VideoGame_Discussion

Orlandu wrote:

True about the upgrades. Once you invest in something to a high level it’s hard to drop it. Maybe make an unlimited source of endgame upgrades or a downgrade system.

I mean most bosses were manageable I felt and accessible especially with the aide of summons to bring along at your will. The only boss I haven’t beat in the game is Melania yet and I can understand why some ppl give up on that fight. It’s a battle of attrition to see who can deal more DPS before she heals. I am just not a fan of bosses who constantly heal and have multiple phases. I’ll do it one day tho when I respec.

Orlandu wrote:

DarkFact wrote:

I like the way they handled it. The back third of the game especially is harder than anything outside of Sekiro if you want it to be. Like objectively just the case with the boss attack strings and such but with all the tools available it's all relatively easily dealt with. The ashes went a long way towards that.

And yeah Orlandu I'd agree with that I made that same exact point actually when I beat it shortly after launch in regards to the back end dragging and recycled enemies in weird spots. As far as the NPC questline stuff it's typical From but it is pretty annoying. I'm able to bash my head at dialogue trees and mostly figure things out but I did have to look up stuff for Ranni. I was speeding through at launch on this one which is rare for me and was actually ahead of available information on a lot of things, discovering things before they were on Fex etc so that was kinda fun.

The game would have been near perfect to me without the open world filler. Just chain the legacy dungeons together would have been chef's kiss. There are probably already mods for this but that's not the same. No way they go away from open world after how well it sold so it is what it is unfortunately.

The catacombs/hero graves were really the worst part of the filler. Tons of recycled bosses for rewards that honestly weren't ever worth it. The main map was pretty fun to get through, though. A few of the bosses also felt too gamey with input reading that you had to manipulate. Having said all of that I still haven't played a better game this generation, and I tend not to like Souls games aside from world design/art direction.

Agree on the filler and because it's From/I love these games so much I did it all. I like doing all bosses, but when the DLC comes out and I replay I'll skip a lot of the filler.

Ori and the Blind Forest

I didn't realize I was craving a Metroidvania style game until I was somewhat through this. It was pretty good.

Though, I didn't see the point in the center set of abilities. I unlocked every other ability from both other sets, and those were useful. The center set seems relevant if you're going for 100% completion.

The ending was surprising.

Ori is more of an action/platformer with minor Metroidvania elements. They're there, but it's not something I'd tag as Metroidvania as a first tag.

Like Diofield Valkyrie Elysium lacks character development overall. It isn't to say it isn't included it is just lacking. The combat is acceptable but lacking as well as the character animations. For example, facial expressions don't change for some reason. Maxing out each weapon through battle is a chore assuming you want to do that. Levels do not exist and upgrades are done via materials. The issue with the late game is getting healing items to tackle late game bosses. Replaying side quests and chapters to grab healing items is a chore. Also I find the weapon differences to be lacking. They all are very similar minus enemy weakness to some types.

Couple tips don't bother smashing boxes, it is a waste of time overall due to combat giving points towards maxing out weapons you can kill two birds with one stone. Replaying levels till the late game for anything but getting more healing items is a waste and exploring is needed to find some items.

ued222 wrote:

Again I say:
Valyrie Elysium is/was on my radar....sounds pretty easy and unrewarding now

Unmetal 9/10 loved this game to pieces. Such a great parody Metal Gear game right down to the voice acting.

incubus421 wrote:
Not trying to scare you from buying games. Just try the demo and come to your own conclusion. Yes, the post game is terrible to me and the story is lacking but it is enjoyable.

You can buy the game at Bestbuy and sell the Steelbook for $35 on Ebay. The game is just $25 then.

I finished up Outlast last night. It's a fairly short game, but it's really good if you're ever in the mood for a horror game. There's some decent jump scares in it, but it doesn't overdo it with them.

Soul Hackers 2 - 7/10

Solid enough. At 60 hours or so, you definitely get plenty of bang for your buck, but it's a largely forgettable experience, unfortunately. The party members are solid and the main character, Ringo, is actually quite awesome, but the overarching story is standard "save the world" JRPG stuff we've seen thousands of times and I stopped caring after about 5-6 hours. None of the major revelations are impactful and I just finished it an hour or so ago and I've already forgotten most of it. Never a good sign. The gameplay is solid and if you've played the Persona/SMT games you'll feel right at home, but the devs took away so many of the things that made the original Soul Hackers special. The dungeon/level design is really poor and you end up running around - really slowly - through empty hallways, empty subway corridors, more empty hallways ...it's a drag and it gets old fast. There's no real worldbuilding and it all just feels so uninspired which when matched with the shallow storytelling makes for a very forgettable experience.

