What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Nassim
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What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

So I was thinking of starting a thread "games of 2021" as we do for songs and albums, but we often play games from other years so I thought I could (re?) start something more general !

I just beat Persona 5 Strikers. For those who don't know, it's a follow-up to Persona 5 story wise, but within a different genre : instead of a turned based RPG it is an action role playing game. It's developed by Tecmo Koei, so there were some worries it would be like other "Dynasty Warriors" style spin-off like Hyrule Warriors, however gone are the massive battles against hordes of enemies that define the genre in favor of smaller scale squirmishes. Dynasty Warriors (or "musou") games are often fun but quickly repetitive, Persona 5 Strikers mostly avoids that with smaller, often more strategic combats.
The kept the systems of strength and weakness from the Persona series, so by using the correct elements, you can down enemies and start big "all out attacks". This really pushes you to play with all 7 (and then 8 and then 9) members of the Phantom Thief instead of sticking with your a core group of characters as in a lot of RPG (including Persona ones). Joker being a jack of all trades, you can always manage to compensate, but a lot of the boss fights are actually pretty hard if you don't have the appropriate team to take advantage of their weaknesses (which also means you will have to restart a lot of fights because you don't have the proper team member, but you have to wait for your team to die as there is no "start over" function. Thanksfully, once you are dead, you can restart the battle with the members you want). Each characters has a slightly different fighting style and a few specific tools and specials, however they don't differ enough to make it difficult switching from one another (except for the last member of the team to join), and you can easily manage without mastering Fox's counter attacks or Mona's bus transformations.
Basically : the gameplay is fun !
The difficulty has the same issue as Persona 4 and 5 : the game gets easier as it progresses. I had to farm a bit of experience in the first "jail" to be able to tackle the mini boss and the boss ; I didn't need it for the following 2 though both remained a bit difficult, and had no trouble for the rest of the game. The core battles also become easier, a lot of it having to do (like for other Persona titles) with the main character becoming more versatile as the game progresses.
The game design isn't as incredible as Persona 5, but that's a very high bar to pass, it's still very stylish but most importantly practical. Persona 5 was a masterclass, Strikers is the student that looked at the master, understood the most important aspects and reproduced them appropriately !
Most importantly, the story is a nice continuation of the main game one (without anything happening in The Royal), and it felt fantastic reuniting with this great cast of characters and traveling with them. The 2 new team members are also pretty cool, especially the second one. The story tackles interesting subjects, moves along nicely (though always with those contrived coincidences) and breaks a bit the mold of "most adults are terrible".
The small regrets are that we don't see any of the other confidants from the main game, and that the choices you made in the main game don't affect the game (I realize it could be complicated to, for instance, remember who you dated to change the dialogues, but that'd be fun... assuming you didn't date several girls at once. I didn't make the in retrospect right choice to date Makoto in the main game anyway...).

So bottom line, pretty great game, a bit less time consuming than the core games (I think it took me 35h to get to the ending). I'm not planning on getting to 100% as it would just mean farming gold and xp to beat a few optional bosses which I rarely enjoy.
Also made me want to play "The Royal"... I'm hoping for a sale soon (working from home due to confinement helps with getting more playtime, and as someone mentioned, the fact that my daughter can't move around yet does too) because I don't want to pay full price for a deluxe version of a game I already have.

Coming next : Nier Automata
Also playing : Civilization VI, as usual ! The new zombie mode is brutal...
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I've been switching between a few games.

Because one of the next big games coming out is the new Ratchet and Clank, I decided to finally check out the series. I played through the original trilogy and am now on the two main Future titles. The third game especially felt like a perfect mix of third-person shooter and platformer in a way I'm not sure I've experienced before.

I stumbled across a game called Parkitect which is essentially a knock-off of the original two Rollercoaster Tycoon games, but it feels like an evolution in a way the bigger 3D games do not. Since RCT was my big childhood game before I got into Pokemon, this has been a nostalgia trip. A few of the goals are surprisingly difficult, but that helps make it feel like a genuine strategy game. Highly recommended to fans of RCT.

Finally, the Binding of Isaac got its final expansion, four years after the previous. Isaac was already my most played game ever, so it's time for me to become addicted again. Unfortunately, it is only on PC and I'd been playing on PS4, so I have to unlock everything again (though doing so is much easier with experience).
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I've also been switching around between a few different games, none of them are from this year though.

Since I've finally got a computer that can properly play video games I've been playing the original Deus Ex. I've played Deus Ex: Human Revolution a few years ago and really enjoyed it and have been wanting to play the original ever since. I'm only on the third mission right now but I can see how great the game is already. It has such an immersive world for a game released in the early 2000s.

The other game I've been playing is Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I enjoyed the first Xenoblade game but never picked up XC2 until Pyra/Mythra were announced for Super Smash Bros. I took a break from playing it after a (spoiler filled) cutscene left a bad taste in my mouth.

The third game I've been switching around with is Persona 4. I haven't played it in while but intend to start playing it again.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is another game I've been playing, I nearly 100% completed Crash 2 a few years ago and am trying to do same with Crash 3. I also plan to get Persona 3, Xenogears, and Suikoden II before the PS Vita store closes. I'm also trying to start that PTG project I mentioned a couple of years ago. The problem that I keep running into is that I'm not particularly sure how to go through the list. I've thought about going from ping-ponging back a forth from 2000-1001 and 1000-1, or choosing a random year and doing all the games listed from that year.
Last edited by ordinaryperson on Mon Sep 27, 2021 12:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I missed all of the last console generation so I recently got the Xbox One X so I could catch up on everything cheaply with Game Pass.

I’ve been going alphabetically and currently in the “D’s” now, switching between Dead Cells, Dirt 5, Destiny 2, Dishonored 2, and I’ll probably go to the original Doom game since I’ve never played anything in the series.

So far each of these have been pretty excellent, I had never heard of Dead Cells before but it’s been a nice surprise. It has a goofy sense of humor but the combat is also super smooth and every time I feel like I’m almost done with the game it becomes clear there’s a whole lot more to do so replay value is very high. Though at times it can be frustratingly hard...

