Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@Col_McCafferty

Lol, there is always one eh 😉... I definitely needed a good break in between each AC:O, think I played AC: Odyssey in summer 2019 and Origins this past October. I’m probably gonna get my ‘AC-like’ fill from Ghost of Tsushima in 2021 (that comment will probably irk some but I keep hearing that GoT is the best AC game that never was) and finally get around to Valhalla in 2022ish.

Thinking about it, maybe that was why I couldn’t get into Red Dead 2, I think I started it not long after Odyssey. Will have to go back to it at some stage.

This past week I've been trying out recent PS+ games, and I've been having good fun.

Rocket Arena: is a lot more fun than the trailer looks! I don't care for most online shooters. Half the time I'm looking around for people to shoot, the other half I'm getting killed by snipers. This one is more like Smash Bros. There's a small area you try to blast people out of. Controls aren't overly complicated.

Worms Assault: a similar game, and I like it for similar reasons. I can get some lucky kills in and have a few minutes of simple fun without committing my life to memorizing controls and such.

Need for Speed Payback: more fun than I expected. Controls well enough. If you bump into a wall or something it doesn't ruin your chance of success. (Playing on easy of course.) Not a fan of realistic... anything, but this caught my fancy. Has some sort of story that you play through. I skip about half of it, but it's fun playing different scenarios.

Have any of these been enjoyable for you folks?

@sentiententity

I haven’t tried Rocket Arena or Worms but I was also pleasantly surprised by NFS: Payback and will deffo see it through to the plat. Never really been into racing games but ‘that race’ from Mafia Remastered on simulation mode got its hooks into me the same time NFS: P was on ps+ so I gave it a go and I’m glad I did.

Also on ps+ I’ve been playing Bugsnax with the missus and really enjoying it. Totally not my kind of game but it’s charming and hilarious.

@sentiententity I recently finished NFS: Payback and had a blast with it. I like the more arcade feeling and it feels great to play. The variety of races are good too but the runner ones can be annoying.

Silly story like you but that doesn’t matter too much. I recommend getting the Chevrolet Bel Air derelict and using it off road!

@colonelkilgore I didn’t see your post on Payback. I gave up on the platinum because of all the little tasks like the speed traps, drift routes etc. and couldn’t be bothered with finding all the chips either. I got most of the others but couldn’t be bothered with those.

@Thrillho

That’s totally fair, I’m a little ashamed to admit it but I’ve become a bit obsessed with platinums. The logical part of my brain doesn’t know what to make of it but I just have to go after those shiney’s! I even spent most of October and November going after online only trophies on games in my backlog, just so that when I eventually want to play them that the plat will still be achievable (in case the servers are closed by that time).

@colonelkilgore Yeah, I’ll definitely post thoughts when/if I get around to Odyssey. I have a sinking suspicion that I’ll like Odyssey better. I almost skipped Origins and went straight to Odyssey but felt like the OCD part of my brain wouldn’t allow a game named “Origins” to be played later 😅
For me, I really value the story and character development, and I didn’t relate well with Bayek until the second half of the game. It actually took me a while to warm up to him. In the end, I did like his story, but at first it just didn’t feel like Assassins Creed to me.
Which yes, speaking of, Ghost of Tsushima is a fantastic evolution of the ‘history-based, open-world, story-driven, third-person action-stealth’ genre which most people associate with Assassins Creed. It has a style all its own, but it’s a fair comparison to say that if one is an AC fan wanting something in that space that GoT is a great option to try. Some people have liked AC better, but I played Origins and GoT in fairly close succession, a couple months apart — although played Death Stranding, Bloodstained, Erica, and Resident Evil 1 Remake in between so my palate was more than adequately cleansed. And I liked Ghost of Tsushima better by a fair margin. It’s just a tighter game overall. Even with that, there is plenty of “bloat” but the islands of Tsushima are much more confined, manageable, and well organized. The combat was cleaner and more fleshed out. The story was also more direct and intentional, including the side quests (which are deliberately called “Tales”) which each feel solid and the overall main story is much more impactful. Jin is also a bit of a deadpan familiar and stereotypical hero, but the latter part of the game he really becomes more interesting. The game is a little free and loose with history, as is the Assassins Creed series, but it’s grounded enough to feel legit and peak one’s interest in the true history. Anyways, you’ll like GoT, but expect a substantially different flare.

