What are you playing right now?

[Eluvianii]

I just finished Dragon Quest VII. What a game, this is easily the best DQ game I've played so far. Actually one of the best games I've played period. Almost 97 hours so it's also the longest DQ game I've played, where VIII has the second place with only 50-something, darn (though I did rush VIII quite a bit, so who knows how a second run will go). I also tried to do the post-game since I read there was some extra story to it but, I don't know. I started, I had a pretty nice revelation, and then a boss, but the boss is really tough and from what I can find, I would need to grind a few levels to beat it. And then there are more. And from what I can gather, I already saw what story there was to it and the rest is bosses and bragging rights...

I might just leave it like that for now. I loved the game and am happy with my experience and I would like to continue going through the series. I still have about half of the games left and I'm really excited for XI. In the future when I can play this game just for the fun of minmaxing I might try the post-game dungeons in full. For now, yeah, love this game. 

[Marukka]

Subnautica

After the game was free on PS4 during the last Days of Play, I gave it a try. And it really didn't click. The resource gathering was a mindnumbing grind, the map way too convoluted and the survival mechanics simply annoying. I swallowed my gamerpride and used a walkthrough to finish the game and without worrying where to go next and what to bring I finally could enjoy the sometimes simply stunning setting. In the end I was even a little sad to leave the planet.

So, a few weeks ago the PS5 Version was released as a free update. And I tried the game again. Now with a lot more knowledge on how to approach the different problems and extremely shortend loading times (about 20 seconds compared to the 50 seconds of the PS4 Version on PS5, 120 seconds on a PS4Pro or 200 seconds on a base PS4). It still is storming buggy, the resource grinding is still annoying but I am right before the final decent to the lava castle and I am having a lot of fun this time around. If I had to give this game a rating, I would give it a 7/10, quiet good, but held back by bugs and annoying design choices.

Actually, I can't wait to try Subnautica Below Zero when I'm finished. 

[Kasimir]

Assassin's Creed: Odyssey

Star Wars: Fallen Order

Odyssey is my long-term game, I don't think I have the specs for Valhalla, though that might change eventually. Fallen Order has been fun, though I refer to it as 'Falling Order' given the number of times I've just fallen through a gap, careened off a slide into empty space... Getting a controller helped though, so we shall see.

[NattyBo]

Trails of Cold Steel I

Mass Effect I (legendary edition)

 

Wrapped up Trails from Azure and Resident Evil 8 over the last couple week. 

[Marukka]

7 hours ago, NattyBo said:

Mass Effect I (legendary edition)

First or second time around?

[NattyBo]

8 hours ago, Marukka said:

First or second time around?

Second.  Nothing new for me here except doing FemShep this time 

[Draginon]

Been playing through Kingdom Hearts X to get as far as I can before the final update gets localized. Most of it is very boring filler missions that I can technically skip but I don’t really want to skip the fillers so that I can level up faster. Agrabah was the worst offender for filler since it’s pretty much just 90% desert and very little city so when I see that there’s a stretch of 10-30 levels of desert it made it hard to want to continue.

Thankfully I’m now at a point where the main story is finally at the forefront, though it took over 400 missions to get there. Why 400? 401 is when the title finally appears! The first 400 was just tutorials and doing the stories of Snow White, Wonderland, Hercules and half of Agrabah. Half the time there wasn’t even a story happening, just a vague ‘heartless are out of control’ excuse to spend 30-50 missions bouncing between the hub and the Disney worlds. Heck the Disney worlds stories were all spread out and meandering to the point you wondered if you were making any progress like Wonderland you are just wandering around following Alice and nothing is happening until after 400 when she finally goes into the White Rabbits house, becomes huge, gets put on trial by the Queen and finally saved all in quickish succession while Hercules starts with a tournament before you go for a dry spell of nothing before returning about 200 missions later to do a second tournament but it turns out it was organized by Hades and that’s when the story happens where you have to journey through the underworld for a while.

After 400 Beast’s Castle is unlocked and you do the entire story right then and there with no break during it. I’ve also checked the wiki and it looks like they do the same for Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and when you go back to Agrabah’s story you finish up the Rescue Abu story before going into the actual story. That’s sad when the second world takes up most of the game and it’s almost all filler stuff that doesn’t matter to it’s own story.

[Draginon]

Double Post. Please delete.

Edited June 7, 2021 by Draginon
Double post

[Eluvianii]

Today my copy of Dragon Quest XI finally arrived. My expectations for this game are high. Really high. But only because the demo already delivered. If the whole game is half as good as the demo this will definitely become one of my favorite games. 

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood]

I am playing dead.

[Briar King]

That Microsoft conference was really good. Best of E3 so far.

[Marukka]

On 13.6.2021 at 8:30 PM, Briar King said:

That Microsoft conference was really good. Best of E3 so far.

Like shooting fish in a barrel. 

Not that I didn't like what they showed, the others simply failed for the most part. As always I really liked the Devolver presentation (even though I rarely like their games), and Limited Run had some nice announcements. Still looking forward to the Nintendo event.

But Btt:

Subnautica Below Zero

Yes, it's basicly more of the same with slight improvements. Very grindy, but once I found the right tools, the world really opened up. Mainly because I finally could build the submarine. Recommended, if you like the first one.

And I just started It Takes Two in Couch Co-op with my husband. Nice puzzles, good platforming and simply fun. At least in the first hour we played togeher. But I'll wait with any recommendations until we finish the game.

