What are you playing right now?

[Ebon_Drake]

Finished Life is Strange: Before the Storm. My impressions are... mixed at best and negative at worst. I enjoyed Life is Strange quite a bit, but this never quite rose above okay and took a full-on nosedive in episode 3. I quit the farewell episode 10 minutes in because I just didn't care anymore.

Let me guess: you picked Bay, didn't you? smdh

I think opinion on Before The Storm depends on what you liked about Life is Strange. If it was the central mystery or the time travel/paranormal aspects, then you'll probably be disappointed since those are both undercooked-to-nonexistent in BTS. The scope of the game is also restricted by it being a prequel. I was more in it for the personal interactions and LGBT+ elements though, so was happy with BTS doubling down on those and broadly delivering.

I liked Farewell, but spent much of it completely confused about when exactly it was happening in the timeline. At several points I was half-convinced it was actually in an alternate reality. Suppose that might have been intended since I didn't figure out where it was going until the end, but "let's confuse the heck out of people!" doesn't feel like great design philosophy. Also, Max is officially the worst and a disgrace to all pirates.

I also went through The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit over the weekend. Not sure I can say I enjoyed it per se, since the drunk dad element cut a bit too close to the bone and I spent much of it dreading where it was going. It was decently put together though and I can't really complain about a freebie.

[unseenmage]

Been playing Horizon Zero Dawn. Hunting robot dinosaurs is some of the best ridiculous fun I've had since air-lifting screaming goats in MGS5, and the game is just beautiful too. I'm a compulsive collector and sidequester, though, so I worry if I've overleveled for the main quest at this point, even playing on very hard. I'm level 40, and the recommended level for the main quest is 15

Also, the ropecaster is easily the best weapon in the game. It doesn't quite trivialize fights against the Thunderjaws and Stormbirds, but it sure makes things easier.

Agreed on all points. Actually finished everything almost 100 percent including the DLC.

By the time I was done I caught myself statting up the weapons and dinos for Pathfinder even though our group has sworn off tech for a while after finishing the Iron Gods AP.



Recently have been playing Food Fantasy with the kids and wife on mobile. It's a typical app game but at least the toons are cute.

Been bashing my forehead against the delightful awfulness that is Ark single player on console. It has ridable dinos. But it crashes. I love the low level survival rpg elements l. But it crashes. That the gameplay changes as you level is neat. But it crashes so freaking much.

Loaded and promptly closed Minecraft again. Always amazed by how much the kids and I have poured into some of those worlds.

Other than that its Pathfinder and MtG every other weekend. Commander and a monstrous shapechanger respectively.

[Zombimode]

I think opinion on Before The Storm depends on what you liked about Life is Strange. If it was the central mystery or the time travel/paranormal aspects, then you'll probably be disappointed since those are both undercooked-to-nonexistent in BTS. The scope of the game is also restricted by it being a prequel. I was more in it for the personal interactions and LGBT+ elements though, so was happy with BTS doubling down on those and broadly delivering.

Yeah. I think a good analogy is OotS: you can enjoy OotS for a story about the hunt for the gates and the fate of the world but this perspective will leave you with lots of strips that doesn't advance "the plot".

For Life is Strange the Time Travel stuff added some spice but the meat and potatoes (just like in OotS) are the characters, their relationships and developments.

[thirsting]

Rocket League, after more than a year of pause.

I think they've done something to the verbal abuse and toxicity problem. I don't know what, but it seems to have worked. Yay!

...I still can't fly.

[factotum]

Just finished Banner Saga 2, onto the third instalment next. The story is really, really good still and I definitely want to find out what happens next, although the combat is beginning to wear a little. What's a bit puzzling is that by far the hardest battle in the second game happens 2 chapters before the end, though!

[Cespenar]

Been poking at Blood Bowl 2 again lately ... for all that I'm aware that the AI suck balls and the RNG is hilariously unbalanced, I still like having a match every now and again

Does it offer some big gameplay upgrades compared to the first one? Because from what I've seen, I feel like I just prefer the graphics and UI of the first one. I'm weird like that.

