Everything Video Games!

[EvanBenner]

Went on a three month movie bender after downloading Letterbox and am just now returning to gaming.

Wrapping Horizon Forbidden West which, while not as good as the first game, will still have caught 90+ hours of my time when I finish. The tweaks in the combat system drove me nuts at first and took some serious adjusting, and the story is merely B- level instead of the A level storytelling of the first game. Especially in regards to the side quests. On the other hand, few open world games have side content that is so rewarding. The cauldrons, relics and tall necks in particular bring to mind the dungeons that Zelda refuses to return to. And once I did adjust to the combat system, bringing down machines is just so much damn fun.

Question for you all--

I bought Death Stranding on a whim because I'm recently laid off and wanted an engrossing time suck. But I've left it fully wrapped because Kojima's games have never fully vibed with me. I like meta, but his shit is just always so up its own ass. I'll never forgive the 3 hour cut scene at the end of MG4. That said, I love wierdo gameplay mechanics and / or zenning out to games like Stardew Valley, Tony Hawk, ext. So there's a chance I really dig it. And the themes of the game sound up my alley.

The other option is returning it and grabbing Elden Ring. Problem is, that game is also a 50/50 coin flip. I'm a B+ gamer who plays about 1/3 of the games I touch on hard. But my big weakness is boss pattern recognition. And I hate having my time wasted. I slayed the smaller moments in Bloodborne before even leveling up. But within a couple bosses, I was getting stuck and furious that the game forced me to spend 45 minutes re-collecting vials and backtracking before I could even try again. Like fuck that as a game design choice. I know that Elden Ring provides the ability to bounce in a different direction if you get stuck on a boss, but there is still a solid chance that the lack of transparency on how to handle its difficult and a lack of respect for my time (via lost progress) piss me off real quick.

Thoughts on which direction I should go?

Sorry about the layoff — I hope things land just right for you.

Congrats on finishing HFW! I love that franchise so dang much. And it's so well made/art directed.

I only made it a few hours into Death Stranding, but if cut scenes are an irk for you... expect plenty. The pretension is utterly conspicuous in that game. I do intend to revisit and attempt it again, but when we started it shortly after release, we had our laugh and moved on.

I'd also lean on the side of Elden Ring, though that's more my partner's style of game than my own.

Not to dump another reco on you when you've got plenty of prepaid options on your plate, but Cyberpunk 2077 was immensely engrossing. I've got to return and play the rework and DLC though, but I bet it's only gotten better!

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

Sorry about the layoff — I hope things land just right for you.

Congrats on finishing HFW! I love that franchise so dang much. And it's so well made/art directed.

I only made it a few hours into Death Stranding, but if cut scenes are an irk for you... expect plenty. The pretension is utterly conspicuous in that game. I do intend to revisit and attempt it again, but when we started it shortly after release, we had our laugh and moved on.

I'd also lean on the side of Elden Ring, though that's more my partner's style of game than my own.

Not to dump another reco on you when you've got plenty of prepaid options on your plate, but Cyberpunk 2077 was immensely engrossing. I've got to return and play the rework and DLC though, but I bet it's only gotten better!

Life happens. I was underpaid by 20-25% and badly needed more money considering the state of the world. If I land on my feet by the end of April with a solid pay raise then it was likely a blessing in disguise.

I played Cyberpunk at the end of 2022 and really enjoyed it. Definitely eventually plan on playing the DLC.

So far, sounds like I'm returning Death Stranding and grabbing Elden Ring... unless somebody comes along to sing its praises and tell me to give it a go.

 

[epyon415]

Life happens. I was underpaid by 20-25% and badly needed more money considering the state of the world. If I land on my feet by the end of April with a solid pay raise then it was likely a blessing in disguise.

I played Cyberpunk at the end of 2022 and really enjoyed it. Definitely eventually plan on playing the DLC.

So far, sounds like I'm returning Death Stranding and grabbing Elden Ring... unless somebody comes along to sing its praises and tell me to give it a go.

Have you played Spider-man 2 or GoW Ragnarok? Not necessarily time sinks, but very good games with great stories.

Elden Ring is wonderful and far easier than other souls games. I’d personally caution if for the fact it is a souls game and I can think of a couple mandatory bosses that might ruin your fun.

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

Have you played Spider-man 2 or GoW Ragnarok? Not necessarily time sinks, but very good games with great stories.

Elden Ring is wonderful and far easier than other souls games. I’d personally caution if for the fact it is a souls game and I can think of a couple mandatory bosses that might ruin your fun.

