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

[SwedishGoose]

I'm around 30 hours into Baldurs Gate 3 on PC now.

Totally hooked.... tryig to explore the maps fully and getting as many side quests as I can.

I heartily recommend it to any fans of BG, fantasy and RPGs
 

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I started a new game of Cyberpunk 2077 and am enjoying it so far. I can't wait to get to Phantom Liberty. One thing I find really interesting is how the game is now getting a lot of praise and a lot of people are saying "this is the game we were promised". This may be true of Phantom Liberty - I haven't gotten there yet - but in terms of the base game, it is honestly 95% the same as it's always been. It runs better, it's more immersive, it has car combat and police systems, and the edges have been rounded out nicely, but the story, characters, general feel of combat, dialog, performances, sound, soundtrack, and general game design are the same.

I think this is a case where, yes, the game probably has meaningfully improved, but people also no longer feel like they're barred from giving the game praise.

[cramx3]

I started a new game of Cyberpunk 2077 and am enjoying it so far. I can't wait to get to Phantom Liberty. One thing I find really interesting is how the game is now getting a lot of praise and a lot of people are saying "this is the game we were promised". This may be true of Phantom Liberty - I haven't gotten there yet - but in terms of the base game, it is honestly 95% the same as it's always been. It runs better, it's more immersive, it has car combat and police systems, and the edges have been rounded out nicely, but the story, characters, general feel of combat, dialog, performances, sound, soundtrack, and general game design are the same.

I think this is a case where, yes, the game probably has meaningfully improved, but people also no longer feel like they're barred from giving the game praise.

I don't think the bolded was ever the issue.  It was all the bugs that have apparently been fixed, plus better performance (apparantly significant improvements from the tiktoks I've seen).  I personally don't have desire to go back to it, but if I never played and was looking for a new RPG game, I would totally recommend it in its current state based on everything I've seen about it.

I'm starting to calm down on Starfield.  Fun game, but I picked Call of Duty back up last weekend with the new season update and am kind of back enjoying that gameplay over the tedious back and forth missions in Starfield.  I expect to keep playing and to eventually finish the main story, but I'm probably not going to stay focused only on it like I have been the past couple weeks. In fact, I've gone back to play a shit ton of DMZ mode.  I find it so fun to just be an asshole in that mode.  Also the beta comes soon for the next COD and we are going to get to see the new Warzone map coming.  There's a lot of excitement to come before the end of the year for the franchise.

[nobloodyname]

I put about 50 hours into Cyberpunk on release but never finished the main quest, nor many of the main side quests. No reason. Sometimes I just... move on from a game without really knowing why. Then 2.0 came along and I thought I'd give it a go. My weekend literally disappeared into just the base game. And you know what I was thinking the whole time? How much better than Starfield it is. I've got about 40 hours in that and god, it's just so archaic in virtually every way possible.

[cramx3]

I put about 50 hours into Cyberpunk on release but never finished the main quest, nor many of the main side quests. No reason. Sometimes I just... move on from a game without really knowing why. Then 2.0 came along and I thought I'd give it a go. My weekend literally disappeared into just the base game. And you know what I was thinking the whole time? How much better than Starfield it is. I've got about 40 hours in that and god, it's just so archaic in virtually every way possible.

I could actually see this.  It just looks, visually, so much better right now. Also, I think I like the traditonal open world large map over the thousand planets of mostly emptiness.  Add in being able to drive vehicles and Cyberpunk if released today (in it's current state) to directly compete with Starfield, it might actually win.

[ErHaO]

Cyberpunk is a muuuch better game overall (and in it's current state with Phantom liberty is probably somewhere in my too 20 of all time). But I am still having tons of fun with Starfield, despite also playing Cyberpunk 2.0.

Starfield does, to me, have some things that are better. I think the actual guns are better and feel more impactful. Also the impact on enemies feel better to me and shootouts are less spongy. Furthermore, it has better enemy variety, it has more variation in shootouts (due to varying gravity settings, zero G, different enemy types etc.).And I like the looting in Bethesda games significantly more. There is a lot of junk and stuff lying around, which I find to be immersive. I am always scrounging for useful items and it doesn't feel as "videogamey'.