Just finished Banner Saga 2, onto the third instalment next. The story is really, really good still and I definitely want to find out what happens next, although the combat is beginning to wear a little. What's a bit puzzling is that by far the hardest battle in the second game happens 2 chapters before the end, though!

The story definitely keeps up at the third one. And again, the predicaments and choices presented to the player continue to be quite nerve-wracking, or even more so.

They also included an additional battle type in the third one, in which you can choose to continue fighting a second and sometimes even a third wave for a reward of a high-end trinket, with the ability to not rest but swap characters between waves. Only in select missions, though.

[Sian]

Does it offer some big gameplay upgrades compared to the first one? Because from what I've seen, I feel like I just prefer the graphics and UI of the first one.

The main difference is that the UI have gotten a overhaul so its much easier to understand why the chances are such as they is. If you’re already able to quote the rulebook the differences is nearly nonexistant other than the ability to play mixed teams and Slann (reskinned into being Kislev)

[factotum]

They also included an additional battle type in the third one, in which you can choose to continue fighting a second and sometimes even a third wave for a reward of a high-end trinket

That happened in the first game as well? If you had a WAR type battle, you'd dispatch the first set of enemies, then be given the option of fighting another batch with the same set of characters. I don't think I've seen it happen in the second one, though, not sure why that is. As for the choices--yeah, it can be annoying when you make what seems like an innocent statement and end up being forced to fight and kill a character who's been there since the start of the first game!

[Jama7301]

Rocket League, after more than a year of pause.

...I still can't fly.

Saaaaaaaame. I've essentially given up on learning that skill.

[Cristo Meyers]

Let me guess: you picked Bay, didn't you? smdh

I've no idea what that means.

Spoiler

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But I'm guessing it means chose to save Arcadia Bay. In which case, yes.

I think opinion on Before The Storm depends on what you liked about Life is Strange. If it was the central mystery or the time travel/paranormal aspects, then you'll probably be disappointed since those are both undercooked-to-nonexistent in BTS. The scope of the game is also restricted by it being a prequel. I was more in it for the personal interactions and LGBT+ elements though, so was happy with BTS doubling down on those and broadly delivering.

The lower stakes and making the coming-of-age/coming-to-grips-with-sexuality part were two things in it's favour, yes. I also really liked the Backtalk mechanic, but I'm a sucker for any game that tries to do something with 'social combat' other than 'do you have X skill at a sufficient level?'

Clare and I already didn't like Rachel Amber from Life, and actually liked her even less over the course of the game. But things for us really fell apart in Episode 3.

Spoiler

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Rachel's dad not only has been lying about her mother, but also hired the local drug lord to kidnap and possibly kill her. Chloe commits no less than three felonies trying to figure out where Sera is with no other options. And then Sera defends Rachel's dad's actions. It all felt like a bunch of cliched escalation for no other reason than to force you into a ham-fisted 'moral choice' straight out of the early days of 'feed the beggar or kill him and make a belt of his intestines.'

Up until that point Clare and I were fine with the story. We were getting what felt like a theme of children having to cope with learning their parents are human and fallible (Joyce moving on and hooking up with David, Rachel's father lying to her). There was nuance there, something to explore, and they threw it all away. You can defend lying about Sera, but kidnap and threatening her life? Come on. They didn't have to do that and it just felt like the writer had thrown their hands up in the air and said "I've got no idea where to go now, so her dad's a corrupt monster and in league with the bad guy! Now choose whether or not to support him!"

Eliot turning into a lesser version of the man he's named after (Eliot Rodger) was the only part of the episode that didn't feel like it was phoned in.

I also went through The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit over the weekend. Not sure I can say I enjoyed it per se, since the drunk dad element cut a bit too close to the bone and I spent much of it dreading where it was going. It was decently put together though and I can't really complain about a freebie.

I was actually cringing every time his dad got a little angry. I've seen that happen before, and it was incredibly uncomfortable to watch. I did like that he's a bit more rounded than just 'drunk deadbeat dad.'

I'm...intrigued by 2 after this. Though I have a policy of never buying episodic games until all episode are out, so I'll have plenty of forewarning if it turns out to be a lame duck.

[Razade]

Captain Awesome is currently free on Steam so no real need to buy.

