Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (March 23-24)

Some Samurai Warriors 5, Assassin's Creed Valhalla and the second Blazblue.

After several days off work, a break from gaming, and a relaxing vacation with my wife, I’m back to playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. I didn’t think I’d have much to say since I’ve spoken about the game for the past two weeks, but alas, I do.

According to my PS5 clock, I have 80 hours logged into this game and I have no desire to slow down. I’m currently on chapter 11. Rebirth seems to hits its prime starting in chapter 9 and onward, from gameplay, map design, and story perspective. It’s as if there was a newfound confidence in the development where they discovered the perfect balance between juggling open world activities and the main story.

I’m absorbed in the characters and world. I’ve completed all possible tasks per each region. The best thing about these side quests and activities is that if you do them, such as finding the protorelics or play Queen’s Blood, you’ll obtain rich backstories that really expand on your party members. I’m compelled to invest my time because the game respects it. There are a plethora of intimate moments between all of your characters. It’s truly remarkable how much depth is in this game. And it never stops being mogical, ahem, I mean magical

That’s not to say there aren’t faults in the game — there certainly is. In later regions traversal can be infuriating because it forces you to use the chocobo to reach differing locations that are mandatory. It doesn’t feel organic. I appreciate how the game incorporates fresh ways to explore via chocobo, so there is always a new mechanic to keep you engaged.

The regions themselves are gorgeous and fun to explore, however. Each location feels genuinely distinct from one another, and this is strengthened by its exemplary soundtrack that feels compatible with the environment. It’s easily one of the best OSTs for a Final Fantasy game I’ve ever heard.

Another criticism I have is the bloat. There is an over abundance of activities and mini-games to do. Some of the content could be trimmed, but thankfully the majority of it is optional. But less is more. Later in the game when you get to explore the Nibelheim region, my feelings is that it has the perfect amount of content. The map isn’t too large and everything is condensed in a small package. With all that said, these flaws don’t diminish the genius of this game. I’d rather have too much of Final Fantasy 7 than not enough, and the bloat isn’t a mandatory component.

I haven’t even scratched the surface of what I’d like to discuss about this game (story, materia builds, combat, and the little nuances), but my write-up is already long enough so I’ll end it here for now. Perhaps I should start up my own website to have deeper discussions without a character limit. Nevertheless, I will say this: Rebirth is just that — a game favored by nostalgia, but can stand on its own as a brand new experience that, to me, outshines the original in many ways.

I’ll be dividing time between my two early GotY favorites, Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Unicorn Overlord. Absolutely loving both of them!

coop halo reach or infinite with my nephew.

I'm playing Red Dead Redemtion GOTY edition..

I picked up Dragons Dogma 2 but I am having a bit of a tough time with it due to inconsistent frame rates.

I want to play, it looks to have a ton of depth, an interesting enough story and a lot to explore. I just can't play it for long sadly.

I hope that even if they can't hit 60 FPS they can at least smooth things out a bit more as that would help me a lot. Sigh.

Given my problems above I took a look at Final Fantasy 14 on my series x sooner than I thought I would be.

I last played this years ago on pc but it still feels like revisiting an old friend again. Nostalgia is hitting hard.

I am a bit rusty on some of the specifics of the UI / game play and a lot has changed but I can see myself getting hooked hard into this mmo again, it's just that good.

Mostly Lightyear Frontier with my wife. We’re progressing nicely just got coal and iron so we’re making tier 2 upgrades now.

Other than that a little bit of Halo Infinite. I’m progressing through Diamond Gunnery Sergeant III right now. I should be Master Sergeant I next time I play.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, I’m about fifteen hours in and loving every second of it.

@BBB Are you playing DD2 on Series X?

I've just got to Vernworth having gone off the beaten path a lot to do some exploring. FPS sure isn't great - even just walking down a path in the woods - and it detracts from the immersion, but I'm hooked on the gameplay. Pawns are cool (so far), and make me feel like I'm on a proper adventure.

Obv hope Capcom release a performance patch soon as well as additional save slots (or additional new games).

I was planning on playing a lot of MLB The Show, but after getting all but 3 achievements since its release on Game Pass this week, I'm kind of bored with it already. I think I'm going to give Tales of Arise a shot.

