Duffman5
Junior Member
big cook, little cook welcome to our cafe
Posts: 1,332
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Post by Duffman5 on Sept 25, 2023 16:13:44 GMT
Last Stop (ps5) 7/10
Good "walking sim/telltale type game. "Last Stop is a third-person game, where players control one of three main characters through various chapters which btw are nice small sized chunks,by deciding what they should say and performing a variety of minigame interactions as to reveal and move the story along" All 3 stories are connected in some way and the game does bring it all together pretty well. Some good humour in the writing, tbh there isn't that much actual "game" but the story is worth enjoying.
Also easy Plat if that is your thing!
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Post by dfunked on Sept 25, 2023 20:56:29 GMT
RE4 Separate Ways - 9/10
4:37, B rank A nice companion piece to the main game. Some of the boss battles are a bit bloody tense!
Hell, even Ada's voice actor grew on me.
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Post by stuz359 on Sept 25, 2023 21:13:55 GMT
FFXVI - 8/10 Lots to like and dislike about the game but in the end I thought it was a strong entry in the series and probably the best since X. I wish they added a bit more customisation with your character and all the fetch quests needed binning but lots to like still, the story was generally decent, Cidolfus and Gav were great characters, the battle system is fantastic if a little repetitive and it looks absolutely stunning at times. Bring on XVII! Finished on Saturday night (exciting life). I'd go 9/10 just because I think it's the first FF that I haven't had to grind in, like, at all. I did all the side quests/hunts as they came so never felt under levelled. I think I died once when I came across a hunt target that was about ten levels above me. As you mention, the combat is a bit samey, but looks spectacular. You're not saving anything or holding back, you can just launch your most insane attacks at low level enemies and you start to feel sorry for them after a while. I think the story was great, I liked the characters, but I think I would have liked a bit more epilogue stuff. I think that the stiffness/woodenness of some (well, most) of the facial animation was a bit disappointing but understandable considering the amount of dialogue in the game. Anyway, off the back of this, I decided to try a new run of FF XV. Playing in back compat mode on PS5. I previously played it on the PC, but thought I'd check it out on PS5. Big mistake. Did it always run like a dog? I mean, it never hits 30FPS let alone anything above and the frame pacing just doesn't deliver a consistent experience. Apart from other glaring visual issues (I've been spoiled now) I don't think that I can continue with it. On PC, playing on a 1070, the picture is just so much better at 1080p and the framerate is more in the 60fps range with far superior shadows and LOD distance. A shame SE haven't patched it properly because it is actually a lovely looking game. Having checked it out now, can confirm, PC FF XV is lovely, PS5 is awful as in, no upscale in resolution or performance. Not sure if FF XV got any resolution boost or FPS boost for X/Series X? But, high res textures, 60fps and good anti aliasing give a good image quality, way better than PS5. Be interested to upgrade to run it at 4K, 1070 just won't do it, nor 1440p (frame rates drop to 10fps or lower).
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2023 21:42:26 GMT
RE4 Separate Ways - 9/10 4:37, B rank A nice companion piece to the main game. Some of the boss battles are a bit bloody tense! Hell, even Ada's voice actor grew on me. Have they released this for the Remake then?
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Post by dfunked on Sept 25, 2023 21:56:11 GMT
Yeah, it came out the other day. It's priced perfectly too (£8)
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malek86
Junior Member
Pomegranate Deseeder
Posts: 3,176
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Post by malek86 on Sept 27, 2023 22:11:18 GMT
In Sound Mind (PC)
At first I thought this was going to be either a Slenderman clone, or some kinda walking simulator. Turns out it's actually a first person adventure with shooting elements, puzzles, and the whole kitchen sink. I struggle to call it "survival horror", because it's not really survival (you get lots of supplies throughout), and the horror vibes, despite being quite prevalent at times, are obviously held back by the strange atmosphere. That's not to say there aren't a couple effective creepy moments, in fact several of them surprised me in a good way.
You move around from a hub level with puzzles, leading to several main levels. Each is structured so that there's some small enemies you can defeat, and one boss enemy stalking you, which you can only avoid or chase away temporarily. Craziness abounds, there is lots of variety to the locations, and the puzzles aren't very hard, but still manage to pose a challenge. Special mention to the soundtrack, which includes image songs for all the main characters, a peculiar touch for sure.
