The Currently Playing & Random Game Thoughts Thread (May 29 to June 4)

[ZedClampet]

Continuing to have unusually cool weather here despite it almost being June. My son keeps wanting me to get in the pool with him. Like hell. When the pool water gets to 85 degrees, then I will consider it. Right now it's about 74. That's miserable. I love swimming in the ocean and will do that in almost any temperature, but not the pool.

So it's video game weather (then again, it's always video game weather for me), and, anyway, I have gout right now and can't get around very well. So games it is.

Told some dude I'd test his Satisfactory mod. I actually went to the mod Discord to see if I could take over the mod since it hadn't been updated since the last major update 6 months ago, but someone else was already doing it and needed someone to test it out. However, they are getting ready to release update 6, which will probably destroy the mod again, so it feels kind of like a waste of time.

I declared victory in my first Old World game (I was ahead at the time, but I seriously doubt I was actually going to maintain the lead, so it was a great time to humbly accept the crown of victory) and started a new game. I left it the same difficulty, but I took away the fog of war, which is a huge advantage. I attempted, but failed, to reduce the number of city-states in the game. I was surprised that wasn't an option.

I also played Stellaris for the first time this week and may actually like that better. I've done well up to this point, but like in Old World, I suspect I'm screwed long-term and may start over, but only if I'm currently winning, which is something I didn't pay attention to while I was learning the game.

So watcha up to? Gaming or otherwise.

 

[Ryzengang]

I've been toying around with grabbing Old World @ZedClampet at some point. I know it got very strong reviews and it gives me strong Civilization vibes (and I really enjoy those games). Plus, even at full price it's $39.99, which seems quite reasonable for what it is. The Steam Summer Sale is probably only like a month out at this point, so I'll probably wait and see if it gets a decent discount and decide then.

In terms of what I'm playing, I've really gotten into Dragon Quest XI S. Easily one of the best JRPGs I've ever played and the first RPG of any kind to grab me in quite awhile. The graphics/art style are really excellent and the environments have a solid variety so far. I'm actually surprised by how great this game looks. It also has a great fantasy vibe and it excels tonally at being light-hearted and fun while retaining the ability to be tense when necessary. I've really enjoyed just messing around and exploring the environments. The combat is overall solid, but I generally don't love turn-based as it is; plus, combat is not a major draw for me in RPGs, generally speaking. As long as the combat system is serviceable (which it is) I'm usually fine with it if the other aspects of the game are strong (which they are).

I haven't put much time into anything else, really, at least on PC. On Switch, I just finished Raging Loop (which is also on Steam). It's a pretty niche genre, but if you're into visual novels I would definitely recommend giving it a look. I had a lot of fun with it.

 

[Zloth]

NieR:Replicatant is going OK. The side quests in that game are a perfect illustration of how not to do side quests. The main story is better, but it's going beyond weird and into the realm of just being random. Maybe some revelations later will make sense of the randomness. The combat has gotten pretty fun, at least.

I'm also doing Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries in career mode (i.e. no campaign) and using a BIG mod that makes several changes to the game itself. I'm afraid my career may be doomed as a new version of the game will be showing up next week (if not sooner), but I'll hopefully have the option to keep using the current version via Steam's beta testing feature.

 

[ZedClampet]

I've been toying around with grabbing Old World @ZedClampet at some point. I know it got very strong reviews and it gives me strong Civilization vibes (and I really enjoy those games). Plus, even at full price it's $39.99, which seems quite reasonable for what it is. The Steam Summer Sale is probably only like a month out at this point, so I'll probably wait and see if it gets a decent discount and decide then.

If you like Civilization, I think you'll like this. There are some really neat features that I think improve on the formula. There is also an aspect of the game where you manage the royal family of your faction kind of like a light version of Crusader Kings. However, if you don't like that, you can actually turn that off in the settings when you are beginning a new game.

I'm also doing Mechwarrior 5

I never really paid attention to that game before, but it has co-op and looks like something my son would absolutely love. In every game we've ever played that had the potential to get a mech in it, that's always what he concentrates on first. Ten minutes after starting an Ark: Survival Evolved game? Somehow he's already stomping around in his mech while I'm trying to build a thatch hut.

Put that only my wishlist for the Steam sale.

 

[Frindis]

I'm going to play Dead Space 2 for the first time this week. Heard a lot of good things about it and that it is a bit more polished than the original. I played the original back when at release and I had a blast, but when I tried it last week it just wasn't the same. So, here is hoping Dead Space 2 might give me a better experience.

 

[ZedClampet]

I'm going to play Dead Space 2 for the first time this week. Heard a lot of good things about it and that it is a bit more polished than the original. I played the original back when at release and I had a blast, but when I tried it last week it just wasn't the same. So, here is hoping Dead Space 2 might give me a better experience.