The new loot and upgrade system in Cyberpunk is super streamlined. I get why some people might prefer that, but since it scales to your level I now basically almost only find legendary loot in Cyberpunk, erasing all satisfaction of finding that one rare amazing item. And clothing now serves as a scrap system for crafting, as there is no difference between legendary gear and basic. I couldn't care less about finding purple or higher tiers of gear at this point.

Not to say Cyberpunk does any of these things wrong, it doesn't and it is a great shooting game. But I find Starfield to be a hell of a lot of fun in that regard and do think some design aspects are underappreciated in online discourse. I do also feel that Starfield could have been a much better game if it pkayed better to it's own strengths and if the writing team behind the main quest was simply better.

Most memorable Cyberpunk moments for me come from the storybeats, scripted gameplay scenarios/setpieces and general immersion in the truly amazingly designed city. Not really the shootouts. For Starfield it is more certain scenarios I stumble upon. Just like I could describe certain vaults or dungeons from Fallout and Elder Scrolls many years after the fact, I have had some cool/memorable sections in Starfield.

It all depends on playstyle as well offcourse.

[cramx3]

I think I will disagree regarding looting in Starfield.  I actually think it's a step down, for one reason, there's almost never anything good to be found.  In previous Bethesda games, you'd be rewarded for searching every nook in a building.  In starfield, its all junk.  Even using the lockpicking mechanic, you'd think you'd get good loot and it's almost never worth the effort in Starfield.  I actually have no interest in lock picking anything besides doors at this point.  It's just a waste of time.  There are the magazines still with the permanent increase to your abilities when you find them, but so far, I haven't seen them in the spots where I'd typically be deep looting.  They seem to usually be in pretty open spots in a lot of the main public areas.  Having said that, it's been hard to try to break my habit of looting in Starfield. I just feel the need to search everything even though my head is saying "get back to the mission"

[ErHaO]

I think I will disagree regarding looting in Starfield.  I actually think it's a step down, for one reason, there's almost never anything good to be found.  In previous Bethesda games, you'd be rewarded for searching every nook in a building.  In starfield, its all junk.  Even using the lockpicking mechanic, you'd think you'd get good loot and it's almost never worth the effort in Starfield.  I actually have no interest in lock picking anything besides doors at this point.  It's just a waste of time.  There are the magazines still with the permanent increase to your abilities when you find them, but so far, I haven't seen them in the spots where I'd typically be deep looting.  They seem to usually be in pretty open spots in a lot of the main public areas.  Having said that, it's been hard to try to break my habit of looting in Starfield. I just feel the need to search everything even though my head is saying "get back to the mission"

I feel like I do frequently stumble upon great guns and gear, and sometimes magazines. And I also like hoarding certain medical items/boosters. But yes, older Bethesda games were better in this regard. Lock picking indeed way too often leads to useless stuff, not sure what that is about. At the very least it should give me a good chunk of money so I can afford new ships. Still, I like Bethesda looting/looking around for stuff much more than most other titles.

[Herrick]

I started a new game of Cyberpunk 2077 and am enjoying it so far. I can't wait to get to Phantom Liberty. One thing I find really interesting is how the game is now getting a lot of praise and a lot of people are saying "this is the game we were promised". This may be true of Phantom Liberty - I haven't gotten there yet - but in terms of the base game, it is honestly 95% the same as it's always been. It runs better, it's more immersive, it has car combat and police systems, and the edges have been rounded out nicely, but the story, characters, general feel of combat, dialog, performances, sound, soundtrack, and general game design are the same.

I think this is a case where, yes, the game probably has meaningfully improved, but people also no longer feel like they're barred from giving the game praise.

I don't think the bolded was ever the issue.  It was all the bugs that have apparently been fixed, plus better performance (apparantly significant improvements from the tiktoks I've seen).  I personally don't have desire to go back to it, but if I never played and was looking for a new RPG game, I would totally recommend it in its current state based on everything I've seen about it.

I do remember people complaining about the lack of role playing and making important choices. I do not know if this is true because I never followed the hype train & previews, but people were saying that the game was marketed as a "hardcore" RPG. I specifically remember a comment on some site where someone said they hoped the shooting would be good and another person said something like, "This is going to be a hardcore RPG, not Call of Duty".

