What Video Game Are You Currently Playing?

[SaladBadger]

Well, as per my usual trends of getting into things many, many years after their prime, I started playing DDR lately. Well, to be more fair, I'm playing StepMania...

 

So I was playing Project Diva for a while. Then I hurt my wrist because I'm fucking stupid or something, I don't know, and a friend of mine recommended DDR as a rhythm game to play in the meantime. I had an aging cobalt flux pad in my basement from my siblings. hasn't been plugged in for over 10 years, probably. During our xmas gift exchange, he and some other friends bought me a PC-compatible control box for the pad. Conveniently the pad worked just fine when I hooked it up, and here I am now...

 

I was more pleased than I had any right to learn that DDR A had created official charts for some of the vocaloid trash I play in Project Diva, so at least I had familiar songs to deal with

[jazzmaster9]

Decided to replay some Dark Souls 1 and im reminded of just how great it is. Dark Souls 3 my favorite in the series, but Dark Souls 1's Level design and simplicity in combat is simply magic.

 

It certainly influenced a lot of my work and replaying it again got more creative juices flowing.

[[McD] James]

I started playing The Adventures of Square and I think it's absolutely incredible in every way possible so far. I really like the protagonist a lot as well. 

Edited January 25, 2021 by [McD]James

[loveless]

i've been playing Dead Space, usually 1-2 chapters per night.  I'm pretty close to the end, chapter 9.  this game is sooo fun.  going back and playing singleplayer stuff has been a great time.  once i got heavy into ql duel in 2006, i stopped playing single player stuff entirely(outside a few select jrpg's for yearly replays). 

[Elzatraz]

Doom 2 in GZDoom, currently. I have an extremely guilty pleasure with playing OBLIGE levels in Doom 2 with various gameplay mods. Yes, I know that there are far better wads to play, but sometimes, I really just want to turn off my brain and play Doom in the most basic capacity. Working 45 hours a week in a grocery store drains my brain. 

[Lippeth]

Just played the first bit of The Medium, really cool vibes. Sort of a Resident Evil 2 remake thing going on, the main reason I got it is because I'm a fan of Akira Yamaoka who also did the music for the old Silent Hill games and I like to try out anything with ray tracing. So far I really like the tone and pacing; this is by no means an action game, but it just drips with atmosphere.

 

I thought fixed camera angles were a lost art, so it's great to see a new game use it well.

[BrassKnight]

Killer 7. First time playing it and the controls need some getting used to but I like everything else so far. One thing I don't like is the tutorial, it doesn't have button icons for mouse and keyboard so I just end up just pressing every key I see hoping it would progress the tutorial.

[Kokoro Hane]

I started playing a couple of indie games.

 

One is called "The Struggle of Combat", it's a platformer shooter with simple graphics, but it is so charming and fun! I saw one of my Let's Play friends do a video on it and since it was 50% off, I thought, why not buy it and give it a go?

 

Other one I started is a free RPG Maker horror game with original character art called Mica: Apoptosis. It's really interesting so far, and I just adore the artwork!

 

Earlier today I also loaded up DOOM with the Doom Tournament MOD. Nothing like my two favorite shooters together as one!

[loveless]

finished Dead Space night before last.  i am fucking PUMPED for 2 and 3, lads and lasses.  for now, i'll be playing Deus Ex Human Revolution.  that one's been sitting in my steam library for too long.

[Aaron Blain]

I played about an hour online with a friend last night of Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove. I'd read multiple reviews saying it's too straight of a reimplementation of the original (which would have been fine with me), but those people are crazy. It adds many mechanics (which had me reeling for a while), and is a much more action-packed experience. (So much so that I think I'll go back to the original when I want to truly chillax.)

 

The designers clearly did extensive critical thinking about the gameplay of the original. One of the biggest and best changes is that grinding map squares for xp is no longer the center of gameplay. They invented a great system where you 'query' a number of potentially item-holding receptacles in your radius (bushes, trees, etc.) and when you rifle through a bush to check for presents, there is a significant chance that a hazard or earthling will pop out. So there's a constant risk-benefit analysis you're making as you scour the map. Also, earthlings are vastly more aggressive and dangerous, forcing you to actively flee or hide from them much more, in addition to simply giving them a wide berth as you would in classic TJ&E.

 

It might even be too much stuff, I don't know. I'll have to see how the balance holds up after a few more hours but I'm very pleased with it so far.

[[McD] James]

Been playing a ton of Pauper and Modern for Magic: The Gathering Online. Message me if you're down for a few games.

[Jello]

I've been playing Blasphemous the last few days. I actually bought it shortly after it came out in 2019, put about 10 minutes into it, and put it aside. I had heard good things, and loved the art-style, but after playing it I decided I didn't feel like another grindy "get-gud" overly difficult game, and put it on the side burner. But I promised myself I would get back to it. And there it sat. For two years.

 

The other day I was looking through my Steam list to find something to play, saw it, and figured I'd give it another go. And I completely fell in love with it. After re-starting (and they've done some decent upgrades since the original release) and playing it, I fell in love with it. So much that the first night, I looked at the clock thinking it had been an hour, and it was two and a half hours. I figured I'd stop for the night. Then an hour later I went back and played for another hour.

 

Next day, I played for about four hours, today I've played for around 2. It's been so damn long since I've played a game that I don't get tired of, that I actually have to stop playing because I'm spending too much time on it. 

