November 2025 General Games Discussion Thread

[Pifanjr]

i had it on the GBA. coming from Final fantasy tactics the game felt slightly clunky for my liking. maybe it was the complexity or the somewhat drab graphics. I do have TO:LUCT on the vita which i have yet to play. Might get around to it one day. Right now i'm playing Fire emblem awakening and its alright. On CH17 and pretty much every unit is promoted so they can make mincemeat of any fresh recruits. Whilst there are opportunities for skirmishes, its a grind if i was to get all the characters playable. in most FE games, i have a core team and stick with them. I am playing it on casual and i must admit my standards are starting to slip as i make easy mistakes sometimes.

I felt the exact same way coming from Tactics Ogre to Final Fantasy Tactics: especially the class system in FFT felt more clunky.

I tried one of the Fire Emblem games but it felt like you had to do each mission twice because the game loved to throw a twist at you in the middle of a mission. Plus it's pretty easy to screw up your team if you're not using a guide, meaning you have to repeat a bunch more or start over entirely.

 

[dxchase]

All weekend long I played nothing but Arc Raiders. What I like the most about this game is how I can approach it from different angles. Sometimes I just want to chill and loot, other times I want to hunt Arcs or help kill a Matriarch, I can choose to approach the game however I want based on my feeling at the time. I took down two Leapers by myself this weekend then helped a guy take down a Bastion. I even got into the Dam Control Tower for the first time this weekend, there is always something to do.

Youre not alone. Really the only thing ive been playing too.


So, next to Arc Raiders, i played some of TimeSplitters: Rewind

This is a community project to bring the franchise together under 1 title with all its boards and MP stuff. I remember fondly playing TimeSplitters 2 back on the PS2 and i think , at least so far, they have done a pretty good job of updating the old levels. There is only TimeSplitters levels right now, but theres a spot for the rest of the franchise and since the game is in EA, itll eventually come, but whats there is fun right now, so im looking forward to that.

I am about to embark on a new game Of Ash and Steel, will come back with more info on that when i delve in.

 

[neogunhero]

TimeSplitters: Rewind

This is a community project to bring the franchise together under 1 title with all its boards and MP stuff. I remember fondly playing TimeSplitters 2 back on the PS2 and i think , at least so far, they have done a pretty good job of updating the old levels. There is only TimeSplitters levels right now, but theres a spot for the rest of the franchise and since the game is in EA, itll eventually come, but whats there is fun right now, so im looking forward to that.

TimeSplitters is a series that has been constantly recommended to me for the past 20 years but I've never actually played. The trailer for this fan mod looked really great and I may have to check it out. Completely free too so that's always a bonus.

 

[Johnway]

Youre not alone. Really the only thing ive been playing too.


So, next to Arc Raiders, i played some of TimeSplitters: Rewind

This is a community project to bring the franchise together under 1 title with all its boards and MP stuff. I remember fondly playing TimeSplitters 2 back on the PS2 and i think , at least so far, they have done a pretty good job of updating the old levels. There is only TimeSplitters levels right now, but theres a spot for the rest of the franchise and since the game is in EA, itll eventually come, but whats there is fun right now, so im looking forward to that.

I am about to embark on a new game Of Ash and Steel, will come back with more info on that when i delve in.

i also have a soft spot for the Timesplitters series. played it like hell on the Xbox. it was one of those games that was more bang for your buck as you got a decent (coop) campaign, a whole load of interesting and amusing challenge modes that helped you unlock characters and stuff. Admittedly, it hasn't aged all that well but you can't argue for the price of free. i did play multiplayer with my brother but it was just immensely fun playing it solo as well. my fav character was probably the Riot officer, but of course the robofish or the monkey were popular choices.


Gaming wise, still playing path of exile, i've got a build that is more or less solid as i continue to do mapping. Still need to check how its like on harder T16 maps, but i'm taking it slowly and we've done 75/115 maps. I've managed to buy my way to a variety of items so i can complete the challenges quickly but we'll probably do that near the end once i'm lvl 96 or 97 and gotten all my gear in place. Currency proves very much elusive. i've only got one divine orb since the start of the league. not enough to buy the finest gear. i'll have to compromise with weaker stuff.


yakuza 5 we've moved on from Saejima's campaign and overall it was alright. The problem was that much of it played out away from the city (or rather i spend most of my time in the villiage) and when i did get into the city i just quickly mopped up whatever small challenges and moved on. Now onto Act 3 and we've got a twist to proceedings. i'm playing as haruka and i'm trying to dance my way to victory. Wasn't expecting that. Not that hot on rythm games tbh. I'll need to remain calm and practice to ensure i win.

