Tuffty
Junior Member
Posts: 2,803
|
Post by Tuffty on Apr 27, 2024 17:16:26 GMT
FFXVI - The Rising Tide - 8/10
Might be a bit of a cheat reviewing DLC in this thread but here goes. If you liked FFXVI you'll enjoy this campaign. Adds new abilities with Leviathan to the mix that adds a different kind of playstyle, a mobile gun user effectively. It's a little bit busted and feels good to play. Some of the unique bosses they added to this are spectacular and more challenging than anything in the base game. And the fight against Leviathan itself is great, requires you to fully understand Ifrit's moveset in probably the toughest Eikon fight of them all and it's glorious. I think there are other Eikon fights which are better due to story setup, the spectacle, the music etc but still worthwhile playing. There are some side quests but like the base game, if you didn't enjoy those, you won't like these either. Took about 10hrs to do everything, less if you just focus on the main quest. There's a new game mode too, a gauntlet of increasingly difficult enemies, supposedly there's a secret boss involved.
All in all, a solid DLC entry to what I already consider a 10/10 game. If this is to be the final thing for XVI I'll be sad, but for the studios first attempt at making a single player FF game I thought it was great. No doubt they'll have heard the feedback about the side quests, crafting, rewards etc and I'll be eagerly seeing what this studio will do next
|
|
|
Post by theguy on Apr 29, 2024 12:53:54 GMT
Harold Halibut Gorgeous stop motion style, decent if uninspired story, terrible to non existent gameplay.
Pentiment I made a horrible mistake playing this straight after Harold Halibut. I thought it was more of a point and click, but I was wrong. There is more interaction than Harold, what with all the dialog choices, but it is another walkie talkie game and at points it just wore too thin for me to want to keep playing.
Which is a shame because I liked a lot of what it did narratively, there are some good ideas in here and for the most part it stays interesting, which is a credit to it since it's an expansive story. Some of those final sequences I felt were really strong and it had a very satisfying conclusion. I just wish the gameplay was more up to par because half the time I got fed up and felt like I'd rather just read this as a book.
I'd love to do another playthrough to see how things would change with different dialog options, if they do at all, but I just can't bring myself to actually play through it.
|
|
Tuffty
Junior Member
Posts: 2,803
|
Post by Tuffty on May 4, 2024 12:31:34 GMT
Tales of Kenzera : Zau - 7/10
A debut game from Surgent Studios in which the studio founder, Abubakar Salim (Raised By Wolves, Bayek from AC Origins), created as a means of a tribute to his late father. It is a parallel tale of Zuberi, a man who recently lost his father, discovering a story that his father had written. As a means of connection, he reads the story of a shaman named Zau making a deal with the spirit of death to deliver 3 spirits in exchange for his father to be resurrected. It's an interesting dynamic as the spirit of death accompanies Zau on his journey, often clashing for Zau's determination leading him to be reckless. It's all very well acted with an interesting jouney as Zau progresses and it's this aspect that made me want to see it through to the credits. The act of burying yourself in fiction as a means of processing grief is how I managed to slowly process my own father's death. I remember partly feeling guilty at the time, that I shouldn't be playing games and enjoying them given the enormity of what happened, but it did help. To have a game so openly talk about the subject of grief, loss and being able to move forward is something welcome and I found myself connecting quite strongly to Zau recounting stories of his father or openly sharing his heartache, something that feels deeply personal to Abubakar. A clear labour of love from the founder dedicated to his father and his African heritage.
Zau goes on his journey throught he tstructure of a 2D metroidvania. New abilities for traversal and combat will open up means of progressing forward through platforming challenges. The combat in Zau is fairly basic, Zau can switch between two masks, one close combat and the other long distance to maintain the momentum in combat. By the end it can feel pretty free flowing and I found that I enjoyed it, albeit there are a select few amount of enemy types for variety. Zau can dash, freeze enemies, juggle in mid air and it's pretty satisfying. The challenge of combat and platforming sections I felt was pretty good, some sections are tougher than others but it isn't too innsurmountable. Instant death environmental traps exist but thankfully the quick respawn times don't make it too frustrating.
