What games are you playing currently?

[Owain Taggart]

What is the story of the game? I mean unique name too that's why I am curious

It is quite unique. Basically it's set in a post-apocalyptic cel-shaded world, with a focus on exploration. There's no combat in the game. You're part of a tribe, and as part of a ritual into adulthood, you're sent out into the world with a speeder-bike they call a Glider. You'll get to explore the world and different biomes via a number of quests. Basically, the story is just an excuse to get you to explore. There's little to no hand-holding in the game though, with much to discover, which can be rather overwhelming as the game doesn't explain many things, including some crucial systems like how you're supposed to gain more stamina, which is important given you'll be doing a lot of climbing in this game. I had to Google a lot of stuff. It can be missable if you don't happen to discover it. The game takes its name from the french word for sand, as the game world is mostly sandy.

I have to say, one annoyance I had with the game was its framerate. There were constant drops on the PS5. And the fishing in this game, I gave up on.

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[Gingerbread Demon]

It is quite unique. Basically it's set in a post-apocalyptic cel-shaded world, with a focus on exploration. There's no combat in the game. You're part of a tribe, and as part of a ritual into adulthood, you're sent out into the world with a speeder-bike they call a Glider. You'll get to explore the world and different biomes via a number of quests. Basically, the story is just an excuse to get you to explore. There's little to no hand-holding in the game though, with much to discover, which can be rather overwhelming as the game doesn't explain many things, including some crucial systems like how you're supposed to gain more stamina, which is important given you'll be doing a lot of climbing in this game. I had to Google a lot of stuff. It can be missable if you don't happen to discover it. The game takes its name from the french word for sand, as the game world is mostly sandy.

I have to say, one annoyance I had with the game was its framerate. There were constant drops on the PS5. And the fishing in this game, I gave up on.

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Looks really cool but pity about the framerate drops... I was reading about this before your post.

BTW it was really cheap on steam so I just nabbed it for myself I like games with different looks and ideas. I'll probably enjoy it even if I don't complete it.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, I love unique games too. If anything, it's a relaxing experience. If you need to know anything, let me know. I've surely been frustrated by a few things in this game that should have been made clearer in the game

And at least it's a short game. Even when doing everything. I didn't collect all the chub worms (needed for max endurance), and I skipped the fishing quest when I realized how that was going to be. Basically all you get are obscure hints that can be bought at the Vivarium (again, something I had to look up) and the fishing minigame isn't all that fun to begin with and is often unresponsive. So, I said no to that. But I still felt rather satisfied with most things done.

What this game excels at is the feeling of discovery. You see something in the distance, and it's not simply a backdrop, but something you can mark on your map and visit. But it's also that same feeling that can lead to missing things.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Yeah, I love unique games too. If anything, it's a relaxing experience. If you need to know anything, let me know. I've surely been frustrated by a few things in this game that should have been made clearer in the game

And at least it's a short game. Even when doing everything. I didn't collect all the chub worms (needed for max endurance), and I skipped the fishing quest when I realized how that was going to be. Basically all you get are obscure hints that can be bought at the Vivarium (again, something I had to look up) and the fishing minigame isn't all that fun to begin with and is often unresponsive. So, I said no to that. But I still felt rather satisfied with most things done.

What this game excels at is the feeling of discovery. You see something in the distance, and it's not simply a backdrop, but something you can mark on your map and visit. But it's also that same feeling that can lead to missing things.

I will keep that in mind if I get stuck in it.

Does anyone know of any other games that focus on a large world and exploration without combat, or as little as possible?

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

OMG I just started Sable and love it.
Very chill relaxing game..... So far enjoying it. Haven't got the first bike yet.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Glad you like it. Yeah, it's the kind of feeling I got from it. Felt very relaxed when playing it.

Here's a tip: Collect up to 10 chub eggs in the starting area. There are some near the dam. Then take them to the Chum Lair, in the SW of the second map, aka the Sansee area, when you're able to leave the starting area. Giving the Chum Queen her eggs will give you more stamina, making it easier to climb things. To uncover maps for different areas, you'll have to climb to cartographer balloons (usually high up) to buy a map of the area. The one in the starting area is conveniently up the long tower with the winding staircase.

