What are you playing? v.10 (Red Falcon Edition)

[Dinkin_Flicka]

It's been a hot minute, but continuing on with my journey through Final Fantasy. Really nice with the Pixel Remaster to efficiently get through the earlier ones, and picked back up with FFVI. There are some nice boost options to speed things up a bit like battle speed and gil/exp rates. Keeping exp rates the same, but boosted the gil and AP rates to x4 just to minimize grinding, especially for some of those late game espers.

I ripped through I-V and was excited to hit VII and up with break from the pixelated graphics so took me a long time to jump back in. I enjoyed VI as a kid, but played it so sporadically since I had to borrow it from a friend, so I don't have the deep nostalgic ties like most people with this game.

 

[method115]

Got to the end of Mass Effect. Got all the trophies lined up. I missed one but apparently I can get it very easily in a replay of the beginning section. I'll put it on easy to do that one. Have about 4 trophies list.

I was one shot away from beating Saren when a sniper one shot me from across the room. I was just lining up a sniper shot to kill him also. Then the sniper got me again when he only had 1/4 health. Then my game proceeded to crash like 3 times after that. I put the game down and I'll try again later.

 

[Nova44]

Ghost of Tsushima. The gameplay can pretty repetitive - from constantly clearing enemy outposts to helping peasants who family has been attacked by bandits to the constant “follow the footprints” trope. Enemy wise, the game doesn’t seem to have a lot of variety. Companion side quests were well written/well done, but the side quests that didn’t focus on your companions were pretty basic. And like every Ubisoft games, there are question marks all over the map. Ghost of Tsushima may not be considered as good as it is if it was created by Ubisoft.

Sony gets away with it because GoT has more quality than most AC games, and they aren't pumping it out every year as a cash grab. Ubi gets flack for doing that, along with putting microtransactions and XP boosters in most of their games nowadays, trying to jump on the NFT train, making a pirate game that plays and looks worse than Black Flag that came out in 2013 and then calling it the world's first AAAA game, slapping Tom Clancy's name on anything to make it sell, and killing most franchises.

Ubi is ass, and this is coming from someone who loves a bunch of the AC games, as well as Far Cry 3 and 4.

 

[Hyperglide]

I usually start with the Rogue in these games, and this one's no different. I find the close combat guys a little tough to manage in the early game, since you pretty much have to tank everything and it can take a while before you get some skills to mitigate the damage you're always taking.

I'm Level 26, and have only just beat the first real campaign boss. Just been side questing like crazy. I've died a couple times in some "arena" areas, and "The Butcher" randomly showed up to kick the ever living shit out of me. I find in this game, you have to really utilize all of your skills in tough encounters, rather than lean on anything specific. I ignored using my secondary skills for the longest time before I ran into some problems. Now I've got everything meshing pretty good.

Not a big fan of the dodge command having a cool down. That fucks me up more than anything. I think a stamina bar that lets you dodge two or three times in a row would've worked better in a game like this. One little dash doesn't help all that much when the screen is literally filled with projectiles and hazards.

This is good advice. I gave @Wrath of Foamy the same advice. It's better to have a full skill bar and be on your rotation then focus early on a few skills. There are a lot of skills that are 1 point wonders that can help your kit without having to focus on dumping 5 points into 2 skills early on. Sure focus some extras on your core but before level 50 you should be spreading them around. Respeccing easy and dirt cheap early too so no harm for experimenting. Not like Diablo 2 where you really have to focus on a build.

The dodge cooldown is an "oh shit" mechanic. This is Diablo, not Yakuza, Dark Souls or Batman Arkham Knight. It's an ARPG. You get your damage mitigation from Armor and Health points. It's lucky they gave every class a dodge at all. There are also boots that give you extra charges and can speed you up or reduce cooldown but doing other actions which can help mitigate the cooldown too so it's a moot point. I think it feels fine.

 

[Hyperglide]

Oh shit, you’re a mod now, Monica? Congrats! There’s a new Sheriff in town!

Congrats to @Zer and congrats to @valhoven for becoming an Admin. Is that @Gingerdead Man now?

 

[Hyperglide]

Finished Yakuza Kiwami and did all the substories. Good game but not as good as Yakuza 0. So that's Like a Dragon, 0 and YK; 3 games in a row. I am gonna take a break from the series and jump into something else. I wanna get back into the Tomb Raider games so Rise of the Tomb Raider up next.

 

[method115]

Finished Yakuza Kiwami and did all the substories. Good game but not as good as Yakuza 0. So that's Like a Dragon, 0 and YK; 3 games in a row. I am gonna take a break from the series and jump into something else. I wanna get back into the Tomb Raider games so Rise of the Tomb Raider up next.