I liked all the Dead Space games, even 3, but it's been a long time since I played them. The first one might seem a little primitive now. I'm ready for some Callisto Protocol whenever that releases.

 

[mainer]

I liked all the Dead Space games, even 3, but it's been a long time since I played them. The first one might seem a little primitive now. I'm ready for some

There is a Dead Space remake coming (supposedly) in January 2023. I'm definitely getting a System Shock type vibe from it. I haven't played the originals, though I do have wish listed on Steam.
The Dead Space remake is coming in January | PC Gamer

 

[Pifanjr]

Apparently Diablo: Immortal won't be available in the Netherlands and Belgium because of the anti-gambling laws in those countries.

 

[Zloth]

Apparently Diablo: Immortal won't be available in the Netherlands and Belgium because of the anti-gambling laws in those countries.

I'm not familiar with the game - has it got loot boxes of some sort?

Put that only my wishlist for the Steam sale.

VERY likely to have a sale starting on the 8th.

Playing NieR:Replicant, my quest giver in the central town mentioned that the guy that runs the fast travel boat had gone missing, please go to the south town to find him. Go to the south town and find his wife, who's also worried. Go to the local pub, who says maybe his brother knows - who's back in central town. Run back to central town, and his brother says he might have taken a job at the post office back in south town. Run back to south town and find the postman missing - some guy is running it just because nobody else seemed to be and the job needed doing. He directs me to a beached ship where the adventure actually starts.

Can you say "filler" boys and girls? Sheeesh! Greedfall did this, too, but at least that filler managed to add something to the story. This game makes you run all over the place completely pointlessly!

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm not familiar with the game - has it got loot boxes of some sort?

Apparently. It's the first I've heard of the game honestly.

I read that EA had to pay a 10m dollar fine because of loot boxes in FIFA, but they eventually managed to get that decision reversed. It seems Activision Blizzard isn't confident enough they can get away with it as well though.

 

[toofarm]

I'm looking to play something good too, for losing some time during my vacation...
My wife is interested only from the beach, I'm bored haha

 

[ZedClampet]

Can you say "filler" boys and girls? Sheeesh! Greedfall did this, too, but at least that filler managed to add something to the story. This game makes you run all over the place completely pointlessly!

Back when I read fantasy novels, there were more than a few that followed this same blueprint. Spend the entire 600 page novel looking for powerful artifact? No, thanks. I'll read something else.

****

Tried to play Warlord: Britannia this morning, but it turns out I'm not awake enough yet. I opened the game to find out that I was supposed to read 15 pages of tiny text on how to play the game. That's more of an afternoon pursuit for me.

***

Played some Ghost Exile yesterday and completely screwed up. We were on Madman difficulty, and I had all the equipment. We had wandered around the house and collected evidence, then my son destroyed the ghost's favorite item (you're supposed to do that before you can do the ritual of exorcism). Normally, having all the equipment, I would leave the house at this point and monitor the activity meter and watch the cameras from the safety of the tent because the entity becomes much more active and if you die, you lose all your equipment, but my son announced he had to go to the bathroom, and, being bored, I decided to make one more trip into the house to set up some equipment and place a protective sigil.

Once you get the protective sigil down, it stops the ghost from hunting 3 times. The ghost had just finished hunting, so I figured I could get in and put the sign down with no problems. So I go up the stairs and start heading to the ghost's favorite room. Suddenly the ghost spawns in front of me and starts walking towards me. I ignore it because every time I've ever seen the ghost spawn for a hunt, it has spawned inside it's favorite room, and this time he spawned in the hallway. I figured it was just a run-of-the-mill ghost event. I was wrong and died, losing all my gear. Apparently on Madman difficulty they can spawn wherever they want to spawn.

I had enough money to rebuy all my gear, but if I die again any time soon, my son is going to have to take over gear duties, which wouldn't be optimal since he's better at the game than I am and shouldn't be hiding out in the tent at the end.

 

[ZedClampet]

Just finished a bunch of missions, with varying success, in Ghost Exile going solo on Madman difficulty. Trying to make back that money I lost yesterday. Went pretty well, actually. I'm now basically back where I was when I lost the money.

Some of the jumpscares wore me down, though, and I decided to quit for now.

 

[ZedClampet]

The Scrap Mechanic community is in full meltdown mode. The game launched 6 years ago with two modes: creative and challenge (basically a tutorial). Two years ago, after 4 years of promises, they finally released the first pass of survival mode, which immediately became the mode everyone played. Challenge was for learning the game and creative became where you went to experiment. Survival was where the real gameplay was. Unfortunately, there wasn't that much to it yet.

So today, after two long years of waiting, they released the next big update, which adds ten more levels to challenge mode, improved modding support and a golf mini-game. Nothing was done to the main game mode at all. Two years. If Scrap Mechanic were a country, it would be on fire and the royal family would have been hanged about an hour ago.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Got a chance to play some more Psychonauts 2 last night. It's such a great game. Really weird, but I like it a lot.

