gravelmonkey

Still digging DD2 but decided earlier to dip back into AC Black Flag. Love the vibe of parkouring around Havana.

Dragons Dogma 2 when I get the time. About 10hrs in and have been exploring a lot because it's so easy to do so. But TBH the loot isn't particularly rewarding so I'm going to focus on the main quest from now and build up my mystic spearhead having switched from fighter.

@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).

Picked up a hard copy yesterday and put about 3 hours into it so far (on Series X). The FPS sure isn't smooth even out in the wild, and combat can get confusing with no lock on. But it's a lot of fun. Pawns, so far anyway, are good company and make you feel part of a team. Scenery is amazing. Everything looks so detailed - a real step up from the likes of RDR2.

I'm not getting involved in MTX so that doesn't affect me personally. Would rather keep exploring and experimenting. Looks like each vocation has a completely different combat style, so that should help things keep fresh too.

Thinking of picking up a physical copy of this for the weekend. Not sure it's entirely my kind of thing, but I can sell it and make my money back if so.

Trying to get through Pilgrims Perch in Lords of the Fallen. Getting irritated with being attacked from behind or falling off walkways due to the camera glitching ‘into’ walls.

@Weapon_Wheel Half Life 2 came out in Nov 2004 and IMO set the standard for first person survival shooters. Not slating your argument, just acknowledging STALKER and HL2 were both raising the bar.

Picked up Lords of the Fallen for £22 in this week's sale. Started off with the fire dude but couldn't get used to all the controls, ie Axiom vs umbral switching, melee/range combos, soul flaying etc. More to think about than a souls game and I got annoyed TBH. Restarted with the ombrian preacher and started getting in the flow of moves/combat. Got to Pieta but my save ended in an infinite fall through the ground. Restarted again with the hallowed knight and he's more my style. Got to Pieta in super quick time but can't get close to defeating her during the second phase.

Liking the game more now though. Dark, like DS2, but not as fluid as DS3 or ER. Areas are very narrow and claustrophobic which will do my head in if they don't open up.

Picked up Greedfall and DLC for about £8 on Fri and really liking the vibe in the (prologue?) docks. Much prefer the gameplay, combat and mechanics to Vampyr which I tried during the week - which hoped might give me an idea of whether I’d like Banishers. Found it too clunky, whereas Greedfall feels a lot more fluid.

DL2 is one of the few games to genuinely have me on the edge of my seat, especially at night when the whole place goes bonkers. Knowing you're being tailed gives me the shivers every time.

So many games to play and nowhere near enough time. Have wanted to play DI2 since the first trailers, so I'll have to find some way to experience the carnage sharpish.

Tried to get into Persona 3 Reload but as expected, it's not for me. Lovely aesthetics and can see it being immersive for those that get it, but the writing is too twee in the way that anime often is (for me).

@Isca Yep, I hadn’t heard of it until I picked it up for the same price a few months ago. An under the radar gem.

Really not sure I'm liking the first person view here. I think it's much harder to pull off than third person and I fear the devs are trying to be too clever. I may well be wrong as the only way to know for sure is to play the game.

Been working my way through 7 Remake on and off for a few months on PS4. A great game. I never played the original that some people still have an attachment to, but IMO it's stands up in its own right as an excellent retelling that takes advantage of today's hardware and still has a cool story. I wish Rebirth was launching on the PS4 too but that's not gonna happen. Would defo like these and more FF games brought to Xbox.

Had a go on the Granblue Fantasy Relink demo yesterday. Looks great, combat pretty cool, but the vibe is too 'childish' for me. Might give it another go tomorrow. If not, will continue FF7 Remake which is one of my fav games of recent times.

Revisited FFVII Remake last night and wondering why I got sidetracked months ago. Great game. Incredibly cinematic as you'd expect, but the characters are cool and the combat is fun.

Really wanted to get into Xenoblade Chronicles 3 but got bored last weekend after 10hrs - seems to be little more than 5 minute cut scene, 1 min walking, combat, 1 min walking, combat , 1 min walking, combat… rinse and repeat.
Still liking Remnant 2.
Also made a start on Tales of Arise. Liking the combat so far.

@Feffster defo one of the best games ever. Remember being blown away by the demo on a friend’s PC when it first released, then waiting a couple of years or so for it in Xbox. Throwing the saw blades around never got dull.

