Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@RR529 Unravel is great, and it's so sad that so many have already seem to forgotten it. Good luck on the last bit, which I enjoyed quite a bit.

I'm dividing my time between playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and Ni No Kuni 2 - the latter my preferred option after an exhausting day. I'm currently going for the platinum in that game too, having already beaten the story (the ending was not very strong by the way).

Thinking back about this game I mostly enjoyed its opening hours, which felt a lot more polished than the rest too. After that I have been enjoying the gameplay loop, but more as an enjoyable time waster than as an unforgettable experience. The game is fun and charming, but often it's not a lot more than that.

The fighting system is what keeps me around, though. Fights may often go down the same way, but I keep looking forward to the next one regardless. My best moments with the game have been the procedurally generated mazes. The levels themselves may be ugly and repetitive, but the challenge will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Red Dead Redemption 2 then. Pretty much everything has already been said about the game. It's the complete opposite of Ni No Kuni 2. I don't know if I even like the gameplay loop, but I do love all the stuff around it: the world, the story, the characters, but most of all: the feeling you get when you ride into a town, that feeling you get when you rob a shop, that feeling you get when you ride into nowhere. Really takes you on a journey, doesn't it?

Also: Arthur > John.

Well, this is a fun thread to read through. I always enjoy random impressions from not just certain games.

For me:

Resident Evil 2 (PS4) - I just picked this up from Redbox yesterday and it has had me hooked! I played the demo for it about a week ago and wasn't impressed, at all but the actual retail version is an amazing game. It's crazy because it has so many elements in it that are just right up my alley, for example; the body mutilation system where you can shoot certain parts of the enemies bodies and you can see skin tearing, the bullet hole and exit point; the whole "interconnected-ness" of it all, what I like to call the Dark Souls level design in that there are so many paths but they can lead back somehow, I just love that; and of course the atmosphere... oh, the atmosphere! Just a really fun game. I think I've sunk five hours into it today already!

Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch) - I just got a Switch for Christmas and have sunk 80+ hours into it. It is definitely my favorite game I've played on the Switch so far. I've also just started Bayonetta 2 after completing the first on Switch last week. I haven't played far into Bayonetta 2 yet though.

Then there's the games I continuously play like Dead Cells (Switch) and The Binding of Isaac (Switch).

I plan to start Assassin's Creed: Odyssey at some point in the near future. I recently picked it up on sale at GameStop for $25 new.

@BodamEscapePlan Welcome!

Nice little write up on RE2. And I love games with level design like that too. Dragon’s Dogma was cool for that as I liked that if you ever saw an interesting place on the horizon, you knew you’d end up visiting it at some point.

@BodamEscapePlan I'll second the welcome, and thanks for contributing your thoughts!

@Kidfried, yeah, Unravel has been a very charming and (usually) relaxing time. I'm partway through the final level now, and it's pretty nerve wrecking (I didn't think I'd ever get the lamp up that hill. Luckily the next checkpoint was one you can start at again if you leave the game).

Nier: Automata, it’s been a while since a game pulled me in like this. A little over 10 hours in, playing on normal difficulty and really enjoying my time with the androids.

It’s all about the gameplay for me: fast-paced combat with a great variety of melee and ranged attacks to suit different playstyles, challenging boss fights and some unique genre cross-over sections (I really like the bullet hell bits). 2B controls very smooth and responsive in all her elegance, curious how different the other protagonists will control. Death is punished and that’s just the way it should be, healing on the fly is very easy though. The few times I died I only had myself to blame.

I don’t mind the rather small open world but it really suffers from the huge amount of invisible walls, makes exploration a little less inviting. The camera isn’t always my best friend but I’m pretty much used to it by now. Plenty of side quests, some more interesting than others, I take them as they come naturally but I don’t chase them actively.

It’s too early to comment on the story yet. Interesting things happened and I’m intrigued so very eager to continue. Hope to make some significant progress during the weekend.

@JJ-firl Nier is such a cool game to hear people talk about when playing it for the first time. It gets pretty weird and the second play through is a bit of a chore as you tread so much of the same ground (plus the combat isn't as fun) but it's a great game. Just make sure you save at every opportunity!

Post some thoughts as you go in the thread for the game but avoid potential spoilers..

And beware the mackerel!

Senran Kagura: Estival Versus - Pretty fun hack n' slash title that, while not as involved as something like a Warriors title (in terms of longer term goals such as base capturing in the latter), is a bit more suited for pick up & play sessions knocking out 3-5 missions at a time. The fan service is most definitely over the top, so stupid that I find it more hilarious than anything. It appears that it could have a decent enough narrative to it, though it's buried under lots of fluff.

I may end up pairing it with something else to break up the repetitiveness, but I've been having a good enough time with it so far.

@Thrillho The lack of autosave certainly makes me very conscious about data management. It’s not a bad thing, though. The feeling when you reach an acces point after a tough section is very fulfilling.

Thanks for the heads up about the second playthrough. I’m sure I’ll be able to push through. There is a subtle unsettling, melancholic vibe going on that’s building up very slowly. A dramatic climax is going to be inevitable. I’ll make sure to share my impressions in the game’s thread.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Rise of the Tomb Raider. A few hours into the game now It's actually better than most people make it out to be. Sure, it's more like comfort food than haute cuisine. But it is dang good comfort food.

I love the gameplay mechanics and the great locations so far. Hope it can keep this up!