I was pleasantly surprised when I played Cyberpunk 2077 and found the shooting to be pretty good. I was almost expecting shit shooting like the original Deus Ex or Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Again I have no idea if CDPR ever marketed their game as a "hardcore" RPG.

I haven't played Cyberpunk since it came out but I remember The Witcher 3 feeling much more RPGish. I liked little things like being able to refuse payment for a contract and stuff like that.

[cramx3]

The COD Next event just started.  I'm mostly interested in seeing the new Warzone map reveal.  But the whole event is pretty cool.  250 of the top COD streamers all in the same room playing the new game live. 

[ErHaO]

I started a new game of Cyberpunk 2077 and am enjoying it so far. I can't wait to get to Phantom Liberty. One thing I find really interesting is how the game is now getting a lot of praise and a lot of people are saying "this is the game we were promised". This may be true of Phantom Liberty - I haven't gotten there yet - but in terms of the base game, it is honestly 95% the same as it's always been. It runs better, it's more immersive, it has car combat and police systems, and the edges have been rounded out nicely, but the story, characters, general feel of combat, dialog, performances, sound, soundtrack, and general game design are the same.

I think this is a case where, yes, the game probably has meaningfully improved, but people also no longer feel like they're barred from giving the game praise.

I think several things are at play.

First of all, most people really played a miserable version at launch. The majority of PC gamers don't play on a high end PC (per steam hardware survey and sales). And there was no actual PS5 or Series X version, with terrible PS4/Xbox One versions. To my knowledge it is the only game Sony ever pulled from their store, which says a lot given the amount of broken releases out there.

A second reason is expectations. Many were expecting a Deus Ex like experience, more of an RPG, and/or a sandbox title akin to GTA. At it's core, Cyberpunk really turned out to be a cinematic action title with a loot/perk system as it's RPG elements. People now know what Cyberpunk is and approach it like that. To be fair, they did really make it a solid sandbox title, that part has significantly changed and improved.

A third reason is that while the core of the title is the same, the overall minute to minute gameplay experience has really been altered in many ways, both big and small. I started playing 1.61, the "next gen" version and a lot of the complaints people had about progression did not apply at all. It was completely rebalanced and that can make the experience very different. The ai and NPC interactions were also different than initially.

[Stadler]

So trying to follow this... big fan of the Deus Ex-style game; would I like Cyberpunk? 

[ReaperKK]

I think so, it's definitely different but close enough that I think you'll still enjoy it.

[cramx3]

So trying to follow this... big fan of the Deus Ex-style game; would I like Cyberpunk?

Probably, but it's got a lot of GTA like elements to it (like ErHao mentioned).  If you also like GTA, then I'd bet a lot of money you'd like Cyberpunk.

The COD Next event was pretty cool yesterday.  THe new game looks the same as every other COD, no big deal, but the new Warzone map and gameplay changes look great.  Also, while I don't play Zombies, the new Zombies mode is going open world with an online element of multiple teams (can only work together, can't kill other players) on the same map at the same time.  Plus the return of Rebith Island in 2024! Best COD news all year. Also, my latest COD DMZ video should be completed tonight or tomorrow.  I'm so proud of my trolling abilities in that mode

[YtseBitsySpider]

The only console game I play is COD.
I mostly play Warzone since...the cd drive died on my PS5 and I'm in no mood to repair it. So no more different multiplayer modes.
I own the physical copies of the previous COD games. I suppose I'll get the new one digitally so. Not trying the beta. I'll just get it.
I play mostly Warzone quads in public lobbies.  Funny thing. Pretty sure with some new AI chat "cleanser" the better part of the COD community has been chat banned. Me included. Which my 20 year old son thinks is hysterical. "dad....did you drop the N word in chat?" ...."no son....I don't use that one ever".  Pretty sure I called someone a fairy for jumping around in the gulag.  Boots on the ground should mean boots on the ground. I don't need impossible 8 foot leaps of a wall into a slide perfect head shot while sliding to be a realistic way to die.  Also seems I use mostly rubber bullets or have marshmallows in my loadouts. I will say their "tiering" of lobbys has gotten better. It takes about five games in a row and all of a sudden I'm playing with people who pick up and put down every single weapon - shoot it against a wall to see how it feels or have no concept of how a safe cracker works. And then even with that I'm making final 3.

