What are you playing?

[Jinsai]

Played through Returnal again on PC, the graphical improvements are pretty nice.

Tried Wo Long on Gamepass. I can't get into it. I bounced hard of Nioh 2 and this is fairly similar, but somehow this has even more of an incoherent story lol

I only played through Nioh 1 all the way through, but I cannot tell you at ALL what the fuck was going on in that story.

[Kodiak33]

Anyone trying D4 this weekend? It is dark. Glad they went back to the tone of the originals.

[Zimbo]

I finished Dishonored 2, Dishonored: Death to the Outsider, Dishonored 1 (and it's DLC), and I am nearing completing of Deathloop (which took long enough to click). Ready for Redfall. Hope someone in Redfall has a blink-esq power. I love that power, a lot.

[Jinsai]

Anyone trying D4 this weekend? It is dark. Glad they went back to the tone of the originals.

There's gotta be something I'm missing here. I remember liking Diablo 2 when I was younger, but I was excited about any game then. This just feels like, I dunno how to put it, boring? I like the atmosphere and the "story" more or less, and I like how Hellraiser it is, but I just hate the combat. It feels like Diablo 3 all over again, walk over to an enemy and hold down the attack button, and then grab loot. Weirdly, it feels like one of those lootbox mobile games, but without that lootbox.

I wanted to like it a lot more than I did. I might just be spoiled by Final Fantasy 14 having the best coop rpg combat system ever. In the demo for D4 that I played, the only challenging moment was the boss fight, and even that was pretty meh.

[Kodiak33]

There's gotta be something I'm missing here. I remember liking Diablo 2 when I was younger, but I was excited about any game then. This just feels like, I dunno how to put it, boring? I like the atmosphere and the "story" more or less, and I like how Hellraiser it is, but I just hate the combat. It feels like Diablo 3 all over again, walk over to an enemy and hold down the attack button, and then grab loot. Weirdly, it feels like one of those lootbox mobile games, but without that lootbox.

I wanted to like it a lot more than I did. I might just be spoiled by Final Fantasy 14 having the best coop rpg combat system ever. In the demo for D4 that I played, the only challenging moment was the boss fight, and even that was pretty meh.

I felt it was way more visceral than D3, but I get what you're saying. I really liked it.

[Demogorgon]

I recently picked up the Final Fantasy pixel remaster for the Switch. Just the first one; it was one of the first console games i ever played and i went from that straight into 7, so it has a lot of nostalgia going for it. The xp and gil boosts really make a difference. much less of a slog than it was before. I'm also playing Dead Island 2 on series X. I'm not sure that it's better than the first one, but i'm having fun.

[sonic_discord]

Can't wait to dive into Jedi: Survivor tomorrow! I've already pre-downloaded the game...

[Demogorgon]

Can't wait to dive into Jedi: Survivor tomorrow! I've already pre-downloaded the game...

Same. I'm looking forward to throwing that one up on my stream.

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Ughhhhh, all of these games being released and I have absolutely no time to play them. I'm pretty much trying to salvage any time I have to play Final Fantasy in June.

Damn adult life, and responsibilities!

[Kodiak33]

Jedi Survivor is yet another game that runs like shit on PC at launch...getting tired of this.

[sonic_discord]

Jedi Survivor is yet another game that runs like shit on PC at launch...getting tired of this.

I've seen a few posts/articles about this, which I find surprising since games usually have the best performance on PC. It plays pretty smoothly on PS5 so far.

[Toadflax]

Jedi Survivor is yet another game that runs like shit on PC at launch...getting tired of this.

Yeah, I’ve started tending to just go PS5 for AAA games, particularly ones I won’t be kidding down the line. Maybe you’re more limited in the framerate/graphics department, but you’re also way more likely to get a solid experience these days.

[Kodiak33]

PS5 isn't running well either, in fact it's upscaling from 720P I believe in certain cases.