This is a no gaming weekend for me as I am moving job and decided to meet a friend in Barcelona. But next week I will still be playing FF XIV and maybe dragons dogma 2 (not sure if I will return it until it gets patched properly)

I'm planning on wrapping up Deus Ex: Human Revolution today(am literally at the end) and then we'll see if I return to Monster Hunter Stories 2 or play something else entirely.
I am interested in playing Rise of the Ronin but I should probably prioritize other games before I start that one.

PS5: Took a chance on Helldivers 2 and I am absolutely hooked! I plan on playing it until Stellar Blade comes out.
Switch: Nothing
Series X: Nothing

Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita) - That is alot of gold right there...

Earthworm Jim HD (Windows Phone) - Forgot how difficult the touch controls are.

Lode Runner Classic (Windows Phone) - At the tail end of this now.

Evil west and the quarry. Both games are pretty good but wouldnt buy them if they were not on game pass

@gravelmonkey yeah I am on a series x and as you say it not good performance wise. Sadly it's not just a distraction for me but makes me feel sick after playing for a while.

Capcom have crafted a stunning game that I would love to explore but just can't for very long.

I am with you hoping for a performance patch. Also agree on the multiple save games thing too.

I had to delete my save data in the Xbox menu just to restart a new game after fluffing character creation of my 1st character (you have to select the delete everywhere to get rid of cloud save as well.) Why that's not possible in game I have no clue 🤯

Xbox - Mlb the show
Ps5 - sackboy
Pc - star Wars dark forces, tales of symphonia
Switch - astral chain

@BBB
Have you got a TV with VRR that may help the situation.
I not got the game yet, sounds like I will wait for patches.

I played a bit of Princess Peach: Showtime being a little too impatient to see what its about before playing the rest with my daughter. It was pretty fun actually. The variety in gameplay kept things interesting.

I'm also playing Aperture Tag, which is a Portal 2 mod where instead of a portal gun, you have a gun that shoots the orange and blue gel. It's not too bad so far. I think I am maybe half-way through it.

And then the other game I'm playing is another mod, but this time for the original Deus Ex, called Deus Ex: 2027 (I've also seen it referred to as "Project 2027" and also just "2027"). I'm just coming out of Paris, so still near the beginning I think. So far I think it is quite good, and I am very much enjoying my time with it.

Dragons Dogma 2 and Rise of the Ronin have all my attention this weekend.

I did start Phoenix Point, played the tutorial missions then thought, nope this is not for me. Will prob try the Quarry out, then might dip into Guardians of the Galaxy

Also I just don't seem to have a lot of time these days to really tune into a game. Working full time, single parent and recently started a new relationship is very time consuming.

Super Mario 3d world I need to scratch that itch.
Rise of the Ronin didn’t seem to meet my crazy AAA expectations and Dragons Dogma seems like it needs some patches. I don’t pay full price for something that can’t perform optimally wise.
Surely another month for optimising could have been done before release. Sounds a great game otherwise.

@OldGamer999 wish I did but nope. Will certainly be something I look for when it's time to replace my current one.

I'll be playing control some eafc 24 and probably some of the quarry

I'm continuing with Gran turismo 7 and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. I also just installed Dragon's Dogma 2 so that may take up all my gaming time but we'll see.

Persona 3 (God bless Gamepass) and Mario Vs. Donkey Kong

"Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins" + "Nioh 2"

@BBB
Yes VRR definitely comes in handing

I just finished Halo CE last night. FF VI earlier this week. So right now, I'm going to focus on PM Color Splash and Crypt Stalker.

Dragons dogma 2. I just started it this morning and I'm hooked, so addictive!

I also want to start playing princess peach showtime sometime this weekend if I can tear myself away from DD2 long enough.

Not much gaming this weekend, since I'm watching a lot of the NCAA college basketball tournament (it's my American duty). But I'm hoping to get in a few hours of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West on Steam. I started it earlier this week and it seems pretty good so far.

Tekken 8 for the most part. I do want to jump on Control Ultimate Edition though.

