RiverGenie

I gave it a D as there was nothing for me that leaped out as a must play.

@themightyant its literally one planet that has that issue yes its the first planet out of the tutorial / intro quest but after that you won't see it again. Other locations are either space stations, derelict ships or biomes that grass isn't a factor such as an ice planet.

Made it onto the second planet & having a fantastic time. Some of the choices I have made are making things a little tough but most problems have multiple solutions so I am still making progress.

Well I refunded The Outer Worlds 2 because the grass wasn't working and made the game literally unplayable .... is something I would never say and I am enjoying myself immensely with said game.

If you like rpgs it does so much that just makes the experience so much fun. The standout for me so far is the flaws system which is basically the game looking at what you do a lot and offering you a boon & flaw based on your actions.

You might crouch a lot as a stealth character so the game might offer you increased crouched movement speed but every time you crouch your knees pop making a sound that enemies might hear. I have had others all based on what I am doing in my game play. While you don't have to take them it does make things more interesting & unique when you do.

Its not perfect (see aforementioned grass for example) but no game ever is and The Outer World 2 does way more good than bad its not even close.

I could write more but I want to go back & play so that saved you all from an even bigger wall of text critical hit 😉

I haven't purchased many games for my PS5 as a lot of the releases are sequels to franchises i didn't enjoy on the first go around.

However one of the games i did buy was Pacific Drive & is one of the standouts. Its a slow burn of a game and can certainly be wonky at times but boy when it grabs you & it doesn't let go.

Fantastic experience & was well worth my time.

@awp69 no worries and you got a link to actual info so you did it the right way. I just posted out of surprise 😮

Pacific Drive dropped on GPU much more exciting than a repacked Fallout 4

@Fiendish-Beaver Thank you for confirming you got your key before start of early access and its something I will think on for the future preorders.

I have used the service (as cdkeys) before but not on a preorder and something about the way the worded the delivery of keys didn't sit right to me so I went with an over abundance of caution this go around.

Either way all good and hopefully we all have a fantastic time tomorrow.

@ZeD well good to know for the future. Thanks for the reply.

@Fiendish-Beaver did you get your key straight away? I looked at loaded and was worried about not getting early access as it says something about not sending them straight away on preorders.

In the end I cashed in a bunch of points and paid £64.99 which was good enough for me.

@UndyingInsurgent95 @Lup I have always found having companion romance options in most games way too be forced and in a lot of cases is just used as an excuse to flash some T&A which is were the "romance" usually ends. So i understand the half baked comment from Obsidian.

Not every game needs it and I find it more refreshing when a game does its own thing rather shoe horn something just because everyone else does.

I have nothing else planned until after the weekend so I will all in on The Outer Worlds 2 right from launch. I am excited to dive into my first playthrough though i expect I will do many more runs through the game just from the sheer amount of choice this game apparently offers.

Will give both of these a try I expect but just not right now as my gaming plate is stacked.

I played a bit of the first one but found it a bit frustrating when you left a pixel of dirt somewhere so it wouldn't complete till you found it so I never got round to finishing it.

I really enjoyed Crime Scene Cleaner though. Despite the subject matter was quite calming to play & much more forgiving if you missed a pixel of blood.

Might give Powerwash Sim 2 a shot at some point but my gaming plate is a little full right now so it won't be anytime soon.

Devil is in the detail so I am waiting on the details before i declare anything one way or another.

I picked up Evil West in a sale a while back and enjoyed my time with it a lot. Not that I expect to play NG4 for long as its not really my cup of tea but I will give it a shot.

That said because i can start playing The Outer Worlds 2 in a couple of days I won't be playing either of them anytime soon.

@Romans12 um its launching on all platforms at the same time. Sorry to spoil your rant with facts please ignore & carry on if it helps you get through your day.

Put many many hours into the first one and looking forward to doing the same with part 2 in a couple of days or so

Probably added to comply with an EU directive that requires this information to be shown to prevent a retailer artificially inflating a price to then give a false discount. (Price Indication Directive, which was updated by the Omnibus Directive In 2022)

As I have said before I simply have no use for this device and never will have a need for a handheld gaming option.

On Xbox replaying Dying Light 2 and finding it a better overall experience than DL: The Beast. Everything just flows better from the parkour, traversal in general and the combat. The Beast just feels clunky in comparison.

That said I expect The Beast will get there eventually (DL2 certainly didn't launch like that.) but right now I am finding DL2 a better game for me.

On PS5 I have been doing some daily race multiplayer in GT7 just to keep my race craft in good shape. Can't wait to see how the spec 3 update shakes things up in a couple of months.

Really doesn't sound like something for me but I will give it a chance at some point

I think I will put this in my "when I have the time" list but it's not something I am going to rush to play.

@BacklogBrad Rennsport isnt f2p on console it starts at £50. Wish it was as that would make things easier instead of having to pick one.

At the moment i am leaning towards PMR but will certainly get Rennsport at some point I'm sure assuming no issues with it.

I am really unsure which I want to get between Rennsport or Project Motor Racing. Both look great but I suspect PMR will do better simply due to it's modding support on all platforms from day 1.

Exciting times for console sim races 🏁

So the trailer looks like a fever dream. I am confused as to what the game play actually is, puzzle platformer?

@Fiendish-Beaver I have to be honest since the price increase I have spent some time pricing up a mid range gaming pc as an option for the future.

I am with you though I prefer the console experience but well I don't owe Xbox or Sony any loyalty so I will use what's best for me.

@Fiendish-Beaver. Same.

At old price Game pass ultimate for me was for the AAA day 1 games and multiplayer access for the most part.

Not really interested in indie games and at the new price the value is not there for what I want anymore.

Oh well 🤷‍♂️

From what I have seen this looks good and a decent sim.