Any other news? Doom 2 wads i'm playing the cacoaward winning Russians all over the world and its damn good. A few issues but overall a well deserved cacoaward winner from what i've played so far. is it my Wad of the year? We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Zloth]

Me and the pwns were headed out east in Dragon's Dogma 2. Ran into an ox cart getting mugged by goblins. Cleaned them up and started to go over a bridge when I saw the shadow of a large bird zip along the ground. Oh no. It's been years since I played Dragon's Dogma 1, but I know what that shadow means: GRIFFON.

I ran back up to the road and started spamming the 'get over here' commands to tell the pawns to stop picking daisies and gather at the road. The ox cart had gone, but that road seems well travelled and it's up against a big hill, which will limit which way the griffon can fly. Sure enough, the thing dove right at me. I got out of the way and started laying into the thing.... well, OK, actually I first messed up and did the Elden Ring attack (which restores stamina) and then flew a little bit, but I got to attacking pretty quickly.

Conveniently, 3 other pawns were walking along the road, and I think another showed up later? It's tough to tell in the heat of battle. Some goblins came in from the field, too. It got chaotic, but we just kept on the griffon, and I kept burning to keep it from flying.

View: https://youtu.be/XrHvmPtn1fI?si=xbzoT3OPRcjrBwYh

 

[Johnway]

I felt the exact same way coming from Tactics Ogre to Final Fantasy Tactics: especially the class system in FFT felt more clunky.

The strange thing is that i never got into FFT (war of the lion) as it was so difficult. Plus it lacked any of the opportunities to skill up or lvl up as you move from one mission to the next. i ididn't really get far with that one. The GBA ones were more accessible with a more gentle curve in difficulty.

 

[BeardyHat]

The strange thing is that i never got into FFT (war of the lion) as it was so difficult. Plus it lacked any of the opportunities to skill up or lvl up as you move from one mission to the next. i ididn't really get far with that one. The GBA ones were more accessible with a more gentle curve in difficulty.

For whatever reason, no other Japanese style tactics game has really stuck with me the same way the original Disgaea has; even the sequels..

But I actually did like FFT PSX, but ultimately put it down. I thought the class system was interesting and it felt like a breakthrough for me when I realized you need to level people up and switch them around class wise to get new skills. It seemed rather interesting.

I thought the GBA one was alright, though I've played it the most (I think I actually own the cart, as well).

 

[Johnway]

For whatever reason, no other Japanese style tactics game has really stuck with me the same way the original Disgaea has; even the sequels..

Also got that on the DS and honestly i was a bit disappointed by it. Admittedly, the DS version is probably not the definitive version to play it on. but even so, the gameplay was mostly intact and i found it a bit too grindy for my liking. yes the play area had some interesting stat impacting stuff, but it didn't do anything for me. yes, i could also try and level up a weapon as they're pretty much a endless dungeon but again, meh. Story had multiple endings and the prinnys are cute and all but not enough to sway my opinion.

There is that PSP platformer prinny can i really be the hero, which i haven't played and really should get round to playing. One day.

 

[BeardyHat]

Also got that on the DS and honestly i was a bit disappointed by it. Admittedly, the DS version is probably not the definitive version to play it on. but even so, the gameplay was mostly intact and i found it a bit too grindy for my liking. yes the play area had some interesting stat impacting stuff, but it didn't do anything for me. yes, i could also try and level up a weapon as they're pretty much a endless dungeon but again, meh. Story had multiple endings and the prinnys are cute and all but not enough to sway my opinion.

There is that PSP platformer prinny can i really be the hero, which i haven't played and really should get round to playing. One day.

DS is actually the only way I ever played it, but that was all...oof, sometime around the time I had just met my wife so maybe like 2007/2008? I've tried Disgaea 4, but never got far with it, cause yeah all the grinding and everything.

