What Video Game Are You Currently Playing?

[OniriA]

I'm looking forward to playing RE4 Remake after finishing up a compilation submission and a remix before the end of the year.

 

 

[Daytime Waitress]

On 12/3/2023 at 4:13 PM, scorpion said:

Mortal Kombat II Remix, a MUGEN project but surprisingly accurate MK2 gameplay and fair AI unlike pretty much anything else MUGEN.

 

I recently got put onto this through a random YT video and it was simply delightful. It was just MKII with a bunch of extra stuff and quality-of-life improvements. Things like a move list on pause, and some (U)MK3 gameplay elements without that installment's gutter aesthetics. Always good to see random enthusiasts out here doing what license holders can't be bothered to.

[Lippeth]

On 12/8/2023 at 1:06 PM, OniriA said:

I'm looking forward to playing RE4 Remake after finishing up a compilation submission and a remix before the end of the year.

I finally came back to this and just finished it yesterday, it's really good. I started playing when it first came out but I wasn't really gelling with it and stopped halfway through, likely because I had just played Resident Evil 2 original and Remakes twice each back to back and the original and remake of 3, so it was a combination of burn-out, and honestly I was a little disappointed that the remake of 4 was more directly comparable to the original than the remakes of 2 and 3. Honestly what I think I wanted was a remake of RE4 but with tank controls and a fixed camera. But in the end I got over all that and it not being as "Metroidvania" as the others and just enjoyed it for the linear roller coaster ride that it is. Not to mention that the combat and how it controls with a keyboard and mouse is the highlight of the whole experience.

 

@Lila Feuer@BGreener@Mr Masker I've been stubborn in my refusal to buy Dark Souls Remastered, I even beat the Prepare to Die Edition completely offline about a year ago after finding out they took down the servers. I obviously missed the window for the discount they were offering to owners of the other version, but is the remaster even worth it for someone who will mostly play single player anyway? I use RPCS3's servers to play Demon's Souls online, now I wonder if such a thing exists for Dark Souls on older consoles.

 

Edited January 5 by Lippeth : gelling, not jelling, what a goof

[Mr Masker]

5 hours ago, Lippeth said:

@Lila Feuer@BGreener@Mr Masker I've been stubborn in my refusal to buy Dark Souls Remastered, I even beat the Prepare to Die Edition completely offline about a year ago after finding out they took down the servers. I obviously missed the window for the discount they were offering to owners of the other version, but is the remaster even worth it for someone who will mostly play single player anyway? I use RPCS3's servers to play Demon's Souls online, now I wonder if such a thing exists for Dark Souls on older consoles.

 

I remember the initial release of the Remaster was controversial, but I've been completely fine with it. I've barely even touched Multiplayer yet, and I've been just fine. If you want to play Dark Souls 1, the remaster seems to be not that different.

[Lila Feuer]

@Lippeth They made some things easier from what I've heard, phantoms couldn't use estus to heal when say, invading Lautrec later on if you do his quest line but now you can. There is also no devotion to covenants as you can swap out freely, though that might've been more of an online thing.

 

I returned to the Undead Asylum, something I never did before, and was surprised with some of the encounters I had there, especially the boss. I don't know if this was side content or if it has a bearing on the game later on, but I got a Black Knight Sword which I'm switching to from the Drake Sword. The fucking Capra Demon made me lose my soft humanity of 8 so I'm slowly rebuilding it. Bell Gargoyles are up next proper and then I'm heading to the Depths.

[BGreener]

9 hours ago, Lippeth said:

I've been stubborn in my refusal to buy Dark Souls Remastered, I even beat the Prepare to Die Edition completely offline about a year ago after finding out they took down the servers. I obviously missed the window for the discount they were offering to owners of the other version, but is the remaster even worth it for someone who will mostly play single player anyway? I use RPCS3's servers to play Demon's Souls online, now I wonder if such a thing exists for Dark Souls on older consoles.

 

It's nice being able to play it on PC without all the hoops you had to go through with the Prepare to Die Edition. I myself am very specific and will still prefer PtD for a serious sit-down of a playthrough, but yeah I'd grab the remaster if it goes on sale. If you have some bros that end up wanting to play with, I think it has the buddy password system from Bloodborne.

 

2 hours ago, Lila Feuer said:

Bell Gargoyles are up next proper and then I'm heading to the Depths.

 

With a black knight sword and neatly leveled-up player character?? Those two are in trouble.

