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

[XJDenton]

Agreed. That just made me feel not so bothered about giving it a go!

Ignoring the fact that games are multi team endeavours so advertising any game as one man's vision/production is a bit shit, advertising that way seems a bit tone death considering the reception of the last two games he was heavily involved in.

"From the producer of Fallout 76 and Starfield!"

ehhhhhhh

[ErHaO]

Indy is made by Wolfenstein devs (New Order and II were great). Those are experienced First Person devs. For me Hellblade 2 looks the best by far. Indy has potential but I wonder how fun the combat will be and how the story will hold up.

And apparently this was a large push by Todd Howard to get it realised with Disney. But I agree, his name is faaar from a seal of quality.

I want to believe in Avowed as Obsidian is a great studio, but the showing was bad. Hopefully not another Redfall, which was also made by a studio putting out great stuff prior (from Prey 2017 to Redfall 2023 makes me sad).



Also, Palworld makes Gamefreak and their shoddy Pokemon game visuals just look pathetic. Not that Palworld is that good looking, but at least it looks competent. Not my type of game, but god do I wish for a Pokemon game too look decent.

[ReaperKK]

I've been playing The Finals recently and I still love that game, it's a blast. They just introduced an experimental solo mode which is great for when you don't have a team of 3.

For those that like Battlefield and want to see some cool destruction I highly recommend checking it out.

[ErHaO]

I am playing Pentiment and love it thus far. It is a dialouge driven medieval murder mystery game. The visual style is that of a religious medieval book (so interactive drawings).

Game seems heavily influenced by In the Name of the Rose and a little bit of Pillars of the Earth. Not a quick game, but a decades spanning tale with an eye for European history.

I think it is an adventure game (a classic one), but I suppose it plays the most like a dialouge driven RPG, like how dialouge works in a classic Bioware game. The gameplay is mostly dialouge trees with different routes, as well as some mild class/perk RPG elements that give you options/persuasion checks.


As it is an Xbox studios title by Obsidian, it is on gamepass. It was a passion project of the lead of Fallout New Vegas, though that is obviously a different type of experience, I think the man has eye for quality/detail.

[orcus116]

Pentiment is so good. A friend recommended it to me several months ago and as someone who isn't entirely keen on heavy dialogue games I fell in love with the art style and mystery aspect of the game. Reading up on it I'm also glad the game director was able to make it considering he was toying around with the idea for over a decade.

[Herrick]

I am playing Pentiment and love it thus far. It is a dialouge driven medieval murder mystery game. The visual style is that of a religious medieval book (so interactive drawings).

Game seems heavily influenced by In the Name of the Rose and a little bit of Pillars of the Earth. Not a quick game, but a decades spanning tale with an eye for European history.

I think it is an adventure game (a classic one), but I suppose it plays the most like a dialouge driven RPG, like how dialouge works in a classic Bioware game. The gameplay is mostly dialouge trees with different routes, as well as some mild class/perk RPG elements that give you options/persuasion checks.


As it is an Xbox studios title by Obsidian, it is on gamepass. It was a passion project of the lead of Fallout New Vegas, though that is obviously a different type of experience, I think the man has eye for quality/detail.

I loved Pillars of the Earth. I don't think I made it more than 10 pages of In The Name of the Choad.

[ErHaO]

I am playing Pentiment and love it thus far. It is a dialouge driven medieval murder mystery game. The visual style is that of a religious medieval book (so interactive drawings).

Game seems heavily influenced by In the Name of the Rose and a little bit of Pillars of the Earth. Not a quick game, but a decades spanning tale with an eye for European history.

I think it is an adventure game (a classic one), but I suppose it plays the most like a dialouge driven RPG, like how dialouge works in a classic Bioware game. The gameplay is mostly dialouge trees with different routes, as well as some mild class/perk RPG elements that give you options/persuasion checks.


As it is an Xbox studios title by Obsidian, it is on gamepass. It was a passion project of the lead of Fallout New Vegas, though that is obviously a different type of experience, I think the man has eye for quality/detail.

I loved Pillars of the Earth. I don't think I made it more than 10 pages of In The Name of the Choad.

Only saw the film of Name of the Rose, which I really enjoy. Of Pillars I listened the audiobook and I enjoyed it as well.

