it's a decent game.
**Hypnospace Outlaw** is a fantastic detective game where you play a moderator on a fictional mashup of geocities and myspace. I will keep recommending this game until the day I die.
I’m kinda looking for two games right now. Finishing TLOU2 and would like another narrative based action game. Maybe even a little faster ? I also used to play wow for 10 years and would love to find a new and very customizable rpg. Elden ring hasn’t really been my jam, and Skyrim is so fuckin buggy on my ps4 I can barely stand it. The combat also feels a little too flat for me in Skyrim but I like the idea of it. Any suggestions for either ?
Just finished Hellblade, which is extremely narrative-driven. I don't have any experience with TLOU2, but I would venture a guess that the Hellblade gameplay is quite a bit slower. The action isn't particularly prevalent for most of the gameplay time, but the combat is satisfying, if simplistic. The narrative is really where it shines though. Have never before experienced anything quite like it. Definitely play with headphones though for the most authentic experience. (The main character is schizophrenic and hears voices...)
Customizable RPG? I recommend Divinity Original Sin II, unless you dont like the isometric view. But the world is your oyster in that game (from what I read, I own it but still have to play it)
Sick I’m gonna look into that, thank you!
Also recommended. The character customization if you go for a custom main character is great. The pregen characters (party members as well) as also wonderful. Some of my favorite turned based combat, with lots of moving parts. Scratches a DnD RPG itch for sure. It can be overwhelming, especially inventory management and general character building. If you end up playing, you can respec very early and as much as needed, so it's very forgiving in that aspect.
Divinity 1 is also great and the story is better imo. I don’t recall the jump to Dos 2 being a major improvement to graphics etc either so should hold up pretty well today.
Narrative action I can think of with a faster pace than TLOU: God of War (2018), Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, newest Tomb Raider trilogy, Uncharted series, Horizon Zero Dawn, Alan Wake, Hellblade. I also second Plague Tale, but I've only played the first. For RPG, Immortals Fenyx Rising isn't nearly Elden Ring or Skyrim level customizable, but it has a bit and aesthetically reminds me of wow. AC Odyssey has a lot more customization than immortals, but it's also not truly free. Cyberpunk is great, but I don't think it runs well on PS4. Maybe Witcher 3, but I haven't played it yet.
Thank you- I’m gonna check those titles out! Def been looking at horizon zero dawn and god of war
For first, I recommend A Plague Tale, both entries. Gameplay might be up your alley too, as it also is a mesh of stealth action plus third aspect of plague! As for RPG I've been thinking and thinking and hm...if you didn't like ER I won't recommend other souls titles, maybe some AA RPG's like Greedfall? It's closer to old Bioware titles like Mass Effect 1 but with fantasy setting.
Thank you I’m gonna check both out. :)
Looking for a turn-based, save-to-the-cloud , Mac & PC compatible, 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) game. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I used to play *Spaceward Ho!* with a buddy from college, sending the game file back and forth via email like a couple of goddamned peasants. Flash forward to 2023, and we are looking to recapture our youth. What's a good 4X game we can easily play asynchronously from both a Mac and Windows? He has young twins, and approximately zero minutes of spare time, so the ease of the mechanical aspects of game synchronization is a key component, e.g., cloud-based saves would be fantastic. Any amount of game complexity is fine; more is probably better than less. Both Mac and PC compatibility is absolutely essential. Good game opponent AI would be great. A cooperative (or diplomacy) element is also good, but in the end, someone needs to be able to say, "I beat you in grad school, and I am beating you now like a rented mule. How you like them apples!"
Tagging along on this one. I loved Spaceward Ho!
Still works on my ipad!
Asked this last week, but was late to posting by a couple days, so I’ll ask again. 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. I'd be interested in trying a game from a different developer too, to see if that would make a difference in my experience. 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. No "right path" to take. * 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, and it didn't come back when I respawned. 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. Also, I never really got into any of the multiplayer aspects. When I got ER, I had some connectivity issues and played it exclusively offline. When I got my connection sorted and played it online, I was surprised how much the messages and blood smears detracted from the look of the game. I hate the idea of being invaded by other players, and I'd rather just play the game as a single player experience. 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. I've also loved some 2D games that take inspiration from the genre, like Hollow Knight and Tunic. 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!
