Video Game Thread v. Series Xbox One X Series Switch S 5

[Dublagent66]

Just checked my email... and my girlfriend bought me the collectors edition of Horizon Forbidden West. Which means someone is getting a PS5 soon. No way   

You’ll love it! Both the game and the PS5. Although, I do recommend sticking with the main quest mainly. If a side quest is feeling a bit too difficult, take the hint. 

Side quests do show the difficulty level, so you can always use that as a gauge.  Also, some side quests are put "on hold" awaiting certain completions of the main story or other side quests.

[ErHaO]

I have had Elden Sitting on my shelf for about a week now but Cyberpunk still has my attention. I treat it as a more linear cinematic loot shooter with a great hub world and some solid stealth. It is a 9/10 for me thus far. Also, progression is great. Finally an RPG where it feels completely manageable to unlock the stuff I want. As long as you don't aim for completion, the things you are interested in seem always attainable without mindless long grinds. They apparently rebalanced the entire thing significantly in 1.5, so my experience with progression will be different than those who played it last year.

Also, a breath of fresh air to play a game with a competent story and a cast of great characters. The most recent AAA games I played, Dying Light and Tomb Raider, were horrible in this regard.

[Stadler]

So I'm probably a decade off, but I'm living with - and loving - Resident Evil 2.   I'm not a zombie game guy, that much, but this game is immersive, and it's really fun.  I'm on my second playthrough (and I'd guess I have two more at least to get all the trophies) and it's really been a good experience. 

[ReaperKK]

I'm assuming you're playing the remake Stads? I've heard great things about it.

[Stadler]

I'm assuming you're playing the remake Stads? I've heard great things about it.

Yes.

[cramx3]

I had meant to do the RE2 remake playthrough but it's been on the back burner for awhile now.  That was a great game when I was young and played through the first couple times. 

[ErHaO]

Resident Evil 2 remake is great. A perfectly paced 8-hour-ish AAA ride. I still have to do the Claire campaign one of these days. Resident Evil 3 remake is obviously a lesser game (simpler, shorter, less content), but if you get it cheap it is a good game.




Did a bit of Elden Ring. Feels like Dark Souls (so not Sekiro or even Bloodborne). The atmosphere (at the start at least) feels way less opressive than other FromSoft titles (gameplay still is though). Dark Souls is bleak/dark, Bloorborne filthy and horrifying, Sekiro war torn. This at the start feels kind of nice, looking at the calm ocean over green hills. Pacing seems slower, because of the exploration aspect. All in all great first impression and it does feel fresh.

[Phoenix87x]

Boy, I'm dumb. Didn't even realize Elden Ring was on PS4 as well.

Guess I'm gonna play it now after all 

[Dublagent66]

Resident Evil 2 remake is great. A perfectly paced 8-hour-ish AAA ride. I still have to do the Claire campaign one of these days. Resident Evil 3 remake is obviously a lesser game (simpler, shorter, less content), but if you get it cheap it is a good game.

Yes, both are really good but you're right.  RE2 is better due to more content with 2 intertwined scenarios.



Well, the only thing that can pull me away from Horizon FW (temporarily) is Gran Turismo 7 arriving today! Yes!!

[ReaperKK]

I got GT7 downloaded and ready to go after work. I can't wait. I tried sneaking a race or two last night after midnight only to load the game and have another downloading screen...

[XJDenton]

Boy, I'm dumb. Didn't even realize Elden Ring was on PS4 as well.

Guess I'm gonna play it now after all 

I'm tempted, but I plan to play through Witcher 2/3 first.

[Herrick]

Last couple of generations I only bought in once there were at least 5 games I wanted to play that were exclusive to the system. Right now there is not that much for the PS5 I am interested in that I cannot buy on PC.

I've done the same thing with the PS4 & PS3. And the last Xbox I owned was THE Xbox.

I've been on a C(rap)RPG phase for the last few weeks. I finished the mediocre Technomancer last week (or earlier this week?) and started playing Elex again.

I'm not familiar with Parana Bytes games (Gothic & Risen series). Apparently, it's normal to be extremely weak in the beginning of the game and it takes hours and hours to start getting more powerful. I'm not sure I like that.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Gave in and bought Elden. Saw a video of AquaFPS getting maulded by a dragon and was like. Okay that's what you call a true bossfight and was sold. 

[Cool Chris]

I might check out that Resident Evil remake. Been looking for a new game I can play casually that won't cost me $50+. RE4 is the only one I played all the way through. I played part of Zero but gave up after too much frustration.

[ErHaO]

Elden Ring is great. This type of open world works really well and thus far I have encountered a lot of unique enemies and events. Level design seems fantastic as well, both in the open sections and the dungeons/caves/buildings. Mounted combat is great, had some intense mounted face offs already. My only real qualm is that some flying enemies are annoying as fuck.