@Th3solution

I am really looking forward to GoT and am consciously stopping myself from starting it yet as I want it to feel fresh when I do so (I’ve played quite a few open world games of late and don’t want anything like over-familiarity to negativity affect the experience).

Hope you enjoy Odyssey if you ever do get around to it and just out of interest what did you think of Death Stranding? I seem in a distinct minority that loved it.

@colonelkilgore Ha, I just saw Odyssey as a more joyful adventure and immediately warmed to Kassandra. Malaka!

Oh and I'm a big fan of Death Stranding, it's not for everyone but it's so much more than a mere walking simulator as some (who probably haven't even played it) label it as being. Beautiful story as well, really hits you in the feels and the music, both the original soundtrack and Kojima's mix tape, is sublime. I would definitely play it again one day on the PS5, hopefully an enhanced version if Kojima remembers us console peasants.

@Col_McCafferty

I totally agree on both counts. Don’t tell me that I’ve stumbled upon a place where my opinions aren’t the minority... that’s gonna feel weird, good weird but still weird nonetheless.

@colonelkilgore Good call on waiting a little bit before jumping into an open worlder if you’ve had a lot of the genre lately. In fact, while I played GoT, I took my time so as not to burn out since it can drag (as all open world / icon chasing games can) in the middle third if you tried to binge it too much at once. As I review my trophy list, it looks like I started it mid July around launch and platinum’d in the first week of October, so basically about 2.5 months. So that’s pretty slow by most gamer’s standards, but I really loved it and savored it more that way I think (took Origins slow as well, actually over about 5 months)

And Death Stranding... oh man, I’ve gushed about how much I loved that game so much that I feel guilty to bring it up again. One of my favorite games this generation, probably top 5. I could go on and on (and have) but it sounds like you’re a fellow fan so I’ll refrain. In contrast to even GoT, I mostly binged the game over the month of May. It was one of those rare times when I couldn’t take my thoughts away from it and had no interest to play anything else or move on the the next thing until it was completed. I’m really disappointed that it didn’t sell better and that it didn’t get more hype. I don’t blame people for not liking it because it is definitely a different style of game that won’t necessarily appeal to the masses. I just shrink to think that a masterpiece like it will sell a fraction of what the latest annual COD or Madden re-skin sells in one week.

@Th3solution

Awesome, it does seem like I’ve found some like-minded people.

In regards to DS, it’s a damn shame! I honestly think the poor reception that it received was due to a mixture of people not liking the ‘idea’ of the gameplay loop and then either not giving it a fair crack of the whip or didn’t even play it at all... that and the negative anti-white male protagonist Sony 1st Party exclusive sentiment that was trotted out during 2019. For the record I also thoroughly enjoyed Days Gone, one of the best ‘endgame’ segments (taking out all the hordes) in all of last gen.

@colonelkilgore Definitely among friends here!
Actually, we have plenty of people that didn’t care for DS, but a lot here do adore it. Push Square is varied enough that there’s usually at least one user out there who’ll have a common opinion 😄
And part of what I love about Push Square is that I can try new games based on what like-minded users have also liked. So, for example, I am now even more interested in checking out Days Gone (which I have been lukewarm about honestly) given your adding another endorsement. Actually @Col_McCafferty also recently was telling me it was good. And I’m trying to remember, but I think it’s @Arugula who stated it’s his favorite PlayStation game of this whole generation and speaks glowingly of it. The fact that DG is included in the PS Plus collection on PS5 means I’ll wait to play it there... if I can ever find a PS5 to buy.