Glad you're enjoying it! I loved the first one and can't wait to try it when things are better. You probably won't even notice what they're talking about if you're playing away from a TV (and not a monitor )

[sonic_discord]

I do play on a TV, but it's a 77" LG OLED that I just bought on Cyber Monday a few months ago and my couch is probably around 10 feet away. I haven't really noticed anything noteworthy so far (and I haven't made it too far yet), but now I'll be paying closer attention. On the bright side, they'll probably get things ironed out in patches relatively soon, right? I know that it's still annoying (and shouldn't be acceptable) to have performance issues right out of the gate on the release date and games SHOULD be ready for players on day one. I'm surprised that game manufacturers didn't learn a lesson from CD Projekt Red and the CyberPunk 2077 fiasco.

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Patches were already released for PS5, and it made matters worse for a lot of players. Don't even look at Redfall right now... Game is broken out of the box, and this trend is getting very old.

Everyone at the office was literally up in arms, rage quitting, along with grunts of anger from the entire review team playing Survivor, and Redfall at the same time lolol.

[Kodiak33]

I do play on a TV, but it's a 77" LG OLED that I just bought on Cyber Monday a few months ago and my couch is probably around 10 feet away. I haven't really noticed anything noteworthy so far (and I haven't made it too far yet), but now I'll be paying closer attention. On the bright side, they'll probably get things ironed out in patches relatively soon, right? I know that it's still annoying (and shouldn't be acceptable) to have performance issues right out of the gate on the release date and games SHOULD be ready for players on day one. I'm surprised that game manufacturers didn't learn a lesson from CD Projekt Red and the CyberPunk 2077 fiasco.

I've had my 65 OLED for a few years, how are you liking it?

[sonic_discord]

I've had my 65 OLED for a few years, how are you liking it?

I absolutely love it. I want to hang out down in my basement all the time now. I've been playing and watching a lot of shows/movies/games with space stuff—Guardians of the Galaxy (the game & the movies), Jedi: Survivor, The Mandalorian—which really looks fantastic with the HDR and OLED because you get so much contrast with the true black because those pixels are essentially "off."

[Kodiak33]

I absolutely love it. I want to hang out down in my basement all the time now. I've been playing and watching a lot of shows/movies/games with space stuff—Guardians of the Galaxy (the game & the movies), Jedi: Survivor, The Mandalorian—which really looks fantastic with the HDR and OLED because you get so much contrast with the true black because those pixels are essentially "off."

Yep, the black levels are hard to beat (actually impossible lol). That's why on my main TV (when this one croaks) I hope to never go back. Luckily they're getting more and more reasonable now.

[Jinsai]

I recently picked up the Final Fantasy pixel remaster for the Switch. Just the first one; it was one of the first console games i ever played and i went from that straight into 7, so it has a lot of nostalgia going for it. The xp and gil boosts really make a difference. much less of a slog than it was before. I'm also playing Dead Island 2 on series X. I'm not sure that it's better than the first one, but i'm having fun.

I played the original Final Fantasy when it came out on the NES, and I've been a fan of the series since... so I bought the entire pixel remaster collection on PS4 as soon as it came out. I just beat part VI, and I forgot how hard that got at the end. Even with the XP and Gil boosts... also, because you really shouldn't enable the XP boost at the beginning of that one, because the leveling system is really tied to what Esper you have equipped at the time you level up, and you don't get the Espers until you're a decent way into the game, so leveling up until that point only increases your HP/MP. Still, what a game.

I just started part 1 though, and the boosts make it feel like it's in fast forward, and not in a bad way. It's a really fast way to re-experience something for the nostalgia, without all the endless grinding and walking around in circles fighting the same enemies over and over again so you can survive the dungeon. So far I'm having a blast with this collection.

[Kodiak33]

I played the original Final Fantasy when it came out on the NES, and I've been a fan of the series since... so I bought the entire pixel remaster collection on PS4 as soon as it came out. I just beat part VI, and I forgot how hard that got at the end. Even with the XP and Gil boosts... also, because you really shouldn't enable the XP boost at the beginning of that one, because the leveling system is really tied to what Esper you have equipped at the time you level up, and you don't get the Espers until you're a decent way into the game, so leveling up until that point only increases your HP/MP. Still, what a game.

I just started part 1 though, and the boosts make it feel like it's in fast forward, and not in a bad way. It's a really fast way to re-experience something for the nostalgia, without all the endless grinding and walking around in circles fighting the same enemies over and over again so you can survive the dungeon. So far I'm having a blast with this collection.