Played a bit more Remnant 2 which I'm really liking - so visceral. Then had a quick dabble with Xenoblade Chronicles 3 which has really piqued my interest in all things JRPG.

Soulslike games typically have tough, visceral combat that is hard to 'learn' but incredibly satisfying and rewarding. It kind of encourages you to get into fights because you want to challenge yourself and have a good tear up. Button mashing might work on the weaker enemies, but normally you have to learn how to take them down by working out their weaknesses, knowing when to parry etc.

Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, Sekiro are the originals (From Software), and games like Lies of Pi, Wo Long etc try to replicate it.

Not everyone gets on with them due to the difficulty, especially boss fights which can be insane.

Picked up Mad Max for £3 and a couple of cheap games for the PS4. Also ordered a 4070 gaming laptop for my son (to last him 4-5 years to uni).

Paused Alan Wake 1 because the combat was getting too repetitive.

Played 3-4 hours of Like A Dragon Gaiden and enjoyed it. Very satisfying combat and the overall narrative is pretty cool. Don't think I'll commit much more to it though.

@Widey85 Is Dungeon Keeper that late 90s game where you slapped minions to make them build faster? We had a right laugh playing that.

Finished the first 2 episodes of the original Alan Wake. Cost a fiver off eBay inc postage. Mechanically it shows its age, but the story telling is pretty damn good.

I like the torch/shoot combat combo but can see this, and the lack of enemy variety, getting repetitive soon though.

I've not had time to play anything for a couple of weeks and am intrigued by Alan Wake 2. Don't fancy paying £50 for a digital copy though, because I'm not sure it's my bag. I know nothing about the series but might pick up the original (as opposed to the remaster) as a starting point.

Might also have a go on Deadspace remake because I never got round to playing any of the games.

Picked up a hard copy in a sale months ago but had the time to play it. Installed it (with Update 2.0) this morning. If I fire it up then I fear it'll distract me from completing Witcher 3... but, I used to play the RPG with uni mates back in the day and this latest patch looks like it's finally doing justice to the universe.

Continuing with Witcher 3, but itching to get in some soulsborne action with Lies of P and somehow dip into Cyberpunk before PL drops. Neither of the latter are going happen this weekend, so just some W3 for me.

Way too busy most weeks (work, fam, other interests etc) to get in any play. Other weeks I scrabble together a few hours.

A game has to really grab my attention up front or I'll ditch it.

I remember so many late nights playing through those first few TR games with mates. Genre-defining IMO.

Can't say I'm impressed with what I've seen of the remasters though. Might dip in at some point to see if they trigger any nostalgic moments, but only if they're on GP or cheap.

As a big soulsborne fan, I was surprised it took me a while to take to the demo. Lots to really like with the exception of the last boss who IMO was too difficult.

I'll definitely give it a go on GPU though, but that'll be after I've sunk a few more hours into Witcher 3.

FTR I didn't get on with Wo Long. Combat never felt fluid or visceral - unlike Pi - and something about it was just unbalanced.

Played it on and off today and it's pretty much what I expected and not for me. I love the visuals and environments in general, and like the combat (albeit with glitchy AI) and can see the BG sheen on all the aesthetics. But I don't care about the characters, the story, the missions, the looting, the exploration or anything TBH.

I get why people will dig it and invest 100s of hours. Not me though. Back to BG3 and some Witcher 3.

Am curious about Starfield but epic space exploration has never been my thing - even going back to the days of the original Elite. Will give it a go one day on GP, but in the meantime I'm hoping to find some time to continue with BG3. About to start Act 2 and think I'm going to start mainlining the core quest from now.

BG3 still has me gripped after 20 hours in Act 1. Now becoming more familiar with combat options - after loads of experimentation - and recruiting Karlach as my first melee specialist. Caused absolute carnage in the goblin camp and going to take on the mountain pass before heading into the Underdark.

Well I became curious enough to try BG3 during the week, even though I knew it would demand a lot of patience and time - two things I rarely have. Well, 10 hours in, and although it does of course require those things and more, the pay off is quite breathtaking. I've been consuming tips all week on spells, combat and loads more because there is so much to get your head around.