A few flaws - stealth is essentially useless, and combat could be a little better, though the game does offer a few alternative ways of getting rid of enemies. The levels do tend to be a little too long: there is only four main levels, but expect each of them to take at least 2-3 hours. Some of the bosses also can be irritating, stalking you while one is trying to solve puzzles.
Still, a strong effort. It seems to have been somewhat ignored by the gaming scene at large. It was free on Amazon Prime a couple months ago, so if you have redeemed it, do yourself a favor and give it a try.
8/10
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wunty
Full Member
Pastry Forward
Posts: 6,433
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Post by wunty on Sept 28, 2023 9:14:46 GMT
I've owned In Sound Mind for a couple of months as I've heard good things about it (whilst not free, it regularly goes on sale for peanuts on PSN). Going on your review, I think I'll fire it on once I've done with RE4.
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Ulythium
Full Member
Lily-livered
Posts: 6,798
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Post by Ulythium on Sept 28, 2023 23:24:38 GMT
Devil May Cry.
This might just be the weirdest game I've ever played (and I'm one of those weirdos people who utterly adored every batshit millisecond of Death Stranding - make of that what you will).
Tonally, it's all over the damn shop. From the, "Whoa, slow down, babe!" intro, to the, "I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with liiiiiiiiiight!" denouement, I was never sure whether they were going for campy schlock or sincere melodrama. Seriously: how do you get from here to here? If it wasn't for the same characters appearing in each scene, you'd be forgiven for thinking that they were from two different games.
It's as though Quentin Tarantino got coked out of his mind in the mid-'90s, accidentally shuffled his script for From Dusk till Dawn into his script for Jackie Brown, then went, "Fuck it - we'll shoot it anyway!"
Then there are the PS2-era graphics and the low-res menus - from a time before Capcom became Capgod, this is one lazy-ass port.
Throw in the recycled bosses, the archaic control scheme, and the finicky fixed camera, and you might think this review is going to be 100% negative.
As I mused in my assessment of The Witcher 3, though, I'm very much of the 'gameplay first' persuasion, and the gameplay here... well, it kinda rules, to be honest.
The combat system has held up incredibly well, so fighting feels as good as it looks; I also liked the way the game is split into a series of short missions, rather than being open-ended for the sake of it as so many modern AAA titles are.
There's definite replayability here, if you want it, from the chance to improve your mission grades (mine were mostly Ds, I'm not gonna lie) to the inclusion of various difficulty levels.
I suspect there's a lot more depth to the combat than I discovered during my playthrough, and while the omnipresent jank will keep me from coming back anytime soon, it's nice that one of the formative games of the hack and slash genre proved to be unexpectedly nuanced.
7.5/10.
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Post by Nanocrystal on Sept 29, 2023 4:17:34 GMT
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (PS5)
Not quite sure what to make of this one. Felt like about half the time I was loving it and the other half hating it. For me it was at its best when you were creeping through levels taking a stealthy approach. This led me to focus on those perks and weapon upgrades (silencers, etc). But you're then thrown into closed-in kill rooms and forced to play it super aggressively like it's Doom 2016. Makes me wonder why they encourage stealth in the first place. I guess the intention is that you embrace both playstyles equally? Which is fair enough, but I enjoyed one approach far more than the other. The story and characters were pretty great just like the first game, upping the batshit craziness but also the more human moments too. Really no idea what to rate it.
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Duffman5
Junior Member
big cook, little cook welcome to our cafe
Posts: 1,332
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Post by Duffman5 on Sept 29, 2023 12:18:30 GMT
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
3rd person action adventure game. Loved it and it really is a looker on the PS5. Combat was good, the world stunning (and not overly large) story was engaging, some puzzles to work out, luckily most were not overly taxing. It is on PS+ I would absolutely recommend it. 9/10 only loses a point due to some issues with the map, although that may just be me as I seem to have issues with many in game maps!
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Post by theguy on Sept 29, 2023 12:23:37 GMT
That's Font Geeks GOTY Kena, I'll have you know!
