Videogames: New Year, New Thread

[Corvinus85]

I am done for now with Wartales. A fun game but in need of more content. I played for just over 38 hrs and completed the main narrative quests in the available regions and many more quests, but not all. I'm not entirely sure what the end game is for it, though. You create and develop a mercenary band, wander the world taking on contracts and getting involved in some events and I guess that's it? Sure the game is a sandbox tactical RPG, but you can still have an overall goal to go for. Like Mount & Blade where you want to eventually become a monarch and perhaps conquer the whole map.

The best part about the game is that is highly accessible and that is low magic. I don't need another game with spells being thrown around. 

[RumHam]

5 hours ago, Toth said:

 

I would not trust that cat. I lost my first really good colony because of a "Cats Join" event. "oh, nice" I thought and went back to building. I notice the occasional message that the cats are drinking my beer....ok. Then I get a toxic fallout but no problem I've got tons of food stored.

A season or two later I get LOW FOOD. They multiplied and ate everything. We survived on cat meat for a bit but it was all over. 

[IlyaP]

Completely lost interest in Horizon: Zero Dawn at the moment. It's that slow opening that @Werthead mentioned. I don't have the patience for it at the moment, but I'll more than likely return to it in the future.

Have pivoted in the meantime to a replay of Planescape: Torment, which is hitting many happier buttons.

[Arakasi]

Won with a mediocre shield I feel like. It was mainly special with level 3 ares and run. I did pick up an act 4 Aphrodite call and used it three times on Zeus and I had hunting call again which I kept dropping in the boss fight. Pretty slow damage and I died three times but I had all three defiances so it worked. Act three was pretty easy as I just kited and ran. Pretty boring though and I won’t play shield much I think til I get Beowulf or Chaos.

[Ramsay B.]

4 hours ago, IlyaP said:

Completely lost interest in Horizon: Zero Dawn at the moment. It's that slow opening that @Werthead mentioned. I don't have the patience for it at the moment, but I'll more than likely return to it in the future.

I did the same thing. Played like an hour of the tutorial stuff then stopped for a few months. Came back later and loved it.

[Toth]

8 hours ago, RumHam said:

I would not trust that cat. I lost my first really good colony because of a "Cats Join" event. "oh, nice" I thought and went back to building. I notice the occasional message that the cats are drinking my beer....ok. Then I get a toxic fallout but no problem I've got tons of food stored.

A season or two later I get LOW FOOD. They multiplied and ate everything. We survived on cat meat for a bit but it was all over. 

... that sounds somehow more like a Dwarf Fortress story than a Rimworld one! XD

[Arakasi]

Won with a sword run but I didn’t enjoy it that much. It was a pretty good run with Poseidon special and dash, Zeus stuff and sea storm. Also had epic greater reflex and special range boon. So it was pretty strong I think but I didn’t just enjoy the constant dash-strike, special play style.

[aceluby]

15 hours ago, Ramsay B. said:

I did the same thing. Played like an hour of the tutorial stuff then stopped for a few months. Came back later and loved it.

I also did this.  Did the tutorial, shelved it for a few weeks, then came back to it and couldn't put it down.  The beginning is ridiculously slow, but it picks up rather quickly after.

[Red Tiger]

20 hours ago, IlyaP said:

Completely lost interest in Horizon: Zero Dawn at the moment. It's that slow opening that @Werthead mentioned. I don't have the patience for it at the moment, but I'll more than likely return to it in the future.

When I first started, I stopped after doing my first Carja mission.

I came back later and finished the rest of the game in 2 days.

My Forbidden West special edition is already prepaid off.

[polishgenius]

Played the new DLC in Dead Cells. Pretty cool. Some of the onliners have pointed out that a lot of the new weapons are fairly slow and don't really fit into the new biomes and bosses, which are rapid and chaotic, but that didn't impact me much since I've still been playing through new gear from previous updates and DLC that suits much better, and rapid weapons are far more my thing anyway. The snake fangs are my jam. 

The ending of the DLC is a bit odd. There was some chat that this would be the last DLC and tie up the game, but it very much leaves things open, whether that's in a sequel or more DLC who knows.  

[RumHam]

14 hours ago, Toth said:

... that sounds somehow more like a Dwarf Fortress story than a Rimworld one! XD

I could never get past Dwarf Fortress's presentation, sadly. One of the reasons I was glad when I discovered Rimworld. I'm actually no clear on what the difference is beyond the graphics and setting. 

[Poobah]

1 hour ago, polishgenius said:

Played the new DLC in Dead Cells. Pretty cool. Some of the onliners have pointed out that a lot of the new weapons are fairly slow and don't really fit into the new biomes and bosses, which are rapid and chaotic, but that didn't impact me much since I've still been playing through new gear from previous updates and DLC that suits much better, and rapid weapons are far more my thing anyway. The snake fangs are my jam. 

The ending of the DLC is a bit odd. There was some chat that this would be the last DLC and tie up the game, but it very much leaves things open, whether that's in a sequel or more DLC who knows.  