There are a few road courses such as Watkins Glen International sprinkled into the various series that the game covers but obviously it's majority of tracks are ovals.

Not a fan of ovals personally so probably won't be getting this but if you are a fan of turning left this seems like a decent choice.

The power of a nice pay day to heal old grudges

@themightyant So you are agreeing that you are drawing conclusions and then we wonder why rumours are endemic at the moment.

I have said in my comment that I believe it's a bit of both things and not soley one cause but in case you missed it I will spell it out. It is my BELIEF that the current situation is due to tough market conditions and a company trying to get a quicker return from it's investment.

I also didn't say that the price increase was either good or bad for consumers because I don't know everyone's circumstances so can't speak for them. I can say for myself when my sub price goes up (it's still showing £14.99 as my next payment) it's highly likely that I will drop to a low tier.

Hope that clears things up but please feel free to ask for any other clarification if you require it

@themightyant so can you provide proof that the ABK purchase is directly responsible for the recent price increase. Or maybe just maybe it's just a challenge for everyone at the moment in pretty much every market not just consoles.

The truth is probably it's a bit of both but to not expect any price increases ever from Microsoft (or anyone in this industry) well I think you would have more luck stopping the tides from making a shoreline wet.

Nothing for me I didn't think

The Casting of Frank Stone sounded interesting but after looking up the actual game play I think I will pass.

Sometimes for me. Often when a sequel releases I will replay the previous game(s) just to get back up to speed with a franchise.

Or if I want to compare the old with the new which is what I am doing now by replaying Dying Light 2 so I can have a fair comparison to DL The Beast.

Folks just like kicking Microsoft / Xbox for reasons. Me I prefer to play games but whatever floats your boat & helps you through your day I guess🤷‍♂️

I finished Dying Light : The Beast. It was a mostly ok & fun experience overall if a little clunky at times. The beast mechanic in this game is a fun power trip for a bit but it also kind of removes any feeling of danger or tension from a lot of the encounters. It was nice that the story ties up a lot of loose ends from the previous two games & certainly sets things up for more story, either as dlc or another full game.

While it was fun I still think I enjoyed DL2 more just because it wasn't as clunky & it was much more tense experience. Just in case my memory is playing tricks on me I downloaded DL2 again for another play through.

Before I start that I will be in Atomfall to play the recently released dlc called The Red Strain. Played it a bit this morning and its seems to be another science gone wrong story so basically more Atomfall, which isn't a bad thing imo.

At the moment for me it would be:

1 Avowed
2 Atomfall
3 Borderlands 4

Honourable mention - Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

The Outer Worlds 2 is very likely to take a spot in the top 3 assuming no major problems.

Excited to dive into this one.

Cool i am playing games so i don't have to be social and have some time to myself. Ignoring this requirement will help facilitate that.

Translation: We are trying to stay relevant through the launch of Battlefield 6 & this is all we could come up with.

I haven't seen this messaging but I have seen other reports of it.

The price of my next sub payment hasn't change and is still showing £14.99 rather than the new price. My next payment isn't till December this year so I guess I will keep an eye on it for now & if it stays the same then I guess I stick with ultimate. If it does change to the new price structure then I will drop to one of the lower tiers.

@Ricky-Spanish the thing I find most unreal is that they willfully ignore when their platform of choice are raising prices, like it's ok for them to do it but not anyone else. They also have blinkers on with regard to it not happening again in the near future.

My prediction is the other side will see a similar hike probably not this year but certainly before the end of Q1 2026 but hey it just Microsoft who are 💩 and the folks who use their services are a cult!

@datamonkey read other comments but tldr: Microsoft are not the only company making cuts or raising prices they are just the most recent and to a bigger degree. I mean it was only a couple of month ago that the last PlayStation console price increase was done for example.

This is industry wide and its not just tied to a single company making a large acquisition its bigger and more multifaceted than that.

I know where I would lay some of the blame but I won't discuss politics on a gaming website.

@datamonkey You and the person you are quoting are wrong and others have explained in depth why so i won't repeat. Maybe you both should look up the words causation & correlation.

Its just a nothing addition that doesn't add any value for me personally much like the fortnite sub thingy.

Only Cod I am interested in is beer battered with salt & vinegar plus chips 👍

Mostly done with Borderlands 4 as I have got all current character through the campaign. There were some frustrations along the way (Amon mainly as I didn't really gel with that character) but overall its been a fun experience. I still have to get them all to the current level cap of 50 but that isn't a focus for me but something I will pick away at over the next few weeks / months.

Will probably dig into Dying Light: The Beast but also Atomfall released a new dlc so I might take a look at that too. I still have to finish my Stalker 2 modded play through as well.

Looks like I will be in some sort of apocalypse one way or another.

No. Never read the books or watched the films so certainly have no interest in playing any games based on the franchise.

@Ricky-Spanish I am downgrading not because I can't afford it but because it offers me no added value for the increased price.

Your coffee & roll just increased it's price by 50% but hey they let you have access to a chopping board & the store dishwasher. Good deal right?

Yeah.....nah

I won't be staying on ultimate that is all I can say for certain right now as its no longer giving me the value I want from the service.

At the moment I am looking at all my options and seeing what is best for me as a gamer. I have a few months grace so I don't need to rush this decision or anything.

No one enjoys a price increase but they are a reality of the current climate & not just in gaming, unfortunately. So I am not angry about the change, it happens, you deal with it & move on.

I am undecided if I will be downgrading to premium or essential at the moment. Purely from a functional standpoint all I really need is online access and everything beyond that is a bonus.

I just need to decide which (if any) of the bonuses are worth it to me or just go for bare minimum. Luckily I don't need to decide right now so I will let the dust settle and properly evaluate my options.

I have never played Fortnite and that won't be changing.