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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 31, 2023 11:00:31 GMT
Ion Fury It's a 90's shooter. If you like them, you should play it. Weapons, level design, visuals, music, all outstanding Think there's a sequel out this year or the next, so that's good
Shout out to the revolver you start with that trivialises annoying small and flying enemies. Never stops being useful
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2023 13:32:34 GMT
Callisto Protocol
This feels like the 360 game and Dead Space was the spiritual sequel that improved everything.
It's weird, everything about it from weapons to combat is worse than the game that inspired it.
It's OK, and short enough. Just disappointing how meh it all is.
5/10
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Post by pierrepressure on Nov 2, 2023 9:12:43 GMT
Cocoon - Xbox Gamepass
Deceptively simple puzzler, initially anyway.
Goes full on inception towards the last quarter of the game which spoilt my overall feelings towards the game but I accept this won't be an issue for those that love some puzzling.
It's quite brief so didn't overstay it's welcome, certainly worth a shot if you've got Gamepass.
7.5/10
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Post by Rubicon on Nov 2, 2023 9:21:42 GMT
30. Signalis
I managed to get this done before it left Game Pass and have been debating with myself about whether I liked it or not since. I have issues with the gameplay (the inventory being the most obvious) that brought me close to actually chucking it but it's the atmosphere that pulled me through. The pixel art is gorgeous and they've managed to use it to create this dreamlike experience which coupled with the impenetrable story is something quite special. I loved it.
9.5/10
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Nov 2, 2023 10:02:15 GMT
Lords of the Fallen
Still got performance and graphical issues but as I've said numerous times in the LotF thread, I feel like this is a souls-like made for me. I loved every single minute of the 50 hours. I'm already planning new builds and what to mop up before I move on to NG+. I never seem to love the critical darlings, such is me. This though, is my bag. For me, it's second only to the Dark Souls Trilogy and Bloodborne. I genuinely loved it that much and I want more.
10/10
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Post by dfunked on Nov 2, 2023 10:02:46 GMT
Didn't they improve Signalis' inventory shortly after release too? It was bloody awful when I played it. Annoyed that I missed it now, as I've been meaning to go back and finish it.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Nov 2, 2023 10:06:44 GMT
I heard they had yeah but likewise, my playthrough was the original inventory size, which was shit. Still a fucking brilliant game though.
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Post by Rubicon on Nov 2, 2023 10:21:54 GMT
The inventory has 6 item slots but if you take a gun, ammo, maybe health, self defense weapon, quest item as well as picking things up on the way then that number fills up very quickly.
A more strategic person might plan it out better but having to travel back and forth can be tedious.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Nov 2, 2023 19:38:41 GMT
DmC: Devil May Cry.
(Two quick things before I get started: yes, I rather enjoyed this game overall; and no, I haven't been trying to make my own wine by leaving squashed grapes in the airing cupboard again.)
Once upon a time, a team of developers who had no experience with Devil May Cry was tasked with making a new entry in the popular series. They reframed the protagonist as a monosyllabic grouch; they made sweeping adjustments to the existing combat system; and they tinkered ham-fistedly with the established story.
The resulting game was an abject disaster. Disdained by critics, loathed by fans, and overlooked by everyone else, it remains the franchise's nadir to this day.
But enough about Devil May Cry 2 - let's talk about DmC: Devil May Cry.
*pauses for laughter*
*watches tumbleweeds drift by in silence*
*sobs inwardly*
Ahem.
Back in the day, a bunch of suits at Capcom decided that after four games, Devil May Cry had to be rebooted; accordingly, they enlisted a UK-based studio called Ninja Theory to do the work for them.
The ensuing product proved divisive, and Capcom eventually took back the reins for the acclaimed Devil May Cry 5, leaving DmC as a permanent outlier in the series. So how is it?
"Nowhere near as bad as its reputation suggests", is my answer.
Yeah, the writing's pretty poor, but the original Devil May Cry games weren't exactly Shakespeare. Besides, who plays DMC for the narrative? It's all about the combat, which is pretty damn solid for the most part - a wide range of weapons that allows for genuine playstyle flexibility, a reasonable variety of enemies, and some decent boss fights thrown in for good measure.
The previous titles had platforming sections, and they sucked due to a combination of finicky controls and a fixed camera that made it a real ballache to jump about with any degree of precision. Here, the platforming elements are much improved, with Dante able to use two different grappling hooks - one that brings platforms to him, and another that takes him to them - alongside various jumps and dashes. Best of all, the modernised third-person camera removes the inherent frustration of traversing the environment during these parts.
No, it's not perfect. It's not great, and it isn't even 'very good'... but it is a good game, and undeserving of the opprobrium that has been heaped upon it by an irate fanbase over the past decade or so.
7/10.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Nov 2, 2023 19:50:10 GMT
Gets all the opprobrium it deserves in my opinion. The presentation is so cringe worthy as to render it unplayable
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Nov 2, 2023 19:59:28 GMT
You know what? I didn't know opprobrium was a word. I've now added it to my lexicon. I'm going to launch it out my mouth hole at work tomorrow and see what admiring glances it gets me. Thank you.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Nov 2, 2023 20:00:54 GMT
How could you not have heard of opprobrium
It was the first word I ever said
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Nov 2, 2023 20:08:11 GMT
If you skip the cutscenes - which you pretty much could without missing anything of value, even on your initial playthrough - you're left with a good hack and slash game.