@Th3solution

Finding this place has been a great little surprise this weekend and no doubt. Well I hope you get lucky with a PS5 as it runs beautifully on it. It’s a game where gunplay needs to be put on the back burner until you get a decent amount of perks alotted to the right tree (basically the second half of your play through).

So stealth it for the first half (ably assisted by the awesome melee) and then gun it in the second half (and then shock and awe in the endgame). Really good (underappreciated) game.

@Arugula

Interesting that you would rank it your favourite exclusive but score it a seven. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Bloodborne, God of War and Horizon: Zero Dawn.

I’m no reviewer but would personally give it a solid 8 - 8.5. As far as exclusives go this gen, I’d probably go Bloodborne, God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Death Stranding, Nioh 1 & 2 and Days Gone (although I loved it). Still to play The Last of Us 2 and Ghost of Tsushima but I would imagine that both will figure somewhere between 3 and 6 when all is said and done.

@colonelkilgore I just finished TLOU2 (well, I’m mid-way through a second run for that coveted platinum..) and it should certainly be battling for a top 3 spot on that list of yours!

With how long this gen has been, I almost forget Bloodborne and Nioh 1 were on PS4.

@Thrillho
Glad you enjoyed/are enjoying it, it seems to have really caused a schism within the fan base but (and I simply couldn’t avoid the spoilers no matter how I tried) the fact that **** happened... and **** is a protagonist... and that, well everyone is **** doesn’t put me off.

In fact, having watched quite a bit of gameplay (the one thing which I thought was merely mediocre in the original TLoU), I’m pretty sure it plays better and that I will enjoy it. For all the plaudits the original got, and I get it... while my following comment may suggest that I do not, the actual ‘game’ itself was imho pretty average. The narrative, world and characters on the other hand were stellar... and worthy of the praise heaped upon it.

Days Gone a 8/10 for me, Death Stranding 9/10 but The Last of Us Part II I'd give 10/10.

Not that mere ratings tell the whole story. I played the latter two around the same time, at first saved DS for the day and when I just wanted to chill and Part II for the evenings and when I was up for a more intense gaming experience. In the end Ellie's adventures took over and I felt shattered at the end of the game and reluctant to play anything else.

But eventually I got back into Sam's journey across America and it wasn't too long before I was engrossed in that as I had been in the world of The Last of Us. Special games, quite unique and a world away from most other AAA titles.

Oh and if you're interested I'd give both Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War a 9/10 and Spider-Man an 8, as far as 'exclusives'' go. Just to keep things varied I also played Persona 5 during most of March and April and this game blew away. It was the start of lockdown so I became obsessed with it and played it for 3-4 hours straight, something I rarely do with any game. This too I'd give a perfect 10.

I haven't played either Final Fantasy VII not Ghost of Tsushima but plan to and I'm sure I'll enjoy them both as well.

PlayStation is the best platform for me simply because it gives me what I want: great single player games.

@Col_McCafferty

Lol, completely forgot about Spider-man but yeah an 8 sounds about right. God of War on the other hand just blew my ****ing doors off! It and Bloodborne are just the epitome of why I game, and I rate both as 10’s (11’s if I could).

So, I ‘tried’ Persona 5 (the un-royal edition) but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t sync with turn-based combat. I completed the first castle/palace/dungeon and fell off pretty soon after. That is not to say that the narrative and style didn’t appeal though.

Speaking of my aversion to turn-based combat, this year I played both FFXV and FFVIIR (my first ever experiences of FF... I was a bit more willing once I heard that the action was now real-time) and strangely hated XV initially but ended up really enjoying it and loving VIIR at first but by the end of the second play through on hard, I couldn’t wait to see them back of it. I will play VIIR part 2 though, I was just really burned out after that second play through. Probably the hardest or second hardest platinum I have.

@Arugula
Wow, the PS4 did get an absolute shed-load of exclusives didn’t it? I’ve only played 3 of the ones you mentioned (DG, Concrete Genie and FFVIIR) I do have all of the others in my backlog though (apart from Driveclub and KZ:S). Here’s to hoping that the trend continues with PS5, it’s looking good so far.