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

[Dublagent66]

Just a few words to the wise if you're a NFS fan like me.  NFS: Unbound is basically a rinse and repeat from the previous game with a few new things thrown in.  This franchise might be wise to start getting back to their roots.

[XJDenton]

What's Deathloop?

Made by the same peeps as Prey/Dishonoured. Pretty similar to Mooncrash in concept: you go through the same scenario in different loops and gain a bit of power/knowledge each time.

[ErHaO]

Deathloop is a good game. I rank it the lowest of the Arkane games but the baselevel is still good. I just wish there was a bit more freedom in tackling the loop at the end of the game.  I think they could expand this concept even further, especially if they incorporate some elements from the Hitman games.



The trailers for Final Fantasy XVI have been god-tier, I really hope it delivers. I have a good feeling about it. Together with the new Zelda my most anticipated game next year.

[Metro]

Anyone else just not get the hype for Elden Ring? A coworker of mine kept ranting and raving about how awesome it was when it first came out so I bought it back in March. I played it for a week, got bored, and didn’t touch it again until yesterday. I played it for an hour and got bored yet again. I have no desire to give it a third try.
I see it’s gotten a couple GOTY awards and I just don’t get it.

[XJDenton]

Souls-likes are not for everyone.  Elden Ring is no exception.

[Skeever]

Souls-likes are not for everyone.  Elden Ring is no exception.

It might seem like its supposed to be, based on all the hype. Helps to remember that critics are not the same as casual gamers, they're people who have spent so much time playing "normal" games that something like Elden Ring seems tailor made for them.

I've got a problem with it. For an industry that claims to champion accessibility, it seems a bit unfair to that a game with zero accessibility options is winning Game of the Year so many places around the web. But that might just be a personal cope. I don't have any major accessibility hurdles to get over, but I was not able to get very far in it at all, and also feel pretty removed from the hype (despite completing Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, and Bloodborne previously)/

[Stadler]

What's Deathloop?

Made by the same peeps as Prey/Dishonoured. Pretty similar to Mooncrash in concept: you go through the same scenario in different loops and gain a bit of power/knowledge each time.

I can't decide if I like Mooncrash or not, to be honest.  I finally killed a Moon Whatever Shark, but then I died and have to repeat the sim.  I get that that's part of the charm, but is it?  IS IT? 

[XJDenton]

Some of my favourite games of the last decade have been rogue-lites, so I'm not the person to ask.

[Herrick]

Anyone else just not get the hype for Elden Ring? A coworker of mine kept ranting and raving about how awesome it was when it first came out so I bought it back in March. I played it for a week, got bored, and didn’t touch it again until yesterday. I played it for an hour and got bored yet again. I have no desire to give it a third try.
I see it’s gotten a couple GOTY awards and I just don’t get it.

Are you a fan of those types of games? I've only beaten Dark Souls 1 and I vowed never to buy another game like that again. However, I ended up buying a bunch of games like Dark Souls and didn't beat any of them 

I might try Elden Ring when it's deeply discounted. It looks like an incredible game but I know I'll most likely give up on it because I just do not have the patience for these types of games.

What's Deathloop?

Made by the same peeps as Prey/Dishonoured. Pretty similar to Mooncrash in concept: you go through the same scenario in different loops and gain a bit of power/knowledge each time.

I can't decide if I like Mooncrash or not, to be honest.  I finally killed a Moon Whatever, but then I died and have to repeat the sim.  I get that that's part of the charm, but is it?  IS IT? 

I'm not a roguefan at all and I was so disappointed when I discovered Mooncrash was a rogue-like game. I played it for an hour and uninstalled it. This is strange because I'm really enjoying Deathloop which is kind of like a rogue game but perhaps not really.

[XJDenton]

I'd give Sekiro or Bloodbourne a go if you are having trouble getting into Souls-likes. Bloodborne funnels you into a fun playstyle much more efficiently than the Souls series does since it removes the options that result in tedious, grindy play. Sekiro is also much more narrow in its focus of how it should be played, so you aren't overwhelmed by (potentially bad) options as well.

