Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 563

Since my friend bought PS5 Pro and the only game he has in digital is BF 2042 i'll be playing that

On the Pro Star Wars Outlaws and finishing Silent Hill 2. On Game Pass Persona 3 Reload halfway through September

I am getting close to finishing Rise of Ronin's story and I might even go on to get the Platinum

Then I'll be doing some more Borderlands 3 DLC stuff with chums!

This weekend I’m playing the first Stalker game (Shadow of Chernobyl) on the PS5. Stalker 2 was my first entry into this series, and experiencing the first one is somewhat surreal. There are locations you traverse — inside of buildings and out — that I know like the back of my hand because of the second game. It’s a cool dichotomy.

Moreover, I find the first one a lot more forgivable than Stalker 2. It isn’t as difficult as others have made it out to be, but that may be due to my familiarity with the second game. With that said, the console versions are clearly optimized for PC. There is also obvious euro-jank — archaic game design and mechanics — but it lends to the overall charm.

One thing I love is the dialogue system. It’s all text based. And there is a lot of conversation to sift through, but it provides fantastic world building and character development. It has RPG-lite mechanics that have significant payoff if you invest time into it.

I’m not sure how far I am into the game. I’ve put in 20 hours and completed many side quests and story missions. I would really love to get the platinum trophy; it’d be a great accomplishment personally.

Doing the epilogue on Breakpoint which I’m kind of enjoying it still but Gear Level is starting to grate.

Need 8 more jokers on Balatro for the set.

Recently beat the ceiling boss in the hospital on SH2 so looking forward going back to that fantastic game.

All this with the FA cup and takeaway tonight it’s gonna be a cracking weekend 🤞
Enjoy your gaming weekend everyone!

Nothing’s really grabbing me at the moment so I’ll keep up my addiction to Hunt Showdown. Having been a gamer for 30 years, it’s up there as one of my all time favourites

Small Soldiers PS1 game ^__^

Mass Effect Legendary Edition . i only ever played and finished the third game a very long time ago, so now im playing the first two & love it; this series is amazing. i havent been this invested in a single player RPG in a long time & cant wait to play 3 again too.

Marvel Rivals for me. New season is good so far and Invisible Woman has got me into playing support for once.

Yet another playthrough of Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Directors Cut trying to get the Foxiest of Hounds trophy to pop… third times a charm right 🤞

Still Cyberpunk 2077. This has become my favourite game of all time. In the words of Jackie Welles, "Can't stop digging Night City."

@Kraven might be worth waiting to start the original Stalker trilogy, they’re due a next gen patch this quarter.

I am continuing my play through of Space Marine 2, great brainless game but maybe not quite as good as I had hoped and loading time between missions (on a Pro) are horrendous. Awesome finishers though!

Happy gaming folks

My 1st weekend after vacation, that consisted in travels, almost no playtime. So, I'm still catching up. I'm thinking about playing Star Wars Outlaws, Yakuza 5, those ones for sure as I must make steady progress on them. If the time permits, I will slot Borderlands 3 or Assassin's Creed Mirage. Stay safe folks!!!

Just wrapped up Life Is Strange 2!

Despite some issues with the writing here and there this game really resonated with me, more so than the first one I think. I really appreciate that dontnod tried something completely different and fresh instead of doing...whatever the hell deck nine is doing 😂.

But I can't say I blame deck nine either. It's no secret that the life is strange fanbase is rabid and can only consider a life is strange game as a life is strange game if it ticks super specific boxes.

I really really enjoyed my time with this game. Definitely something I'll be thinking about for a while

Infinity Nikki: daily stuff for Eureka's
Lego The Incredibles: wishing i could skip the cut scenes.
Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3 Fortune: playing in anticipation of Prism in March

@freddquadros how do i make things bold? I tried ** before and after words but doesnt work

On PS5 I'm playing DA Veilguard about 35 hours in and I'm enjoying it more than i thought i would I've also started Visions of Mana and playing a bit of FC 25. On Xbox still playing Black Ops 6 and need to get back to Indiana jones.

I am currently going through the Uncharted series to acquire all the platinums. Which when done, will make Uncharted 4 my 75th platinum. Happy Gaming All.

I bought Robocop in the sale and Im in the final mission. Good game but I wish you could turn off his footstep sounds.

