SleepingSilence

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

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

@Dark Cloud

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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Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

Lords Of The Fallen is the best defense for Dark Souls 2 that you’ll find. In that, every complaint against DS2 (held by others and myself) is done so much worse in Lords Of The Fallen. How often the game’s difficulty relies on ambush mob spam, the retarded AI of those enemies, the dodgy platforming sections, how enemies constantly hit you through the walls & yours bounce off them, bad large enemy hitboxes, camera issues in cramped spaces, levels designed to cheat you with cheap kills, bosses being boring or easy to exploit, the list goes on and on.

Though the best parts of Lords Of The Fallen (like its armor customization, the way it utilizes throwables and spell-casting, or its laggy co-op) could be easily improved themselves. And only make you wish it was all in a better game.

Also making all the characters purposefully antagonistic and unlikable was a bizarre decision for worldbuilding/immersion. Since Dark Souls does so well at making you care about the tragedy of their characters. (Even Remnant and other games with bad stories didn’t fuck that part up.)

Plus the end game is (by far) the worst part of any souls game that I’ve played. (A million patches later, and the amount of times I died by getting stuck within/falling through the terrain was absolutely absurd.) These devs obviously did not play Dark Souls…and I’m not even sure they play many video games either...

Wonderboy ‘The Dragon Trap’: Decided to play the first game after its sequel turned out to be a surprisingly challenging and fun affair. So while it’s a great redesign of a retro games’ music and visuals, the gameplay is clunky and not very enjoyable to endlessly repeat.

Yoku's Island Express: Tons of charm in its art design and worldbuilding. But the checkpoint save system was a bad idea. (Like it is in basically every game that uses it.) Since a glitch that got my character stuck inside thorns, made me lose an hour of progress when I had to restart the game. (Maybe I’ll revisit the game later.)

Alien Isolation: This game doesn’t like me. (And a select group that I’ve seen complain about the very same issue.) But the camera auto-drifts to the left to the point of being unplayable for me. (And no other game that I tried would drift like this. So it’s not my controller, and turning down the in-game sensitivity didn’t fix anything.)

Gnosia: I’m glad I gave this one a chance. ‘’Single-player Among Us’’ slaps and scratches the “it makes me feel smart” that the best deductive games should. (Soundtrack is pretty solid too.) Though it might be a little too obtuse for its own good on how to progress the story. The game is a perfect one to play in small bursts. So I’ll definitely be playing more of this.

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Edit: Sony has now actively sabotaged three games in under a week. Two being it's most talked about/buzzed games that it had on the platform. Fucking astounding.

If only Nintendo wasn't actively doing the very same thing.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

@BrokenPromise Heh. Well it's better and borderline way too easy with friends. Just wished I would've played with friends from the beginning. (Instead of completing it solo first.) Though I really should finish Elden Ring for the DLC.

What are some deck builders that you've played?

I've certainly played more card games than roguelike deck builders. But, Deep Sky Derelicts, Slay The Spire and Hand Of Fate (all have deck building elements.) And I very briefly tried Roguebook recently. Do not recommend.

Welcome to roguelite/like games, enjoy your stay.

You're not wrong. The problem is, I usually don't enjoy how Roguelike's keep you trapped in the same gameplay loop through RNG and incredibly slow progression. (If Dead Cells wasn't a roguelike. It probably could've turned into one of my favorite games.)

My third eye has opened.

Well finding nerds and cute animal pictures is about all Reddit is good for. So take advantage of what you have.

The cards you unlock in the puzzle box are largely irrelevant for progression, and more are added to the current game and can be found again in later runs. The talking cards (and items for getting the talking cards) will always be in your hand on a fresh run and are the only thing that's essential for progression. You'd know that if you played more than a handful of runs. But it doesn't sound like you enjoyed it, so you probably shouldn't. I'd find a nice Metriodvania to snuggle up to, or something in the vein of "Dust: An Elysian Tail."

I've played that one already.