[ErHaO]

So Microsoft acquired Activision-Blizzard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYU4q594LJ0

As a gamepass subscriber, this will be great for me. Absolutely amazing service. And I really hope Microsoft shifts some of the talented studios to other ip's, as well as making something of Blizzard again.

So trying to follow this... big fan of the Deus Ex-style game; would I like Cyberpunk?

In terms of setting and storyline, I think yes. I think Cyberpunk is a great story with a lot of cool cinematic setpieces along the way. Together with the DLC, which is integrated into the main storyline, it is quite a beefy and rewarding storyline. In terms of gameplay is a bit more shooter/sandbox and less stealth/infiltration/planning routes in levels. You can do stealth in Cyberpunk, but honestly it is more rewarding and efficient to go guns blazing here.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I'm almost 20 hours into Cyberpunk and having a great time. I'm playing on Normal difficulty and it's almost funny how easy the game becomes if you take the time to build your character and invest in cyberware upgrades. For example, I'm doing a melee build and only have 5 points in Intelligence, but am still one-shotting most enemies with quickhacks. I believe you can start Phantom Liberty after the Vodoo Boys quest, which is right around the corner for me at this point. I'm really looking forward to that.

[ErHaO]

I'm almost 20 hours into Cyberpunk and having a great time. I'm playing on Normal difficulty and it's almost funny how easy the game becomes if you take the time to build your character and invest in cyberware upgrades. For example, I'm doing a melee build and only have 5 points in Intelligence, but am still one-shotting most enemies with quickhacks. I believe you can start Phantom Liberty after the Vodoo Boys quest, which is right around the corner for me at this point. I'm really looking forward to that.

Have you already played the game before? Otherwise, I think Phantom Liberty makes the most sense storywise for your character later on in the game and not directly when available.

[cramx3]

The only console game I play is COD.
I mostly play Warzone since...the cd drive died on my PS5 and I'm in no mood to repair it. So no more different multiplayer modes.
I own the physical copies of the previous COD games. I suppose I'll get the new one digitally so. Not trying the beta. I'll just get it.
I play mostly Warzone quads in public lobbies.  Funny thing. Pretty sure with some new AI chat "cleanser" the better part of the COD community has been chat banned. Me included. Which my 20 year old son thinks is hysterical. "dad....did you drop the N word in chat?" ...."no son....I don't use that one ever".  Pretty sure I called someone a fairy for jumping around in the gulag.  Boots on the ground should mean boots on the ground. I don't need impossible 8 foot leaps of a wall into a slide perfect head shot while sliding to be a realistic way to die.  Also seems I use mostly rubber bullets or have marshmallows in my loadouts. I will say their "tiering" of lobbys has gotten better. It takes about five games in a row and all of a sudden I'm playing with people who pick up and put down every single weapon - shoot it against a wall to see how it feels or have no concept of how a safe cracker works. And then even with that I'm making final 3.

Yeah, I think the chat monitoring has silenced a lot of the playerbase.  My friend got a 14 day ban.  I'm 100% sure he said something terrible so I guess it's justified, but it also kind of stinks in a way due to it leading to a lot less use of voice chat in game, which is really important for the team based games of warzone. But COD is known for being toxic so it's no surprise they are trying to stop that. Also, you hit the nail on the head with SBMM.

Also, my latest COD DMZ video should be completed tonight or tomorrow.  I'm so proud of my trolling abilities in that mode

Well, here it is if anyone cares Trolling DMZ Nerds in Call of Duty Warzone 2 - Volume 3 *cramx3 style*  I'm fairly toxic in these videos, but I have yet to have my chat banned.  I don't say anything racist or sexist which is probably why, but I do curse and I do yell at my enemies.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I'm almost 20 hours into Cyberpunk and having a great time. I'm playing on Normal difficulty and it's almost funny how easy the game becomes if you take the time to build your character and invest in cyberware upgrades. For example, I'm doing a melee build and only have 5 points in Intelligence, but am still one-shotting most enemies with quickhacks. I believe you can start Phantom Liberty after the Vodoo Boys quest, which is right around the corner for me at this point. I'm really looking forward to that.

