The Official "What Are You Playing?" Thread (Post Screens)

[Twinblade★ 3,925]

Some more quick thoughts on Rain Code. Good and then the bad

 

+ Fun & Charming characters as you'd expect from Spike Chunsoft. The mysteries so far have also been pretty well written and dark.

+ Familiar but also fresh style and themes. It feels like a hybrid of Danganronpa, Zero Escape, Persona, and even a little bit of NMH

+ A bit larger in scope and more ambitious than you'd expect. You're no longer just selecting locations on a map and pointing and clicking everywhere to investigate. Instead you have full control over the character and move him around the different districts of a small but relatively detailed neo-noir city. There's even some basic side quests scattered throughout.

+ Graphically its an upgrade over AI. Switching to UE was a good choice because its the best suited engine to render the environment they're going for. Expect to see lots of neon lights, shiny wet surfaces, screen space reflections, SSAO, Bloom, etc.

 

- Despite all the above its still a Switch game at the end of the day, so there are some technical issues here and there. In fact the game's biggest issues are on the technical side. Some framerate drops are acceptable, but the long load times are more annoying. However, the game's biggest issue by far is the god awful lip syncing. Like Its so bad that I actually think there might be some kind of bug where the cutscenes and the audio aren't lining up. For example, there are numerous times where the characters finish talking but their mouths continue animating for up to 3-4 seconds afterwards. It just looks plain bad.

- Slow start and the mystery labyrinth portion of the gameplay is deliberately paced in a way in which I can see it getting old later on.

 

 

[madmaltese★ 2,573]

Finished Inscryption. 10/10. One of the most unique and cool card based games I've ever played. 

[-GD-X★ 7,746]

46 minutes ago, madmaltese said:

Finished Inscryption. 10/10. One of the most unique and cool card based games I've ever played. 

I have never played a card game. What did you like about it? 

[madmaltese★ 2,573]

3 hours ago, -GD-X said:

I have never played a card game. What did you like about it? 

Ever played Slay the Spire? Same sort of deckbuliding core gameplay.

 

The amazing thing about this game though is the core gameplay loop but mixed in with such a unique and crazy presentation/story. Nearly saying anything would be big spoilers and tbh even saying that takes away a bit of a surprise. 

I'd call it a story driven card/puzzle game. It's on PS Extra if you have that, worth checking out.

[Ike★ 2,908]

Mostly still playing Honkai Star Rail. I have no doubt it’ll be the game with the most hours played for myself by years end. 

[Playstation Tablet 1,726]

Just started Evil West saw no one talking about it here.

 

 

[Twinblade★ 3,925]

Finished Rain Code.

 

The game was fucking bonkers  It actually got a bit too over the top towards the end. While the climax had some clever moments some of the narrative stuff wasn't that consistent and felt a bit messy

 

But the individual cases themselves are all really well designed and fun mysteries to play through especially with how the mystery labyrinths change things up pacing wise.

 

The one major issue throughout was still the lip syncing. It really is hard to believe they play tested the game in english and thought it was acceptable to have such badly mis timed audio. Based on how the game wraps up, and the concept behind the universe they created, im pretty confident that they plan on turning this into a series much like Zero Escape, Danganronpa, and AI. So hopefully they will be able to improve that in the future.

 

There's also a season pass with DLC cases that are going to be released over the next few months, so im looking forward to seeing how those compare to the base ones.

 

[Twinblade★ 3,925]

I gave The Last Case of Benedict Fox a try

 

Even with the latest patches, the game definitely has issues

 

The exploration is a bit aimless. Its basically a Metroidvania where you just explore until you happen to come across the main story objectives.

 

By itself that would be fine, I don't think every game needs to often guide you by the hand.

 

But the problem is that the controls are constantly working against you. Jumping from platform to platform always feels inconsistent, there's a double jump but it never feels good to use, and there's been numerous times where the double jump just straight up doesn't trigger even though I know i've hit the button twice.

 

Then there's the combat. It feels like you're moving through molasses while both attacking and trying to dodge attacks. You don't have much HP but the enemies are damage sponges, so you can die fairly quickly without even realizing it.

