July 2025 General Game Discussion Thread

[Zed Clampet]

@Pifanjr Played some more 9kings last night, and I'm not really sure what to think now. I've made two runs and easily won them both. It forces you to start on the lowest difficulty, though, so I expect more challenge the next time I play.

I'm a little bit concerned about the strategy options. As of right now, I only really see one way to play, which is only barely disturbed by having to draw cards.

Honestly, it just made me want to play Monster Train.

 

[BeardyHat]

@neogunhero was this your Nashville trip?

@BeardyHat mainline Might and Magic used to be my favorite games.

****
Well, of all the games I'm not good at, Void Crew is solidly the worst, which is bad because it's Guido's favorite game at the moment. I've been playing all morning by myself and have yet to survive a mission. Think I'm going to offer to buy his friends copies.

Haven't played any of the others, but so far, I think 4 + 5 hold up very well. Definitely some UI fiddliness to get around, multiple clicks for stuff and comparing things is a pain, especially with my poor memory, but the overall gameplay is very fun. I had actually been thinking about buying Legends of Amberland during the Steam Sale, then decided I should save the money (and overspend on Clue Books, apparently) and play M&M which I've been wanting to play for ages now.

Save 50% on Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown on Steam

Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown is a classic western RPG inspired by the games from the 90s. Basically, it’s the kind of game I personally find missing nowadays. Light, fairy tale, epic, heroic, slightly humorous and without the need of endless grind to progress.

store.steampowered.com

Also, I want to play Void Crew at some point. Would like to play with my buddies, but I've fallen off my schedule of every other Friday with them since I took my Chicago trip. I'll have to see if maybe I can pick it back up this week, as Void Crew does seem pretty neat.

 

[neogunhero]

@neogunhero was this your Nashville trip?

Not yet, that's at the end of this month. Speaking of which, I was looking into getting a handheld emulation device for the trip... won't have too much time to play, but my wife and I will be splitting driving duties on the 7 hour road trip both ways so I will have a few hours in the car to play. I've been looking at the Anbernic RG40XX H (catchy name) and seems to be a well-built little machine. It's specs only allow it to play up to PS1/N64 games max and select few Dreamcast games at playable FPS, but for under $100 that's perfectly fine for me.

 

[BeardyHat]

Not yet, that's at the end of this month. Speaking of which, I was looking into getting a handheld emulation device for the trip... won't have too much time to play, but my wife and I will be splitting driving duties on the 7 hour road trip both ways so I will have a few hours in the car to play. I've been looking at the Anbernic RG40XX H (catchy name) and seems to be a well-built little machine. It's specs only allow it to play up to PS1/N64 games max and select few Dreamcast games at playable FPS, but for under $100 that's perfectly fine for me.

The 40XX is generally pretty well regarded in the community. I thought about picking one up as well, but I tend to prefer more pocketable handhelds. They also have the 40XX V if you prefer verticals (which is more my jam).

I only have one Anbernic and was generally a little wary before picking up, given how many people tend to complain about them, but my 405m has been great in the almost year I've owned it and often becomes my preferred handheld when I'm not using my Steam Deck. The Miyoo Mini has also treated me well in the 3-years I've owned it and now having owned the TrimUI Brick for 8 months, I'm finally beginning to come around to it. It's superior in many ways to the Miyoo, but the Miyoo has the software and community support which just blows the Brick out of the water.

Keep in mind, that if you don't want to spend the money, you can also get a phone controller for emulation and your phone will generally be more powerful than the lower end handhelds. That said, I still prefer to have a dedicated device myself, as a phone just feels like a distraction...

Oh and lastly, the nice thing about the Linux based handhelds (which the 40XX is), you'll have access to Portmaster, which is pretty great. I've got quite a few installed on my Brick right now, but the main thing that I've been playing on it when I have been playing it is Carmageddon.

 

[Pifanjr]

@Pifanjr Played some more 9kings last night, and I'm not really sure what to think now. I've made two runs and easily won them both. It forces you to start on the lowest difficulty, though, so I expect more challenge the next time I play.

I'm a little bit concerned about the strategy options. As of right now, I only really see one way to play, which is only barely disturbed by having to draw cards.

Honestly, it just made me want to play Monster Train.

I'm not a big fan of roguelites that make you earn higher difficulties. The beginning is too easy and the hardest difficulties are too hard, but that means I never get a satisfying end to the game. I just stop playing when I get too frustrated to keep going.

 

[Frindis]

Been playing a little Resident Evil Village. It's quite different from RE7 Biohazard in terms of getting scared, but I think it so far makes up for it by being more tense in the way you have to fend off the creatures. Takes me back to when I first played Resident Evil 4 and had to barricade myself in a small house against hordes of enemies. I can live with the difference in scariness, as long as the rest of the game lives up to the good first impression.

Just in case some of you are like me...slightly crazy...after Free Stuff!

Score these new FREE Steam Points Shop items during the ongoing Automation Fest!

Look, it’s Automation Fest! And yes, that means new free Steam Points Shop items are up for grabs!

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd4-UnU8lWY

 

[Zed Clampet]

It drives me crazy when someone leaves a review that says something like "You have to have a controller to play this game. It was a complete waste of my money."

REFUND THE DAMN GAME YOU MORON. It only takes a few seconds. Just refund it.

The person I was referencing here was surprised to discover that you could refund games and has thanked me for explaining how to do it.

 

[Zloth]

The person I was referencing here was surprised to discover that you could refund games and has thanked me for explaining how to do it.

But it was all over the news just.... ten years ago!? Sheesh, this time acceleration is getting crazy.

 

[neogunhero]

Saw someone review a $5 game and basically said “this game is fun but I beat it in 4 hours. Wait for a sale”.

Some people seemingly have no concept of value.

 

[Pifanjr]

Saw someone review a $5 game and basically said “this game is fun but I beat it in 4 hours. Wait for a sale”.

Some people seemingly have no concept of value.

Compared to a lot of other games, $5 for 4 hours of gameplay isn't much.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Saw someone review a $5 game and basically said “this game is fun but I beat it in 4 hours. Wait for a sale”.

Some people seemingly have no concept of value.

I saw a review the other day that said there wasn't enough to do in the end game, so he couldn't recommend the game. He had over 1000 hours of playtime.

Compared to a lot of other games, $5 for 4 hours of gameplay isn't much.

Compared to a lot of AAA games, $5 for 4 hours is massive. There have been many under 20 hour campaigns. But please don't go Zloth on us. That's such a horrible philosophy. If you believe that the only value of a game comes from the dollars to hours played ratio, then don't buy a game that is $5 full price. That's a very serious indicator that you aren't going to be playing the game for weeks/months.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Well, that was a little shocking. I was playing Monster Train and just cruising through the levels. Got to a new level, and had no problems at first. When the boss showed up, all my characters were at full health. The boss immediately ended the run, wiped out everyone, seemingly with little effort.