Everything Video Games!

Tillman said:
I'm still in the middle of Cyberpunk, and before that I am near the very end of Super Mario Galaxy (from 3D All Stars), and then I have a ridiculous backlog but all this Hades swooning (on top of it's back down to $19.99 again) has me super tempted to get it and start it, which I intend to do, but just not at this time, but you're all not making that plan any easier.
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It's nuts how fast it is to pick up and play, start having fun, and then NEVER wanting to stop. It's takes some cues from the addictiveness of gacha / (NOT) free-to-play stuff except there's never a paywall, just a fun element of variety and randomness. Also I've played through SO MANY TIMES and haven't gotten any repeat dialog??
 
kickerofelves said:
It's nuts how fast it is to pick up and play, start having fun, and then NEVER wanting to stop. It's takes some cues from the addictiveness of gacha / (NOT) free-to-play stuff except there's never a paywall, just a fun element of variety and randomness. Also I've played through SO MANY TIMES and haven't gotten any repeat dialog??
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I have Bastion and Transistor in my backlog and my buddy who's played the Supergiant games and is currently playing Hades suggested that I play those first because playing Hades first will make their earlier games less impressive.
 
I've put around 45 hours into Cyberpunk on a PS4 slim. I've had 6 total crashes, very little in the way of bugs. Only real bugs I've encountered are funny visual bugs, nothing gamebreaking so far.

Man. This game has the makings of a great game. The story is fantastic. It's not perfect, but fuck, it had me hooked. I connected with the characters. Judy, Panam, Jackie, Saul, Takemura... The characters are all fantastic, they feel human. They feel real.

I won't spoil any of the endings, but I'll say this. Do as many side missions as possible before you enter the point of no return. Especially do Panam and Judy's story arcs. You do not want to rush through just the main story, because your ending choices will be heartwrenching either way. This is a story to slow down with and explore every character's side missions. There's so much there beyond the main story.

There are a few things this game needs before it can be great, though. A complete AI overhaul. Customizable cars and apartments (more apartment options?) Being able to customize your character after making them, at least the hair. Better clothes. Crafting system overhaul. More interactions with NPCs, especially within romances. I could go on. But there's a lot this game could use.

Still, I think this game is very much worth playing for the story alone. I think CDPR has their work cut out for them, but if they can pull a No Man's Sky job of fixing this game, it will be an absolutely incredible game.
 
I'm now 15 runs into Hades. Had a pretty good high crit chance bow build going, and made it the furthest. I finally took down the Hydra (those crits ATE the armor on the heads). However, I made it to the miniboss on the next floor and was overcome.

Also, I had several event happen earlier on. I'll spoiler these since they're story related.

The last three runs turned very interesting. I first encountered Alecto instead of Meg, and she thoroughly handed me my ass. The next two runs I encountered Tisiphone, who I was able to beat both times. I really liked her fight and the shrinking room mechanic.
 
Probably going to call it quits on Hades here soon.

I'm a little over 30 hours in and have completed 2 runs, and my enjoyment is just running out I think. Once your skills plateau, it becomes pretty apparent that the determining factor on if you make it through a run or not is RNG. Getting slates of common boons despite rarity boosts, not finding Patroclus or Euridice, having to go through every area in Styx to find the Satyr Sack.. It wears me out to do everything right only to lose two lives to Theseus and the minotaur or get ganked by poison right before Hades. I hear you need ten completions to get the true ending, which I'm thinking I have extremely low chance of working towards, so I'll probably just look it up. Still though, 30 hours for $18 is nothing to sneeze at! And those first 15 or so hours were very fun!
 
ayayrawn said:
Probably going to call it quits on Hades here soon.

I'm a little over 30 hours in and have completed 2 runs, and my enjoyment is just running out I think. Once your skills plateau, it becomes pretty apparent that the determining factor on if you make it through a run or not is RNG. Getting slates of common boons despite rarity boosts, not finding Patroclus or Euridice, having to go through every area in Styx to find the Satyr Sack.. It wears me out to do everything right only to lose two lives to Theseus and the minotaur or get ganked by poison right before Hades. I hear you need ten completions to get the true ending, which I'm thinking I have extremely low chance of working towards, so I'll probably just look it up. Still though, 30 hours for $18 is nothing to sneeze at! And those first 15 or so hours were very fun!
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Part of the fun, depending on your outlook, is having things go wrong. I have certain boons/builds that I prefer. I definitely rejoice if I make it to Styx w/ all death defiance in tact. But there is a satisfaction in pulling through by the skin of your teeth when you've made those errors in play; or being cornered into a build that you're less than comfortable with, only to adapt your play style to become effective.