 

It's probably not a game for everyone, but I haven't enjoyed a Metroid-Vania game this much since SOTN. The pixel art is absolutely exquisite, the dreary atmosphere is absorbing, the feeling of desolation and isolation is palpable. The music is fantastically both oppressive and subdued. The combat, while relatively simple, still feels rewarding. And it's not as "get-gud" brutal as I thought it would be. It punishes mistakes, but it's not overly harsh, you can still regain what you lost without going back to the beginning, and you learn from them, and get better. 

 

So yeah, I'm really enjoying it, and I wish I would've played it sooner. Although I don't know if I would've enjoyed it as much when it came out than I do now with the consistent updates. But it's definitely worth a shot if you're looking for a Metroid-Vania game with a fantastic, albeit depressing, art-style and story.

[ax34]

Doom, Switcheroom 2 wad.

[Cruduxy Pegg]

Finished Bioshock 2 again. Started trying Valheim. I don't really care if a game is in early access, This is like the 10th game I am trying in Early Access and luckily so far I've never had one where the devs bail off and never update like some other games. 

[BrassKnight]

I'm playing Yakuza 4 Remastered right now. I'm at the start of Tanimura's arc and just finished Saejima's arc. I both hate and love Saejima's part, it has some of the best and worst fights in the game. The worst fight for me so far is the Prison Break at Chapter 1, Saito is just a pain in the ass and you have to fight him like three times in this chapter (forced to go easy on this and I'm not ashamed to admit that). Saejima's base moveset also doesn't help at all, you really have to invest your Soul Orbs on Double Finisher early on if you want to have an easier time. Atleast he has a very good quickstep early on.

 

My favorite fights in this part is definitely Kiryu and Majima, they're some of the most memorable and fun fights I had so far (Kiryu is a bit harder because of Tiger Drop and Heat Moves). Minami is also a noteworthy mention, he's a great boss fight too. I like Saejima's story and character, he's pretty cool just like Akiyama.

 

I didn't do too many substories for him unfortunately because he don't have much freedom when it comes to exploration (cops are everywhere and getting spotted is a game over).

[Nekr0s1s]

- The Nameless Mod (Deus Ex TC)

 

i'm nearly done with it. (i went for the PDX route, while helping the Llamas along the way)

 

- Postal 2 (with the 5025x mod)

 

Adds a bunch of cool stuff, new areas, and most importantly it makes everyone go down easier.

 

[vyruss]

[Aaron Blain]

RetroArch netplay!

 

After years of being too intimidated by the number of variables involved, I finally got it going last night thanks in part to a very patient rando on Discord. Got my ass kicked in MKII, played some SNES beatemups and some Smash TV (which, it turns out, is amazing in co op).

 

If anyone reading this wants to come over to the libretro discord, I'd be more than happy to help you set up the details.

[Gokuma]

I can't remember if this game was brought up here before, but it's one of the best Metroidvanias ever.

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/720560/Vigil_The_Longest_Night/

 

It's also on Nintendo Switch, but I hear that version's loadtimes are unbearable and it's crashed a few times.   So I recommend you get the PC or at least wait til you hear the Switch version has been improved.

 

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198137128203/recommended/720560?snr=1_5_9__402

 

[Kokoro Hane]

I started playing Doom 1 again. It's been awhile. Just to remember the maps I set it to ITYTD, and wow, forgot how much backtracking there was at times haha. I play Doom 2 more often I actually forgot how well done the maps are in Doom 1. I plan to do some LPs from start to finish, and then I will set it to UV. 

[[McD] James]

I'm a few hours into Silent Hill 2. I really like the atmosphere, intrigue, and David Lynch inspired direction, but the slow pacing and sluggish combat can be a bit offputting at times (which I understand are entirely by design). I suppose how I ultimately feel about the game will depend on how the story pays off in the end. 

 

I picked up Doom64 on Steam the other day because I regard it as one of the best games ever made and I wanted to finally own a legal copy. I warped immediately to the Lost Levels. The movement in the KEX engine isn't bad, but everything feels slightly off and I prefer the way it plays in Doom64 EX.

Edited February 16, 2021 by [McD]James

[SaladBadger]

I'm playing Descent for the 450872346987th time, but since I've done it so many times, I'm doing something else this time. "Laser starts" on every level. I've done a number of the game's levels with laser starts, but forcing myself to do all of them...

 

It's been very fun so far. Especially in Descent 2, where it actually gives the other weapons a chance to be useful instead of just invariably getting set aside for the Gauss and Helix, on some levels at least.

[Retro Dino]

Assassins Creed Origins. 

[jmac]

I started playing Hylics 2 recently. That game is a trip and a half.

[snapshot]

Destiny 2, liking the new unvaulted strikes, and for some reason all of my equipment is now at a higher power level than how I left it last time, most likely because of that new expansion. Having fun completing the weeklies.

[Stupid Bunny]

I've still gotta beat Dune (the 1992 DOS one) but it's on this ancient ass computer I don't have readily available right now.  But that's ok I have Doom maps and other IRL stuff to work on first

 

The Harkonnens...are ATTACKING us!

[MrDeAD1313]

Just started playing Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller through this project called eXoDOS that I can't get enough of. Gonna be a lot of DOS gaming in the near future for me thanks to it!

[El Juancho]

Quake mission pack 1

[seed]

Tested out the Opposing Force - Google Translate Edition mod, to see how it would go.

 

Oh yes, this will make for a fine let's play :D. Unbelievable to see how much nonsense you can get by translating text to a few different languages with GT, then back to English.

 

It's comedy time.

[yourlocalchef]

Brigador... some good fun strafing an enemy through the houses of suburban neighborhood and then reflecting on the amount of destruction it makes. The absence of care for the environment reminds me of Rampage.