Isn’t this the core part of an MMO? I know that’s why I stopped playing any of them.
You don’t really need to pay attention to grind the game, just time, but roleplaying requires a whole other level of investment and attention.
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Yes, it certainly has grind, although the modern “homecoming” sticks you on double experience gain because most of the game is at max level.
One of the better things about it is the teamwork, which makes the story less crucial, but it also has surprises. My friend’s favourite memory from the original is being sent to destroy a robot, and when you get there the window just looks out onto a giant robot foot… You have to travel up a skyscraper just to reach the thing
But yes, while they did include guild bases etc, it doesn’t have some of the modern mmo extras, it’s very much about the fights.
I have been playing a bunch of Everspace 2, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I forgot how much I have always loved open-universe space flight sims.
It has hiccups… I don’t like the “level” system where an outlaw flying a level 2 ship is now trivial, but an outlaw in the same ship at level 9 will kick my butt without breaking a sweat. And yes, I get that “level” here is supposed to be an abstraction of “shield, weapons, and engine tech,” but still. Inelegant. But at least it keeps the game challenging!
I have found my first job board (there are plenty of random encounters from level 1-4, but around level 5 you get to take side quests for cash), and have purchased my first upgraded ship. The only thing I really don’t know about is the trade mechanic… You get find, buy, or steal cargo, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to sell it that doesn’t take forever. Maybe it will happen later? As it stands I just sell what I scavenge from fighting pirates.
Anyway! Is good fun. And even on medium graphics it looks pretty.
I picked up the Castlevania Advance collection on the Playstation store, so now I’m playing the old Game Boy Advance game Castlevaina: Circle of the Moon on my PS5. Because it really needs the advanced hardware /s
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Just saw an advert for this on the Nintendo indie showcase.
This is very micro macro or is it just me?
Yeah, I see it. I’d be excited if I had a switch
The gameplay demo looked pretty bad though.
Like, I can see how they thought that taking advantage of the fact that it is a computer game to have 10 images instead of one would be better, but if in practice that just means “ticking” back and forth to trace the path of one individual through the image, it becomes very boring.
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Got Card Sharp on sale. It’s kinda brilliant.
Edit: Shark! Card shark! Even though the original phrase is Card Sharp.
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Card Shark is fantastic! What a delightfully weird blend of WarioWare-esque sleight-of-hand minigames and 18th century French political intrigue. I do wish the game was more fleshed out (you can see where the team had grander ambitions that were scaled back during development), but it’s still a great and one-of-a-kind experience.
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The new Zelda. Every spare minute. Love it 
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Currently trying to finish up Jedi Survivor so I can get to the new Zelda. I think I’m about 2/3rd of the way through, I could probably rush through the story in a few hours but it’s a really good game so trying to give it the time it deserves.
I was a bit worried that doing the usual sequel thing of “original game, but more” would ruin some of the charm of Fallen Order, but outside of not really loving the open world parts it pretty much improves/edpands on the original in every way. The also managed to inject some personality into Cal to the point he went from a weakness to a strength. Still wish we weren’t a basic white dude (come on, someone please let me play some cool aliens, there are so many in Star Wars), but Cal’s really grown on me.
Overall this series might be my favorite Star Wars games, maybe ever. For sure since KOTOR1 and 2. And is some of the best Star Wars content out there.
Before hopping onto Survivor, played about 150 hours of Wild Hearts, the Koei-Tecmo developed, EA-published Monster Hunter-like. It has is issues, but has a surprisingly solid core and is a lot of fun. I’m really hoping it’s done well enough to get a sequel because I think Monster Hunter would have some real competition at that point.
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Far Cry 6 is cheap on Steam. I’ve played it this weekend and… it’s the best Far Cry game. Maybe by a lot.
Best intro for new players, best next instalment for existing fans (I think I’ve played 1 - 4). I didn’t like the tone of 3 (revelling in nastiness, too brutal) and there was some of that in 4, but 6 really gives a great story and character. Also features everyone’s favourite Sith, Giancarlo Esposito, as the bad guy.