Dust An Elysian Tail: It was a decent experience. Despite having an easily exploitable combat system, and a story that wasn’t particularly engaging. This felt nice to complete after it kept crashing on my PS4. (Though the f*cker still hard crashed on me after a near end game cutscene, and nearly soft-locked me when it respawned me inside of the floor.)

Though Metriodvanias are certainly more in line with my tastes. I'm sure backtracking can annoy some. But at least there's always something being accomplished. (At least in good ones.)

But I understand that the game is purposefully wasting your time in the early game. (Since you *can't* solve everything in the cabin right away, the game doesn't let you.) So worrying about losing and winning a run isn't really the point. More so than "experiencing the narrative". I just don't find that concept terribly appealing. (But maybe the mods you played it with, make the actual deckbuilding part more substantive.)

I think Inscryption has plenty of elements that help it stand out. (That ARG puzzle sh*t that it included, certainly helped market it through FOMO.) But you can experience it's art style and music (its general aesthetics that make it unique) in a Let's Play. Least in my two cents.

How many deck builders (or meta games) have you played / how would Inscryption rank amongst them?

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

I waited to respond, because I usually only post when I play new games. But all I’ve played recently is helping others through Remnant 2. So I’ll just respond now.

I'm not sure if you're talking about Inscryption, card games, or games in general here, so I'll answer for all three.

SYNTHETIK has been the game I boot when I want a gaming fix.

I was asking you what you’ve been playing recently. (As our opinions and experiences in this game obviously differ.) Haven’t heard of that one. But the youtuber sphere seems to like that game (and its sequel) a lot too.

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Card games aren't for everyone.

It really, really has nothing to do with my liking of the genre. Inscryption is more specifically a "deck builder" game anyway. And not every card game is a deck builder. (And very few deck builders are anything like Inscryption.)

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You didn't encounter a scripted loss. Unless your game "glitched out" and a wall of grizzly cards appeared.

Even so, complaining about scripted losses is a carry over from RPG's where you'd jump into a long, tedious battle and waste resources trying to beat a boss that you absolutely can't. You aren't making progress, and you're dragging out a fight when you could be experiencing the rest of the story.

Yes, a bad concept is a bad concept in every genre. I agree. (So whether or not I got to the point where that scripted loss happened. I would’ve and it wouldn’t feel fun. And I’ve seen several different let’s plays of this game. It’s not RNG. If you play Inscryption. You will get guaranteed failed runs.)

Most times when you play a game, you want to make progress. So when you play and actively lose progress instead. It can feel like a tedious experience.

The thing with Inscryption is, your progress against non-game objectives carries over between deaths.

Unless you’re mistaken, or I suffered a glitch. I did not get to keep my rewards for solving the puzzles between runs. I lost those cards when I lost my run. So that is *not* my experience playing Inscryption.

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The game also has an overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam. So if we're going to listen to the court of popular opinion (not something I typically do) then the game is absolutely worth playing.

If you find a game that isn't well-reviewed on Steam. You'll seldom find anything that doesn't have notoriously bad PC performance, or isn't obvious shovelware. (It's like arguing that an app game is good, because it has a lot of five-star reviews.)

My statement about “the internet’s criticism” is on reddit or other gaming forums that go into pedantic detail about things they like (or don't) about certain games. But even before I played the game, I've seen the general consensus about Inscyption. (That's why I tried it in the first place.) Yes, most people like Inscryption. And then, most of those people claim the first act is the best part.

So because I wasn’t really enjoying it. (And my reward for solving the game’s puzzles were cards that I lost forever due to unfair odds.) I chose not to stick around.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

@BrokenPromise I've done that in the past with others and even with my own statements. It's my way of saying "I knew what you meant."

Anywho. Yeah. If anything, the internet seems to criticize the other acts of the game instead. Saying the first part/act is so much better than the latter parts. But I disagree with how knowledge of the game helps you, when it quite literally has planned losses/unfair scenarios as part of its narrative. So you literally cannot win the game/round when you're unlucky. Versus a "magical perfection" that you could "technically win" in other Rogue-lite games. (With an emphasis on action combat.)