SIDE NOTE: what's everyone taking advantage of with the Steam winter sale? As noted in a previous post, I picked up the three other SuperGiant games for a cheap $11. I also grabbed Hollow Knight, which I've read good things about, for ~$8 (50% off).

For anyone who has been contemplating Doom Eternal (I may grab it - still haven't finished the 2016 release; but not because I didn't like it....just got distracted by other games), I think I saw that it is ~$20.

Also, Control Ultimate Edition (incl the two DLCs) is on sale (I believe for the same price I paid during the autumn sale)
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Part of the fun, depending on your outlook, is having things go wrong. I have certain boons/builds that I prefer. I definitely rejoice if I make it to Styx w/ all death defiance in tact. But there is a satisfaction in pulling through by the skin of your teeth when you've made those errors in play; or being cornered into a build that you're less than comfortable with, only to adapt your play style to become effective.


SIDE NOTE: what's everyone taking advantage of with the Steam winter sale? As noted in a previous post, I picked up the three other SuperGiant games for a cheap $11. I also grabbed Hollow Knight, which I've read good things about, for ~$8 (50% off).

For anyone who has been contemplating Doom Eternal (I may grab it - still haven't finished the 2016 release; but not because I didn't like it....just got distracted by other games), I think I saw that it is ~$20.

Also, Control Ultimate Edition (incl the two DLCs) is on sale (I believe for the same price I paid during the autumn sale)
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I got a Steam card for Christmas so I picked up Horizon Zero Dawn and Borderlands 3.
 
Max Sterling said:
I got a Steam card for Christmas so I picked up Horizon Zero Dawn and Borderlands 3.
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Oh nice! I keep meaning to pick up Borderlands 3. I really enjoyed the first two, although they are time holes; so I don't know if I'm ready for that. I'll have to check out the price to maybe at least get it in my library for later.

Horizon Zero Dawn! I totally forgot about this game. I remember seeing the trailers for it way back when and thinking of how unique it looked. I kind of never tracked it after that.
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Oh nice! I keep meaning to pick up Borderlands 3. I really enjoyed the first two, although they are time holes; so I don't know if I'm ready for that. I'll have to check out the price to maybe at least get it in my library for later.

Horizon Zero Dawn! I totally forgot about this game. I remember seeing the trailers for it way back when and thinking of how unique it looked. I kind of never tracked it after that.
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Yeah, I didn't get HZD for PS4, because I never play my PS4... but then they released it for PC and it was a really bad initial port, lots of bugs. (like every console to PC port) But I think they've ironed a lot of that out now.

Borderlands 3 received some mixed reviews from people I trust, but I do like loot grabbers and that's' what Borderlands is to me, "OH! new gun!" Every five to ten minutes feeds an itch in my soul.
 
ayayrawn said:
Probably going to call it quits on Hades here soon.

I'm a little over 30 hours in and have completed 2 runs, and my enjoyment is just running out I think. Once your skills plateau, it becomes pretty apparent that the determining factor on if you make it through a run or not is RNG. Getting slates of common boons despite rarity boosts, not finding Patroclus or Euridice, having to go through every area in Styx to find the Satyr Sack.. It wears me out to do everything right only to lose two lives to Theseus and the minotaur or get ganked by poison right before Hades. I hear you need ten completions to get the true ending, which I'm thinking I have extremely low chance of working towards, so I'll probably just look it up. Still though, 30 hours for $18 is nothing to sneeze at! And those first 15 or so hours were very fun!
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Totally your call, I will just say that I was feeling similarish but I am not sure you're at that level where skill level is the ultimate determinant. Around 30 hours, I hadn't really gotten into the weapon aspects which as often run defining or the companions which aren't as defining but make fights like Theseus/Asterius or Hades a bit easier (or wherever you use them). Getting the weapon aspects worked into with the Titan's Blood, the companions, and also the Diamond upgrades for the rooms (adding a Pom for Nectar or Fated Persuasion for Keys) makes it a lot more forgiving. Like I don't think I've gotten much better from my first two wins, I've just gotten a lot of things that make runs easier
 
Lord Diaper Baby said:
Part of the fun, depending on your outlook, is having things go wrong. I have certain boons/builds that I prefer. I definitely rejoice if I make it to Styx w/ all death defiance in tact. But there is a satisfaction in pulling through by the skin of your teeth when you've made those errors in play; or being cornered into a build that you're less than comfortable with, only to adapt your play style to become effective.


SIDE NOTE: what's everyone taking advantage of with the Steam winter sale? As noted in a previous post, I picked up the three other SuperGiant games for a cheap $11. I also grabbed Hollow Knight, which I've read good things about, for ~$8 (50% off).