But if you don't like Dark Souls l, I sincerely doubt this is for you. I haven't had any bossruns though, there are little spawn statues close to any boss I encountered (on top of the bonfire-esque sites of grace)

[Melphina]

I really want Elden Ring but I know what I'd be getting into and I wouldn't have fun. It looks amazing but... idk. Difficulty options, in whatever form they appear, literally do nothing but expand your potential player base. I would love to enjoy the game without wasting time dying over and over and over and backtracking and being frustrated. I just want to have fun and experience what everybody else gets to.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Elden Ring is great. This type of open world works really well and thus far I have encountered a lot of unique enemies and events. Level design seems fantastic as well, both in the open sections and the dungeons/caves/buildings. Mounted combat is great, had some intense mounted face offs already. My only real qualm is that some flying enemies are annoying as fuck.

But if you don't like Dark Souls l, I sincerely doubt this is for you. I haven't had any bossruns though, there are little spawn statues close to any boss I encountered (on top of the bonfire-esque sites of grace)

I'm starting to really get into the game. I had to watch a few videos on YT first. As someone that never played a Dark Souls game I was very surprised how varied the enemies are. It's probably pretty typical for the franchise but that's one aspect i'm enjoying alot, makes the combat really fresh and interesting. I'm also glad that the enemies are so varied in level also because you can feel both powerful and weak which makes the game a bit more accessible, since i've heard so much about the difficulty in DS games I thought I was in for so much pain and angst. 
Truth be told I actually haven't touched a boss yet, i've been living off the grid and leveling my character fighting mid enemies and collecting stuff.

[ErHaO]

I really want Elden Ring but I know what I'd be getting into and I wouldn't have fun. It looks amazing but... idk. Difficulty options, in whatever form they appear, literally do nothing but expand your potential player base. I would love to enjoy the game without wasting time dying over and over and over and backtracking and being frustrated. I just want to have fun and experience what everybody else gets to.

I have seen discussion about this a lot on the internet, but I am not sure what to think to be honest. I would most certainly not have had the same experience with this series if there was an easy mode. In most games I (would) get frustrated, give up, and put the mode on easy. From Software games changed how I play games and the experience they offer is absolutely linked to how the challenges are designed. And those challenges are almost always fair. They control simple and the games are not fast, so the titles are accessible for most people that play games (Sekiro excluded perhaps).

And it is very much an RPG. Levelling and and spending your points wisely will make things much, much easier. I feel sometimes beginners don't realise that (I know I did in Dark Souls 1). If you go underlevelled into a quest in Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, chances are you will get wrecked too. You need to build your character and improve/change your equipment. And in Elden Ring, part of the experience is realising you are not strong enough and can better venture in a different direction (Breath of the Wild does this in similar fashion and the first couple of hours of that actually feel From Software-ish).

[Melphina]

I really want Elden Ring but I know what I'd be getting into and I wouldn't have fun. It looks amazing but... idk. Difficulty options, in whatever form they appear, literally do nothing but expand your potential player base. I would love to enjoy the game without wasting time dying over and over and over and backtracking and being frustrated. I just want to have fun and experience what everybody else gets to.

I have seen discussion about this a lot on the internet, but I am not sure what to think to be honest. I would most certainly not have had the same experience with this series if there was an easy mode. In most games I (would) get frustrated, give up, and put the mode on easy. From Software games changed how I play games and the experience they offer is absolutely linked to how the challenges are designed. And those challenges are almost always fair. They control simple and the games are not fast, so the titles are accessible for most people that play games (Sekiro excluded perhaps).

And it is very much an RPG. Levelling and and spending your points wisely will make things much, much easier. I feel sometimes beginners don't realise that (I know I did in Dark Souls 1). If you go underlevelled into a quest in Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, chances are you will get wrecked too. You need to build your character and improve/change your equipment. And in Elden Ring, part of the experience is realising you are not strong enough and can better venture in a different direction (Breath of the Wild does this in similar fashion and the first couple of hours of that actually feel From Software-ish).

Well, I know they're very meticulously designed so the challenges are fair. But it can be fair and still be frustrating to the point of being offputting. I don't want to sit and bash my head against the wall, repeating something over and over learning from my mistakes - it's a valid strategy but it eats up time and I don't have fun, I don't feel accomplished at the end, I'm just upset and annoyed by the experience. Nobody else has to play the game on a lower difficulty setting, but I feel like I'm missing out on the fun because although I want to eat up the lore and world and atmosphere and awesome looking environments and characters... it's simply not worth it if I'm not having fun.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I really want Elden Ring but I know what I'd be getting into and I wouldn't have fun. It looks amazing but... idk. Difficulty options, in whatever form they appear, literally do nothing but expand your potential player base. I would love to enjoy the game without wasting time dying over and over and over and backtracking and being frustrated. I just want to have fun and experience what everybody else gets to.