[Herrick]

I am playing Pentiment and love it thus far. It is a dialouge driven medieval murder mystery game. The visual style is that of a religious medieval book (so interactive drawings).

Game seems heavily influenced by In the Name of the Rose and a little bit of Pillars of the Earth. Not a quick game, but a decades spanning tale with an eye for European history.

I think it is an adventure game (a classic one), but I suppose it plays the most like a dialouge driven RPG, like how dialouge works in a classic Bioware game. The gameplay is mostly dialouge trees with different routes, as well as some mild class/perk RPG elements that give you options/persuasion checks.


As it is an Xbox studios title by Obsidian, it is on gamepass. It was a passion project of the lead of Fallout New Vegas, though that is obviously a different type of experience, I think the man has eye for quality/detail.

I loved Pillars of the Earth. I don't think I made it more than 10 pages of In The Name of the Choad.

Only saw the film of Name of the Rose, which I really enjoy. Of Pillars I listened the audiobook and I enjoyed it as well.

The following book was good too. I don't remember the title. I haven't read the third yet but I will...one day.

[cramx3]

I've been playing The Finals recently and I still love that game, it's a blast. They just introduced an experimental solo mode which is great for when you don't have a team of 3.

For those that like Battlefield and want to see some cool destruction I highly recommend checking it out.

I started playing this yesterday. 

After a few very positive COD posts by me, they just seem to have been unable to stop the rampant cheating.  Before this weekend, I stopped playing for 10 days.  I logged back on Saturday afternoon to see the last thign I did, report a cheater, was confirmed  I palyed one game, and actualyl won.  But I know this is COD's tactic.  If you haven't played in a bit, they will put you in an easier lobby to get you to want to keep playing before putting you back in a lobby with cheaters.  I took my one win and walked off.  I'm sure I'll come back, but I need a break.  It's no fun when you are constantly playing against people who will use any cheating tactic to get around the system (there was a new reWASD PC app that allowed keyboard and mouse players to get aim assist, apparently now banned, but from my understanding it's mostly talk and people can still use it, along with a cronus or anything else that people have and continue to use).  Point being, the game is in a bad state once again with cheating and it's not fun to play.

I had been playing PUBG the last two weeks instead.  They have a new map and it's an incredibly challenging game, but also very rewarding.  It's so annoying how they put you in literal bot lobbies until you get your feet wet, but I finally got out of that and was having some fun and got a couple wins, BUT this is such an old game.  Even with a new map, I'm just not loving it (and I feel it's because its too challenging and I need to commit myself a lot more to get competitive at it).

So that leads me to The Finals.  Heard a lot about this game from my tiktok as the next "COD killer" which we all know is BS, but it's free and figured I'd play it for an afternoon.  It's a lot of fun.  Very arcadey.  High TTK, lots of ways to play, and the full destruction of the map is probably the best part about it all.  Looking forward to digging into it more this week since as a noob, I can't really play a lot of different ways until I unlock things, but being a heavy and buldozing through the walls is so much fun.  Gun play seems to be solid too.  Had some good games yesterday, but I want to get better.

[XJDenton]

I played a lot of the beta, and it definitely distilled some of the best bits of B:BC2 into a more arcardey format. Great fun.

[cramx3]

I played a lot of the beta, and it definitely distilled some of the best bits of B:BC2 into a more arcardey format. Great fun.

Yeah, if only Battlefield continued with that sort of destruction in their games....

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I played about an hour of the new roguelike mode (or what I used to know as a "horde" mode from the Gears of War days) in TLOU2 last night. It's pretty fun but I feel like it will wear out its welcome pretty quick. I think they really missed out on an opportunity for an awesome multiplayer mode with that (probably because they were too busy working on the new TLOU multiplayer game, which is now cancelled ).

[ReaperKK]

Heavy is my go-to in the Finals. It's been a blast so far. My only real complaint is that to have a great game you should really pair with 2 people you know instead of randos. I had a big issue with people constantly leaving and not being backfilled when I first started playing. It was sort of the same experience with Apex for me.

[cramx3]

Heavy is my go-to in the Finals. It's been a blast so far. My only real complaint is that to have a great game you should really pair with 2 people you know instead of randos. I had a big issue with people constantly leaving and not being backfilled when I first started playing. It was sort of the same experience with Apex for me.