For anyone who has been contemplating Doom Eternal (I may grab it - still haven't finished the 2016 release; but not because I didn't like it....just got distracted by other games), I think I saw that it is ~$20.

Also, Control Ultimate Edition (incl the two DLCs) is on sale (I believe for the same price I paid during the autumn sale)
Click to expand...

I'm one of those people who love the random aspect and having to adapt every time. It's how I have over 1000 hours in Binding of Isaac, and why I watch Sinvicta just about daily doing his Isaac runs. Even with that much time into the game, every run is different, and still see things I've never seen before - as does Sinvicta, who has multiple thousands of hours in the game or more. I'm looking forward to the point where I get really far every run. I'm at 18 runs in now, and the furthest I've gotten to was Elysium 3 times.

Max Sterling said:
Yeah, I didn't get HZD for PS4, because I never play my PS4... but then they released it for PC and it was a really bad initial port, lots of bugs. (like every console to PC port) But I think they've ironed a lot of that out now.

Borderlands 3 received some mixed reviews from people I trust, but I do like loot grabbers and that's' what Borderlands is to me, "OH! new gun!" Every five to ten minutes feeds an itch in my soul.
Click to expand...

Borderlands 2 is one of my favorite games ever. I did really enjoy 3 overall, but some of the story elements really fell short. I don't think there will be a better villain than Jack. That being said, there's a lot of QoL improvements over 2, and I found myself changing up my weapon loadouts all the time in 3, so you may not like that aspect. In 2 I normally found a few types of guns I liked and mostly stuck to finding better versions of said guns.

Long story short: mechanically the game plays even better, but some of the story stuff really stumbles.
 
So besides the three pre-Hades SuperGiant games, I ended up grabbing these titles from the Steam winter sale:

HZD - thanks @Max Sterling for reminding me this game exists. I totally forgot about it, although I was interested when I saw the trailers. It is probably the one I most look forward to playing from my haul.

Doom Eternal - when I finally get around to finishing the '16 Doom, I look forward to this one. Might as well get it now for a cool $20.

Borderlands 3 - It will be awhile till I get around to this one; but, again, a good price. @Fillip J Phry I haven't thought about Jack in a bit; but, yes, he probably is one of the "best" villains. Got my blood boiling now.

Hollow Knight - I'm a sucker for these types of games. Indie developers, by and large, are making such exciting games.

Wolfenstein: Youngbloods - Okay, I really loved The New Order, The New Colossus, and, to a lesser extent, The Old Blood. The dismal reviews for Youngbloods kept me away. I played about 30 minutes of it a while back on someone's console. It had the familiar gameplay of the last couple of Wolfenstein games so I didn't really get a feel for any shortcomings. But, it was on sale for $8.99 (down from $30); so it didn't seem like too much of a gamble.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein - only because I grabbed Youngbloods and this game was suggested. I am familiar with it, but it wasn't in my library. Plus, it was like $1.50 or something so it seemed like a no-brainer.
 
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So that banjo and blast corps listing for Wii U virtual console in Japan was a mistake.
I wish it meant something but was maybe just a place holder from many years ago.
 
I finished playing Pokémon Sword yesterday and gave some thoughts.

It’s bad.

Cons
  • Automatic Exp All means I don’t ever need to train non-primary Pokémon so they can get to their better 3rd stage. You used to get so much satisfaction out of individual training up your final 6 Pokémon. I barely used the other ones I had in my team at the end but they were all lvl 70.
  • The routes are much too short, you can avoid most pokemon and trainers if you want.
  • The flying taxi instead of having one Pokémon learn an HM is so lazy. After that it defeats the point of there being a central train system.
  • Likewise with the lack of other HMs. There was no Cut, Flash, Strength, Rock Smash, Waterfall, or even Surf. Your freaking bike was converted to Surf.
  • The move remember guy in every Pokémon center. I didn’t need to think about which moves I wanted or not because there was an easy out
  • TMs didn’t disappear after use.
  • The CUT SCENES. Way too many. Just get going with the story and make the stuff you do longer so I’m not endlessly clicking next.
  • Hop, your rival is lame. I wouldn’t even call him your rival. Bede is more of your rival thought the game but then he just kind of moves on?
  • Too many characters and not enough depth. Go deeper into the back story of literally anyone, go on a side quest for someone. I want to care about them but I could not.
  • What was the point of the two posh guys at the end? Made literally no sense. And then the Chancellor Rose or whatever just is done? The entire plot of the game is incredibly weak.
  • Dynamaxing is pointless. I don’t care about big Pokémon. It doesn’t really do anything.
  • The path to gyms were too easy or you just fought 3 people and then the gym leader. Dumb.
  • You shouldn’t be able to link trade until after you beat the game. I experimented early on with a surprise trade and I got a level 100 legendary for a level 5 Pokémon. I also ended up getting the Pokémon that evolved into Metagross from a trade which was basically a cheat code because it’s type and attack stats were too good for every opponent. I also easily traded for the other two starter Pokémon from link trades early on.
  • Pokémon jobs are dumb since money and experience are easy to come by.
  • The camping aspect should have been much more dynamic than just throw a ball at your Pokémon and cook a curry.
  • The caves/dungeons were too easy. One little side path and then you’re out. I want to panic and be confused figuring out which way to go. It should be much, much more of challenge going through caves or factory type buildings.
  • You didn’t need more than half of the items because the game was much too easy.
Pros

