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Post by bichii2 on Jul 3, 2023 12:23:01 GMT
Planet of Lana
Very good game. A bit like limbo mixed with last guardian. Intriguing story that was better after I'd completed it and read all the secret stuff I never bothered to hunt around for during the game. I wish all games were 4-8 hours in length. Keeps this old brain interested the whole journey.
8/10 Oh and soundtrack is excellent.
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Post by killerbee on Jul 3, 2023 13:38:40 GMT
Duffman5Control is a really enjoyable Platinum trophy - nothing too hard. The two DLC episodes are good too: I enjoyed the Foundation more than AWE (the final boss of AWE is a bastard) but they’re both well worth playing.
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Post by theguy on Jul 3, 2023 18:11:27 GMT
Humanity
The lemmings like Puzzle game from the folks behind Tetris Effect and Rez. No rhythmic gameplay in this one, in fact, much of the music is the same notes looping and it actually gets grating here. I had to mute the game more than a few times. Don't know what they were thinking.
The gameplay itself is pretty nice though. You place commands and lead the humans to the goal. Simple, but it does a nice job of consistently introducing new elements as you go through the levels to keep it fresh. It strikes a good balance, because it never overwhelms you by throwing too much into a level or making them bastard hard. They're quite satisfying and one thing I really liked is there's not 1 specific path to victory you have to follow to complete them. There were some levels where my methods were a little wonky, but I was able to complete them anyway. You will wish there was a rewind button though. One mistake can mean starting the whole level again, which also means watching the same route play out. I suppose they didn't want to trivialise the difficulty by including it but it can be a pain.
I thought some of the very late levels get a bit weaker, because of a certain command which makes them less about the puzzles and more about controlling your character itself. But it's a minor gripe overall. It's mostly good fun. You can make your own levels and play others' too though I've not done much of that.
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Post by rwklau on Jul 3, 2023 23:52:46 GMT
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (the remaster)
Really enjoyed this. I hadn't played the DS original so went into this without any idea what to expect on the back of playing the demo. Special shout out for the soundtrack.
As far as the remaster is concerned, I played it through mainly with a joypad but found I had to occassionally switch to a mouse to line up some of the spirit jumps. I presume the DS original was made to be played with the touch screen. Also the game doesn't retroactively give the achievements for the first two chapters if you import the demo progress -- replaying those chapters does grant the achievements.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jul 5, 2023 22:09:17 GMT
Amnesia: The Bunker
Fucking hell. That was utterly fucking brilliant. Completely uncompromising, constantly tense and stressful and one of the most unforgiving survival horror games I’ve played.
It’s an instant classic imo.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jul 5, 2023 22:12:58 GMT
According to my stats it took me 8 and a half hours. I died 26 times, saved 88 times (!), with the longest run between saves being twenty minutes. Twenty tense and terrifying minutes. That’s when I completely ran out of fuel and had to make a journey to get some from a fuel storage area. With no lights, rats and traps everywhere. One wrong move, or if I fucked up, then I would have had to start that journey again.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jul 5, 2023 22:14:32 GMT
Also. Knowing what the beast is, and getting a good look at it, makes it even scarier.
Damn. This was Soma levels of good.
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Post by bichii2 on Jul 5, 2023 22:22:39 GMT
Amnesia: The Bunker Fucking hell. That was utterly fucking brilliant. Completely uncompromising, constantly tense and stressful and one of the most unforgiving survival horror games I’ve played. It’s an instant classic imo. But you like ds2?
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jul 5, 2023 22:45:06 GMT
Which shows my impeccable taste
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Post by Aunt Alison on Jul 5, 2023 23:05:38 GMT
Also. Knowing what the beast is, and getting a good look at it, makes it even scarier. Damn. This was Soma levels of good. Which is good, because any attempt to look the game up on YT will clearly show you every monster in the thumbnails. And some twat pulling a face
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Jul 5, 2023 23:19:36 GMT
Yeah thankfully I avoided all that. The game does its best to hide it from view as much as poss. Even if there are lights on, it causes them to flicker and go out when it’s near, and there’s a sanity effect if you look right at it. However when I did get a good look, all it did was ramp the fear factor up.
