What do you play now?

[Lyman the Lunatic]

I don't know what to play, I've been wasting time on Heroforge for the past couple weeks.

[LottiexxxSims]

I've got a couple on the go at the moment

I'm on my fourth playthrough of Detroit Become Human and my second for Red Dead Redemption II.

I also picked up a copy of The Quarry the other day so i might start that later. 

[Grey Cloud]

Well that was strange.

 

Just finished Tyranny which I was enjoying until something weird happened.

 

The game has three chapters and I was in the second half of chapter 2 and doing very nicely, thank you. I made what I thought was a fairly innocuous choice during a council with my allies when my quest log cancelled a couple of Fedex type deals and changed some of my main quest gigs.

I then go to a planned meeting with the Overlord's 2ic (and my boss) but find myself on trial, losing and having to fight my boss' hatchetman. I kill him and then have to take on and kill my boss.

The only options in my quest log now are to defeat the two armies of the Overlord (kill the two leaders). So I did this which was a lot simpler than I thought it would be.

 

That left just me and the Overlord. So I go to my HQ make a decision and . . . roll credits. ?‍♂️

 

One of things which is confusing me is that my party is level 13-15 yet I've seen parties on YT at level 20+ and they aren't at the end of the game. ?‍♂️

 

It's a good game though. I'd recommend it. You are faced with some interesting choices, not just the usual good - neutral - evil, and the choices impact the game

[Raine_Hyd]

I'm playing Conan Exiles, mostly because I like the building aspects.
Main game I play is FFXIV, been playing it since ARR. 
Otherwise I mostly play JRPGs. Waiting on Pokémon Scarlet in November. Got back into it with Sword since I got a switch in 2020.
 

[Grey Cloud]

Currently giving Pathfinder: WoTR a go and really struggling to get into it.

 

Far too many cut-scenes for my liking and they all last far too long. Typically there will be a three or four sentence paragraph on screen and you are left staring at it for an eternity.

It's a similar story when camping/resting. Banal banter then a screen with some info which takes two seconds to read but is on for too long.

 

I'm finding it difficult to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing at any given time. Earlier I wasted a long time searching our hub camp for an NPC called the Storyteller who I had spoken to earlier. Round and round the camp but couldn't find him. Go online to find he leaves the camp and you don't catch up with him for another chapter or two.

Now I've just done the first phase of a companion quest. We clear out the dungeon, grab the loot, run around looking for something we may have overlooked and . . . ?????????? No pop-up, no dialogue from the companion as to where we are up to. Go online and find that we don't continue to the next phase until a chapter or two later.

 

I'm at the beginning of Chapter 2 (of 6 plus a DLC) but I'm not sure how much more I can take. Kingmaker had its problems but it wasn't nearly this bad.

 

EDIT.

Marvellous. I've just discovered that the above mentioned companion is in fact a kitsune. That'll be her gone as soon as we get back to HQ.

 

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Grey Cloud

[beefers]

playing through Arkham Knight again and really enjoying it.  I remember hating it the first time I played it because of the all the bugs and issues but also because of the tank battles but it has since grown on me and really is not only a great game but a fantastic Batman experience.

[DrunkenCow]

Nascar 2005:  Chase for the Cup in Dolphin.

 

Still can't pull this move off:  

 

 

I think Chastain has nostalgia goggles.

 

 

[D3vilizeR]

Mass Effect - Legendary Edition.
I still love this game.

[worik]

Disco Elysium

 

[beefers]

On 11/3/2022 at 12:58 PM, Devilizer87 said:

Mass Effect - Legendary Edition.
I still love this game.

I have a feeling I would enjoy the first game a lot more if I didn't have to drive the Mako, it's awful.  The gunplay in the first is also janky but the story is great and graphics still look pretty darn good.  And the music is great.  I know they were limited by the hardware specs at the time but I would be totally open to a full-blown remake with the same story but more varied environments and gunplay from Mass Effect 3.

[Guest]

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/219990/Grim_Dawn/

Playing Grim Dawn all the time lately but now I got back to resume toying with my Skyrim LE MO2 setup and when I'll be done I will be playing both games, Grim Dawn for the most part and Skyrim when I'll be taking breaks from grinding legendaries for my next characters in Grim Dawn.

[Guest]

Skyrim of course 

[beefers]

Playing through Batman Arkham Origins again which is appropriate at Christmas but I'm finding the combat really janky.

 

I recently bought Assassins' Creed Unity and Metro Exodus but can't seem to get into it them.  Bought RE:Village (Gold Edition) yesterday on sale and it's ok.  Not nearly as scary as RE7, enemies are boring and the main character is awful but it looks fabulous and plays well enough.

 

After that I'm going to replay Red Dead Redemption 2.

[Wandering_Mania]

I'm actually playing a lot of X4 that I finally bought in the Steam x-mas sale. After X: Rebirth left quite the 'sour taste in my mouth', I was really hesitant to get it.