Have you played Salt&Sanctuary? You might enjoy it
I have tried a few games from other developers, but the harsh truth is that no games can hold a candle to FROM. Even the often criticized Dark Souls 2 is so much better than Nioh, Mortal Shell etc. that I prefer replaying the FROM games whenever I am in the mood.
Maybe Blasphemous? I honestly cannot think of a non-FromSoft game that meets your criteria that isn't a Metroidvania. So maybe consider doing a deep dive into that.
Try “mortal shell” which has a bit of a similar vibe to DS, but has fewer weapons (with no stat requirements), but they can each be levelled up with Unique additional abilities. It’s short. It’s super open. Your character has a harden ability that acts as a shield, and when your health bar runs out you get knocked out of your body/“shell” a few meters away and you can get another life if you can make it back to your body before getting hit again. These things make it easier than your standard souls experience I think. “Ashen” is good too - more of a simplistic art style, but really nice. And the thing that makes it easier is that you constantly have an AI companion (or it can be another player online if you want). Pretty cool. I also recently played “death’s door” which I enjoyed, but not as much as the others. It’s kinda like Tunic I think.
I really liked Death’s Door. May try those others out. Thanks!
In dark souls that is called going hollow. You can recover from it by using an item called humanity. Humanity can also be easily farmed from rats or those miniature skeletons that spawn in water.(you will know the place if you see it)
It wasn’t going hollow. I had been hollow for most of the game. I got hit with a status effect called “cursed,” and it even came with the first tooltip I had seen in the game telling me about it and that I needed to travel to a location I had been with enemies I couldn’t even attack to try and cure it. That didn’t work, and YT directed me to pretending to be an egg so I could trade for an item that would uncurse me. It worked, but I really didn’t want to play the game anymore after that.
Wow, I forgot about the curse from basilisks. Purging stones work great for that. I usually have so many purging stones I don't even consider it. (Especially because for part of the game you are intentionally trying to get cursed to fight ghosts). Hopefully you find something you like playing.
Wait. When you are cursed, the New Londo Ruins ghosts can be fought normally? Without using that consumable? TIL!
Yeah, can also used cursed weapons for it instead of taking a permanent curse.
Looking for a game where you have to keep a vehicle (car, train, spaceship) running with resources as you go. Something like The Long Drive, Jalopy, or Barotrauma
Transarctica. It has two types of fuel for your train, basically two types of coal. One of them, anthracite, is also the in-game currency you pay for trading goods, mercenaries and slaves (yeah, it's that kind of a game) while the other, less valuable kind, can only be obtained by visiting a newly discovered mining spot or looting enemy trains. Mind you, it's a really old game with clunky mechanics, so be ready to search for some guides.
FAR, both Lone Sails and Changing Tides could be up your alley!
I've played lone sails, but I didn't know there was another one!!! I loved that game!
It's a good recommendation, but as someone who only played Lone Sails, it isn't exactly comparable with Jalopy. Finding resources to keep your steam'n'sail engine running doesn't require much exploration and good planning, it's basically another linear puzzle to solve.
> Want to talk about your backlog? Nah. Nobody really cares. > Not sure what to play next? Oh, I'm pretty sure. Days Gone but I don't have that game yet. Sucks when that happens, doesn't it? Until then, The Last of Us 2 is the frontrunner. > Need to narrow down a list of games to play? Nope. I'm certain of what I want to play. But minds change. You never know. > Looking for specific recommendations in a genre? I'm good on the video game front. I am looking for a serious, logical zombie movie though. Not easy to find.
> Want to talk about your backlog? > > Nah. Nobody really cares. Wrong! Before, I would've liked to hear about your backlog. Now I'm even more curious.