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Post by killerbee on Jul 7, 2023 8:04:30 GMT
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
I really enjoyed this. Classic CoD shooting, with some sci-fi space battles mixed in. What’s not to like?
Yes, the plot was hammy B-movie fodder that barely set a framework for the missions, and yes, an actually pretty damn good cast were given very little to work with in terms of meaningful dialogue… but for all the trashy writing, it was always clear that your job was just to shoot the bad guys while running to the objective marker and pressing square a lot.
I thought the space dogfights broke up the pace really well and were great fun.
It was interesting to play this so late, knowing that much of the old Infinity Ward team had left and gone on to make Titanfall 2. TF2 is certainly the better game and much more creative in its campaign mode, but the parallels, in particular the robot / AI buddy, are notable.
Anyway, while it’s flawed in all the ways CoD campaigns have always been, it was short, varied and kept up an entertaining pace for the duration.
7/10
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Jul 7, 2023 15:58:14 GMT
Dungeon Lords Steam Edition (30+ hours):
I just finished my playthrough with an Adept/Fighter/Paladin/Celestial/Crusader. The Adept (Cleric basically) is the core class and while he has access to Rune Magic he only automatically advances in Celestial Magic. The classes have a number of skills associated with them, so at first I didn't have much access to better armor types and not much choice in weapons. Many skills can be raised with use, but there are also skillpoints. Gaining new classes happens through doing quests for the guilds, so it's integrated into the world. It's overall one of the better elements of the game.
Other than that the plot is also fairly well written. There are only a small number of characters involved in it, but they usually have a good amount to say when the story calls for it and the voice acting is mostly decent enough. The story ended up being a bit convoluted, but it has its fun moments and it relies on fantasy character archetypes quite a bit.
But the world is quite empty outside of that and for the most part there are only a few side quests and some locations to find, though most places are related to some side or main quest. Enemies keep respawning, which was quite tedious, especially early on as long as my character was still weak. Travelling was time-consuming and frankly quite boring as the world just isn't interesting. Investing in Athletics helped a bit, but the main issue was that I had first to find a Moonstone somewhere as the fast travel can't be used without one. They only drop from rather high level enemies that only exist in one particular location. Even then the Moonbridges are not always in the best locations.
"Towns" themselves are quite simple and empty as well. One of them doesn't even have any pedestrians. Sense of place really isn't the game's strong suit. The world-building is almost all just in the plot.
The game doesn't look like much. Enemy designs are rarely interesting and look quite cartoonish without much detail on the models. Equipment and spells aren't any better. There is a day-night-cycle, but it looks so basic, that it's barely noticeable. There are a few decent tracks and there is some atmosphere, but it's not enough on its own and there are simply too few different ones to always be fitting. Combat music also keeps interrupting the other tracks.
Combat took a while to come into its own. At first I mostly relied on damage magic, but that was often slow going. But once I had piled on the numbers for a while and gotten access to some better equipment, it started working better. The combat difficulty mostly went away after the first half or so. A lot of the difficulty comes from the large and relatively complex dungeons. It's not always clear how to progress in those locations and it's really easy to miss key items. There are also puzzles and a good amount of platforming, so that led to quite a lot of reloading. I just used a walkthrough to my heart's content and am completely unapologetic about it. I wasted enough time even with that help.
Overall I'm still lukewarm on it. It has so many holes, it's still buggy, the game isn't always good at sign-posting, some of the voice acting seems to be missing, and so on and so forth. It would probably translate to a 6/10 for me.
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Post by kilters on Jul 8, 2023 19:14:25 GMT
Alien Isolation 8/10
Finally got this off my back log after chickening out after it's release. This has aged very well. Fantastic art and sound design pay great respect to the license and make one of the best in game atmosphere's ever. I was mullered by the Alien countless times but each occasion still made me jump. Plot was coherent and the Seegson corporation were a character in themselves.