Spoiler

 

[Mr. Otaku]

Unbound multiplayer mostly, haven't had much time to game lately so it's the perfect game to hang out with some friends and do races or just drive around with for a while. They need to increase the number of people we can have in a lobby among other bug fixes, lets hope the upcoming update will address that.

[beefers]

Playing through Red Dead Redemption 2 again.  I will never understand all the praise this game gets and people calling it a masterpiece.  Is it a fantastic open world that feels genuine and looks amazing?  Yes.  But the controls are rubbish, the story is shallow and cliche and the character motivations make no sense.  I hate most of the gang members, Dutch most of all and can't understand why Arthur (or anyone else) would stick with him.

 

ALL WE NEED IS MORE MUNEH AND EVERYTHING WILL BE GREAT.  Awful.

 

And the controls, MY GOD the controls.  So janky, so needlessly complicated, so slow to respond both on foot and on horse... it's more like a chore than fun.  The best parts are outside of anything to do with the story when you're just out there exploring and riding around, hunting, fishing, taking bounties, etc.  The prologues are my favorite part because it actually makes sense and feels hopeful whereas the rest is so dire and devoid of reason.  And no Dutch.

 

The fact that there is no single-player DLC featuring either Sadie or Charles (or both) is a god damn outrage.  They were the two most interesting characters and it's a total waste you couldn't play as them.  In fact, it would have been cool to switch from Arthur to Sadie after she goes full badass and then take off and do your own story, that way there was some continuity with the gang and John's story but also a new story with a fresh character that isn't tied to stupid Dutch.

[Mr. Otaku]

On 1/15/2023 at 1:18 PM, beefers said:

And the controls, MY GOD the controls.  So janky, so needlessly complicated, so slow to respond both on foot and on horse... it's more like a chore than fun.

 

I'll agree that the movement controls have some jank to them but it's not that bad in my experience. Maybe it's cause i played on keyboard primarily cause i don't like using controllers but after a while i got used to it so it felt less of an issue. Saint Denis is the only place where the jank kinda annoyed me cause i accidentally kept mounting the wrong horse lol. But the gunplay actually felt really meaty and heavy, felt fitting for a game where the guns are so old and inefficient.

 

On 1/15/2023 at 1:18 PM, beefers said:

In fact, it would have been cool to switch from Arthur to Sadie after she goes full badass and then take off and do your own story, that way there was some continuity with the gang and John's story but also a new story with a fresh character that isn't tied to stupid Dutch.

 

I don't think that would've gone well, Sadie and Charles are fantastic characters but the story isn't about them. Keeping it focused on Arthur and then switching to John helps maintain the narrative continuity so switching to anyone else would've been very disjointed. Hell there are some people who already complain (not that i agree with that in any way) about the increased focus on Sadie during the Colm's hanging arc so switching to her would've made it worse and it would've just been unnecessary. The story is really well written in my opinion, if anything it was a fresh take on the western clichss that originally killed that genre in the first place.

[beefers]

On 1/18/2023 at 4:56 AM, Mr. Otaku said:

I don't think that would've gone well, Sadie and Charles are fantastic characters but the story isn't about them. Keeping it focused on Arthur and then switching to John helps maintain the narrative continuity so switching to anyone else would've been very disjointed. Hell there are some people who already complain (not that i agree with that in any way) about the increased focus on Sadie during the Colm's hanging arc so switching to her would've made it worse and it would've just been unnecessary. The story is really well written in my opinion, if anything it was a fresh take on the western clichss that originally killed that genre in the first place.

that's where I disagree because I thought the story was rubbish and switching to Sadie would have freed them from the narrative of having to continue with Dutch's gang, which I didn't care about at all.  In fact, it doesn't really make any sense for any of the likeable characters (Arthur, Sadie, Charles, Josea, John) to stick with the gang at all since it's clear from the very beginning that Dutch is a foolish, egotistical blowhard and Micah is manipulating him and leading them to ruin.  It's always immersion breaking for me when characters that I'm "controlling" act stupidly simply because it fits the story.  It's one thing for NPCs to act certain ways but not for me the player; it shatters the illusion of choice.

 

In fact, I don't understand why Arthur didn't leave with Mary Linton and live a happy life, at that point I already had plenty of money.  If the game gave you the option to do that, they could have done something similar with the epilogues where you play as Arthur tending to his home and just living life, hunting, fishing, maybe taking bounties on the side where he potentially runs into the gang members.  I would have been fine with that because it would have been my choice and a fast track to my favorite part of the game.  Maybe John would have felt Arthur betrayed them by leaving and that's why he never mentions him in RDR1.

