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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Sept 11, 2021 12:32:02 GMT
I finished Drakensang - The River of Time (53 hours) the day before yesterday. It's a german RPG based on the "The Dark Eye"-setting, a pretty traditional Fantasy setting. It's the second game in the series, but also a prequel. Had some trouble with getting it to run and then had to also install an unofficial language patch, since German isn't included with the steam version. A few points:
- Less combat than Drakensang, though some of the side quests are still quite grindy.
- One of the biggest weaknesses of the first game was that it only had a few social skill-checks in the game, so stuff like Persuade, Human Nature etc. is barely ever used. The River of Time is much, much better in this area. There are four opening vignettes for different professions, characters in the party now constantly react to dialogue and events, often talk to each other and skills show up in dialogue quite often. Some are used way more than others, but it's still a good mix, including some reactions to my Mage-background and the fact that my character was female.
- The trade-off is that there are only five recruitable NPCs (ten in the first game), two of which are mutually exclusive. The party size is four. But the party NPCs in the first game weren't drawn in as much detail and they didn't interact with each other much at all.
- Full voice-acting for everything this time around. The first Drakensang was more like Baldur's Gate II in this respect. Just a bit of voiced text before switching to unvoiced text. Perhaps some conversations had more, but I don't remember.
- Crafting is still pretty important with lots of bits and pieces to deal with. It can be tedious, but there are some worthwhile things to craft. And Plant Lore/Alchemy is just great for not wasting lots of ducats on healing potions and such.
- Haggle and thieving are also probably worthwhile since some good equipment is f****** expensive. It motivated me to try out some kind of rogue at some point.
- Just as pretty as the first game. Well, if you like it bright and bloomy. It's the only RPG outside of Drakensang where it feels like the game actually makes real use of being 3D.
- Some interesting places to visit, but overall this is probably the only area where I do mostly prefer the first game, which had some rather cool, aesthetically pleasing places in the last quarter or so.
- Towns are substantial. Especially Nadoret (the central hub) is pretty dense on content. Not least since main story progression unlocks more quests. Nadoret isn't multi-district like Ferdok from the first game, but I think it might actually have more content to offer.
- The only thing I still don't like is that many items, recipes and skills (at Trainers) become only available through main story progression. That does restrict character building quite a bit. Just like the first game in this regard.
- The story is fairly pedestrian. Some trouble with pirates, political conspiracy and such. Some of the side quests are more interesting. Overall the tone is unrelentingly light-hearted, but the humour works and it's handled with care.
- Music is unmemorable but fitting and it works well with the good-natured tone and the bright aesthetics of the game.
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Frog
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Post by Frog on Sept 11, 2021 12:50:05 GMT
Current list is
Judgement (close to completion)
Pyschonauts 2 (very close to completion)
Monster train (daily quest)
When I finish those I'm hoping deathloop will be decent and then the new judgement game. And then it gets to the time of year when I just buy everything and get overwhelmed with my backlog.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2021 13:40:34 GMT
Current list
Yakuza 6: the only one I have not played and its good, its actually step back as Kiwami 2 is more refined in combat and engine as its later game than 6
River city girls: got back into the game as may leave gamepass in november. Good game ruined by thick skulled game design, just beat Hibari, she has cheap attack that does 90% damage and endless respawning minions can kick you into the line. Had to grind 2 levels and it was bit easier than doing at level 12. There is a good 2d brawler under some lazy as fuck bosses
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Post by oldschoolsavant on Sept 11, 2021 14:44:25 GMT
Well, I've tried to have a go at RDR Online over the past few days, but constant disconnects and server issues trying to do anything have just put me right off. Binned.
Trying out Necromunda the now, seeing as the gang pack DLC finally rolled around on sale again, and fire through this Escher story to open up everything for some Van Saar fun proper.
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Worlds
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Post by Worlds on Sept 11, 2021 15:07:27 GMT
^ funny because I’ve just waited ages for RDR to download onto my PS5. Finally got to try it out and, what the hell is this? Have they not updated it to 60 fps or 4K?
