@Elodin I’ve always had a soft spot for any control that is momentum based. From the days of Skitchin’ to the crash mode in Burnout to the more recent The Pathless and even Death Stranding. I really like the idea of adding depth to the simple act of moving the character.
I thought Brutal Legend had some really interesting ideas but got unmanageable by the end of the game for me, so I can understand why it didn’t really go anywhere.
As far as criminally underrated games, I will likely die on a lonely hill declaring The Evil Within 2 as one of the best survival horror games ever made.
@Pizzamorg Whenever I don't what to play next, I usually go for something totally different to what I've last played or normally play. I find smaller games are good, as you can finish them over a weekend or something and it feels like you've achieved something. At times I can play the first few hours of a bunch of games before something clicks.
Due to having a vast library of games in my backlog and subbed ps plus extra, I doubt I will ever not have nothing to play. 😁
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@Pizzamorg Well if you only have a PlayStation then nothing of worth is coming out this month but if you have the other consoles, Paper Mario TTYD and Hellblade II are coming out on Switch and Xbox respectively. I'm very much looking forward to playing through those later this month.
I'm currently playing through Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which in my opinion is a rather unique game. A Star Wars game mixed with Souls elements, it's such a good formula.
The only game I'm looking forward to in summer is Trails Through Daybreak. Can't wait to sink my teeth into a brand new Trails arc! I'm especially excited now that I'm playing through Trails from Zero.
I do have a bunch of indies loaded up on my Steam Deck and funnily enough a bunch of the early Trials games as I bought a bunch to eventually one day navigate through it and the Cold Steel series. I should probably my Deck some love regardless, haven't booted up the Deck in months, basically since I semi abandoned my run of P4 Golden as the gameplay side of that game is pretty horrible and if a remake is coming, I'd rather just wait.
I dunno what the next release is for me, I think the MH Stories and SMT V rereleases on PC both come out around the start of June, so those will probably be my next big meaty meals.
I honestly sorta keep forgetting about Hellblade 2 to be honest, I guess if that reviews well I can just play it on Gamepass. I don't think I ever finished the original as I just found it super boring.
@Pizzamorg These gaming slumps can certainly happen to the best of us. I’ve not hit a wall quite like your current situation in a while, but recently I felt a little fatigued after playing a few new releases in close succession.
Like Johnny mentioned, I’ve found that mixing in very diverse and different styles of games helps. The big new releases do all seem to be of a similar ilk. But additionally, and probably more importantly, I think it helps to play some shorter games more often. The real headline games all seem to be these epic narrative adventures that take at least 80 hours and that can be tiring, especially if the game has a little bloat shoved in. The end result is game after game that drags a bit too long and then fatigue sets in. So it might be worthwhile to look through some games you’ve missed over the last few years that are less than 20 hrs in length and try one or two of those while you await the next new release that catches your eye. Just off the top of my head, something like Stray, or Brothers, or Bound, or Virginia, or Inscryption, or Edith Finch, or whatever (those are just random smaller titles I’ve played in the last few years that come to mind as nice diversions). This might be a good time to try something that wasn’t previously of interest to you. It may click now that you’re in a different mindset than before.
Or alternatively, it’s always ok to take a break from gaming in general. There’s solace to be found in a lot random places. Here’s hoping something works out for you! 😄
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
What game or game mechanic did you really like that were poorly rated or fell under the radar?
I’ve been thinking about this the last couple days. When I looked at my recently played list, there wasn’t as many low rated games as I used to play. I think the sheer volume of releases and my increasingly limited freetime has funneled me toward having to be selective with my games and so I’m usually going only with games that are highly rated. But if I look at just the last couple years a few titles surprised me by how much I liked them, such as: The Quarry, Tchia, A Plague Tale: Requiem. Specifically, it’s strange that I would list A Plague Tale as underrated when it’s garnered a Metacritic of 82 and sales figures over 3 million, but it didn’t feel like it really entered any sort of public prominence compared with how good it was.
So I have to look back a few years to find some of the lesser known quantities that I feel like were under appreciated. I’ll often reference The Order: 1886 as a game that got a bad rap and is a lot better than its reputation. It did end up a bit unfinished and quite short, but what’s there is a polished and interesting gaming world, and one I wished had received enough notoriety to get a sequel. Another that I’ll bring up was Remember Me - one of Dontnod’s early attempts before it hit a more popular mainstream with Life is Strange. It’s around a 70 Metacritic and sold a million copies, but was quickly overshadowed by its ‘younger sibling’ game and so we got a whole series of LiS games instead of a sequel with Nilin the memory hunter in Neo-Paris. No shade to LiS because I like those, but a Remember Me 2 could have some interesting ideas.
As far as gaming mechanics that I feel are underrated, I would say asynchronous multiplayer elements. They have come into more prominence recently, but I still feel like more games could take advantage of using this type of hybrid between single player and multiplayer aspects. A lot of us don’t like to engage in competitive MP or don’t have time to get with other players online and the asynchronous online elements can add a feeling of community while you play by yourself.