Have fun exploring

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Glad you like it. Yeah, it's the kind of feeling I got from it. Felt very relaxed when playing it.

Here's a tip: Collect up to 10 chub eggs in the starting area. There are some near the dam. Then take them to the Chum Lair, in the SW of the second map, aka the Sansee area, when you're able to leave the starting area. Giving the Chum Queen her eggs will give you more stamina, making it easier to climb things. To uncover maps for different areas, you'll have to climb to cartographer balloons (usually high up) to buy a map of the area. The one in the starting area is conveniently up the long tower with the winding staircase.

Have fun exploring

It made me restart another run of Journey. That was fun too

 

[jenji120]

So this just happened (Red Dead Redemption history class w/special guests)... My university is cooler than yours:

https://twitter.com/ToreCarlOlsson/status/1767993184074805620

ARTHUR AND JOHN! And John rocking a UT hat for good measure. (BTW, check out the girls in class). lmao.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Guardians Of The Galaxy was 75% off today on steam in the spring sale and so was an instant purchase at that price and I also got Spiderman remastered.

I'm gonna try both @Owain Taggart

 

[Owain Taggart]

I haven't played Guardians of the Galaxy, but Spiderman is a great game. I just recently replayed it on my PS5. I actually like it better than some of the more recent Spiderman movies. It really excels at characterization. Dr Ocavius's character arc is masterclass. You'll see what I mean. Also, by the time you're done, you'll also want to pick up Miles Morales, the standalone expansion. It plays more like a Spiderman 1.5, but it's also great.

 

[jenji120]

I haven't played Guardians of the Galaxy, but Spiderman is a great game. I just recently replayed it on my PS5. I actually like it better than some of the more recent Spiderman movies. It really excels at characterization. Dr Ocavius's character arc is masterclass. You'll see what I mean. Also, by the time you're done, you'll also want to pick up Miles Morales, the standalone expansion. It plays more like a Spiderman 1.5, but it's also great.

I have played both. Spidey is better but Guardians is fun if you can get past the quirks of the combat which can be difficult at first.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I have played both. Spidey is better but Guardians is fun if you can get past the quirks of the combat which can be difficult at first.

What kind of quirks? I've read mixed reviews of this one.

Also at the end of Guardians can you go back and continue to find collectibles or things or do you have to start over?

 

[jenji120]

What kind of quirks? I've read mixed reviews of this one.

Also at the end of Guardians can you go back and continue to find collectibles or things or do you have to start over?

I don't remember on the question of collectibles but quirky in the sense that you have to get used to managing a party even though it's not what I'd call a party based game like say BG3 or even a standard JRPG. You're def. Quill and the game feels like a single player action-adventure game most of the time. The amount of commanding you need to do for the party varies throughout the game but at some points it's pretty heavy and the game can throw a lot at you at once in terms of figuring it all out. IOW, there are times when you really do need to micromanage the party but other times when all you really need to do is worry about Quill. Once you do figure out how to synergize the team, the game becomes fairly easy but figuring out when to use x or y can be daunting at first. Also, you can screw up some of the pep talks (I did anyway lol).

I wouldn't say that it's super hard but it can get frustrating until you learn how to do things. It's not like Elden RIng or anything but there are one or two fights that you really do have to work at and that you will probably get your ass kicked at the first few times and I consider myself a pretty skilled gamer (I've cleared all my MMOs raids/trials and beaten Elden Ring multiple times). Also, combat gets easier once Quill unlocks his father's guns and you the player start to figure out when to use his special shots. It's a fun game imo but it can be harder than a lot of people were expecting for a Marvel game. If you've played things like Ghost of Tsushima or Jedi Survivor, it should be no problem tho.