[Yora]

I got Final Fantasy 12 for PS4. Looks like the game got a big graphical overhaul, but outdoor areas are still divided up into very small chunks and draw distance for creatues is laughably short. I think even with the improved graphics, the PS4 should easily be able to run this game as open world. But I guess making that conversion from a PS2 game would probably have required a complete rebuild from scratch.

I have to say, so far te setting and characters seem much more normal than in 7, 10, and 13. Except that the first monster is a tomato. A regular sized tomato with a stuffed cloth puppet as a body. And no explanation at all.

[Cespenar]

That happened in the first game as well? If you had a WAR type battle, you'd dispatch the first set of enemies, then be given the option of fighting another batch with the same set of characters. I don't think I've seen it happen in the second one, though, not sure why that is. As for the choices--yeah, it can be annoying when you make what seems like an innocent statement and end up being forced to fight and kill a character who's been there since the start of the first game!

Oops, totally forgot the first game. I'd wish they use more excuses to actually utilize the many characters you have on your side rather than be limited to this abstract number, but eh.

And yeah, sometimes the options can be really vague as to their consequences. They could have added some more "ask your companions for advice" options for starters, but I get the feeling that they intentionally kept the dialogue parts a bit simple. Or I don't know.

[factotum]

OK, the guy I thought I'd killed? Pops up right at the beginning of the third game with no real explanation for how he survived. That's the first occasion where I've been less than impressed with the game's ability to follow up the plot threads from earlier games.

One other oddity: the first and third game both have volume controls in the options, but the second game does not. I wonder if that means that the "WAR!" type double battles I mentioned earlier are a thing that were back-ported to the first game from the third one, but which were not transferred to the second game for some reason?

[Cespenar]

OK, the guy I thought I'd killed? Pops up right at the beginning of the third game with no real explanation for how he survived. That's the first occasion where I've been less than impressed with the game's ability to follow up the plot threads from earlier games.

One other oddity: the first and third game both have volume controls in the options, but the second game does not. I wonder if that means that the "WAR!" type double battles I mentioned earlier are a thing that were back-ported to the first game from the third one, but which were not transferred to the second game for some reason?

Yeah, I didn't play them back to back, so I may have missed some of their fumbles if they messed up or outright ignroed some of the plot threads. I think the only choice they ask at the start of 3 is Rook or Alette. That's it.

[factotum]

I imported a save in each case, so I don't know. It's not a major problem, it just does bad things to the suspension of disbelief to see someone you killed in combat re-appear almost immediately--I mean, anyone who dies on *your* side of a battle is always just "injured", but up until that point any enemy who died during combat had the grace to stay down (even the one who is canonically immortal).

[Wookieetank]

I'm kinda looking around for Nintendo DS games at the moment, but it's been so long since I paid Nintendo much attention that I've no idea where to start so all I have is various Pokémon games at the moment. If anyone has any recommendations I'd be glad to hear them.

DS:
Dungeon Crawlers:
Etrian Odyssey 1, 2 & 3
SMT: Strange Journey

RPG:
Radiant Historia
The World Ends With You
SMT: Devil Survivor 1 & 2
Magical Starsign
And there's also various Final Fantasys and Dragon Quest games as well

[Cespenar]

I imported a save in each case, so I don't know. It's not a major problem, it just does bad things to the suspension of disbelief to see someone you killed in combat re-appear almost immediately--I mean, anyone who dies on *your* side of a battle is always just "injured", but up until that point any enemy who died during combat had the grace to stay down (even the one who is canonically immortal).

Similarly, I'm not 100% sure of this, but it's almost as if I started 3 with NPCs whom I didn't get/refused to get in 2. Didn't verify, but, eh.

[Kato]

RPG:
Radiant Historia

This, so much! Get it yesterday


I've been terribly indecisive... Bought a bunch of FFs on steam when they were on sale but I have to upgrade my hardware or XV is unplayable. Working on V right now and then I might try X-2 or XII... Or I'll instead finally finish Chrono Trigger on steam. They fixed most problems with it.

[Ebon_Drake]

I've no idea what that means.