[Podaar]

Anyone else just not get the hype for Elden Ring? A coworker of mine kept ranting and raving about how awesome it was when it first came out so I bought it back in March. I played it for a week, got bored, and didn’t touch it again until yesterday. I played it for an hour and got bored yet again. I have no desire to give it a third try.
I see it’s gotten a couple GOTY awards and I just don’t get it.

Yeah, I've never got it either. I find the art direction of From Software games very off-putting, the "story-telling" incomprehensible, and the game play punishing. That's not why I play games, so I don't buy them.

[Dublagent66]

I bought ER knowing full well that I probably wouldn't like it but wanted to check it out and say I at least tried it. I'd say the most intriguing part of it for me was the open world exploration.  Most of the time had no idea where to go but basically just cruised around looking for shit.  That got old quick.  I'm a very impatient gamer that needs to progress in a consistent and timely manner.  Too many games to be played and not enough hours in the day.

[Metro]

Yeah the open world thing (for any game) gets old quickly to me if you don’t have some kind of clear goal. ER just drops you in this world and you just gotta figure it out.

I bought ER knowing full well that I probably wouldn't like it but wanted to check it out and say I at least tried it. I'd say the most intriguing part of it for me was the open world exploration.  Most of the time had no idea where to go but basically just cruised around looking for shit.  That got old quick.  I'm a very impatient gamer that needs to progress in a consistent and timely manner.  Too many games to be played and not enough hours in the day.

This exactly.

[Herrick]

Yeah the open world thing (for any game) gets old quickly to me if you don’t have some kind of clear goal. ER just drops you in this world and you just gotta figure it out.

I bought ER knowing full well that I probably wouldn't like it but wanted to check it out and say I at least tried it. I'd say the most intriguing part of it for me was the open world exploration.  Most of the time had no idea where to go but basically just cruised around looking for shit.  That got old quick.  I'm a very impatient gamer that needs to progress in a consistent and timely manner.  Too many games to be played and not enough hours in the day.

This exactly.

Did they add the ability to mark stuff on the map? I thought they did that. I know a lot of people dislike "hand holding" but I've never had a problem with map markers or clearly defined goals and I'm an older gaming mang who grew up playing games without that stuff.

[XJDenton]

I'm fine with manual map markers. I will say I enjoy games that let you find stuff for yourself instead of spoon feeding it to you.

[Dublagent66]

Map markers are cool.  I don't mind figuring shit out (most of the time I usually do).  My thing is, I'd kinda like to know where I'm going in a game cause I'm always afraid of missing something.  Maybe something that is missable and can't be retrieved later in the game.  I got this weird thing about collecting shit.  Just love finding collectibles.

[Skeever]

Depends on what the map marker is for. If it's a Rockstar style game, where a lot of the "open world" is really peripheral table dressing simply meant to set tone and not necessarily be focused on, map markers are great. With stuff like ER and BotW, you're meant to turn over every leaf of the world, so I could see how map markers might inadvertently discourage the player from moving off the beaten path.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Souls-likes are not for everyone.  Elden Ring is no exception.

It might seem like its supposed to be, based on all the hype. Helps to remember that critics are not the same as casual gamers, they're people who have spent so much time playing "normal" games that something like Elden Ring seems tailor made for them.

I've got a problem with it. For an industry that claims to champion accessibility, it seems a bit unfair to that a game with zero accessibility options is winning Game of the Year so many places around the web. But that might just be a personal cope. I don't have any major accessibility hurdles to get over, but I was not able to get very far in it at all, and also feel pretty removed from the hype (despite completing Dark Souls, Dark Souls 3, and Bloodborne previously)/

As someone who had never played a Soulsborne until last year and who has only played a couple in total (Demon's Souls and Elden Ring), one of my big takeaways was that the difficulty of these games is a bit overplayed. It's not that they aren't hard - they definitely are - but rather that those challenges can be overcome and actually are overcome by a surprising number of players.