Maybe collecting some more bots in Astrobot.

Some more Arma Reforger.

Have a good weekend.

WH40K BoltGun. And of course Balatro, Vampire Survivors or Power Wash...

I’ve decided to give AC mirage another run. I bounced off when it first came out, as I wasn’t the biggest fan of Basim. I’m trying to plod through it whilst waiting for Shadows to hopefully come out in March (fingers crossed). I’ll also be running my dallies in Infinity Nikki.

@code45709 You just put the words between asterisks, really. They must be glued to the word, no space between the * and the word. example

I´ll continue playing Tomb Raider DE on ps5. and really thinking to finally start Stellar Blade but let´s see.

On my old laptop I also tried Balatro, but to be honest do not see what´s the hype about - definitely not something I will spend much time with.

Have a nice weekend and happy gaming, everyone!

Playing a weird mixture of things at the moment. Im having fun with Maneater on the Pro which seems to fix all the framerate issues (actually looks great!), and dabbling with a replay of The Witness. I got tired of trying to beat the main and DLC final bosses in Blasphemous 2, so ive also restarted Guacamelee 2 which is super fun.

Have a great weekend folks!

I definitely managed to avoid Spider-Man 2 last weekend for the umpteenth weekend in a row. That’s all changed now and I’m locked in. I hammered through a good few sections last night and now I’m actually enjoying myself finally.

Happy gaming all, have a boss weekend 👍

Sypro 2 reignited and Last of Us part 2 remastered on Grounded!

Hidden Deep, it's a very dark cave exploring game where you die gruesomely every few minutes.

Managed to get quite a bit of game time since last week 😊

Jusant - Finished it, what an epic journey. Really enjoyed it, so much so I got the platinum.

Cocoon - Got reminded in EGs game of 2024 list that I had started but for some reason not finished EGs GOTY for 2023. Really cool game, it did fry my brain with some of the puzzles so I had to use a guide at some points. Very clever and very good game 😊

Spider-man 2 - Doing a ng+ and Im enjoying it, amazing (😊) game. Some of the main missions are just superb. Playing it on fidelity pro 40 fps and it looks so, so good. Usually prefer 60 fps but finally having a TV supporting this mode makes it my new favorite, perfect mix between quality and performance.

The Stanley parable - Fun little game, nice dry humour. Need to get the platinum for this, its an interesting list but that one trophy that requires you to play for a full Tuesday is going to be a bitch however its done 😅

Star Wars: Tales from the galaxys edge VR - its “free” on plus, might as well play it. Just an hour or two in, its mediocre so far but shooting lasers if still fun and its Star Wars so I´ll play some more 😊

Bought LOTR: Return to Moria in the sale for a tenner, and ive been absolutely hooked on it!

Dragons dogma 2 for me this weekend although my mates popping round this evening so the steering wheels out and it'll be a wrc evening no doubt...have a great weekend everybody 👍

@freddquadros thanks appreciate that. I was using two ** either side🤦‍♂️👍

Silent Hill 2. All I can say is wow. It's a masterpiece.

Fallout 4. I'm taking a more freeform approach to it this time, just going wherever I like rather than doing quests. I've been following the remains of the railway and just seeing what I find. Enjoying it immensly.

I'll no doubt play some Dark Souls II as well, and watch some FA Cup football.

Halo infinite, Madden 25, Astros Playroom

Playing Valkyrie Chronicles on PS4 for the first time despite owning the PS3 version which I never got round to playing.

@colonelkilgore
I didn’t know there was a Stalker trilogy patch inbound which is nice especially as it is on my to buy list.
As for Deus Ex. Very annoying when there isn’t any stat provided to show whether you have voided a trophy or not. Crazy how basic and easy to provide information is absent.

130 saved hours later, I finished Metaphor yesterday. Imo, it was a perfect ending to a damn-near perfect game. I consider it Atlus' best game thus far. 👏🏼

Knowing I was nearing the end, I ordered Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on Amazon. What's going on with Amazon?! Back in October I ordered a keyboard & it took them a month to ship it. Now the site's saying the same thing for this order. I understand that since I don't have Prime & use the free shipping option, they're going to intentionally delay sending it out, but in the 20 years I've been using them, it was normally a week, week & a half delay (which I'm fine with) - this month or better BS is just that. SMH.