 

It always feels nice getting one of those black knight weapons. The 'ultra' variant is one of my favorite video game weapons.

[Lippeth]

2 hours ago, BGreener said:

It's nice being able to play it on PC without all the hoops you had to go through with the Prepare to Die Edition. I myself am very specific and will still prefer PtD for a serious sit-down of a playthrough, but yeah I'd grab the remaster if it goes on sale. If you have some bros that end up wanting to play with, I think it has the buddy password system from Bloodborne.

Honestly I still prefer to play Prepare to Die Edition without the DSfix patch or anything; 720p just reminds me of playing it on console which has that nostalgia factor. During my last playthrough I would occasionally install it and then think "No, I don't know, I kind of prefer it the other way" and revert.

 

4 hours ago, Lila Feuer said:

@Lippeth They made some things easier from what I've heard, phantoms couldn't use estus to heal when say, invading Lautrec later on if you do his quest line but now you can. There is also no devotion to covenants as you can swap out freely, though that might've been more of an online thing.

Yeah it sounds like the focus for the remaster has been the online component, which is cool but I'm probably not their target audience for that anyway. Other than messages I've never done much online in any FromSoft game other than to sate my initial curiosity.

 

6 hours ago, Mr Masker said:

I remember the initial release of the Remaster was controversial, but I've been completely fine with it. I've barely even touched Multiplayer yet, and I've been just fine. If you want to play Dark Souls 1, the remaster seems to be not that different.

Considering I already have Prepare to Die Edition, the remaster being not that different is probably reason enough to hold off.

[BGreener]

2 hours ago, Lippeth said:

Honestly I still prefer to play Prepare to Die Edition without the DSfix patch or anything; 720p just reminds me of playing it on console which has that nostalgia factor. During my last playthrough I would occasionally install it and then think "No, I don't know, I kind of prefer it the other way" and revert.

 

Nice! That’s why I prefer the Prepare to Die edition as well: It’s a better mirror to the overall look I fell in love with on DS1’s initial console release; the slight color choices, the way the lighting looks - all of it.

 

I don’t think I use DSFix for much anymore besides (maybe) anisotropic filtering, the rare occasion I want a higher resolution, and maybe some mods? It was an absolute lifesaver for mouse+keyboard players without a controller to play with, and it was downloadable within hours of the PC release.

 

(Sadly, the nightmare of having to play multiplayer through Games for Windows Live wasn’t fixed as quickly…)

[Lila Feuer]

@BGreener

A +3 BKS against those gargs wasn't a fight it was a slaughter. I'll give them a chance to shine someday, that's the luck of the (weapon) drop. Should be smooth cruising through the Depths at level 35. Only thing that felt OP or spongy was those drakes in the Valley, but the BKS wasn't upgraded yet so hopefully next time they'll notice the 86+ to base damage difference.

 

Not looking forward to that hydra later on in Darkroot Basin, thing is unusually terrifying and fast.

[The BMFG]

Been replaying GTA V since GTA VI is coming out in like a year and a half

[Captain red pants]

Indie game called Blood West. A Weird West FPS with a focus on stealth with lite RPG mechanics and penalties and debuffs on death that sort of give it a Souls Like feel (though not as brutal).

[Rudolph]

12 hours ago, Captain red pants said:

Indie game called Blood West. A Weird West FPS with a focus on stealth with lite RPG mechanics and penalties and debuffs on death that sort of give it a Souls Like feel (though not as brutal).

Oh yeah, I played the demo a couple years ago, I think. I thought it was quite good.

 

I hope the full release is even better!

[BGreener]

@Slipgate Tourist made a post in the "Post your (Other) Game Screens Here" thread and I was like "Hey, that kind of looks like Dusk - wait, oh shit" and realized that Dusk HD came out so I'm playing that. Thanks, Slippy T!

[Jello]

I'm replaying Dusk now that the HD version is out. And while I disagree with giving the Leathernecks red eyes, everything else about the game is still beautiful and wonderful and fragalicious. It still feels like playing Quake and Blood at the same time.

[Daytime Waitress]

Also enjoying Dusk HD: kind of dipping in for a level or two now and then, rather than a full-playthrough, just to see how it looks all glam'd up. Wasn't expecting to like it so much given how I adore Dusk's original aesthetic, but it's surpassed expectations - goaty goat bois look gorgeous!

