Whatcha all playing!
I’ve been going hard in Pikmin 4. Also been playing shattered pixel dungeon and recently ascended for the first time which was super fun.
I just completed fallout 4 after 4 years!
I’ve been playing a couple of neat games.
Time Bandit is a really unique mix of genres focused on real time-based interactions. There’s puzzles you solve that take hours and you have to leave machines running and check back later, people you meet at certain times, stores that have different schedules. It’s a dystopian setting where you work in a factory, and there’s this guy you meet early on who’s with a rebellion group that teaches you about communism. It’s really neat, and less of a time commitment than it might sound like, most of my sessions have been like 10 minutes just checking in on stuff, sort of like a very weird animal crossing. It’s pretty cheap and getting a criminally low amount of attention for how cool it is.
The Void Rains Upon Her Heart is a roguelite boss rush shmup. Really approachable for that genre. I got interested in it because the dev got hired by the Revita team (one of my favorite games from last year) to work on the expansion for that, and it definitely has some similarities to that, also kinda reminds me of Undertale combat. It’s got a ton of content and does a great job at pacing the unlocks and stuff.
Last, Pseudoregalia is a 3D movement focused metroidvania. It’s very N64 inspired in style. You’re exploring a big castle, with a lot of platforming and interesting movement abilities. There’s no map, so it definitely requires some patience with that, but it’s a really neat game overall. Seems to allow a lot of sequence breaking. It’s looking to be fairly short as well, which is nice.
I’ve just finished FF XVI, and while it’s certainly not a perfect game, I really had a fantastic time with it.
Now onto either of Soul Blazer, Parasite Eve or Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, I’ve yet to decide which to start with.
I’ve got a brand new intel nuc 12th gen i7, 4070 graphics, 32 gig ram, Samsung 990 hard drive.
Cost me a pretty penny, and a lot of time to put together. Not to mention all the time spent researching parts and agonising over choices. Then the wait times for deliveries and redeliveris of the orders I messed up (had to return ram twice, once because I accidentally ordered the wrong ones, and once became a stock was faulty).
Eventually have everything set up.
So of course I’m using it to play ksp1.
After buying a Steam Deck during the sale, I’m playing Civilization 6 again. Never got into it nearly as much as the previous installments but now I think I’m finally getting it.
I was offered a month of PC Game Pass for $1, so I took MS up on it. I’ve mostly been playing Forza Horizon 4(my computer can’t handle 5) so far, the game’s really fun.
I’m open to suggestions on games in the PC Game Pass library, btw. I plan to cancel before Aug 26th, so I want to get my gaming in before then. I honestly do prefer straightforward action games and RPGs(and strategy as well). Things I prefer to avoid are puzzle solving and super open world stuff. I generally strongly prefer single-player experiences, too.
Don’t know if you’ve played/heard of these, but some good short singleplayer stuff on gamepass that might fit the types of games you like and you could easily finish before then:
A Short Hike is getting added today and is something I’d recommend to anyone if you haven’t played it. Very pleasant game, and as the name suggests it’s very short, you can complete it in an afternoon.
Celeste is on there and is one of the best 2D platformers, if you enjoy those and haven’t played it definitely try it out.
Death’s Door is a top-down zelda-like, and one of my favorite takes by indies on that type of game.
Doom 1/2 are classics that are still very much worth playing and hold up well.
Mirror’s Edge is a first person platforming/parkour game, a bit older at this point but holds up pretty well.
Monster Train is a deckbuilder roguelite, which I know is a polarizing genre, but if you’re either into those or open to the idea of trying them it’s one of the best. Might not fit as a shorter game depending on how much of the stuff in it you want to do, but you could at least get a good taste for it and see if you like it.
Both of the Ori games are good metroidvanias that are relatively short.
Prey is a great immersive sim/fps/stealth game, if you’ve tried other Arkane stuff like Dishonored, or the Deus Ex games, it’s similar to those.
Both of the Psychonauts games are great 3D platformers. 2 is especially good and a big step up in gameplay, as you might expect with the time gap between them.
Tinykin is a 3D platformer with some Pikmin inspiration, where you’re a tiny person exploring a giant house, very fun if you like platforming and collectathon type stuff.
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart. It finally came out on PC and it feels so good to have a R&C game again.
I just finished Tunic (not 100%, but got to the “right” ending). I managed solving all the endgame stuff myself, man it was hard resisting to just look things up, but it was really rewarding to figure it out!
Still Final Fantasy 14, I’m near the end of the Stormblood base story (some general spoilers in the comment).
This expansion has been a massive disappointment so far, and this time it’s not even about all the time-wasting (of which there’s still plenty). It’s about a war to end the occupation of two different regions / nations, but it’s just not executed well at all.
The scale of the fights, that are supposed to drive out the invaders, have like a dozen people on either side, so they are just really lame. The villains are not compelling at all and have a really dumb reason for fighting you. Some of your companions, that should play a bigger role, basically don’t matter at all. It’s just not interesting at all.
I can’t wait for this to be over, hopefully the post-game patch content can improve things somewhat. I should at least get a bunch of dungeon unlocks, probably a raid, maybe more, which will most likely be a good time.
As for jobs I’ve played this week, at the start all Summoner, to get it to 80, afterward I switched to Dancer. Both are really fun and I liked them. I want to check out Red Mage a bit more, and have done some duties with it, but I need more practice with it. I leveled Dark Knight to ~50, but I’m just not really that much into playing tanks. I’ll do some duties here and there, but not much more for now. Same with healer, which I’m leveling a White Mage a bit, for now slowly trying to get it to 50.
