April 2023 Random Game Thoughts Thread

[Zloth]

Yep, that's it!

I got them working. There are some guides on Steam for it. If you've still got Origin, that will help a lot.

My new guide is published but still needs some work. It could use some screenshots, but mostly it needs me to get the latest DLCs and incorporate them. I made a video demonstrating how to do some stuff then, right near the end, I got trapped in an elevator. That's what I get for using the beta test version to record video.

 

[Pifanjr]

I've played some more Moonlighter. I can now get to the third floor of the forest fairly reliably, though I still don't know how to properly defeat the floor bosses. I've upgraded my gear so that I can kill the first one without taking a hit (or taking one that I can then heal in the healing pool), but with the second one I just need to pop potions while I hit it, because killing it quickly while tanking hits is more effective than trying to dodge and failing.

Luckily there are still more upgrades to get.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Keeping with the 2d theme Ive been playing more Dead Cells. Not normally much of a 2d platform or Roguelike person but I've been known to dabble and this one is worth it. Movement feels great, lots of weapon combos to play with, great music and really nice pixel art graphics. It feels so good to move fast and kill stuff with all the abilities that its very easy to get overconfident and get hit, but it also gives you bonus weapons/powers for finishing levels fast. Risk reward is a definite theme. It also has a parry, grrrreat.

Lots of Easter egg (ooo seasonal) references too. Found a crowbar next to a corspe with a headcrab on it and now its accessible as a weapon. Also found the nail from Hollow Knight, and a pet that follows you round and evolves like the monster you play in Carrion. The gems from Slay the Spire are dotted around on each run. Bet theres loads more from stuff I havent played, fun they worked them all in there.

 

[Brian Boru]

Another on-point Gameranx 16m video:

10 Things Games NEED TO STOP Doing Immediately

 

[ZedClampet]

Finally opened up each of our TWW3 mods in RPFM and figured out which one was causing us the desync problem and fixed it, so we played some last night. Trying to get ready for the Chaos Dwarves next week, Can't wait. They look amazing. Great artillery. monsters, and mechs.

 

[Pifanjr]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1643394965429694465

View: https://twitter.com/ondeck/status/1643394965429694465


It's amazing how popular Skyrim still is.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

It is but with the amount of mods and the size of the world at least understandable. I'm more confused as to why people are still playing Binding of Isaac 10 years later. Didnt think there was that much to it, what am i missing?

 

[SWard]

Pleased for vampire survivors getting their BAFTA, the speech was really sweet

 

[Pifanjr]

It is but with the amount of mods and the size of the world at least understandable. I'm more confused as to why people are still playing Binding of Isaac 10 years later. Didnt think there was that much to it, what am i missing?

I see on the Steam page that Binding of Isaac got a new DLC in 2021, so that's probably why it got popular again.

Another on-point Gameranx 16m video:

10 Things Games NEED TO STOP Doing Immediately

I didn't know about games using a cursor based system even on consoles, that seems really strange to me. I thought that consoles are typically a bigger market than PC, so why would developers not make it easier to control with a controller?

 

[Brian Boru]

Binding of Isaac got a new DLC in 2021

Would take more than a DLC 2 years ago, surely. It might be what Wiki says—"The game is widely regarded as one of the best roguelike games of all time." Or this review—"Ultimately, its enduring popularity is a testament to both its elegant design and singular personality."

why would developers not make it easier to control with a controller?

Ya got me, makes no sense. Maybe ran out of resources, or time before launch—but more likely just awful design, since they inflict the same BS method on PC gamers. I mentioned it a while back in one of my Far Cry 6 posts that it's a real PITA.

 

[Zloth]

Mass Effect 2 done, no companions lost. I didn't even look at a walk-through! Well... I should clarify. I didn't look at a walk-through while playing the game. I did study up a little before going in.

When I first played, I sent Thane in the ducts because I thought he had the most experience in that sort of thing. Dead Thane. I used Miranda's biotics to repel the bugs, which got Jack killed. I made a "bad" choice somewhere else, too, because Grunt also got killed.

10 Things Games NEED TO STOP Doing Immediately

The bit about just starting the game instead of showing the main menu the first time you play drove me nuts. That's exactly wrong! They need to go right into loading a saved game if one exists (and isn't too old, and last session ended without a crash) but should always show the main menu the first time!

 

[Frag Maniac]

I didn't even look at a walk-through! Well... I should clarify. I didn't look at a walk-through while playing the game.

In other words, you didn't need to do it the way I did because you don't have a 65 yr old brain with failing short term memory!

 

[Zloth]

In other words, you didn't need to do it the way I did because you don't have a 65 yr old brain with failing short term memory!

That's not that old! You're eating foods with lots of preservatives, right? You are what you eat, you know!

 

[Frag Maniac]

That's not that old! You're eating foods with lots of preservatives, right? You are what you eat, you know!

Actually I eat quite healthy, and have been for some time. I believe it's more due to stress. I've been living a city apt life for decades, and all the stress that comes with. You can't avoid sirens that are so loud you can't have a conversation on the phone, as well as noisy neighbors that keep you from sleeping well, and since COVID, it's only gotten worse.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I see on the Steam page that Binding of Isaac got a new DLC in 2021, so that's probably why it got popular again.