There's a social element to the game that allows you to bond with characters, but even that side of the game isn't very well thought out because you get random dialogue choices that have no real impact and the choices you make don't change the flow of conversations at all. The actual combat itself is a stripped-down version of what you'll find in an SMT game. It lacks any of the things that made the original Soul Hackers special and while it's serviceable, it just doesn't do anything new and it isn't nuanced enough to make the dungeon crawling enjoyable. You have a party of 4 and every battle is the same. Again, it's mechanically solid, but it all gets pretty stale after a while.

So yeah, not really the sequel to Soul Hackers I was hoping for, but the soundtrack is quite good and I liked Ringo a lot so at least there's that. Again, plenty of bang for your buck so if you are looking for a new JRPG and can snag it for under $20, it's worth checking out.

Ikai on PS5. It was muff cabbage.

I beat Pumpkin Jack last night. I enjoyed the game overall, but some of the levels drag on by making you do fetch quests and a couple of the bosses at the end were just annoying.

I beat Pumpkin Jack last year. I thought it was a cool old school feeling Halloween platformer.

Just finished Evoland. More interesting in concept than execution. The game "evolves" as you find treasures. You start by finding treasures that allow you to move in different directions, then treasures that add color depth, a 3rd dimension, world map, etc. Some fun puzzles here and there, but leans too heavily into "hey remember that game?" referencing. Takes about 3 hours or so to get through. It has a sequel, so maybe that one will flesh out the ideas of the first.

Deliver Us The Moon - 9/10

Fantastic sci-fi puzzle-adventure game. It's a bit like Tacoma in that it's an exploration game set in space, but it's so much more than that. Imagine Dead Space as a walking simulator where you play in both 1st and 3rd person and you have Mass Effect-style Mako driving sections. It's a really cool indie game with a story that kept me hooked and an ending that made the entire journey worthwhile. Loved it and it's worth checking out if you're looking for something a little different.

Stray was an interesting experience. I felt the ending left me wondering if the doctor or the entities were causing the screen to flicker or something else entirely. Played Overwatch 2, that was a drag. Tanks are still way to overpowered and having one just makes it worse. I am Diamond-Gold rank.

Well I am downloading A Plague's Tale Requim and Scorn on game pass and my Mario Rabbids copy is coming in as well tomorrow. I am hoping to get Gotham Knights and some others this month but I think I will wait for Black Friday.

I am out screw Requim stealth is way to difficult and boring for some reason. Onto Mario Rabbids.

GTA V - 7/10

Always wanted to give GTA V a go. I liked the concept of playing multiple main characters but other than appearance and voice acting I didn’t feel like it added much to the game play. I will say, Trevor is likely the biggest douche bag in all of gaming history. This is typical GTA, I didn’t do any of the side missions and hated anything flying. There were many boring menial tasks that I thought just wanted time. Shoot out we’re fun and exploring the city was equally satisfying but in retrospect I liked IV better. Happy to get my 109gb back tho. Could have been better definitely not the worst. The ending was a bit anti climatic imo (I chose option A).

The Red Lantern - 9.25/10

A story-driven, roguelite survival game where you and your team of 5 sled dogs must survive the Alaskan wilderness as you try to find your way home. You'll hunt for food, patch up dogs if they get injured, and discover tons of unique encounters as you explore the world. Ash Burch voices the main character and she's terrific. The soundtrack is also really, really good. I wasn't expecting this. I'm not typically into these types of games, but the fact that it's narrative focused and has an actual ending (though you can keep playing afterward) drew me in. The dogs are all so adorable and the art style is also quite nice for a low-budget title like this.

So yeah, if you're an animal lover you'll definitely dig this. It's not perfect (the hunting mechanics take a little getting used to and can be wonky, for example), but none of its quirks bothered me at all. It took me about 10 runs and 3 hours to beat it. I don't feel like the story portion of the game needed to be any longer because padding out the length would have resulted in the simple gameplay loop feeling repetitive and stale. Awesome little game and definitely one for my collection. I know there's a lot I still haven't seen so I may dive back in at some point.

New Tales From The Borderlands isn't the longest game. The mini games and story aren't great either. To many random cuts to side stories that don't blend well with the main story. I was hoping for a fun mini game considering the advertisement for the preorder DLC but it wasn't. Just another spam fest. The QTEs are also painful. This is a subpar game. Just rent it since it is 9 hours.