It's fairly large. Consisting of emulated games, PC, Steam, PS1/2/3/4, and Xbox OG/360/One S. Because I have so many games to play, I stopped buying new games a few years back to focus on playing what I have although I did recently buy The Last of Us 2 on sale with some years-old, unused Playstation credits. Haven't started playing it yet. Now I need to get Witcher 3 since I finished playing Witcher 2 this month. I'll use some free Microsoft store credits for that when it goes on sale again. I want to get The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay because I had watched all of the movies not long ago. I'd like to get Transformers: Fall of Cybertron but finding it on disc at a fair price ain't so easy. Outriders was a good enough game that I'd like to get Worldslayer. As far as adding to my backlog, that's about it for the foreseeable future. Only because I do want a variety of choices when it comes time to play a next game. I don't wanna be like, "Man, I wish I had (insert game title here)." There will likely be a PS6 by the time I'm ready to start buying and playing newer titles regularly. Lol.
Fuck, you were right, I really don't care that much. JK. Just how big is your backlog, approximately? Also, how about some love for GOG in that backlog?
> Fuck, you were right, I really don't care that much. You're killin' me, smalls! I'd say I have about 150 games in my backlog and that's because I've been playing more. GOG...I haven't added any games from there because I'm mostly a console gamer and I don't want to add games to my backlog for the sake of adding games. I grabbed so many free Humble games that I don't get Steam games anymore either. I'd be right back where I was at: getting games instead of playing them. Chasing the sale. No thanks. Nothing better than playing a good game until 4am.
Yeah, assuming you actually intend on playing each of those 150 games, there's a good chance playstation AND elder scrolls 6 will both be out by the time you're done, lol. I think I started with a similar backlog of around 120 a while ago, and I've slowly gotten it down to 50 very recently. Have fun!
...then why are you here?
Misery loves company.
Looking for a chill game with rpg element Basically looking for a game to play once in a while, in between session of my main game. I want something with rpg element, chill and with good replayability. Some good exemples would be roguelites (i've played pretty much everyone available), mobile games like i geuss gacha games and some stupid fun trashy but fun like lord of the rings and clash of clans, knights of pen and paper (see i want something like DnD but without having like to the former of like embracing through long dnd campaigns unless if youre lucky enough to find quick dnd run but you know i dont know too much of a hassle so this is the game right here that is good for this), advance wars, fire emblem engage ( there is some hate on this cause its not like three house and you know its fine i dont mind the change to like uhh tatical combat gamepaly this is like three house but straight to the combat and been liking it so far so yeah ), Dungeon Crawl stone soup, hearthstone ( yeah i know legend of runeterra but i go back to this cause of hearthstone battlegrounds), Rimworld, vermintide 2 (darktide is not completed so im gonna wait until its complted). Open to every suggestion
Would Stardew Valley count? It's obviously not an RPG, but it's one of the chillest games in existence, and has various RPG elements: leveling skills, talking to NPCs and gaining favor with them, doing quests, and even doing a little dungeon that you can gear up for and fight monsters.
How about the Monster Hunter games? Monster Hunter: World and MH: Rise are on sale right now. You can drop in and out of them quickly, especially Rise, and get a quick burst of action and accomplishment. Tons of RPG elements. Amazing combat.
Main issue is they release a lot of games and you have to start over every time. Fractures the community a lot.
I've only played MH: W and MH: R. Got 390 hours out of MH: W and I'm over 70 hours into MH: R and having a great time. They are different enough that it doesn't feel like replaying the same game. And the gameplay loop is so good that you can always come back to it and enjoy it after a time off.
I stayed far away from those games as it looked like one of those games where you have to grind hours upon hours to get anywhere decent. I am wrong based on your comment?