Dirt 5 is nothing too special but it is pretty fun and has incredible weather effects.

Destiny was cool but also kind of a drag at times, but I think the core gameplay is rock solid which is pretty evident by how addictive Destiny 2 is. What was kind of shallow in the first game is replaced by what seems like a bottomless well of fun that made Bungie’s Halo games so essential. Plus, I guess it’s free to play now so you’re definitely getting your money’s worth so to speak.

I’m only a third way through Dishonored 2 but so far it seems to be everything amazing about the first game but better, they’ve really done a great job (re)creating such an immersive world but it gets bonus points for being surprisingly creepy at times.

Separate from everything on Xbox, I’ve been trying to keep myself from playing more Crusader Kings III since it basically consumed my life for the last few months, it’s probably the best strategy game I’ve played in years.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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FrankLotion wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 8:32 am I’ve been going alphabetically and currently in the “D’s” now, switching between Dead Cells, Dirt 5, Destiny 2, Dishonored 2, and I’ll probably go to the original Doom game since I’ve never played anything in the series.

I’m only a third way through Dishonored 2 but so far it seems to be everything amazing about the first game but better, they’ve really done a great job (re)creating such an immersive world but it gets bonus points for being surprisingly creepy at times.
That's a surprising way to pick what game to play, but why not !
I got Dishonored 2 during January Steam sales, hopefully I can give a try soon... though I just restarted a Disco Elysium game now that the "Final Cut" is available so that might take some time.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Nassim wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 2:00 pm
FrankLotion wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 8:32 am I’ve been going alphabetically and currently in the “D’s” now, switching between Dead Cells, Dirt 5, Destiny 2, Dishonored 2, and I’ll probably go to the original Doom game since I’ve never played anything in the series.

I’m only a third way through Dishonored 2 but so far it seems to be everything amazing about the first game but better, they’ve really done a great job (re)creating such an immersive world but it gets bonus points for being surprisingly creepy at times.
That's a surprising way to pick what game to play, but why not !
I got Dishonored 2 during January Steam sales, hopefully I can give a try soon... though I just restarted a Disco Elysium game now that the "Final Cut" is available so that might take some time.
You’ll have to let me know how that is! That game looked super fun but I’ve been hesitant since I can get overwhelmed by really detailed RPG’s (even with real good ones like Divinity II). Hopefully I’ll get around to it in the near future.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

I'm in the B walkthrough of Nier : Automata and I would say I'm still not fully on board.
There is a lot to love, the design of everything but the characters is fantastic, the fights are very responsive and it's pretty fun (but so far too easy) to bash through the big boss fights and the many options to customize your playstyle are very enjoyable.
However I just didn't care much for the story, the 2 main villains are especially dull, some kind of Sephiroth-lite characters with no clear motivation (at least in the first walkthrough)... I could make with the emo designs of 2B and 9S and the baselessly sexualized outfit of 2B, but I just don't care much for the story, and going through it a 2nd time in the hope of some new perspectives, with the adding hitch of those cloying hacking phases, is not very motivating. I'm going to push further a bit, we'll see !
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Finished Dishonored 2 the other night, quite an impressive game that had some truly ingenious level and gameplay mechanics, some of which I would never spoil for someone going in because they add such a nice surprise anytime you think you’ve figured out a comfortable way to play. I’d say most everything is an improvement off the first game except for the story, it’s not bad by any means but it follows a lot of the same beats as in the first one so it’s a little overfamiliar.

I then moved on to the original Doom from 1993 and went in with the expectation that it was probably fun for it’s time but has been surpassed several times over by now, but goddamn if this isn’t one of the most fun games I’ve played in years! It’s so fast paced and it’s pretty difficult but it feels badass just charging around like a lunatic. I can see why this is in top 10 on PlayThatGame, this must’ve been a blast when it came out.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I was also completely blown away by how much the original Doom holds up, having played it for the first time a couple years back. FPS games largely evolved in a different, more methodical direction. Doom, meanwhile, is all about constant motion; the 2016 game does a perfect job capturing that energy in a modern style.

I've been playing the new Binding of Isaac expansion like crazy this last month, and now I started Final Fantasy XIV...
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Jirin »

I just finished Divinity: Original Sin 2 after playing it for a year.

Currently playing Trails of Cold Steel 3 and Persona 5 Royal. Thinking of starting Nier: Replicant.

@Nassim

I recommend staying with Nier: Automata cause the third part is excellent. I agree it's dumb to have to do the same things twice.

The motives of Adam and Eve and all the machines become more clear as the game goes on. There's a desire to emulate humans, but an inability to adapt to failure.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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BleuPanda wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 11:43 pm I was also completely blown away by how much the original Doom holds up, having played it for the first time a couple years back. FPS games largely evolved in a different, more methodical direction. Doom, meanwhile, is all about constant motion; the 2016 game does a perfect job capturing that energy in a modern style.

I've been playing the new Binding of Isaac expansion like crazy this last month, and now I started Final Fantasy XIV...
Binding of Isaac is great too, I must've sunk hundreds of hours into that but I haven't played it in a long time. Sounds like it's still going strong to this day!

FF 14 and 11 are probably the only two Final Fantasy games I haven't played in some capacity, I hear 14 is good so hopefully I'll get around to it eventually.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Also I loved what I played of Divinity: Original Sin 2 but I haven't finished it after dipping in and out for a few years because it can be a little overwhelming at times, but that's what makes it good too.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Jirin wrote: Tue May 04, 2021 2:56 am @Nassim

I recommend staying with Nier: Automata cause the third part is excellent. I agree it's dumb to have to do the same things twice.

The motives of Adam and Eve and all the machines become more clear as the game goes on. There's a desire to emulate humans, but an inability to adapt to failure.
I beat the third playthrough today ! Still didn't enjoy it that much... I mean I see all the qualities and ambitions of the game, but it just doesn't really work for me.

I have started Dishonored 2 too !