@CaptD ikr… my biggest problem is though is that I’ve been so careful and read so much info… I’m actually paranoid my whole game is actually glitched.

I’ve achieved ‘Smooth Operator’ on every mission (the only way you can somewhat track it… albeit not a guarantee) and not even knocked out any enemies, so none would be found/seen by patrols/cameras after the ‘Smooth Operator’ is earned.

The only thing I’m seeing different on my game to the various guides I’ve researched is that a couple of bots are automatically ‘suspicious’ in the dlc (packaged in with Director’s Cut but not ‘suspicious’ on the vids I’ve watched. I’ve dug deeper into research and apparently the ‘suspicious’ state shouldn’t void the trophy but it’s the only thing that sticks out at this point.

Continuing my run of Metal Gear Solid : The Twin Snakes, bit of Alan Wake 2 and doing the odd rampage on Cyberpunk 2077 - which is becoming one of my all time favourite games.

Lost Judgment. I’m on a RGG high.

@colonelkilgore I tried this one in Mankind Divided and failed too, and can't say where it happened. Very hard indeed.

I will continue playing one of the best video games ever made in the excellent bioshock infinite.booker DeWitt and Elizabeth are one of the best duo's ever.excellent gameplay.story.soundtract graphics.boss fights.i will also continue playing one of the best jrpgs ever made in the incredible Dragon quest 11 echoes of elusive age definitive edition.the luminary Gregory is what i called him.best name ever. is a n.i.c.e protagonist.the gameplay is incredible.the graphics.the story.the soundtrack.the boss fights is incredible.i will also continue playing the excellent retro classic onimusha warlords.samanosuke akechi is a legendary protagonist.excellent gameplay.boss fights.story.graphics.soundtracks.i will also be playing one of the best video games ever made in the phenomenal divinity 2 original sin enhanced edition.the gameplay.the graphics.the story.the boss fights. soundtract.is phenomenal.and i will play the awsome hit detroit becoming human.awsome graphics.story.gameplay.soundtrack.boss fights.i will watch my Pittsburgh Steelers 💛🖤 play in the playoffs.i will watch my boston Celtics 💚🖤 play.i will watch legendary sitcoms tv 📺 comedy shows in family matters.good times.the Jeffersons.sanford and son and saved by the bell.word up son

@colonelkilgore what a fantastic game, an all time great in my opinion.

@freddquadros I actually got it first time on Mankind Divided as it goes… wasn’t at all confident until it popped though tbh.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess and Iron Meat!

Completed Metroid Prime 2 during the week. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but have to say that at times the game is appallingly bad at communicating what it expects of you (a few of the bosses I had to look up what I was supposed to be doing to beat them, as the scan info was cryptic to misleading...).

Now I've finished MP2 for the time being, it's full steam ahead with Trails in the Sky the first. It's fair to say I'm already totally engrossed in the charming world and story. It's daunting but exciting knowing there are so many Trails games ahead of me.

Happy gaming all.

Metaphor ReFantazio continues to impress. Also fired up Need For Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered. Happy gaming!

Finished:

• Max Payne 3 / PS3
  This game still plays and looks amazing. But one thing that i wish they have in the option is to turn off that flashy/shaded sfx in cutscenes. My eyes never get used to it.

Playing:

• SF 6
• Okami HD
  Right now i'm at Moon Cave with 10+ hours playing time. I'm a bit surprised that this game not yet show any sign of near the end.

Have a good weekend everyone 🍻

I'm trying to finish Skydance's Behemoth. I love it.

As Indiana Jones is all wrapped up, I find myself playing...

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Where I will probably be fighting hoards of bandits in the dark

and maybe helping Hans to delight the butcher's daughter with his own... lordly sausage. Ahem.

After getting the Platinum for Stellar Blade I finally started Hogwarts Legacy. Not too much time yet (just got to the dorm after the sorting ceremony) but so far I like it, going for this Platinum as well.

I'm shooting guys in the d!ck on Robocop Rogue City. Fun game and definitely worth keeping an keep on for a sale

Playing Rise of the Ronin which I'm enjoying and GT7(they weren't lying when they said it's one of the best games on the PS5 Pro.

@Blauwe_Chimay I'm early enough into it but I'm really enjoying too.