 

I'm also kind of enjoying being back in Ready or Not, except not really. The squad AI that made me drop the game for the longest time is still mercurial, at times clearing rooms and mopping up evidence to the point where the game plays itself, at other times standing around with dick in hand while you tank shots to the face. Plus suspect AI feels like it's gone backwards from pre-1.0, with even crackheads able to 360 no-scope you from the other side of a darkened room whilst sprinting. And then there's the whole debacle of gating level selection for all game modes behind a new linear story mode progression, after it was free choice for however many years in Early Access. On top of stripping out mission types entirely. I want to like this game - and I do love it when it goes right - but damn if it doesn't make it difficult.

[Lila Feuer]

Well well, where to begin on Dark Souls Remastered? Last time I had completed the Depths, Blighttown and finally Darkroot. The hydra "boss" was honestly really lame, falling into the category of environmental set-piece like the Hellkite Wyvern or Ceaseless Discharge (at least he gets a name on the screen) where there's one optimal way to do it and any other method gets you killed. I almost ventured into the Catacombs next after failing to make progress in New Londo Ruins, but due to learning about the Lordvessel's requirement to even complete Tomb of the Giants I had to pursue the main quest and ventured through Sen's Funhouse and then finally completed Anor Londo.

Internet wasn't lying, Ornstein and Smough are hard, supposedly they're among the toughest not just in DS1 but the entire series, but for me it was a matter of just getting a hit in at all initially and not constantly choking down Estus while hitting nothing. Ornstein had to go first, at least this playthrough, the supped up version of Smough wasn't that bad, I lamed him out with his slowest attack for a hit or two until he eventually faltered, took me like 8 or 9 attempts to get to that point because Ornstein refuses to be ignored during the battle. Power Within helped a lot in cutting down time needed to kill Ornstein. On the other hand, invading Lautrec and his subsequent battle wasn't that bad, didn't have to retry it at all.

Not wasting much time, I'm now inside the Duke's Archives, recently hit level 81 with my Knight, everything else from hereon out is uncharted territory, so that "death" a little ways in scared the shit out of me before putting two and two together that oh yeah, Bloodborne did this later on with imprisoning your character in that game also (I watched Maximilian Dood play through that game). Also been rocking a Greatsword +10, Tower Shield and the Silver Knight set. Also got a Heavy Crossbow +10 for midrange engagements, and Black Bow of Pharis +10 because I like sniping some of the more dangerous or egregious enemies.

E: The poison arrow is positively busted, but it's saved me some grief, like those infamous Silver Knight archers early on in Anor Londo that I remember struggling against last time. Two hits and then watch them die, or browse your phone if you're me. Never before has killing something in a game been so laid back and relaxing!
 

Quote

I love that two measly hits with these can take out knight archers, Channelers, Catacombs mages, and a bunch of other annoyances in this game--all while I sit and drink my coffee

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Lila Feuer

[P_A_Z]

Yesterday i have played the tier one of DUSK HD, but i prefer the original visual with his totally old school aspect. I'm still waiting for the final version on Gloomwood, another game who David Szymanski is working on, i wish it will be released in 2024 as soon as possible.

[MrFroz]

I started a second playthrough of Alien: Isolation, after completing the game the past year. I think I enjoyed it more this time around, although while I still respect it a lot for what it does it's unfortunately too long with not enough variety in regards to gameplay.

[Rudolph]

Just found out about the fan translation to a 1999 Japanese turn-based tactical RPG called Ecsaform.

 

 

[BGreener]

I don't remember if we had a "Steam recap" thread for last year, but it seems appropriate here. These ended up being my "big 3" of 2023:

 

I'm still chipping away at Dusk HD (neat, they just updated the achievements for it!) and modded MechWarrior 5. I'm also curious how @Lila Feuer has been faring in their Dark Souls playthrough.

[Lila Feuer]

Still riding DSR hard, Duke's Archives and Crystal Cave done, Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith done, blew through the Catacombs and believe I'm encroaching on Gravelord Nito in Tomb of the Giants. Very glad I got a Sunlight Maggot for this place in advance. Almost beat Bed of Chaos in first try prior, but died before the final part, wasn't expecting it to still be on the verge of completion in realtime, very unusual for a Souls game I think. Hoping I'll be able to drain New Londo Ruins soon so I can get that Very Large Ember for +15 weapon ascension!

[Herr Dethnout]

I was finally able to play this in October, and since then I'm addicted to it.