Mario VS Rabbids Spark of Hope is proving somewhat worse and better then the previous game. You don't know enemy movement quite as well which can be for the better. The options are heavily increased and the skill trees are more impactful. There are a variety of options and not full healing after each battle means rushing to the goal isn't the best choice. I prefer the first game as I loved seeing my rankings and trying to get better. I am hoping this changes after I beat World 1 though since there seems to be five worlds and I see 100% the game taking 30 hours at this rate. Weapon upgrades do not seem to exist. Sparks have additional abilities and hopefully after I beat this I will have a better idea of this game. The puzzles are somewhat easy to.

Watched my husband play the new Mario Vs Rabbids and it feels lacking but still fun. I hate they got rid of 2 player. I might replay the original.

Ghostwire Tokyo 7.5/10
Not a bad spiritual spooky first person elemental combat game that dives into Japanese folk lore and fuses it with the city of modern day Tokyo where spirits who haven’t yet crossed over to the other side are in need of aids while you are on a quest to find your sister kidnapped by dark forces. It’s one of those check box games though like Far Cry so if you aren’t a fan of a mini open world map with a ton of misc crap to do on it then this one probably isn’t for you. I enjoyed my time with it though. Some sections were a bit eerie too. Especially the indoor corridor smaller linear missions. The controls left a bit for me to be desired though and felt like they could have been tweaked better but luckily there’s an aim assist mode. Now excuse me while I dust off my PS3 and commence my God of War marathon which I haven’t done in over 5 years to prepare for the Ragnarok!!!

TalonJedi87 wrote:

Agree with your assessment. It’s a great Japanese mythology/ folklore game- and you played it during spooky season. SPARTA!!!

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

I have a love/hate relationship with this game. Every time it does something new and fresh, it finds a way to curtail it, and that makes the overall experience pretty frustrating.

Years before everyone knew and loved Pokémon, a group set out to document as many Pokémon as they can. The player character literally falls from the sky, and a roundabout explanation is given towards the end of the game, but ultimately the player character's story doesn't have much of an impact. Like traditional Pokémon games, the goal is to be the best, but here it's more about research and catching than battling. The game starts promising, introducing a land more open than previous games, but quickly pulls that back.

There are five main areas plus the HUB town to explore, but the areas aren't really that big and while the game gives off the impression of a big open world in general, the areas are only connected by loading screens. What's worse, if you want to travel between areas, you're forced to go back to the town first. Everything feels very disconnected. The variety of Pokémon is pretty good, but few are introduced in each new area, which means you'll be seeing a lot of the same Pokémon throughout the game. My PokeDex was somewhere around 160, and there were not that many that I didn't catch or encounter outside of that. I also want to make note that my started was Rowlet, but I didn't know it's final evolution was different in this game, and it felt weak against most of what is faced. If I had to choose, I wouldn't have picked Rowlet.

Catching Pokémon can be lethargic; stalking and using a plethora of items to aide in catching. Except the world isn't designed very well and the character is only hidden when crouched in very specific grass that isn't very plentiful. Most items also have the same effect. Crafting is a huge part of the game. You craft everything from potions to assists to PokeBalls. There's a survivor game feeling because of this, but it isn't hard to get what's needed. What does become a problem is your inventory. There's a set number of slots for item types and an overall amount that can be carried. To increase the former, you have to talk to one of the Galaxy Team members and buy another slot. Every slot gets more expensive. It was basically the only thing I spent money on, and management became a chore. There are mounts to help with traversal, but they're cumbersome to control and the system is cumbersome to use too.

Back to the story, you're tasked with filling the first PokeDex but also solving the mystery of the portal in the sky your character fell from. The game does a good job of laying the groundwork for character groups that will come much later, and there's some interesting themes touched on, but nothing too deep. The final twist was also lazy. This game is played for the gameplay, not the story, though the writing is pretty good.

The other half of the gameplay is battles. Now, battles are engaged in real time with no transition to a different field. You can move your character around the Pokémon, but it didn't seem to affect anything. My main gripe with battles is they seem to fly in the face of stats, and can become too random or leaned towards the CPU. I've had wild Pokémon, 20 levels BELOW mine, attack first and evade my attacks with ease. I had a CPU Pokémon 7 levels below mine, with mine having much increased speed through items, attack 4 times in a row and knock my Pokémon out. If you change Pokémon mid-battle, they attack first. If they change mid-battle, they attack first. If you have two turns in a row, and miss the first, you don't get your second. If you have a turn after one of the opposing Pokémon, I've had my turn skipped without the opposing Pokémon using an Agile attack. Quick side note: when a Pokémon masters a move, they gain Strong and Agile versions of said move. Strong attacks do more damage but are slower and possibly less accurate. Agile moves are quicker, but do more damage. This is supposed to add a wrinkle, but the random elements of battles usually overrode this. Basically, I was always at a major disadvantage in battles, no matter how stronger or faster my Pokémon were, what my character star rank was, or what levels my Pokémon were. It felt like the advantage the player receives in traditional Pokémon games was flipped in favor of the CPU in 'Arceus.' What ended up happen, since strategy had little affect, was that I did everything I could to avoid battles. That essentially ruins half of 'Pokémon' and I'm extremely disappointed by it.

