Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

[mickilennial]

I think people are more annoyed by the games instability, visual and gameplay glitches, etc.

[Fabricant451]

Visually it's fine and I haven't had any glitches or instability or anything other than like one time I beat an enemy and his body did the weird shake dance thing that is always a laugh riot. I mean it's likely been patched out by now if there was stuff but the game is like a perfectly enjoyable 7/10 experience which is likely disappointing since most people would expect anything with the Batman name attached to be like the Arkham games and understandably so.

But it's more like the Avengers game with slightly less combat depth but a much more enjoyable loop.

[mickilennial]

Visually it's fine and I haven't had any glitches or instability or anything other than like one time I beat an enemy and his body did the weird shake dance thing that is always a laugh riot. I mean it's likely been patched out by now if there was stuff but the game is like a perfectly enjoyable 7/10 experience which is likely disappointing since most people would expect anything with the Batman name attached to be like the Arkham games and understandably so.

But it's more like the Avengers game with slightly less combat depth but a much more enjoyable loop.

@Fabricant451

ngl some of the glitches I saw on GR's stream was peak comedy

[Carlyle]

Logged into Pokemon Unite for the first time in months to input the 100M download thank you gift (which was pathetic in its own way, pretty much spare change and a random gold emblem). Didn't even feel like playing a single match because nothing has changed from when I originally started feeling disinterested in the game. They just don't care for player feedback at all, though then again this is Tencent we're talking about so that should've been obvious.

[SleepingSilence]

I believe that I’m almost finished. So…

Axiom Verge is a pleasant surprise. If only because I went in with some negative preconceptions. But to get one major thing out of the way; the visuals in this game are fine. There’s far more environmental changes and color variety than first impressions suggest. (And you travel to several locations fairly quickly.) Plus, there’s a variety of H.R. Giger robots, cutscenes and interesting visual changes. So yeah. It’s not actually an eyesore whatsoever. (For me)

And with that said, onto the pros and cons…

Positives

• The story is non-intrusive and far more interesting than other “plot driven” metroidvanias. And the main character is a good and likable protagonist.
• The upgrades are frequent and mostly useful.
• It has tons of good ideas that you don’t get (and want) in other metroidvanias. It gives you the ability to glitch through walls, erase and create platforms, corrupt enemies into useful tools for yourself, a power drill that’s satisfying enough to use, a small attack drone that lets you venture through small gaps and scout through the levels. There’s genuinely so much freedom in that regard, that it easily makes up for other flaws that might kill a game like this.

Neutral

• There’s a lot of weapon variety. But it’s difficult to argue that most of the options are useful.
• The map is in desperate need of more markers, and the UI could use some polish.
• A lot of enemies are obnoxious to deal with. Hidden in walls, lots of health, small and swarming, drains your health fast etc. (Probably to contrast the fact that you can break them.)
• The soundtrack is decent in places. (And has little touches like matching your low HP warning to the beat of the backing track.) But it also has an Ender Lilies “looping vocal track” that I can’t fucking stand. Combining the worst “that one ‘worldly’ vocalist wailing AAAAAAH” in all terrible modern movies, and glitch stuttering that reminds me of a much better instrumental from The Glitch Mob. And it’s a level you find yourself trapped in.
• Level design rewards curiosity and experimentation, but can often be confusing. (For reasons that are likely unintentional.) Especially at times when the game occasionally forces you down one path. But that correct path is beyond obscure.

Negatives

• The bosses are easily exploitable health sponges. Both poorly designed and not very engaging to fight. (But this almost works in the game’s favor, when it has several fake-out bosses that serve its story instead.)
• The backtracking takes quite a bit of time here. Between no fast travel, cluttered maps, two map markers, and multiple ways to unlock potential hidden passages. It’s likely you’ll grow frustrated with how much time you’ve wasted.
• Controls are the most damning flaw; in that they’re clunky and do not always work properly. For instance, the quick select button appears broken on the controller. The odd jump and slippery movement seems to make me miss jumps and fall off platforms constantly. The dash is hard to use smoothly, and can also be used accidentally. And the grapple is a pain in the ass to utilize. Among other things. That only heighten the tedious frustration the game’s backtracking provides.

Do I like it more than Grime? Eh. Grime's core gameplay is stronger. But I don't dislike Axiom Verge, and I hope it doesn't end as poorly as Ender Lilies or HAAK.