I think that’s quite lazy or poor of Rockstar. It needs a PS5 upgrade. Not sure I’m liking it, but loved it on PS4.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2021 15:27:49 GMT
^ funny because I’ve just waited ages for RDR to download onto my PS5. Finally got to try it out and, what the hell is this? Have they not updated it to 60 fps or 4K? I think that’s quite lazy or poor of Rockstar. It needs a PS5 upgrade. Not sure I’m liking it, but loved it on PS4. sure they will sell you ps5 "remaster" |
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Worlds
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Post by Worlds on Sept 11, 2021 16:11:26 GMT
Disappointing.
Anyway, is Fallout 4 60fps / 4K? I was wondering why it’s on the Collection, if not 60fps. Just fancy replaying old games.
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Post by Blackmarsh63 on Sept 13, 2021 9:41:08 GMT
GTA 5 getting 'expanded and enhanced' shortly so RDR will go the same way I guess. Another 60 quid no doubt  |
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dogbot
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Post by dogbot on Sept 13, 2021 11:28:41 GMT
GTA 5 getting 'expanded and enhanced' shortly so RDR will go the same way I guess. Another 60 quid no doubt I've payed full price for it twice (PS3 & PS4). There is literally zero chance I will pay for it again, but I'm sure some people will. I've just finished Immortals: Fenyx Rising, which was entertaining enough. I pretty much played through the storyline, though, ignoring most of the map clutter. I liked the puzzles and vaults and stuff, but I can't see me revisiting it. Worth the £20 in the PSN sales, though. Just reinstalled God of War last night for an updated PS5 play through. Looks amazing. I bet it's superb on a 4k TV... |
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Post by Chopsen on Sept 13, 2021 12:16:27 GMT
This weekend I was mostly playing Road 96.
Kind of difficult to pidgeon-hole. Very reminiscent of Fire Watch if you ever played that, but a lot like Telltale games as well. It gives the impression that the episodes are procedurally generated, though not sure how much is genuinely down to decision you make and how much are predetermined.
You play as a series of teenage who are trying to escape a despotic regime by cross the border via Road 69. You might make it, you might die, you might get caught and who knows what else. Low budget, but a manages to create a really engaging world and narrative, which you learn more and more about with each chapter and possibly (?) the decisions you make.
It really is more of an interactive story with some mini-games, but really enjoying it.
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Post by PazJohnMitch on Sept 13, 2021 12:22:30 GMT
This weekend I was mostly playing Road 96. Kind of difficult to pidgeon-hole. Very reminiscent of Fire Watch if you ever played that, but a lot like Telltale games as well. It gives the impression that the episodes are procedurally generated, though not sure how much is genuinely down to decision you make and how much are predetermined. You play as a series of teenage who are trying to escape a despotic regime by cross the border via Road 69. You might make it, you might die, you might get caught and who knows what else. Low budget, but a manages to create a really engaging world and narrative, which you learn more and more about with each chapter and possibly (?) the decisions you make. It really is more of an interactive story with some mini-games, but really enjoying it. From the reviews I think there are set scenarios but which ones appear on your run and the order they occur is random. There sounded like there was some conditionality too where scenarios will be modified by earlier decisions / events too. Not played it myself but it does look intriguing. |
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Post by Chopsen on Sept 13, 2021 13:36:42 GMT
Yeah, I've run through as 3 or 4 teenagers now. I kept expecting to see a rogue-like "oh this is just the same burger joint before but with a different character in it and you've changed the colour of the logo" type shenanigans, but every escape attempt is completely different.
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MolarAm🔵
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Bad at games
Posts: 6,840
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Sept 13, 2021 14:12:31 GMT
I've attempted to start Red Dead Redemption 2 again. Determined to get past chapter 2 this time, without getting (too) distracted by hunting animals.
I'm playing it like a virtual hiking game, since I'm barely allowed to go outside irl.
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Post by simple on Sept 13, 2021 18:40:22 GMT
Psychonauts 2 has grown into being my main as I haven’t had proper gaming time to concentrate on Neo The World Ends With You. Chipping away at it but at the moment an hour playing anything is a very good day.