So that left me with a game I enjoyed at times, and can see the appeal for leisurely wanting to catch Pokémon and fill the PokeDex, but also a game I actively wanted to avoid and felt hamstrung by archaic design (an increasingly theme I've complained about before with Japanese devs). I also played entirely in handheld mode, which I haven't done with a game since I got my OLED model, but I think that helped hide the technical blemishes of the game. For Pokemon fans, it's absolutely worth it. For more casual fans, it's best to play more casually. It's good, but should've been better.

Lunar Legend via Analogue pocket - 8/10

Lunar is one of those games I’ve owned multiple times across multiple systems but never really dug my heels into beat it. In the past I’d always get as far as Meribia and either lose interest or get distracted.

By today’s standards there really isn’t much meat on the bone. It’s fairly linear, not much back tracking if at all and holds your hand throughout. Enemy encounters are frequent and dungeons are pretty straightforward. Boss battles are fairly easy, although I did have to do some minor grinding to beat the last boss. This is a traditional adventure. Protagonist sets off to save his love from a power hungry antagonist who wants to be come a god and take over the world. The ending was touching admittedly. My play though was near 18 hrs.

My rating is based on it’s retro merits and nostalgia goggles. “Back in the day” this would have been an exciting RPG adventure checking all those retro boxes. I can see why lunar is such a cult classic, It’s just good fun even after all these years.

Just finished Miles Morales. Movement through the city is a blast. Combat has some nice improvements when you aren't dodging projectiles every two seconds. The final boss was a little blah, and mission variety is a little lacking, but overall it was a fun short side game. Locking skills behind New Game + was a questionable decision since there is no incentive to replay the game.

Mario VS Rabbids Spark of Hope is okay. The issue is the side quests are straight up garbage 90% of the time. Don't get me started on the Axe one on world three. There are five worlds technically six but six is super short. I find Mario, Luigi and either Peach to be a great team. Their reaction based attacks along with Peach healing or shielding makes them a deadly force. All the heroes do well though. I really wish their spark skill tree was more special. I really wish they were different for each character. For example, with Mario I found myself not using it at all due to me using his skill each turn. Onto Bayonetta 3 (got it for cheap using the CE), Sackboy, Astroboy, Kena, Plagues Tales Requiem, Sonic Frontiers(got it for cheap) or Gotham Knights(got it for cheap locally Facebook). 100% Mario Vs Rabbids takes 30 hours max level is also 30.

God of War Ascension
8/10
My 3rd time replaying it as I prepare for Ragnarok and it’s just good old fashioned Kratos raging at his finest. Well maybe not finest since the controls and framerate on PS3 have kinda aged like milk. But it was nice to go back to the roots a bit to see Kratos starting to take out his vengeance starting here in chronological order with the Furies. The final boss I forgot had it feel reminiscent to the very first God of War fight too on the boat. Good times. Next stop Chains of Olympus!

God of War: Chains of Olympus
7/10
Another one bites the dust. Short, sweet and to the point. How I like it when I’m speed running! This one def aged though in regards to graphics but the performance is better than Ascension at 60fps at 1080p in the remaster here. And you can definitely tell it was originally a PSP game first at its simplistic design and limited number of enemies on screen at once and lack of voice acting outside of CGI cutscenes. I also enjoyed the tale about Kratos’ daughter and Persephone and showcasing just the beginning of Kratos’ descent into madness. Next stop, the OG, God of War 2005.

Inside PS4

Amazing!

TalonJedi87 wrote:
Yes, knowing what is to come in GoW 3, Persephone's rant and exchange with Kratos (right before her boss battle) is super ironic/foreshadowing.

I just finished up Along Together on PlayStation VR. A pretty decent puzzle/platformer. Probably is aimed more at kids, I don't think it should take the average adult more than 2.5-3 hours to play through. One or two puzzles stumped me, the rest were a breeze. I actually might go back and go for the platinum trophy on this one before starting up BioShock 2 for ye olde game club.

Sifu wasn't for me. Great game I suppose but it wasn't for me. The concept of death and rebirth getting less health but more attack each cycle was interesting. The possible multiple endings for a no death run which I wasn't going to do and the systems in general made me question things. It is a short game beatable in a day.

