What are you playing nowadays? Share yo' thoughts.

[Zeze]

It's easily a GOTY contender (I'd put Spider Man on par for that 2018 crown too), but there's a few niggling things that kept it from being one of my ALL-TIME greats. The hopelessly predictable missions ("Oarthur! We just need one more train job before we get to Tahiti! Go here and get the thing and talk to Mr. Soandsuch and come back with the Doo-Dad". Proceed to place X and A) Either get ambushed by 30 guys there, or be ambushed by 30 guys on the way back. I get it, it's a shooter/action game, but exactly how many THOUSANDS of O'Driscolls have I and my six other buddies slaughtered without breaking a sweat? Were they recruited from Imperial stormtroopers? It robs it of a certain tension and immediacy, which matters for such a narrative heavy game.
Gunning down 50+ cops and then turning up a few days later and sauntering on by them without a worry in the world was also a little silly.

Yea, I mean otherwise it'll just be a long story-novel game with 'realistic' rarely occurring action.

The combat was just so boring. I think the game would be truly great if it had a satisfying gun play. Imagine if RDR2 had the crisp gunplay feedback of a slow pump-action rifle hero Ashe in Overwatch. Fighting would have been so much fun.

Also, I know RDR2 was groundbreaking in terms of open-world immersion. But maybe I have too high standards.. everyone's personalities are still no deeper than 3 lines. I'm talking about everyone in the game - the townsfolk, farmers, hunters, bad guys, whatever.

When will they introduce ML and AI to make interaction truly curious?

 

[CP5670]

I agree that the combat and guns are clunky, although it makes sense for the time period. The game also has too much randomness in terms of spawning enemies and random encounters that can occur even during quests and break the quest scripting in some way. I've seen that happen several times and had to just restart the quest. The save system is weird and doesn't actually save the game state like other large RPGs. You can tell they took the GTA engine and used it to make a very different type of game.

Still, for all its faults I really like the game. Same thoughts as I had with Cyberpunk.

 

[sze5003]

I'm about to start the dead space remake tonight. Finished Callisto protocol too and this will be a welcome change to that game's clunky combat.

 

[Sulaco]

I'm about to start the dead space remake tonight. Finished Callisto protocol too and this will be a welcome change to that game's clunky combat.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the remake, especially with respect to the Callisto Protocol.

I thoroughly enjoyed both Dead Space games (never played the third, feel like I didn't miss much) back in the day, really curious about the Callisto Protocol since I've heard such mixed things about it. I really like the otherwordly "Alien meets The Thing" aesthetic to DS and TCP both but if the gameplay isn't there it doesn't much matter.

 

[sze5003]

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the remake, especially with respect to the Callisto Protocol.

I thoroughly enjoyed both Dead Space games (never played the third, feel like I didn't miss much) back in the day, really curious about the Callisto Protocol since I've heard such mixed things about it. I really like the otherwordly "Alien meets The Thing" aesthetic to DS and TCP both but if the gameplay isn't there it doesn't much matter.

From what I played of the dead space remake if you enjoyed the original you will love the remake.

I remember some parts of the original game and they changed up some things. You can explore more areas, there's some side missions, and the enemy placement seemed to also have been modified.

The graphics look great, I'm playing at 4k ultra settings using dlss quality mode.

Isaac and Kendra look a bit older and a few of the crew have been changed.

Compared to Callisto Protocol, I think dead space remake plays smoother, is more action packed, and has better jump scares.

I thought Callisto was an ok game. It's trying to be it's own IP and they did a decent attempt at that. There are similarities in CP that will make you go ah they got that from dead space; and that is fine because it's made by the same manager of dead space.

CP gets the creepy atmosphere right too and I think it makes you go through different parts of the space prison which was cool to experience. It's more linear with small side paths for extra loot and ammo.

The combat of CP is very melee focused and it takes a bit of getting used to. It's pretty easy once you get it..hold a or d to either side to dodge then attack. The downside is you sort of get locked into who you are attacking and other enemies can still hit you. It is manageable though and often times the enemies do come at you head on vs in dead space remake they seem to pop up at you from either side or behind you randomly which is more creepy.

Half the game of CP you just have a baton that is electric but you can upgrade it. Once you get to the half point you start finding other weapons and the game gets a bit easier. Performance is not the best as it's an amd sponsored title and ray tracing really makes it chug but they did improve it with some patches. I got through it without any issues and I did enjoy it. But playing the dead space remake right after I was like ah this feels better.

I'll go back to Callisto when they come out with the single player dlc to the story which is supposed to continue the story.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I feel as if the entire Quake franchise has been abandoned....

 

[Motostu]

I feel as if the entire Quake franchise has been abandoned....