Some examples of asynchronous MP that I have enjoyed include: shared world structures in Death Stranding, messages and ghosts snippets from the Soulsborne games, pawns from Dragon’s Dogma, getting revenge for another player’s corpse in Returnal, and chapter summaries in narrative titles that show how your choices compare with what the community or your friends chose, like in Detroit Become Human, the Telltale games, and the aforementioned LiS games.
Another mechanic I enjoy that has somewhat flown under the radar is good use of the DualSense features, especially the adaptive triggers. I had to grin each time I broke open one of Sandman’s crystals in Spider-Man 2 because it actually felt like I was cracking open a crystal! I wish we had more of those simple moments on PS5.
@HallowMoonshadow Long time no speak, I was formerly Draco/Branded Swordsman in case you were unaware. How have you been? What are you playing nowadays? As you may or may not have seen I am currently ploughing my way through DeS with an op build, including the Dragon Bone Smasher with Curse Weapon enabled for bosses, two worlds to go now before the final "boss". 🤣 Have you played the Remake yourself?
I'm very well aware who are @Black_Swordsman. Only one person here talks about the souls games that much and has Berserk related usernames... And that's you 😉
I'm doing okay. Just been busy with work and dealing with some stuff.
I've been playing quite a few shorter games as of late, clearing out my backlog and having a good time with a wide range of genres. Currently inbetween games and trying to find the next one to grab me.
Don't have a PS5 yet so nope I haven't played Demons Souls remake yet. Gonna get one soon finally. Not sure if I'll get DS Remake though to be honest.
I haven't played Elden Ring yet so I'd probably get that first.
Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"
I'd finally got my tooth sorted out last week so I'm still adjusting and there's a bit of pain still @Bundersvessel but otherwise I'm doing okay thanks.
How's things going on your end?
Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
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"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"
@HallowMoonshadow I quite like the idea of world (and character) tendency in Demon's Souls, I just think the implementation left a bit to be desired. Being affected by server status and body form meant that I spent my time offline and in soul form (how many blood stains are there in the Nexus).
I also remembering looking at the World tendency map numerous times thinking "now is that pure white/black" then proceeding to top myself once more, returning to see no visible change on the map.
@HallowMoonshadow Good news, was it a total removal? I lived with a broken tooth for about 7 years and had it removed a couple years back, the most wonderful feeling haha good to hear you’re on the up 👍
I’m doing well thanks, just incredibly tired most of the time. I recently started taking on some freelance work again but having to work it with being full time dad has been exhausting 😂 hopefully things will ease up when they go to nursery.
@Jimmer-jammer Congrats again for your plat in RotR. What are you playing next? I am planning to get RotR on Friday. Will let you know how my adventures go.
Edit: Would you say it's much easier than the Nioh games?
this weekend I had a fun time going to my niece's high school graduation on Sunday. There a reason why graduations are way too early these days on the 10th or the 12 during a weekend?
Back in my day in 1998 my high school graduation was on the 22nd which game and my other classmates to have fun and relax for awhile.
Just wondering why high school graduations are way early these days on a 10th or 12th of May?
@Black_Swordsman Thank you! I really hope you can enjoy it when you get to it. I’m normally well and burned out by hours 40-50 with these types of games but actually enjoyed this one the more I played. Hmm, it’s tough to say if it’s easier. It’s certainly less complicated and thus more manageable and there is a difficulty slider but I still found it very challenging, especially in the late game. It helps to be versatile. That said, you can revisit earlier areas and missions utterly OP and just slice through everyone. I’m having a hard time discerning whether you’ll love this or hate it. I think it really boils down to whether or not you’re in the mood to take a chance. Keep me posted!
I’m having a bit of gaming ADHD at the moment (likely the result of spending so much time on an epic). Currently, I’ve got The Rising Tide to finish up along with Unicorn Overlord, which I guess you could say has been my ongoing game. Also playing through Unravel 2 with the kids. On the docket, there’s Prince of Persia, Planet of Lana, FFRebirth, Jedi Survivor and Kingdom Come. Naturally, I impulsively bought Stellar Blade. So mostly Stellar Blade right now 😂
As this isn't really Goodbye or a Vacation, I haven't put this post in the corresponding thread. 😃
But I will say that I will be focusing on music now for the foreseeable. The FromSoft Souls games were the main reason I got back into gaming a few years ago, and now that I have beaten all the ones that I was interested in playing in the first place, I feel like it is time to back off from games for a bit and put my guitar playing and other interests such as Literature and watching Cricket to the fore for a while. But I will still be hanging around and posting occasionally in this thread, The Music Thread and the Books You're Currently Reading Thread. Be nice to keep in touch, if you don't mind. 😉
@Jimmer-jammer Thanks for the advice regarding RotR, I'll bear it in mind should I return to gaming in the near future, and I'm sure I'll chat to you again in the Music or Books Threads in a bit. All the best with Stellar Blade, hope you can get a plat for that one as well!
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