Topic: What games are you playing at the moment?

[Drinks Sangria]

I have Game Pass and an FTTP connection. Any recommendations for a good RPG or FPS I can get stuck into that’s on Game Pass? Wanting to actually spend more time gaming as I used to love it and barely ever play anything anymore.

I did download Warhammer 40k Vermintide yesterday after a friend recommended it, shit Doom knock-off.

[Zlen]

They have Quake 1&2 remasters there, well worth a run even after all these years.

[stoa]

What kinds of RPG are you looking for. Quite a few to recommend on Gamepass. Do you want a more shooter/first-person style RPG or rather something tactical. If it's the former you can't go wrong with Fallout 3/New Vegas/4/76. The Outer Worlds is similar in style, but in space. Starfield  is the most recent, but I never really got into it. Again, it's in space and also similar to the ones I've mentioned. Of course Skyrim is also worth it, if you haven't already played it. Would also recomment the Mass Effect Legendary Edition as that trilogy is just one of the greatest ever, but you need to have EA Play for that. Not sure if that is part of every Gamepass or whether you need ultimate for that (if you don't have it on Gamepass, it's currently available in the Steam-sale for 9 Euros or your local equivalent. I would definitely recommend it for that price, if you like that kind of game.

Tactical RPGs I would recommend on Gamepass are Wasteland 3, Pillars of Eternity 2 and Wartales.

If you like RPGs with more freedom and base-building/crafting/survival/farming/open-world elements I would recommend Medieval Dynasty, Mount and Blade II Bannerlords, Grounded and Stardew Valley.

[Drinks Sangria]

Thanks for the recommendations - Bethesda and BioWare are two of my all time favourite devs so I’ve played their catalogues to death - got Wasteland 3 and Bannerlord downloading as we speak to give them a go.

[[new username under construction]]

Wasteland 3 I enjoyed although big downside of the game is plodding along in that crappy behicle everywhere, prepare to swear at your computer a lot!

[Bennett]

Thanks for the recommendations - Bethesda and BioWare are two of my all time favourite devs so I’ve played their catalogues to death - got Wasteland 3 and Bannerlord downloading as we speak to give them a go.

If you're a Bethesda fan, get involved in Wolfenstein if you've not already. I've played them through more than once I enjoyed them that much.

On the subject of replaying, I've just got Sleeping Dogs back. Really good game.

[Bangin Them In]

Got back into Fallout 4

Then it's suddenly 4am 

[stoa]

Don't play while drunk or on anything else that might make you pass out...

[CheshireDave]

Been playing Frostpunk again and completing all the scenarios  on hard in preparation for Frostpunk 2 (end of July).

I absolutely love the art style and game play of this game.

[voodoo ray]

Been playing Frostpunk again and completing all the scenarios  on hard in preparation for Frostpunk 2 (end of July).

I absolutely love the art style and game play of this game.

I played that and it was decent. might have a go at the 2nd if I can find a free version of it.

tomorrow (barring any reviews saying it's an awful broken port) I will be paying actual money for HFW on the pc though.

[LiverLuke]

finally finished returnal, quite proud I pushed all the way through it, 70 deaths later!

[PhilV]

I am really into FF VII: Rebirth - spoilers below if you've never played the original btw...


Just got to Cosmo Canyon and doing the Cave of the Gi phase... the voice change in Red was funny, I have been 100% every area before moving on, I fucking hate Chadly always perking up but apart from that I actually enjoy exploring every area fully and doing all the stuff, it doesn't feel like a chore, and the combat is deffo improved from Remake, feels more fluid, I really am liking this


Helldivers is a massive laugh, lvl 17 now I think, I love my Arc Thrower

[ScottScott]

Dead Island 2

Absolutely loving it. Easy to pick up and power through a level or two and is almost therapeutic smashing zombies to bits. Actually has some funny moments in it as well and the main character (I chose the English fella) is quality

[stoa]

Dragon's Dogma 2.