Have you already played the game before? Otherwise, I think Phantom Liberty makes the most sense storywise for your character later on in the game and not directly when available.

Good to know. Maybe I'll hold off then.

[Stadler]

Well, here it is if anyone cares Trolling DMZ Nerds in Call of Duty Warzone 2 - Volume 3 *cramx3 style*  I'm fairly toxic in these videos, but I have yet to have my chat banned.  I don't say anything racist or sexist which is probably why, but I do curse and I do yell at my enemies.

I didn't get all the way through it, but that was great!! I was laughing out loud.  I love when you gave shit to the "uber driver".  "One star rating!!!"

[cramx3]

Well, here it is if anyone cares Trolling DMZ Nerds in Call of Duty Warzone 2 - Volume 3 *cramx3 style*  I'm fairly toxic in these videos, but I have yet to have my chat banned.  I don't say anything racist or sexist which is probably why, but I do curse and I do yell at my enemies.

I didn't get all the way through it, but that was great!! I was laughing out loud.  I love when you gave shit to the "uber driver".  "One star rating!!!"

  thanks for checking it out.  It's definitely a bit out there in the humor, but I stuff like that are why I enjoy playing the game so much, the real human interaction in a competitive shooter.

[Stadler]

Well, here it is if anyone cares Trolling DMZ Nerds in Call of Duty Warzone 2 - Volume 3 *cramx3 style*  I'm fairly toxic in these videos, but I have yet to have my chat banned.  I don't say anything racist or sexist which is probably why, but I do curse and I do yell at my enemies.

I didn't get all the way through it, but that was great!! I was laughing out loud.  I love when you gave shit to the "uber driver".  "One star rating!!!"

  thanks for checking it out.  It's definitely a bit out there in the humor, but I stuff like that are why I enjoy playing the game so much, the real human interaction in a competitive shooter.

Bottom line for me anyway, is it's authentic.  You're having a blast and it comes through.  For me that's the key.  My stepson and my daughter watch a lot of those types of videos and for too many of the "name" people it's turned into schtick. I'm not even sure they're having fun doing what they're doing.  I didn't think that was a problem here (in a good way).

[Metro]

Loving Spider-Man 2 so far. This Kraven boss fight is tough. 

[Zantera]

Just finished 100% on Spider-Man 2.

Not gonna get spoilery because a lot of people are still playing, the game is still very fresh. But overall I had a really great time. There are some improvements in the gameplay but also some things I missed. On a story level there's some great things, some brave choices but there's also some issues I have, and things that could have been done better (IMO). Definitely things you can discuss the positives and negatives of.

Overall I would say the game had some surprises but it also moved certain characters into a certain position setting up Spider-Man 3 in a way that I kinda expected. But that's not bad, I think what we have lined up as the most likely main villain of SM3 is the best choice. There's also some other major characters left on the board that could play a part in it.

[krands85]

How the hell do people complete games so quickly 

[El Barto]

Spent the weekend playing Starfield and I totally get why people don't like it. It certainly doesn't work for what I want in this sort of game. Crafting is a key component in a Bethesda game, and it's pretty much nonexistent here. I dunno, maybe once I get to level 30 or something and spend a bunch of perk points I'll be able to improve weapons and armour, but at that point I'll be able to simply buy whatever I want and haven't found on my own. The fact that I can't take a scope off of one rifle and put it on an identical rifle is just fucking stupid. I'm tempted to park the game for now until the CK comes out and modders fix that (and it'll be one of the first things fixed, I reckon). Ship building is similarly worthless. Not being able to score good ship upgrades until later levels is one thing, I get it, but having to blow 10 or so perk points, as well, is just awful. Honestly, the perk wall they put up seems to be the biggest hindrance. In FO4 you had to invest points to craft things, but they only increased the quality of the mods, and mods were transferable. You could still, upgrade the receiver in a weapon, even if it wasn't that much more powerful.

As a shooter it's not bad, but that's honestly all it's got going for it right now. And in truth, it's a little too easy in that regard. I'll spend a minute or two hiding behind a crate shooting it out with a couple of guys, and then just decide "fuck it" and run straight at them with an axe. My armour is better than their weapon, if they even have one.