My TV’s decided that it no longer wanted to live so I upgraded to a 55 inch 120 Hz VRR enabled television, so I’ll be playing the most graphically intensive new ps5 release that I possibly can, Ys the oath of falghana!

Also sims 4 on lappytop and Luigi’s mansion 2 on switch.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Despite the incredible mixed review scores and lackluster sales, I'm actually highly enjoying the game after the first couple of hours. The series continues to do really well with making the characters seem very real.

Dragon age origins

Playing persona 4 and abit of suicide squad

Outer Worlds: Spacers Choice Edition for me!!

I beat it on PS4 back when it first came out.. the newer version is locked and loaded.. gotta refresh and get ready for Outer Worlds 2!!!

I love RPGs, and I love Atlus. I've been trying for three days to finish the Metaphor demo (the full game is sitting on my shelf, still in plastic) and it's just not grabbing me. Persona 5 didn't grab me at first either, and now I have over 300 hours in Royal - so maybe this is just a slow start. I am going to finish the demo for Fantasian - that one did grab me, and I'm looking forward to diving back in.

This morning is going to be shoveling snow, burning trash, and perhaps grocery shopping. NFL playoffs start today, so I imagine there will be lots of football watching.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

Dead Space on Series X and Horizon: Call of the Mountain on PS VR2.

Been on a little history fix which led me to Red Dead Redemption, which imo is superior to the sequel. The 60 fps is fantastic and I haven’t played it since its original release so I’m having an amazing time.

@colonelkilgore Oh, dang. I didn’t realize they were going to do a next-gen patch. I’m not sure how I missed that news. At any rate, I might as well finish the first one since I’m practically done anyway. I’ll wait for the other games after.

For the PS5 Fantasian, MH Rise, Cult of the Lamb, SH2 Remake and possibly start BG&E 20th Anniversary Edition.
ESO, Spyro and Tunic for PS4.
Hoping to do build so more of my Lego set of Bumblebee and do a bit more reorganising and tidying

Monster Jam Showdown
Tri - Breaker
Pes 21 (with 24/25 season option file)

I haven’t had much time to get on the PS5 as of late but I will this weekend. Lollipop Chainsaw and Sonic and Shadow Generations.

Finishing up Alan Wake 2. What a fantastic game so far, very pleased with it. My only gripe is Saga’s horrific, god awful voice acting. She slurs her lines, leaves off word endings, can’t decide whether she wants to do a British or American English accent, or simply mispronounces words. It is the worst voice acting I have ever heard, essentially on par with “Oh hi Mark!” and “You’re tearing me apart!”. I honestly don’t know how they listened to this woman for more than 10 seconds after she opened her mouth at the audition. It is un-freaking-believable how awful her voice acting is; I cannot overstate it.

Anyway, I have zero issues with the rest of the game in its entirety, it’s been nothing but an epic tour de force of great gameplay, witty writing, eerie atmosphere, mind blowing graphics and a terrifying soundscape. I highly recommend it; just be sure to enable captions so you can mute the game whenever Saga opens her face hole.

@playstation1995 BioShock infinite is superb. The story is the perfect way to tie the series together.

Edited it as not 100% sure if you are replaying it or playing for the first time and don't wanna risk a spoiler lol

@Balaam_ I didn't think she was bad in it to be fair

Finally wrapping up Metaphor. Great game but could we stop having 3 endings before the actual ending?

Beyond that I may move into Silent Hill 2 and something with a shooter spin to it. Thinking The Ascent looks real appealing on Premium.

Both for the first time...Death Stranding (PS5) and Persona 4 Golden (PC)

Just finished my first playthrough of Black Myth Wukong so I'm diving into NG+. When I'm not doing that I'll be playing some COD: BO6 MP. Hope everyone has a good time with whatever they're playing this weekend - stay away from rage quitting! LOLOLOL

@Kraven I got stuck being insufficiently equipped for the final area. Frustratingly draining on anti-rad and tough armoured enemies. I think I'm enjoying the third entry (Call of Pripyat) more but prefer the colder look of the first. Shadow has that PS2 era warm bloom effect. The PSN store was glitched on its shadow drop and gave all 3 tites for the price of 1!!

Demeo and Alien Rogue Incursion.

