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Witcher 3 NG+ update:

Both for story reasons and so I could challenge myself, I decided to start the Heart of Stone questline BEFORE heading to Skellige. It’s been tough to tackle quests 10-12 levels below recommended (on Death March difficulty), but not impossible given that I’m playing an NG+ file and thus have all sorts of abilities to make up the difference (predictably, I’m using a Combat/Alchemy hybrid build with the Euphoria mutation for loads of extra damage).

I’m still wearing my Grandmaster Ursine armor from the previous file. Even though that gear is level 40 and my character is now level 80 (!), that armor’s protection seems to be primarily based on reducing a percentage of damage received (rather than a flat amount), which renders it still playable. At this point I probably won’t change my gear until I reach level 95 and get my *Legendary* Grandmaster set.

I couldn’t stick with the level 40 swords, though. Predictably, I’m using Aerondight and then whatever Witcher steel sword is available (currently rocking the Teigr I got from that witcher who went on a killer rampage over his low pay grade.

I’ve just finished the “heist” portion of the HoS quest and learned what is Olgierd’s last wish. Knowing what comes next, I’m hesitant to keep going because I think Iris’ Greatest Fear boss fight will be too much for me to handle while grossly under leveled (basically, if I get hit once without my Quen shield, I die...). So maybe it’s time for me to head to Skellige and show Yen my new facial scar?
 
85 hours into Dragon Quest XI, still no end anywhere in sight. Without spoiling too much, just did Sylvando's big part and set sails on the high seas again after what feels like forever.

In less lengthy game news, I've been playing Doom Eternal as well. Been a long time since I played a shooter. I think Borderlands 3 was the last fps campaign I completed, so it's been a while, and this one's a whole different beast. Thought I could handle it on Ultra Violence difficulty at first, but after 3 chapters I decided to drop it down to Hurt Me Plenty. Feel like this one has the right amount of challenge for my rusty-at-fps self. I remember reviews being kind of mixed on this one, especially in comparison to the first one. Didn't get a chance to play that one much, I have it on PSVR but it's hard to play in that format, so I don't have a good reference. I will say that I am really enjoying Eternal. The gore, the fast-paced action, the exploring and platforming bits that break up the action, the hub ship full of fan service. It all works really well to me. Not sure how far I am into the game, but I just recently arrived on Mars after some very fun sequences.
 
Fillip J Phry said:
85 hours into Dragon Quest XI, still no end anywhere in sight. Without spoiling too much, just did Sylvando's big part and set sails on the high seas again after what feels like forever.

In less lengthy game news, I've been playing Doom Eternal as well. Been a long time since I played a shooter. I think Borderlands 3 was the last fps campaign I completed, so it's been a while, and this one's a whole different beast. Thought I could handle it on Ultra Violence difficulty at first, but after 3 chapters I decided to drop it down to Hurt Me Plenty. Feel like this one has the right amount of challenge for my rusty-at-fps self. I remember reviews being kind of mixed on this one, especially in comparison to the first one. Didn't get a chance to play that one much, I have it on PSVR but it's hard to play in that format, so I don't have a good reference. I will say that I am really enjoying Eternal. The gore, the fast-paced action, the exploring and platforming bits that break up the action, the hub ship full of fan service. It all works really well to me. Not sure how far I am into the game, but I just recently arrived on Mars after some very fun sequences.
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I am also playing doom eternal right now!!! and funny enough, I had the same beginning experience as you. as someone who is not used to playing FPS games regularly, I went into the game on normal mode (hurt me plenty), but literally right after the third mission and at the beginning of the fourth one, I had to dial it down to baby mode (too young to die) bc I was getting rekt. game is just way too fast-paced and aggressive and definitely not inviting to newcomers. I'm almost at the end, and once I started figuring out how to approach certain enemies and whatnot, I put it back on normal mode, but im not sure for how long once I do the last missions I have left.
 
Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart comes out on Friday and I'm really looking forward to it, one of my favourite series. I'm a bit bummed that it's 10-12 hours long instead of 15-20 but oh well.

Fillip J Phry said:
85 hours into Dragon Quest XI, still no end anywhere in sight. Without spoiling too much, just did Sylvando's big part and set sails on the high seas again after what feels like forever.
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I had a great time with DQ XI, I think my playtime was ~120 hours but I did a lot of crafting and running around.
 
Santi Chacin said:
I am also playing doom eternal right now!!! and funny enough, I had the same beginning experience as you. as someone who is not used to playing FPS games regularly, I went into the game on normal mode (hurt me plenty), but literally right after the third mission and at the beginning of the fourth one, I had to dial it down to baby mode (too young to die) bc I was getting rekt. game is just way too fast-paced and aggressive and definitely not inviting to newcomers. I'm almost at the end, and once I started figuring out how to approach certain enemies and whatnot, I put it back on normal mode, but im not sure for how long once I do the last missions I have left.
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I agree the pacing of the combat can be daunting at first. At the same time, when everything clicks and you clear a room with speed and precision, you feel like a major badass. It almost feels like a puzzle at times, in which you have to manage ammo, armor and health, as well as know what gun does best where in a split second. I know the game flat out tells you this during the campaign, but as I go on I realize more and more just how important that aspect is. I wasn't using the flamethrower that much when I started out, but it's in use as often as I can now. Same goes for swapping weapon mods and using grenades.
 