My only issues were that randomly the Alien appeared to teleport to my location, I know it's fast but there were times where I see it chasing after one of my decoys, and when I turn around and make a break for it, the shithead hauls me up an air shaft. Possibly went on a tad too long too but the set pieces and general location were worth the extra time.
I recommend playing this on the normal difficulty. I tried Hard but it was too unforgiving to be enjoyable for me.
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Post by Hanimalle on Jul 9, 2023 8:51:08 GMT
Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
This is absolutely what I expected and also what I needed. It's exactly as obnoxious as the title implies and yet still a lot of fun. I guess it's not for everyone though as I imagine some would be put off by this game. Special mention to the soundtrack which is just perfect for this.
Also this makes me even more hyped for the upcoming Dreamsettler. I really loved Hypnospace Outlaw's alternate reality and I'm looking forward to get lost in it once more.
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hicksy
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Post by hicksy on Jul 9, 2023 9:08:29 GMT
Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart
What an amazing game! (Coming from a 45yr old perspective!)
Pros - unique rift mechanic… Wow! - so smooth! And fast loading (individual planets only) - stellar graphics and art design style - fantastic sound - for the kids but still easily enjoyed by adults (not too nickelodian) - great chemistry between the characters with a great action story - very satisfying shooter gaming - terrific weight to weapons - very good implementation of dual sense - long but not too long - gratifying collectables - very regular quick saving (auto not manually) so lack of progress hardly ever lost more than a couple of mins
Cons (I’m struggling) - some parts of landscape look like they might be reachable or have “invisible-walls” leading to occasional unintentional fall deaths but there is very limited penalty for dying so not really a big deal!
10/10 - one of the best games on the PS5 and probably top 20 if not knocking on door of top 10 I’ve played (if it wasn’t the fact that I’m largely a rpg/adventure gaming fan it would def be too 10)
Anyone with a PS5 owes it to themselves to get and play this! Along with Astro’s Playroom essential!
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Jul 9, 2023 18:13:16 GMT
Hatch:
A very short First person game about climbing a weird tower to the top. There are checkpoints and the sun kills the player when not in cover. Fairly heavy on Trial-and-Error and I had to re-do one bit 20+ times. Overall nice enough, but getting to the top wasn't rewarding. Especially considering how much time is wasted when failing repeatedly. Graphics are very simple.
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Post by Hanimalle on Jul 11, 2023 9:24:01 GMT
Take No Prisoners
Now there's a game I haven't played in years, coming from a time when acquiring new games was a rare occurrence for me and as such I had to savor each and every one of these experiences even when they weren't necessarily great games. Today it's the complete opposite, I can afford any game I want but there are too many and I don't have the time to spend on them that I once used to.
I don't remember how I first acquired TNP but I believe it came either as part of a package of three older games or was included as an incentive to purchase one of those numerous PC magazines that existed back in the day. Regardless of how I got my hands on this, I played it a great deal and it really left an impression on my young mind. I still vividly remember most of the sounds the game uses, particularly a certain early enemy's maniacal laugh which used to scare me. I might have been too young to play this if I'm honest with myself, especially given how violent and gruesome TNP can be.
I was never able to actually finish the game mind you as I got stuck repeatedly and ended up using cheats to explore the different maps. Anyway, going back to the present, I'm not sure what triggered me to actually go back and replay this though I had been thinking about it every once in a while. I ended up buying it on GOG and using a Steam guide to make it run in a higher resolution with Direct3D using something called DgVoodoo2.
It took me around six hours to beat the game, which is far less time than my young self spent on TNP while never actually finishing it. It was still an enjoyable experience though I can't say for sure how much of a role nostalgia played in this. What I can say with certainty however is that this game has a lot of good ideas and is in fact a precursor in some areas. The fact that you can use your mouse to aim and shoot for example while controlling your character's movement with the keyboard is rather unexpected for the year TNP actually came out, 1997.