I have also started playing Trials of Fire : it's a mix between turn based tactics (à la "X Com") and deck building rogue game (à la "Stay the Spire") and it works pretty well, I had a lot of fun on my first run !
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I have started the remaster of Mass Effect, really enjoying it so far ! Didn't realize how much The Outer Worlds have taken from it, but so far Mass Effect does a way better job convincing me there is a huge universe to explore.

A friend of mine launched a game called m0ria which is an improved version of Windows
Minesweeper, with power-up and levels with fun shapes. Really, whether or not you will enjoy it depends if you enjoy Minesweeper, if you don't it's not worth trying, but if you do, it's only 1$ !
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I just finished the Mass Effect trilogy this weekend - I've played it before, of course, but I felt legitimately sad to be done with it. Few works in any medium have clicked with me on the level that trilogy has.

Now I'm onto Nier Replicant (and hopefully back to FFXIV once I am done with this top 250 song project...)
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Always loved those Mass Effect games, maybe I can find the time to replay the remastered versions at some point.

Before life got real busy I got through quite a few games since I last posted here:

Finished all the Doom games, every one of them was awesome and it’s become one of my favorite series.

Replayed Outer Wilds which I love deeply, some people say it’s like Myst which isn’t totally inaccurate but it also has surprisingly fun controls flying around in your ship or jumping with your jetpack. Definitely makes it very fun.

Finally got around to Metal Gear Solid V as well after being a longtime fan of the series. Honestly, I don’t know how people were disappointed with this game because I can’t see how it’s anything but a complete triumph in terms of gameplay at least. It might be my favorite stealth game, period.

Checked out Banjo-Kazooie which was also really fun and charming but I’m glad it’s not a long game.

Can’t remember if I mentioned in a previous post but got through Celeste as well which was very hard but super rewarding. I would think that a lot of people understandably lost patience with the difficulty which is fair.

Control was a game my sister kept telling me to play and I kept dragging my feet since I wasn’t a huge fan of Alan Wake way back when. Great game though, the combat is super responsive and it just feels great to throw stuff around with your mind…Also I was repeatedly impressed by whatever technology they used for facial animations.

Went through Return of the Obra Dinn again since it only takes a few hours, still pretty engrossing even though I generally remembered the solutions from my first play through.

Been taking advantage of Microsoft finally releasing some new games onto Game Pass, first of which was Flight Simulator which has to be the most impressive tech I’ve seen in any program. Flying over my literal childhood home was pretty cool. With that said, it’s a simulator and not a game so I didn’t play it too much.

The Ascent and Twelve Minutes are both…okay. I guess there’s nothing wrong with games that are just serviceable rather than great but I couldn’t help but feel like they were both lesser versions of games I’ve already seen in their respective genres. Plus, without spoiling anything, I would say there’s parts in both that were downright offensive and left a bad taste in my mouth even after I was done.

And now, I’ve been switching through a few games at the moment. Chiefly among those is Hades, which I have absolutely fallen in love with, I beat the game a while ago now but I can’t seem to tear myself away from it!

Started the Resident Evil 1 remake last night that used to be on the GameCube, really impressive graphics even for now and is seeming to be very fun so far even despite the tank controls…

Finally, I also started Red Dead Redemption 2 the other night. I have to imagine that it will take me until the end of the year to complete since it’s so massive. I’m not complaining though, every aspect of the gameplay so far is just best in class, honestly feels more like a next-gen game than anything else I’ve played so far. I was putting it off for years since the first RDR was one of my all-time favorites and didn’t want to be disappointed. I feel very reassured after just a couple hours that it might actually be just as good or better, which is exciting.


Sorry to write so much! Figured I might as well share a bunch of recommendations that I’ve enjoyed over the last few months.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Also I want to mention that almost everything I just mentioned I got for free! I definitely feel spoiled with how easy it is to get games now.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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FrankLotion wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 1:05 pm Replayed Outer Wilds which I love deeply, some people say it’s like Myst which isn’t totally inaccurate but it also has surprisingly fun controls flying around in your ship or jumping with your jetpack. Definitely makes it very fun.
Waiting for the Switch release ! Was supposed to be available this summer but I think now it's planned for December
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I beat Psychonauts 2 over the weekend, an excellent sequel. I'm not actually sure how I would compare it to the first since I have not revisited the original since I played it over a decade ago, but the world design is again top notch. I don't think any single world hit me like The Milkman Conspiracy from the first, but there also aren't any lows like The Meat Circus. The writing and characters are all great; definite GOTY contender, which I really was not expecting after the long wait and the studio's questionable track record since the first game.

Now I'm back to the second game of The Great Ace Attorney collection. I'm only two cases in, but something about it feels right compared to the first game; only the third case of the first really gripped me. The first case of the second is a tutorial like always but more concise than G1-1, and G2-2 was a rare early case to truly blindside me multiple times. I'm hoping it keeps the pace. It's also inspired me to start reading Sherlock Holmes, and I also convinced my book club to do Natsume Soseki's Kokoro next.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Nassim wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 6:35 pm
FrankLotion wrote: Wed Sep 22, 2021 1:05 pm Replayed Outer Wilds which I love deeply, some people say it’s like Myst which isn’t totally inaccurate but it also has surprisingly fun controls flying around in your ship or jumping with your jetpack. Definitely makes it very fun.
Waiting for the Switch release ! Was supposed to be available this summer but I think now it's planned for December
I highly recommend it! I think they're finally releasing the first DLC of the game in a few days so I'm pretty excited for that.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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BleuPanda wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 7:37 pm I beat Psychonauts 2 over the weekend, an excellent sequel. I'm not actually sure how I would compare it to the first since I have not revisited the original since I played it over a decade ago, but the world design is again top notch. I don't think any single world hit me like The Milkman Conspiracy from the first, but there also aren't any lows like The Meat Circus. The writing and characters are all great; definite GOTY contender, which I really was not expecting after the long wait and the studio's questionable track record since the first game.

