rhaegyr
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Post by rhaegyr on May 21, 2024 8:30:31 GMT
Interesting mix of 10/10's to 5/10's albeit the majority are in the positive. I'm guessing because it's more of a niche type of game it lands better with some people than others? Yeah pretty much. I'm a bit disappointed but learned a while ago that Ninja Theory's style of game isn't really for me. Except DmC which was excellent so it baffles me why the rest of their output seems a little thin on gameplay  |
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Frog
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Post by Frog on May 21, 2024 8:30:32 GMT
And yet you get some walking simulators get top marks when you just walk. Reviews are funny things.
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hicksy
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Post by hicksy on May 21, 2024 9:02:08 GMT
I was not a fan of the first game (abandoned about a third of the way in… crappy combat biggest gripe) so unlikely to be swung on the sequel.
That said sounds like another doozy of a tech demo!
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Post by theguy on May 21, 2024 9:37:17 GMT
Was hoping they improved the gameplay in this one honestly.
Found the first one a bit of a slog and maybe it's just me, but I didn't care much for the story or its portrayal of mental health either.
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Post by Jambowayoh on May 21, 2024 9:47:40 GMT
And yet you get some walking simulators get top marks when you just walk. Reviews are funny things. Like funny shaped arseholes. |
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Zyrr
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Post by Zyrr on May 21, 2024 10:05:17 GMT
I loved the story, atmosphere and overall presentation of the first game - Juergens' performance is absolutely amazing - but I found the gameplay repetitive and simplistic with the combat more like a series of Quick Time Events similar to early Xbox360 games. It felt like a chore and I only really powered through because the story was so captivating.
The fact that this is more of the same feels like a bit of a miss for me. I'll still play it for the storytelling, but I'm really not expecting much from the gameplay.
And there in lies the problem with this series: it's a 5/10 game with 11/10 presentation.
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Post by paulyboy81 on May 21, 2024 10:10:35 GMT
Just played this for an hour or so (by played I mean nudging the thumb stick forward), yep, it's definitely a sequel to the first game alright.
Hellblade just is what it is, either you're onboard for an experience like this or it's just not your cup of tea at all, which is absolutely fine. Experience is definitely the word though, I'd hesitate to call it a game in the strictest sense personally.
If you didn't dig the original I personally wouldn't bother touching this with someone else's barge pole, unless you want to ogle the visuals.
Speaking of which, it is incredible looking at times, definitely the closest something has got to that original Unreal 5 tech demo 4 years ago or the Matrix Awakens.
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Post by Duffking on May 21, 2024 10:17:12 GMT
I enjoyed the first for what it was, but I'm ultimately not down for more of the same, I don't think. I don't mind walking and pretty visuals and atmosphere, but if the combat is still basic and the puzzles are still "stand and look in the right spot" then ehh, I can't be bothered.
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Post by Jambowayoh on May 21, 2024 10:20:49 GMT
On the positive, for now, Xbox have already greenlit their next game so they're not closing down for the foreseeable future. FOR NOW.
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Post by Duffking on May 21, 2024 10:27:32 GMT
On the positive, for now, Xbox have already greenlit their next game so they're not closing down for the foreseeable future. FOR NOW. I'm going to be honest, this doesn't really mean much. Greenlighting something doesn't mean "we're definitely going to make this no matter what". I've been on projects that got killed a month after getting greenlit because someone changed their mind. |
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Post by Jambowayoh on May 21, 2024 10:35:02 GMT
I did say "FOR NOW".
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Fake_Blood
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Post by Fake_Blood on May 21, 2024 10:41:54 GMT
Fer NUU. /limmy
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Fake_Blood
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Post by Fake_Blood on May 21, 2024 10:48:36 GMT
What bugs me is that the graphically best looking games often are filled with horror or in this case deal with themes that don’t exactly make me happy. I just want to run around in a fun world for once.
Especially bugs me in VR, I sometimes see what looks like a cool puzzle escape room type game but oh, turns out you’re stuck in serial killer’s basement.
That’s what I remember from the first Hellblade, looks cool, doesn’t exactly fill me with joy.
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rhaegyr
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Post by rhaegyr on May 21, 2024 11:02:52 GMT
Does there need to be such a big trade-off in visuals and mechanics?
NT can obviously do great mechanics as shown with DmC but everything else they've done (Enslaved, Hellblade, Heavenly Sword etc) is severely lacking in the gameplay department.
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Post by Jambowayoh on May 21, 2024 11:20:27 GMT
I guess it's what they wanted. Yeah I'm surprised there hasn't been much mix up of the formula because I assumed it was down to budget and perhaps the first one's slight gameplay was because of budget but obviously it seems they didn't see a reason to add or change some things with a bigger budget.