Continuing the Hard mode run of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on the 30th Pro, probably with a little bit of Stellar Blade or Persona 4 Golden on the Steam Deck Oled in there.

@Bkzgr8ezt yeah I keep meaning to jump back in but worried it'll not live up the the nostalgia of playing it back on PS3. I also feel like it'll go to ps+ extra as soon as I purchase it, haha.

@rusty82. Bioshock infinite is such a excellent game.i enjoy all the bioshock games.word up son

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous on PS5 and Suikoden V on my retro device. 🎮

Platinum’s Jedi: Survivor and I’m not back on Ragnarok to finish that. Also, ESO, naturally…

Not entirely sure what I'll play this weekend. Probably play Monster Hunter World, or maybe start Lords of the Fallen.

Currently, almost done with a SH2 Remake play through on the PS5 Pro - all collectibles walkthrough. Then, Until Dawn remake. Also, just picked up an oldie - Indigo Prophecy. Indy on the Series X.

Still going through Dragon Age: Veilguard, the story started slow but I'm into the good bits now.

I love how these games sway me into opinions I didn't start out with. I was very sympathetic to Solas in Inquisition, yet as I've played through, I've come to realise my Rook feels totally different

Getting back into HZD Remastered I had forgotten how good it can look. Probably won't play much else, busy weekend.

Enjoy folks!

Diablo 4. Long campaign! Really having fun with it. Interspersing some WRC 9 and COD BLOPS Cold War multiplayer in there for the twitching (it was free on PS Plus). COD fun so far, but what’s with installing the game, and then having to install multiple texture packs?! Then I go back into the game, and campaign hasn’t been installed…and it’s like 200 gigs?! Thank god I have a 2 TB SSD installed in my PS5!

Sword and Fairy Together Forever

Sonic X Shadow Generations on the Switch. Tekken 8 on the PS5.

My single player game is Eiyuden Chronicles hundred heroes which is really good so far.

Also playing co-op, mopping up some trophies on grounded before moving on to raft. Really look forward to it.

Hitman: World of Assasaination

A couple of remakes — I’m still running through FF7 Crisis Core and then have now started up Resident Evil 4.

Both have been quite good so far. I never played the original Crisis Core so I have no reference of comparison, but RE4 Remake is so much better than the original, so far. I’m just in Chapter 2 though.

I finally started Cyberpunk over Christmas and I am HOOKED. Just met Mr Elba in Phantom Liberty and plan to play as much as possible of it this weekend!

Still playing Star Wars on PS5 pro, along with Rock Band 4 and Gotham Knights. All surprisingly good times!
Series X has been in rest mode since I found out Indiana Jones makes me ill, but I'm really hopeful for Avowed soon, and I've deleted my previous Forza Horizon 4 saves ready to play through that title again - it's the king of carpg titles for me and worth multiple replays.

Whatever you are playing this weekend, I hope you have fun!

I actually have quite a few PS4 games I've never played so I'm trying to do that.
Already finished Spirit of Sanada.
Then all was put on pause for Metaphor ReFantazio which was great, and now back to PS4 with a little Atelier Rorona and Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise.

I kiiiinda wanna give the 2018 God of War a second chance but I was planning on playing it in Japanese and found out that's only possible with the Japanese version of the game, so I'm not sure. I have no interest of playing it in English or my own language. Might not play it after all.

I also dusted off my PS2 to play some classic Dynasty Warriors with Origins around the corner.

Well done Aaron! I think, I'm on 8 or 9 for the original TLoU, spread out across all versions. No matter how many times I play it, the emotional impact of the story and my love for the characters never dim.

Getting my ass handed to me by black myth wukong!

Cyberpunk 2077 for the first time.

Sifu, Super Mario 64, Clone Drone, DA:Veilguard, Tetris Effect and Mega Man 2.

Plugging away at Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on Switch, which is pretty fantastic, and then this evening back to Wukong which is SO GOOD

Stellar Blade for me. Was always on the fence about it but glad I picked it up, having a blast with it.

Life is strange remastered

Yesterday I beat and Platinumed the fantastic game The Sexy Brutale

Today I begin my first ever Castlevania game (played the first on GBC but never understood it to get past 3-4 screens) with Symphony of the Night (A GOAT title for a game honestly).