My thoughts only, without really looking into it: I wonder if FPS in general just aren't as popular as they were in the Q3 and UT days? I've played Quake Champions on and off for several years, and it feels like they barely have enough server capacity (BTW, I hate that we are forced to play on dedicated servers now). There can be lot of wasted time between games just waiting for a game that isn't full, though that's partly due to me only wanting to play instagib. Just not as fun as the old days where you could pick a server and just play.

 

[Zeze]

I feel as if the entire Quake franchise has been abandoned....

We are old, my friend.

Quake is just an old IP of the yesteryear now...

Kids have long moved on to Arena FPS, WW2 FPS, and now Fortnite.

Actually, gaming has truly hit an amazing success today. Who would've thunk it? We have every nerdy gaming titles being adapted to successful mainstream TV shows. So many AAA titles kicking ass and indie gaming scene is exploding.

Can't get mad tho since gaming has reached amazing mainstream success today.

 

[Zeze]

My thoughts only, without really looking into it: I wonder if FPS in general just aren't as popular as they were in the Q3 and UT days? I've played Quake Champions on and off for several years, and it feels like they barely have enough server capacity (BTW, I hate that we are forced to play on dedicated servers now). There can be lot of wasted time between games just waiting for a game that isn't full, though that's partly due to me only wanting to play instagib. Just not as fun as the old days where you could pick a server and just play.

FPS is popular as ever.

Fortnite is dominating too.

Steam's top concurrent players:

1
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
MOST PLAYED RIGHT NOW
1,003,582
IN GAME
2
Dota 2
572,095
3
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS
310,630
4
Apex Legends™
294,108
5
Goose Goose Duck
260,281

 

[Motostu]

I haven't made much time to play, so stuck with what I knew. Guess I need to get with the times and try some of these. Sucks that my hand/eye coord isn't what it used to be.

 

[Zeze]

I haven't made much time to play, so stuck with what I knew. Guess I need to get with the times and try some of these. Sucks that my hand/eye coord isn't what it used to be.

Try Overwatch. Many heroes don't have to aim (tank classes or melee style). Yet it's incredibly deep while being very casual and easy to pick up.
I mean it's Blizzard. Try it. It's free.

Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 is a free-to-play, team-based action game set in the optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Play as a time-jumping freedom fighter, a beat-dropping battlefield DJ, or one of over 30 other unique heroes as you battle it out around the globe.

overwatch.blizzard.com

It has all the FPS mechanic history so it can scratch the itch of older gamers:

1. Pharah is a rocket hero that adopts the famous rocket-throwing mechanic of Quake 1, 2, 3, Doom, etc...
2. Junkrat is another hero that lobs grenades and bombs. It plays just like the grenade launcher of Quake 1, 2, 3, etc...
3. You have your classic soldier hero with a hit-scan rifle and healing.
4. Also has a sniper class.
5. And tons of other heroes for the 5v5.

It's basically TF2 meets Dota 2. A very well polished game.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Alright. I'm doing it. Playing Witcher 3 GOTY edition, first time.

Not sure what to expect, very hyped game. W1 was good, but not great. W2 was fantastic, huge step up from W1 and I actually appreciated how tightly constructed the game was. W3 thus far looks like its going to be open-ner world W2 which i presume will be a good thing.

Not even wasting my time on the RT version of the game, DX11 Ultra everything is basically hovering around 144FPS so I'll stick with that.

 

[Sulaco]

I've picked up Ready or Not again.

I've been a supporter for the past several months when it was still a very early access game. Played around with it in single player, but mostly had a ton of fun with it in coop with my brother.

As it's now an official release, I tried it again for the first time in a few months. The extra additions are nice and obvious; better lighting and effects, voices, and new maps are always appreciated. Now for the downsides;

In many ways, the AI actually seems worse. This is hard to quantify fairly when talking about how violent meth heads in crackhouses "should" act when involved in shooutouts with the PoPo, but too many suspects seem far to eager to run forward and go out in a blaze of glory, far more than I remember encountering over the summer.
There are also still a TON of bugs. Played about an hour last night, came across several goofy/potentially game breaking ones. The first, I had a suspect across a large room behind a bed winging shots with a handgun at me. First shot misses, I return fire, strike the suspect, and they drop to their knees behind the bed. When I round the corner (mind you there's no way out, it's a corner of a room) to check if they're alive or not, they've completely vanished. No blood, no body, no gun. Nothing.
In another instance, I shot and killed a suspect. Laying face down in a pool of his own blood, even the context menu says "Dead", and I report it to TOC ("Suspect dead"), as I cuff his corpse (SOP), he miraculously comes back to life and is kneeling, struggling against the cuffs, now shouting and screaming about "pigs" and warning other bad guys to watch out.