For example, before I started playing the games, I assumed that maybe only the top 5-10% of players could actually beat them based on how they were discussed. However, the numbers for Elden Ring are actually super encouraging. The game has probably sold 20 million copies by now, which means it was picked up by a lot of casual players, and yet 33% of people were able to beat Melania (one of the hardest bosses in the game) per PlayStation trophy stats. To put that in perspective, a lot of games aren't completed by 33% of players even if they're easy.

I'm not saying that Elden Ring shouldn't have better accessibility options or that critics aren't out of touch... Both of those things may be true. I think what I'm trying to say is that Elden Ring actually did end up having more appeal to casual gamers than I might have expected.

[Skeever]

I think I may bounce on God of War: Rangarok. I had (yet another) really frustrating experience last night.

I was fighting The Maven and had to go down to "Give Me Story" to get through the fight.

Something about the combat in this game just does not click for me at all. I do not really understand what or why I'm doing different actions and getting cornered in a fight like that there's no way to naturally correct.

Anyway after suffering the humiliation of having to go down from "Give me Grace" to "Give Me Story", I went outside again and Freya was all like "Hey let's go free that 2nd Harufluga!" and the mere thought of going through a bunch of lever puzzles again followed by another boss I'll probably die to 10x times without understanding why just made me think "I'm good".

Part of me would like to see it out for the story but I think my problem is a lot deeper than just "it's too hard" or "I don't like the combat"; the overall flow of the game just feels like going through the motions to me, whether it be the style of puzzles, the walk and talk, the combat... all of the individual elements just kinda evoke a groan from me on their own.

Oh well, just not for me.

[Stadler]

I think I may bounce on God of War: Rangarok. I had (yet another) really frustrating experience last night.

I was fighting The Maven and had to go down to "Give Me Story" to get through the fight.

Something about the combat in this game just does not click for me at all. I do not really understand what or why I'm doing different actions and getting cornered in a fight like that there's no way to naturally correct.

Anyway after suffering the humiliation of having to go down from "Give me Grace" to "Give Me Story", I went outside again and Freya was all like "Hey let's go free that 2nd Harufluga!" and the mere thought of going through a bunch of lever puzzles again followed by another boss I'll probably die to 10x times without understanding why just made me think "I'm good".

Part of me would like to see it out for the story but I think my problem is a lot deeper than just "it's too hard" or "I don't like the combat"; the overall flow of the game just feels like going through the motions to me, whether it be the style of puzzles, the walk and talk, the combat... all of the individual elements just kinda evoke a groan from me on their own.

Oh well, just not for me.

You touched on a big point for me, too:   there are games - parts of Assassin's Creed, parts of Skyrim: Oblivion - that are just box-checking.  Then there are games that aren't really that different - Thief, Bioshock (all three for me), Prey, the rest of Assassin's Creed, Resident Evil 2 - that are so immersive and fun that I don't care how many times I have to pull that lever or collect that jewel, it never gets old.   I guess it's like music that way; even the bands I LOVE once in a while put out albums I don't go back to very often. 

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I started a new playthrough of The Witcher 3 with the next-gen update on PS5. It isn't a night and day difference but it's still clearly a step up from the original, at least on consoles. I also love the haptic feedback of the controller. It's basically a free remaster, as opposed to a lot of these other next-gen upgrades where you end up paying $10 for a small frame rate and resolution boost.

[ErHaO]

Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga and High on Life were recent gamepass additions and I decided to give them a go. I am having a great time with both.

High on Life did not review very well from the looks of it, but it is one of those games that if it clicks, it clicks. It really depends on your preferences for humor. I did turn the dialouge options to occasional (I do reccommend this). But as someone who loves Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites and Trover, this is kind of my jam. Aside from the humor I think the worlds are visually appealing and atmospheric. It gives me the vibes of a mishmash between Conker's Bad Fur Day, Ratchet and Clank and Oddworld in that regard. One thing I will disagree with (to a large degree, actually) with seemingly most reviewers: I think the gameplay is good. The shooting feels pretty solid and the leveldesing thus far is good, with a lot of verticality in the combat and exploration. Slinging around in the air and shooting stuff feels good to me and works really well on a controller. It is a bit like Halo Infinite-lite and Doom 2016-lite. The first bossfight was pretty fun.