For a Metroidvania this game is pretty short. Collectibles come in the form of audio logs, health upgrades, accessories for modifying Zau's abilities but even with that each section of the map perhaps has at most 10 collectibles to obtain. In addition, the game doesn't have a lot of the QOL features you would expect from a current Metroidvania. Fast travel points exist when you find them but fast travel can only be done from this points. Simply put, they're to far and few inbetween giving you more of a trek back to revisit a point in the map you might have had interest in. Having to back track for minutes at a time just to get back to play one combat trial and then make that journey back again was a bit of an unnecessary inconvenience, which partly led me to think that the lack of fast travel points was intentional as a means of extending game length. You can't even mark something of interest on your map, something which should be given within any new game in the genre. I found I had a better time rinsing a section of the map clean before progressing to the next area and thankfully the game allows it. In all I think this took me 10-15hrs to 100% everything, which is fair given the reflection of the price of the game.
Aside from that I encountered a few issues. Combat can be a little hard to distinguish where you are amongst the flying particle effects and enmies. After viewing the map, there is a moment where your character is locked into place and cannot move until a second or two passes, which happens more times than you want considering checking the map is part of the Metroidvania experience. There was also a case of a fast travel point not becoming activated on the map, something I only found out after the fact when I travelled somewhere else to pick up a collectible. This requireed me to redo the entire section all over again, it took perhaps 10 mins so not too damning, but even so. I can look past these issues though, for all Zau offers I thought the pacing and length was just right and for a first studio effort I enjoyed it a lot and look forward to what they can do next.
|
|
Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 2,564
Member is Online
|
Post by Tomo on May 4, 2024 23:11:16 GMT
Saturnalia - 6/10
Fuck this game. Just finished it. It's Pathologic meets Alien Isolation meets giallo Italian horror. Much like Pathologic, it's very unusual. Some really nice touches, such as the clues board. And the story is good. But also much like Pathologic, it is janky at times and frequently does a terrible job of communicating how the game itself works to the player. It is pretty terrifying at points, but then the controls and tendency for the 'thing' to pop up out of nowhere make for some infuriatingly unfair moments. All that said, it is a lot shorter than Pathologic and not as brutal as that game.
Saturnalia is one of those abrasive games where I'm glad I experienced it, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it tbh.
|
|
malek86
Junior Member
Pomegranate Deseeder
Posts: 2,878
|
Post by malek86 on May 5, 2024 12:31:41 GMT
Too Human (Xbox 360 on Series S)
Diablo as a third person melee-shooter, with a space marine setting infused with Norse mythology somehow. It's weird. And janky. And really bad.
For the most part, it's drab corridor upon drab corridor of always fighting the same enemy model with slight variations. The devs weren't content with letting you press a face button to attack, so you gotta do it with various movements of the right stick. It doesn't feel good to play, and the terrible collision detection doesn't help. Enemies hit pretty hard, so even playing as the Defender class, I died at least 20 times throughout. Then again, there appears to be no penalty for dying, so there's no real challenge to the game. There's a skill tree system, but doesn't impact combat nearly as much as equipment. As for equipment, it has stat bonuses, but for most of the game you'll probably just equip whichever item has the highest attack or defense value.
Technically it's super janky too. The engine seems to bring the console to its knees (and keep in mind I'm playing on Series S, who knows how bad it was on an old 360). The actual game runs okay, but menus seem to be locked at 15-20fps and don't feel good to navigate. They are very unintuitive too. I also couldn't tell you why it's so heavy, since it looks like PS2. Oh, and the game has a bad habit of cutting off the music at times, and you'd need to restart it to fix the issue... but since it's not very clear when the game actually saves a checkpoint, you won't want to risk it (once, after it said "saving" in the corner, I made a manual save and quit, yet when I reloaded the save I had to play the previous boss again).
Took me around 10 hours to finish. That was a very annoying 10 hours, I've gotta say. The second chapter is probably the worst, but at least the third chapter is short, and in the fourth chapter you should have enough bounty to just craft a bunch of super powerful armor and blaze past most encounters. And then no more. End of the game. Not of the story though. It basically has no ending. Not that I could tell you what the story was about. Most of the time you don't really understand what's going on, nor is it something you would want to care about anyway.
