Everything Video Games!

[ayayrawn]

Hades is now on Gamepass and it's so much fun. I've done 13 runs so far, made it to Elysium. Each time I die I want to jump back in. I couldn't imagine a game that forces you to restart from the beginning each time you die to have so much replay value. My favorite weapon so far has been the spear, the gun thing surprisingly I made it the furthest during the first time I used it, but it feels a little cheap and out of place. The hype and acclaim for the game is completely justified.

Anyone who's played it have any advice? best weapons/combos? how long did it take to beat the game?

It's a wildly balanced game in that pretty much every weapon is good, and depends on your play style. The real strat is stacking your powers you geting from the gods on runs. I was a big fan of Ares' and Athena's powers, but play with those, and you'll find which ones work the best.

It's difficult to say when you "beat" the game, because after you complete one run, it gets blown open even more with more options for difficulty and mixing up runs. I put it down after about 40 hours, but I believe there is a "true" ending that comes with completing a certain number of runs. And that doesn't even account for unlocking all the stuff in the hall, finding all the dialogue options, etc.

Great game.

 

[ayayrawn]

On another note, I completed Psychonauts 2, and absolutely loved it. Very happy that it turned out so good after so much time. The story is unexpectedly heavy and complex, but is still so warm and lighthearted, the gameplay is clean as hell, and Tim Shafer's writing is as witty as ever. It's not without flaw, but they're all minor, and it may be my GotY so far. Lent one of my friends my xbox so she could play it, so just Nintendo for me for a few weeks.

Also completed Fusion in prep for Metroid Dread in a few weeks.

 

[wokeupnew]

It's a wildly balanced game in that pretty much every weapon is good, and depends on your play style. The real strat is stacking your powers you geting from the gods on runs. I was a big fan of Ares' and Athena's powers, but play with those, and you'll find which ones work the best.

It's difficult to say when you "beat" the game, because after you complete one run, it gets blown open even more with more options for difficulty and mixing up runs. I put it down after about 40 hours, but I believe there is a "true" ending that comes with completing a certain number of runs. And that doesn't even account for unlocking all the stuff in the hall, finding all the dialogue options, etc.

Great game.

did you ever beat all seven levels of it? Right now that would see difficult but with more power-ups and boon stacking would make it easier.

 

[kvetcha]

I finally started Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, with SMT V on the horizon. Having a good ol' time. Not sure why I bounced off the original.

Also purchased both Psychonauts games on PC, will hopefully be able to get around to them soon.

 

[ayayrawn]

did you ever beat all seven levels of it? Right now that would see difficult but with more power-ups and boon stacking would make it easier.

There are technically 4 zones a run, and yeah, I completed a good handful. Not enough to get the true ending, but a few. It definitely gets more difficult the deeper you go, the 3rd zone especially was a tough wall to crack for me, but it eventually got to the point where the first 2 zones were nothing, amd, if I got lucky with the powers (because it is RNG to a degree) i could absolutely steamroll through. The game does a very good job at making you feel like you make a little more progress each time to keep you coming back and trying again.

 

[Santi XcX]

i am liking what i am seeing of SMTV so far, but i think im gonna hold off from buying it on release, mostly because i want to play SMT III nocturne and SMT IV first.

i think the only games i’ll probably get for the remainder of the year are Metroid Dread, Nickelodeon All Star Brawl and (maybe) Tales of Arise

 

[dhodo]

Hades is now on Gamepass and it's so much fun. I've done 13 runs so far, made it to Elysium. Each time I die I want to jump back in. I couldn't imagine a game that forces you to restart from the beginning each time you die to have so much replay value. My favorite weapon so far has been the spear, the gun thing surprisingly I made it the furthest during the first time I used it, but it feels a little cheap and out of place. The hype and acclaim for the game is completely justified.

Anyone who's played it have any advice? best weapons/combos? how long did it take to beat the game?

Loved the game. Binge played it for quite a while. I can't remember exactly how long it took for the first clear, but maybe even around 60 deaths or something. For me it was worth it to get the true ending plus unlocking most things.

What weapon you prefer definitely differs depending on your play style. For me the easiest and most fun was the bow with aspect of Chiron. Especially if you can max it out. I can't remember when it starts being worth it, but I would wait until you can dump enough titan bloods in to level it up a few times.

If you use that and try to prioritize more stacked damage effects on your special, like Hades or Dionysus you can really start taking people out fast. Or an Artemis build and get CRIT on your special. Poseidon can work well if you can get the Rupture boons or Zeus with Jolt, iirc. If you can get Concentrated Volley and Relentless Volley Daedalus Hammers you are set. Swift Flourish from Hermes also super effective.