Spoiler

Show

But I'm guessing it means chose to save Arcadia Bay. In which case, yes.

Spoiler: Trap sprung!

Show

You're right. The end choice in Life is Strange is commonly called Bay vs Bae. I was joking that you disliking Before the Storm was a clear sign that you don't care enough about Chloe and no doubt made the wrong choice to save that garbage town instead of her at the end of LIS1.

Well... mostly joking anyway. I've somehow become hugely partisan about why saving Chloe is in fact the correct choice and could happily write an essay on it, but I'll spare the thread my insane ramblings.

It sounds like your opinions on Before The Storm actually line up reasonably closely with mine, except I ended up liking Rachel a lot more than I'd expected to so I was sufficiently bought into the final choice despite the frankly bizarre set-up for it. The third episode definitely went off the rails at the end, but I felt it overall held together well enough to not affect my opinion of the game too much. Unlike Episode 5 of the first game, which I feel has significant problems in broad areas (tone, pacing, plot coherence, level design) with a few redeeming bits along the way.

I was actually cringing every time his dad got a little angry. I've seen that happen before, and it was incredibly uncomfortable to watch. I did like that he's a bit more rounded than just 'drunk deadbeat dad.'

I'm...intrigued by 2 after this. Though I have a policy of never buying episodic games until all episode are out, so I'll have plenty of forewarning if it turns out to be a lame duck.

Agreed, I'll be doing the same. These are the only episodic games I've played and while I've enjoyed them both a lot, I'm seeing a trend of them starting out strong but getting rushed and falling apart at the end.

[Zevox]

So, I've tried to play G in Street Fighter 5 a few more times. And I'm kind of coming to the conclusion that, while I do like G, I just don't think I like Street Fighter 5. I can remember enjoying it at one point, but now, I just feel frustrated and annoyed playing it. Something about the rhythm of the matches doesn't work for me, the mechanics seem to work out in weird ways at times, some of the characters just have such annoying playstyles that I can't stand playing against them.

And then I hop over to BlazBlue Cross Tag, and the difference in how I feel playing the game is night and day. Even when I'm losing in that game, I'm having fun. I'm impressed by the things my opponent can do, or actually feel like where I messed up makes sense, and while there's some characters that can frustrate me (most of them from UNIEL, because apparently in that franchise it's normal for characters to have insane range on attacks compared to what ArcSys normally gives their characters), I definitely feel like I can fight them better than in SF5. And while I like G, he can't compare to BBTag's characters in that department. Yang will never not be fun, it's so nice to have a version of Mitsuru that I can actually play, I still like Labrys even if she sucks, and there's so many others...

I am getting the itch to hop back into Dragon Ball FighterZ though. Been watching some videos on it, and base Vegeta actually looks fairly fun - though maybe that's an old weakness for Vegeta, since he was my favorite character back when I used to watch the show, but eh. Kind of want to try to pick up Vegito too, actually, they've made him look pretty cool. And shortly after a big balance patch is probably one of the better times to get back in. I wonder if it'll be possible to play both BB Tag and DBFZ without confusing myself too badly, getting used to the mechanics of one and trying to do them in the other when it doesn't work? I remember habitually trying to use Dragon Ball's Vanish Attack to punish random supers in the BB Tag beta at times leading to some really bad results, and I could see habitually hitting BB Tag's pushblock/reversal button while playing Dragon Ball getting me into the same trouble. Guess I might find out.

(Aside: dang, Dragon Ball at the start of the year, BB Tag in the middle, and Smash Ultimate coming at the end. This is basically the greatest year for fighting games I can imagine. )

[Doorhandle]

Been playing through the shadow of the colossus remake, and I can say it's quite amazing.
Problem is I've been blazing through the bosses so I only have 2 out of 16 left.
Oh well, more time to slay the rest of my backlog then.

Halcyon 6 was also interesting:it's the bastard offspring of X-com 2' strategic map and a JRPG with a thin coating of star-trek paint.
Past a point the the mid-game I pushes on the throttle and never really lets go, though: I kinda liked X-com 2's more leisurely strategic pace.
The ending twist was pretty neat as well.