@grimwillows I’m like 20 missions in and this game is still awesome, if you ever get to it you will not be disappointed.

Diablo 3 Alllllllll weekend

Nioh 1 remastered
Boderlands 3

Finished Last of Us Part 2 last night and I'm torn over it. On the one hand it feels great to play and the quality of life improvements over Part 1 are appreciated, but on the other hand that story is about twice as long as it needed to be.

Undecided as to what I'll start tonight... Maybe Neva. Maybe.

I'm halfway through Hogwarts Legacy. Performance mode (uncapped frame rate) looks and performs great on PS5 Pro, FWIW.

Warhammer 40k Darktide has got its hooks in me. It's such mindless fun and a glorious bloody mess. Never played any of these games until Space Marine 2 and now I'm hooked. Also just picked up Bright Memory Infinite which is very short I understand but the gameplay is incredible.

Microsoft Wordament (Android) - Adventure mode and Dailies as usual.

Gravity Guy (Windows Phone) - I'm still enjoying this here and there.

iStunt 2 (Windows Phone) - I'm finally at the end! Can soon delete and move onto the next WP game.

@GuttyYZ it is a fantastic game mate… and although I am feeling a little frustrated with my lack of success for the Foxiest of Hounds trophy, my multiple playthroughs are making me appreciate it all the more. So sad that we’ll never get a conclusion to the Adam Jensen arc.

Probably I’ll be of the minority, but I’ll say it anyway.
I’m playing nothing this week end.

After platinuming LAD:IW, I took a break from RPGs and played through Secret Agent Clank, enjoyed it so much I went for the plat. Played a bit of power wash simulator.
Put Judgement in the Pro and have been hooked since. Great to experience Kamurocho as a different character.

I'm disgusted with myself but I've started a new game of Skyrim again.

You know what? Don't you judge me, it's broken but I love it.

FFXII. It's not nearly as intimidating as I remember, but I am also not a completionist kinda guy anymore, and I'm more open to different combat styles. I'm also much more about atmosphere these days. I'm a sucker for all things Ivalice (OG FFT being one of my favorites of all time), and this game let's me run around and explore it. Great music and sound. I'm going to go play it w some headphones on.
Hope everyone had a great weekend.

It got foggy so I played Silent Hill 2. The Hospital 🥵 Like a hell am also wrapping up Wo Long

Played Wukong for the past couple weeks and this just falls apart entirely towards the end. Chapter 5 was already VERY hit or miss in its level and boss design and 6 is just plain bad so far (found and beat four bosses atm) and a friend told me it doesn't get better in the final battles.

Really shoddy pacing, overall. It takes until the end of chapter 2 before the combat starts getting fun, chapter 3 and 4 were a lot of fun, 5 is suddenly a fourth of the length with some really lame optional bosses and..like I said, the final chapter is just tedious so far. I get why they called that one "unfinished" 😅

I do not understand how this was nominated for game of the year, I'll be real. It's a solid, fun game at its core but you have to work for it to be fun and by the time you have all the good tools in your arsenal the quality takes a steep nosedive. I just fired up SMTVV for now to get my mind off it for a little but if I end up not enjoying the remaining bosses I might honestly just drop the game 60 hours in

@Steeleye50 I really dug Bright Memory Infinite for as short as it was. Had some cool ideas and ultimately is a joy if you get it for a few bucks to kill a few hours.

I tried to play Dragon Age Veilguard but that game just sucks. Played some Space Marine 2 and just bought Baldur's Gate 3

I'm playing "the evil within". It's the best game I've played in a long time. I bought it on PSN ages ago for €5 and I'm only playing it now. What a game.

Playing lots on the PS3, was finishing Last of us on survivor+ and started Uncharted 3.

Last of us is still amazing in almost every way. Uncharted 3 not so much, I am only at Chapter 6, the fighting animations in the bar were terrible and the shooting feels devolved compared to Uncharted 2. Shooting in any Uncharted never felt quite good. Over time I will get used to it, I think.

Also playing Mafia 2 on PS3, I enjoy the old PS3 games in general.

Playing Last of us made me also rewatch the first season of the series, very enjoyable to watch.