I did try the Prinny game not that long ago on Vita and it was fine? I'm not huge on platformers, so I never made it very far.

 

[dxchase]

I'm just going to ride it out again, at this point. I managed an upgrade in December of 2019 when I went to AM4 and then rode that out until August 2023 when I upgraded my processor, RAM to 32Gb and went from a 970 GTX to 6700 XT.

Doesn't seem like anything is really a significant upgrade from that yet. I was just looking at 5060 Ti's yesterday and see that they're a bit more performant than my 6700 XT in some games and on par in many others and given I don't play many high end games anyway, I think I'm set for the time being.

At least we're spoilt for choice as far as a range of games go, performance wise. And if hardware upgrades begin to dwindle, we'll probably see developers target the average system according to Steam hardware surveys, whatever that might be.

PCG just did an article on the soaring prices and its just another article about the increasing prices of PC parts...

Here's why RAM prices are skyrocketing and SSDs and GPUs could soon follow suit

The answer: AI of course.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Johnway]

PCG just did an article on the soaring prices and its just another article about the increasing prices of PC parts...

Here's why RAM prices are skyrocketing and SSDs and GPUs could soon follow suit

The answer: AI of course.

www.pcgamer.com

it looks like a tipping point where buying/building gaming pcs is going to be shockingly expensive. its unlikely they will drop the price ever again. Especially once they know they can get people to buy them above RRP or at extortionate prices. We'll be coasting for the next tech boom to hoover up all the hardware manufactures will opt to cater to companies instead of gamers.

fingers crossed we will see price drops and we'll have something resembling RRP or close to september's prices. i regret not buying pc parts sooner tbh. I don't relish just buying parts in the hope i have a complete pc.

 

[BeardyHat]

it looks like a tipping point where buying/building gaming pcs is going to be shockingly expensive. its unlikely they will drop the price ever again. Especially once they know they can get people to buy them above RRP or at extortionate prices. We'll be coasting for the next tech boom to hoover up all the hardware manufactures will opt to cater to companies instead of gamers.

fingers crossed we will see price drops and we'll have something resembling RRP or close to september's prices. i regret not buying pc parts sooner tbh. I don't relish just buying parts in the hope i have a complete pc.

I'm heading out tomorrow to pick up a PC for my nephew. It's second hand, found on Craigslist, but it's $200 and AM4 based, so it's at least still viable and has an upgrade path for the processor and video card in the future if prices ever come down.

Definitely starting to feel the pressure here and I'll feel much better once I have the PC in my hands, so I won't feel like I have to worry about it. It won't be an amazing PC, but it's better than nothing; I'll be benchmarking it just to see how it goes. Though I'm also thinking maybe I'll take it apart and make him help me put it back together.

 

[Frindis]

Am I missing something except someone trying to be grabby with those sweaty dollar-glissened hands? Why DELIST?

YAKUZA SERIES DEC 8TH RELEASES OFFER DISCOUNT OPTIONS FOR EXISTING OWNERS

www.sega.com

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

PCG just did an article on the soaring prices and its just another article about the increasing prices of PC parts...

Here's why RAM prices are skyrocketing and SSDs and GPUs could soon follow suit

The answer: AI of course.

www.pcgamer.com

It sucks, I seem to remember hard drives getting expensive for a couple of years in the 2010's and the crypto rush around 2020 sent graphics cards through the roof for a few years obvs. Hopefully it will sort itself out like it has before.

Funny though we've been talking about the Steam Machine recently. I just put together in Partpicker a mid range system with a AMD 9600, 9060XT 16GB and with a 1tb SSD and 32GB DDR5 its coming in at around 1200 right now. The Steam Machine at 600-700 in those circumstances will be a way easier sell. Maybe Valve is playing this pretty smart, industry people have been talking about coming DRAM shortages since at least early this year. Valve would have heard that too I'm sure.

 

[BeardyHat]

It sucks, I seem to remember hard drives getting expensive for a couple of years in the 2010's and the crypto rush around 2020 sent graphics cards through the roof for a few years obvs. Hopefully it will sort itself out like it has before.