ETA: Also one of the most group intensive difficult fights happens pretty early on when you don't feel quite at home yet with all the controls and commands. It's that fight that I think really gets most people.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I don't remember on the question of collectibles but quirky in the sense that you have to get used to managing a party even though it's not what I'd call a party based game like say BG3 or even a standard JRPG. You're def. Quill and the game feels like a single player action-adventure game most of the time. The amount of commanding you need to do for the party varies throughout the game but at some points it's pretty heavy and the game can throw a lot at you at once in terms of figuring it all out. IOW, there are times when you really do need to micromanage the party but other times when all you really need to do is worry about Quill. Once you do figure out how to synergize the team, the game becomes fairly easy but figuring out when to use x or y can be daunting at first. Also, you can screw up some of the pep talks (I did anyway lol).

I wouldn't say that it's super hard but it can get frustrating until you learn how to do things. It's not like Elden RIng or anything but there are one or two fights that you really do have to work at and that you will probably get your ass kicked at the first few times and I consider myself a pretty skilled gamer (I've cleared all my MMOs raids/trials and beaten Elden Ring multiple times). Also, combat gets easier once Quill unlocks his father's guns and you the player start to figure out when to use his special shots. It's a fun game imo but it can be harder than a lot of people were expecting for a Marvel game. If you've played things like Ghost of Tsushima or Jedi Survivor, it should be no problem tho.

ETA: Also one of the most group intensive difficult fights happens pretty early on when you don't feel quite at home yet with all the controls and commands. It's that fight that I think really gets most people.

I found the round squishy ball things pretty annoying. Playing with keyboard and mouse and the part where you use rapid reload is peeing me off, it won't advance despite me doing the right thing.

 

[jenji120]

I found the round squishy ball things pretty annoying. Playing with keyboard and mouse and the part where you use rapid reload is peeing me off, it won't advance despite me doing the right thing.

Hmm... I played it on PC but I use a controller, That might be why I didn't find the combat as annoying as others.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Has anyone played "Deliver us the Moon" and if so what is it like? Currently $10 on Steam

 

[jenji120]

Has anyone played "Deliver us the Moon" and if so what is it like? Currently $10 on Steam

Haven't played it but I'm kinda curious about it as well.

 

[evilchumlee]

With the Battlefront Classic Collection coming out... I didn't buy it, but I did fire up Classic BF 2.

Aaaannd... sometimes we really do look at stuff with rose colored glasses. It's godawful. It was fun at the time, but it does not hold up, at all.

 

[jenji120]

With the Battlefront Classic Collection coming out... I didn't buy it, but I did fire up Classic BF 2.

Aaaannd... sometimes we really do look at stuff with rose colored glasses. It's godawful. It was fun at the time, but it does not hold up, at all.

With some games, quality of life adjustments and mechanics have changed so much that it's just too damned hard to go back. Right now, I'm running into that with the Yakuza series because I started with 0 and the Kiwami remakes which brought better graphics and a lot of QoL changes. Then I hit 4 and was like holy hell, I can't. I powered through that one but I absolutely dread trying to get past the next couple of games to the modern ones and may wind up skipping them. The main culprit in the Yakuza series for me anyway isn't the crappy graphics or janky combat - it's the godforsaken map that makes it impossible to find where you want to go without getting lost several times in the attempt and a few quests that will add in you having to stealth your way back to a spot that you don't know how to get to or just don't remember because you were there once. Ugh.

But there are a lot of games that really do suffer because what was tolerable at the time, just isn't tolerable any more. And I think it's the range of games from the late 90s and early 00s that suffer this the worst because those were games that were trying to do more than ever before (and mostly did do more) but compared to the QOL we have today, drive you crazy. TBH, I'm surprised that those games haven't been remade. Capcom has been on a remake spree with the RE series and it's been mostly a good thing but the more ambitious games of that era - the houses seemed to have moved on from and have no real interest in full remakes.

 

[evilchumlee]

With some games, quality of life adjustments and mechanics have changed so much that it's just too damned hard to go back.

It's amazing how sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I by no means am an "old games suck" type, on the contrary. I probably PRIMARILY play older games.

It's just, some are still 100% perfectly playable and enjoyable, some are not. '

It's odd though. Battlefront? Godawful (IMO). KOTOR? Still perfectly playable and enjoyable. 10/10.