Just completed - The Bear and Badger

Tempy

hylian_elf wrote:

Good stuff, dude! I guess you're doing a new game/plus, and are you still going to try and beat the mega hard boss you found?

I started a new game already, using a sorcerer I've just got my first Great Rune at 4hrs in. Cinty beat the boss I was avoiding so I'll probably have to go and do that. I'd quite like to platinum it, but it'll be hard given how much stuff there is. Might need to use a guide to checklist some stuff.

FranticPea

Have any of the Souls games ever had dlc? Seems it'd be easy enough to add new dungeons/areas to the map.

LivDiv

All of Dark Souls.
DKS2 also remixed enemy locations, it was shit.

stonechalice

The DLC for the first game is some of the best DLC in any game ever.

FranticPea

Ah cool.

hylian_elf

Bloodborne had DLC too. What I played was good. But for some reason I hardly play DLC in any game. Even though I buy them with the intention of doing so.

Tempy

Only Demon's Souls and Sekiro didn't, with the latter being the only one that hurt.

Blue Swirl

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

The story was threadbare and nonsensical, even for a Pokemon game. To call the characters one dimensional would be generous. The world was dull to look at and worse to explore. The final boss was a giant anti-climax. Crafting seemed pointless as I always had enough cash to buy everything I needed.

But...

I had a lot of fun playing the game, and that's what counts. Going from place to place, finding new Pokeymans, filling out the Pokeypedia, completing sidequests... all entertaining to do. It has me excited for Scarlet/Violet, and even curious to try out the Diamond/Pearl remakes, just so I can compare old and new.

It's basically a glorified tech demo for what's possible in future releases. But what a tech demo.

[7] world-saving MacGuffins discussed, detailed, and created in a single cut-scene out of [10] characters who'll only turn up when they're needed and even then you're not entirely sure who they are or what they want.

regmcfly

Two games

Tempy wrote:

hylian_elf wrote:

Good stuff, dude! I guess you're doing a new game/plus, and are you still going to try and beat the mega hard boss you found?

I started a new game already, using a sorcerer I've just got my first Great Rune at 4hrs in. Cinty beat the boss I was avoiding so I'll probably have to go and do that. I'd quite like to platinum it, but it'll be hard given how much stuff there is. Might need to use a guide to checklist some stuff.

Two game Tempy

Moot_Geeza

Supermarket Shriek. Still amazing.

Cos

Nobody Saves the World.
What a brilliant game. I was a bit unsure about it during the first hour or so of playing but had a bit of an epiphany moment when I was struggling in one of the dungeons and from that point on, it was an absolute joy. Finding the perfect combination of form and abilities to tackle the dungeons never felt like a chore, the trial and error would tell you pretty quickly if you had a winning build.

Forms that seemed frustrating at first became some of my favourites by the end and the feeling of walking through a dungeon absolutely decimating everything before you was incredibly satisfying. Plenty of occasions when it wasn't that easy though but I generally felt the level of difficulty was perfectly pitched throughout.

There were probably a few too many forms by the end, some of them I barely used but still enjoyed the specific challenges for each to rank them up and unlock new abilities. I grew to love almost everything about it - the overall aesthetic and variation in areas was wonderful, great enemy design and combination of wards to keep you on your toes and even the music was perfectly judged to sit so well in the background when just wandering around. The writing could easily have tipped over into cringe but the characters were great and it made me laugh plenty throughout the 30 hours I played.

I did literally everything on the map and was genuinely disappointed when it was over so it may well go back for a NG+ run but just too many other games for now. Anyway, most enjoyable game I've played for a long time and even got me to drop off Rocket League for a few weeks. [9]

Moot_Geeza

Nice, that's on the list for soonish.

Yossarian

Also just finished NStW, generally agree with Cos, although I did find it dragging a bit in parts. Perhaps too many side quests which I’d have been better off ignoring. Still, I stuck with it for 68 hours, apparently, so it can’t be all bad.

Prolly an [8] for me.

Cos

68 hours?! Crikey, I didn’t think there was that much to do. I probably would’ve grown a bit weary with that much time to be fair.