Meh. And that's only in like an hour of play time. Some of these can be potentially deal breaking if you're at all trying to play the game seriously. Which in a game that hypes realism so much, you likely are.

I'm disappointed. I might just wait for some more patches and check back again in a few months.

 

[sze5003]

I've picked up Ready or Not again.

I've been a supporter for the past several months when it was still a very early access game. Played around with it in single player, but mostly had a ton of fun with it in coop with my brother.

As it's now an official release, I tried it again for the first time in a few months. The extra additions are nice and obvious; better lighting and effects, voices, and new maps are always appreciated. Now for the downsides;

In many ways, the AI actually seems worse. This is hard to quantify fairly when talking about how violent meth heads in crackhouses "should" act when involved in shooutouts with the PoPo, but too many suspects seem far to eager to run forward and go out in a blaze of glory, far more than I remember encountering over the summer.
There are also still a TON of bugs. Played about an hour last night, came across several goofy/potentially game breaking ones. The first, I had a suspect across a large room behind a bed winging shots with a handgun at me. First shot misses, I return fire, strike the suspect, and they drop to their knees behind the bed. When I round the corner (mind you there's no way out, it's a corner of a room) to check if they're alive or not, they've completely vanished. No blood, no body, no gun. Nothing.
In another instance, I shot and killed a suspect. Laying face down in a pool of his own blood, even the context menu says "Dead", and I report it to TOC ("Suspect dead"), as I cuff his corpse (SOP), he miraculously comes back to life and is kneeling, struggling against the cuffs, now shouting and screaming about "pigs" and warning other bad guys to watch out.

Meh. And that's only in like an hour of play time. Some of these can be potentially deal breaking if you're at all trying to play the game seriously. Which in a game that hypes realism so much, you likely are.

I'm disappointed. I might just wait for some more patches and check back again in a few months.

I've had this game for a while and I thought it was decent but I agree that some of the AI isn't the best. There's times I'd end up killing a suspect when I meant to just make them surrender. Sucks to hear it didn't get much better.

Did they at least add more levels to the single player portion?

When I first got it in early access they said it would have a campaign.

 

[CP5670]

Alright. I'm doing it. Playing Witcher 3 GOTY edition, first time.

Not sure what to expect, very hyped game. W1 was good, but not great. W2 was fantastic, huge step up from W1 and I actually appreciated how tightly constructed the game was. W3 thus far looks like its going to be open-ner world W2 which i presume will be a good thing.

Not even wasting my time on the RT version of the game, DX11 Ultra everything is basically hovering around 144FPS so I'll stick with that.

Yes, avoid the DX12 version. It runs terrible even on a 4090, and looks the same as the older version except for RT.

I liked it a lot but didn't think it was the greatest game ever like people say. I actually liked Cyberpunk better. I still have not played the Blood and Wine DLC though.

 

[quikah]

I am about halfway through Hi-Fi Rush. Game is spectacular. Highly recommend checking it out. the only negative I would say is the first level is a bit too slow. Once things pick up midway into the 2nd level it is amazing.

 

[rstrohkirch]

I am about halfway through Hi-Fi Rush. Game is spectacular. Highly recommend checking it out. the only negative I would say is the first level is a bit too slow. Once things pick up midway into the 2nd level it is amazing.

I'm not sure why but the previews remind me of Viewtiful Joe for some reason. I know the games aren't really similar.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I was in a bit of a gaming lull and went back to replay Grim Dawn before finally started Cyberpunk 2077 properly and I gotta say I have mixed feelings. The glitches are still highly prevalent and having hardlocked keybindings is usually an instant refund for me, but I found a workaround for it that took about an hour to accomplish, but I finally have everything working. Still trying to figure out why the FPS is locked at 60, but I think I might have that figured out as well. The audio popping bug and the tutorials getting stuck on the screen are the worst glitches I've come across and they happen constantly so we'll see how long I can tolerate dealing with those.

Now, the game itself is pretty damn confusing and I get the feeling like a lot of content was cut because the story just kinda skips around a bit and fails to explain pretty much everything. I'm about 12 hours in and I still don't understand a lot of the mechanics and that might be because I had to disable the tutorial messages since they keep getting stuck on the screen. I've just been driving around and doing missions when and where I can. I'm actually surprised it's running flawlessly maxed at 4K but I was a bit disappointed in the graphics at first, but everyone says it truly shines at night when it rains (which hasn't happened yet) so I guess I'll have to wait and see.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I didn't play Cyberpunk'd until after a couple of major updates. Not to mention I got it dirt cheap at that point. I didn't experience any serious bugs or issues. Played great at 1080 max plus RT reflections on a 3060ti.

