nicked on 6/1/2021 at 21:52
Started playing Doom Eternal after picking it up in the Steam sale, and... what the hell happened?
I was expecting a first person shooter, not this weird, bloated mish-mash of almost puzzle game-like combat encounters and Super Mario platforming, weighed down by a sci-fi drivel of a narrative divulged through an overabundance of edgy cutscenes.
I don't get it. Am I misremembering Doom 2016? I remember it as a lean, tight FPS where the story took a backseat, and where every combat encounter gave you the freedom to experiment stylishly, thereby successfully updating the classic 90s FPS formula for modern times (albeit with perhaps a tad too much complexity to its systems to really capture the raw fun of the original Doom).
Doom Eternal seems to have forgotten what worked about its predecessor, and doubled down on the complexity, innovating for innovation's sake when they already had a winning formula.
Maybe it gets better, but so far, I'm having no fun at all.
froghawk on 6/1/2021 at 23:42
Yeah, that was exactly my first impression. I did end up making it through the thing, and the first DLC, too. It gets more enjoyable once you have more tools at your disposal, just like 2016, but it's always a bit of an exhausting juggle that's optimal in small doses.
vinns91 on 7/1/2021 at 00:33
I started thief gold for the first time a couple weeks ago. Joined these forums cause im liking it so much.
Dont play a crazy amount cause i have other responsibilities, but when i do get into it i REALLY get into it. So far just beat song of the caverns and its already one of my fav games ever.
Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk
Jason Moyer on 7/1/2021 at 04:10
I think most of us would agree with you that Thief Gold is amazing. When you're done with that, make sure you check out the almost-as-awesome expansion pack, Thief II.
WingedKagouti on 7/1/2021 at 11:40
So I might have binged a bit too much on Hades, to the extent that I this night actually got to hold a feast. It feels like the last time I got this hooked on a game was with Morrowind.
Hades is really worthy of being considered GotY 2020, the core gameplay is really smooth with very satisfying combat and truly meaningful decisions in each run. The difference of the various aspects for each weapon makes for different strategies as do the gods and weapon upgrades you're offered in each run. I also love the way the story plays with all the classic Greek myths, including some stuff that would normally be considered fairly obscure by most.
If you haven't played it yet, go do so now.
Malf on 7/1/2021 at 13:59
There's a few story beats after the feast that I've had so far, but the narrative definitely seems to have slowed since. I suppose I've got to finish up with Thanatos and Dusa at some point, but after that it's just the core gameplay and adding complexity through the Pact.
Still, 100% agree, a very worthy contender for 2020 GOTY.
I did mention before that I find it a little pretentious, and I still hold to that. It's hard to describe, but it's a combination of tone and art-style that just rubs me up the wrong way a bit (it may have something to do with my professional background and having to deal with "Creatives").
Nowhere near as badly as something like Braid, but along similar lines.
Nothing that prevents me from enjoying the game though :)
Thirith on 7/1/2021 at 14:21
I have to admit that I have zero interest in continuing the Thanatos story, and I don't think it's a matter of sexuality: I just don't like the guy and I don't find him particularly interesting. If there was a potential romance storyline with Achilles, I'd follow up on it, because I like Achilles, but obviously he's already taken.
How much do I have to flatter the Olympians with gifts etc. before the feast? Do they all have to be maxed out with Nectar or even Ambrosia?
Meanwhile, I'm probably, hopefully entering the last few hours of the Assassin's Creed Odyssey main storyline. I'm enjoying the game for what it does well, but I don't want to glut myself on the shallow, samey kill-and/or-deliver missions and get sick of the game. After all, I've got... oh, so many games on my list, but mainly I want to check out this glowsticks-and-robots game I got from Jeshibu. Something with stars and wars and fallen orders.
WingedKagouti on 7/1/2021 at 14:57
Quote Posted by Thirith
I have to admit that I have zero interest in continuing the Thanatos story, and I don't think it's a matter of sexuality: I just don't like the guy and I don't find him particularly interesting. If there was a potential romance storyline with Achilles, I'd follow up on it, because I like Achilles, but obviously he's already taken.
How much do I have to flatter the Olympians with gifts etc. before the feast? Do they all have to be maxed out with Nectar or even Ambrosia?
Just Nectar seems to be enough, I got the feast before giving Ambrosia to Poseidon, Aphrodite, Artemis or Demeter (and from what I've read you can't even give Demeter Ambrosia until after the feast).
Aja on 8/1/2021 at 15:48
I've got a pile of games to get me through the next while. On Switch I got Paper Mario, which, as reviews have noted, is pretty light for an RPG, but that suits me. It's cute and funny, and the basic actions like throwing confetti to patch holes in the world or whacking everything with hammer are fun.
I also got Hades. I've never gotten into roguelikes, but the way this is structured, in that dying actually furthers the story, is genius. I wish the graphics were a bit more distinctive, but I can still see myself playing this for a long time.
From the e-shop sale I also bought A Short Hike, Guacamele, and Dead Cells, though playing two roguelikes at once feels like a mistake, so I might hold off there.
From the Steam sale I bought Death Stranding, and I'm looking forward to seeing how embarrassing it turns out to be. One reviewer described the core gameplay as kind of like wandering around in Breath of the Wild, which sold it for me. I also picked up Return of the Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds. And I plan to finish Kentucky Route Zero, having only completed (but loved) the first chapter.