Ah, did you rank all forms to S tier maybe? That and NG+ were the only cheevos I didn’t get.

stonechalice

I got bored with it very early on.

Moot_Geeza

Has anyone (specifically @yourfavouriteuncle) played Welcome To Elk?

yourfavouriteuncle

I haven’t but it’s downloading now!

Moot_Geeza

£2.99 on Switch, hopefully similarly priced elsewhere. Obviously I'm going to say it's worth it regardless though. Grab a pack of Tuborg to drink while you play. It's roughly two and a half hours long and I absolutely loved it.

yourfavouriteuncle

Yeah, got it on Switch. £3 seemed too good to pass up.

Syph79

Ghostrunner (PS5)
First off: Fuck this game. The difficulty level is ridiculous at times (particularly the endgame), throwing multiple enemy types at you, which all needed to be tackled in their own way, in sometimes tight spaces or platforms with very little space to move. It also requires a level of finger gymnastics the likes of which hasn't been expected of me for some time.

While those are obviously reasons for some to bin it straightaway, they were also the reason I persevered. I dug the flow of the game and the 'one more go' nature of quickly loading you back into the level you just failed, so I kept going to see whether I could beat it. The answer was, eventually, yes.

Other than the difficulty, my biggest complaints would be the paper-thin story and also the underwhelming visuals on PS5 (I've seen some PC footage that looks incredible). But despite all of the above, I enjoyed the game and would look for a sequel in the future.

The absolute definition of a 7.

stonechalice

I thought this game was nigh on unplayable on controller?? Solid work getting through that one mate!!!

Moot_Geeza

Imagine being the dOOFus who bought it on Switch...

stonechalice

Fuck man that must burn.

Moot_Geeza

It's been patched up to the nines since then and it still runs like shit. Couldn't resist 75% off, like an eejit.

Syph79

I cannot imagine trying it on the Switch. The Dualsense was okay for it, but the ask of the player is high. The amount of times I pressed X to jump, only to fall to my death, I could not count (it's R1)

mrsmr2

Wow, well done for completing it with a controller.

I'm rubbish at it even with a mouse.

Time_on_my_hands

Well, I still don't have the disposable for Elden Ring , so I platinumed Dark Souls 3 instead (at long bloody last).
Hated this game at first until I learned to properly optimise my builds.

What amazed me was just how well designed the levels are for speed running. Playing as normal it felt uninspired after Bloodborne and the other Souls games, but it really is quite something. I wouldn't have even realised without racing through NG+ and ++ to hoover up all the rings.

EvilRedEye

Exo One (Xbox Series X) - Played this hoping for something in the vein of Omno - an interesting solo-ish developed game I could blast through in a single afternoon. Unfortunately this wasn't quite as good as Omno.

You play as an alien ball that can manipulate gravity and glide and a decent portion of the game involves using your gravity power to accelerate down curves, which then allows you to roll up into the air and glide down from the other side of the crater or sand dune or whatever you happen to be rolling across. It's moderately enjoyable and the game is quite pretty but it's not a brilliant core gameplay loop and the glide's limited duration is a frustration throughout the game, despite upgrades distributed through the levels that increase its duration.

The big problem is that the developers try to put significant twists on the core gameplay during the middle half of the game, all of which fall quite badly flat on their face. The nadir is a level where you lose most of your abilities including the ability to steer. There's also a plot involving a space mission to Jupiter to add some intrigue but ultimately it isn't that interesting and doesn't add much to the game.

Overall, there's some merit here, particularly in the graphics, but there's not enough in the core gameplay loop to fill even an afternoon and about half of the ideas on display here are crap. Interesting but highly flawed. [5]

Moot_Geeza

The asteroid section is particularly shocking but I enjoyed most stages. Intesting curio anyway; I'd be team Exo One over OMNO.

Silke

NORCO (PC)

Somehow nearly all of life's mysteries are presented here, strangely connected in a continuously growing neural network, coloured by the humid heat and rich culture of Louisiana.

As far as adventure games go, this one sure is a keeper.

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