Lego Star Wars has a lot of passion to it. I wasn't big on the previous Lego titles, but this one feels good to play and seems like a great loveletter to Star Wars. The campaign is basically all 9 mainline films. I just did a bit of a New Hope, but my impression was very positive and the pacing of A New Hope feels well done. It all feels very polished and it seems to have a shitton of content.

I started a new playthrough of The Witcher 3 with the next-gen update on PS5. It isn't a night and day difference but it's still clearly a step up from the original, at least on consoles. I also love the haptic feedback of the controller. It's basically a free remaster, as opposed to a lot of these other next-gen upgrades where you end up paying $10 for a small frame rate and resolution boost.

This is one thing I dislike about Sony this generation very much, they are all over the place with their upgrades and the pricing. For Death Stranding there is the Directors Cut, for Ghost of Tsushima there is the directors cut but it doesn't actually upgrade the game, that is a seperate purchase. Then there is Spider-Man which is apparently locked as an ultimate edition of Miles morales. etc.  Really a bummer as someone with a large PS4 collection.

For Xbox mostly one version is all and they even had a dedicated team upgrading a big amount of titles over the years (from 360 to now, including third party titles).

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga and High on Life were recent gamepass additions and I decided to give them a go. I am having a great time with both.

High on Life did not review very well from the looks of it, but it is one of those games that if it clicks, it clicks. It really depends on your preferences for humor. I did turn the dialouge options to occasional (I do reccommend this). But as someone who loves Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites and Trover, this is kind of my jam. Aside from the humor I think the worlds are visually appealing and atmospheric. It gives me the vibes of a mishmash between Conker's Bad Fur Day, Ratchet and Clank and Oddworld in that regard. One thing I will disagree with (to a large degree, actually) with seemingly most reviewers: I think the gameplay is good. The shooting feels pretty solid and the leveldesing thus far is good, with a lot of verticality in the combat and exploration. Slinging around in the air and shooting stuff feels good to me and works really well on a controller. It is a bit like Halo Infinite-lite and Doom 2016-lite. The first bossfight was pretty fun.

High On Life seems to have reviewed well everywhere, unless you are counting critics reviews, which I don't follow at all.

[ErHaO]

Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga and High on Life were recent gamepass additions and I decided to give them a go. I am having a great time with both.

High on Life did not review very well from the looks of it, but it is one of those games that if it clicks, it clicks. It really depends on your preferences for humor. I did turn the dialouge options to occasional (I do reccommend this). But as someone who loves Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites and Trover, this is kind of my jam. Aside from the humor I think the worlds are visually appealing and atmospheric. It gives me the vibes of a mishmash between Conker's Bad Fur Day, Ratchet and Clank and Oddworld in that regard. One thing I will disagree with (to a large degree, actually) with seemingly most reviewers: I think the gameplay is good. The shooting feels pretty solid and the leveldesing thus far is good, with a lot of verticality in the combat and exploration. Slinging around in the air and shooting stuff feels good to me and works really well on a controller. It is a bit like Halo Infinite-lite and Doom 2016-lite. The first bossfight was pretty fun.

High On Life seems to have reviewed well everywhere, unless you are counting critics reviews, which I don't follow at all.

Yeah I usually just skim some reviews (summaries) and look at metacritic to get a gauge what to play next. But I should not be doing that to be honest. This game is averaging in the 60's. Thus far it is an 8-9/10 game to me. I totally get some people not vibing with this humor, but the game crafted around it feels like quality to me.

[cramx3]

Lego Star Wars has a lot of passion to it. I wasn't big on the previous Lego titles, but this one feels good to play and seems like a great loveletter to Star Wars. The campaign is basically all 9 mainline films. I just did a bit of a New Hope, but my impression was very positive and the pacing of A New Hope feels well done. It all feels very polished and it seems to have a shitton of content.