Interesting what did you think of it overall, and indeed the previous DLC too? And if you wouldn't mind I'm curious what story/lore bits they put in?

I haven't picked it up any of the Dead Cells DLC since I bounced hard off the first one - partially because of the issue you highlight here, that they kept adding more really slow janky weapons that I can't ever see myself using effectively while simultaneously adding faster more chaotic bosses and biomes. And partially because - much like Stellaris despite it being a very different game, though not nearly to the same all encompassing extent - the devs desire to keep changing systems and rebalance things gradually changed it from the game I initially waxed lyrical about. Still it's a game I've enjoyed in the past and I'm curious about going back to it, though if there's more stuff in the highest boss cell difficulty level in terms of story progression, like there was in the base game, I'm not sure I have it in me to dump in the necessary hours to grind my skills and reflexes back up there.

[polishgenius]

I should note that my opinion should be taken from the skill level of someone who's only beaten the game without boss cells, because of my dyspraxia co-ordination issues I'm never likely to make five, though I'll try one again soon once I'm fully in the flow and see how I go. 

I do know that at least for now, the new ending doesn't change depending on the boss cells (some have complained about this), and there's no extra levels as of now. 

Anyway, the level design itself, I enjoyed it. The main new standard level is very chaotic, in that some of it is composed of platforms your enemies can crumble (but you can't), so you have to keep mobile through those areas to avoid getting dumped in spikes. But it's a good balance for me, busy without getting uncontrollably cramped. 

Then there's the lighthouse level, which is something new for the game, a tower-climbing chase sequence with mini-bosses interspersed, that's really fun. Then the final boss. 


Of the previous DLC, because I spent so long out of it I'm still catching up to picking up items from Fatal Falls and Rise of the Giants (and obviously haven't played the 5-cells-locked levels from Giants), so I can't speak on them too much. But for the level design itself, Fatal Falls in particular added two levels I really enjoy - Fractured Shrines, a more platformy than usual level, and Undying Shores, which adds heavy to the lore and has a fun enemy that resurrects other ones you've killed (also, unusual design for the game as you're mostly descending rather than moving across or up). Plus a new boss I enjoyed who unlocks a pretty badass new item. Rise of the Giants is fun too, but since I can only get to half the content (yeah, in case you weren't aware of this, Rise of the Giants has an entirely new level and the true final boss hidden behind 5 boss cells). 


Have you been playing/updating the game aside from the DLC in the last while? There's also been a couple of significant updates for free, including a new pre-Throne Room final level (the Derelict Distillery) as an alternate to High Peaks Castle which is a ton of fun, and most recently Everyone Is Here which brings in weapons/items inspired by other indie titles. The last one is a mixed bag because the play styles don't always entirely match- some boss fights can be completely cheesed with the Hollow Knight nail because you can just pogo on their heads, something the game isn't designed to do - but it's fun. They've also added a whole practice section right at the starting area where you can choose any weapon or item you've unlocked against any boss you've beaten (so you can essentially build your own boss rush if you want to), plus Aspects, a new system of free buffs of which you can pick one that locks you out of unlocking new cells but gives you a significant ability upgrade for a run. I've not tried them yet, but some of them look cool as shit. 


Ultimately the main benefit of getting all the DLC is there's far more variance between runs, much more choice of routes with new parallel levels. Honestly, it's probably worth having them all at some point just for that. Once you're familiar with all of the routes you can pick and choose what kind of run you want and work out the best route for it.  

 on lore:

 

Spoiler

The Queen and the Sea itself doesn't actually add that much oddly- the Queen implies she's been stopping the Malaise getting off the Island, though the ending when you beat her suggests she's either not been successful or something else has gone wrong in the wider world - but you having had a queen is all I've really picked up on from new lore here. You do get ferried around by a beer-swigging tentacled monster in a fisherman's raincoat, so there's that. What's a little odd is that the Queen's servants, that chase you up the lighthouse in the sequence I mentioned, share names with the Greek Muses, I think the first time in this game there's been any kind of straight connection to existing myth? It's a bit odd. Don't think it has any genuine implications, though.

The main bit added in the DLCs is in Fatal Falls, where clues are that at some point when you were King you chased a cult of necromancers off to a shitty storm-lashed shore, but at some point availed yourself of their services to make you... well, what you are. And the stuff in Giants about who the final final boss is as I've not played it I only know it in passing. But that's probably the true main lore addition of the game.

 


 

 

[Mr. X]

3 hours ago, polishgenius said:

The ending of the DLC is a bit odd. There was some chat that this would be the last DLC and tie up the game, but it very much leaves things open, whether that's in a sequel or more DLC who knows.  

The developers said something along the lines of it tying up the trilogy of DLCs they released. They did an AMA on Reddit a few days back (here's a link) and said they have "At least another year of content and then we'll see how it goes" when asked what more they have planned. They did say more DLC will be on the way but didn't give specifics.

