Topic: Games you've recently beat

@stuzster Both Rise and Shadow are just evolutions of the same basic gameplay of the reboot. I will say Shadow does lean a bit more into puzzle/challenge tombs than the other two with a bit less combat. It also has clever independent difficulty sliders for each section of gameplay (combat/exploration/puzzles) so you can cater the game to your tastes. If you like the reboot I would think you would enjoy Shadow. For me the first reboot is probably my fav mainly due to story but I enjoyed all 3.

@BearsEatBeets Interesting question. I don’t tend to play hard mode too often but I think making your character more vulnerable without making enemies almost invincible is important.

It’s not much fun playing a game where you can be killed with one shot but bog standard enemies have health bars that are more like a mini-boss.

@Thrillho It definitely must be a tricky balancing act. I remember from my Witcher 3 deathmarch run that I thought that handled it well. You're certainly more vulnerable to hits but as long as you prepare for battles and fight carefully it always seemed fair. There were a couple of times I got complacent and a few hits killed me quick but it just made me focus more.
I'm personally rarely a fan of only saving at certain points quite far apart, I remember it annoying me a few times in Jedi Fallen Order too.

@Arugula Comment of the week!

@Arugula Yeah, for all my "I love reading Tomb Raider talk!" there's no denying it, you win!

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@BearsEatBeets As somebody who's usually allergic to challenge, I will say that spacing out checkpoints or manual save points (campfires, meditation spots, etc.) is more frustrating than rewarding. I'd prefer a tough game to test my skills, not my ability to keep track of a "to-do" list.

Whilst I hated some sections of them, the Crushing modes in the Uncharted trilogy weren't the worst because they retained the same auto-saving checkpoints, and just made the action tougher.

@BearsEatBeets I would say that Star Wars Jedi has a great hard mode in the sense that I genuinely couldn’t imagine playing a lower difficulty because the game was already too easy. It just adds the challenge you’d expect from a Souls-like.

@LN78 Admittedly, I’m used to a certain level of challenge with these sorts of games so I wouldn’t begrudge anybody who put the difficulty lower but the game‘s combat felt significantly more mindless on a lower difficulty. The high difficulty means you have to actually use the Force, instead of hacking everything to bits.

@nessisonett I'm currently playing it on Story Mode and I'll admit, I'm spending most of my time standing in front of a motionless enemy, waiting for them to attack.

But I struggled to beat two late-game bosses on Jedi Knight, so I'll never put it higher.

@LN78 I get that, the glitches ruined what would have otherwise been a great experience for me. I got the plat in two weeks because I borrowed it from a friend so I did play it a lot and enjoyed it but the combat did feel slightly off at times.

@RogerRoger Some of the bosses were really quite difficult, especially the final boss but I personally liked the challenge that came with it. The big frog near the start was an absolute nightmare too.

@LN78 Nioh was brilliant until I got to the tag team bosses post-game. I do not have the patience for those, I just get wiped. Looking forward to eventually getting Nioh 2 and I really hope we get a port of the old Xbox Ninja Gaiden games on PS5 or even on PC.

I did Rise of the TR on survivor mode, which was pretty easy, but as mentioned, the next step up just removed the checkpoints, which isn't much fun.

I've just made it to the 3rd region on Nioh, and need to take a break. Was getting a bit annoyed with the idea to increase difficulty by putting lots of random holes in the ground, and then having to redo huge swathes of game.

So moved on to God of War on hard mode, and it's a much preferable difficulty for me. It's still hard, especially as I keep pressing Nioh buttons at the moment, but with a good autosave system.

Do folks tend to play through stuff like Nioh in one go, or do you take breaks? Just worry I'll forget all the controls/techniques. I must say I'm enjoying having a plot in God of War too, honestly didn't know what was going on in Nioh.

@phil_j I find that games that need good reflexes etc. I need to play straight through to be honest. I started a playthrough of Dark Souls last year then got distracted by going back to Bloodborne and I think I'll need to start from scratch if I go back to it.

Yeah, I did think that would be the case. Although I'm not sure I find the current levels any harder than the initial ones. I think I get through most of them with luck more than skill.

@phil_j Yeah I agree with @Rudy_Manchego as I find you can lose a lot of memory muscle when playing those games. I had similar thoughts as you with Nioh, did not find the story engaging at all.

Although I did it in co-op (wouldn't want to tackle it alone, it would be hell) finishing Sniper Elite 4 in Authentic mode has given me a fresh appreciation for the game. The level design is probably my favourite thing about it, and that difficulty makes you appreciate it so much more. The story's still guff though.

I beat Silent Hill 2 there. Got the ‘In Water’ ending for the first time and I’d probably say it’s the best ending. I honestly believe it’s the greatest game I’ve ever played, no amount of 60 hour playthroughs or detailed open worlds top what’s essentially 8 tense, thought-provoking hours. I haven’t played a game released in the almost 20 years since it was released that really tackled those themes with the same intensity. It’s a masterpiece in game design and storytelling but most of all, it’s just a treat to play and the controls absolutely hold up. I’m in the minority of people that doesn’t mind tank controls and I think they add to the tension. The soundtrack is brilliant and I’m glad I own the first two games’ OST on vinyl because just a few minutes of sound brings back all those memories of playing the game for the first time. I wish I could go back and play it without knowing the story like the back of my hand, I would recommend anybody that hasn’t played it before to play it as soon as they can, just not the terrible HD port!

@nessisonett I’ve not completed the second game, I really want to but the only opportunity for me to do so is via the HD remake (which is on Now). I wouldn’t say a minority of people like tank controls either, a bit like turn based battles there are plenty of people out there who like em and plenty that don't! But I understand each side, I’m just glad I like both of those things because they are in lots of awesome games 😂

@kyleforrester87 The PC version’s actually considered abandonware so depending on your ethics it’s readily available in the same vein as DOS games but I already owned the PC disc. It’s such a good game that literally anything but the HD version is worth it, the voice changes definitely take away from the experience.

@nessisonett I wouldn’t have an issue picking it up like that but I only have a couple of old Mac computers which I try and use as little as possible. A new gaming PC has been on my mind for a few years now.. one day I’m sure.

@kyleforrester87 Ahh, it’s amazing just how useful even a mid-grade PC can be for gaming, there’s loads of ports that I had no idea about. That’s how I played MGS2 for the first time, instead of the HD version.