Now I'm back to the second game of The Great Ace Attorney collection. I'm only two cases in, but something about it feels right compared to the first game; only the third case of the first really gripped me. The first case of the second is a tutorial like always but more concise than G1-1, and G2-2 was a rare early case to truly blindside me multiple times. I'm hoping it keeps the pace. It's also inspired me to start reading Sherlock Holmes, and I also convinced my book club to do Natsume Soseki's Kokoro next.
Psychonauts 2 is next on my list, I loved the first game and the trailers made it look pretty great. I replayed the original a couple years back and I will say that everything that made it special are still really special (dialogue, characters, themes, etc.) but coming to the clunky gameplay with modern sensibilities was a pretty tough sell. This time around when I got to the Meat Circus I just stopped playing. Still loved the game though!

I remember playing the first two Ace Attorney games back in the day and thought they were super fun and surprisingly engaging! Embarrassingly enough I could probably track my career as an attorney back to my initial enjoyment of that series which managed to stoke my interest. :mrgreen:
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Just started Tales of Arise.

I'm a fan of the Tales series but it's underwhelming me so far.

They have a premise where one race is enslaved by another alien race. But they kinda overcomplicated it by making it so the point of labor isn't the labor, they could just do the labor with machines, they need human labor to be the conduit for some weird magic force that determines the next ruler. Like, why?

And they brought back the problem with a lot of Tales games that the ally AI is so terrible they literally sabotage your strategy. And also made it so you don't make money from defeating enemies and are forced to do fetch quests to afford things.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Finally finished The Great Ace Attorney 2; I think this beat out Trials and Tribulations as my favorite game in the series. The first game would be on the lower end of the series for me, but every case in the sequel beyond the first was excellent (and the first was still fine, just a standard intro case).
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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BleuPanda wrote: Wed Oct 06, 2021 6:20 am Finally finished The Great Ace Attorney 2; I think this beat out Trials and Tribulations as my favorite game in the series. The first game would be on the lower end of the series for me, but every case in the sequel beyond the first was excellent (and the first was still fine, just a standard intro case).
What did you end up playing that on? I’m definitely getting curious to try this game out.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I played it on the Switch

Next up will be Metroid Dread
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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3 days ago I bought GTA Definitive Edition! Guys! It's just awful! Don't buy it, don't take it. It is more interesting to save up money for a new video card and to play GTA 5 with ray-tracing graphics mod!
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I just got the Game & Watch: Zelda version so have had fun playing through the first 2 Zelda games. :)
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Maxxx17 wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:35 am I enjoyed playing Valorant. It came out in 2020, of course. But in 2021 there were cool updates. That's why I started playing it. The only thing I didn't like was that pumping the rating made my efforts and time difficult. So I used boostings. But overall the game is worth your time.
I’ve heard that game is pretty fun, welcome to the forum by the way!

Edit: Also welcome to Mike Shuman, it looks like you just joined too.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I haven’t dipped into too many games since I last posted but the ones I have I’ve been playing a whole lot.

First off, finally finished Red Dead Redemption 2 last week…honestly I’m kind of overwhelmed with how that game made me feel at times. I’m going to avoid hyperbolizing and maybe write more about it once I’ve gotten more distance from it.

I also finished Psychonauts 2, like finished it right now and writing this as the long credits roll. I must say I’m so glad they made this game now instead of a decade ago when consoles were a bit weaker. I agree that there weren’t any levels that blew me away to same degree as the Milk Man or even Linda’s brain, but overall the level design in the sequel is so impressive and they really took advantage of the new hardware to make everything look beautiful and get really imaginative with how you get thrown around in all the dimension-like levels. Plus, I definitely wasn’t expecting this game to hit me emotionally like it did, there were some aspects of characters’ stories that really had me thinking and the whole last hour had me tearing up a lot. It feels weird to say it after just finishing it but for me it seems to be much better than the original, which was a game I loved but didn’t leave me with as much insight as I got here.

Side note: I can’t tell you how delighted I was when I heard Jack Black’s voice suddenly in one level. A cherry on top of what was an incredibly funny game.

The only other game I’ve been playing is Forza Horizon 5 which is just awesome, easily the most fun racing game I’ve played in a long time (still holding out that a new Midnight Club will get made at some point).
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

I finally got my hands on an XBox Series X ! So here's a bit of an update on the games I have played recently, by order of preference :

Psychonauts 2 : just copy paste what FrankLotion said about it, fantastic game, loved it !

Control : I considered it putting it above Psychonauts 2, what a thrill ! It's fantastic on all front, the world building is brilliant with some awesome side stories and a lot of documents all over the place that you'll actually want to read, and the gameplay is pretty great too, when you get in the zone and you start throwing furniture around while levitating and finishing enemies off with you "gun", the feeling is just wonderful ; bonus point if you do that in the ashtray maze. I played the Foundation DLC which is pretty great too, with some interesting gameplay additions, gonna play the other DLC now which references a lot Alan Wake, a game I never played, I don't know if that will be an issue.

Wildermyth : a tactical RPG where instead of having the map procedurally generated, it's the story that is. You character interactions and the events that fall upon them are randomized, but influenced by their personality and how you build their relationships. The combats are fairly straightforward but enjoyable and it's very easy to pick for a quick session here and there.

Inscryption : I'm not (yet) calling it the masterpiece that a lot of people saw (it's polygon's game of the year for instance), but it's worse going through the not that exciting (but intriguing) first act (plus the run when I finally beat it when so smoothly that it felt great). After that... well it's full of surprises that shouldn't be spoiled, and I'm sure there are more to come ahead. So while I'm not fully on board, mainly because I don't find the gameplay that great, it's the kind of bold and adventurous game I'm glad exist.