Once I go over the window licking, I have to say I think the graphics are otherwise unimpressive. I prefer games with forests, mountains, stuff like that. Concrete jungles and desert are meh. It is basically an Nvidia tech demo at this point. Which is the only reason I think it is still being brought up constantly. I.E. talking points for minions.

I started a second playthrough a good ways back, and sort of wandered off to other games. Not a lot to keep me playing honestly. It also lacks the fun GTA5 offers, where you can drop in for an hour or 2 for no other reason than to go HAM. My favorite thing in that game, is hopping on the train, putting my back to the car while standing on the flatbed, and using everything in my arsenal to cause mayhem. It is hilarious when they forget about you while you are in the long tunnels.

I finished Days Gone recently. It was over all a lot of fun. My biggest gripe is that I found the hordes annoying. That, and unskippable cutscenes? I have never played the Last of Us but from the vids I've seen, this game was trying to capture some of that magic. The voice acting, graphics, and most of the combat are certainly fun.

I am going to start Horizon Zero Dawn next. The Playstation ports were great deals during the holidays so couldn't pass them up. Doing a second playthrough of Miles Morales too. Web slinging is a good time.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I prefer games with forests, mountains, stuff like that. Concrete jungles and desert are meh.

I think this is my biggest gripe with the game. I live in the desert and despise large cities so it's difficult for me to go driving through a large city and think it's beautiful and there's not much you can do with a desert-scape to make it look interesting. Basically, if you played Titan's Quest, you've seen every possible desert configuration (oasis, temples, dunes, pyramids, etc.).

I do find the lack of ragdolls annoying and the physics are generally pretty standard. Given all the hype (and hearing about how the hype was overhyped), I expected more. It's still pretty fun, but not what I was expecting. Though I did fix the frame lock issue and I'm sitting at around 122 FPS on average so that's pretty nice though I don't honestly see any difference. Everyone told me getting a G-Sync monitor would change my life forever and I honestly can't tell the difference between my old 2K monitor and my new 4K G-Sync and I've even flipped the game between the two while trying to contrast the differences. I know my monitor is set up properly but I just can't see anything noticeable.

 

[Sulaco]

I'm now about 20 hours into Elden Ring.

I've never really played the DS games before, despite owning several and watching my brother play them all in order. I know how they work and the sparse weirdness of From Software games, but I really don't know where I "should" be going or what I "should" be doing, I just picked a direction and head towards stuff that "looks neat" and bam, 12 hours later I'm battling up some random tower for reasons I have no clue on and still thoroughly enjoying myself.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I have never played the Last of Us

It's one hell of an atmospheric game but it's not an open world one so probably not as much gameplay in it as you would probably like.

Hopefully you will play the new one: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1888930/The_Last_of_Us_Part_I/

 

[rstrohkirch]

Everyone told me getting a G-Sync monitor would change my life forever and I honestly can't tell the difference between my old 2K monitor and my new 4K G-Sync and I've even flipped the game between the two while trying to contrast the differences. I know my monitor is set up properly but I just can't see anything noticeable.

If you don't notice or are not bothered by screen tearing then G-Sync isn't going to offer you much.

 

[Zeze]

I tried Elden Ring again. But this time with a Xbox controller (on PC) and an upgraded GPU (used 2070 from 1060 6gb). Thanks to a proper controller and mostly smooth 60fps, I finally got hooked. I killed Margit, it was much better than the first time as I actually understood the rhythm & poking nature of Dark Souls / Elden Ring.

I 'get' the combat now. This game is really well made in the sense that every melee/weapon play has unique animations (that cannot be sped up) according to weapon weight / class / type. There are many ways to slaughter the enemies...

• Roll and poke
• Keep distance and poke
• 1-hand shield block / counter guard and poke
• 2-handed sword roll + heavy punish

This above doesn't even touch range or magic gameplay. I've never played such an intricate combat game. Every 'plain' weapon comes with its own flavor of reach / swings / special attacks.

I'm going Vagabond class as a noob-friendly high-hit point as a start. After I beat the game and learned the complexities of fighting, I can't wait to go back and steamroll as a mage class and also try a fast-attacking Dex class.

 

[Zeze]

I'm now about 20 hours into Elden Ring.

I've never really played the DS games before, despite owning several and watching my brother play them all in order. I know how they work and the sparse weirdness of From Software games, but I really don't know where I "should" be going or what I "should" be doing, I just picked a direction and head towards stuff that "looks neat" and bam, 12 hours later I'm battling up some random tower for reasons I have no clue on and still thoroughly enjoying myself.

Nerds say no matter the build, always pump Vigor early to 40 pts. This goes for mages, warriors, and dexterity fighters.

Also pump faith to 12 to take advantage of tons of incantations that open for warrior class fighters.

I'm currently stuck on killing that stupid grafted human spider dude at the first castle.