It's getting poo-pooed all over the place, but I find it really enjoyable. An RPG that's right down my alley. Haven't had any issues performance wise on PC so far, but I've only just come to the first big city and most technical issues seem to be in the big cities. Fights in the open world were running flawlessly for me and I love the big enemies you can fight. Best experience so far was my group getting into a fight with some goblins and after we've defeated them, I had my character walk past one of my pawns and they actually high-fived each other... Great little detail...

[Drinks Sangria]

My understanding is that the DD2 backlash is due to the prevalence of micro transactions and play to win invading a single player experience.

[Darren G]

Dragon's Dogma 2.

It's getting poo-pooed all over the place, but I find it really enjoyable. An RPG that's right down my alley. Haven't had any issues performance wise on PC so far, but I've only just come to the first big city and most technical issues seem to be in the big cities. Fights in the open world were running flawlessly for me and I love the big enemies you can fight. Best experience so far was my group getting into a fight with some goblins and after we've defeated them, I had my character walk past one of my pawns and they actually high-fived each other... Great little detail...

I think that a lot of people's grievances are genuine issues though. Massive CPU usage in Cities and stuttering/low fps for many people, even those with pretty powerful rigs, microtransactions galore (a microtransaction for fast travel? fucking really?) etc. The big WTF though is the inability to restart a game or have multiple saves on a single player game in 2024. That shit is indefensible.

[PhilV]

I think that a lot of people's grievances are genuine issues though. Massive CPU usage in Cities and stuttering/low fps for many people, even those with pretty powerful rigs, microtransactions galore (a microtransaction for fast travel? fucking really?) etc. The big WTF though is the inability to restart a game or have multiple saves on a single player game in 2024. That shit is indefensible.

This.


It's a great game but poorly optimised evident by powerful systems having bad performance in the cities and the micro transactions are reaching new levels of scum, anyone who defends them is a fucking lunatic.

[voodoo ray]

Really?

That seems to fly in the face of the old "save often, save in different slots" rpg thing.

[Zlen]

Bought Enhanced Edition of Neverwinter Nights on GOG and am quite enjoying it so far. I played NWN when it was first released and I had mixed feelings over it. First of all it wasn't a lush, isometric, 2D stunner that BG2 was. Second there was no party, it's you and one select henchman. But playing it now, I have to say it's a pretty good and challenging game. Still in Act 1, made a Barbarian character and got another Barbarian henchman - so we're just two dumb fuck going everywhere and smashing people, monsters, chests, doors and anything else.

[Dench57]

Horizon Forbidden West finally out on PC - downloading now!

[Henry Gale]

Purchased Robocop on the PS5, my weekend will be walking round shooting the shit out of everything with my over powered gun and I can't wait 

[Darren G]

Horizon Forbidden West finally out on PC - downloading now!

Yeah, I've just finished downloading today myself, so gonna have a bash this evening. The download I used also has the FSR3 mod, which worked great on HZD, so even on my 'way overdue an upgrade' rig I should get good FPS.

Purchased Robocop on the PS5, my weekend will be walking round shooting the shit out of everything with my over powered gun and I can't wait 

Let me know how you get on. Looks like proper fun from the videos I've seen.

[voodoo ray]

I've been playing hfw since it got released and it's a good port. I had a lot of CTDs when playing it at 1440 ('very high' presets) but swapping to 4k and 'high' (with 'very high' textures) sorted that out. there are some fps drops during cut scenes with multiple people in which seems to be fairly common, but while actually playing the game it's smooth. or smooth enough for me anyway, I'm not one of these people who is obsessed with fps.

[Henry Gale]

Let me know how you get on. Looks like proper fun from the videos I've seen.

It does look like a fun game, I wanted it from release but I wasn't paying £60 so I waited till I could pick it up for £25 

[JerseyKloppite]

Just finished Prince of Persia on the Switch. Really enjoyed it.