Poseidon's dash is great for helping you get out if you are cornered. Even better if you can get Typhoon's Fury. Athena's dash works well for the same reason.

I liked Dionysus cast since it is more forgiving and can cause a lot of damage.

Calls I really like Artemis and Aphrodite. Poseidon is pretty good too.

Chaos blessings can really help if you can figure out how to deal with the curses. I shied away from them for quite a while because they scared me but I wish I hadn't. For the Chiron build, especially if you can add damage to specials.

Prioritizing getting certain gifts early can be a great help along with summons. If you are interested in knowing that as opposed to finding out organically I can recommend some of my favorites.

 

[Fillip J Phry]

I finished my first playthrough of A Night In the Woods. What a great time. I haven't been sucked into one of these type of games since I played Oxenfree. Great characters, great dialogue, great atmosphere. Funny and spooky, with a few really good and genuinely tense moments. Branching paths so I get to do it all over again from a new perspective - I did the Bea route first, going for Gregg this time. I could go on and on, but I'll say this. The thing I like best is the payoffs. If you take your time and pay attention, there's a ton of little things going on, and most of them get some kind of resolution or additional lore that you wouldn't get if you rushed. Even something that seems like a passing statement from a character can lead to a great moment later on. If you're someone who likes to see how a bunch of little story threads intertwine, I can't recommend this one enough.

 

[wokeupnew]

I finished my first playthrough of A Night In the Woods. What a great time. I haven't been sucked into one of these type of games since I played Oxenfree. Great characters, great dialogue, great atmosphere. Funny and spooky, with a few really good and genuinely tense moments. Branching paths so I get to do it all over again from a new perspective - I did the Bea route first, going for Gregg this time. I could go on and on, but I'll say this. The thing I like best is the payoffs. If you take your time and pay attention, there's a ton of little things going on, and most of them get some kind of resolution or additional lore that you wouldn't get if you rushed. Even something that seems like a passing statement from a character can lead to a great moment later on. If you're someone who likes to see how a bunch of little story threads intertwine, I can't recommend this one enough.

That game was so much fun! I wish it was a little bit longer

 

[tonythegamer]

This PlayStation event made me kind of ticked at Microsoft for basically sitting on their hands and not really coming out with powerhouse exclusives. Sony has Spider Man, Wolverine, KOTOR as a timed exclusive, and God of War 2. Microsoft has Battletoads… and Halo Infinite later this year which has already shot itself in the foot on several occasions, so expecting a 6-7/10 game from that one.

There are things I’m excited for from Microsoft, don’t get me wrong, and lots of games in the future to look forward to such as Stalker 2, Fable, Starfield, but I wish Microsoft had the thunder that PlayStation has with some of these exclusives. A lot of the exclusives I see announced from Microsoft get a bit of light praise, whereas Sony makes the Internet lose their freaking minds. I don’t know if we’ll ever reach a point where MS becomes a powerhouse exclusive machine again, but the future is seeming kind of bleak for the MS ecosystem

 

[Thackeraye]

This PlayStation event made me kind of ticked at Microsoft for basically sitting on their hands and not really coming out with powerhouse exclusives. Sony has Spider Man, Wolverine, KOTOR as a timed exclusive, and God of War 2. Microsoft has Battletoads… and Halo Infinite later this year which has already shot itself in the foot on several occasions, so expecting a 6-7/10 game from that one.

There are things I’m excited for from Microsoft, don’t get me wrong, and lots of games in the future to look forward to such as Stalker 2, Fable, Starfield, but I wish Microsoft had the thunder that PlayStation has with some of these exclusives. A lot of the exclusives I see announced from Microsoft get a bit of light praise, whereas Sony makes the Internet lose their freaking minds. I don’t know if we’ll ever reach a point where MS becomes a powerhouse exclusive machine again, but the future is seeming kind of bleak for the MS ecosystem

Am I right in thinking all MS exclusives can be played on PC instead? Think I'd be tempted to do that over an Xbox, but finding a PS5 is proving challenging...

 

[kvetcha]

I finished my first playthrough of A Night In the Woods. What a great time. I haven't been sucked into one of these type of games since I played Oxenfree. Great characters, great dialogue, great atmosphere. Funny and spooky, with a few really good and genuinely tense moments. Branching paths so I get to do it all over again from a new perspective - I did the Bea route first, going for Gregg this time. I could go on and on, but I'll say this. The thing I like best is the payoffs. If you take your time and pay attention, there's a ton of little things going on, and most of them get some kind of resolution or additional lore that you wouldn't get if you rushed. Even something that seems like a passing statement from a character can lead to a great moment later on. If you're someone who likes to see how a bunch of little story threads intertwine, I can't recommend this one enough.