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Post by Aunt Alison on Sept 30, 2023 16:41:55 GMT
Quake 2 port/remaster
Can't fault it. Excellent remaster that tweaks the gameplay and AI in ways that improve the experience without going too far. Railgun is still one of the best weapons of all time
Had a quick look at the new stuff and seemed to have picked the water temple as my first level but I won't hold that against it
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apollo
Junior Member
Posts: 1,502
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Post by apollo on Oct 1, 2023 9:15:27 GMT
Gris
if the game was about 4 to 6 hours I would have deleted it but its only 2 hours and when I posted in the other gaming thread I was right near the end. The game looks and sounds really good but the gameplay is just bland, all the effort was put into the graphical style. Some view as this master piece and you can't say anything bad about it "because its art" which is stupid. The game comes across as up itself, thinking its really deep, dealing with loss but its really not.
The watercolour art style is really nice and if you have gamepass its worth it if you nothing else to play, just to experience the graphics (or just watch on youtube)
5.5/10
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Cosmopolitan
New Member
Font Geek is a stupid name
Posts: 231
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Post by Cosmopolitan on Oct 1, 2023 9:38:02 GMT
Damn, I gave Gris 10/10 iirc. There's no accounting for taste I guess. /Shrug
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Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 3,260
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Post by Tomo on Oct 1, 2023 12:32:27 GMT
I also thought Gris was super dull. Beautiful, but super dull
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Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 3,260
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Post by Tomo on Oct 1, 2023 12:34:40 GMT
If you want similar vibes to Gris, but a better (but imperfect) game, Spiritfarer is worth a look. Have a box of tissues handy though oof.
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Post by theguy on Oct 1, 2023 13:04:00 GMT
I liked Gris a lot, but grew to really dislike Spiritfarer. I'm not really one for artsy fartsy games with basic gameplay either, but I thought Gris also had the better platforming too. So horses for courses
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Tomo
Junior Member
Posts: 3,260
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Post by Tomo on Oct 1, 2023 16:50:21 GMT
Yea I do think Spiritfarer is wayyy too long for how basic the gameplay loop is, but the stories it tells are extremely touching. Not many games tackle the theme it does.
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hicksy
Junior Member
I'm good for some but I'm not for everyone
Posts: 1,549
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Post by hicksy on Oct 1, 2023 18:59:21 GMT
Beacon Pines (Xbox S via GP)
Very charming YA storybook style adventure game with fantasy and thriller dark undertones.
Great graphics and excellent music. Likeable characters and an interesting branching story path design with the opportunity to amend prior decision points before reaching endgame. The ending design is a little force channeled (would have been nice to have a few different possible ending). Overall very likeable.
7/10
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Ulythium
Full Member
Lily-livered
Posts: 6,798
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 1, 2023 22:44:13 GMT
Devil May Cry 2.
DMC2 may not be the worst game I've ever played, but it's definitely the worst game I've ever beaten.
To call it a train wreck would be an insult to actual train wrecks; to call it a dumpster fire would be to denigrate real-life flaming dumpsters.
I'd love to have been a fly on the wall during the initial brainstorming session for this game. I'm guessing it went something like this:
"Righto, lads - Devil May Cry 2! First things first: what do we want to keep from the original?"
"The fast-paced melee combat? The campy, all-over-the-place tone? The exciting boss encounters?"
"Nah - let's scrap all that, and just keep the jank."
"The jank?"
"The jank... and the guns."
I've already grumbled extensively about this subject in the '... currently playing?' thread, so I shan't revisit all my complaints here.
Suffice it to say that I utterly loathed this 'game' - I've watched Jim Sterling play Steam shovelware with higher production values.
I've also seen people claim that DMC2 is so bad, it's good. This is untrue: in fact, it's so bad, it's shit.
3/10.
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Post by Samildanach on Oct 1, 2023 22:53:54 GMT
Ahem. DM2 is an underrated Masterpiece....of SHITNESS.
Truly the worst PS2 game I have played and one of the worst of all time. Don't feel bad about doing the Lucia playthrough, instead spare a thought for foolish younger me as I went through both in DMD mode also as well as completed the Bloody Palace!