Today I was able to buy the Ultimate Edition on steam (only have the base game before) along with Fallout 2. And thanks to Epic gifting 3 I can now play TTW.

Spoiler

 

[Rudolph]

Speaking of which, I read that the Viva New Vegas guide now supports the EGS version!

[Lippeth]

On 12/24/2023 at 10:54 AM, BGreener said:

I don't remember if we had a "Steam recap" thread for last year

Last year it was called "Steam Replay". I was in the middle of editing it and thinking of just starting a new one when it suddenly didn't feel all that worth it. I do that a lot.

I played a lot of XBox Game Pass for PC this year for games like Starfield, Hi-Fi Rush and Forza Horizon 5, as well as Diablo 4 and then a lot of 2, a plethora of emulators, DOSBox and Doom ports, but I still made plenty of room for Steam.

Edited December 25, 2023 by Lippeth

[DrRock]

I bought Chuck's Challenge 3D on the cheap during the steam sale and am liking it a lot. The amount of different objects to interact seems pretty high comapred to most puzzle games and the advertised challenge is certainly there. Since Chip's Challenge is free on Steam, I've downloaded that too.

 

On 9/29/2023 at 8:10 AM, Azuris said:

But who of us was released in a official Magazine?

 

 

https://archive.org/details/SF2002-12

I still have that disc around the house from way back in the day. Screenfun had some very premium full version retail games and plenty of fun freeware games on it's coverdiscs for a couple years. The magazine didn't cost more than 5 bucks at the very most IIRC, so the value certainly was there.

[hybridial]

Well, uh, jeez.

 

I recently bought:

 

Deathloop

Super Mario Bros Wonder

Alan Wake 2

Terminator: Resistance Complete Edition

Crash Bandicoot N-sane Trilogy

Crash Bandicoot 4

Crash Team Racing

Spyro trilogy

 

then add about 12 other games I'm playing like Quake 2 or Turbo Overkill. 

 

I was playing some of the original Crash game earlier. It's ah, little bit hard for me as I'm not great at platformers, but it's neat. 

[Lila Feuer]

On 12/24/2023 at 12:55 PM, Lila Feuer said:

Still riding DSR hard, Duke's Archives and Crystal Cave done, Demon Ruins and Lost Izalith done, blew through the Catacombs and believe I'm encroaching on Gravelord Nito in Tomb of the Giants. Very glad I got a Sunlight Maggot for this place in advance. Almost beat Bed of Chaos in first try prior, but died before the final part, wasn't expecting it to still be on the verge of completion in realtime, very unusual for a Souls game I think. Hoping I'll be able to drain New Londo Ruins soon so I can get that Very Large Ember for +15 weapon ascension!

 

Alright I last took care of Gravelord Nito and thankfully was right on the money to return to New Londo Ruins because a merchant there will give you a key to drain the place when he detects you have the Lordvessel, I could've gone as soon as I got it after Ornstein and Smough but it's fine. My order was Duke's Archives/Crystal Cave, Demon Ruins/Lost Izalith, Catacombs/Tomb of the Giants and then New Londo Ruins. I actually forgot I acquired the Rite of Kindling from killing Pinwheel so my dumb ass was still running around with 10 Estus flasks when I could've had 20!

 

I got my Greatsword (which is technically an ultra greatsword) to +15 which made short work of the Four Kings and have unlocked the way to Kiln of the First Flame, I'm guessing this is the endgame, so wish me luck! Apparently the final boss is easy as cake if you parry them, but I'm using the Tower Shield still. Not sure where you opt into the DLC down the line but I'll be sure to do it last. This was an amazing playthrough and I'm super eager to play again as well as the other Souls games.

[OniriA]

Super immersed in RE4 Remake atm. Enjoying and getting inspired at the same time. 🖤

 

 

[Lila Feuer]

I think it should go without saying but for those new to the first Dark Souls (I didn't make this mistake I just read up on what was next in Kiln of the First Flame) that if you don't want to do the DLC on NG+ don't fight the final boss, because you will be locked into picking an ending. So I'm taking care of loose ends, like the optional boss fight in Anor Londo and ofc the DLC which is tucked away (you have to activate it in Darkroot Basin.)

[OniriA]

18 minutes ago, Lila Feuer said:

So I'm taking care of loose ends, like the optional boss fight in Anor Londo and ofc the DLC

Go get get 'em girl!

 

^{*Watches from a safe distance peeking from a ruin behind you while cheering you on*}