(I played the PS5 version w/o mods. For added context.) I only think that you don't miss a lot by simply watching it being played, over playing it yourself. (Also, I don't think most people enjoy the "you're supposed to lose boss fight" in any game genre. As well implemented it is in the narrative or not.)

But I'll also admit that my critique of Inscryption is surface level. (As I didn't make it past Act 1.) And I don't really have many games that I can easily compare it to. (And say, "this did it better" "this was done worse in" etc.) But I *do* usually like Meta games (with a heavy puzzle emphasis.) So maybe I just wanted the game to be something other than it was...

(Like Superhot, it would've been so much better as a full-fledged game of its concept, or a meta game with plenty of puzzles mixed in with its shooting sections. Instead of the awful "OmG tHis GaMe Is rEAl" sh*t that made up its story. That also has several "supposed to lose" sections. But I digress.)

What are you currently playing (or were until you stopped)?

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

Anyone who doesn't like Inscryption probably doesn't like card games in general and should stop spreading their wrong opinions on the internet posthaste.

@BrokenPromise

Inscryption is a neat concept, and was probably a much better experience when it was a shorter ITCH.io demo. But the act one gameplay loop is unbalanced and repetitive. (And the statement that you can't get any better at the game is a fact actually.) Your run is dependent on RNG alone. (At least in the first act. Since you're not aloud to build your own deck.) And games like 'Slay The Spire' are incredibly RNG as well, but you have far more variety of build potential there.

If anything, the Rogue-lite genre tends to be something that I don't care for. Because I don't typically find it's attempts to inflate gameplay length appealing.

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Jedi Fallen Order was surprisingly entertaining for a time. Buggy ass platforming and all. But it had plenty of problems that only got worse as the gameplay went on. (And it waited far too long to give you the more interesting moves that you had available.) But after the Ninth Sister fight, the narrative aspect completely collapsed in on itself. And I kind of loathed how lazy the gameplay/story got.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

Blasphemous 2 was disappointing and feels unfinished. (The levels and bosses only get worse as it goes on.) To keep it brief.

Anyway, here's some impressions on other things that I've tried recently...

Killzone Shadow Fall: Titanfall 2 this is not. But it certainly wanted to be a tech demo for the console. (Tries to show off its graphics a lot in its introductory levels.) But it feels pretty dated gameplay-wise. With retarded AI & stealth mechanics that I swear were not functioning properly. (But I haven’t played a lot of modern FPS’s. So I’m probably not the guy to get your shooter reviews from.)

Immortals Of Aveum: Invisible walls, unskippable cutscenes, the worst dialogue imaginable, and an incredibly boring intro level, made me give up on this one pretty quickly. (Honestly, Forspoken had a more original foundation.)

Inscryption: Just watch someone else play this game. (Believe me. You’re not missing out.) The actual "meat" of this game is a purposely unfair card game that isn't particularly fun to play. And you can't "get any better at it". So the horror vibes and puzzle elements are the only thing that kept me playing & it wasn’t plentiful enough to keep me engaged. (Maybe play, if you’re a streamer with a higher tedium tolerance.)

Mortal Shell: I've never given up on a Souls-like this quickly. What an awful tutorial/start to a game. Might be the worst combat feel of any souls game that I've played thus far. Lords of the Fallen (The original) included.

Ashen: The atmosphere was pleasant. Your companion AI is retarded and suicidal. The hitboxes of ranged attacks are broken. And I was already bored of fighting the same three enemies over and over again.

Superhot: A really good idea that isn’t helped by being a meta game. (The pretentious story/last level is fucking obnoxious.)