I wasn't keen on the two different Lego games I tried playing before.  Maybe the Star Wars is better, but honestly, I just think those games aren't for me.

[ErHaO]

High on Life is still great. After some unlocks, the traversal feels good and the verticality of the combat shines. There are a lot of neat moments and some nice unlockables. I just warped in a cinema and watched like 20 minutes of an actual real-life crappy b-film film with the guys from RedLetterMedia talking over it.

Lego Star Wars has a lot of passion to it. I wasn't big on the previous Lego titles, but this one feels good to play and seems like a great loveletter to Star Wars. The campaign is basically all 9 mainline films. I just did a bit of a New Hope, but my impression was very positive and the pacing of A New Hope feels well done. It all feels very polished and it seems to have a shitton of content.

I wasn't keen on the two different Lego games I tried playing before.  Maybe the Star Wars is better, but honestly, I just think those games aren't for me.

I am not sure where the difference lies for me, as msot lego games stuff left me cold, but I think the new Lego Star Wars is very entertaining to me.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Replaying Alien Isolation and it still holds up years later interms of graphics, atmosphere and it still scares the crap out of me.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Lego Star Wars The Skywalker Saga and High on Life were recent gamepass additions and I decided to give them a go. I am having a great time with both.

High on Life did not review very well from the looks of it, but it is one of those games that if it clicks, it clicks. It really depends on your preferences for humor. I did turn the dialouge options to occasional (I do reccommend this). But as someone who loves Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites and Trover, this is kind of my jam. Aside from the humor I think the worlds are visually appealing and atmospheric. It gives me the vibes of a mishmash between Conker's Bad Fur Day, Ratchet and Clank and Oddworld in that regard. One thing I will disagree with (to a large degree, actually) with seemingly most reviewers: I think the gameplay is good. The shooting feels pretty solid and the leveldesing thus far is good, with a lot of verticality in the combat and exploration. Slinging around in the air and shooting stuff feels good to me and works really well on a controller. It is a bit like Halo Infinite-lite and Doom 2016-lite. The first bossfight was pretty fun.

High On Life seems to have reviewed well everywhere, unless you are counting critics reviews, which I don't follow at all.

I personally find that critic reviews are usually pretty reliable, except every once in a while, they completely miss the mark. Days Gone was one of those games for me. I didn't think it was a masterpiece or anything, but according to the critics, it was a well below average game.

[MetalJunkie]

I started a new playthrough of The Witcher 3 with the next-gen update on PS5. It isn't a night and day difference but it's still clearly a step up from the original, at least on consoles. I also love the haptic feedback of the controller. It's basically a free remaster, as opposed to a lot of these other next-gen upgrades where you end up paying $10 for a small frame rate and resolution boost.

It does look great. But I started playing and immediately realized I'm bored of The Witcher 3. So I started playing Lego Lord of the Rings.

[Cool Chris]

Got Overcooked for the kids for Christmas. Fast-paced, fun co-op gameplay. Easy enough for the 11 year old to grasp right away.

BiLhighly recommended Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Got on Steam for $5. Haven't played yet but excited to check it out.

[faizoff]

The Epic store had Death Stranding as their free game on Christmas day, installed it but yet to play. Playing Deliver Us The Moon right now, mystery puzzle game on Moon with some cool Ray Tracing. Love these type of solo games.

[Polarbear]

Over the Hollidays, one retailer in my country had some PS5's in stock so I pushed the button and ordered one!

I'm excited, last Playstation console I had was the PS2 Slim ages ago.

Also included in the package is GOW: Ragnarok which looks awesome, and should keep me busy for a while.

My PS5 should arrive in about 3 weeks, can't wait!

[Podaar]

Wow, three weeks to get a package across Finland? That seems like a long time.

[Polarbear]

Wow, three weeks to get a package across Finland? That seems like a long time.

To be clear, it seem's that they don't have these in stock yet, but they arrive early next month. I was able to buy one already. Our postal service is pretty decent all things considered, and packages travel around pretty seamlessly. It usually won't take them this long.

[Podaar]

Gotcha.