[Grey Cloud]

Having yet another go with EU4. I don't know why as there is not one aspect of the game which I like. ?‍♂️

[Mr. Otaku]

On 1/20/2023 at 2:30 PM, beefers said:

that's where I disagree because I thought the story was rubbish and switching to Sadie would have freed them from the narrative of having to continue with Dutch's gang, which I didn't care about at all.  In fact, it doesn't really make any sense for any of the likeable characters (Arthur, Sadie, Charles, Josea, John) to stick with the gang at all since it's clear from the very beginning that Dutch is a foolish, egotistical blowhard and Micah is manipulating him and leading them to ruin.  It's always immersion breaking for me when characters that I'm "controlling" act stupidly simply because it fits the story.  It's one thing for NPCs to act certain ways but not for me the player; it shatters the illusion of choice.

 

But switching to Sadie wouldn't have a point, the story is about Arthur's journey and a story seen through his eyes until it leads directly to John's. So the characters that are likable are all the people he cared about until the end as seen through his eyes.

 

It may feel stupid that they're following Dutch despite it being clear to the audience that he lost the plot by the time he got to Bronte but from their perspective it's not so simple. Dutch has been the leader figure for them for a lot longer than the audience knows and it's significantly difficult to stand up to your friends/family than random people, especially when they're all outlaws being hunted by the Pinkertons and only really have each other for any psychological support. It's also made abundantly clear that Dutch didn't use to be like that and the decades of history he had with Arthur and Hosea was virtually impossible to let go of just like that.

 

The story was so so human and real, if anything that was the height of immersion for me.

 

On 1/20/2023 at 2:30 PM, beefers said:

In fact, I don't understand why Arthur didn't leave with Mary Linton and live a happy life, at that point I already had plenty of money.  If the game gave you the option to do that, they could have done something similar with the epilogues where you play as Arthur tending to his home and just living life, hunting, fishing, maybe taking bounties on the side where he potentially runs into the gang members.  I would have been fine with that because it would have been my choice and a fast track to my favorite part of the game.  Maybe John would have felt Arthur betrayed them by leaving and that's why he never mentions him in RDR1.

 

Well first of all RDR is a linear story driven series not an RPG so it that choice is out of the question and second, leaving with Mary wouldn't have worked because Arthur was already dying from TB. In the missions with her Arthur even stops to contemplate that possibility but he realizes his fate is sealed and then backs off because he wanted to spare her the pain of giving her hope only for it to be taken away again (I also think there's an entry about it in his journal but i'm gonna have to double check). He always knew deep down that his life is too dangerous and Mary would only suffer if she clings to him so he pushed her away.

 

It's just a beautiful story of hope, loss and redemption, Arthur is by far my favorite video game protagonist.

[beefers]

On 1/31/2023 at 11:07 PM, Mr. Otaku said:

The story was so so human and real, if anything that was the height of immersion for me.

 

Well first of all RDR is a linear story driven series not an RPG so it that choice is out of the question and second, leaving with Mary wouldn't have worked because Arthur was already dying from TB. In the missions with her Arthur even stops to contemplate that possibility but he realizes his fate is sealed and then backs off because he wanted to spare her the pain of giving her hope only for it to be taken away again (I also think there's an entry about it in his journal but i'm gonna have to double check). He always knew deep down that his life is too dangerous and Mary would only suffer if she clings to him so he pushed her away.

 

It's just a beautiful story of hope, loss and redemption, Arthur is by far my favorite video game protagonist.

To counter your first point, I met Mary before I did the debt recovery mission that gives Arthur tb and I already had quite a bit of money at that point so he would have been (theoretically) fine, provided the Pinkertons don't chase after him after he leaves with her.

 

Perhaps it's a side-effect of my autism that I can't identify with someone who puts loyalty over rationality, especially when that loyalty is linked to someone clearly full of shit as Dutch but aside from the tremendous voice work, I found Arthur to be a pretty standard anti-hero style protagonist.  I am now playing through the second epilogue and enjoying it far more than at the beginning but there is SO much about this game that breaks the immersion for me, including a prompt to overwrite my autosave every time I start playing.  The controls especially have been a real nuisance along with the needlessly convoluted core and weapon systems.  Having your favorite firearms reset ALL THE TIME is particularly annoying.

 

Anyway, thanks for the discussion. 

Edited February 3, 2023 by beefers

[landess]

Like many, I've gone back to school . . . .

 

 

Spoiler

 

[liam324]

I'm currently playing The Legend of Zelda on DS. I am in a bit of a nostalgic mood.

[Varithina]

On 2/17/2023 at 8:04 AM, landess said:

Like many, I've gone back to school . . . .

 

 

One of the games I will probably take a look at, in a year or two when the price drops to something reasonable, like £10-15 maybe £20 max for it and any expansions/dlc made for it.

[M.BISON]

I'm having so much fun playing: devil may cry 5 special edition on ps5.

Been playing the games wrong all these years but once you understand the gameplay mechanics it really opens the game up, with infinite play styles. Going through all the difficulties and currently on dante must die mode but I really don't like playing as V!

Edited February 20, 2023 by M.BISON