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Derblington
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Post by Derblington on May 21, 2024 11:38:55 GMT
And yet you get some walking simulators get top marks when you just walk. Reviews are funny things. It's relative, init. If you're a walking sim, the comparison is otehr walking sims, so you're judged on narrative, immersion and puzzles. The second you add combat, the comparison pool is a whole lot wider. From memory, as as others have eluded to already, Senua 1 was fairly weak combat, fairly weak puzzles, with a whole lot of narrative and immersion. If this is retreading that same ground, I can understand the mixed scores, and I'll probably land around a 6/10 based on how I felt about the first. I'll play it though, because it's the kind of thing I do like to try. I'm all for games that want to do something different, and the polish obviously makes it easy to just ride along. And it's on GP. |
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Frog
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Post by Frog on May 21, 2024 12:09:13 GMT
The combat in the first was basically old assassin's creed combat. The puzzles were pretty poor and we're much more of an annoyance than the combat.
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Post by anthonyuk on May 21, 2024 12:56:31 GMT
Ninja Theory seem to have drifted towards this style of heavily linear game for a while. DMC aside, as far back as Enslaved "Odyssey to the west" their gameplay has been functional at best..
Personally though I'm all for it, it's different but enjoy these more cinematic experiences. I also loved Ryse - Fall of Rome and it's bare bones fight system, so a seemingly mind bogglingly detailed cinematic ride through Iceland complete with Vikings ticks all the boxes.
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Frog
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Post by Frog on May 21, 2024 13:05:55 GMT
Ryse could have been such an incredible game if they had put in more enemy variety and better combat.
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Post by Jambowayoh on May 21, 2024 13:10:42 GMT
Ryse could have been such an incredible game if they had put in more enemy variety and better combat. Yeah it became so rote after like the 1st hour. I never felt tested. |
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JonFE
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Post by JonFE on May 21, 2024 14:02:02 GMT
On the positive, for now, Xbox have already greenlit their next game so they're not closing down for the foreseeable future. FOR NOW. Is it too much to ask them for a Kung Fu Chaos remaster (or, even better, remake)? I loved that game  |
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Post by mikew1985 on May 21, 2024 14:22:40 GMT
On the positive, for now, Xbox have already greenlit their next game so they're not closing down for the foreseeable future. FOR NOW. That would have been better news if they had done so for a studio that made a fun game with actual gameplay within the last 10 years. A studio that made something like Prey or HiFi Rush as two random examples Edit: Someone mentioned DmC which I had forgotten about however, it was apparently 2013 so my 10 years comment remains true |
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Frog
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Post by Frog on May 21, 2024 14:35:43 GMT
Not the thread for it but Prey sold like shit and outside of the internet bubble noone really cares about it. It was a re-imagining of a game that most people didn't care about as well.
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Post by mikew1985 on May 21, 2024 14:46:23 GMT
Yea true but they also did dishonoured (which is also brilliant) - I doubt any of those titles are blockbuster level but I'd be hugely suprised if something like Hellblade had reach beyond what Dishonoured did.
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Post by barchetta on May 21, 2024 15:05:03 GMT
I'd always expect these games to be quite niche. I never did try the first but, having just played through the first chapter of this sequel, it is quite the (intentional) slog and the barrage of discordant voices hardly makes for an enjoyable experience. Perhaps Game Pass is the best way for this game to reach a wider audience.
What it is is a graphical tour-de-force, with I guess Nanite being used extensively. I've yet to play Alan Wake 2 but this game sets a high bar in games I have actually experienced.
A must to at least try with headphones too, the audio is exceptional.
As a game? We'll see.
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Post by Jambowayoh on May 21, 2024 15:08:52 GMT
Not the thread for it but Prey sold like shit and outside of the internet bubble noone really cares about it. It was a re-imagining of a game that most people didn't care about as well. Perhaps, I mean I fucking loved and so did many of my friends, but it fulfilled the remit of a diverse variety of games that Xbox say that they want. |
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Ulythium
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Post by Ulythium on May 21, 2024 15:17:55 GMT
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Frog
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Post by Frog on May 21, 2024 15:23:03 GMT
If you look at the games they have released over the past year they have been quite diverse.
Bethesda weren't doing particularly well at the point they bought them so the whole company was never got to make it. It sucks when you lose studios that you like, I get it. I absolutely loved hi fi rush and it was one of the best things I have played in years.
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rhaegyr
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Post by rhaegyr on May 21, 2024 15:45:06 GMT
Hi-Fi Rush was excellent and Evil Within 2 is sorely underrated.
Anyone who enjoyed RE Village should give EW2 a go - very similar structure and it's the superior game for my money (even though it's not very scary).
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Frog
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Post by Frog on May 21, 2024 15:47:53 GMT
I really loved EW2, it was a bit janky but it was such a fun game to play through.
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