I picked up the new DLC last Thursday and have played through the new levels twice (well, only made it to the boss once). I really enjoyed the shipwreck. Haven't been super excited about the new weapons I picked up in terms of actual gameplay, but I thought the shark was hilarious to use. Died pretty quickly using that due to its slow speed but laughed my ass off every time I swung it around or threw it.

[Arakasi]

I lost on spear at hades since I don’t love the weapon and didn’t have a very good build. I’ll have to try again when it comes up again but I think it’s my least favorite so far.

I did finally beat it with a fun fist build with rolling knuckle, kinetic launcher, divine dash, dionysus attack, Aphrodite special and all three of low tolerance, heart rend and splitting headache. Had a bunch of support damage boons with bad influence, sweet surrender and blinding flash. With Athena’s aid and true shot to top it off. I did die too much on hades since I’ve not learned how to read his melee attacks yet. I just face ranked him pretty much. Also really don’t love Styx as melee.

I think my least favorite enemies in the game are the Styx witches with the poison dagger and the bow elites in elysium.

I also tried a heat run of 1 with Chiron and I thought I was going to lose but ended up winning since that was the fight Hades let you through to complete the game. Quite amusing since I had one defiance left and a build that didn’t come together.

I am up to 11 blood so I’m thinking of a second spot to put points in. (Chiron is one shy of max but that’s okay for now) I think just like ranged or cast builds more. I am leaning towards Eris rail or Chaos shield. Poseidon sword and some of the rare ones seem interesting too. If I can finish off spear that will give me enough blood to finish off Chiron and max another. None of the base ones really appeal to me other than spear or fist.

[Gorn]

https://www.pcgamer.com/stop-boasting-about-the-length-of-your-game/

Quote

Obviously it won't take 500 hours to finish Dying Light 2's story. Completing the main and side quests will see you playing for 80 hours, according to a follow-up Tweet. It's hard to imagine that you'll be seeing anything new after 100 hours. So the next 400 are just mopping up the map. Busywork. All for, presumably, an achievement. But who's actually going to do that? Who's this marketing actually for? Certainly not most gamers, who struggle to finish a 20-hour game. Hell, even a 5-hour game is a stretch for a lot of us. Umurangi Generation only demands your attention for that long, and fewer than 30% of players have finished it.

If I hear that it will take me 500 hours to "fully finish the game", it makes me less likely to buy it, not more.

[Fez]

Saw that a new Supraland game is releasing on Friday. I had no idea it was coming, but I'm excited for it. The first game was a shockingly good adventure, puzzle game with a fun look to it. Its only problems were the lackluster combat and a few too many pop culture references. But the good certainly outweighed that. And it was just the right length too, at 20 hours. Which was enough time to regularly introduce new puzzle mechanics and master them, but not start getting repetitive.

Meanwhile, God of War is finally releasing on PC this Friday as well; and Monster Hunter Rise is today. Plus next week comes another CRPG I'm interested in, Expeditions: Rome.

Don't know when I'll get to any of these games considering the backlog I'm trying to get through. But it's certainly a strong start to 2022 for gaming; and looking at my list of anticipated games for the rest of the year, I think it'll keep going throughout.

[Werthead]

2 hours ago, Gorn said:

https://www.pcgamer.com/stop-boasting-about-the-length-of-your-game/

If I hear that it will take me 500 hours to "fully finish the game", it makes me less likely to buy it, not more.

It's marketing-speak bullshit. There's probably multiple endings and some locked content in NG+ and they're counting the fact you'll have to play the game through start to finish five times to see absolutely everything, which very, very few people ever do.

I do find myself yearning for a return to the days of the 20-30 hour game, which is plenty of entertainment. FF7 Remake and The Outer Worlds were both welcome for that, although they both also got criticised for being "too short." That's also where BioWare excelled; apart from Baldur's Gate II, whenever they've gone over 30 hours the game has immediately suffered from a surfeit of tedious makework filler (reaching some kind of apotheosis in Inquisition, where they had game devs telling people to skip parts of the game because they knew it was tedious horseshit because they'd been ordered to make it so).

[aceluby]

Got up to ~5 heat on some of my weapons and have decided to pivot and go for the 15 blood you get for beating the game with every pact of punishment.  So I'm currently going one by one with whatever weapon I'm getting a boost from so I can also collect some Darkness and finish out my mirror at the same time.  The problem I'm having now is that there are definitely builds that work better than others and I have to lean on those so I can finish, but it's starting to get a bit samey.  Might finally need a break and play something else for a bit

[Centrist Simon Steele]

23 hours ago, aceluby said:

I also did this.  Did the tutorial, shelved it for a few weeks, then came back to it and couldn't put it down.  The beginning is ridiculously slow, but it picks up rather quickly after.

How long would you estimate comes the pickup? I am past the tutorial, I think, as I've been tasked to go out and do some quests. I'm probably level 13, did some hunting ground challenges, and went searching for a person from the village and finished that questline. 

The game, at this point, is fine, and while I love open world and exploring, this one isn't capturing me yet.