  • The person I bought my switch from accidentally included it in the box when I didn’t buy it, so I avoided paying $40~$60 for it.
 
wokeupnew said:
I finished playing Pokémon Sword yesterday and gave some thoughts.

It’s bad.

Cons
  • Automatic Exp All means I don’t ever need to train non-primary Pokémon so they can get to their better 3rd stage. You used to get so much satisfaction out of individual training up your final 6 Pokémon. I barely used the other ones I had in my team at the end but they were all lvl 70.
  • The routes are much too short, you can avoid most pokemon and trainers if you want.
  • The flying taxi instead of having one Pokémon learn an HM is so lazy. After that it defeats the point of there being a central train system.
  • Likewise with the lack of other HMs. There was no Cut, Flash, Strength, Rock Smash, Waterfall, or even Surf. Your freaking bike was converted to Surf.
  • The move remember guy in every Pokémon center. I didn’t need to think about which moves I wanted or not because there was an easy out
  • TMs didn’t disappear after use.
  • The CUT SCENES. Way too many. Just get going with the story and make the stuff you do longer so I’m not endlessly clicking next.
  • Hop, your rival is lame. I wouldn’t even call him your rival. Bede is more of your rival thought the game but then he just kind of moves on?
  • Too many characters and not enough depth. Go deeper into the back story of literally anyone, go on a side quest for someone. I want to care about them but I could not.
  • What was the point of the two posh guys at the end? Made literally no sense. And then the Chancellor Rose or whatever just is done? The entire plot of the game is incredibly weak.
  • Dynamaxing is pointless. I don’t care about big Pokémon. It doesn’t really do anything.
  • The path to gyms were too easy or you just fought 3 people and then the gym leader. Dumb.
  • You shouldn’t be able to link trade until after you beat the game. I experimented early on with a surprise trade and I got a level 100 legendary for a level 5 Pokémon. I also ended up getting the Pokémon that evolved into Metagross from a trade which was basically a cheat code because it’s type and attack stats were too good for every opponent. I also easily traded for the other two starter Pokémon from link trades early on.
  • Pokémon jobs are dumb since money and experience are easy to come by.
  • The camping aspect should have been much more dynamic than just throw a ball at your Pokémon and cook a curry.
  • The caves/dungeons were too easy. One little side path and then you’re out. I want to panic and be confused figuring out which way to go. It should be much, much more of challenge going through caves or factory type buildings.
  • You didn’t need more than half of the items because the game was much too easy.
Pros

  • The person I bought my switch from accidentally included it in the box when I didn’t buy it, so I avoided paying $40~$60 for it.
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All of these criticisms are valid, but idk, I enjoyed it for a time anyway. I also didn't pay for it though (borrowed it from a brother).

Ultimately I'm just disappointed they didn't take more technical risks considering it was the first pokemon on consoles.
 
ayayrawn said:
All of these criticisms are valid, but idk, I enjoyed it for a time anyway. I also didn't pay for it though (borrowed it from a brother).

Ultimately I'm just disappointed they didn't take more technical risks considering it was the first pokemon on consoles.
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Yup!! It could have been something like Pokémon Coliseum, which was a very good game with a more 3 dimensional feel. But it was just a more detailed dumb-downed Pokémon. It catered too much to someone who knows nothing about Pokémon but at this point no one wants that.
 
wokeupnew said:
Yup!! It could have been something like Pokémon Coliseum, which was a very good game with a more 3 dimensional feel. But it was just a more detailed dumb-downed Pokémon. It catered too much to someone who knows nothing about Pokémon but at this point no one wants that.
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More kids discover pokemon with each game, of course, but we're far beyond the point where the option to boost the difficulty and skip the hand holding should exist.
 
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