Untitled Goose Game : cute, fun, a bit silly, with some good puzzles here and there, another very nice game for some small game gessions

Loop Hero : an interesting gameplay that quickly shows its limits, but once again a game you can easily launch for a short time, which has become quite an important thing with a toddler at home

Humankind : disappointing, far from the Civ killer it hoped to be.
On the plus side :
the main selling point (changing culture at each era) adds a lot of versatility and allows you to change your plans midgame which can be hard in a civ game
the combats, way better than in Civ VI
the events where you need to make a choice, like a rebellion, foreign visitors or how to use a new discovery
On the downside :
it's pretty unclear what you are doing... maybe people feel that way early with Civ VI and I'm too used to it to realize it but I don't think you make as many choice not really knowing their impact
the idea to define regions that limit the perimeter of your cities before they are even founded is very odd
the influence system : there is so much you need influence points for, but you can pretty much say goodbye to it if you conquer even one foreign city... I'll probably check online how to manage it, but so far it feels very unbalanced
The winning conditions : worse than Civ 6, congrats, that's an achievement !

Forza Motorsport 5 : I'm not big on cars and car games, but that's still a lot of fun for a quick game once in a while

Halo 5 : didn't go far, I'm not enjoying it much... I mean it's obviously good but it's a bit too stern and the weapons don't feel that fun and balanced for a FPS

Shing Megami Tensei V : nope ! Ugly, boring, stupid difficulty balance, tedious gameplay... I'm really not sure I want to push any further, but that's by far the game I payed the most for on my recent playlist.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by whuntva »

I'm just grinding with Hades now. I got it for free last year on a promo. It's hard, but rewarding.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Finished up Inscryption this weekend, got to the credits in Pokemon Legends Arceus - the latter definitely has more to do but I'm kinda done with it? So I'm moving onto SMTV
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

BleuPanda wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:30 pm Finished up Inscryption this weekend, got to the credits in Pokemon Legends Arceus - the latter definitely has more to do but I'm kinda done with it? So I'm moving onto SMTV
I'd be interested by your take on Inscryption !

Edit : and on Control too actually, I noticed it was in your top 100 for the last poll but not in your "top 100 project" so I guess you played it at some point in between.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by BleuPanda »

Nassim wrote: Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:35 am
BleuPanda wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:30 pm Finished up Inscryption this weekend, got to the credits in Pokemon Legends Arceus - the latter definitely has more to do but I'm kinda done with it? So I'm moving onto SMTV
I'd be interested by your take on Inscryption !

Edit : and on Control too actually, I noticed it was in your top 100 for the last poll but not in your "top 100 project" so I guess you played it at some point in between.

The setting of Control should go down as one of the all-time greats. Clearly, Remedy Entertainment are just riffing on (or, perhaps, ripping off) the SCP Foundation, but they go above and beyond. I've rarely been as curious to see what happens next and explored every corridor to learn more about these unusual objects. I tend to ignore in-game documents, but this one had me hooked. Really selling the experience is the presentation and location, the labyrinthine office building. I actually went into Control completely blind, and there was a moment during the opening where I wanted to double-check something I had passed. Realizing the walls had shifted to trap me inside had me hooked, and it only gets crazier from there.

I wasn't too big on the gameplay for the opening hours, but it really takes off when you gain the ability to levitate. It goes from adequate third-person shooter to making you feel like part of its strange world. There are still elements which could be done better on the gameplay front, but it's on the high end for a game with such a clear focus on setting and narrative elements.

I rarely replay games but I hope to revisit it someday - playing it on an original PS4 was a bad idea. I swear, it ran at 20 FPS with constant stutters.

Also, I played Alan Wake shortly after finishing Control. Control is better, but I'd still highly recommend Alan Wake. It's another game that feels like nothing else before or since.




*Warning: General Inscryption spoilers below*

As for Inscryption, I agree that the gameplay is the low point - the same problem I had with Pony Island, the earlier game I played from the same developer. It's clearly set up in a way for you to unlock a few key mechanics that suddenly make it a lot easier since the game really isn't about mastering the central gameplay - if you want a rogue-like deckbuilder, there are already two others on the market (Slay the Spire being pretty great). Still, the gameplay is adequate enough to hold my interest, and I knew what to expect from having played Pony Island. Which, the fact that I knew what to expect and this game still had me on the edge of my seat throughout shows that what this game actually does is more than a gimmick. A friend of mine brought up Doki Doki Literature Club when I mentioned this, and I realize the strength in Inscryption is that it doesn't pretend to be normal. It starts off unsettling, so the following twists and turns don't feel cheap. By the end, it feels like having engaged with one of the cursed documents you would find in Control. The meta-narrative element is surprisingly effective.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Arsalan »

I really enjoyed playing Control. Awesome game.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

BleuPanda wrote: Mon Feb 07, 2022 4:32 pm
Nassim wrote: Mon Feb 07, 2022 10:35 am
BleuPanda wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:30 pm Finished up Inscryption this weekend, got to the credits in Pokemon Legends Arceus - the latter definitely has more to do but I'm kinda done with it? So I'm moving onto SMTV
I'd be interested by your take on Inscryption !

Edit : and on Control too actually, I noticed it was in your top 100 for the last poll but not in your "top 100 project" so I guess you played it at some point in between.
[...]
Thanks Bleu, really enjoyed your analysis as usual ! Control is leaving Game Pass tomorrow but I think I'll buy it anyway, I didn't have time to play the 2nd DLC and honestly, they earned my money by now !

I have started the Triangle Strategy demo, it's story heavy, which is fine, with a very uneven voiceover quality, which is lees fine.
The enemies seem so far much more intelligent than in other tactical RPG, you can not just bait them and wait for them to crash in your defense, and it seems there are a lot of very interesting strategy subtleties. The balance between HP and attacks is a bit strange, it takes A LOT of hits to kill an enemy or for you to die, making the first fight needlessly long.
Waiting for the end of the demo which has, from what I understood, the most interesting and innovative gameplay element of the game, but despite my few complains I am enjoying it so far.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by BleuPanda »

Now that I have completed the main story and caught up to end game content, my FFXIV group has also started playing Monster Hunter Rise. I just played through World last year and this doesn't feel like anything new, though playing through it with friends has been fun.