I've been playing heavy as well, but not sure it's my go to.  Just my first main to play with and get my feet wet in the game.  I definitely agree, you need to be playing with people to actually win because team work is too important in this game. I haven't had much time to play at all and won't for the rest of the week since my last post though.  Maybe this weekend I can get back into it.

[Sacul]

Finally finished the New Vegas DLCs. Pretty good stuff.

I've also played this very short title called milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk. Quite amazing art direction and also quite a tough subject matter.

And I guess I finally began Dark Souls. Sadly it's a bit laggy on my laptop, so I'll try to keep playing on my desktop PC, which I haven't used in months

[TheOutlawXanadu]

And I guess I finally began Dark Souls. Sadly it's a bit laggy on my laptop, so I'll try to keep playing on my desktop PC, which I haven't used in months

I finally started playing it for the first time a few months ago (the only SoulsBorne games I've played and beaten are Demon's Souls and Elden Ring). I was enjoying it but I did find it a little difficult to go back to the original after all the refinements they made leading up to Elden Ring. Played it for around 10 hours before pivoting to Baldur's Gate, which I'm currently 40 hours into and fully addicted.

[ErHaO]

So Sony did a show a couple of days ago.

I am super stoked for Death Stranding 2. I consider 1 to be a fantastic game and a unique experience you cannot get anywhere else.

But I am a bit disappointed in the Sony PS5 lineup to be honest. Last year was basically Spider-Man 2 and this year amounts to Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin? Those game look solid, don't get me wrontg, but they are not made by the mainline PS studios I love so much nor do they look the part. Hopefully the PS5 will end up as stacked as the PS4 in it's final years.

I also wonder if Sony's live service plans have had an impact. Naughty Dog recently cancelled TLOU online after years of development. And it seems their massive investment in Bungie isn't going too well either.

And if I compare PSVR2 to PSVR1, the support is just a massive downgrade. I was interested but I was not expecting them to PS Vita the thing a couple of months in.

[XJDenton]

I didn't buy a PS4 until about 4-5 years into the generation since it took that long for it to gain enough exclusives to warrant buying. Seems like PS5 is might be even worse given how PS exclusives are now gradually making their way to PC.

[cramx3]

I didn't buy a PS4 until about 4-5 years into the generation since it took that long for it to gain enough exclusives to warrant buying. Seems like PS5 is might be even worse given how PS exclusives are now gradually making their way to PC.

There's lots of rumors of Xbox exclusives making their way to PS lately

[XJDenton]

Yeah, there's apparently going to be an announcement next week over the future of Xbox.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

RIP

[ErHaO]

If all those rumors are true, it will likely be a massive shift in gaming for the long term. I also think not having a major competitor is not a good thing in the console space (in regards to Sony).

That said, I do think MS will deliver a lot of good games in the coming years and their subscription service has been fantastic. If you could get that on basically any platform at some point, it would be a no brainer for me.

[Chino]

Helldivers II came out today. I put several hundred hours into the first one to much delight. I did the tutorial and played one mission before work this morning and absolutely loved it.   

It's cross platform (I think just PS5 and PC) and only $40. Give it a look!

[cramx3]

Helldivers II came out today. I put several hundred hours into the first one to much delight. I did the tutorial and played one mission before work this morning and absolutely loved it.   

It's cross platform (I think just PS5 and PC) and only $40. Give it a look!

One of my friends mentioned this game to me.  It looks cool, but I'm not sure it's for me.  This is the same type of friend who will try to convince me to buy a game to play with him and then he'll give me every excuse in the world to not actually play it with me after I buy it 

[Chino]

Helldivers II came out today. I put several hundred hours into the first one to much delight. I did the tutorial and played one mission before work this morning and absolutely loved it.   

It's cross platform (I think just PS5 and PC) and only $40. Give it a look!

One of my friends mentioned this game to me.  It looks cool, but I'm not sure it's for me.  This is the same type of friend who will try to convince me to buy a game to play with him and then he'll give me every excuse in the world to not actually play it with me after I buy it 

It's very team-oriented. You can play it solo, but you get paired into squads of 4 and have to work together to complete objectives. This new version allows for armor changes that actually impact your character's movements and ability to play. I'm pretty excited about that. I always thought the game would lend itself well to "tank" builds and strategies. 

You might actually dig it because of the squad element. That's what Battlefield uses, right?