Aelias said:
Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart comes out on Friday and I'm really looking forward to it, one of my favourite series. I'm a bit bummed that it's 10-12 hours long instead of 15-20 but oh well.


I had a great time with DQ XI, I think my playtime was ~120 hours but I did a lot of crafting and running around.
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I've been doing a lot of running around, and craft any time I find new recipes. I haven't gone out of my way looking for resources, but I feel like there hasn't been much I couldn't make with just what I've found exploring each area. The bigger challenge there was getting my level up enough to where I had the points to even attempt some of the harder stuff.

I love that there hasn't been a big push to grind or farm resources in this game. I avoid most combat and yet have not really struggled with any of the fights. I have lost a couple, but the main character is so versatile it's easy to adjust strategy and make him fit into any gap the previous attempt at a fight had.
 
Fillip J Phry said:
I've been doing a lot of running around, and craft any time I find new recipes. I haven't gone out of my way looking for resources, but I feel like there hasn't been much I couldn't make with just what I've found exploring each area. The bigger challenge there was getting my level up enough to where I had the points to even attempt some of the harder stuff.

I love that there hasn't been a big push to grind or farm resources in this game. I avoid most combat and yet have not really struggled with any of the fights. I have lost a couple, but the main character is so versatile it's easy to adjust strategy and make him fit into any gap the previous attempt at a fight had.
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I think I looked for resources a couple of times when I wanted to craft a few of the character specific armor sets near the end. I had a lot of fun with the crafting mini game and trying to figure out the most efficient strikes to use. Playing on Normal you can skip a lot of the overworld fights and still be fine for the boss battles. I played on PS4 and my main complaint was the overworld music, definitely got tired of that but that's what the spotify app is for haha. It was my first DQ game and it made me want to play some of the others. Since then I played 8 and am about halfway through 7.
 
Aelias said:
I think I looked for resources a couple of times when I wanted to craft a few of the character specific armor sets near the end. I had a lot of fun with the crafting mini game and trying to figure out the most efficient strikes to use. Playing on Normal you can skip a lot of the overworld fights and still be fine for the boss battles. I played on PS4 and my main complaint was the overworld music, definitely got tired of that but that's what the spotify app is for haha. It was my first DQ game and it made me want to play some of the others. Since then I played 8 and am about halfway through 7.
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Agreed, the overworld only having one song is pretty annoying. Hearing any other song is always very refreshing. I wish it had a feature like Final Fantasy XV where you could put on songs from all the other games as you are driving around.

The last DQ game I played before 11 was 8, and I really enjoyed it. I still have my PS2 copy, wonder if my save has lived this long? Before that though, the last game I remember playing was Dragon Warrior Monsters on the Game Boy. Very fun Pokemon-esque game, but I'm not sure how well it would hold up today. Sadly, I think I sold or traded that one as a kid.
 
Max Sterling said:
Also Elden Ring information... Can't wait to see how much of a mess this game is.


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Max Sterling said:
Yeah, he's just the Demon's Souls Guy.
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Just the Demon's Souls Guy is quite the understatement in my book. I bought a PS4 so I could play Bloodborne and I'll be upgrading it to a PS5 only so I can play Elden Ring.

Curious why you think it'll be a mess, though. I am arching an eyebrow at the GRRM involvement; that just sounds kinda silly and ancillary to me. I was hooked on ASOIAF not because the lore, but because the way he delivered it. Similarly, I enjoy the lore of Souls games less than I like the way it's delivered. I also know people have been on tenterhooks re: the lack of news on this project up to this point.
 
Bull Shannon said:
Just the Demon's Souls Guy is quite the understatement in my book. I bought a PS4 so I could play Bloodborne and I'll be upgrading it to a PS5 only so I can play Elden Ring.

Curious why you think it'll be a mess, though. I am arching an eyebrow at the GRRM involvement; that just sounds kinda silly and ancillary to me. I was hooked on ASOIAF not because the lore, but because the way he delivered it. Similarly, I enjoy the lore of Souls games less than I like the way it's delivered. I also know people have been on tenterhooks re: the lack of news on this project up to this point.
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The Souls games are already incredibly convoluted when it comes to story. It's weird-ass stuff. Which is fine, most people I know play them for the challenge and the game play, not the story. Now add in George RR Martin, in my opinion the most overrated author of our time, expand to an open world and put a focus on the story instead of having it as a vehicle for the game play. I just expect it to be utter nonsense and I look forward to watching someone else play it.
 
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