I played this one on Switch over a vacation a couple years back and absolutely adored it.

gregg rulz ok

 

[Fillip J Phry]

I played this one on Switch over a vacation a couple years back and absolutely adored it.

gregg rulz ok

Gregg indeed rulz. I'm on my second playthrough now and I'm doing all of his hangouts, and after the one where you knife fight I knew it was going to give me a whole different set of feels than Bea's did. I do feel his ghost hunt is not quite as good as Bea and especially Angus'. I did Angus' first, so I think it hit the hardest, at the same time I feel like I got to know him and Bea better through that part. Gregg's didn't seem to add as much. Looking forward to the other hangouts.

 

[kvetcha]

Gregg indeed rulz. I'm on my second playthrough now and I'm doing all of his hangouts, and after the one where you knife fight I knew it was going to give me a whole different set of feels than Bea's did. I do feel his ghost hunt is not quite as good as Bea and especially Angus'. I did Angus' first, so I think it hit the hardest, at the same time I feel like I got to know him and Bea better through that part. Gregg's didn't seem to add as much. Looking forward to the other hangouts.

(I’m Team Bea)

 

[Fillip J Phry]

(I’m Team Bea)

I'm team Angus

 

[wokeupnew]

Hades is now on Gamepass and it's so much fun. I've done 13 runs so far, made it to Elysium. Each time I die I want to jump back in. I couldn't imagine a game that forces you to restart from the beginning each time you die to have so much replay value. My favorite weapon so far has been the spear, the gun thing surprisingly I made it the furthest during the first time I used it, but it feels a little cheap and out of place. The hype and acclaim for the game is completely justified.

Anyone who's played it have any advice? best weapons/combos? how long did it take to beat the game?

Have made 27? attempts I think so far. The first time I got to the last battle with Hades I was using the Adamant Rail, so I kept using that attempting to get far once again. It's a decent enough weapon with enough attacking boons but it's an awful weapon for the final boss battle. I was reading online about different builds and the Shield of Chaos was mentioned as the best. In a few runs before using the Shield, I always leaned heavy on the special attack of the shield throw, but the damage on the shield throw is terrible. The main attack and dash attack are much better, and with some favorable boons I was clearing the first 3 worlds in like 10 minutes each. I also saw someone recommend collecting as much health as possible for 300 total before getting to Hades along with some damage reduction boons. It was BY FAR easier to face Hades that way. The boss battle in Elysium is terrible with the Adamant Rail, it would take me like 10 minutes on that alone running around and firing in different directions. A boon on the shield special with doom and I was done in like 3 minutes. In the last boss battle I was thrown for a curve when I thought I beat Hades only for his second stage to get to me without any Death Defiances left. I can't get over how much fun this game is even after 27 attempts and at least 25 hours of play.

 

[bettim84]

About a month ago a friend of mine lent me his Skyward Sword for Switch but I just can’t get myself motivated to start it. Can someone hype it for me? My go-to Zeldas are Ocarina of Time and BOTW (my pick for GOAT), but I never played any of the others except just in passing.

(More context: I recently purchased Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition with that silly $15 off Amazon coupon. Now that is a game I’m excited to play.)

I just feel like if I don’t try Skyward Sword now, then I’ll end up never playing it.

 

[ayayrawn]

About a month ago a friend of mine lent me his Skyward Sword for Switch but I just can’t get myself motivated to start it. Can someone hype it for me? My go-to Zeldas are Ocarina of Time and BOTW (my pick for GOAT), but I never played any of the others except just in passing.

(More context: I recently purchased Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition with that silly $15 off Amazon coupon. Now that is a game I’m excited to play.)

I just feel like if I don’t try Skyward Sword now, then I’ll end up never playing it.

Just play the game you want to play, life's too short to do stuff you don't really want to do

 

[wokeupnew]

Just play the game you want to play, life's too short to do stuff you don't really want to do

I was the opposite of this mindset for a long, long time. I played games, listened to music, read books and I wanted to finish them even if I didn't like them. Having GamePass, Spotify etc, made that change easy. I've downloaded countless games, gave them a few hours and then gave up. It doesn't matter because I didn't really buy them.

 

[ayayrawn]

I was the opposite of this mindset for a long, long time. I played games, listened to music, read books and I wanted to finish them even if I didn't like them. Having GamePass, Spotify etc, made that change easy. I've downloaded countless games, gave them a few hours and then gave up. It doesn't matter because I didn't really buy them.

I used to be this way too. I got the game so I MUST play it. I started the book so I MUST finish. I've learned to just go with the flow. Make it 200 pages into book, and hate it? Putting it down. Play a game for two hours and can't see myself finishing it? Moving on.