[cramx3]

Helldivers II came out today. I put several hundred hours into the first one to much delight. I did the tutorial and played one mission before work this morning and absolutely loved it.   

It's cross platform (I think just PS5 and PC) and only $40. Give it a look!

One of my friends mentioned this game to me.  It looks cool, but I'm not sure it's for me.  This is the same type of friend who will try to convince me to buy a game to play with him and then he'll give me every excuse in the world to not actually play it with me after I buy it 

It's very team-oriented. You can play it solo, but you get paired into squads of 4 and have to work together to complete objectives. This new version allows for armor changes that actually impact your character's movements and ability to play. I'm pretty excited about that. I always thought the game would lend itself well to "tank" builds and strategies. 

You might actually dig it because of the squad element. That's what Battlefield uses, right?

Battleifled is PvP though, and the current iteration doesn't rely on the squad element much at all.  The PvE stuff makes me think the game will go stale quick unless you are consistently playing with your friends.

[Chino]

Helldivers II came out today. I put several hundred hours into the first one to much delight. I did the tutorial and played one mission before work this morning and absolutely loved it.   

It's cross platform (I think just PS5 and PC) and only $40. Give it a look!

One of my friends mentioned this game to me.  It looks cool, but I'm not sure it's for me.  This is the same type of friend who will try to convince me to buy a game to play with him and then he'll give me every excuse in the world to not actually play it with me after I buy it 

It's very team-oriented. You can play it solo, but you get paired into squads of 4 and have to work together to complete objectives. This new version allows for armor changes that actually impact your character's movements and ability to play. I'm pretty excited about that. I always thought the game would lend itself well to "tank" builds and strategies. 

You might actually dig it because of the squad element. That's what Battlefield uses, right?

Battleifled is PvP though, and the current iteration doesn't rely on the squad element much at all.  The PvE stuff makes me think the game will go stale quick unless you are consistently playing with your friends.

I'm curious to see how it plays out long term, but this game takes place across the galaxy. There are essentially infinite worlds that will be procedurally generated, along with their objectives, locations, day/night cycles, and enemies, making repetitive levels a thing that won't really happen. You'll have similar environments, sure, but you won't be playing the same scenarios in the same places over and over again.

At least that's what the devs say.

[cramx3]

So many games tout that.  Just like at Starfield which I couldn't even be bothered to finish.  I'm not saying the game sucks, it just may not be for me.  And honestly, it may be for me and I just don't know.  I've watched some videos, it does look cool.  I just feel like I'd pay the $40 and hardly play it after this weekend.

And what really sucks is I'm kind of in a gaming slump.  The last month or so I've been struggling to find a game to play that I enjoy.  The Finals is fun but super limited and already stale.  PUBG is still a great game, but soooo difficult and full of cheaters from Asia. Battlefield is in a decent spot right now, only took a couple years, but it's still feels like the same Battlefield I played for over 100 hours at this point so it's not too interesting for me.

COD just had their season 2 update yesterday.  I played that and had some fun and some of the usual frustrations.  I'm debating if I want to get the battle pass and grind out the season for the next month or so, but yesterday's gaming session left me very meh overall and I feel like if I continue to play its just to have something to play.

I probably should just get Helldivers 2 and stop being so cheap with my games, but well, yeah, I'm cheap on my games these days.

[Chino]

If you end up giving it a shot, give me a shout. I'd love to play with people I know.. just not this weekend, though. I'll be in NYC until next Tuesday!
 

[Lonk]

Never heard of this Helldivers game, so I wondered if it was related to the book series with the same name. It seems like it's not, even if the premise is very similar

[cramx3]

If you end up giving it a shot, give me a shout. I'd love to play with people I know.. just not this weekend, though. I'll be in NYC until next Tuesday!

Nice, yeah, I'd need someone to play with and maybe giving the game the weekend to be played will show me if I should get it or not.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

we're on page 69 in the video games thread

[Phoenix87x]

Got tomb raider remastered. I think they did a decent job. I was a huge fan of the originals as a kid

[ReaperKK]

we're on page 69 in the video games thread

nice

[XJDenton]

Got tomb raider remastered. I think they did a decent job. I was a huge fan of the originals as a kid

Apparently one of the leads on the remaster was a guy who was originally working on fan remakes for a good number of years.

https://twitter.com/XProger_san/status/1757892574092636206