Funny though we've been talking about the Steam Machine recently. I just put together in Partpicker a mid range system with a AMD 9600, 9060XT 16GB and with a 1tb SSD and 32GB DDR5 its coming in at around 1200 right now. The Steam Machine at 600-700 in those circumstances will be a way easier sell. Maybe Valve is playing this pretty smart, industry people have been talking about coming DRAM shortages since at least early this year. Valve would have heard that too I'm sure.

Unfortunately, valve will be subject to all those shortages and extra costs, unless they decide to heavily subsidize it, which isn't a terrible idea.

If they become the lowest cost way to get into PC gaming, bringing more people into their store front, well...

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Unfortunately, valve will be subject to all those shortages and extra costs, unless they decide to heavily subsidize it, which isn't a terrible idea.

If they become the lowest cost way to get into PC gaming, bringing more people into their store front, well...

True, unless they stockpiled a lot of parts already, they need to have them custom made so I imagine they're producing them right now ready for next year.

No idea, but if this DRAM shortage is going to make them closer to $1000 while consoles are still $500-600 they might struggle to sell them.

 

[BeardyHat]

True, unless they stockpiled a lot of parts already, they need to have them custom made so I imagine they're producing them right now ready for next year.

No idea, but if this DRAM shortage is going to make them closer to $1000 while consoles are still $500-600 they might struggle to sell them.

Xbox is likely set to increase in price too and I imagine Sony isn't far behind. I'd be surprised if PS5 hasn't gone up by January.

https://www.reddit.com/r/consoles/comments/1p3c7ga/xbox_will_reportedly_increase_console_prices_for/

 

[Johnway]

Am I missing something except someone trying to be grabby with those sweaty dollar-glissened hands? Why DELIST?

YAKUZA SERIES DEC 8TH RELEASES OFFER DISCOUNT OPTIONS FOR EXISTING OWNERS

www.sega.com

No surprises its money. Those who have the game have to pony up practically the game again for the upgrade and those who missed the boat will go for the kiwami edition. is it significantly better then the original Y0? hard to say, its a tall order as i heard that Y0 was really good and that's what made it REALLY popular. At least for PCG anyway.

The best advice atm is grab it on offer whilst you still can. it does go for cheap prices these days.


Speaking of yakuza 5 i've clocked in near 50hrs so i'm certainly going to play more then Y3 or Y4 at this point. Y2K is the one where i had 100 hours and it looks like we might approach that mark. Still playing as haruka as i brush up on my dance skills and train up for the competition. You know, making all my 16 yr old girl dreams come true.

i think i need to play a bit more to get into the sub stories in the city but i'm too busy leveling up and unlocking abilities before i carry on. Additionally, wandering around searching for locker keys and having a dance off against other girls.

The only thing that will be a real challenge is the activities where i have to fish, play pool, bowling or play the prize grabber. Damn it, i'm useless at all those games. Can't even practice as all those areas need you to be in an adult based location like a bar. Darts i can easily crush the opposition as i played it in earlier acts with kiryiu and saejima and customised my killer set of darts. Ugly they maybe, they accurate and generally go where i throw them.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Xbox is likely set to increase in price too and I imagine Sony isn't far behind. I'd be surprised if PS5 hasn't gone up by January.

https://www.reddit.com/r/consoles/comments/1p3c7ga/xbox_will_reportedly_increase_console_prices_for/

i dont think all of that is hardware costs. Xbox is in deep trouble from up high in Microsoft to return something after the ridiculous money they spent on Activision Blizzard. Playstation price might not move much if it all.

Who knows, glad I bought 32 GB RAM earlier this year, 16GB might be pushing it in 3 years and I dont fancy these prices. Should have got a bigger NVME too.

 

[Zloth]

Am I missing something except someone trying to be grabby with those sweaty dollar-glissened hands? Why DELIST?

I've been wondering this, too. Yakuza 0 is old, and the normal price has dropped down to $20. The new Director's Cut jumps it back up to $50 with not a lot of new stuff to justify that price.

They'll do some marking splash and get some folks to buy it at that price (and, to be blunt, they'll get their money's worth - this is a great game) but what happens down the line? It goes on sale, of course, except now the base price is $50 and anyone looking on SteamDB will see it as a different game.

