It seems to be a corporate mindset now that you need to flex by snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

I think its fucking infuriating but I'm glad they backed down on their decision to need a psn account on PC for Helldivers 2

As I said in this very thread, the Microsoft buyouts proved to be nothing but bad news. And Microsoft is only making more terrible decisions, after dropping four entire studios. To the point where I can't buy and play Hi-Fi Rush now, knowing that money isn't going to anyone but Microsoft. Plus, everyone's already calling out Hellblade 2 doing poorly and Microsoft giving them the axe next. Regardless of my opinion of that walking simulator that natters on in your ear. It was a "double-A" darling for others, and I've seen basically no promotion of it's sequel.

And Sony is continuing the stupid PSN crusade and just removed access for Ghosts of Tsushima in the same countries as Helldivers 2. (Doubt that will be the last of them either.)

Take Two also fired six hundred employees/two studios and cancelled most of it's projects too. (Among all the other bigger studios cancelling games like Square-Enix.)

So I think the only piece of good news that I've seen in the gaming sphere is how well several indies are being received. Animal Well / VideoGameDunkey being the funniest. Because while he hasn't actually made anything funny on Youtube in years, he still pisses off all the right people AND it looks like I might get another good Metriodvania to play. (The thing is even on Playstation Extra.) So I'll take the wins that I can get.

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I think its fucking infuriating, but I'm glad they backed down on their decision to need a PSN account on PC for Helldivers 2

Note that the game was still removed from 177 countries that originally had access. And I doubt every single user that bought the game in those places, were able to get it properly refunded.

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GHOST OF TSUSHIMA IS OUT

For anyone whose bored and needs a game to play. (As someone whose played and very much enjoyed at least one of these games. That being Bloody Hell.)



100% Orange Juice (A 'Mario party-ish' board game.) & Endless Legend (a 4X Strategy) are also free right now on Steam.

And Indigo Park: Chapter 1 (Indie horror) was released on Steam for free.

So I suddenly have more things to play. (Time will tell if I actually like any of them. But Steam games have a better track record of enjoyment, compared to Itch.io games that I've tried.)

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But because I spilled shit all over my keyboard and had it non-functional for weeks. I haven't been on my PC/Steam much. So I played a few games on my PS5 instead.

Animal Well: Unlike Rain World & Outer Wilds, this game's controls were made by someone who actually plays video games. More challenging than I originally thought it was going to be. But it's a genuinely good game that ends well. And it still had plenty of optional content/secrets to find. (With "boss fights" being it's weakest and most frustrating element.) Not quite the masterpiece "Tunic" is, but few things are. And it's probably the strongest of the three games I'm 'reviewing'.

Worldless: This one hurts a bit, because the "mid-game" is downright impressive. It has a dual character movement/combat system that forces you to switch them on the fly & it's turn-based combat system is quite a challenge. Plus, like Animal Well, it's very nice to look at in places. But this games' challenge through obscurity/trial-and-error never really "clicked" with me. (As the necessary parry mechanic/certain movement abilities felt way too inconsistent for how precise you needed to be.) And unfortunately, it's ending is downright terrible. (Whoever thought it was a good idea to end your game on a "supposed to lose" boss fight is beyond me.)

Chants Of Sennaar: Another good puzzle game that I enjoyed for the most part. It's obviously rushed final level aside. Especially how it's good ending/optional content directly changes old parts of the world to make you feel like you're improving it. (But it was clearly made for PC's/mouse movement. Because doing the optional content/it's numerous "stealth" sections on a controller were a tedious endeavor.)

@SleepingSilence Funny, I just came across this the other day. I guess you can look at it once you're done with those. Can confirm Outcore is a fun experience, even if I didn't like the coding minigame and some of the controls were slippery. It's very playable.

That said, I think a lot of free games get a wee bit overpraised because free = virtually no expectations. You can expect most experiences to lack the polish and/or duration of their commercial counterparts. But you know, it's free, so it's just a time investment.

@BrokenPromise Sure. I think the "free-to-play" model can dodge a lot of legitimate criticisms under the guise of "being free". (Especially in regards to certain monetary practices.) But the actual free game is a nostalgic reminder of the endless flash game library that kids everywhere enjoyed. (Opposed to the mobile game market nowadays, where the kids spend thousands of dollars on their parents' credit card.) And I much prefer the former.

Plus, I think the point is to give the developers free and vital feedback on their design, and "exposure" through word of mouth. So when the current triple-A market and it's defenders argue that games need to be more expensive. Pointing to the variety of (free) indies that I'd rather play instead of their overproduced slop, is an ever-growing counterpoint.

Also, I'd actually disagree with the "free means lack of polish" argument. Because I've had less bugs and issues with free games as opposed to shovelware/cheap indies/early access games that expect money upfront. (Though short duration is usually valid & I think "being left wanting more" isn't a bug. But the point of "prototype/game jam" games.)

And I'll certainly give that list a look.