I have a copy of Ragnarok I got on Black Friday but am not ready to jump straight into another Sony styled title. Spiderman 2-- will get to but am not in a rush. If I were to drop $ on a fully priced game, it'd be Baulders Gate 3... But I'm struggling to find that a good financial decision despite 2.5 months of severance because the job market is pretty bleak atm.

 

[epyon415]

I have a copy of Ragnarok I got on Black Friday but am not ready to jump straight into another Sony styled title. Spiderman 2-- will get to but am not in a rush. If I were to drop $ on a fully priced game, it'd be Baulders Gate 3... But I'm struggling to find that a good financial decision despite 2.5 months of severance because the job market is pretty bleak atm.

Totally understandable. Solid games and will be lot of fun.

+1 on the Elden Ring recco, you will either love or hate it, but you’ll definitely find tons of things to discover and explore.

 

[wokeupnew]

Making my way through the mid-to-late game story missions in RDR2. Had a thought about Dutch in this meme format, didn't see anyone post something like this online anywhere so I made one myself.

 

[DevonJD]

Obvious spoilers but the death stranding 2 trailer dropped today

 

[Thackeraye]

Just completed Jusant. What a nice game. Enjoyed it, and it doesn’t take too long to complete. Recommended if you have Game Pass.

 

[Tillman]

I've been hopelessly addicted to The Finals this past week. I'm not much into online shooters, but man this is some of the most fun I've had in a while!!

 

[Fillip J Phry]

Persona 3 Reload is out today. Looking forward to a more modern take on a game I first discovered and fell in love with way too late (last year).

 

[ayayrawn]

Rumors that Xbox exclusives like Starfield, Gears, and even Halo could make the jump to PlayStation soon. Spencer announced an event for next week, and didn't shoot em down. Big changes coming to gaming soon, I imagine.

Every Xbox Exclusive Game Rumored to Release for PS5

It’s a wild time to be an Xbox fan. The past month has brought with it tons of credible rumors and reports indicating that some serious shifts in strategy are about to take place at Microsoft. These potential changes will result in Xbox porting its biggest first-party games to platforms outside...

comicbook.com

 

[Tillman]

Rumors that Xbox exclusives like Starfield, Gears, and even Halo could make the jump to PlayStation soon. Spencer announced an event for next week, and didn't shoot em down. Big changes coming to gaming soon, I imagine.

Every Xbox Exclusive Game Rumored to Release for PS5

It’s a wild time to be an Xbox fan. The past month has brought with it tons of credible rumors and reports indicating that some serious shifts in strategy are about to take place at Microsoft. These potential changes will result in Xbox porting its biggest first-party games to platforms outside...

comicbook.com

as an Xbox owner, I'm not mad at this at all... they've already put Xbox exclusives on Switch (Ori games, Cup Head) and they've always stated they want Game Pass on everything. there's still value in owning an Xbox, especially using Game Pass, so I don't feel like I'm losing out as an Xbox owner... though I'm sure a lot of people will be pissed.

honestly, I didn't think Starfield was all that great... but I think it's great that more people will be able to play HiFi Rush

 

[Hemotep]

as an Xbox owner, I'm not mad at this at all... they've already put Xbox exclusives on Switch (Ori games, Cup Head) and they've always stated they want Game Pass on everything. there's still value in owning an Xbox, especially using Game Pass, so I don't feel like I'm losing out as an Xbox owner... though I'm sure a lot of people will be pissed.

honestly, I didn't think Starfield was all that great... but I think it's great that more people will be able to play HiFi Rush

If we could get the ffvii remake over on Xbox in exchange I'd be very happy.

 

[Ginormousthumbs]

If we could get the ffvii remake over on Xbox in exchange I'd be very happy.

Or Last Of Us

 

[Ginormousthumbs]

As an Xbox owner, I also agree. I feel like the “console wars” are long over and seem outdated.

And honestly, that PlayStation is an eyesore.

 

[ayayrawn]

I'm mixed on this. It would be nice to be able to play on these classic franchises on my PS5 without having to own another console. But basically tossing the ball to Sony and removing their main competition, seems like it would stifle innovation. Gaming is becoming increasingly homogenized and I don't like the thought of there being one main home console that would be allowed to innovate as little as they want, and charge as much as they want. Expect game and system prices to go up. Expect companies to get comfortable with what works at the bare minimum. There's some exciting elements to this, but I'm wary.

 

[Bull Shannon]

As an Xbox owner, I also agree. I feel like the “console wars” are long over and seem outdated.