@Kidfried I’m glad you are enjoying it. It really is a great game. The gameplay is what makes it fun, even though the story, acting, and set pieces doesn’t quite make it to Uncharted level. But it kinda drags in a few areas. Shadow of the Tomb Raider (imo) improves in the story presentation area and the locales are better (I prefer the jungles to the winter snowy settings) and most importantly is better with the exploration of crypts and puzzle tombs, which Rise had gotten away from in favor of the extra enemy combat, hunting, and climbing. I just enjoy all the Tomb Raiders but I like more exploring and raiding tombs over fighting human enemies.

@Kidfried Yaaaaay!

Love your description. From what I interpret it to mean, I think you're right, it feels "safe" to play in many ways, very easy to pick up and run around in, never causing you to stop and think "Which button do I press for this again?" And yeah, @Th3solution is accurate when he says that the puzzle-to-combat ratio is still a little wonky in Rise, but it's better than it was in 2013 and it's vastly improved for Shadow, so you'll hopefully start to see the shift. There will be a couple slow moments, but I'm sure you'll weather them.

Hope you continue to enjoy!

Playing the the Resi Evil 7 DLC after I finished the main game over the weekend. Started off with the Banned Footage tapes, it's been a little hit and miss so far. The first one Nightmare has you facing off against hordes of enemies, you have to collect scrap to craft your ammo, weapons, health etc. Not normally the greatest fan of horde modes, but this was quite fun. I didn't last thst long lol, the longer you last the higher you score, which unlocks more starting scrap and better starting equipment to craft. I will probs have another go at this before I'm done with the game .

The second, Bedroom has you locked up in a bedroom. You have to solve a series of puzzles to escape. Each time you solve a part of the puzzle, an alarm will trigger and you have a brief period of time to put everything back before your captor comes back. I quite liked this one as you gain hints or a something to help you solve the next part of the puzzle each time you solve the last part.

The third 21, is a sadistic version of the card game. Now obviously its down to luck of the cards but it does mix things up. It is pretty gruesome what happens and I found some it a bit difficult to watch. But I found it brilliant that I got that kind of a reaction, and is probably what they set out to do.

The last banned footage tape is Daughters and is set before the events of the main game just as it is about to turn a bit pear shaped. I wasn't too fussed on this as just seemed to be a retread of the first section the main game, but with a different playable character and the house not so FUBAR. I may play this again to see what happens story wise, but I not sure if I'm that bothered.

I think there are four other sections of DLC which I think is quite substantial something like this.

Playing Rise of Tomb Raider like now. And I like it, most of it.

It's just great to play something simple. Go from a to b, don't get killed. For me a game doesn't need to be more than that. And Tomb Raider is at its best when it's aware it needs to be nothing more than an action flick for gaming.

One of the things that hold it back from being really good is sound design. Maybe this is something trivial only I care about, so I wonder if anyone else noticed this.

Often the mixing is strange, with dialogue being too quiet to hear at one moment, and the next moment Lara is screaming so loud it makes me want to put it all on mute.

Then there's the sound effects. Gunshots don't sound like they make impact, things that are close might sound like they're far away and vice versa.

Me noticing this might all just be the result of having played Red Dead 2 so much in the last few years. That game is a masterclass in sound design.

Anyway, I digress, and can't wait to play me some more TR tonight and tomorrow morning.

@Kidfried I've noticed that in a few games, during normal gameplay you can hardly hear the characters speaking cos the music and sounds effects, and then in cut scenes you can hear them fine. I did think it was my audio setup, but it was the same when I've played the same games over my parents. I hate doing it as I feel it breaks immersion, but that is when i have to put subtitles on.

@Kidfried I've noticed the same before in many games, but never Tomb Raider. Sorry to hear (pun semi-intended) that it's happening to you with Rise. Often if I play something with headphones on, it's fine but then through my TV's soundbar things like dialogue are drowned out (but then, if given the option, I always fiddle with individual levels to prioritise music, then speech, and then lower SFX, and usually have to fiddle again when taking off the headphones). Are you playing with headphones, or through speakers?

Otherwise I love your opening comment about Rise, and completely agree. Hope the audio isn't too distracting and that you continue to enjoy!

@RogerRoger Maybe Tomb Raider was made with headphones in mind then? As I play with speakers.

In some games you are given the option between headphones/small stereo/large stereo/home cinema, which I think is the best way to go around it for any game.

Just raising speech level makes Lara too loud in some other scenes, so I stopped tweaking those settings. I just have subtitles on, which I have no problem with by the way, but I can be a bit of a sound design snob sometimes.

Also, I think I read somewhere @Octane is playing the reboot of the first one. I remember the gyro aim, the touchpad gestures and all of it, but sadly they didn't include it in this one, unfortunately.

Aside from that, I really enjoy this game's controls. They have chosen for responsive controls in favor of realistic animation, which is a relief after playing Read Dead.

@Kidfried I didn't want to ask if all those features were present in other installments, because I was afraid the answer would be 'no'. I guess I was right. That's a shame.

@Kidfried It's a shame you can't find a setting which doesn't suit your speakers, but if you don't mind playing with subtitles (something I personally can't stand) then I guess it isn't the worst crime. I know what you mean, though, I usually love games for the different sound mix options, especially when they auto-detect what you're using each session. Hopefully it'll become the standard (although worryingly, I've noticed a new trend in some games where there are barely any audio options at all, like Star Wars: Battlefront II which simply has "music on / off").

And yeah, I much prefer the ability to fling Lara around like a gazelle over what could've been a "four seconds to mount a ladder" approach. Whilst I agree that the little tweaks from TR13 were neat, I personally don't miss them, but can appreciate it when folks do (in other words, sorry @Octane but I'm glad you're enjoying the reboot otherwise!).

After playing the Devil May Cry V demo, it's gone from a game that I knew nothing about to a game that I'm quite interested in.