The guns are quite satisfying to use, with different death animations depending on which weapon you're using and which enemy you're facing. Said enemies have different resistances, so for example the mutants are almost immune to bullets but weak to fire. There's also the fact that you're free to tackle the different areas in any order you want, you can even go to your objective (the Dome) very early on. However you won't be able to bypass the many different defences in place without some items which you get from beating a number of bosses (which are the leaders of each faction).
So overall this is still a good game, it's not perfect by any means but it has so much going for it in my opinion that you tend to forget its flaws. I would love a remake of this, or at least for a game to take some of its inspirations from TNP as I don't know any other game quite like this.
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Tuffty
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Post by Tuffty on Jul 12, 2023 14:20:45 GMT
Ghost Trick Phantom Detective - 9/10
So that's why I've constantly heard to play this game without reading up on it. One of the best visual novels I've played. The initial mystery of "who am I" gives way to a deeper mystery with colourful eccentric characters that kept me hooked throughout. The gameplay is pretty unique, manipulating and fiddling with objects as ghostly interactions to traverse the environment or setup a solution that can potentially save someone. The good thing is that the interactions are limited so it doesn't overwhelm you with choices, which leaves you free to experiment. Definitely an easy recommend if only to see one of the best dogs in video games.
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Post by dangerousdave on Jul 13, 2023 10:34:03 GMT
I played a through games few with my partner this past week, controller sharing. It’s helping me play more than just Zelda at the moment, which is a bonus. And it means I’m actually completing games too!
Planet of Lana (4/5)
A great little game, as others here have said. It’s like a slightly more chilled Abe’s Odyssey with light platforming and puzzle solving. Its well designed, with some clever puzzles. It also looks and sounds amazing. The soundtrack is very John Williams at the start and then shifts into something more melancholy as the game progresses. It’s good enough to single handedly justify another month of Gamepass.
Little Hope (1/5)
This was pretty terrible. We predicted the plot twist at the very start and although for a moment we were almost convinced otherwise, the plot never really does anything clever enough to persuade you otherwise. Also, the writing was really bad. The characters are all bland. The dialogue options all felt jarring and unnatural. The story never really builds up any steam and honestly, we almost quit on 3 separate occasions. It’s so dull. Half the game is just cheap jump scares that are inconsequential to the story. A complete waste of time.
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mrpon
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Post by mrpon on Jul 14, 2023 9:22:33 GMT
Wasteland Golf (Switch currently 89p)A nice little 2D golf game navigating numerous wastelandesque obstacles with an intriguing radio style soundtrack. 35 holes, 3 modes. Finished Story and Challenge. Iron-mode can get fucked. 7/10
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jul 14, 2023 21:02:32 GMT
Planet of Lana (4/5) A great little game, as others here have said. It’s like a slightly more chilled Abe’s Odyssey with light platforming and puzzle solving. Its well designed, with some clever puzzles. It also looks and sounds amazing. The soundtrack is very John Williams at the start and then shifts into something more melancholy as the game progresses. It’s good enough to single handedly justify another month of Gamepass. I think at some point I'm gonna grab a cheap month of Game Pass and catch up on a few games that I've missed. Indies tend to stay available for a fairly long time anyway. Most likely, I'll wait until Jusant comes out.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jul 14, 2023 21:20:00 GMT
System Shock 2
A classic. It's kinda hard to think of a game today that wasn't influenced by its RPG-lite trappings and world building. I do wish it were a bit more even. Everything up to deck 5 is very much the prototype immersive sim. After that, the whole game becomes too linear, there's too many enemies and too much running back and forth for arbitrary reasons. You can see exactly the point when the game gives up on the survival sim aspects and just starts showering you with ammo and items. And since the shooting is less than great, that's not an ideal development. Here's hoping that you have invested enough points into weapons to make your life easy in the second half. Mind, the game seems to know this and gives out lots of cyber modules at these points, knowing that you are better off upgrading your weapon skills.