And honestly, that PlayStation is an eyesore.

I'm mixed on this. It would be nice to be able to play on these classic franchises on my PS5 without having to own another console. But basically tossing the ball to Sony and removing their main competition, seems like it would stifle innovation. Gaming is becoming increasingly homogenized and I don't like the thought of there being one main home console that would be allowed to innovate as little as they want, and charge as much as they want. Expect game and system prices to go up. Expect companies to get comfortable with what works at the bare minimum. There's some exciting elements to this, but I'm wary.

This is a very conflicting situation; I think it's true: the Console Wars are done, and hoarding titles under the banner of "exclusivity" is petty, at best. But then that exposes the complete interchangeability of the consoles beyond branding and online community/marketplace. Innovation is already stifled if you have two basically-identical (I know they're not but to the lay person they are) products that are in lockstep technology and development cycle-wise. You have innovation on the edges and smaller markets, but otherwise it's coke/pepsi (or even sprite/7up).

The tech has reached a certain apex, and beyond games which require special hardware (VR, Switch, PlayDate), a console could be like a television: they all get the same channels and what you're paying for is performance and reliability. Heck, imagine a world where there are generic brand consoles which aren't flashy but get the job done. (I guess I just described pc gaming)

 

[Fillip J Phry]

This is a very conflicting situation; I think it's true: the Console Wars are done, and hoarding titles under the banner of "exclusivity" is petty, at best. But then that exposes the complete interchangeability of the consoles beyond branding and online community/marketplace. Innovation is already stifled if you have two basically-identical (I know they're not but to the lay person they are) products that are in lockstep technology and development cycle-wise. You have innovation on the edges and smaller markets, but otherwise it's coke/pepsi (or even sprite/7up).

The tech has reached a certain apex, and beyond games which require special hardware (VR, Switch, PlayDate), a console could be like a television: they all get the same channels and what you're paying for is performance and reliability. Heck, imagine a world where there are generic brand consoles which aren't flashy but get the job done. (I guess I just described pc gaming)

Adding to this, the biggest benefit now for a console is the consistent hardware. I work in IT, and we use Apple products primarily for the same reason. Phones and tablets are basically the same from a support and development standpoint, so you don't have to try and adapt procedures and software to fit a bunch of different configurations. Same with a console, everyone is using the same small batch of configurations, the same OS, everything. Much easier to fix bugs and develop a consistent frame rate in your game this way. The rebel in me still chooses PC and Android for personal use, but if I were a dev I'd be pushing hard for that less chaotic option every time. Think that also plays a part in why we've seen so many disastrous PC ports of console games.

Streaming's also come a long way. Haven't used it myself since the beta program, but the streaming for Game Pass really impressed me. I was able to play Halo online multiplayer competitively. Works even better with a slower paced game. Their service prioritizes keeping input lag low at the cost of graphic fidelity. Might have been due to the small screen, but this was the preferred experience. Conversely, I tried out Sony's software that lets you stream console games to PC, kind of like a remote desktop type of situation. Worked OK, but didn't have any kind of priority like the MS service did, so I ran into issues trying to play any kind of game requiring quick reflexes, like Bloodborne.

 

[Tillman]

I'm mixed on this. It would be nice to be able to play on these classic franchises on my PS5 without having to own another console. But basically tossing the ball to Sony and removing their main competition, seems like it would stifle innovation. Gaming is becoming increasingly homogenized and I don't like the thought of there being one main home console that would be allowed to innovate as little as they want, and charge as much as they want. Expect game and system prices to go up. Expect companies to get comfortable with what works at the bare minimum. There's some exciting elements to this, but I'm wary.

except X-Box is the Washington Generals and PS is the Harlem Globetrotters. you can't keep losing and not change things and expect things to change. hardware just never seemed to be Microsoft's strong suit, despite Series X (and S to a degree as well) being pretty great.

there's still value in Xbox, especially assuming these games won't be multiplatform until an exclusive period on Xbox, where you can play it on Game Pass, with quick resume, solid controller, etc...

I get that people are upset, but I'm more grabbing my popcorn to see how this plays out

 

[Ghost]

Just finished Phantom Liberty @Mather , what an expansion. The ending I got for the expansion has me conflicted lol. I sided with Reed (Idris Elba) and refused to give So Mi what she wanted when she was in the core and she got handed off to FIA and I’m like “fuck did I just sent her into a life of experimentation?”

What route did you go for the expansion? How’d you feel about your ending for it?

Now I got to go finish the base game hahah