Rise is my favorite one by far. Really loved that game. Never really liked the first game and had to force my way through it. Last game was ok better than the first but not the second.

 

[HereticBD]

The dodge cooldown is an "oh shit" mechanic. This is Diablo, not Yakuza, Dark Souls or Batman Arkham Knight. It's an ARPG. You get your damage mitigation from Armor and Health points. It's lucky they gave every class a dodge at all. There are also boots that give you extra charges and can speed you up or reduce cooldown but doing other actions which can help mitigate the cooldown too so it's a moot point. I think it feels fine.

Yeah, it's not a deal breaker or anything. I just don't like arbitrary cool downs for basic skills. I like the system of "You either get that skill in your class, or you don't". Seems like they were trying to strike a balance between an actual skill and the roll you had in D3(on console, anyways).

Anyways, I'm building up pretty good. Level 34, and I'm really stacking the "poison" attacks. Now I have a perk where the enemies get "vulnerable" for a few seconds, if I hit them after they get affected by my traps. Just melting shit now. Although, "The Butcher" is just ridiculous. Neat that he's just a random asshole here and there, but it's practically pointless to even try to beat him. I think the best I did was knock like half a quarter of his health bar down. He feels like a friggin' raid boss. If/When I eventually beat him, I want my TV to shoot confetti at me.

 

[Hyperglide]

@Wrath of Foamy and @HereticBD here's the build I'm going for.

Also, the YTber sounds like a typical Sherdogger or Rediit user. lmao

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

Diablo IV

Vine Creeper is amazing. It ruins mobs, the more the better. I'm in level 40 areas with a level 33, and having no problems.

I got the Earthen Might passive but it doesn't seem to trigger. I figured that big mobs = better percentage, but nothing so far. May go for Nature's Fury and swap a Earth skill for a Storm skill instead. No idea what for though. Landslide is more reliable than Tornado, Boulder is useful and Hurricane isn't...

I've just been roaming the map, collecting waypoints and maxing my spirit boons...

 

[Valhoven]

Steelrising.

About 18h in. No shortness of jank, I don't think the title is meeting my expectations (especially on the heels of studio's GreedFall, which was my 2019 AA GOTY), but it's not bad.

Biggest strength is one heck of a creative concept. Spiders is a relatively small team out of Paris and I just adore how unique they are from project to project. With so few studio houses actually innovating and storytelling, these guys are up there with Remedy for having something to say.

Biggest weaknesses are twofold.

One is complete and criminal lack of art direction. This bleeds over in level design in such a way that I've no organic sense nor interest to travel this way, that; it's all samey, dully illuminated map lanes with equally dull points of interest, which is mad considering we're playing in gorgeous 1700s Paris, ffs. Big L there. I want Renaissance fountains; I want intricate, gilded streetlamps; I want tulips under moonlight; I want blood-spattered panache – everywhere. Bah.

Two is quibbling maybe but traversal/walk/sprint animations, which you're unfortunately interacting with for any game's entirety. You move like a bleedin' lizard in a microwave in this. Hard to explain but does not feel good.

 

[method115]

Steelrising.

About 18h in. No shortness of jank, I don't think the title is meeting my expectations (especially on the heels of studio's GreedFall, which was my 2019 AA GOTY), but it's not bad.

Biggest strength is one heck of a creative concept. Spiders is a relatively small team out of Paris and I just adore how unique they are from project to project. With so few studio houses actually innovating and storytelling, these guys are up there with Remedy for having something to say.

Biggest weaknesses are twofold.

One is complete and criminal lack of art direction. This bleeds over in level design in such a way that I've no organic sense nor interest to travel this way, that; it's all samey, dully illuminated map lanes with equally dull points of interest, which is mad considering we're playing in gorgeous 1700s Paris, ffs. Big L there. I want Renaissance fountains; I want intricate, gilded streetlamps; I want tulips under moonlight; I want blood-spattered panache – everywhere. Bah.

Two is quibbling maybe but traversal/walk/sprint animations, which you're unfortunately interacting with for any game's entirety. You move like a bleedin' lizard in a microwave in this. Hard to explain but does not feel good.

Shame to hear. I haven't had a chance to try it yet but I've also been a big fan of the studio since Bound by Flame. I've also been disappointed to learn GreedFall 2 is a prequel since I would have liked to have something move the story forward but oh well.

 

[NoSmilez]

I don't know if people like CRPGs or not. I have been playing Russian CRPGs. I started Encased and the new Atom game. In case anyone doesn't know. CRPGs are like old fallout 1 or 2 games.