I finished Halo 3 recently for the first time. I'm not quite getting the hype behind the series but I still had a good time? I'm just not sure what made Halo so big compared to other shooters. Or, really, what differentiates most shooters from one another. I guess the majority of my favorites are more campaign-focused than Halo. I can point to unforgettable sequences in Bioshock or Titanfall 2, or the frantic energy of the Doom series. Even on the multiplayer front, the varied nature of Overwatch stands out to me more. Am I missing something, or is Halo big just because it was the popular shooter of its time (which still makes sense - multiplayer-focused games need players, so, as long as it is competent, the biggest of the bunch will likely go down as the best).

Been continuing to play SMT5 as well - I'm loving it, but I've been a fan of the series for a while now.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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I was going to hold off on Elden Ring after not clicking with Sekiro, but those reviews convinced me to immediately order a copy. Now I just have to finish SMT5 before it arrives.

As for SMT5, I'm not clicking with it as much as I hoped. Almost all of my complaints come from the world layout. The map is virtually unreadable in places, and it feels intentional for some reason. I really hate glory being locked behind collectibles hidden throughout the world, because you kind of need glory to keep up with the difficulty. I believe the equivalent in 4 was obtained largely through levelling, which I feel is a much better method of handling the idea. Instead, I've spent most of this game with a Miman guide at hand, so I can navigate the obscure crevices of a world I don't like. I'm still enjoying the other parts, but the exploration is an effort in tediousness.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by FrankLotion »

Haven’t posted on this thread in a bit but I’ve played a bunch of really great games over the past few months, I might talk about those later but since it’s the new big thing right now I wanted to talk about Elden Ring!

I’ve been fortunate to have been playing this series for a long time now. I jumped on pretty soon after Dark Souls which I felt, like everyone else did, that it was a pretty revelatory experience at the time and it still holds up really well today. Leading up to Elden Ring I started replaying the series but had only just finished Dark Souls 2 a couple weeks ago after spending an embarrassingly long time trying to get through the (especially) difficult DLC’s. I was going to go through the other games too, and probably still will, but since the reviews for Elden Ring were so stratospheric I had to check it out while the community was still hot for it.

I’ll admit I was skeptical going in since I thought the trailers for the game looked cool but I didn’t have high hopes for how the open-world format would work with the formula of this series. Count me as pleasantly surprised at how successful this game operates, not only is the world beautiful and richly expansive but it also somehow has the signature depth that FromSoftware’s games are so famous for.

For me this feels like a match made in heaven. Combining the open world to a Souls game enriches both halves, every area
I’ve come across so far has so much mystery to it and gives a sense of accomplishment for successfully navigating through miniature adventures that are typically tough as nails. This makes exploring such a compulsive experience for me, I’ve gotten to the point that I trust whatever I’m going to stumble upon will be worthwhile so I find myself wanting to go over every inch of the map to discover everything interesting, terrifying, and oddly hilarious that occupies this world.

Speaking of that world, there are also sections of the map that are reminiscent of the more contained levels of the past games, but this time around these levels are enormous and enormously complex, and the map doesn’t give you any help in these dungeons so you have to make a mental map of the area in your head. This among other things are reasons why people understandably dislike these games but these blind dives into dangerous territory is an amazing feeling for me that you just don’t get in other games very often. I could go on and on about the sophistication on display in the level and enemy designs of these areas but I think it’s honestly just something you have to experience to fully appreciate how unique this feels.

I’m loving this so much, I don’t like to get wrapped up in the hype for new games like this but I’m having a hard time peeling myself away from it and I’m thinking about the game even when I’m not playing it. I find that even fans of this series tend to only enjoy one or two of the games but there’s something from each of them in here so I would highly recommend checking this out if you’ve liked any of the previous games and have the patience to die a lot.

P.S.:

This is an unrelated hot take but since Dark Souls 2 gets so much flak let me go on record saying that I’ve always found it far superior than the first game in all the ways that actually make games an enjoyable experience. Naysayers be damned.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

FrankLotion wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:54 am I’m loving this so much, I don’t like to get wrapped up in the hype for new games like this but I’m having a hard time peeling myself away from it and I’m thinking about the game even when I’m not playing it. I find that even fans of this series tend to only enjoy one or two of the games but there’s something from each of them in here so I would highly recommend checking this out if you’ve liked any of the previous games and have the patience to die a lot.
Same ! That's really hampering my progress for the 2010s movie poll (though yesterday I watched one that for sure will make my bottom 5).

My only gripe with the game is that I mostly don't care for the story and have a hard time remembering who the characters I meet are, how the fit in the big story and what they want... the lore is not explained a lot so you have to connect the dots yourself and the lack of charisma of most of the friendly people you meet is not helping.

Everything else is awesome, at every turn you are as likely to stumble upon the most wonderful landscapes or the coolest monsters, the game is hard but fair, you have an amount of freedom that is just crazy (and the freedom to make the wrong choices as I am very talented for...).
It's my first FromSoftware game, I kinda saw them as games for people who just want to brag on their achievements, difficulty over, well, anything else ; didn't feel like something for me though thinking of how I enjoyed Cuphead, maybe I like challenge after all when it's fair. The satisfaction when beating a both you struggled again, whether it's through raw skills or more cunning ways (or both, I skilled my way through the first phase of Godrick but had to wait for the poison to kill him in the 2nd phase, didn't manage to work through the fire, and I still have the issue further in with smallest enemies).

I postponed it a fair bit (with the satisfaction of beating Loretta but giving up a bit too early on Makar) but I have to face the Red Wolf of Radagon now... that will suck, I hate wolves in this game, I struggled so much against the Lesser Red Wolf I met...
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Nassim wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:31 pm It's my first FromSoftware game, I kinda saw them as games for people who just want to brag on their achievements, difficulty over, well, anything else ; didn't feel like something for me though thinking of how I enjoyed Cuphead, maybe I like challenge after all when it's fair. The satisfaction when beating a both you struggled again, whether it's through raw skills or more cunning ways (or both, I skilled my way through the first phase of Godrick but had to wait for the poison to kill him in the 2nd phase, didn't manage to work through the fire, and I still have the issue further in with smallest enemies).


