Renzatic on 4/10/2019 at 21:47
Quote Posted by icemann
* Castlevania - Dawn of Sorrow - Man this is good graphically. And it's in 2D. I'd say it's somewhere between SNES level graphics and PS1 Symphony of the Night level. A game I need to play more of at some point. This game blows the GBA Castlevania's out of the park.
I always thought Dawn of Sorrow was AT LEAST as good as Symphony of the Night graphically. It's one of the games that really drew me to the power of the DS back when.
henke on 5/10/2019 at 16:39
Finally got around to playing The Signal From Tölva.
[video=youtube;LwFMuXkKSZc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwFMuXkKSZc[/video]
And, y'know, it's... mediocre. The combat is mildly interesting, the story kinda has some "huh" moments, the world sometimes has some nice stuff in it, and it looks alright. The Signal From Tölva: it's ok! :thumb:
Thirith on 5/10/2019 at 16:55
From what I've seen, read and played, I like the ideas that go into Big Robot's games, but I found Sir, You Are Being Hunted underdeveloped in so many respects. It's that sense that's kept me from trying any of their other games, although I think I have Tölva in my Steam library.
Tony_Tarantula on 7/10/2019 at 18:37
A little adventure game I found on sale called "The Council". It's an interactive story type thing set on a remote manor-island where your character finds himself attending a "council" meeting in 1792 hosted at the reclusive Lord Mortimer's manor with an unusual assortment of guests including George Washington, A certain french artillery Lieutenant, Johan Von Wollner, and other similarly prestigious personalities.
I may write more later but it's surprisingly well done and has a truly interactive branching story (your choices have far more significance than anything in Telltale games) where your choices and your successful investigative/conversation skills can directly impact the information you have access to. Throughout the course of the game you find yourself scheming and making arrangements in a manner that directly results from choices you make and who you choose to align with.
The game also heavily rewards players who are well versed in classic mythology, art, and literature to the point that many of the puzzles in the game will be dramatically easier if you're familiar with the material being references. For example, there's one lock puzzle that's almost impossible to figure out if you don't understand the significance of a particular date.
One common complaint is that the story "gets weird" starting around the beginning of episode 4.
I strongly disagree because:
The "weird plot twist" with "demons" (not in the Christian sense...just immortal spirits who can move between bodies and secretly guide history from behind the scenes) wasn't a twist at all if you're both paying attention and have even passing familiarity with occultism. There are numerous artworks, books, symbols, and conversations scattered around the manor that directly reference things like Annunaki lore, daemonology, and the "hidden hand" of various secret societies.
That said a lot of the social complexity and exploration problems vanish starting with that episode and there is one plot element that makes absolutely no sense because it directly contradicts previous events.
It's good but you also have to be a certain type of gamer to enjoy it.
qolelis on 13/10/2019 at 05:25
I lost all interest in playing for a while, but today it got restored after getting Killing Time at Lightspeed, which is 90 percent off on Steam right now (to the end of this week). It mostly takes place on social media with references to real world counterparts. There's also a story spanning over almost 30 years experienced by somewhat of an outsider looking back at Earth while travelling at high speed to a distant star. Entirely text-based. I'm personally not too into social media, but I enjoyed the game.
Also got FAR: Lone Sails, a 2.5D side scroller (mostly). Great art style. At first I thought the gameplay (mostly about resource management) was going to be a bit too repetitive, but the devs managed to make it varied enough throughout the game. The puzzles are on the casual side. Game's on sale this week.
Finally got Heaven's Vault, also on sale. You play as an archaeologist examining a site out in the desert, and figuring out an alien/foreign language by piecing sentences together and making qualified guesses for what each word means. I've only played the demo so far, but I liked the concept. Felt like a new experience to me.
Sulphur on 13/10/2019 at 05:38
Thirith gifted me FAR: Lone Sails some time ago. It's delightful. It has a lot of little things that make it stand out: the tactility of its interactions; the expert pacing; the slowly building lived-in feeling of your desert ship as you progress and collect things; the subdued and atmospheric art design. And there's one big thing -- its music is (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj98RoU4HSE) absolutely wonderful.
Heaven's Vault is absolutely worth anyone's time if they like the idea of piecing together an alien language through form and context (and the UI to review your progress is simple and elegant). The narrative is also a cultural exploration of sorts (including the age-old sci-fi theme of machine and human dichotomy, but with a fair few interesting tweaks) that feels very thoughtful, and there's a lot of unused space in gaming for slow and thoughtful experiences.
Thirith on 14/10/2019 at 08:35
Glad you're enjoying it, Sulphur! It is a lovely game and makes for a surprisingly good companion piece to Inside (with less body horror).
I'm close to finishing Outer Wilds, another absolutely lovely game (with some great music). It's a shame there aren't more people here that played it; it's one of those games that I think would become even more enjoyable if you can talk to others about it.
I was going to get back to Hitman afterwards, but I think I might get Disco Elysium at launch. It looks like exactly the kind of weird, pretentious, heavy-on-prose RPG that I've been looking for ever since I first played Planescape Torment.
Sulphur on 14/10/2019 at 09:04
:) I wanna say stuff about Outer Wilds, but it's very much a mood game, and I just haven't been in the mood. I'll get to it.
Disco Elysium seems like another potential distraction that I should well enough not add to the backlog, but ambition has always been something I can't resist. As with all ambitious projects though, it looks like they're going to have their issues. Apart from being the team's first game, the previews mention there's just too much stuff going on, and it's hard to focus on the through-line. But that sounds just fine to me; if there's quality in there, I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet.
Thirith on 14/10/2019 at 09:11
I absolutely agree with you re: Outer Wilds, though in this case I have to say I also had to push myself to get back into it and stay with it. Not because it's not good, but because it rewards a bit of staying power. I got into the mood by playing the game, rather than waiting to be in the mood in order to play the game. That doesn't always work, but it did in this case and I'm glad it did.
As far as Disco Elysium is concerned, I'm sure I read somewhere that it's not a particularly *long* game but one that can be replayed. I don't necessarily do the latter much these days, and when I do I tend to make more or less the same choices again, but I am definitely up for an RPG that isn't epic but shallow. I also dig the 'Life on Mars reimagined by China Miéville' vibe I get from what I've seen so far.
Renault on 14/10/2019 at 15:42
Anyone playing Forager? Completely addicting. One of the better crafting and grinding games I've played. It's got that heroin type hook that keeps pushing you to build one more thing, mine just a little more ore, or explore just a bit further. Playing on the Switch, and it feels perfect for that platform. If I had to compare it to other games though, I'd say it's a mix between Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and Factorio (haven't played that last one, just watched vids).
One of the things I love about the game is that it gives you very little help, and there are multiple points in the game where you make "eureka" type breakthroughs on how to get something done. One task that seems virtually impossible one moment (I have to make 1000 of those?) suddenly becomes manageable after you figure something out. It does a great job of pushing you further and keeping your interest.