[Carlyle]

gog.com/game/broken_sword_directors_cut

free to keep game only until the 22nd. idk if any of you guys use gog, i personally don't though

[Dark Cloud]

Ahem, so Binding of Isaac is absolutely pushing me to the limit. How hard do you need to make unlocking a frigging character?! Absolutely love the game, even bought the DLC last night for Repentance and it seriously shouldn't have costed 20 bucks to improve the UI but eh they gotta make money I guess. Anyhow unlocking Appolyon is nigh impossible.

On another note I'm playing MH Rise again, Sword and Shield mains represent!!

[SleepingSilence]

>Knows his hardest boss is poorly designed and let's you skip it. (Even gives you a reward for not wasting your time.)

Thanks Axiom Verge's dev. You get it. Rated: It was fine. Concluded the story well enough. 6/10. (Probably better than Headlanders. If I had to put it somewhere on a list.)

Now for something entirely different.

While secretly hoping my friend gets Elden Ring for his PS5. <.<

[Carlyle]

store.epicgames.com/p/thems-fightin-h… another free game expires the 20th (tomorrow) get it while you still can

[Lord Orgasmo]

Alright, why didn't any of y'all tell me about this?

[Fabricant451]

Cuz it came out 5 years ago and I barely remember what I did 5 weeks ago.

[Carlyle]

Some of the old old fallout games are free-to-keep on epic until tomorrow, idk if anyone here is interested in old school fallout but i figured to drop a note

[SleepingSilence]

I did pretty well this Christmas. Lots of new kitchen stuff, and even more games that I need to play.

Brok The InvestiGator was a mixed bag of entertainment. Worth playing once. (If only it wasn't a game with tons of branching paths and endings...) Its shtick is that it combines a point and click adventure and an old school brawler. But it doesn't do those elements particularly well. In that the combat is fairly simple and a bit clunky. And some of its puzzles are borderline moon logic. (So it spent a lot of time rewarding you with hints. Of varying usefulness.) The best part is probably some of its amusing dialogue and the interrogation segments. But the story has a lot of "mystery box intrigue" and quite a handful of loose ends once you finish.

So when it recommended to find "the canon ending" by "letting the two children remain kidnapped by murderous thugs". I couldn't help but question the decision to punish me after succeeding in a section.

Next game on the list is something I already downloaded, Death's Gambit Afterlife. Also going into this one pretty blind. So we'll see where it ranks...

[SleepingSilence]

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Figured I'd share this too. Would be interested to see others, if they have them.

[Fabricant451]

Marvel's Midnight Suns is shockingly addictive and way more involved than I expected. The strategy part is fun and tactical enough but also with enough random elements to keep it challenging but never in an unfair way. The character writing is surprisingly well done even if you don't know or care about the comic characters. And the activities at the base go beyond just hanging out with Doctor Strange and Wolverine, like there's an entire map with exploration and little puzzle solving and collectibles to find. What a surprise gem

[SleepingSilence]

I might only be halfway into this. (Since the updated version added a lot more end-game content.) But I don't think my opinion is going to waver too strongly in either direction. So I'm just going to give my thoughts so far on, Death's Gambit Afterlife.

Positives

• It's level design is competent. (Has enough shortcuts and an underutilized fast-travel horse to cut down on backtracking time.)
• The exploration and world is done well enough. (Has a decent amount of freedom in what bosses you fight first, and useful secrets to find.) Probably what's kept me engaged thus far.
• The pixel art and different environments of the areas are nice enough to look at.
• The game has a sense of humor. (and that's appreciated.)

Neutral/Personal Issues

• The UI is cluttered. (For various reasons.) Even in its "improved" state.
• Movement is floaty and not precise. I swear the jump/hover mechanic just doesn't work consistently.
• I picked the nerfed class that apparently isn't allowed to have any new weapons/skills whatsoever. So I've gotten new and improved items for every single class aside from the one I picked. Gee thanks. And an anon redditor's advice to someone else acknowledging this was, "idk, you can restart the whole game maybe." Fuck. You.
• The only reoccurring hitch that I've noticed, is the seconds-long pause that it does when I first load my game.

Negative/core elements that make or break most Metroidvanias&Soul-likes.