 

[Valhoven]

Shame to hear. I haven't had a chance to try it yet but I've also been a big fan of the studio since Bound by Flame. I've also been disappointed to learn GreedFall 2 is a prequel since I would have liked to have something move the story forward but oh well.

My honest advice on S/rising: If you've something of interest backlogged, prioritise that over this game. It's ultimately forgettable and in play, derivative. But, the game is not D-tier and in concept, it's neat.

I can tell you that if you install and play, say, 3-4h, there's nothing after that to surprise you – you've seen it all; they rely on Metroidvanian backtracking (with no fast travel, lol) so story progression largely plays out in recanvassing areas. Adding to that, no bosses/boss arenas have a wow factor, nor do any latter levels (Paris boroughs) come to life.

Install one Saturday afternoon from your PS Plus goodie bag, play a few hours and unless you fall in love, uninstall and move on.

 

[Kevster]

Immortals of Aveum, seems pretty good so far.

 

[Valhoven]

Immortals of Aveum, seems pretty good so far.

Just downloaded too; have yet to fire up.

 

[Zazen]

Steelrising.

About 18h in. No shortness of jank, I don't think the title is meeting my expectations (especially on the heels of studio's GreedFall, which was my 2019 AA GOTY), but it's not bad.

Biggest strength is one heck of a creative concept. Spiders is a relatively small team out of Paris and I just adore how unique they are from project to project. With so few studio houses actually innovating and storytelling, these guys are up there with Remedy for having something to say.

Biggest weaknesses are twofold.

One is complete and criminal lack of art direction. This bleeds over in level design in such a way that I've no organic sense nor interest to travel this way, that; it's all samey, dully illuminated map lanes with equally dull points of interest, which is mad considering we're playing in gorgeous 1700s Paris, ffs. Big L there. I want Renaissance fountains; I want intricate, gilded streetlamps; I want tulips under moonlight; I want blood-spattered panache – everywhere. Bah.

Two is quibbling maybe but traversal/walk/sprint animations, which you're unfortunately interacting with for any game's entirety. You move like a bleedin' lizard in a microwave in this. Hard to explain but does not feel good.

I don’t recall seeing you in the lies of p thread back when people were posting it. You need to get on that. Not exaggerating when I say it’s up there with some of my favorite from software games like dark souls 3 , Bloodborne and Sekiro. I loved it so much and it doesn’t have the problems all these other soulslike games have

 

[Valhoven]

I don’t recall seeing you in the lies of p thread back when people were posting it. You need to get on that. Not exaggerating when I say it’s up there with some of my favorite from software games like dark souls 3 , Bloodborne and Sekiro. I loved it so much and it doesn’t have the problems all these other soulslike games have

Yeah, skipped it. The immersion I got from the demo was too linear and it gave me a boss rush design feel, which isn’t my thing. Interesting comparison though because both P and S/rising deal with automatons and humanity or humaneness, to say.

 

[method115]

Install one Saturday afternoon from your PS Plus goodie bag, play a few hours and unless you fall in love, uninstall and move on.

Yea this is what I essentially planned to do. Same thing I did with Thymesia (which I didn't enjoy) and dropped after about an hour.

I don’t recall seeing you in the lies of p thread back when people were posting it. You need to get on that. Not exaggerating when I say it’s up there with some of my favorite from software games like dark souls 3 , Bloodborne and Sekiro. I loved it so much and it doesn’t have the problems all these other soulslike games have

This is another one I want to try but I'm waiting a long time before I even try it. I've heard nothing but good things from people about it.

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

Diablo IV

Level 45 at present.

Running a build that utilises Natures Fury, Cataclysm, Earthen Bulwark, Earth Spike and all of the companion skills.

My plan of attack is always, apply Bulwark for six seconds of invincibility, walk into a crowd of mobs, unleash Creeper Vine and Cataclysm, put a Raven Swarm on top of that and then cast Earth Spike and Wolves until Bulwark blows up.

Companion heavy builds don't seem to be supported, as they don't have any ultimates or passives, but it's absolutely shredding mobs of enemies right now.

I'll probably have to respec at some point, but as it stands, I'm more than holding my own.

As a game? I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Graphics look pretty and the environments are varied, gameplay is solid, music fits and the story is fine. The cinematics are also excellent.

The only thing is that the main acts have been somewhat disjointed and as good as the cinematics are, I'm not really that emotionally invested in the main story at this moment. It's alright some times, cool at other times, not too long as to take you away from the action for that long.

I'd watch a feature length film based on the Diablo franchise, using the cinematics there style of what plays in this game.