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Sept 13, 2021 19:27:47 GMT
I have finished Inner Chains, a short FPS (not quite six hours). People have been pointing out how the aesthetics are strongly inspired by Beksinski and Giger. It's extremely impressive in that respect, though perhaps not to everyone's taste. But personally I do rather enjoy this kind of otherworldly stuff. Quite some biomechanical machines in here among other things. The gameplay is also fine in my opinion. The shooting can be a bit clunky and enemies soak up a lot of damage, but the three available weapons interact with the environmental hazards in sometimes unexpected ways and these hazards can be used to deal with enemies. The environments also open up a bit as the game progresses.
The story on the other hand isn't fine unfortunately. It's basically just a post-apocalyptic setting depicted by way of the Beksinski/Giger-art and lots and lots of gore, bones, blood, Zombies. There is a narrator, but most of the story happens in the intro sequence. After that there is almost nothing. The player never even learns who s/he's actually playing or what that person's motivation is. The world building mostly revolves around this religious cult and how their rule is apparently not as benevolent as their propaganda suggests. Potentially interesting, but there is almost no story and what little is there can't be read before the letters are found in the environment during progression. |
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marcp
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Post by marcp on Sept 14, 2021 7:24:58 GMT
I've started Hyper Light Drifter. I think I like it?
It's very pretty.
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Post by dfunked on Sept 14, 2021 8:12:36 GMT
Decided that I'd had enough of a break between AC games so started Rogue yesterday.
...I probably didn't have enough of a break...
It's alright so far anyway, apart from Shay's utterly atrocious Oirish accent. Played far enough to unlock the fleet minigame so I'm just dipping in and doing that every hour now to build up some wonga.
It doesn't hang about with handing you your assassin tools! Feels like I was still deep in tutorials at this point in black flag.
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Post by Vandelay on Sept 14, 2021 8:47:22 GMT
Started Twelve Minutes yesterday, via Game Pass. I've been a little disappointed by it so far. I really like the concept; a time loop mystery point and click set in a short period of time. The style seems good from a far and appears to have the credentials with the voice talent (Daisy Ridley, James McAvoy and Willem Dafoe).
In practice though, it all comes across a bit clunky. Even the animations are incredibly stilted. At one point I saw the Wife character do a side step in order to line herself up with the sink, looking almost like Lara Croft from the old grid based Tomb Raider games. Another time, Cop got stuck against my character lying on the floor and the sofa, just endlessly walking on the spot.
The voice acting is game levels of okay, which would be fine if it weren't for the fact it stars proper movie stars. They just sound quite bored while reciting their lines. Which is understandable, as the script isn't the most exciting. Nor does it do a great job of reacting to your actions in the dialogue tree. For example, the location of a pocket watch is an early puzzle to solve. After using a loop to find out where it is, you still only have an option to ask Wife where the watch is. It isn't until you actually go to the location and get it (a place that isn't really visible, besides a prompt when you hover off the vague area) that you can actually confront her.
Unsurprisingly, Dafoe gives the most, with McAvoy and Ridley lacking any kind of spark. If anything, there are times where they feel randomly hostile to each other, which doesn't help sell you on them being a loving couple.
The clunk carries on with the puzzle solving too and the way the time loops work. Mess something up and you have basically failed that loop and have to wait for the next one. This happened to me right from the very beginning. Wife greets you with a dessert and wants to tell you a surprise. Naturally, as I'm still figuring out how everything works, I begin to try to eat the dessert when she puts it in front of me. Not waiting for her to sit down makes Wife angry and she storms off, meaning I no longer am able to progress with what is the logical first loop. Instead, I'm left with no direction for about a minute or so until Cop arrives at the door, just aimlessly poking at things. It is clear that the dessert, you being given the present and the dance are supposed to happen in the first loop, but I expect many others have the same experience as me.
I was really looking forward to this, so I'll probably give it another whirl for an hour two. Certainly not the experience I was hoping for. I would recommend The Forgotten City to anyone looking for a time loop puzzle game instead.
