Anarchic Fox on 21/5/2022 at 03:13
I had a great deal of fun with Vampire Survivors, but decided I'd be better off waiting until its full release. It's even supposed to acquire a plot at some point in development! :p
Another roguelite, Rogue Legacy 2, had just come out of Early Access, so I gave it a try. It's an action platformer with permadeath, but also with permanent upgrades between characters. It's partially procedural, in the sense of having pre-designed rooms arranged randomly, and unlike its predecessor there are enough room designs that repetition doesn't become a problem. In the original the bosses tended to be bullet-hell affairs, but in this one they're more Souls-like, with big bosses that hit hard and fast, but have tells that you can learn over time. The final boss was a big jump in difficulty over its predecessors, and I was starting to feel fatigued at the game loop, so I've set the game aside for now.
Then I started playing Your Chronicle, which is another idle/incremental game. It's good for what it is, but also a waste of time unless you happen to have the neurological quirks that make these stupidly long games compelling.
Thirith on 21/5/2022 at 15:14
After Inmost, I felt like the opposite, a big, bloated, gruff open-world action adventure: Arkham Knight. I'd played it on PS4, but it's nice to crank up all the bells and whistles and play it in ultrawide on PC. And by now it also runs really well - which isn't always a guarantee for a game from around this time. (Dying Light, I'^m looking at you.)
WhiskeyBob on 22/5/2022 at 12:08
Completing 2nd time now Gothic 3 with Alternative Balancing mod. When I was searching for Gothic 3 addons, I found a (
http://www.terragame.com/zx_spectrum_and_glasses.html) page with a few games reviews and read about tools like Borderless Gaming and Reshade and their usage with games. Unless I've got 45-50fps, after enabling around ten of ReShade filters, I did not expect that Gothic 3 graphics can be improved so significantly, closer to Witcher 2, if not even 3. I did not know previously, that shaders can "add" polygons to ingame meshes, objects, and NPCs to look more detailed. Not sure if I will replay Morrowind, but I've installed Overhaul and tuned it up to almost max detail/visibility range. And the game, along with ReShade, downed fps on my Radeon R9 370 to pitiful 35-40 fps.:)
demagogue on 22/5/2022 at 12:20
Himno. It's not that new of a game. A demo version of it has been out for a few years now. But it's been properly made into a rogue like now, as in it's an actual game now. It wasn't really before.
What I like about it is maybe 80% of it is pure lowkey platforming. There will be a few enemies in one corner of a map you can take on when you're up to it. But the rest of it will just be you, the platforms, and the little trinkets and whatnot you can pick up.
It's incredibly chill. And the pretty colors and ambient music add to that.
There's also the roguelike side, which is all new to me ... resource gathering, crafting, potions & spells, weapons and upgrades. And you have a home base you can build up as you go on. I haven't really figured much of that out yet. There isn't any guidance about it, evidently by design; you just figure stuff out as you go.
But so far I haven't been really playing it for that side and have been content playing it for the chill experience, which it delivers with flying neon colors.
Yakoob on 22/5/2022 at 20:53
I've been struggling with bullshit lately, so on a kick of very addictive games to take my mind off of things...
Inline Image:
https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/1296610/extras/matryorbshka.gif?t=1653121655(https://store.steampowered.com/app/1296610/Peglin/) Peglin - a pachinko rougelike where you attack via a peggle-like minigame. Launch an orb and watch it bounce around pegs, each peg counting as point of damage. Different orbs have different effects, special pegs, various enemies, you get the drill. Frankly, I did NOT expect it to be as addictive as it is, but I played the demo like 10 times over and finally got the full game. It's definitely an Early Access (and I somehow managed to beat the full thing in the first day) and there's some annoyance/kinks and lack of long-term progresstion, but the core loop is just really hitting those dopamine levels just right.