I have seen discussion about this a lot on the internet, but I am not sure what to think to be honest. I would most certainly not have had the same experience with this series if there was an easy mode. In most games I (would) get frustrated, give up, and put the mode on easy. From Software games changed how I play games and the experience they offer is absolutely linked to how the challenges are designed. And those challenges are almost always fair. They control simple and the games are not fast, so the titles are accessible for most people that play games (Sekiro excluded perhaps).

And it is very much an RPG. Levelling and and spending your points wisely will make things much, much easier. I feel sometimes beginners don't realise that (I know I did in Dark Souls 1). If you go underlevelled into a quest in Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, chances are you will get wrecked too. You need to build your character and improve/change your equipment. And in Elden Ring, part of the experience is realising you are not strong enough and can better venture in a different direction (Breath of the Wild does this in similar fashion and the first couple of hours of that actually feel From Software-ish).

Well, I know they're very meticulously designed so the challenges are fair. But it can be fair and still be frustrating to the point of being offputting. I don't want to sit and bash my head against the wall, repeating something over and over learning from my mistakes - it's a valid strategy but it eats up time and I don't have fun, I don't feel accomplished at the end, I'm just upset and annoyed by the experience. Nobody else has to play the game on a lower difficulty setting, but I feel like I'm missing out on the fun because although I want to eat up the lore and world and atmosphere and awesome looking environments and characters... it's simply not worth it if I'm not having fun.

I find that as I get older this is how I feel about gaming more and more. I'm here for the story and lore and atmosphere, not how well I can memorize a specific strategy against a specific enemy. I have day to day life to beat me down constantly, I don't need a video game to do it to me as well.

[TAC]

I find that as I get older this is how I feel about gaming more and more.

It's called growing up...

[Herrick]

I really want Elden Ring but I know what I'd be getting into and I wouldn't have fun. It looks amazing but... idk. Difficulty options, in whatever form they appear, literally do nothing but expand your potential player base. I would love to enjoy the game without wasting time dying over and over and over and backtracking and being frustrated. I just want to have fun and experience what everybody else gets to.

I have seen discussion about this a lot on the internet, but I am not sure what to think to be honest. I would most certainly not have had the same experience with this series if there was an easy mode. In most games I (would) get frustrated, give up, and put the mode on easy. From Software games changed how I play games and the experience they offer is absolutely linked to how the challenges are designed. And those challenges are almost always fair. They control simple and the games are not fast, so the titles are accessible for most people that play games (Sekiro excluded perhaps).

And it is very much an RPG. Levelling and and spending your points wisely will make things much, much easier. I feel sometimes beginners don't realise that (I know I did in Dark Souls 1). If you go underlevelled into a quest in Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, chances are you will get wrecked too. You need to build your character and improve/change your equipment. And in Elden Ring, part of the experience is realising you are not strong enough and can better venture in a different direction (Breath of the Wild does this in similar fashion and the first couple of hours of that actually feel From Software-ish).

There's just something "wrong" about these games having easy modes. I don't want to sound elitist. I'm not even a big fan of these types of games. That being said, I will most likely buy Elden Rings when after it's patched and on sale. No Boss Runs pleases Herrick.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I really want Elden Ring but I know what I'd be getting into and I wouldn't have fun. It looks amazing but... idk. Difficulty options, in whatever form they appear, literally do nothing but expand your potential player base. I would love to enjoy the game without wasting time dying over and over and over and backtracking and being frustrated. I just want to have fun and experience what everybody else gets to.

I have seen discussion about this a lot on the internet, but I am not sure what to think to be honest. I would most certainly not have had the same experience with this series if there was an easy mode. In most games I (would) get frustrated, give up, and put the mode on easy. From Software games changed how I play games and the experience they offer is absolutely linked to how the challenges are designed. And those challenges are almost always fair. They control simple and the games are not fast, so the titles are accessible for most people that play games (Sekiro excluded perhaps).

And it is very much an RPG. Levelling and and spending your points wisely will make things much, much easier. I feel sometimes beginners don't realise that (I know I did in Dark Souls 1). If you go underlevelled into a quest in Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, chances are you will get wrecked too. You need to build your character and improve/change your equipment. And in Elden Ring, part of the experience is realising you are not strong enough and can better venture in a different direction (Breath of the Wild does this in similar fashion and the first couple of hours of that actually feel From Software-ish).

Well, I know they're very meticulously designed so the challenges are fair. But it can be fair and still be frustrating to the point of being offputting. I don't want to sit and bash my head against the wall, repeating something over and over learning from my mistakes - it's a valid strategy but it eats up time and I don't have fun, I don't feel accomplished at the end, I'm just upset and annoyed by the experience. Nobody else has to play the game on a lower difficulty setting, but I feel like I'm missing out on the fun because although I want to eat up the lore and world and atmosphere and awesome looking environments and characters... it's simply not worth it if I'm not having fun.