The new Valkyrie DLC came out. Now I need to get a copy again if I want to play it.

Sonic Frontiers, my god the filler was annoying it got better. I also wasn't sure how to complete some side missions but learned you had to do them at night. The icon showing a moon wasn't enough as I wasn't 100% sure. The game is okay not great so far. Played 3 hours. Apparently 100% this is 30 hours and I might just do that. Mario Vs Rabbids all over again. Really wish side quests were better in these games. Might just go to Bayonetta 3 or try Gotham Knights, Sackboy or Kena.

Bonks Adventure - 7/10 via pocket.

I got this in the mail today. Threw it in the pocket to make sure it was working ok… sucked me in. Was playing it off and on throughout the afternoon. Was a fun platformer. I had no idea it was so short. It was also a bit on the easy side. Much easier than bonks adventure on the tg16. Bosses were super easy, I had so many extra guys at the end boss that I really played recklessly. Looked great in the pocket too.

Scorn - Do not play this unless you want to give it a shot. When you complete a Puzzle your response to beating it is more so "Well, that was dumb/annoying" and not "Wow! Great puzzle!" Puzzles are "brute force" with no clue what to do other than figure it out.

The game gives you no hints about anything. There is no lore, story, or anything. "Lore" implies there are documents to read or things to interact with. Nothing here. All you do is wander from place to place, pulling levers or finding dead ends and running away from the awful enemies. Apologists could argue "Well, your character has no idea what's going on, so you shouldn't either!" Even in the From Software games there are tutorials. Nothing here. Need to figure out what a button does? Pause menu. There is a "healing" station and an "ammo" station. In order to even use Weapon 2 (which looks like a pistol) you have to hit "X" to reload it in the first place after getting ammo. I got to 3-2 before realizing this. I did beat the entire game with no guide, but it gave no real satisfaction. The combat is awful and should be avoided at all costs and the only Boss is a Two-Phase boss and you can run out of ammo for it. Honestly, the combat made me quite angry with how bad it is. Like the whole game. Even the aesthetic isn't really that interesting as it's just a stolen art style. I can't imagine how anyone could like this game unless you also consume the smell of your own farts. Maybe Kojima fanboys might like this "art" garbage but that's about it.

I think I'm the only one here who's beat this, it seems?

Sonic Frontiers, my god the collectibles are to many in the second and third island. The first, fourth and fifth are bearable but I gave up on doing it in one go. The idea of going back to find how to get to just get a character piece seems insane (spent 10 minutes finding some) plus getting so many pieces is pointless since you only need a limited amount to progress in the story. If your seeking just getting to LVL 99 on all stats just fight all the easy enemies and fish. Finding Kokos in the world is insanely tedious if your looking to max out rings or speed so fish for them easy 16 levels are easy to achieve each fishing event. I always 100% my Sonic games but beating it is bearable. I am going to 100% this eventually. Unsure what to do now. Sonic Frontiers is $39 now at Gamestop but might trade in for $30.

Bayonetta 3, Gotham Knights, Sackboy, Kena, Astroboy or buy one of the four titles I want to play.

God of War 2005 8.5/10
So many fond memories for me here. I've now beaten this game over a dozen times in it's 17 year existence and while it's become rough around the edges control wise and has a fixed camera that hinders more than it helps at times, the story and soundtrack alone with memorable characters shines on thru any muck along the way. Next stop in the Kratos chronology, Ghost of Sparta!

God of War Ghost of Sparta 7.5/10

I blew through this one so quick I forgot how short it was. Probably shorter than the OG GoW 2005 but it was sweet while it lasted. I enjoyed the whole brotherly love side of Kratos even though they kicked each others butts a few times along the way. It also makes it’s due of the secret 2005 cutscene in the 2005 GoW you get when beating the game on god mode which is nice as they revolves an entire game around Kratos’ quest to find his lost brother. The final boss Thanatos was still a chump though. He’s got nothing on Hades. Next stop, God of War II ! (Which will probably take me a bit longer since it’s about 10-12 hours from what I recall)

Midnight Fight Express X1X/SX - 9/10
I played on both systems and it played about the same on both. Game is a bit of a mess in the story, not that it's bad or confusing, but it's just all over the place with some cool pop-culture nods like the MW2 No Russian mission or the Joker and more.
The music was great, but only if you like that style I suppose. Controls were good, just a fun beat-em-up style. It's on GP so I recommend giving it a go. There are 41 levels and most take around 5-8 mins or less and they promote replaying levels to get S ranks and perform certain challenges that only pop after beating the mission once. I think I'll keep playing it as it can be a pretty quick hitter of fun for short sessions.