But to be fair, even before that, the game is pretty unbalanced. Your hacking skills don't help as much as a good old-fashioned wrench to the face, and some of the stats (maintenance in particular) are clearly more useful than others. Unfortunately this is something you will only know after playing through the game. The graphics look pretty ancient even for 1999, and at points they are bad enough to actually detract from the atmosphere (human models in particular look terrible). The soundtrack starts great, but becomes pretty anonymous in the second half.
These flaws don't make it any less of a classic, but they do make me wish for a remake, just like SS1, that could fix its more obvious issues.
8/10
Speaking of that... I just bought it. Tomorrow we go back on Citadel.
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Post by rwklau on Jul 14, 2023 21:25:59 GMT
Ghost Trick Phantom Detective - 9/10 Definitely an easy recommend if only to see one of the best dogs in video games.
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nazo
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Post by nazo on Jul 14, 2023 21:56:47 GMT
Yakuza: Like a Dragon - 7/10
Mixed feelings about this. I love the new turn-based combat and party systems. The main cast is great and there are some terrific enemy designs. I don't think the game was particularly well-balanced though, with some big difficulty spikes requiring some major grind, even then some of the fights went on too long without being particularly difficulty as the bad guys just soaked up too much damage without being a threat themselves. Also, after an interesting start the story turns out to be absolute bollocks.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Jul 14, 2023 23:43:48 GMT
Nier: Automata.
Coming into 2023, I fully expected to play a third-person, open-world RPG that would blow me away with its music, writing, acting, and gameplay... and so I have.
Thing is, the game in question was supposed to be The Witcher 3, but that didn't quite pan out how I'd hoped - while many aspects of said title lived up to the hype, the gameplay was a tedious slog, and I grew tired of it long before wrapping up the last bit of DLC and calling it a day.
Enter Nier: Automata.
What exactly is this game? Well, it's a third-person, open-world RPG, as implied above; it's also a hack and slash, with bullet hell elements, twin-stick shooter sections, shmup sequences, visual novel interludes, and plenty of top-down and side-scrolling action thrown in for good measure.
It's a game in which the lead characters are androids, which don't have what we'd call 'proper' names: 2B, 9S, and A2. Even though they (and the entire supporting cast) are supposed to be emotionless machines, they somehow manage to evince more pathos than 99% of the human protagonists I've encountered elsewhere.
It's a game that expects you to roll credits multiple times in order to see the 'true' ending, with a chapter selection option added after Ending C representing its sole concession to traditional AAA niceties such as 'accessibility', 'compromise', and 'respecting the player's time'.
It's a game in which you'll spend most of your time playing as 2B, who apparently couldn't decide between two different Halloween costumes - Sexy French Maid, and Sexy Anime Waifu - so chose to wear both of them at once as she hacks, slashes and shoots her way through this desolate world, all accompanied by the most beautiful soundtrack I've ever heard.
It's equal parts thrilling and repetitive; profound and pretentious; sincere and hilarious; touching and bonkers.
It's simultaneously too bloody long and too goddamn short.
It's all of these things, and more besides, yet it's also greater than the sum of its parts.
In short, it's absolutely incredible.
9.5/10.
If you were to put a gun to my head, and force me to pick another game to which to compare Nier: Automata, I'd go for Death Stranding - not because the two are in any way alike, except in the most superficial of senses, but because they're both so utterly uncompromising, so singular in their respective purposes, and so determined to be what they *are* regardless of what anyone else may think.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Jul 15, 2023 22:14:42 GMT
Nah
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hicksy
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Post by hicksy on Jul 16, 2023 6:41:52 GMT
Cheers Ulythium you just bumped NA right up my list of games to play soon!
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JonFE
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Uncomfortably numb...
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Post by JonFE on Jul 16, 2023 9:52:18 GMT
Ulythium I agree with everything you said on Nier; I played it during the first months of the pandemic and it brought a tear to my eyes when the final credits rolled...
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Post by bichii2 on Jul 16, 2023 11:17:03 GMT
Which credits?
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