 

So yeah, its rough. Its unfortunate as the game looks great especially on the Ally on high settings. Unfortunately its a 2D platformer that just doesn't feel as good to play as it should. And for a game of this type thats a real problem.

 

Ill keep playing for a bit more, but I see myself dropping it soon.

[Sabo 442]

Played a few hours of Souldiers, been sitting on the backburner for a while. Its a Metroidvania where you choose between 3 different classes (Scout, Archer, or Mage). Each class plays different enough so there's some replayability in that regard. I gotta' say the game has amazing sprite work, the game just has a very nice art direction all around. Difficulty spikes are nuts though. Game can get pretty dickish.

 

Also picked up Sword and Fairy Together Forever during this recent PSN sale so I messed around with that for a little bit. It's a solid Action RPG. Pretty standard stuff for the most part but it's all executed well enough. Translation can get a bit rough in some spots but it doesn't detract too much. It can be a little buggy as well but nothing too serious. Definitely worth checking out at $25.

[madmaltese★ 2,573]

Been playing a couple of things:

 

Rogue Legacy 2 - Everything I loved about the first and so much more. Easily my fav Roguelike franchise after Hades.

Redout 2 - This was a surprise, by far the best Wipeout clone I've played and in many ways even better than Wipeout. What it lacks in presentation it makes up in gameplay mechanics.

 

Finally got and started Zelda TOTK. Played about 2h. I reserve thoughts till later.

[Ike★ 2,908]

21 hours ago, madmaltese said:

Been playing a couple of things:

 

Rogue Legacy 2 - Everything I loved about the first and so much more. Easily my fav Roguelike franchise after Hades.

Redout 2 - This was a surprise, by far the best Wipeout clone I've played and in many ways even better than Wipeout. What it lacks in presentation it makes up in gameplay mechanics.

 

Finally got and started Zelda TOTK. Played about 2h. I reserve thoughts till later.

First 2hrs is like intro for Zelda. Just wait until the world opens up.  

[-GD-X★ 7,746]

1 hour ago, Ike said:

First 2hrs is like intro for Zelda. Just wait until the world opens up.  

yup. it's like a tutorial.

[Twinblade★ 3,925]

Still slowly chipping away at FFXVI. As a FF fan it definitely feels like its missing something compared to the other games in the series. I just think that it might be too simple for its own good from a gameplay and progression standpoint. For example your party members have basically been the same ones since the beginning of the game, and you have no control over their skills, equipment, AI, etc. There's not much to your own progression either, just some basic equipment and skills, neither of which you really have to mess with that often. Exploration is also minimal. Sure you can go off the beaten path in many of the small maps but you don't really get rewarded for doing so, most chests you come across are just filled with crafting materials, of which you already get lots of from battle.

 

But at least the presentation is pretty great overall and I do like the story and characters, even if everything else is all style and little substance. Right now I kind of just view the game to be a nice stopgap until FF7R part 2, which I think is going to scratch the itch that FFXVI isn't at the moment (even if its still a solid game).

[madmaltese★ 2,573]

7 hours ago, Ike said:

First 2hrs is like intro for Zelda. Just wait until the world opens up.  

Yeah assumed so which is why I powered through cause I'll be honest, that opening area was painful af. I honestly find traversing the world such a massive chore in these Zelda games. 

I'm now at the actual open world though. 

[-GD-X★ 7,746]

Just now, madmaltese said:

Yeah assumed so which is why I powered through cause I'll be honest, that opening area was painful af. I honestly find traversing the world such a massive chore in these Zelda games. 

I'm now at the actual open world though. 

It gets so easy as you progress. The QoL is a massive improvement. 

[madmaltese★ 2,573]

24 minutes ago, -GD-X said:

It gets so easy as you progress. The QoL is a massive improvement. 

Good to hear because that is easily my biggest issue with it early on. 

[-GD-X★ 7,746]

6 hours ago, madmaltese said:

Good to hear because that is easily my biggest issue with it early on. 

Let’s put it this way. I stopped using a horse  early in. The towers are godly.

