I bought Cyberpunk 2077. I fought it as long as I could, held off until the last day of the Steam Summer Sale (50% off), but I crushed through the Slipways campaign that day and I really, really love open world multi-path RPGs.
And cyberpunk. Like, the genre. I love cyberpunk. As a literary and film genre I think it’s well and truly dead, but not because there isn’t great sci-fi writers, but because the word “cyberpunk” is like… “tanner” or “fletcher” or “telephone operator.” It doesn’t exist any more in the way it was, and what has replaced it is cool but it’s not the same.
Anyway. Cyberpunk 2077. Only on Act 2 (basically the game has finished its long and somewhat meandering tutorial) so I can play it properly now. I don’t like the driving at all, I don’t like trying to shoot people out of a moving vehicle… but everything else? Gosh, really lovely. The city feels alive (although a bit hypersexualized, but that’s a choice), the combat and stealth are both satisfying and have “heft”… the inventory system leaves something to be desired, and I kinda wish that they had done the traditional “this is the easy area, this is the hard area”, but honestly, I am so happy I got it and that it’s good.
Not great. There are some very questionable stylistic choices which are indefensible through a modern lens. But we can be critical of our media and still enjoy it.
Anyway. We’ll see how deep it gets its hooks into me. But for now, about 10-15 hours in, I am a fan.
I feel like I should log/boast here that I’ve cleared all 5 routes of the original Outrun arcade game (Japanese version). I think SEGA’s run with Yu Suzuki (specifically between 85-87) produced some of the best arcade games of all time and I keep coming back for more 30+ years later.
Still playing Cogmind. I kind of wish everyone had the same level of appreciation for this kind of niche game as I do. I just achieved a new win condition by trying something odd: surrendering. It was a blast.
You start off trying to boot up and finding your system riddled with virus. Your core is still uncompromised, so you format everything and boot up with no knowledge of what you are, where you are, or what happened, but you have a drive to escape. Another bot appears and makes some cryptic comments. On leaving the area, you hear an announcement that “a rogue bot has been detected leaving the scrapyard, terminate on sight”. What follows is stealth/combat/hacking adventure to climb from floor -10 to 0, while picking up scraps of info about what is actually going on. The first time you escape you might still be largely in the dark, and indeed, your choice of where to escape to seems somewhat questionable as you dig deeper in later runs. In the end, the web of schemes and alliances and factions you uncover can lead you to better win conditions. It’s all very satisfying.
Even 200 hours later, having uncovered just about all the main plot points, I still keep on replaying just because every run is full of interesting challenges.
Soooo… I have now played Cyberpunk 2077 for about 60 hours (57, technically). I definitely like it. I don’t love it, but I like it…
And then I hit a major bug. Apparently there are a few missions that the game will record you as “starting” even if you don’t actually start them, and nothing will progress (the clock moves, but the day is frozen at whatever time it was… so, in my case, my game is always 4:15 pm on a sunny day) and, critically, all the side-missions and gigs and other stuff you can do all freezes until you finish the mission you “started.”
… and I accidentally “started” the Point of No Return mission (after which the game ends). Which means I can’t finish it to allow me to finish everything else.
Thankfully I have a save file from before that happened… about twenty hours ago.
Oh gosh I love Surviving Mars very much! You’ve made me want to dust it off again. I suspect I only like Terraforming Mars because it reminds me of this game.
Just finished Disco Elysium which is great if heavy, verbose and long. Fantastic if you’re in thr mood for it. Now having a go at Solasta: Cliched Subtitle which is a CRPG based on 5th edition DND and despite shonky cutscenes and extremely dull plot is winning me over with surprisingly good tactical combat - a happy medium between XCom and Divinity: Original Sin.
I’ve been playing an awful lot of Virtua Racing as I continue to make my way through the Sega Ages games on Switch. I still can’t manage a 1st place win on the second and third tracks (best is 3rd place for both), but I’ll get there.