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Post by Sarfrin on Sept 14, 2021 18:53:33 GMT
All this talk of Deathloop made me reinstall Dishonored 2, which I drifted away from somewhere in the clockwork mansion. I am back in my sneaky, strangly Thief-nostalgic happy place. It's the first game I've really looked forward to getting back to for ages.
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Frog
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Post by Frog on Sept 14, 2021 18:55:49 GMT
I wasn't great at dishonoured but I had a great time with it, it's just so wonderfully stylish.
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Post by Wizzard_Ook on Sept 14, 2021 20:06:26 GMT
Decided to ease up a little bit on Assassins Creed Valhalla so just brought and stared Sekiro. Been waiting for the right time to play it and the time is now!. The clang of swords made me feel rather giddy.
I don’t think I got to far to go with AC:V. Just started the Nottinghamshire quests but just need a little rest from it. Will put in half hour here and there and take things a little slower, probably powered through it in the last 10 hours
Or so.
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Post by richyroo on Sept 14, 2021 20:09:07 GMT
Haven.
In the past year I have punched, shot, and driven into so many people that I just fancied a complete change of pace.
Only 2 hrs in and it seems quite nice. Its focused around the relationship of the 2 main characters and the dialogue is really good. It's a relaxing and very easy game to just chill out with.
Its also the 1st game I am playing on my new series x. The next will be Psychonauts 2 where I can finally test the 120hz mode on my TV.
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Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 3,490
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Post by Tomo on Sept 14, 2021 20:12:00 GMT
All this talk of Deathloop made me reinstall Dishonored 2, which I drifted away from somewhere in the clockwork mansion. I am back in my sneaky, strangly Thief-nostalgic happy place. It's the first game I've really looked forward to getting back to for ages. I also abandoned it after the clockwork mansion and I'm also feeling compelled to fire it up again! Not really sure why I abandoned it either. Was largely enjoying it, but think I was getting a bit weary with effectively doing the same things over and over. Levels were pretty great though. |
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marcp
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Post by marcp on Sept 15, 2021 7:34:27 GMT
Cruis'n Blast.
Bloody brilliant, proper midway arcade magic that goes like shit off a shovel and uses colours other devs seem to have forgotten existed, with suitably shit cheesy arcade tuneage. A must-buy for anyone even vaguely into stuff of this nature.
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Binky
Junior Member
Posts: 1,116
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Post by Binky on Sept 15, 2021 8:27:17 GMT
Destiny 2. Again.
I've been sucked back in to the grind withe release of a new season (which thankfully runs until Feb 22). I know it's all pretty empty really but there's still something about Destiny that can be pretty damned satisfying.
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Post by dangerousdave on Sept 15, 2021 8:35:15 GMT
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm playing Red Dead Redemption 2 again. This time the online mode, which while painfully slow, is much quicker to pick up than the single player. I've definitely adapted to the controls better. Still not a fan of these health and stamina bars, but at least I have come to tolerate it.
It helps I have some one to play with. It makes the game feel more like a game, which is exactly what the first 10 hours of the campaign lacked.
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Post by Sarfrin on Sept 15, 2021 11:16:55 GMT
Not really sure why I abandoned it either. Was largely enjoying it, but think I was getting a bit weary with effectively doing the same things over and over. Levels were pretty great though. I have a bad habit of drifting away from a game if I get stuck for more than a short while. I think it's because my day job is pretty mentally tiring (teaching small children) so I just don't have the energy to push through after work. I'm more ready to consult walkthroughs these days though. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2021 13:07:44 GMT
Remnant from the Ashes
Started this few days ago on the s and loving it. Would be better with friends but solo is a blast but very challenging.
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Yomi
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Post by Yomi on Sept 15, 2021 14:04:27 GMT
Mostly Final Fantasy XIV. But I've been wanting to play Tales of Arise too.
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Post by oleout on Sept 15, 2021 14:08:37 GMT
PSychonauts 2
Fifa 21
Artful escape
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