Now I am starting to see why my tendency to absolutely rinse all games died a death by DM3. It wasn't that fantastic game..it was this piece of crap that broke me just before!
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Ulythium
Full Member
Lily-livered
Posts: 6,798
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Post by Ulythium on Oct 1, 2023 23:00:16 GMT
I buggered up the spoiler tag in my initial post, hence the subsequent edit, but if anyone wants to know more about why DMC2 is so awful, I recommend this YouTube video:
Unlike the uploader, I was dumb enough to do the Lucia playthrough as well as the Dante one. It sucked.
Samildanach You're a stronger person than I! When the credits rolled for the second time, I couldn't wait to quit the game and shut off my PS5. Never again.
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Post by simple on Oct 1, 2023 23:35:52 GMT
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster (console version)
My first time playing through the first Final Fantasy game and I had a lovely time. The updated graphics are really nice, the quality of life adjustments mean you avoid a lot of the typical frustrations I get going back to 8-bit titles, and the new fully orchestrated score feels properly epic.
Obviously being a NES game and the first in the series in a lot of ways its super basic. There’s barely any story, characters are only as deep as a name and sprite, lots of the monsters are just palette swaps, but the general gameplay loop is fun and the main quest gives you just enough steer that there’s not really much getting lost despite the basicness of it all.
Nice to see so many elements that continued across the series were there from the beginning.
8/10
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Post by damagedinc on Oct 1, 2023 23:46:27 GMT
If you want similar vibes to Gris, but a better (but imperfect) game, Spiritfarer is worth a look. Have a box of tissues handy though oof. Also on netflix games if your happy to play on phone....
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Post by Nanocrystal on Oct 2, 2023 0:24:28 GMT
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster (console version) My first time playing through the first Final Fantasy game and I had a lovely time. The updated graphics are really nice, the quality of life adjustments mean you avoid a lot of the typical frustrations I get going back to 8-bit titles, and the new fully orchestrated score feels properly epic. Obviously being a NES game and the first in the series in a lot of ways its super basic. There’s barely any story, characters are only as deep as a name and sprite, lots of the monsters are just palette swaps, but the general gameplay loop is fun and the main quest gives you just enough steer that there’s not really much getting lost despite the basicness of it all. Nice to see so many elements that continued across the series were there from the beginning.8/10 Sick burn dude.
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aubergine
Junior Member
I must get over myself
Posts: 2,181
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Post by aubergine on Oct 2, 2023 1:25:30 GMT
I’m looking wistfully at this thread wishing I ever either finished a game or played games that had “an ending” to begin with.
I’ll keep an eye out for Kena though based on the comments.
I did finish “Wasteland 3” in 2021 on PlayStation and thought it was excellent, 9/10.
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Post by Nanocrystal on Oct 2, 2023 2:43:39 GMT
I did finish “Wasteland 3” in 2021 on PlayStation and thought it was excellent, 9/10. How was the performance? I enjoyed W2 on console but it was a buggy mess and I've heard W3 is similar.
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aubergine
Junior Member
I must get over myself
Posts: 2,181
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Post by aubergine on Oct 2, 2023 3:00:17 GMT
I don’t recall having any problems with it, though I never had problems with Wasteland 2 either. I probably waiting so long with either of them that major bugs were fixed. I didn’t finish Wasteland 2 (the whole second half of the game was too much game, but was right into the first half) but thought Wasteland 3 was much, much better at every level. I plan to take a second run at it someday now that I have the DLC, but I didn’t feel the base game needed more game, it was just right.
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Post by Nanocrystal on Oct 2, 2023 3:48:34 GMT
Yeah it was the second half of W2 on PS4 that was the problem. Crashes to the home screen became pretty frequent (like every hour or two). Great to hear W3 runs better!
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aubergine
Junior Member
I must get over myself
Posts: 2,181
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Post by aubergine on Oct 2, 2023 4:17:23 GMT
Yeah it was the second half of W2 on PS4 that was the problem. Crashes to the home screen became pretty frequent (like every hour or two). Great to hear W3 runs better! Well that explains it. I replayed Act One of 2 over and over to get the “perfect” result of everything, then when you move to the new location just went… oh I’m done actually.
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