[Casual 732]

Finished FFXVi the other day - honestly the highest compliment I can give it is that I finished, for a (mostly) linear 3rd person action experience of that length that's a rarity and more than I can say for games like GoW:R, TLOU2, etc. Overall I thought it was great with combat, visuals and music being a stand out. Maybe the best audiovisual experience in gaming, atm. Was thinking about doing NG+ but a lot in the backlog as it is so hard to dedicate the time. That said if they do DLC I'll be there. Currently in my top 5-10 for the year.

 

With that out of the way I'm back to a bunch of TOTK! I put it down for a bit after ~60 hours to get through FFXVI and the initial rush of D4 (should have just kept playing TOTK honestly - D4 is undercooked in so many ways and they've really gone off the rails in terms of end game progression loop and itemization. Wouldn't expect much more from modern blizzard but certainly a let down regardless), I love how easy it is to just jump back in the world - I'm done the four dungeons and ~80 shrines but hopping back in I immediately felt like I never stopped playing. Cleaning up a bunch of sidequest type stuff and just heading towards anything that seems interesting. Probably won't progress the main quest for a little bit still. Also finally put some good time into the underground chasing down those yiga fuckers. Found a couple new shrines too by way of the lightroots. Game continues to just fascinate me, I'll probably be chipping away at this for the rest of the year.

 

Played through the Pikmin 4 demo. Pretty solid, think Nintendo's got another banger on their hands. I've got a spare voucher so I'll probably use it on this.

 

Lastly, going through Dave the Diver. Reallllly good indie game, with a quick and awesome loop. There characters and cutscenes are amazing too. Would recommend anyone here who's into management style sims to check it out.

[Twinblade★ 3,925]

10 minutes ago, Casual said:

Finished FFXVi the other day - honestly the highest compliment I can give it is that I finished, for a (mostly) linear 3rd person action experience of that length that's a rarity and more than I can say for games like GoW:R, TLOU2, etc. Overall I thought it was great with combat, visuals and music being a stand out. Maybe the best audiovisual experience in gaming, atm. Was thinking about doing NG+ but a lot in the backlog as it is so hard to dedicate the time. That said if they do DLC I'll be there. Currently in my top 5-10 for the year.

 

With that out of the way I'm back to a bunch of TOTK! I put it down for a bit after ~60 hours to get through FFXVI and the initial rush of D4 (should have just kept playing TOTK honestly - D4 is undercooked in so many ways and they've really gone off the rails in terms of end game progression loop and itemization. Wouldn't expect much more from modern blizzard but certainly a let down regardless), I love how easy it is to just jump back in the world - I'm done the four dungeons and ~80 shrines but hopping back in I immediately felt like I never stopped playing. Cleaning up a bunch of sidequest type stuff and just heading towards anything that seems interesting. Probably won't progress the main quest for a little bit still. Also finally put some good time into the underground chasing down those yiga fuckers. Found a couple new shrines too by way of the lightroots. Game continues to just fascinate me, I'll probably be chipping away at this for the rest of the year.

 

Played through the Pikmin 4 demo. Pretty solid, think Nintendo's got another banger on their hands. I've got a spare voucher so I'll probably use it on this.

 

Lastly, going through Dave the Diver. Reallllly good indie game, with a quick and awesome loop. There characters and cutscenes are amazing too. Would recommend anyone here who's into management style sims to check it out.

 

Did you play Spiritfarer? Thats my main frame of reference for management games. But there's still almost nothing out there quite like it.

[Casual 732]

29 minutes ago, Twinblade said:

 

Did you play Spiritfarer? Thats my main frame of reference for management games. But there's still almost nothing out there quite like it.

never did unfortunately so not a good reference point for me.

 

that said, it is kind of split between management and more "action". the management portion happens in your sushi restaurant at night where you're setting a menu, managing hiring, setup, and serving. the "action" portion happens during the day where you get two chances to dive (morning and afternoon), during which you can prioritize a number of different activities. You're limited by the amount of oxygen your tank can hold, how deep your suit can go, and how much you can carry back to the surface - all of which you upgrade using the money you make off the restaurant. Obviously you're catching fish - which you use to set the menu for your sushi shop, but you're also finding a lot of artifacts and materials under water. You also get a number of quests to do such as investigating an underwater ancient colony. I'm not super far in but it seems like it gets pretty wild in terms of what you're exploring.