I seem to remember this game was a big deal back in the day. Or at least, it was supposed to be a big deal before release, but clearly didn't set the charts on fire, because it never got a sequel. Can't say we are missing much.
4/10
Maybe it would have deserved an even lower score. But I do like the fact that it seems quite ambitious with the setting and story, even if the end result didn't amount to much, and there is some great enviromental design in cutscenes at least.
|
|
|
Post by Wizzard_Ook on May 5, 2024 20:15:32 GMT
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Switch)
- 21 Hours
Great. Really solid Metroidvania with some real flair in its platforming and some fantastic boss battles. A couple of times the game does threaten to get into ‘get gud’ territory but often after putting the switch down and coming back to it I beat the boss or platforming segment I was struggling on. Bosses have a pleasing learning tells and patterns that I havn’t really felt since the early souls days (side eyes elden ring and the bullshitting that has crept into From games). Got a pretty decent story too which I was quite engaged in. There are a couple of areas in the middle of the game that I didn’t think matched stuff either side but otherwise it’s fantastic throughout.
As for Switch, it looks and performs fantastically in handheld. It’s buttery smooth, and at a native resolution that really allows the fantastic art work to pop. It’s a belter
4.5/5
|
|
|
Post by kilters on May 5, 2024 20:27:36 GMT
Baldurs Gate 3 10/10 Having bounced off Divinity 2 I decided this was worth a shot. So glad I did. 120 hours of enjoyment. The fact they made such a a bonkers story compelling is the real achievement here. Pretty sure I missed a ton of content. Apparently I missed adding Gale to my party at the start. No matter, it all proceeds without skipping a beat.
RE2 Remake 8/10 Aside from the inventory nonsense, very enjoyable. Great pace and not too long.
RE3 Remake 6/10 Compared to 2 this was a weird shift in tone that I don't think worked. The persistent bad guy was just a bullet sponge. Also if they are just going to spawn ammo when you need it why the fuck bother with the tedious inventory management. Still it was paced well, looked great and was the perfect length.
|
|
drakesmoke
Junior Member
The simple things in life are all complicated
Posts: 1,726
|
Post by drakesmoke on May 5, 2024 20:47:49 GMT
Baldurs Gate 3 10/10 Having bounced off Divinity 2 I decided this was worth a shot. So glad I did. 120 hours of enjoyment. The fact they made such a a bonkers story compelling is the real achievement here. Pretty sure I missed a ton of content. Apparently I missed adding Gale to my party at the start. No matter, it all proceeds without skipping a beat. RE2 Remake 8/10 Aside from the inventory nonsense, very enjoyable. Great pace and not too long. RE3 Remake 6/10 Compared to 2 this was a weird shift in tone that I don't think worked. The persistent bad guy was just a bullet sponge. Also if they are just going to spawn ammo when you need it why the fuck bother with the tedious inventory management. Still it was paced well, looked great and was the perfect length. I think you’re a pretty exacting critic there! I’d have given 2 a 9, only skipping the 10 because the B scenario just seemed a bit cruel (I will go back to it). You must do RE4make next, I just finished it and it might be my favourite ever game, objectively (obviously there is stuff from my younger years that might have more emotional heft because golden years).
|
|
Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 2,564
Member is Online
|
Post by Tomo on May 5, 2024 21:14:29 GMT
Missed Gale wowwww lol
|
|
|
Post by kilters on May 5, 2024 22:08:49 GMT
I played RE4 back in the day and thought it was excellent. I'll definitely play the remake when it eventually appears on Game pass.
|
|
|
Post by lukasz on May 6, 2024 4:05:24 GMT
Yeah... that should be an achievement by itself. Man. I wish I had the ability to play this game. With 5min to 20min sessions every few days, something like bg3 is just too much these days!
|
|
MolarAm🔵
Full Member
Bad at games
Posts: 6,130
|
Post by MolarAm🔵 on May 6, 2024 4:29:50 GMT
I didn't recruit Gale in one playthrough. But he was still... handy to have around.
|
|
MolarAm🔵
Full Member
Bad at games
Posts: 6,130
|
Post by MolarAm🔵 on May 6, 2024 4:30:09 GMT
Quite a disarming presence, you could say.
|
|
|
Post by Samildanach on May 6, 2024 8:45:08 GMT
Nier Automata
I loved the original Nier on the PS3 despite its limited budget and repetition so I had high hopes for Automata.