Meanwhile I’ve been amazed by the Grand Prix mode introduced by M2 for this release. It’s the same game, but you race over 20 laps instead of 5, and it introduces tire wear and pit stops. This is a minor thing, but the effect is beautifully implemented and the lap-by-lap feel is almost second to none—even compared to a lot of modern sims (this is a literal arcade racer, afterall). Combined with the simple but razor-fine control and physics, the result is a pretty harrowing 15 minutes or so and I’m loving it.
I haven’t touched the online component and I’m not sure I ever will. That said, the leaderboards are essential and well implemented, so, good enough for me. I’ll be hooked on this a while; I am… not so good.
Finished the story of Spider-Man today (as well as all the side stuff, though I need to better in challenges to get all the upgrades). Really enjoyed it. Probably one of my favourite adaptations of Spider-Man.
Looking forward to doing the DLC. And then the Miles Morales game, once it’s a bit cheaper.
I finished Cyberpunk 2077. The first shot at the ending was disappointing, but I nailed it the second time. There is something ridiculous like 9 potential endings, but the two I finished were definitely enough for me.
No “happy” ending, but various degrees of “sorta-happy,” which I was okay with. The second ending was legit satisfying.
I am now playing all the new content they released recently for Into the Breach. It’s still a vastly inferior product to FTL, but better now that they eased up some of the requirements/costs for stuff, added a bucket new content, and just generally gave it a strong dose of “more is more.”
I finished Expeditions: Rome a turn based tactical RPG set in ancient Rome around roughly 50 BC.
I really like turn based tactic games for the fights and this is no exception to that. The fights always were fun and felt good. But the story and the worldbuilding is also really interesting to me as a Roman history fan.
I like how they use Latin words in the dialogues. It is not much of course but it gives it a nice feeling They also tried to get the world right, it is just great. The story also took me to places I didn‘t expect.
Great game!
Other than that I started Neon White which is very different but great too. Basically a speedrunner game. Finish the level as fast as possible. The levels are not very long 20-40 seconds but the gameplay is very smooth and the levels are built very nicely. It is about figuring out how to break the game and get even faster.
With my wife I started playing Children of Morta on the Switch. It is a roguelike action rpg like Hades but with 2 players coop mode. It is not as good as Hades in my opinion but well Hades is top notch but the coop mode is really nice and fun and the game itself is also good. Got it in a sale for some bucks, not sure if it is still going on.
Finally got around to finishing Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, approximately 20 years after finishing Baldur’s Gate and 14 years after finishing Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. I’m finding old-school isometric RPGs so playable on a touchscreen tablet that I now can’t imagine playing them any other way.
I think Knights of the Old Republic II will be up next, continuing the trend: I think I finished the first about 15 years ago.
I have been playing a lot of Marvel Snap recently. Whilst it is a card game, it mercifully has nothing to do with regular snap.
Rather, I think it might be similar to Air, Land and Sea (which I have never played)? Each player has a deck of 12 unique cards which they construct before the game, then compete over six turns to try and win two of them.
Each card has an energy cost, power and (usually) and ability with a the classic ramp of having 1 energy on the first turn up to 6 energy on the last. Each player starts with three cards in hand and draws one at the start of each turn.
At any point during the game, each player may “snap” once to raise the stakes of the game. This doubles the number of points you win/lose at the end of the game. The stakes also double if turn six is completed. Players may also withdraw at any time, to lose fewer points if they think they are in a losing position.
Games are quick but so far I’m finding each game to be deep enough to feel rewarding.
My daughter has been having fun with Alba, free on Epic right now. You play a young girl who teams up with a friend to help and photograph wildlife on their little island, while also trying to collect signatures for a petition to stop a hotel being built over an old nature reserve. She can’t actually read any of the conversations, but seems to be making progress without my assistance anyway.
They also tried to get the world right, it is just great. The story also took me to places I didn‘t expect.