I played FF6 back in the day on an emulator, but never finished it. Finally played it again last year on PC and holy shit it is hard. I have no idea how people finished it back in the day...

[Jinsai]

I played FF6 back in the day on an emulator, but never finished it. Finally played it again last year on PC and holy shit it is hard. I have no idea how people finished it back in the day...

Lots and lots of end-game grinding. If you built your characters right (by equipping the Bismark/Alexander espers when fighters level up so they get +2 strength, Lalawhatever and Zona Whatever for +2 magic for mages) you can pretty much curb-stomp the end dungeons... as long as you ran around doing all the side-quest stuff, some of which is really hidden and obscure. I just did a super completionist playthrough, and still only wound up with 60% of the trophies. No way I'm going to try for the platinum in that one.... I still don't understand how I missed the "visit all map locations" trophy. Opening every treasure chest?! There's so many hidden ones that are missable. It's an OCD nightmare to try to go for it.

FF1 however is a cakewalk by comparison. Though sometimes it's hard to figure out where you're supposed to go next. But now that we have the internet...

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

FF6 is arguably the best in the series, but I rememeber my ten year old self (Yes, I started playing these games at the age of 7) rage quitting, over and over again because I wasn't leveled up enough. I didn't beat the entire game until I was about 17, but damn was I so happy when I finally beat it in its original form.

I'll definitely be purchasing the pixel remasters very soon, but June is so close, I'll have just enough time to play 16 in its entirety.

[Jinsai]

FF6 is arguably the best in the series, but I rememeber my ten year old self (Yes, I started playing these games at the age of 7) rage quitting, over and over again because I wasn't leveled up enough. I didn't beat the entire game until I was about 17, but damn was I so happy when I finally beat it in its original form.

I'll definitely be purchasing the pixel remasters very soon, but June is so close, I'll have just enough time to play 16 in its entirety.

I am amped for 16. I don't know if you play 14, (and if you do, add me and we should do a dungeon or something), but I am stoked that 16 is being helmed by Yoshi P, the guy who basically lords over FF14. The scope of the story in 14 could only be told through a game that makes you play it for years. It's beyond epic... so I am really interested to see what he does in a contained experience. The writer is the same that did the script for Heavensward, so that sounds good, and I like the fact that it apparently has a hard R rating (and is being banned in Saudi Arabia apparently).

But if you buy the pixel remasters... I mean, I just beat FF1 and got the platinum in almost no time. I let the game idle in the background while I worked on some edits on my laptop, and it was actually really relaxing and cool, especially with the boost buffs, automated combat, and new orchestral soundtrack. It was like reliving part of your childhood in relaxing hyperspeed. 10/10 for nostalgic greatness.

But after beating parts 6,1, and starting 5, I loaded up FF14, and holy shit. If someone had shown me this game when I was a kid........... it's just on another level. I'm cautiously optimistic that FF16 is going to be one of the best games ever made.

[poinoup]

The fan translation of Mother 3. $30k cost to do it. Jeebus. Great looking for being on the GBA.

[kdrcraig]

As ridiculous as it sounds, I've been playing PowerWash Simulator and really digging it. It's super relaxing and there's something very satisfying about cleaning up every spec of dirt. Well worth the 20 bucks I paid for it.

[Kodiak33]

Playing Zelda TOTK and I can see this occupying a ton of my time. Very impressive new mechanics...

[thelastdisciple]

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition.

[leftshoe18]

I started playing 7 Days to Die with my wife and our oldest son and that's been a ton of fun.

[sonic_discord]

Has anyone played Aliens: Dark Descent? I'm seriously considering buying that. It looks like it has pretty good reviews on MetaCritic and it's currently on sale for PS5, so I'll probably do it.

[Jinsai]

I need a break from FF games. I recently played through all of the Pixel Remasters and FF16 and Crisis Core. I've also just finished Dead Space remake, and I'm at the end of God of War Ragnarok. Not sure what to boot up next of the stuff in my backlog I haven't gotten to yet... Ghost of Tsushima, Witcher 3, Chained Echoes (I've tried a few times but can't get into it), Citizen Sleeper, or Tales of Arise... or if I should dive back in and finish Elden Ring.

Leaning towards Witcher.