I think the difficulty of FromSoftware games is generally overblown (other than Sekiro). It's just, instead of flipping a difficulty switch at the beginning, you can call on other players for help or, like other RPGs, simply grind a bit and come back later. That's especially where Elden Ring succeeds - you are given summons as a basic mechanic without needing another person, and the open world gives you more to do in place of grinding.

I feel like people go into this knowing it's supposed to be hard and, instead of realizing there are other ways around their current situation, slam against hard bosses instead of trying techniques they have learned from other games. Like, there are people who try to tackle the Tree Sentinel immediately instead of taking it as a sign that they should avoid strong-looking enemies and simply not walk on the main road. Tons of modern RPGs include overly difficult enemies in early locations you are expected to come back to later, but people seem to forget this and then complain when it comes to Elden Ring.

I think the main problem is the hardcore fanbase who insist summoning is cheap (who themselves are now struggling to cope with the fact that late-game bosses in Elden Ring were clearly designed around the summoning ashes). When, really, summoning is a central mechanic that has been increasingly refined as the series has evolved. Not using summons is a challenge run that the fanbase has convinced itself is the 'legitimate' way to play.

There are a few basic tips that I feel people miss about how these games function that make them way more manageable:
1. Start by levelling vigor - the damage scaling on weapons is insignificant early on, while health is always useful but especially at the beginning. You can easily double your health before you reach the first real boss. (especially in this game, you are going to need at least 40 vigor by endgame, and there's no reason not to bump your way there immediately)
2. Upgrade weapons - as stated above, the strength and dexterity stats don't do too much early on. Most of your damage increases will come from the weapon upgrades. Whenever I see someone struggling with this series, it's usually because they are ignoring this mechanic. This is the difference between slowly chipping away at bosses and taking them down in, like, 10 hits.
3. Use spirit summons - there are dozens of spirit ashes you can summon in this game. The bosses in Elden Ring are typically more aggressive than previous entries, and that is because an entire system has been made to summon another target that can draw aggro. This isn't 'cheating' - it's a system they clearly invested a lot of time in creating for this game. Also, make sure to upgrade them when that option becomes available.
4. Just grind if you need - this is an RPG and levels in the early game don't cost too much. Also, in addition to the stats you are directly controlling, there is a defense stat that simply increases as you level. This can be a game changer (this is especially true if you ever go back to Bloodborne - most of the early game difficulty can be mitigated by grinding a tiny bit and pumping up your defense).
5. For Elden Ring, in addition to grinding, just explore. There is an entire sub-region that was clearly designed to be easier than the first castle. This is an open world game, and there are rewards for going out of your way.

I think the only issue with the above tips is people don't know what weapons or ashes to invest their upgrades into. But, as far as I can tell, most weapons are good enough to last throughout the game, and there is eventually enough upgrade material that you can easily switch to another (and some of the better weapons use a completely separate set of upgrade materials)
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

BleuPanda wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:13 pm I think the only issue with the above tips is people don't know what weapons or ashes to invest their upgrades into. But, as far as I can tell, most weapons are good enough to last throughout the game, and there is eventually enough upgrade material that you can easily switch to another (and some of the better weapons use a completely separate set of upgrade materials)
That is one issue that has been addressed in this week's patch, I feel so far I had to settle for 2 weapons (one short and one long range) because of the scarcity of smithing stones but now you can purchase stones more easily and more enemies drop them.
I also struggle a bit with how slow faith incantations are, it seems that intelligence based sorceries are firing way faster.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by BleuPanda »

Nassim wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:39 pm
BleuPanda wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:13 pm I think the only issue with the above tips is people don't know what weapons or ashes to invest their upgrades into. But, as far as I can tell, most weapons are good enough to last throughout the game, and there is eventually enough upgrade material that you can easily switch to another (and some of the better weapons use a completely separate set of upgrade materials)
That is one issue that has been addressed in this week's patch, I feel so far I had to settle for 2 weapons (one short and one long range) because of the scarcity of smithing stones but now you can purchase stones more easily and more enemies drop them.
I also struggle a bit with how slow faith incantations are, it seems that intelligence based sorceries are firing way faster.
I think the trick of these games is to find a weapon that scales with your magic stat of choice. Even if the magic itself isn't the best, a weapon that scales with the same stat means you can use both. And, yes, intelligence seems better so far, but this game luckily has an easy way to respec your stats if you want to switch.

Another thing I wish they taught better is weapon arts. The shield overrides your weapon art unless you equip it with the 'No Skill' Ash of War, which I did not figure out until a dozen hours into the game.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

BleuPanda wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:53 pm
Another thing I wish they taught better is weapon arts. The shield overrides your weapon art unless you equip it with the 'No Skill' Ash of War, which I did not figure out until a dozen hours into the game.
I used Barricade Shield though so I can use my weapon art only when I two-hand it... took me 20 hours to figure out I can 2 hand my weapon though :-D
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by BleuPanda »

On my own end, having finished Elden Ring a week ago, I've been playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The transition to JRPG seems to work well with the series. To me, the best part of the Yakuza series was the humor in the subquests, and the JRPG style along with the new main character allows a lot more humor. Encountering enemies like "Hungry Hungry Homeless" and "Hammeredhead" really captures the punny Dragon Quest spirit the game explicitly sets out to mimic.

After that, I'll probably check out Tunic, a new Zelda clone from a one-man studio that came out of nowhere to strong reviews.
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

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Nassim wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:31 pm
FrankLotion wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:54 am I’m loving this so much, I don’t like to get wrapped up in the hype for new games like this but I’m having a hard time peeling myself away from it and I’m thinking about the game even when I’m not playing it. I find that even fans of this series tend to only enjoy one or two of the games but there’s something from each of them in here so I would highly recommend checking this out if you’ve liked any of the previous games and have the patience to die a lot.
Same ! That's really hampering my progress for the 2010s movie poll (though yesterday I watched one that for sure will make my bottom 5).

