whatchu playing now

I like it so far! It seems like it loads you up with options of satisfying stuff to do to goons right from the off. Haven't played enough to see what it's like when the missions are actually difficult.

Interesting phenomenon with this one where reviews came out saying it was good, and disgruntled commenters who hadn't played it piled in saying "no it isn't, it has cards and bad graphics and a team building mechanic and I won't be buying it", the inverse of the usual situation

God of War Ragnarok - there are lots of problems with it. Lots. My latest qualm is with major difficulty spikes within a game that is not particularly challenging on the whole. But I'm warming to it. The story, characters etc are great great great. I just wish it were more fun to actually play as a game.

Demon's Souls - yeah I'm a Souls fan now.

FFVII - the original, not the remake. I've been told by a friend it's better

they're different games with different gameplay and different things going on in general

started 13 Sentinels. have been hyped to play this for a while, but it's not hooked me yet. only a couple of hours in though. hmmm.

I gave up on 13 Sentinels after a couple of hours, but I'm also generally skeptical of games that have to be localized from Japanese (Yakuza 0 being a notable exception).

the fights in 13 sentinels are pretty whatever, the appeal of the game is as a mystery story, piecing together the timeline

God of War Ragnarok - there are lots of problems with it. Lots. My latest qualm is with major difficulty spikes within a game that is not particularly challenging on the whole. But I'm warming to it. The story, characters etc are great great great. I just wish it were more fun to actually play as a game.

I can't wait to play it! Waiting for a sale.

Demon's Souls - yeah I'm a Souls fan now.

I can't wait to play it! I bought it.

FFVII - the original, not the remake. I've been told by a friend it's better

I don't really know what this is, is this one of those JPRGs with melodramatic gibberish plot and people carrying giant swords?

I started "Lost Legacy," which is fun so far as an afterthought (by design). It shows how easily Uncharted can pivot from Nathan Drake to another protagonist.

Queued up in my head for when it's done is probably/possibly something similarly light or easy, like "Guardians of the Galaxy" or "Ratchet and Clank" (which I suspect I may get as a gift; surprise!). Then LOU2 and Demon's Souls, maybe, for winter games, possibly followed by Witcher 3 (if I dare) once it gets its PS5 patch. Backlog is full of other distractions, though, like the Resident Evil games (I've never played any of them; RE4 reboot is imminent), Mass Effect (which people love), a ton of other stuff. The game's not supposed to be great, but I got "Deathloop" for $10.

Best Buy actually coming through on its holiday deals for that Deathloop

Case of the Golden Idol is the Obra Dinn of games for people like me didn't like Obra Dinn.

I liked Obra Dinn a lot but that also seems cool, I look forward to seeing if it gets a Switch version

was gonna say that looks cool and then i went to wishlist it on steam and turns out i already bought it

lol i know the feeling...

norco was depressing!

next up is Moncage which appears to be like Gorogoa but in a 3d cube

ah looks like i actually got the rec on this from upthread here

mmmmm cube

Bought a few things on sale to add to the infinite backlog. Tunic, Dysmantle ... the latter sounded neat for $10.

xps playing moncage on the phone, really slick

Inscryption was mostly fun to play but the story ended up feeling pretty stupid and then looking up whatever stuff you learn from the puzzle hunt didn’t make it seem less stupid, game designers stop writing stories

I picked back up the first Arkham Asylum for the first time since it originally came out. Surprised by how natural and easy it still feels. I remember it being utterly exemplary and unique in its moment.

It definitely felt I want to say not necessarily ahead of its time but so well done that it might as well be. A lot of people compared that new Gotham Knights game to Arkham Knight, which came out in 2015, to show how this six year old game still looked and played better than this purportedly next gen sequel. Iirc I really enjoyed playing as the cartoon version of Batman, which was a fun contrast to the oppressive environments.

was arkham asylum the first game to do that "see behind walls" extra-hard-listening-detective-mode thing? i feel like it's in everything now

I think the first Assassin's Creed might have beaten it, though I don't remember exactly how they compare. Batman's was probably much better

Sniper Elite 5 is so chill. Underrated stoner game

I've been playing that for the last 4 weeks or so. I'm really slow and quite bad at it, think I'm averaging about 3 hrs per level. A lot of fun though.