Silent Hill 2 Remake wound up being a supreme disappointment. I fell for the positive reception at launch and got burned big time when I actually got around to playing it.
But at the very least it got me to play the original Silent Hill 2 for the first time, and that game is indeed a masterpiece.
So as a palette cleanser I've been playing Resident Evil 2 and will play RE2R afterwards to compare, since I have a pretty high opinion of both.
Also dipped my toes into Kingdom Come: Deliverance and it did a pretty quick job of sucking me in. I'll probably be playing that game for months to come.

Mostly been playing Thank Goodness Your Here, never played anything like it. Play it if you haven't already. Also a bit of Infinite wealth and Banishers. Monday is looming now so time to switch off and get an early night.

@Kingy what didn't you like about sh remake? Haven't bought it yet but plan to, haven't heard much negativity so interested in your take particularly as a fan of the original as I am

@Deljo id like to know too. I'm playing it too and I think it's an absolute masterpiece and can't put it down

Infinity Nikki

I have weekend work, and I love to come home had relax to this amazing cozy game.

Well here we go with another awesome WAYP. The week was some new games and some of the GOTY hunt again. Trails Through Daybreak, Emio and Metaphor with some Mario and Luigi and WWE2K24. Got to start that Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Honestly it’s a little disappointing story wise being so bare bones but the artstyle is just so charming it makes me wanna play more and more and more. Most of the weekend was spent with Yakuza Kiwami and Spy X Anya Operation Memories. Yakuza Kiwami is honestly just a good comfort game especially on the switch now and I love doing small side stuff and the Majima Everywhere system. And with Spy X Anya it’s a game that honestly may not have reviewed too well but is just cute as a button it’s genuine Spy X Family goodness from top to bottom I love it. It’s not the best I’ll admit but I love it. Rest of the weekend I’m thinking is gonna be some Trails Through Daybreak as like Alana I wanna destroy it before the sequel comes out. As well as maybe some Marvel Rivals or YS Memoire The Oath in Felghana or even maybe some of the story mode not the showcase mode of WWE2K24. Maybe even some Fantasian Neo Dimension. Lots to play but no idea what to pick ahahaha. Otherwise I’m thinking this week is mostly gonna consist of some Trails Through Daybreak, Emio, Dawntrail, Metaphor, YS, Mario and Luigi Brothership, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake and WWE 2K24. Try to start Wuthering Waves too. Preordered Tales of Graces F Remastered, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Dynasty Warriors Origins, Trails Through Daybreak 2, Like a Dragon Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and Monster Hunter Wilds. Very excited to pick up all of those. And I did some trades and got money for the first battle pass of Marvel Rivals, Spy X Anya, and YS. The wrestling thing this week being more of WWE on Netflix. This first week of it was basically just oh look how cool we are. So hopefully this second week is much more yeah storylines and of course the debut of Penta. Anime of the week gotta go to Dragon Ball Daima and Shangri La Frontier and Yakuza Fiancé and Ron Kaminohashis Forbidden Deductions and Ranma 1/2. Finished off Ranma and it’s a really cute show really solid one of my favorites easy. Now we gotta focus on the picks for Winter dunno what we’ll do with those. Podcasts of this week gotta go to Castle Superbeast, Big Think Dimension, Into The Aether, RPGsites Tetracast, Minnmax, Jeff Gerstmann, Kit and Krysta, Last Stand Media, Easy Allies, Second Wind, Nextlander, Cultaholic Wrestling, Weapon Wheel Podcast and Remap Radio. As always yall stay safe, be cool to each other. Have a totally awesome weekend and of course Happy Gaming.

My buddy got me BG3 for Christmas so I'm playing that a lot. Luckily he got me it on Steam not PS5 so I can actually play it in high res and a solid framerate.