[emergency exit]

Just finished Prince of Persia on the Switch. Really enjoyed it.

Yessssss! Loved it! and it's sill getting a few free updates aswell, including a story related DLC later this year.

[emergency exit]

My Steam Deck OLED is about to arrive 

As someone who's been Nintendo exclusive these past 15 years, I'm excited about the wealth of games I will suddenly have access to.

So, watch should I get stared with? (While I wait for Hades II to release ino Early Access...)

I've mainly been looking at the likes of Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk, The Witcher 3 etc. 

Any tips?

For reference, my last games on Switch were The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kindom, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Hogwarts Legacy, Super Mario Wonder, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Hollow Knight.

[Crimson]

Restarted the Red Dead Redemption 2 campaign. Still the love the mood, the details, the movement... hope they bring all of this "humanity" into the new GTA.

Crazy that RDR2 was never updated to 60+ fps. It's still stuck on 30 fps, which is unusual for me now, but doesn't ruin the experience   

[voodoo ray]

They've said they're making a kcd2 so I've reinstalled the first one again. It was 6 years ago and I can remember about fuck all of what happened.

The combat is still annoying. So I just cheat.

[Schmidt]

They've said they're making a kcd2 so I've reinstalled the first one again. It was 6 years ago and I can remember about fuck all of what happened.

The combat is still annoying. So I just cheat.

The combat's fine until you're fighting more than one person and then it just falls apart. Realistic? Probably. Fun? Not so much. I used to use the bow to pick people off and then I'd 1v1 whoever was last standing, but early game it's pretty tough.

[JerseyKloppite]

Jedi Fallen Order.

I'm in the final chapter but I can't say I've particularly enjoyed it. The story is great, the visuals are brilliant. But the gameplay is uninteresting and the combat (in my opinion) is enormously frustrating. I played for the most part on Jedi Master which was the second hardest difficulty level and just found getting through levels a slog, especially if you have to repeat the same bits over and over. I'm conscious that with practice I could get better but I just have no interest in doing so Got fed up repeating a boss fight endlessly so dropped the difficulty level in the end just to see it through to the end without it taking up much mor time

Suppose fundamentally I didn't find it much fun, which when it's based on lightsaber combat and force tricks is a real shame.

[Schmidt]

I've been replaying FF10 for the first time since it released 23 years ago, still a great game. My memory of it is hazy but I don't think I ever finished it (though I completed X-2 funnily enough). The remastered version looks great too.

As always with old Final Fantasy games I'm torn between following a guide to make sure I don't miss anything major and wanting to just play and enjoy the game!

[voodoo ray]

Jedi Fallen Order.

I'm in the final chapter but I can't say I've particularly enjoyed it. The story is great, the visuals are brilliant. But the gameplay is uninteresting and the combat (in my opinion) is enormously frustrating. I played for the most part on Jedi Master which was the second hardest difficulty level and just found getting through levels a slog, especially if you have to repeat the same bits over and over. I'm conscious that with practice I could get better but I just have no interest in doing so Got fed up repeating a boss fight endlessly so dropped the difficulty level in the end just to see it through to the end without it taking up much mor time

Suppose fundamentally I didn't find it much fun, which when it's based on lightsaber combat and force tricks is a real shame.

well, that's why there are difficulty levels.....

I've been replaying FF10 for the first time since it released 23 years ago, still a great game. My memory of it is hazy but I don't think I ever finished it (though I completed X-2 funnily enough). The remastered version looks great too.

As always with old Final Fantasy games I'm torn between following a guide to make sure I don't miss anything major and wanting to just play and enjoy the game!

I played that a few years ago and ended up making a lot of it very trivial by using the monster arena tonberry 'exploit'

then I came across a dark aeon and got absolutely rinsed.

[JerseyKloppite]

well, that's why there are difficulty levels.....