• These boss fights suck. Their attacks are poorly telegraphed. Their hitboxes are huge. Each of their attacks do so much damage to your character. And most of them have numerous time-wasting gimmicks on top of that. (Becoming invulnerable and/or invisible, summoning distraction monsters, healing themselves, making the screen dark, etc.) Now onto the cherry on top; I still beat every single one of them on my first try. (Nine bosses total thus far.) Because the game gives you seven improvable health potions right off the bat, and it doesn't feel like I'm outsmarting/outplaying an artificial intelligence. It feels like I'm always tanking hits against these cheating bastards, and killing them with the same hit & run tactics. (Doesn't help that my class only has three abilities.) So the idea that I'm only halfway through, and it forces you to rematch five bosses to get the "true ending", doesn't make me excited.
• The RPG stats and skill tree are very limited. (Don't get many skill points and don't grind EXP fast.)
• Enemies are obnoxious and spam-reliant.
• Stupid design choices (Makes end-game content and road blocks that require you to have certain items that you've likely already scrapped for upgrades. Meaning, have fun grinding.)

So, I won't stop playing yet. But my next session will almost certainly be me wasting my time. (With the only interesting thing is that my friend decided to buy and play it with me. So it might compel me to see it to the end.)

Play Blasphemous instead.

[Dark Cloud]

Ah haha, so @SleepingSilence I've played Death's Gambit as well however I will offer a couple counterpoints to a few you made.

• I picked the nerfed class that apparently isn't allowed to have any new weapons/skills whatsoever. So I've gotten new and improved items for every single class aside from the one I picked. Gee thanks. And an anon redditor's advice to someone else acknowledging this was, "idk, you can restart the whole game maybe." Fuck. You. Counterpoint: That's more a skill issue bro, it takes experimentation. I settled on Noble and was fine, didn't use a guide or follow the meta.

Negative/core elements that make or break most Metroidvanias&Soul-likes.

• These boss fights suck. Their attacks are poorly telegraphed. Their hitboxes are huge. Each of their attacks do so much damage to your character. And most of them have numerous time-wasting gimmicks on top of that. (Becoming invulnerable and/or invisible, summoning distraction monsters, healing themselves, making the screen dark, etc.) Now onto the cherry on top; I still beat every single one of them on my first try. (Nine bosses total thus far.) Because the game gives you seven improvable health potions right off the bat, and it doesn't feel like I'm outsmarting/outplaying an artificial intelligence. It feels like I'm always tanking hits against these cheating bastards, and killing them with the same hit & run tactics. (Doesn't help that my class only has three abilities.) So the idea that I'm only halfway through, and it forces you to rematch five bosses to get the "true ending", doesn't make me excited. Counterpoint: Not gonna disagree that the bosses are a bit gimmicky but I think learning their attacks is pretty important. As well as y'know playing it safe. Me personally only died to the big giraffe boss and the stone giant due to Ione's bullshitery.
• The RPG stats and skill tree are very limited. (Don't get many skill points and don't grind EXP fast.)
• Enemies are obnoxious and spam-reliant. Counterpoint: Most enemies in souls games have basic repetitive attacks.
• Stupid design choices (Makes end-game content and road blocks that require you to have certain items that you've likely already scrapped for upgrades. Meaning, have fun grinding.) Counterpoint: Are you saying items to unlock other areas or add new mobility mechanics? Cause Death's Gambit is technically a roguelike so this kind of thing is pretty par for the course.

@SleepingSilence

Other than that I'd love to hear your opinion on a game like Salt and Sanctuary. I've just got Black Desert now and by tonight should be able to play it. I'm so done paying for Final Fantasy 14's subscription while also trying to pay my PlayStation subscription.

[SleepingSilence]

That's more a skill issue bro, it takes experimentation. I settled on Noble and was fine, didn't use a guide or follow the meta. - @Dark Cloud

The Noble wasn't nerfed through later patches. The Bloodknight was.

Pointing out that my nerfed class hasn't received any new weapons, and only has three weapon abilities that I've unlocked in ten hours of gameplay, isn't a skill issue. It's a literal fact.

I've used the starting axe for my class. And I've received every other type of upgraded and special weapon. So it really feels like I drew the short straw here. (In terms of gameplay variety.) I have less options than if I picked any other class in the game. (And weapon switching is a crapshoot, when I only have axe skills to start with. And it's a huge grind to buy/replace skills.)