My only gripe with the game is that I mostly don't care for the story and have a hard time remembering who the characters I meet are, how the fit in the big story and what they want... the lore is not explained a lot so you have to connect the dots yourself and the lack of charisma of most of the friendly people you meet is not helping.
Honestly I think that’s always been an issue for me with these games too, I don’t generally have the patience to read a bunch of item descriptions in order to understand the story so I’m often going through with no idea why I’m doing the things I’m doing. I actually like the voice performances quite a bit so far though, some of them are a bit low key but a lot of them are just nutty which I find very enjoyable.

Also I think we’re around the same part of the game! I’m about to get to that Red Wolf you’re talking about so I’ll have to prepare for him :(

Edit: I had no idea you could two-hand weapons in this game, I need to try that out!
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by FrankLotion »

BleuPanda wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 2:13 pm
Nassim wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:31 pm It's my first FromSoftware game, I kinda saw them as games for people who just want to brag on their achievements, difficulty over, well, anything else ; didn't feel like something for me though thinking of how I enjoyed Cuphead, maybe I like challenge after all when it's fair. The satisfaction when beating a both you struggled again, whether it's through raw skills or more cunning ways (or both, I skilled my way through the first phase of Godrick but had to wait for the poison to kill him in the 2nd phase, didn't manage to work through the fire, and I still have the issue further in with smallest enemies).


I think the difficulty of FromSoftware games is generally overblown (other than Sekiro). It's just, instead of flipping a difficulty switch at the beginning, you can call on other players for help or, like other RPGs, simply grind a bit and come back later. That's especially where Elden Ring succeeds - you are given summons as a basic mechanic without needing another person, and the open world gives you more to do in place of grinding.

I feel like people go into this knowing it's supposed to be hard and, instead of realizing there are other ways around their current situation, slam against hard bosses instead of trying techniques they have learned from other games. Like, there are people who try to tackle the Tree Sentinel immediately instead of taking it as a sign that they should avoid strong-looking enemies and simply not walk on the main road. Tons of modern RPGs include overly difficult enemies in early locations you are expected to come back to later, but people seem to forget this and then complain when it comes to Elden Ring.

I think the main problem is the hardcore fanbase who insist summoning is cheap (who themselves are now struggling to cope with the fact that late-game bosses in Elden Ring were clearly designed around the summoning ashes). When, really, summoning is a central mechanic that has been increasingly refined as the series has evolved. Not using summons is a challenge run that the fanbase has convinced itself is the 'legitimate' way to play.

There are a few basic tips that I feel people miss about how these games function that make them way more manageable:
1. Start by levelling vigor - the damage scaling on weapons is insignificant early on, while health is always useful but especially at the beginning. You can easily double your health before you reach the first real boss. (especially in this game, you are going to need at least 40 vigor by endgame, and there's no reason not to bump your way there immediately)
2. Upgrade weapons - as stated above, the strength and dexterity stats don't do too much early on. Most of your damage increases will come from the weapon upgrades. Whenever I see someone struggling with this series, it's usually because they are ignoring this mechanic. This is the difference between slowly chipping away at bosses and taking them down in, like, 10 hits.
3. Use spirit summons - there are dozens of spirit ashes you can summon in this game. The bosses in Elden Ring are typically more aggressive than previous entries, and that is because an entire system has been made to summon another target that can draw aggro. This isn't 'cheating' - it's a system they clearly invested a lot of time in creating for this game. Also, make sure to upgrade them when that option becomes available.
4. Just grind if you need - this is an RPG and levels in the early game don't cost too much. Also, in addition to the stats you are directly controlling, there is a defense stat that simply increases as you level. This can be a game changer (this is especially true if you ever go back to Bloodborne - most of the early game difficulty can be mitigated by grinding a tiny bit and pumping up your defense).
5. For Elden Ring, in addition to grinding, just explore. There is an entire sub-region that was clearly designed to be easier than the first castle. This is an open world game, and there are rewards for going out of your way.

I think the only issue with the above tips is people don't know what weapons or ashes to invest their upgrades into. But, as far as I can tell, most weapons are good enough to last throughout the game, and there is eventually enough upgrade material that you can easily switch to another (and some of the better weapons use a completely separate set of upgrade materials)
This is all great advice, it baffles me that people are getting ragged on for using summons when that clearly was a feature the devs wanted you use, otherwise they wouldn’t have spent so much time creating a system around that…

I feel like a dummy for not knowing about that defense stat, I was wondering why it felt like enemies weren’t hitting me as hard as they used to. I also had no idea that there was a way to re-spec your character, I had to do that a lot in DS2 and I’ve felt like I need to reallocate some points into the useless Arcane stat so I can use some of the cool stuff I’ve come across.
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BleuPanda
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by BleuPanda »

FrankLotion wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:04 pm
I feel like a dummy for not knowing about that defense stat, I was wondering why it felt like enemies weren’t hitting me as hard as they used to. I also had no idea that there was a way to re-spec your character, I had to do that a lot in DS2 and I’ve felt like I need to reallocate some points into the useless Arcane stat so I can use some of the cool stuff I’ve come across.


The defense stat has always been obscure (FromSoftware not explaining a basic mechanic??). I'm not sure how it works here compared to Bloodborne, but in that game, you start with 10 defense which increases by about 3 each level until it starts to trail off. The numbers are rather straightforward - they are a percentage with the decimal removed. Meaning, at the lowest level in Bloodborne, you reduce all attacks by 1%. So, every level, you increase that reduction by 0.3%, which adds up to about 23% damage reduction by the time you reach the standard max level for PVP. And this is all separate from how the armor damage reduction is calculated. It's all very complicated, but it ultimately adds up to saying that you simply take less damage as you level, in addition to the stat you are boosting.

And the re-spec option comes a bit later - but once you unlock it, it's rather easy to do.
Nassim
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Re: What are you playing - 2021 edition

Post by Nassim »

FrankLotion wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 8:51 pm Also I think we’re around the same part of the game! I’m about to get to that Red Wolf you’re talking about so I’ll have to prepare for him :(
Never mind, killed it on 2nd try
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