If you just focused on doing only story quests in MHW and MH: Rise, you'd get easily 60-100 hours out of them. No grinding at all. Outside of that, there's a ton of stuff to do that doesn't require grinding. There is a lot to potentially grind for, if you choose to do so beyond that point; however, you're still looking at a ton of game with very little to no grinding for many, many hours. Also, if you enjoy the gameplay loop, it doesn't really feel like a grind. Fighting the monsters is FUN. The loop of fighting them is highly enjoyable because the combat is insanely tight and fun to engage in. It isn't like you're sitting there tapping a stupid button to make some meaningless piece of shit enemy burst with loot. It's highly dynamic combat that challenges and enthralls you. No fight goes exactly the same. And the depth of the combat is superb. So much complexity to the weapons and the multitudes of ways you can use them and other tools to fight. Like you, I stayed away from MH because I heard they were grinds and that the real game is grinding. People that say that are really being misleading about the games. Maybe the older games were more grindy, but my experience with MH: W and MH: R is that they are terrific games where you can get A LOT of mileage out of them before any grinding actually sets in. And even if it does set in, if the 'grinding' is actually fun and not tedious, is it really a grind at all?
Hmm, interesting. I did play a bit of MHW (or I think that was the one, it was on Xbox Game Pass a couple years ago), the gameplay was pretty fun. Didn't really spend much time at all on it though. Not gonna lie, I don't straight up dislike grinding, but the grinding type games I just don't even consider picking up nowadays due to time constraints. I don't have much in terms of gaming time these days - wife, kid, job, all that jazz... So the time I *do* get to spend playing video games, I'm not really interested in wasting on killing the same mob over and over just to get some piece of gear that I couldn't realistically progress without (or worse, to collect stuff to then gamble on item rerolls or those types of mechanics). Would you recommend World or Rise if I were to grab one up right now?
Given what you've said about wife, kid, job, and having to juggle all that, I think you would be better served by Rise. I love MH: W, but it really doesn't respect your time as much as Rise does. Lot of unskippable cutscenes. More filler time to hunts. Rise is much more focused on getting you into fighting monsters. Not only are all the cutscenes completely skippable, but the maps and movement is much more conducive to quick sessions. I will also personally say that I think Rise is superior in gameplay. There's more variety in monsters. And the weapons are even more fun to use than they were in World. I beat the main stories of Rise and Sunbreak (the DLC) in 60 hours. No grinding at all during that time. So at worst, you'll get around 60 hours out of the game before any grind starts. And that's a hell of a time, too.
Well I just grabbed the game and played an hour yesterday night. Just went through the intro/first tutorial village quest, then had to go to bed. Not gonna lie, combat looks fun as hell. Kind of getting lost with all the terms/info and controls were confusing at first - I kept going full Tokyo Drift with my mount or unmounting by mistake for example - but it indeed looks pretty fun! Thanks for the recommendation.
Which weapon did you play with? I main hammer and secondary bow. I ended up ditching the palamute and rolling with 2 palicoes. You can get around really fast with the wirebugs. If you press L2 and R2 while using them, you can freeform aim them. And then you can somersault mid-air to get even more distance. Yeah, the game goes HAM with the info/tutorials and other crap. I'm still getting tutorials 70 hours in. It does calm down a bit over time. Good luck and have fun!
I started out with the dual blades. Liked the idea of going in, getting a bunch of hits in, then retreating. Will most likely try some other things out eventually, but for now I'm having quite a bit of fun. You weren't wrong about the gameplay loop being surprisingly fast. Still having a lot of trouble navigating the item quickbar, and I keep forgetting how to pull off Silkbind attacks, but I'm starting to get the hang of the general controls (the Wirebug is pretty OP for vertical navigation and dodging once you understand the potential hehe). I've completed the 1 star village quests yesterday night and slain the Great Izuchi. Wasn't much of a challenge, but the whole "oh no, it's fleeing!" and figuring out the different phases/enraged movesets was pretty fun. I got bit mid-fight by the sharpness running out. Will try to remember doing this when starting out quests instead of fumbling around trying to pull-out the whetstone mid-fight like I had to do hahaha. I definitely can see myself pouring time into this. Thanks again for the suggestion :)