I loaded up Hitman 3 just to check something, and that seems like it will be similarly fun and silly.

the modern hitman games are so good

finally stopped playing apex for RE2 remake - also class

not related to what i'm playing but can i say it pisses me off so much when outlets publish lists of the best games of the year and do not include what platform each game is on in the list? so fuckin dumb to have to google half the games to see if i can actually play them or not

a pet peeve of mine as well, with game review outlets that can't figure out how to mention which platform it's available on

xp that's a shame, i blame the editors. Walker's a good-un

2022 really was the most extraordinary year for point-n-click adventures. The genre demonstrated the reasons for its longevity, and in almost all cases, in its most classic form. With Norco, Return to Monkey Island, Lucy Dreaming, The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow, One Dreamer, Nightmare Frames, and The Plague Doctor of Wippra, plus surely many I’ve missed, it’s been good times, and that’s even in a year without a first-party Wadjet Eye release. But top of all of them for me is Perfect Tides.

i forgot there was a new monkey island, should queue that up next

Norco has an amazing atmosphere. The Excavation of Hob's Barrow and a couple of others on that list have been on my wishlist for a while, but there are also a few I haven't even heard of.

Yeah it's 2022 and that sites still don't list platforms of their year-end best games is still mind-boggling!

Finished "Lost Legacy." It did a pretty good job splitting the difference between the other games in the series, with great visuals and set pieces and funny banter/bickering, but just a little taste of drama. Surprised they haven't followed it up, though rumor has it there's another one in the works. Or a reboot, which seems ... unnecessary. Which probably means they're going to do it, lol.

Started "Death's Door," which seems fun.

playing "Please, Touch The Artwork", a puzzle game based on Mondrian paintings
the puzzles are set up very like The Witness where you slowly discover the rules of the game by yourself
I have a thing for big blocks of solid colour next to each other, so this game visually is like catnip to me
only thing I don't like is the cocktail jazz soundtrack, a bit too polite

playing return to monkey island, it's a monkey island game, new artstyle is fine but not amazing, feels a lot like the 3rd game which was my fav as a kid

Playing Yakuza 3. steered away from it for a while as general consensus is it was the worst but just had the feeling recently. So far, it’s my favourite of 0,1,2 that I’ve played. Hanging out at the orphanage, Ted Lasso-esque good vibes helping the kids out. Nearly a tear to my eye when we see what Saki is drawing in her sketch book. Feel like this series gets better the more you play it. Really absorbed with Kiryu now. Every time he does something I shout at my screen “hell yeah, that’s the dragon of dojima!”. Enjoying the more simply combat mechanics too. It’s a much more simple game than the kiwami’s + 0, but that simplicity + its story/setting makes it for excellent holiday cozy summer gaming with a beer in hand and dog by your feet gaming experience.

i thought 4 was considered the worst (but 5 one of the best)

If that’s the case I look forward to 4.

Think I might skip to judgement or like a dragon after this just to get a change of pace. Great games these

Thanks whoever flagged Tinykin a while back! It’s great.

I also spent £17 on classic bubble bobble in a switch sale yesterday. No regrets.

playing A Monster's Expedition, which is a chill open-world sokoban puzzle game. good difficulty curve so far & lots of cool little surprise moments

disco elysium. so good

Far Cry 5...total zone-out game and I am glad there is less emphasis on killing animals in this one

xps - played, completed and v much enjoyed 'A Monster's Expedition' last year

Chained Echoes — it has surprised me so far. Very good game.

The duck level is impossible

I dropped Signalis a while back, haven't been in the mood for horror, but I do intend to finish that beautiful game one day. Played and enjoyed the hell out of the spooky-but-not-scary Strange Horticulture. Highly recommend that one if you want a Papers Please with cozy witch vibes. My anxiety is acting up lately, and I've found Dragon Quest Builders 2 to be a delightful distraction.

I played a bit of Signalis with (which is to say, for) my nephew, seemed cool. I'll wait for a sale before I pick it up myself, though. King of pixel-gamed out, however well done.

chained echoes looks pretty great. it does what it looks like it does?