It makes the same mistake as plenty of other titles in trying to be too 'edgy'. (Forspoken is perhaps the most recent example.)
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wunty
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Post by wunty on Nov 2, 2023 20:30:21 GMT
How could you not have heard of opprobrium It was the first word I ever said Dunno. Just never read it and never heard it spoken. I kind of feel sick now tbh. I don't know who to be angry at first. My parents? My first teacher? Let me dig out my Filofax. I've got some heated phone calls to make.
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Post by baihu1983 on Nov 2, 2023 20:34:11 GMT
I enjoyed the NT DMC. Yes some of the script should have been changed but the gameplay was spot on.
Attacking previous games and fans was a very dumb move.
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Post by Chopsen on Nov 2, 2023 20:43:01 GMT
Yeah, the NT DMC is my favourite one of the series out of the ones I've played. Fight me.
I even quite like the writing. I found it lol funny at points.
The "proper" ones are both camp and silly while somehow *also* take themselves way too seriously.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Nov 2, 2023 20:51:14 GMT
Ninja Theory (or at least, whichever employee ran their Twitter account at the time) did themselves no favors with their attitude towards the existing DMC fanbase, that's for sure. I must admit, I got a guilty chuckle out of this exchange:
It's dumb as hell, but so are large parts of 1 and 3, and I really liked those games.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Nov 2, 2023 21:26:29 GMT
The problem is that it's not self aware at all and clearly thinks it is very cool and edgy. The game's director, by the way
The other games at least know they're camp and stupid
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Post by Chopsen on Nov 2, 2023 22:31:13 GMT
Any controversy about it totally passed me by as I knew about about it at launch, and ended up playing it when it was a free PS plus game or heavily discounted or whatever.
It *certainly* doesn't take itself at all seriously. It's by far the silliest of all the games in that series. And the combat mechanic just clicked for me.
The lead developer might well be a tosser as well, of course. None of the above precludes that.
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Post by bichii2 on Nov 3, 2023 16:59:45 GMT
Alan wake 2
Brilliant game. Few fiddly mechanics but you get used to them. Interesting story with lots of twists. Many chapters that were terrifying and stressful. Funny chapters, crazy chapters. Had a bit of everything and much less combat than the original for those that didn't get on with the combat.
9/10
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Post by Aunt Alison on Nov 3, 2023 17:08:17 GMT
It *certainly* doesn't take itself at all seriously. It's by far the silliest of all the games in that series. I dunno, you might be giving them too much credit
He goes on to say: “It seems that games are perceived to be for kids and should never tackle themes a Saturday morning cartoon wouldn’t. It would be pretty depressing and limiting if all developers accepted that as the status quo. Our games are being played by intelligent adults, so there is no reason why we can’t treat them as such.”
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Nov 3, 2023 17:34:14 GMT
Lords of the Fallen Still got performance and graphical issues but as I've said numerous times in the LotF thread, I feel like this is a souls-like made for me. I loved every single minute of the 50 hours. I'm already planning new builds and what to mop up before I move on to NG+. I never seem to love the critical darlings, such is me. This though, is my bag. For me, it's second only to the Dark Souls Trilogy and Bloodborne. I genuinely loved it that much and I want more. 10/10 How's the difficulty? I read the devs are going to make bosses harder with a patch.
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Nov 5, 2023 14:59:52 GMT
I'm done with Shadow Warrior 2 after another 50 hours with it. Just making a small note here, as I essentially already said everything of relevance over in the other thread.
Edit:
Morphopolis: A short, colorful puzzle/pixel-hunting game. Decent enough with some good music.
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Tuffty
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Post by Tuffty on Nov 5, 2023 22:19:54 GMT
DmC also had it's gameplay flaws at launch. "30 fps that feels likes 60". Colour coded enemies where you would literally bounce off if you didn't attack with the corresponding weapon, for a game series all about using all your tools to be as stylish as possible it felt terrible. And it didn't feel good to me at all. Compare certain moves like Stinger or Killer Bee from Vergil and it's absolutely pathetic by comparison to DMC3 or 4. Nevermind the dog shit story, brutal character assassination and the devs showing blatant contempt for existing fans with a little bit of homophobia thrown in there too and it was an unmitigated mess.
...Sorry, back on topic.