@Deljo Two major issues really killed it for me.
1) The remake is extremely padded and it ruins the pacing. Average first playthrough is around 15 hours (an hour short of my own playthrough) which is nearly three times the runtime of the original. You'd think that would mean there's a substantial amount of new things to experience but there really isn't, it's just longer treks between major events in the story.
A whole lot of meandering through linear segments where you squeeze through one of four variations of little gaps in the walls. And an EXTREME emphasis on combat, that - while technically more engaging than the original - is not nearly polished or variable enough to justify how much more prevalent it is in the remake.
For reference, I was nearly three and a half hours into the game and I was extremely fatigued with Wood Side Apartments. Not Blue Creek, WOOD SIDE! Everything was such a tedious slog that by the time I did actually reach Blue Creek I could only groan, knowing I was only halfway through the whole level. A feeling that came in waves throughout the whole game and had me tempted to quit on multiple occasions. In summary: Between exploration and combat this game does not respect your time, and doesn't have many new ideas of its own to differentiate it from the original nor make use of its extended runtime.
2) The story of SH2 is overall weaker in the remake. I won't go into specifics to avoid spoilers for others reading who may want to play it for themselves, but the remake suffers from bad direction in its cutscenes. The script is mostly the same from the original (with a couple of nice if unnecessary additions, a few changes/removals, some understandable and some appalling) but camera angles are mostly flat in the remake, leading to many cinematics looking very dull. And Bloober Team could never quite replicate Team Silent's perfect atmosphere, it was always lesser, either by a bit or by a lot, which was a shame, but not unexpected.
The REAL problem was the voice direction, particularly for Maria and Mary, who sound terrible in the remake. The voice actress sounds like she's reading her lines half-heartedly off the script, and it really sucks the emotion out of every scene they're in. And whenever she does emote it sounds incredibly hokey, like amateur theater acting.
The only performance I have full praise for is James. I wouldn't call it superior to the original (for story reasons) but the new VA was great enough in his own right and something new to appreciate. The other characters I'm neutral on, with Angela being the most mixed in the game.
In summary: the cutscenes feel like Bloober Team were working with a transcript rather than referencing the original material, with voice acting being the biggest sour spot. I recommend giving a few of them a look to compare for yourself to see if you might disagree (eg James and Angela's convo in the graveyard for one I'm neutral on, and Maria's argument with James in Brookhaven for one I think completely misses the mark)

@Deljo All in all I believe Konami weren't interested in remaking SH2 so much as they wanted their own version of RE2R. And by some combination of poor concepts and poor choice in developers, they created a poor man's version of both.

I don't think it holds up to the high standards Team Silent set, I don't think it compares to the qualities of RE2R (that sets itself apart from its own source material despite not being a great remake of it). And I don't find it to be a good game in its own right.
I'm glad people are enjoying what I couldn't but I am expecting reception of this game to sour after the honeymoon period ends, similarly to RE Village. But for me the best thing I can say about it is that it wasn't the worst Silent Hill game to release in 2024.

@rusty82 See the two comments above for my thoughts.

@ErrantRob Yeah definitely. I'm ok with the shorter playtime as I can see myself playing through this multiple times. It's so much fun to just pick up and play for a bit.

@Kingy interesting read, a couple of pretty major flaws. Will play it soon and see if I agree 👍

Just finished TLOU2 for the first time and loved it. I'm feeling sad about finishing a great game.

Now playing Dave the Diver and Disco Elysium to change things up

I gave My First Gran Tourismo a go in VR as a guy I work with raves about it. Its alright but I reckon it probably needs a full wheel setup to be great because thrying to hold a line on the thumbsticks is a pita. Not really my sort of game so doubt I will bother will the full version.

Did a bit more on Sekiro but still not a huge fan of the game, Currently at Owl (Father) and it just seems a very poorly designed encounter where the difficulty is 50% camera and 50% artificial as all his moves hit for 2/3rds of your health.

Started Wo Long after that and so far its a much more enjoyable game. Its seems to be a trend with Team Ninja, where they never quite get the level or boss design to FS's level but the actual gameplay is always far more satisfying.

It was a weekend of Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter Rise for me. Just getting the reflexes back and landing on a new weapon to take into Monster Hunter Wilds next month.

Previously I was a huge fan of Switch Axe and Charge Blade. Still am, but now I'm enjoying the versatility of Sword and Shield. The worst part of the weapon is the short range, but being able to hit with both blunt and severing attacks is quite useful. I find myself hitting the poor creatures in the face with my shield more than the sword.

@Kingy I pre-ordered KCD2 because it looks great, and now am trying to play the first one. Currently stuck in a town and the guard won't let me out until I find some armor.

@8bit4Life Same here, I've heard nothing but good things about the first game so I bought it in anticipation for the sequel. I've only put a couple of hours into it so far, but it leaves a hell of a first impression. Looking forward to getting back to it when I'm finished unlocking all the extra modes in RE2.