Me and my spouse are getting back into Elden Ring. Created a new character and chosen a build that’s enjoyable for both of us, so we sit on a couch, passing the controller back and forth, exploring, doing quests, reading lore and praising the Erdtree. Good Times!
Just finished my first playthrough of Cyberpunk last night after about 120 hours. I had 3 or so gigs left but wanted to make sure I got it done before Baldur’s Gate 3 (will need to free up some disk space…).
Overall I liked it a lot, despite its many flaws. It has some moments, characters and stories that are really engaging. Judy was a standout for me, and her voice actress really killed it. I regret not choosing Female V now, but of course I had no idea at the time. And I know it’s controversial but I kinda liked Keanu as Silverhand, even though his voice acting isn’t always “good”. The relationship between V and Johnny was the thing I enjoyed the most, and Johnny’s character development.
Not sure I’m super happy with the ending I got, though, and I might go back and play out some of the other alternatives.
Playing Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on the PC. Bought it on a whim and it’s quite a good game with gorgeous graphics. Lacking polish in some areas though, for example there are many oddly placed invisible walls as well as points where the character can get stuck. Anyway, trying to finish the game before Baldur’s Gate 3 comes out.
The House of Da Vinci. I got it in the Steam summer sale and needed something like The Room games. I had no idea it was so much like The Room games. I’m glad I bought it with a huge discount. It’s not worth the full price, which is the only difference I see between The House of Da Vinci and The Room. The Room is definitely worth full price on Steam and a huge value if you get it on sale. Anyway, I’m happy. I get more of The Room, but it’s in The House of Da Vinci. Great puzzle game to play clicking on stuff with your mouse and feeling relaxed.
Ohh nice I played that one. I agree it’s not nearly as good as the room in my opinion. Idk why exactly, but it just seemed less polished. Still worth it on discount imo though
The “less polished” feel, I think, comes from the way sometimes the double-click doesn’t focus right depending on the angle you’re looking at objects from and also the way sliding objects don’t slide the way they’re supposed to. The sliding objects get wicked fiddly, sometimes. The camera isn’t as good as in The Room, either. The Room had all of these aspects perfectly polished, it was just easy and intuitive to interact with. The House of Da Vinci, lacking this perfection, pales in comparison. The regular price now is 19.99. It used to be twice that. I got it for 7.99. Having payed 7.99, I’m OK with the major wonky. If I had payed 19.99, I would be very unhappy. If I had payed 39.99 I would be very seriously pissed off. I have to say, though, too, that I like the addition to the looking glass, where it lets you see things in the past. I really think it adds a little more depth to the puzzle solving. Plus, you get a Renaissance bionic arm thingy. Kinda cool. This game is keeping happy. In a place where I need more of The Room and I finished all of The Room. 8 bucks well spent and I’m happy.
Nice! Yeah I didn’t even consider the PC price. I played all these games on my phone and I think I got house of davinci for like 99c on sale, so I think that wasn’t a bad price at all haha. I would not be super happy about paying full price yikes.
I can’t imagine playing this game on a phone. I guess 99 cents isn’t so bad. Do you still have eyes after playing this game on a phone? LOL. I wonder if the phone version and the PC version are different. Like, on a 17" screen, I’ve had to adjust brightness to see things and then re-adjust brightness to see other things. LMAO. I could play this on a tablet, though. Totally could see things on there. With brightness adjustments available on the fly. I can totally imagine The Room being accessible perfectly on any device. That’s the “polished” you couldn’t quite put your finger on. The Room was carefully created for all devices. The House of Da Vinci is a blue light special.
Haha I do indeed still have eyes :)
Idk I didn’t think it was too bad. I don’t remember the screen size ever really being an issue but it’s been a while since I played
Referring back to The Room, I had choices. I could play it on my iPhone, my iPad, or on my gaming laptop with Steam. I went with my gaming laptop on Steam. Again, I bought all of those in a sale. I was bummed because I was like, “I could have lolled around on the couch with my iPad and played this no prob instead of being weighed down with my heavy gaming laptop on my lap. Even the last installment, with the complicated creepy doll house shit and all the travel through the house and all.” The first The Room I saw as totally potentially cool on my phone, and maybe even The Room 2. After that, I don’t know. Maybe. The House of Da Vinci, as I am playing it on my computer, it really needs the screen real estate because of the camera and the wonky nonesense. I can tell that the developers originally made it for a computer because of the way you have to manipulate things. The Room is a format I can imagine on a touchscreen. The House of Da Vinci is not something I can imagine on a touchscreen. But you are living proof you can do this, on a phone. So there is something else to say about this game. It’s great on a phone. 99 cents is nice. It’s less than 7.99.
Yeah I totally get what you mean. Have you had a chance to play the VR room game? I really want to check it out but don’t currently have a headset
Satisfactory. Been progressing my last save for a few weeks. I’m in the last (but largest) phase. My factory took a lot longer before turning into spaghetti comparred to my previous attempts. Now it’s slowly getting complex to the point of considering going mass dissassembly and make something more pretty.
Just finished Yakuza 3, started Yakuza 4. Enjoying the visual bump, and some refreshing changes to the combat, though I loved the story of Y3. Also playing through BotW for the first time (very late to the party).
Trying not to get sucked in too deep by my return to OSRS on top.