Playing on a MBA via GeForce Now using an Xbox controller, and the optimisation to allow the latter to manage every input is very cleverly thought out. I can see this being an absolute banger when it finally arrives on Xbox.

Just back from holiday and want to have a go on BG3 (poss via GeForce Now because I have a Mac and XSX), but not sure I'll have the patience needed to invest in it. Looks amazing and I can see why it'll be up there for GOTY, but I need to hold off until I can justify the £50 RRP.

@S-Bacc Splinter Cell was amazing. Revolutionised the stealth genre.

Already had a Dreamcast and best mates had a PS2, so I picked up the Xbox bundle that included 6 games; Metropolis Street Racer, Dead or Alive and can't remember the others... Also bought Halo that same week and couldn't stop playing it. Cracking machine.

Dipping in and out of Witcher 3, Octopath Traveler 2, Chained Echoes, Tales of Arise (demo) and FF VII Remake. Too busy to sit down and make a concerted effort with either of them so I'm playing whatever takes my fancy in the moment.

Also picked up an Elgato HD60X and playing around with some captures using OBS (on M1 MBA). Takes plenty of trial and error - and research - to get anything remotely good and think I might have nailed 1080p 60.

Fancied a bit of mindless hack n slash so picked up Diablo 3 on the Switch. Feels like one of those games you can choose not to take seriously and instead experiment with your build(s), dish out some carnage and have fun. Simples.

Also dipped in FF7 Remake which is my first FF game since FFVIII over 20 years ago. Really starting to get curious about JRPGs.

Picked up TOTK and a second hand OLED Switch last week and restarted the game on Friday in the hope that it would entice my son to play something other than Minecraft and Roblox. He picked it up in no time and is now exploring beyond central Hyrule and calling it the best game ever. We're working through a few bits together but he's generally taking the lead now. Last weekend I wasn't sure I was really into it, but this weekend I can totally see why people would invest a crazy amount of hours in it. It's quite a laid back open world that doesn't seem to pressure you into doing stuff you don't want to do or can't figure out, ie if you get stuck in a shrine or battle then pin in on your map for reference and go do something else.

Having had the Switch for literally 3 days, we - and the missus - are finding the portability awesome too. And the respite from Minecraft and Roblox YT videos is a bonus too.

Huge Bloodborne vibes for sure, with great looking environments and plenty of build/customisation paths. Clearly the combat is very souls borne too, but it lacks the polish or visceral feel. IMO, if/when you get into the whole souls borne vibe then nothing else ever seems to get close to it. This is closer than most, and hopefully will improve before release.

Fired up GOW 1 last week because I remember being so jealous of a mate who got it when it first came out, like 15 years or so ago! Still plays so well today and most importantly it's fun.

Also debating whether to pick up a second hand Switch OLED for some TOTK/BOTW action. Played them both a bit last week but not sure I can justify the outlay for playing only those 2 games for a few hours.

Just taking a break from Dishonoured to dip back into Fenyx and it really is a very likeable game. Stunning to look at too. Vaults can get repetitive but I'm just working on OPing myself to hack n slash my way through and generally have some fun.

Probably a bit of Dishonoured (had never thought about it until last week) which has a really cool vibe and I can see why lots of people really dig it.

If I feel like trialling a few Ubi games over a 3-4 week period then I might give it a go. Too many other distractions at the mo though.

@BBB Fallen Order is very good. Not the smoothest experience (even on XSX), but very playable with lots of different environments. Currently working through Kashyyyk and reckon I'll finish this one before picking up Survivor at some point.

Played more of Redfall last night. Still finding it buttery smooth, and liking the art style and gun play, but a few more glitches started appearing. Some great looking locations for sure, but the lack of variety in enemies and overall repetitive nature of the quests and gameplay is dulling the experience now.

Just had a go on HiFi Rush and didn't enjoy it at all. Can't see what the fuss is about. Cool artwork but it's not exactly smooth and the beat/combat mechanics feel clunky.

Started playing this evening on Series X (with settings adjusted as above) and it looks and plays buttery smooth for me. Will come back to it later after the footy but really liking it so far.

Picked up Dying Light: The Following on Fri for £9 having never looked at the series before. Looks and plays great on SXS and the parkour is such a cool mechanic that it kind of makes the whole experience more 'realistic'. Currently trying to make the Korek machete so I can unleash hell.