I find that as I get older this is how I feel about gaming more and more. I'm here for the story and lore and atmosphere, not how well I can memorize a specific strategy against a specific enemy. I have day to day life to beat me down constantly, I don't need a video game to do it to me as well.

Right now i'm just running around exploring the world. As soon as you encounter a hard enemy you can choose to flee instead and come back later when your stronger. Honsetly, the game in general isn't hard at all. Certain bosses are though.
There so much to do besides fighting bosses but once your ready, those challenges and awards await.

[Spiritus]

I really want Elden Ring but I know what I'd be getting into and I wouldn't have fun. It looks amazing but... idk. Difficulty options, in whatever form they appear, literally do nothing but expand your potential player base. I would love to enjoy the game without wasting time dying over and over and over and backtracking and being frustrated. I just want to have fun and experience what everybody else gets to.

I have seen discussion about this a lot on the internet, but I am not sure what to think to be honest. I would most certainly not have had the same experience with this series if there was an easy mode. In most games I (would) get frustrated, give up, and put the mode on easy. From Software games changed how I play games and the experience they offer is absolutely linked to how the challenges are designed. And those challenges are almost always fair. They control simple and the games are not fast, so the titles are accessible for most people that play games (Sekiro excluded perhaps).

And it is very much an RPG. Levelling and and spending your points wisely will make things much, much easier. I feel sometimes beginners don't realise that (I know I did in Dark Souls 1). If you go underlevelled into a quest in Elder Scrolls or The Witcher, chances are you will get wrecked too. You need to build your character and improve/change your equipment. And in Elden Ring, part of the experience is realising you are not strong enough and can better venture in a different direction (Breath of the Wild does this in similar fashion and the first couple of hours of that actually feel From Software-ish).

Well, I know they're very meticulously designed so the challenges are fair. But it can be fair and still be frustrating to the point of being offputting. I don't want to sit and bash my head against the wall, repeating something over and over learning from my mistakes - it's a valid strategy but it eats up time and I don't have fun, I don't feel accomplished at the end, I'm just upset and annoyed by the experience. Nobody else has to play the game on a lower difficulty setting, but I feel like I'm missing out on the fun because although I want to eat up the lore and world and atmosphere and awesome looking environments and characters... it's simply not worth it if I'm not having fun.

I find that as I get older this is how I feel about gaming more and more. I'm here for the story and lore and atmosphere, not how well I can memorize a specific strategy against a specific enemy. I have day to day life to beat me down constantly, I don't need a video game to do it to me as well.

That's exactly how I feel. I still just wandering around enjoying the scenery and atmosphere in RDR2 not diving into all the specifics. His is why i don't think Elden Ring will be for me even though it looks amazing.

[Dublagent66]

I got GT7 downloaded and ready to go after work. I can't wait. I tried sneaking a race or two last night after midnight only to load the game and have another downloading screen...

Played GT7 the entire weekend.  Lovin' it! 

[XJDenton]

New PC just shipped.

Can't wait to play Deus Ex on it.

[Chino]

I'm thinking of just picking up GT7 for my OG PS4. I know the experience won't be the same, but I don't foresee a PS5 in my future any time soon :/ They're so hard to come by,

[Melphina]

Hey folks, the HFW CE arrived yesterday. I took the stuff out to look at it but then boxed it all up because 1) I don't have a PS5 yet and 2) when I have my own place again I'll set up the Tremortusk. This is the biggest 'special edition' gaming item I think I've ever had. Box is huge. I'm in love!





I just wish the steelbook case actually had a CD in it. Sure it has the download code, but there's a CD tray and everything! 

[Dublagent66]

That's pretty cool.    When I first saw it, I thought it was a PS5 bundle. 

[Melphina]

I'll get my mitts on one very soon

[Dublagent66]

Be prepared to game out and lose all track of time.    HFW is excellent!

[Podaar]

I’m actually looking forward to getting off vacation so I can play HFW ! 

[Stadler]

I’m actually looking forward to getting off vacation so I can play HFW ! 

Never have I ever...   taken a work conference call while playing PlayStation.   

[ReaperKK]

Since starting working from home I have a few 3 hour meetings every other week so I've been practicing guitar scales during the meeting, I've made great strides in my guitar playing

[Podaar]

I’m actually looking forward to getting off vacation so I can play HFW ! 

Never have I ever...   taken a work conference call while playing PlayStation.   

I walked so much, on my vacation, that it's going to take a week of sitting on the couch playing video games for my ankles to heal. Well, that's my excuse anyway.