Inline Image:
https://img.itch.zone/aW1hZ2UvNzg0OTg5LzYyNzE1OTUuZ2lm/original/9XznC%2F.gif(
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.com.tann.dice&hl=en_US&gl=US)
Slice & Dice - a mobile game roguelike that pits your party of 5 against random monsters. The kicker is that each "class" is basically a different six-sided dice, with each side having different effects (like attack x1, defend x2, generate 2 mana etc.), and you can keep or re-roll each character dice up to 2 times. It sounds simple but is deceptively strategic. The enemies communicate their attacks so you clearly see who will be affected and how. It's an intricate balance between causing damage, healing, defending, and generating mana, with complexity of choosing the right targets and weighing the risks of keeping or re-rolling a dice. So many times I'd see 4 of my dudes about to die and panic, only to find myself wiping the floor with just the right amount of strategizing. The limited content starts getting really repetitive after a few runs, but it's definitely 100% worth the asking price (and the initial demo version is free!)
Inline Image:
https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/646570/header.jpg?t=1592339399Slay the Spire - I initially bounced off of it, but have been getting into it a bit more lately. I somehow managed to beat the whole game on my first try (lmao) and haven't replicated that yet, but I did unlock the 4 characters. I think I need to read some strategy guides because I keep getting wiped out (and doing _awful_ with the woman and the robot characters). Right now, it feels the enemies just slowly chip my health away over time and I don't have enough defense cards to block or healing opportunities - the right card combo or relic is the difference between success or failure. But I've seen plenty of people saying how fair the game actually is, so I have a sense it's my lack of experience more than the game being too RNG.
Inline Image:
https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/1766390/extras/Combat_1.gif?t=1649283438(
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1766390/FORWARD_Escape_the_Fold/)
FORWARD: Escape the Fold - a card-based roguelike where you always move forward and have to decide which path to take, with various effects, monsters, treasures etc. It's a solid idea but... it didn't grab me as much. I felt the game very quickly started to feel repetitive, and I did not find a meaningful difference between runs or characters. Feels a bit more mindless than strategic imho
Inline Image:
https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/803330/extras/DAH_AnalProbe.gif?t=1642581122(https://store.steampowered.com/app/803330/Destroy_All_Humans/) Destroy All Humans! - remaster of an older game I grabbed for a tenner, you're a condescending alien dude who wants to (drum roll) destroy all humans. Played a few missions and... I don't know, I don't think I'm feeling it? Maybe it's just the starting game, but it feels very on rails (i.e. I feel like I'm doing exactly what the developers wanted me to do with specific powers used in specific situations). Maybe it opens up later, but so far it's just not grabbing me. The writing and voice acting is alright (kudos to Invader Zim voice) but it only got like one chuckle out of me in an hour. Eeeh I think it's just not my genre/humor, don't think there's anything wrong with the game per-se.
Inline Image:
https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/1621690/header_alt_assets_2.jpg?t=1650619668(
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1621690/Core_Keeper/)
Core Keeper - kind of a top-down terraria in a cave, if you will. It definitely scratched that addictive exploration/digging/crafting itch and was worth the money, but after 10hrs I feel I am done. I defeated the main bosses and the idea of grinding for the extra special bosses just doesn't seem appealing to me. I think that's just how I deal with these kinda games and had the same experienced with Terraria or My Time at Portia - played it for hours and hours initially until I reached a point I just felt "done" and never looked back.
Tomi on 22/5/2022 at 21:32
Quote Posted by Yakoob
Slay the Spire - I initially bounced off of it, but have been getting into it a bit more lately. I somehow managed to beat the whole game on my first try (lmao) and haven't replicated that yet, but I did unlock the 4 characters. I think I need to read some strategy guides because I keep getting wiped out (and doing _awful_ with the woman and the robot characters). Right now, it feels the enemies just slowly chip my health away over time and I don't have enough defense cards to block or healing opportunities - the right card combo or relic is the difference between success or failure. But I've seen plenty of people saying how fair the game actually is, so I have a sense it's my lack of experience more than the game being too RNG.