I rather like the ship mechanics, but again, I'm 20 levels away from being able to upgrade the reactor, so that's quickly running its course. It just seems like all of the good stuff is deferred so long it won't really be useful by the time you get to it. I'm having a fair amount of fun playing, but it's really quite empty, to be honest.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Spent the weekend playing Starfield and I totally get why people don't like it. It certainly doesn't work for what I want in this sort of game. Crafting is a key component in a Bethesda game, and it's pretty much nonexistent here. I dunno, maybe once I get to level 30 or something and spend a bunch of perk points I'll be able to improve weapons and armour, but at that point I'll be able to simply buy whatever I want and haven't found on my own. The fact that I can't take a scope off of one rifle and put it on an identical rifle is just fucking stupid. I'm tempted to park the game for now until the CK comes out and modders fix that (and it'll be one of the first things fixed, I reckon). Ship building is similarly worthless. Not being able to score good ship upgrades until later levels is one thing, I get it, but having to blow 10 or so perk points, as well, is just awful. Honestly, the perk wall they put up seems to be the biggest hindrance. In FO4 you had to invest points to craft things, but they only increased the quality of the mods, and mods were transferable. You could still, upgrade the receiver in a weapon, even if it wasn't that much more powerful.

As a shooter it's not bad, but that's honestly all it's got going for it right now. And in truth, it's a little too easy in that regard. I'll spend a minute or two hiding behind a crate shooting it out with a couple of guys, and then just decide "fuck it" and run straight at them with an axe. My armour is better than their weapon, if they even have one.

I rather like the ship mechanics, but again, I'm 20 levels away from being able to upgrade the reactor, so that's quickly running its course. It just seems like all of the good stuff is deferred so long it won't really be useful by the time you get to it. I'm having a fair amount of fun playing, but it's really quite empty, to be honest.

Yeah, this all makes sense. I've shelved the game for the time being. I'm also waiting for the CK. Then the real fun can begin. Even though a lot of the systems Bethesda put in place in this game are kind of head-scratching, I think modders will have a field day with all the new capabilities of the updated Creation Engine. I'm still cautiously optimistic.

[cramx3]

Crafting does seem pointless.  Ship building is likely fun to create, but there's no real need for it. I still thought it was a fun game,  it just didn't keep my interest as I got to 30 hours.  I haven't played a couple weeks now.

[El Barto]

Crafting does seem pointless.  Ship building is likely fun to create, but there's no real need for it. I still thought it was a fun game,  it just didn't keep my interest as I got to 30 hours.  I haven't played a couple weeks now.

Did you just buy a new ship? Or get one via quest?

[cramx3]

Crafting does seem pointless.  Ship building is likely fun to create, but there's no real need for it. I still thought it was a fun game,  it just didn't keep my interest as I got to 30 hours.  I haven't played a couple weeks now.

Did you just buy a new ship? Or get one via quest?

I got a few via quests.  But one of them is pretty damn solid so I see no need to upgrade or get a better ship, other than just simply wanting to do it. I don't particularly care too much about the flying and space battles.  I think mechanically it's fine, I just don't get much enjoyment out of it.  I'd rather spend less time in my ship basically.

[Chino]

Any one you ever play Helldivers? It was a 3/4 overhead team shooter where you'd work through levels together. There was a wide array of weaponry, mech suits, explosives, etc.. And many stages actually required a good amount of communication and strategy (not to be confused with a puzzle game).



I put a ton of hours into it on the PS4 several years ago. I was thinking of picking it up again (it's on sale for $16).

Anyways, there's a sequel coming out. It looks like the gameplay, environment type, and feel will be just like the first, but the camera angle is changing to something closer to 3rd person.


I was a bit bummed at first, because it's the overhead view that made me really like the first one. There aren't many games in that space. But after watching this video yesterday, I think I'm sold on the design choice. I think I'm actually excited.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ihs5xS0NKM&t=3s

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

anyone else playing Dave the Diver? super great fun!

[Herrick]

anyone else playing Dave the Diver? super great fun!

I have not played it but it's on my wish list.

[orcus116]

anyone else playing Dave the Diver? super great fun!

Finished it a month or so ago and had a blast. I haven't played the new content update but I may return to it at some point.