What's a bit puzzling is that by far the hardest battle in the second game happens 2 chapters before the end, though

Not really, at least not to me. I can't speak for banner saga, but some games have very myopic difficulty, as what seems balanced/unbalanced on paper is much better/worse in practice(Looking at you, Slay the Spire!). Sometime it's on purpose for a game to get easier rather than harder as you go along however: with the whole X-com series, the endgame is easy because by the time you reach it you've already snowballed past all opposition. Either way, I think is actually unlikely for a game to be linear in difficulty.

[LibraryOgre]

I'm kind of floating. I just finished Mass Effect 3 (including all DLC, this playthrough), and can't really settle on any one game to play. Some Neverwinter Nights, some Icewind Dale 2, some Borderlands.

I can't find anything I want to play.

[rooster707]

I'm kind of floating. I just finished Mass Effect 3 (including all DLC, this playthrough), and can't really settle on any one game to play. Some Neverwinter Nights, some Icewind Dale 2, some Borderlands.

I can't find anything I want to play.

What’re you in the mood for?

[factotum]

I just had one of those wave fights in Banner Saga 3, and they're not like the things I remember in the first game--those didn't allow you to change your heroes out in between waves. Overall, I'm noticing that the second and third games seem rather easier than the first one--no idea if that was an intentional rebalance because the first game could be pretty hard at times, though.

[LibraryOgre]

What’re you in the mood for?

Something as good as ME3, that I already own?

I beat BG2 a couple months ago, and can't get into the idea of playing again. Every time I *do* think about it, I just say "Why don't I play a bard, like last time", and suddenly, I don't care about it anymore.

My playthrough of IWD2 is based on hacking the CR system by adding characters every so often... I'm going to add a druid once I pass the druids/get to the Icewall so my party CR drops, then add a monk after I get through the Black Raven Monastery, and maybe a snakeblooded tiefling after the Yuan-ti. Do that and your effective party level drops a lot, and you get more XP.

Borderlands has kind of been "I want to shoot things ridiculously right now"... I tried starting NV again, but after going having to drop my TTW playthough due to computer problems, I just can't get back into it.

So, I'm floating.

[Triaxx]

Perhaps Temple of Elemental Evil?

[rooster707]

Started State of Decay. I feel like there’s a good game here, but I have no idea how it works. They just dump you right into it without much of a tutorial, and the game keeps giving me things to do but not really explaining any of it. So I don’t really know what I should be prioritizing, which is not a good thing in a permadeath survival game.

Something as good as ME3, that I already own?

[snip]

So, I'm floating.

See, my solution to this problem is usually just to buy something new. If you like BioWare, I’d suggest playing Jade Empire if you haven’t already. It is excellent.

[Zevox]

So, I started playing Dragon Ball FighterZ again today. Oh my gods, the rust on my play is so bad. I feel like I've completely lost my footing in the neutral, patience on defense, and ability to maintain offense. Which is kind of weird since I'd have thought that the game was similar enough to BB Tag for playing that to provide some amount of carry-over ability, but nope, nothing.

It perhaps doesn't help that I'm trying to learn a couple of new characters, Vegito and base Vegeta. But I feel the same problems while using the third member of the team, SS Vegeta, and he was on my main team before, so it's not just that by any means. Going to need to just eat some losses for a while until I've got my footing back I suppose.

[Lord Raziere]

So, I started playing Dragon Ball FighterZ again today. Oh my gods, the rust on my play is so bad. I feel like I've completely lost my footing in the neutral, patience on defense, and ability to maintain offense. Which is kind of weird since I'd have thought that the game was similar enough to BB Tag for playing that to provide some amount of carry-over ability, but nope, nothing.

It perhaps doesn't help that I'm trying to learn a couple of new characters, Vegito and base Vegeta. But I feel the same problems while using the third member of the team, SS Vegeta, and he was on my main team before, so it's not just that by any means. Going to need to just eat some losses for a while until I've got my footing back I suppose.

I like playing Fighter Z, but I know I keep getting too emotionally invested during online play, so when I lose I tend to be bitter about it, even though I like games with lot of fast-paced action. though I did have the most fun I've ever had with the game by playing all three Vegetas against people from weakest to strongest.