[Use the Falchion]

Dark Deity, an indie-developed and Kickstarted strategy JRPG heavily inspired by Fire Emblem. In many ways, this feels like a Fire Emblem game. But it also has its own mechanics, quirks, and particularities, so it's definitely its own beast. This game is both easy at times and annoyingly difficult. The spikes aren't always placed well, but they are noticeable, and can be overcome. I'll also say that this game is very much a kickstarted game. There are major QoL stuff missing, bugs, and overall parts that feel somewhat incomplete. But this game does shine as well. Its class system is robust, the story enjoyable, and the sprites awesome. The maps and objectives are varied and unique, something Intelligent Systems really needs to learn. 

The music ranges from great to grating IMO, but overall it's enjoyable.

I do wish there was a place to grind in this game. Players are given upwards of 30 units, and most of them in rapid succession of each other, and all of them a level or two stronger than your strongest character at that moment. Not to mention that the level these new units join almost always has them as mandatory...and then the unit selection page is sorted by level, not by frequently used units (like in Fire Emblem), meaning you have to scroll to get the characters you want. So it's easy for a character who isn't used on a map or two simply because they don't have a weapon advantage to fall off in terms of levels. And some of these units are ones I find particularly interesting, or want to see the final classes of. 

But overall, I'm having a blast with the game, and I recommend it for any Fire Emblem fan. 

[Bejarden]

I actually started to play SWTOR again (Star wars the old republic) I know it’s old but I’ve been playing since it came out in 2012 and it has a nastalgia and timelessness that other games just don’t have

[Eluvianii]

I just discovered that you can add the Epic Games launcher to Steam, configure the controller there, and it will work with the games on your Epic library. I don't really know why that works but I won't be the one to complain. 

[Eggdogg]

Destiny 2 and Dragons Dogma

[Moonsilver]

Lately I've been loving Miitopia and Hearthstone Battlegrounds

[Eluvianii]

The Monster Hunter Stories 2 trial. This game is storming gorgeous. 

[Briar King]

Bought an Xbox X today. It probably won’t get much love till I finish up Cold Steel games but atleast I got one.

[Briar King]

So I loaded Fable 3 which someone gave me free after I got new console. Just wanted something to play around with on it. Control is janky as hell imo.

[Briar King]

Anyone in the market for a Series X go to Best Buy site now! In stock.

[Marukka]

Finished: 

Subnautica Below Zero - Nice for fans of the first one but much smaller and for me no wow-moments like the one in the first one when I dicovered the

Spoiler

Lost River. 

Not really a spoiler, just the name of an area. If you're really into survival games and have already finished Subnautica, give this one a go, but no real recommendation to anyone else.

It Takes two - A great co-op game. For the most part superbly balanced and real fun to play. To just follow the story needs next to no skills, so it's perfect in couch co-op even with somone who never played videogames before. Sadly it gets repetitive in the second half and loses a lot of its charm. And the characters are stupid and borderline unlikable (IMO!). Especially the book. Made me want to punch the TV. But otherwise a real good game. Anyone into good platforming co-op should have a look.

Just started:

Ratchet & Clank - A Rift Apart - As far as I got (the second big area), simply great. Great platforming, great gunplay, great graphics, great story... Again, I'll update my opinion once I'll finish it.

[Briar King]

Giving my new Xbox X some love by playing Fable 2 and I tell y’all what it is looking fabulous for it’s age upscaled into 4K. I’m really surprised. Will hook my 360 up to test fire it and  see the difference.

Also hooked up my Xbox and threw on Fable and boy has it aged horribly. Massive difference between those old 480i VA cables and HDMI.

Also boy I forgot how noisy that thing was and I missed it.

Hooked my Dreamcast up to. It’s crazy noisy. Annddd slow to load games on both compared to today’s consoles.

Need to hook up PS2 tomorrow to test.

[Eluvianii]

Playing Alien: Isolation for the first time. During stealth sections I can play for about 20 minutes before I need a break. Loving how scared this has me. 

It's also probably the most fanservice I've seen in a game. Everything here seems ripped straight out of the original movie. The ship, the soundtrack, even that grainy filter you expect to see in remastered movies. It's amazing. 

[Marukka]

9 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

Playing Alien: Isolation for the first time. During stealth sections I can play for about 20 minutes before I need a break. Loving how scared this has me. 

It's also probably the most fanservice I've seen in a game. Everything here seems ripped straight out of the original movie. The ship, the soundtrack, even that grainy filter you expect to see in remastered movies. It's amazing. 

Nice to hear, that game has been on my pile of shame for what feels like forever. I really need to get to it soon! 

Btt:

Finished Ratchet & Clank - A Rift Apart. All in all pretty perfect. Very nice implementation of the adaptive triggers and the rumble too. If you played and liked any other game of the series, you'll enjoy this one as well! Is it a system seller? Dunno. If you have a PS5 and like this type of game, you should play it. But if you can't get one like every other gamer, don't worry. After all, it's "just" a Ratchet & Clank game, even if it's one of the best in the series and one of the best games that is a true PS5 exclusive. (But other than Returnal, there has not been much to  see here for now.)

Next on the list: Resident Evil Village. I just love a good survival horror and RE7 was one of the no the best entry of the modern RE games so far. Gets even bonus points for the superb VR mode. Lets see if RE8 can keep up!