Would take more than a DLC 2 years ago, surely. It might be what Wiki says—"The game is widely regarded as one of the best roguelike games of all time." Or this review—"Ultimately, its enduring popularity is a testament to both its elegant design and singular personality."

Yea, I just didnt think that much of it when I played it back then. I guess the DLCs plus being well regarded along with being a twin stick shooter for people to play/test the deck controls with is enough. Its also been on sale for cheap quite a few times after this long, all adds up.

 

[Brian Boru]

BBC article about historical accuracy in war and strategy games.

The Great War: The WW1 video game that's eerily accurate

Video games have often borrowed from the past, but recent releases like The Great War and Pentiment have taken historical detail to the next level, writes Andrea Valentino.

www.bbc.com

 

[Brian Boru]

Far Cry 6

Looks like I'm done with this playthru.

65% Progression must mean big % allocated to the last few missions. One is to kill Castillo in the capital Esperanza. I ended up going down one too many blind alleys, with no indication of how many more there might be—so, no thanks.

Another is a heavily scripted escort + Asteroids mission—tried it once, no desire to go again, 2 of my least favorite mission types. Last is to escort a tank—yes, really—to assault some fortress and kill Admiral Benitez… unless I missed sth, it's just a pitched battle melee.

Huh… I wanted to start next playthru just to have it kicked off for whenever I want to dip back in—but there's no option for New Game in the menus. New Game+ is there, but greyed out—available only if I complete the game first. Maybe a full quit and relaunch will work, or I need to find and delete saves, or… or however I was able to start this just-finished playthru. Grr.

 

[ZedClampet]

Far Cry 6

Looks like I'm done with this playthru.

65% Progression must mean big % allocated to the last few missions. One is to kill Castillo in the capital Esperanza. I ended up going down one too many blind alleys, with no indication of how many more there might be—so, no thanks.

Another is a heavily scripted escort + Asteroids mission—tried it once, no desire to go again, 2 of my least favorite mission types. Last is to escort a tank—yes, really—to assault some fortress and kill Admiral Benitez… unless I missed sth, it's just a pitched battle melee.

Huh… I wanted to start next playthru just to have it kicked off for whenever I want to dip back in—but there's no option for New Game in the menus. New Game+ is there, but greyed out—available only if I complete the game first. Maybe a full quit and relaunch will work, or I need to find and delete saves, or… or however I was able to start this just-finished playthru. Grr.

You have significantly upped your headshot percentage! Nice job.

 

[Zloth]

BBC article about historical accuracy in war and strategy games.

Accuracy is really good to have, but I sure don't want to have soldiers coughing their lungs out in my video game, thanks. +1 to the BBC for picking out Kingdom Come: Deliverance. They had a good struggle with realism vs. gaming fun.

I still do worry a little about people looking at a game like RDR2, hearing that they did a lot of things to make it historically accurate, and deciding it's very accurate outside of obvious things like people healing from gunshot wounds in a few minutes. I guess that's not a new thing, though. I remember reading (somewhere) accounts of soldiers throughout history getting blindsided by the horrors of war because all they really knew out of war came from the stories told about them. Stories that typically didn't go into dysentery issues.

 

[McStabStab]

Took me a few tries that one too. I think a lot of the gank battles were designed with ashes summons in mind.

What kind of build you got?

Strength / Endurance. I ended up defeating them by not using the spirit ashes and using all my FP for my special attack. Honestly I really think there's a lot to this game I don't know. My spirit ashes, despite me upgrading them still feel so weak, I haven't changed the abilities on my weapons besides their defaults, and I'm still using a wooden shield at +9 at level 118.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Strength / Endurance. I ended up defeating them by not using the spirit ashes and using all my FP for my special attack. Honestly I really think there's a lot to this game I don't know. My spirit ashes, despite me upgrading them still feel so weak, I haven't changed the abilities on my weapons besides their defaults, and I'm still using a wooden shield at +9 at level 118.

Godskin Duo is a tough one, took me more attempts than most of the bosses in the game. I remember people saying they are pretty weak to sleep arrows/pots, but never tried myself.

There's a ton of stuff I have no clue about as well, I always play Souls games similarly with a rolly great sword melee build. After a few hundred hours practice you can make any style work OK even if its not optimal.

If you have high endurance you could grab a great shield with heavy armor and face tank or use guard counters, a lot of people like that play style. Look for one with 100% physical negation would be my tip.

 

[Pifanjr]

In Moonlighter, I have now defeated the guardian for the third dungeon. It seems my strategy of just buying more upgrades is working out well. Getting the bow also really helped for the third dungeon.

 

[ZedClampet]

I've discovered that I'm not as emotionally invested in Game Pass games as I am for games that I actually own.

 

[Pifanjr]

I've discovered that I'm not as emotionally invested in Game Pass games as I am for games that I actually own.

Is that because you don't own them or because they're games you wouldn't have bought?

 

[Pifanjr]

Epic continues expanding my backlog faster than I can clear it. I've tried the demo of Shapez a while ago and really enjoyed it. It looks like it might be a good game to play during work breaks, though it might look too much like my actual work.
Dying Light also looks interesting, especially the part where you can kick zombies. It's always fun to kick your enemies.