Yeah, I think that the game is quite fair indeed, but it's a card game so of course you need plenty of luck as well. When you're building your deck, try to specialize on something instead of trying to be "pretty good at everything". Ironclad is the easiest character to start with, I think. I find Silent more fun though, but it's also way more vulnerable and risky. I did finish the game with the robot character (Defect), but Watcher is a relatively new addition, and I never really got around to playing with it. I think Slay the Spire is awesome, the best game of its genre (not that I've played many). I know it can be so frustrating when you've carefully built your deck and you're breezing through the dungeons, and then you bump into some enemy that has some different tricks up their sleeve, and you fail miserably because you weren't prepared for it. It never really feels unfair though, and when you finish a successful run, it's such a great feeling. :)
Tomi on 22/5/2022 at 21:48
Quote Posted by Thirith
I finished
Inmost yesterday
I also finished Inmost not too long ago. Here's what I wrote about it in the Ukraine Bundle thread:
Quote:
Inmost is a truly depressing 2d sidescrolling adventure game. The gameplay is pretty bad to be honest, but the story kept me going until the end. It's confusing as hell sometimes and a bit too abstract for my liking, and it really is so dark and gloomy that I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. The pixelart graphics are really good and the sounds are top notch. Play this if you're feeling too happy and you've got a couple of hours to spare?
I still don't know whether I actually liked the game or not. As a game it'd be rather forgettable and really not very good, but there's something quite special about how the game delivers its story, I think. Also, it does look really good, and considering how many pixel art games there are these days, that's quite a compliment. The music really adds to the atmosphere, and makes it all even more dark and depressing. I remember feeling a bit uncomfortable while playing through some parts of the game - I suppose that can be a good thing in a way.
Thirith on 23/5/2022 at 06:17
I want to check out Slay the Spire at some point, but right now I think I'll probably wait until we have a long trip and then I'll get it on iPad. It sounds like the kind of game that would work well on tablet.
I'm also really enjoying my replay of Arkham Knight. Compared to, say, the Ubisoft open world games, I like how this one is designed to keep you in the game. It's easy to switch between storylines and side activities, it's usually a very short trip to the next activity, and they're all pretty varied. It's a game where you can easily drop in, play for 15 minutes and feel you've furthered things. The world is gorgeous in a grimdark way, but it's also very compact and less of a sandbox than just a jam-packed playground. The smaller stories are also of more consistent quality than in your average Assassin's Creed game, where you have at least three copy & paste activities to every cool side quest. Obviously Arkham Knight is pulpy (and, as can easily be the case with Batman, it all veers towards the reactionary), but it's pretty enjoyable pulp with a varied rogues gallery.
henke on 23/5/2022 at 07:39
Yeah I also replayed Arkham Knight recently and was even more impressed with it then I was the first time around, having had a bit of distance to the other Arkham games. Like you sya, the way it transitions between different missions/sideactivities is very smooth, but I also liked how smoothly the gameplay switches between driving/flying/on-foot/combat. It's all so slick!
I'm ~27h into Skyward Sword and honestly it's too dang long! It has you rethreading the same ground too many times in slightly different contexts. And the motion controls, which were charming in a quirky way early on started wearing out their welcome around the 20 hour mark.
Thirith on 23/5/2022 at 09:40
Quote Posted by henke
Yeah I also replayed Arkham Knight recently... I also liked how smoothly the gameplay switches between driving/flying/on-foot/combat. It's all so slick!
Yeah, that is really impressive. What I also find impressive, even though it makes the game less approachable: how they don't do the usual thing of stripping all your abilities down to the minimum for the new game. There is something cool in having all of these abilities and gadgets at the beginning of a sequel, even if it makes the learning curve more steep, and then the game builds on this. There's a confidence to
Arkham Knight that is really cool.