Yes, I know I'm typically off the beaten track with my game choices for my Xbox Series X most weekends, but every year since MLB The Show came to Xbox, I have been creating and uploading the best Mark Grace character available on any system, so that is exactly what I will be doing this weekend, as well as playing the game of course. They changed some of the models and creation options last year and this year too, so I'm still getting used to that. My 2022 Mark Grace was the best so far, but I'm sure the 2024 version will satisfy any old school Chicago Cubs fans wanting a classic Gracie in their game.

Just popped one more achievement in Brotato so it still has its claws in me. Been dabbling in the backlog and trying to 100% a few games like Drogone but having to replay the chapters again is dragging me down.

Will I ever finish persona threemake? I want to move on to unicorn overlord and maybe finish it before Eiyuden Chronicles comes out.

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (PS5) - have just completed the Suthsexe arc and all the collectables in the region. About to start heading north.

Gears of War: Definitive Edition (XSX) - have completed the second chapter with the flying things that get burned by light. Awesome stuff.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch) - have now finished the sixth chapter and still am totally confused by the plot. Think I'm nearing the home stretch.

Balatro (Steam) - the other games are suffering as I sink more time into this. Have won with the red and blue decks but still trying to win with yellow.

Dragon’s Dogma 2. The gameplay loop is so good!

Once again day 1 buyers get burned and I have to say that I have no sympathy for them. I will consider getting DD2 in 6 months time when its patched up and 30% off.

MK1, Flashback 25th anniversary and Blade Runner

It’s WRC 10 for me mostly. I’ve lost all interest in modern games due to the bloat, open world tedium, DLC, MTX, GaaS and all that nonsense. I’m going to go back to the roots so I’m going to go back to Vampire: Bloodlines and see how well it works on my Steam Deck.

Well here we go with another WAYP. Been a busy week this week but I’ll lead with the big news of the week. Beat Granblue Fantasy Relink. Yeah there’s a post game it seems but seeing as credits rolled I’m gonna consider it finished for now. Weekend otherwise was filled with some Splatoon 3 for the Splatfest, Princess Peach Showtime which is a absolutely amazing game and I wanna do some Trails Into Reverie and crack into Dragons Dogma 2 for the rest of the weekend. Got two Amiibo coming in this weekend too: Young Link and Meta Knight. Really excited about them both and that leaves me with only 5 of the Smash Amiibo left to get. Kirby, Luigi, Pichu, King Dedede and Isabelle. As for the rest of the week well I do wanna stop at a GameStop with a whole record number of trades and get roughly $160 dollars out of them. That should cover a copy of Rise Of The Ronins, a preorder of FFXIV Dawntrail (JUNE 28TH BAYBEE), the FFXVI DLC The Rising Tide in April and the new Guilty Gear Strive character A.B.A and the stage she comes with. Speaking of looking forward to a nice hangout on Wednesday with a good friend chatting and learning her. (Shoutout Ouji_Senpai.) Now if GameStop gives me like way more for my trades? Well I wouldn’t know what to do with myself hahaha but probably a preorder on Stellar Blade and maybe a Switch copy of Apollo Justice Trilogy Ace Attorney. But I’m keeping safe and humble on that you know how GameStop can be. As for the games I’m planning on tackling those are pretty simple. Some Another Code, Mario Vs Donkey Kong, Splatoon 3 Side Order, Detective Pikachu Returns and maybe cracking into Penny’s Big Breakaway on Switch alongside the other games I’ve mentioned like Trails and Peach and over on PS5 some FFVII Rebirth, Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload and maybe cracking into Helldivers 2 finally alongside the other games I’ve mentioned like Dragons Dogma 2 and Ronins. Anime of the week gotta go to Shangri La Frontier, Delusional Monthly Magazine, Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren. All absolutely excellent. Still trucking along on Shameless and that’s excellent too. Podcasts of the week of course gotta go to Castle Superbeast, Big Think Dimension, Into The Aether, RPGsites Tetracast, Remap Radio, Windbreaker, Firelink, Summon Sign and Nextlander. And of course another wonderful shoutout to my wonderful friend over at Twitch.tv/akibread for their absolutely amazing streams. As always y’all stay safe and be good to each other. Have a absolutely wonderful weekend and Happy Gaming.

Contra: Operation Galuga has been really fun

AC Valhalla took my weekend it’s so long but I’m enjoying it. Itching to start dead island 2