So, right now, Yakuza 0 is selling for $11 USD, 45% off. Say they put the director's cut version on sale for $12.50. That's 75% off. Unfortunately, people look at the percent off, not the base price. Even though they are paying $1.50 more, people are going to see 75% off as a way better deal than 45% off! I've long wondered what publishers are thinking by lowering prices and making it harder to have a 'big sale.' Maybe this is SEGA's way to reset the base price?

Or maybe I'm projecting my own pet peeves onto others, and they really think having to read subtitles to translate is holding their game sales way back. <shrug>

 

[Pifanjr]

I played some more Elden Ring. I haven't been looking up anything, so I kind of feel like I'm running around like a headless chicken. I have no idea how to make a good build either or where to go for better gear, but so far I haven't run into any major problems.

I figured out how to defeat the big bears in the forest by summoning some ghost wolves, I cleared out a castle for a random NPC and then I made my way to a distant glowing tree where I defeated my first boss, after a couple of tries.

The game did freeze up a couple of times though and I haven't figured out what is causing it. My controller also kept losing connection every once in a while, but luckily not during combat most of the times.

---

Steam is having a Turn Based Carnival, including 85% off a bunch of Worms games and a lot of demos:

Turn-Based Carnival 2025

🎪 Welcome to the Turn-Based Carnival 2025!🃏 Are you ready to celebrate the art of every move, choice, and perfectly timed play? From tactical showdowns to story-rich adventures, this is the ultimate festival for fans of strategy and turn-based gameplay. Discover games that reward patience...

store.steampowered.com

 

[Zloth]

Dragon's Dogma 2 is still really fun. I've found I have needed to look up some of the quests to figure out how they work (errr, you are supposed to arrest that woman by going down to the basement alone and pinning her to the ground!?) but, coming off of Elden Ring, that ain't nothing.

Sorcerer has been plenty fun to play. It took some time to figure out how best to use the spells. For instance, there's one where I summon up a stationary ball of lightning. If anything gets close, they get zapped for some damage and high knockback. It's good to plant one where the mage has dropped a healing dome to keep the riff-raff away while healing up. It works even better when my thief uses her lasso skill to yank enemies toward her, though. Lightning ball zaps them away, lasso brings them back, lightning pushes them away... It's like a juggle in a fighting game!

Now I've got access to a couple of BIG spells. The kind that do this to bosses (and oxcarts - sorry about that, dude):

View: https://youtu.be/89S5U4vnuVs

This one only works outside, takes a long time to cast, and you can't move at all while casting it. There's a tornado, too, which will work inside but also roots you while casting but it doesn't do as much damage.

Oh, and yes - there's no 'friendly fire damage' in this game. That would be BAD.

I've maxxed out my sorcerer skills, though, so I need to move on to another class of some sort. I'm dabbling with archery. My main pawn switched from thief to fighter.

I have no idea how to make a good build either or where to go for better gear, but so far I haven't run into any major problems.

That's OK because there's only one build for the early game: Meat Shield. All vigor, all the time, up to about 30.

I liked the demi-humans' ashes in the early game. It sounds like you're good enough to get them. Location: Go south over the bridge, then find a way over the hill on your left, behind the weeping gal. I don't recall how much further south you have to go to get on the other side of that hill but, if a big golem starts shooting at you, you've gone too far. There are more demi-humans than wolves, which gives them the ability to do a little stun-locking with all the attacks, and I think the little guy even has a ranged attack.

 

[Pifanjr]

That's OK because there's only one build for the early game: Meat Shield. All vigor, all the time, up to about 30.

I got strength up to 20 and put a couple of points in vigor and endurance. But I found a new weapon that needs more dex to use, so I'm going to put a couple of points in that as well.

I liked the demi-humans' ashes in the early game. It sounds like you're good enough to get them. Location: Go south over the bridge, then find a way over the hill on your left, behind the weeping gal. I don't recall how much further south you have to go to get on the other side of that hill but, if a big golem starts shooting at you, you've gone too far. There are more demi-humans than wolves, which gives them the ability to do a little stun-locking with all the attacks, and I think the little guy even has a ranged attack.

Then I quit playing near the right area, as I did just defeat that golem.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I would level Vigor plenty early on as well. It was a big meme around release, loads of people complaining on the difficulty because they were getting one shot by everything and hadnt levelled Vigor much or at all.