 

[Johnway]

As previously mentioned i'm getting fed up with killzone liberation the janky controls has finally pushed me over the edge and frankly i'm looking for another game to play on my handheld. preferably on my vita (i've beaten a couple of games on my 3ds so i don't want to visit that). Atm i've been playing some la mulana and some iffy mechanics aside, its not bad. A very puzzle heavy game that i'll probably cheat for all the puzzles.

getting started is surprisingly difficult. You have limited knowledge as to what you're doing, there's very few methods of healing health (either you kill enough enemies to recover all your health or use the hot spa at the start of the game). The first area does have some VERY useful tools like the ability to teleport between the save points (which are few and far between imo) and the shops offer some near essential tools to succeed. assuming you can afford them...

Next up on the PC i'm playing Mafia 3. I don't hate the game, the story is intersting and the characters are well animated and fleshed out. but the gameplay experience feels a bit light in content atm. I can see the mechanics; you're this spec ops soldier and you hack communications, gather intel on various people before taking them out etc. I've taken over the hollow and not beginning my journey getting the rest of my team together. Won't lie, i'm taken a stealth method and that silenced pistol makes the whole game easy so far. I'll have more once i beat it...

lastly, chivalry 2 is coming to steam! another opportunity to get the game. honestly i'm still sitting on the fence. The golden period for an online game is the first month or 2 so if i want to get the best out of it, it needs to be soon. I could buy the epic edition etc but i dunno. Plus life commitments, massive unplayed game collection etc loom overhead so i just don't have time to play \git gud etc.

 

[ZedClampet]

lastly, chivalry 2 is coming to steam!

I wonder when the real release date is because they list that they are releasing on a Sunday, and I'm not sure Valve lets people do that.

 

[Johnway]

I wonder when the real release date is because they list that they are releasing on a Sunday, and I'm not sure Valve lets people do that.

You know thats a really good point. most of them would be on a friday/tuesday to reap the entire week/weekend of play time. Sunday? unless its super early its going to be a nuisance. i mean do you really want to binge play over to monday when you have work the next day? I suppose it doesn't stop tuesday, but still very unusual.

Still, Tempted. Come on Epic, release it for free. You released borderlands 3 as a give away, give me chivalry 2 as well!

Speaking of that game, my work on my artwork continues! with a public holiday tomorrow i might make more progress with it. Not bloody likely i'm taking time over the face there has been some structural and stylistic changes that don't sit well with me and i think the whole thing has been a bit of a farce. i can upload the current WIP if you guys wish, but there is some much work needed to be done on it.

 

[ZedClampet]

My wife, who's working from home again, just asked, "Do you have an extra mouse?"

I've been waiting years for someone to ask that question. Time to bring out "the box".

Wired or wireless?
RGB?
Favorite color?
Need extra buttons?

 

[ZedClampet]

You know thats a really good point. most of them would be on a friday/tuesday to reap the entire week/weekend of play time. Sunday? unless its super early its going to be a nuisance. i mean do you really want to binge play over to monday when you have work the next day? I suppose it doesn't stop tuesday, but still very unusual.

Still, Tempted. Come on Epic, release it for free. You released borderlands 3 as a give away, give me chivalry 2 as well!

Speaking of that game, my work on my artwork continues! with a public holiday tomorrow i might make more progress with it. Not bloody likely i'm taking time over the face there has been some structural and stylistic changes that don't sit well with me and i think the whole thing has been a bit of a farce. i can upload the current WIP if you guys wish, but there is some much work needed to be done on it.

Would love to see your WIP. I play artist almost every night to relax before bed.

 

[Johnway]

Would love to see your WIP. I play artist almost every night to relax before bed.

oh alright i'll upload a few pics in the usual topic to sate the demand.

 

[Zloth]

My wife, who's working from home again, just asked, "Do you have an extra mouse?"

How about an RS-232 cable? I'm sure somebody will need one of those soon...

(OK, I did throw those away, and a few parallel port cables.)

 

[deanwinchester]

I would recommend Elex 2 for Gothic lovers.

 

[ZedClampet]

My mission to become the master of "madman" difficulty in Ghost Exile is not going so good. I'm ending up with progressively less money, which isn't being helped by a bug that is buying two items every time I want to just buy one item. That makes me spend twice as much money and lose twice as much gear.

To make matters worse, my luck has been poor. Yesterday a ghost knocked the crucifix out of my hand and killed me. That almost never happens.

 

[mainer]

I would recommend Elex 2 for Gothic lovers.

Elex 2 is my current game and I put occasional updates in the Elex 2 post (created by @Zloth ) in the RPG section. Any Gothic fans should feel right at home in Elex 2's open world.