In many ways it delivers, but not always.
It was probably not the best plan going from Horizon Zero Dawn's beautiful post apocalyptic world and varied robo beasts to Automata's however, since the latter really suffers in comparison. Just like the original Nier looked like a PS2 game on the PS3, so does Automata very much look like a PS3 game on the PS4.
The world is relatively small and you will travel the same areas many times before you see the very final end credits. The enemy variety also is very poor with them all being variation of the same few robot types.
What surprised me the most was that the bosses didn't quite hit the inventiveness or spectacle that the original wowed me with. A surprise considering Platinum Games were involved. To be fair the first game has some of the most memorable boss fights of all time, so it was a high bar to reach and Automata's roster are still good fun.
But enough negativity, the game was still great with surprising plot twists, regular shifts in gameplay style or perspective and beautiful music. Oh and increasing darkness and despair. Love a bit of that!
One complaint leveled at this game was that after seeing it through to the credits with protagonist 2B, you then play through the game again as her companion 9S and the repetition along with his less enjoyable combat options spoils the experience. I found that section to be absolutely necessary to give greater impact to the third 'playthrough' after his credits are seen.
By that point you are familiar with the story and setting, it has already done the original Nier thing of adding a bit of variation, e.g. brief perspectives of your opponents that gives them more depth, and everything had started feeling cozy and predictable.
The second set of credits roll then the game continues past it...and everything starts getting fucked up. Having grown too familiar with the initial plot made the forging into unknown territory of NG+2 much more unsettling. Almost as if one had drifted into a part of the game you were not meant to be.
I've said too much already so I'll stop there. I had a great time with the game, enough to bother with the platinum trophy for once, though admittedly the final grindy bits to see the secret super bosses were a drag. I give it a 8/10
|
|
|
Post by simple on May 6, 2024 23:35:34 GMT
Sifu
Its fun but I’m not sure I fully got to grips with it. Its littered with difficulty spikes and it feels like you’re only getting half the story. Its obviously designed for multiple playthroughs but I’m not sure even unlocking new abilities will add enough variety to the gameplay.
When it clicks it is very satisfying living out those Oldboy/Daredevil corridor fight fantasies.
|
|
Gruf
Junior Member
Even more taciturn than my name suggests
Posts: 1,224
|
Post by Gruf on May 8, 2024 12:26:10 GMT
Kena Bridge of Spirits 9/10 As good as everyone said it was. Blitzed through it. Introduced new mechanics at a perfect pace and sense of discovery was excellent. Terrific puzzles and boss fights as well. The "heart of the village" quest in particular stood out for me. Excellent game which felt like not enough played. Though Wikipedia mentions for that year it was the"seventh-most-downloaded PlayStation 5 game in Europe, and the twentieth in North America", so did ok. Not to mention the not at all coveted FG game of the year
|
|
|
Post by peacemaker on May 8, 2024 14:16:33 GMT
Jedi survivor on pc
Good fun but disappointing overall. It’s at its best in the opening hour and closing hour with a few sprinkles in the mid game. Way too much meh in between the epic Star Wars moments. After I completed the first area in the games intro I was delighted and was looking forward to a galactic adventure full of diverse locations and big set pieces.
Turns out there are two main locations and two small locations and there are only a few exciting moments.
Incredible visuals and audio though and it was fun but not much of an adventure.
7
|
|
Duffman5
Junior Member
big cook, little cook welcome to our cafe
Posts: 1,320
|
Post by Duffman5 on May 9, 2024 6:07:50 GMT
Botany Manor Xbox gamepass hours: 9 cheveo: 1000/1000
Just popped in to recommend Botany Manor if you want to play a relaxing/not taxing game where you have to grow plants in the grounds of a beautiful mansion set in the 1800's this is the game for you. The graphical style and soundscape are wonderful. I am unsure of the genre, "puzzle" game with light exploration, from their website:
Botany Manor is a first-person puzzle game set in a Victorian English manor.