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I’m tucking into postgame content for Rogue Legacy 2 and the amount of new content I’m still seeing is just mind-boggling. I’m hard-pressed to think of a sequel that absolutely dwarfs its predecessor like this without reinventing itself completely. The original was one of the standout titles that kickstarted the whole roguelite craze in the first place, and it really feels like they focused on showing the world they weren’t just a beloved progenitor in making the sequel.
I’m guessing the designers over at Cellar Door spent as much time enjoying the fruits of their labour over the last ten years as I (and many others) did. The subgenre exploded since, and we’ve seen remarkable achievements within the niche, culminating in last(ish) year’s Hades, which might be the defacto best-in-class at this point. Rogue Legacy 2 feels like a reboot without any of the baggage or cynicism that might tag along with the term. It’s a love letter to fans of the genre.
If anyone enjoyed the original, it’s a no brainer. If anyone loves the sub-sub-sub-genre, it’s a no-brainer. The bounty is real.
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Been playing Jedi Survivor as well, and really enjoying it. Probably the best game as a Jedi since Jedi Knight 2 on the PC. Fixed many of my complaints with Fallen Order, and it has surprised me with the scope of the environments, especially Koboh. I just wish you could switch between all of the stances without needing a meditation point or workbench.
I thought I was near the end at one point, but then the game threw a curve at me and there has been more, so I have no idea how much is left. Feels like I am near the end again, but I am a completionist, so I have been exploring everywhere trying to 100% each area rather than just pushing through to the end.
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Maybe in the next game. If they use that one to fix the issues with this one, there really won’t be much to fix but I know a lot of people on Reddit want this as well (there might even be a PC mod for it already).
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I listened to a podcast about Gothic 1 which was a game I loved when it came out 2001.
So I installed my GoG version, got some graphic mods for it and played it again. It is fun, I really like its worldbuilding 
though it is a bit buggy and the fight system is outdated nowadays (and was weird back in the day too).
On Saturday we celebrated my wife’s birthday and a friend forced me to download the Diablo 4 beta because it was beta weekend. Managed to play like one hour on Sunday. Seems like a fun game, haven’t played any Diablo since Diablo 2 which was my main game for a long time.
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Been playing a lot of Midnight Suns - it’s a turn based card game strategy, and the core game is really quite fun and satisfying. Unfortunately it’s surrounded by hours and hours of sub-soap opera superhero nonsense, collectibles and cosmetic upgrades. I’ve waded through it and that stuff generally gives a reliable dopamine hit, I’m enjoying it but goodness… probably 10% of the time is actually playing the game. I could skip it all I suppose but I do want to at least follow the story.
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It does at least get a bit more streamlined later on once I understood what needs to be done at the base each time and could speed run it. But yeah, finding a lot of games have that 'mobile game ’ extra tacked on to beef it out now. Cult of the Lamb was similar, having a very basic rogue like with a tapping building game bolted on? It just makes games feel super cheap and disposable tbh. The goofiness of a book club is only funny the first dozen times I saw it on twitter before even seeing it in game, but it ultimately feels so cynical. Like some marketing suit in his mid-40s thinking that’s what kids think is cool for the memes.
I’m enjoying midnight suns, but the new cards don’t add that much to the game. I was hoping it would be like slay the spire, where new cards really shift the available builds. But most heroes seem to effectively have 2 branches of a tech tree they can push towards with strong cards just doing a bit more than basic cards. Doesn’t have the creativity to back it up.
And my god, the game needs to better introduce each of the hero abilities!! My first mission let loose I brought in magik and ghost rider. Two support heroes that basically do the same thing and have very little power in the early game. And it took a few games to realise how magik’s portals worked. It makes sense, but it’s never explained! I was expecting it like portal where you need to set up 2 portals to connect them. Not one portal and everything automatically goes out that portal.
…please hurry up xcom 3 firaxis 
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Playing a bit of Darkest Dungeon 2, and it’s not bad, but wow, the grind. I would like it so much more if they just gave me all the abilities, classes, items, etc., out of the gate. I think i’m going to hack it to cut out some of the grind…
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