Maybe the game's tutorial shouldn't have made it the one melee weapon that stood out & had a different description.

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I think learning their attacks is pretty important. As well as y'know playing it safe. Me personally only died to the big giraffe boss, and the stone giant due to Ione's bullshitery. - @Dark Cloud

My only boss death comes from the giraffe boss as well. (AFTER I ALREADY KILLED THE F*CKER. HE KILLED ME AFTER I MADE HIM A CORPSE! But I digress.)

I learned the opposite. Beating everything on the first try, before you can memorize and learn said attack patterns, doesn't really bode well for the importance of attack patterns. I killed the 'makes everything dark boss' with a bunch lightning bombs. Because if the game is going to cheese and obscure his damn attack patterns. I'm going to cheese him right back.

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Most enemies in souls games have basic repetitive attacks. -@Dark Cloud

I meant that the enemies are spammed (as in numbers on screen.) Because their not smart or tough enough to beat on their own. So the game forces DS2/HAAK spambush tactics. And their obnoxious (not enjoyable to encounter) in ways that are cheap. Like the enemies mobs that appear and swarm in from off-screen. Or the purple enemies that only take damage from abilities. But they're almost always by themselves, and you have no skill points. (Since you need to attack things first.)

My favorite death thus far, was the game failing to dash me past two purple guys and instead putting me in-between two of them, where I was somehow insta-killed with full health.

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Are you saying items to unlock other areas or add new mobility mechanics? Cause Death's Gambit is technically a roguelike so this kind of thing is pretty par for the course. - @Dark Cloud

I'm referring to two particular instances at the moment. One is in the special end game puzzles that you find above the main city. Where one requires you to have a special mage book that you get from a rare encounter. But since ONE class uses high INT, you're going to scrap it for upgrade material. (And if you defend that. Note this is completely arbitrary design. That there's no reason the player would keep it, and that the mechanics outright encourage you to scrap stuff you don't need. Since every upgrade requires a lot more materials.)

The second is that pointless elemental roadblock, where it stops you from going into several levels, until you have access to fire, lightning and dark damage. A genuine waste of time, that isn't even a challenge for the mage or other more skill-varied classes. Is something I only realized I had after I looked it up. Since elements of weapons aren't stated anywhere. (And I fortunately hadn't gotten rid of every weapon I didn't need.)

And no game in this genre that I've played thus far has done something as pointless as this.

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Other than that I'd love to hear your opinion on a game like Salt and Sanctuary. -@Dark Cloud

I saw the boss fights and art design. And I sort of chalked it up to an 'Ender Lillies' experience. And concluded that I probably wouldn't like it. (That, and it apparently having both fall damage and no map.) But I can't say anything for certain, since I haven't played it myself. (And don't know anyone firsthand who has.)

Also, pardon the heat. I wrote this while I was hangry.

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But yeah. This one is easier to play. (Versus something like Haak or Ender Lillies.) Both in having less challenge and less frustrating exploration. But it's not had any particular highlights or stand outs either. So I'd probably rate this game average at best.

But I am getting to a few late bosses, with slightly more interesting gimmicks. And the ending tends to make/break games for me. So we'll see how it sticks the landing...

[Dark Cloud]

@SleepingSilence On the topic of Salt and Sanctuary, I'll offer you my opinions on it. It is very much a 'souls' inspired game but it really shines in the stats and build potentials. I however discovered that oddly, dagger is the strongest weapon unlike Death's Gambit where it sucks ass. But I digress. Also, Noble is neat. You get a NPC who sells you stuff in the main hub, I think other classes do but I dunno.

[SleepingSilence]

@Dark Cloud Noble got a 2nd merchant on his own. Mine supposedly used to be heal after a counterattack/rally system via bloodborne. Which made the class OP. Now its heal a tiny itty bit after I counter using an ability. (But I never have skill points.) So I don't think I've ever seen it work. ^-^' (But I don't think class bonuses were ever stated in the tutorial. I just wanted to do anything beside a mage. Because I figured it be easy mode.)

I've seen more positive reviews on the game (Salt&Sanctuary) than negative ones, to be fair. (Then again, I did for Ender Lillies too.) But I'll keep your recommendation in mind. If you think I'd enjoy it, based on all the reviews I post here when I'm bored. :P

Though I have a metric ton of games to go through first.