Sea of Stars - 7/10
A love letter to SNES JRPG's, this was an enjoyable game...until you get about halfway through. Combat was pretty interesting but from the midway point once you get all characters, the 3 skills each character has just makes it repetitive. It has a Mario RPG like timing mechanic where correctly pressing the X button will deal more damage or land another hit, but there's only so much of it you can take before it feels like you're going through the motions. Also think it has a pretty poor late game, the game asks to backtrack to some places and in some instances there's no shortcut to it so you're backthracking through whole dungeons just to get back. It makes trying to clear up side quests exceptionally tiresome. It could have done a better job overall with easing traversal between areas like a list of fast travel points to major towns or campfires. I appreciate it's a throwback to SNES JRPG's, but other games nowadays ease that frustration for a reason. The story also descends away from it's characters to speeding through it. Multiple scenarios where our party runs into impossible barriers only to be solved immediately by a deus ex machina that one character can, quite literally, pull out of his hat, almost back to back. Doing it once might be a charming way of suberting expectations but when every obstacle uses it, I just started rolling my eyes and not caring. Doubly so upon learning that I felt exceptionally short changed on the game's ending only to be to discover that if I wanted the true ending I have to collect all of the hidden collectibles of the game, which I am simply not doing for the reasons above.
Still, I would recommend to people even with the caveats. I really liked the look of the game and it has some interesting dungeons and puzzle solving. Your patience for my frustrations around the game might vary. In terms of throwbacks to SNES JRPG's though, I would recommend Chained Echoes over this. It has it's flaws as well, but the combat is much more engaging and difficult and the story is better too. Prob a more impressive feat given that it was a much smaller team of people.
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on Nov 5, 2023 23:58:59 GMT
I don't know how much the 'Definitive Edition' of DmC (i.e. the PS4/Xbox One reissue, as opposed to the original PS3/Xbox 360 version) changed about the gameplay, but I get the feeling said alterations were quite significant.
That said, I totally get most of the criticisms of the game, and I don't expect (or even want) to change anyone's minds on that front.
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Post by simple on Nov 6, 2023 0:56:50 GMT
Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster
As with FF1PR it looks great with its updated 16-bit graphics and the fully orchestrated soundtrack elevates the gameplay a lot. This one has an actual story with characters and attempts at delivering emotional twists too which is a huge step up from how shallow things were in FF1. Very impressive for an NES title.
Although I do wish there was the option to flip back to the original 8-bit presentation like you can in the DoubleFine remasters of the LucasArts adventure games. More out of curiosity than anything else.
The real issues it had are two gameplay points. First the levelling system is incredibly grindy. The second is that some of the dungeons are ridiculously big. Both issues are slightly negated by the Pixel Remaster boost settings but the original or playing without XP or Gil boosts must double the playtime.
The levelling system is probably the bigger problem because skills and magic only gain xp if you use them. So you need to individually grind each spell type for each party member and the same for each weapon class and for their left and right hands. It just makes every situation take longer than it needs to, eg you only really need defensively magic and buffs for the boss fights but you end up needing to use them will grinding total scrubs to level up enough that they can make a difference when you need them. Its probably quite a sophisticated system for the NES but its a pain in the arse in 2023.
Next up FFIII and the job system.
7/10
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Rich
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Post by Rich on Nov 6, 2023 18:40:00 GMT
Tuffty I'm enjoying SoS at the moment though can see me agreeing with all of your points, and I've not yet started the backtracking.
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Post by Wizzard_Ook on Nov 6, 2023 18:59:16 GMT
Immortals Fenyx Rising.
20-25 hours
Decent. I had a good time time with it. It's a more gamey BOTW, and kind of reminded me of some old school ps2 era games. I read the Eurogamer review this afternoon and it's pretty spot on. It's Breath of the wild without any of the wonder. And thats ok. I just kind of dug it. I got into the dungeons, I quite liked upgrading the various things you can upgrade, story is a bit throwaway but I guess services the game. It looks great, but unfortunately cheapened by some freemium presentation when it comes to collectibles, and the character designs of the gods are a bit ... yeah. But it's tight, lots of puzzles without too much handholding, good gameplay loop. Combat is similar to that of the current assassin creed games (Origins etc). It works and does the job. Unfortunately, they haven't really scaled any difficulty in the game, it's probably at its most difficult early on, but once you upgraded a few things, you can practically steam roll everything. Which probably works in its favour as its doesn't bog the game down later on. Overall. Its fun. Worth a play though.
3.5/5
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Nov 7, 2023 17:56:34 GMT
Happy Game by Amanita Design. It's a psychedelic horror adeventure and it was only a few hours long. The graphical style is a lot like what they did with Botanicula. I didn't like the demo that much and that wasn't much different with the full version, but the second and third nightmare were more to my liking. Overall quite fun and charming in the way that only Amanita games can be.
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hicksy
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Post by hicksy on Nov 8, 2023 7:38:07 GMT
Sea of Stars (XBS via GP) - Wonderful indie classic RPG for fans of classics like Chrono Cross and Secret of Mana!
Pros
Charming, vibrant (very colourful!) and lovingly crafted pixel graphics Terrific soundtrack Very likeable characters Basic but engaging turn based but timed button active combat system Varied and interesting locations Expansive story
Cons
Repetitive nature of combat through long game (up to approx 30hrs) Fairly abrupt and a little disjointed ending imo Alt (real) ending locked behind completing all collectibles (life is too short and great games are too many… thank you YouTube!)
Overall though this is a MUST play for classic rpg fans… one of the most charming games I’ve played in years. To avoid combat burnout play it alongside another game for up to 2hrs a day only and unlikely you will tire of it that way.
8.5/10
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