Yes but so far Elden ring gives me the well I’ll run away and do something else option.
Rather than take on the first boss (who I lasted seconds against) I went for the beast dude in the cave as a warm up. Still took me about 10 try’s but I got there.
The only awful design choice I’ve found so far is returning from the round table via the map. That took me 20 minutes and a google search to figure out.
I think the “first boss” is meant to be an introduction to the idea that you don’t have to do things linearly.
Finally finished my 20 hour game of Stellaris and looked forward to playing something different for a change. Sat down last night to try something and found myself starting a new game of Stellaris.
Sometimes the first step to fixing yourself is admitting that you have a problem.
I’m assuming the almost here is for The Outer Wilds, which had an ending so beautiful I immediately forgave all it’s flaws.
All I’ve been playing is Elden Ring. Over 100 hours now, not bad for a game that came out 5 weeks ago. Or very bad, not sure which. Absolutely phenomenal game which deserves all its platitudes.
I have so many people tell me how wonderful The Outer Wilds is, I really want to love it and feel I could but… but I’ve bounced off it three times now. I just struggle with the control system, I simply can’t get to where I want to go and I find it hugely frustrating and at odds with the peaceful vibe I feel I’m supposed to be experiencing.
If you ever give it a fourth go just use autopilot. Until the endgame it’s all I ever used.
First time I tried it the autopilot flew me directly into the sun. But I have similar problems with the jet pack and just general terrain traversal. For some reason the controls are not intuitive in a way that I find frustrating. I’m sad because I know there’s an amazing story that I’m missing. Maybe I’d be better watching a play though of it.
Some may regard that as an undesirable feature in an autopilot. Was it a Tesla, by any chance?
In the autopilot’s defence, it was moving in a direct line to where I wanted to go. It just didn’t take account of the star between me and my destination; this is very nearly an Alfred Bester novel ‘The Stars not My Destination but they sort of got in the way’.
Tiger, tiger, burning very bright indeed.
Hero: “Get me to Earth as quickly as possible.”
Spaceship computer: “Would you rather arrive dead in 18.2 days or alive in 31?”
Oh my gosh me too! I’ve tried three different times, and each of the three times I just hate everything about it.
The time crunch is awful. The controls are awful. The jump-puzzles are awful. The having to go back to a planet for the FOURTH TIME because I didn’t arrive early enough and everything exploded while I was inside the stupid tower that took me two tries to get into is awful. The “randomly appear here and then randomly appear there” black hole thing? AWFUL. Gods, I hate everything about that stupid game!
… except the music. And the story. And the little fragments of what might be going on with the mystery. I really want to like the game, but gods I hate the game and that frustrates me because gosh is it ever beautiful.
(EDIT: AND THE AUTOPILOT IS AWFUL! The number of times it has sent me crashing into a moon, or another planet, or the sun… gah!)
Oh my goodness I thought I was the only one who struggled with this. It’s frustrating because I can see the genius and I -really- want to love it.
Yes, @MarkSP Outer Wilds is a game which does the time travel aspect really well. It doesn’t force you to go through stuff again and again just because you need to progress the story in the latest run.
Every run starts at the same point. Only your knowledge is the limiting factor.
The controls with both the space ship and jet pack need some time to learn though. But this is fitting thematically, you are a rookie pilot at the beginning too and all your astronaut buddies are as bad as you at flying.
There is always some gravity pulling at you and because the planets are pretty small and you change locations quickly, it also changes how the controls behave a lot.
I remember how often I crashed in the beginning because I didn’t really know how to control the ship. But after some hours I got good at it. I learnt how to adapt to the different gravities and environment. It is a question of practice.
Flying into the sun with the autopilot is a classic. That thing just goes a straight line not caring whatever is in between.
Not sure what’s random about that though. It has two fixed points (black hole and white hole). You fall into it a lot of course and that’s annoying, but it is not random.
Edit: The Nomai also fell into it all the time, that’s why they (small spoiler) built the white hole station to quickly teleport back to the planet 
It was a very satisfying and amazing feeling to solve the puzzles the game put in front of me without really telling me there are puzzles. It was just, I want to get to certain things and I am sure it has to work somehow.
I also loved learning about the ancient civilization of the Nomai and their doing.
And whenever I got frustrated at one place, I just went to a different one, the whole universe was open to me and there was always a ton to discover and find out
But this game wants you to learn through failing and dying. You have to be fine with that. It has a roguelike / Dark Souls like aspect if you want to call it that.
And the tutorial is very bad. A lot of important stuff is taught there at the start but it is overwhelming and you don’t use it for a while and then forgot about it when you need it.
Just started Weird West and very much enjoying it.
Man I’m losing so many hours to Elden ring, which is to say it’s good. With the open world structure I’m not even sure how to explain where I am in the game but I’ve got a big old sword and am way too stupid to learn any magic.
I think I’m enjoying it as I can play it more like bloodborne and just dodge and roll.
I am so bad at Elden Ring. I started with a sword and shield and died even more than you’re meant to, then restarted as an Astrologer and zapped everything from range and got further, but still have no idea how melee combat works
I’m no expert, I can’t parry for toffee, but I’ve got more rollin’ going on than limp bizket. I find most of the combat comes down to timing and memorising patterns, that and some stat grinding.
I’ve got the opposite problem I’ve got 4 spell slots and my idiot build can’t find a spell simple enough to use. I’ve found a character who will let me redistribute my stats but I’m scared it messes with my mojo.
Still mostly playing Brogue and Cogmind, but I’m thinking of trying Highfleet. It sounds like something someone here might be interested in, so I thought I’d ask around before buying in.
You have these lumbering flying ships and a lot of dials and UI as part of the challenge, and you are trying to pirate and not be hunted as you seek something in a desert? A bit FTL-ish, but more involved?
It’s one of those games that reviewed badly, but players seem to love.
Anyone played it?
No but I agree that looks very good, I’ll look into it a bit more tonight.