Skul, The Hero Slayer: An actual fun game? Hallelujah. I won't say it has better combat than Dead Cells (which is still probably the best 'Roguelite' in terms of a fair challenge.) Since everything in Skul is a DPS check & if you don't have a fast-attacking character, guess what? Every boss is fast, has borderline undodgeable attacks, and self-heal, so you're going to lose. Making certain playstyles/skulls feel laughably useless. But it does have an enjoyable build variety. So I’ll keep at it.

Stellar Blade (Demo): It’s decent. I’ll see how the game does with reviews though. (As if I pre-order anything.) The game feels very scripted, and it can get you killed. (For example: You cross a bridge to learn how to plunge attack and it automatically shifts your camera and pulls your character toward the edge.) But it’s certainly easier to get into than Nier Automata… (And it’s a reminder that I need to try more game demos.)

What Are You Listening To?

Um. Happy Easter Everybody.

What shows/movies are you watching?

I watched an episode of "The Gentlemen". Something Guy Ritchie made twice for some reason (like Sherlock Holmes and the fucking awful live action Aladdin apparently.) Because people said it was good. (Looking into it, he supposedly only made two episodes of this show.)

And uh...the first episode is every single western media plot that's ever been made. You have a dying father. Drugs and drug-use. An asshole loser brother character. Sarcastic "witty" dialogue conversations. Every characters an asshole. There's a will that drives the conflict of episode. And some random ass bullshit happens for normies to find quirky. (That being watching someone dressed in a chicken suit sing.) And someone is killed for a cliffhanger.

It was obnoxious and not particularly engaging. If you like this, you'll like any show that's been made in the past ten years.

I watched Succession for longer.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

Blasphemous 2 answers a lot of the niggling complaints that the first one received.

Pros: Your character moves faster, you're given a fast travel method much faster, having three weapons instead of one improves the combat variety a bit (Ignoring that the mace is so much better than the other two weapons), you're given a more concrete direction on where to go, (via immediate waypoint markers to your first few bosses), you don't die instantly in pitfalls & spikes anymore, and magic is usefully overpowered. (Among other things that I'm sure I'll find worthy of praise.)

Cons: This is starting to feel like the Dark Souls 2 of Blasphemous. (In that, the design of Darks Souls 1 is unforgiving. Being challenging in unexpected and cruel ways. Versus DS2's design philosophy of "this was made by assholes".) And so far, these bosses are fucking obnoxious. The tutorial one pushes you to pick one of the faster starting weapons (to match its own speed) only to give you the much more useful mace later on. The next two each have a 2nd phase that have an unavoidable attack that will kill you, that made me resort to 'Unga bunga'ing' my way through them/abusing the magic fire attack. (So the less strategy/thought I used, the better off I was.)

Both having their own obnoxious gimmick on top of them. (One giving you a side companion that offers help. Whose only there to trip up players of the 1st one, who knows the side companion dies if you allow them to help. And this one apparently *needs* to help & is completely useless in the actual fight.) The next one CAN instantly kill you and push you off her tiny boss arena. Genuinely, fuck this boss.

Now I'm on my way to the three-phase/duo boss, after finding every other available route closed off. Only to get halfway through the level and receive a fucking tutorial tip on how to open certain doors with the sword that I fucking started the game with (that were spread throughout all the other previous areas.) So this fucking game is forcing me to back travel (once again) through all the areas I've basically finished.

Eh: I'm sure the cartoon/anime cutscenes ate up a decent chunk of their budget. But I don't know if some of them fit tonally to the game I'm playing. (Don't think they're an improvement over the pixel art of the 1st one.) Also, I don't think the music is as good as the first one either.

So, it's been a mixed reaction thus far. (But if it's both *supposedly* easier and shorter than the first one. I'll likely still finish it.)

Edit: The duo boss did indeed suck too. The third phase is just a clusterfuck. Had a glitch where the boss health bar remained on my screen until I restarted the game. Saw something on Steam say the same in February and the Devs responded with a "we're definitely fixing this issue" lul. Yeah, sure you are. And I randomly started to drop frames in the next level which was completely empty. So yeah. Nowhere near on par with the first one, which didn't have these problems.