It's 1890, and you play as botanist Arabella Greene, who is working to finish her botanical research book 'Forgotten Flora'. Explore a complete historical English manor and its grounds, researching how to grow rare plant specimens from seed. There are many rooms and gardens to discover, all set inside a beautiful countryside surrounding. The manor is filled with mysterious clues for you to discover, including books, posters, letters and fascinating Victorian contraptions.
The plants you grow are fantastical, but still inspired by real phenomena in nature, so some of them require you to think outside the box. Using what's available to you in the manor, you must create the ideal conditions for each plant. Room by room, you learn more about the life and career of Arabella, and the challenges she faced as a woman navigating her scientific career. Botany Manor is a relaxing and peaceful environment, feel free to stop and smell the roses.
10/10
|
|
|
Post by harrypalmer on May 9, 2024 10:23:21 GMT
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - 4/5
Goddamn, it was good to be back in Night City. The new area is stunning, it has some of the best atmosphere and locations of the entire game, which is saying something. Heavy Blade Runner 2049 vibes. The story is very good, and definitely compliments the main quest. The new characters are all great, and you form a strong bond with them instantly. Idris Elba in particular, is brilliant. I was a bit disappointed with how little interaction there was in the main story missions, there seemed to be a lot of going somewhere and talking to someone and on to the next mission, but there are numerous new gigs to keep you busy, and some great set pieces.
It gives you at least one new ending to the main quest, which wasn't as satisfying as I hoped it would be! Certainly not compared to the other endings I got, but it's definitely one you'll want to play through. I'd probably recommend playing it halfway through the main quest, and then seeing the main game through to the end, but I wasn't about to restart again.
If you need any excuse to dip back in to NC, then this is it. The world they have created is absolutely astonishing, I still can't believe some of the things I've seen in this game, it's truly like walking around in Blade Runner at times.
|
|
Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 2,564
Member is Online
|
Post by Tomo on May 9, 2024 11:41:17 GMT
I still haven't finished CP. Gone back to it so many times but whilst I love the world and characters and story, it's _so_ easy it's slightly dull to play.
How does the DLC technically work? Is it better to finish the main game and then play it or vice versa?
|
|
|
Post by dfunked on May 9, 2024 11:53:56 GMT
I've started a fresh game with the intention of moving on to PL at some point, but yeah, a bit confused about when to jump in too.
I regularly just stand and gawp at the world they've created. It might not be the most interactive one out there, but it's by far the most detailed I've seen.
|
|
|
Post by harrypalmer on May 9, 2024 12:26:45 GMT
I think you can jump in past a fairly early stage. I think from a story point of view it makes sense to do it from about halfway but before end game.
Agree from a gameplay point of view it gets a bit easy and repetitive.
|
|
|
Post by harrypalmer on May 9, 2024 12:31:07 GMT
Looked it up. End of act 2 ish.
|
|
|
Post by lukasz on May 9, 2024 13:10:49 GMT
I think you can jump in past a fairly early stage. I think from a story point of view it makes sense to do it from about halfway but before end game. Agree from a gameplay point of view it gets a bit easy and repetitive. My solution was to just move to different weapons. As hacker everything became super easy. So played a lot of with pistol, katana, shotgun. Grenades are fun for a while as well. Sneaking and killing like that was also a challenge.
|
|
|
Post by harrypalmer on May 9, 2024 13:50:40 GMT
Yeah I did that for Phantom Liberty, although I switched from netrunner to smart gun specialist which was also super easy!
My previous build was very stealthy, but that was something I enforced on myself to make it interesting.
The game definitely allows for really fun creative builds, I've seen so many, here's one example:
I just lack the creativity to put them together.