I know But I'm a fairly experienced gamer (albeit not a supremely competent one), so it feels a bit patronising playing on a level which says "if you're new to these type of games... "etc. when I'm not. Jedi Master is purportedly aimed at "balanced gameplay" which is basically the level I'd choose for any other video game. I don't mind a game being hard by any stretch, and there are some bosses I've gamely plugged away at for hours because it's satisfying and you're learning rhythms and how to beat them etc. Just felt absolutely flat with this, if you can't nail the parry timing which seems very mercurial then you have no hope of beating the better bosses and even some of the better purge troopers can feel like a chore.

Compare that to the combat in Ghosts of Tsushima which had a learning curve but was wonderfully satisfying.

[voodoo ray]

I know But I'm a fairly experienced gamer (albeit not a supremely competent one), so it feels a bit patronising playing on a level which says "if you're new to these type of games... "etc. when I'm not. Jedi Master is purportedly aimed at "balanced gameplay" which is basically the level I'd choose for any other video game. I don't mind a game being hard by any stretch, and there are some bosses I've gamely plugged away at for hours because it's satisfying and you're learning rhythms and how to beat them etc. Just felt absolutely flat with this, if you can't nail the parry timing which seems very mercurial then you have no hope of beating the better bosses and even some of the better purge troopers can feel like a chore.

Compare that to the combat in Ghosts of Tsushima which had a learning curve but was wonderfully satisfying.

does sound like a you issue more than a game issue, but we all have games that we just don't get on with for any number of reasons. you should give the 2nd one a go anyway, it carries the story on and I think it's generally thought to be better in just about all areas.

though I largely play on 'piss easy' mode anyway.

[Schmidt]

I played that a few years ago and ended up making a lot of it very trivial by using the monster arena tonberry 'exploit'

then I came across a dark aeon and got absolutely rinsed.

I don't think I'm that far in yet, I was on the way to the 4th temple when the guide I'm using let me know that I need to backtrack through the entire game now to collect a bunch of items I never would have expected to exist. I ended up backtracking so now I'm slowly working through that before continuing. I'll probably do what I normally do with these games, collect enough stuff to be overpowered but ignore the ridiculous end bosses like weapons and aeons.

Old school FF games were still the peak in my opinion, though I think games still haven't found a happy medium when it comes to rewarding exploration versus hand-holding.

[voodoo ray]

I don't think I'm that far in yet, I was on the way to the 4th temple when the guide I'm using let me know that I need to backtrack through the entire game now to collect a bunch of items I never would have expected to exist. I ended up backtracking so now I'm slowly working through that before continuing. I'll probably do what I normally do with these games, collect enough stuff to be overpowered but ignore the ridiculous end bosses like weapons and aeons.

Old school FF games were still the peak in my opinion, though I think games still haven't found a happy medium when it comes to rewarding exploration versus hand-holding.

yeah there's a lot of things that you'd never even consider without some sort of guide like how to get the 'best' weapons etc for them all. though bollocks to trying to dodge 200 lightning bolts in a row, I think I managed about 3.

[Schmidt]

yeah there's a lot of things that you'd never even consider without some sort of guide like how to get the 'best' weapons etc for them all. though bollocks to trying to dodge 200 lightning bolts in a row, I think I managed about 3.

You mean the thunder plains? I swear it's bugged when playing the remaster on PS5, I struggle to even dodge it once. Older games often had their framerates locked and the game speed would be tied to it, so if the game runs at a higher framerate the window to press the button could be shorter.

[voodoo ray]

You mean the thunder plains? I swear it's bugged when playing the remaster on PS5, I struggle to even dodge it once. Older games often had their framerates locked and the game speed would be tied to it, so if the game runs at a higher framerate the window to press the button could be shorter.

yeah that's the place. bugger that.

[Schmidt]

yeah that's the place. bugger that.

Yeah fuck that place, the amount of times I got struck by lightning the second I got out of a fight was ridiculous. I need to go back through it again when I'm done backtracking too!