I forgot to add that the DLC story reminded me a lot of Neuromancer, which was nice.
|
|
|
Post by theguy on May 9, 2024 16:18:05 GMT
SifuIts fun but I’m not sure I fully got to grips with it. Its littered with difficulty spikes and it feels like you’re only getting half the story. Its obviously designed for multiple playthroughs but I’m not sure even unlocking new abilities will add enough variety to the gameplay. When it clicks it is very satisfying living out those Oldboy/Daredevil corridor fight fantasies. I played the trial on PS, I might have just been shit but it felt like a game you'd really need to sink time into and learn every single enemy attack to get the most out of it. Just seemed a bit much at the time so I left it.
|
|
|
Post by Nitrous on May 9, 2024 17:31:12 GMT
SifuIts fun but I’m not sure I fully got to grips with it. Its littered with difficulty spikes and it feels like you’re only getting half the story. Its obviously designed for multiple playthroughs but I’m not sure even unlocking new abilities will add enough variety to the gameplay. When it clicks it is very satisfying living out those Oldboy/Daredevil corridor fight fantasies. I played the trial on PS, I might have just been shit but it felt like a game you'd really need to sink time into and learn every single enemy attack to get the most out of it. Just seemed a bit much at the time so I left it. Sifu is great, best way to play is to concentrate on unlocking moves to become permanently unlocked. The other is use leg sweep alot as you can run in and sometimes knock a few down at the same time. Block is also something I found myself doing alot of. I got the plat for it, that's how much I liked it. As for me, AC Mirage. A back to basic AC which I prefer and I found myself so close to the platinum trophy that I've talked myself into doing that but it feels like a grind now. Google is helping me find some things I'd I've never find on my own though. I'd say it's my most enjoyable AC since syndicate or black flag but unlike those games when stealth fails the combat isn't as good.
|
|
Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 2,564
Member is Online
|
Post by Tomo on May 9, 2024 17:57:24 GMT
harrypalmerWow, that video genuinely looks amazing. Totally different experience. At launch I decided to go mantis blades build, but they were so weak compared to how massive they looked and felt, I was very disappointed. Switched to pistols instead, which was fun for while but then you realise the AI is dogshit and having insta kills with headshot on Mouse and KB makes it like a bad version of Time Crisis. Stealth is fun, but I've played so many games in that mode - Deus Ex etc - there are only so many vents one wants to virtually crawl through in life. Think my latest approach was basically the biggest guns I could find. But again, dumb AI doesn't make it interesting.
|
|
|
Post by apollo on May 10, 2024 18:55:01 GMT
Robocop: Rogue city
Overall its good but some rough bits, they could be fixed in a patch but they will not now
Like their terminator game, they like the source material and understand it. They have limited budget but unreal 5 looks good although the other characters look a bit thunderbirds like (but bethesda make puppet like characters and they have AAA budgets). In the currently playing thread I posted the bad bits which bring it down a bit. Another bomb disarm bit later on and its clunky, better method would be you can only select the wires to cut, pressing the d pad brings up the menus to improve your gun. disable it for that bit. The end boss of Robocop 2 with the old man in the robot that bastard has long reach, its annoying as it does massive damage in a small area
7 or 7.5 /10
|
|
malek86
Junior Member
Pomegranate Deseeder
Posts: 2,878
|
Post by malek86 on May 12, 2024 11:04:48 GMT
Botany Manor (PC)
A great, relaxing first person puzzle adventure (Myst-like, not Portal-like). You have to go around a big manor, discovering flower seeds and the methods to make them bloom. It's a bit weird, but great fun. Amazing screenshots potential too. The developers know that part of the appeal of Myst was the vistas, so they even give you lots of benches and chairs to sit in for simply admiring the scenery.
That said, the puzzles are the most interesting part. You have to find clues and piece them together in order to find out what makes a specific seed grow into a flower. My only gripe would be that it's all a bit too easy. The clues are relatively easy to decipher, so there's never any eureka moment like in Outer Wilds. Having to trudge all the way back to a specific clue, because the game keeps track of the location of clues but not their content, is also annoying at times, even though the mansion is small enough that it doesn't matter all that much.
But anyway, at just 4 hours long, it's an easy recommendation for anyone with a slight interest in puzzle games.
8/10
|
|