Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@RogerRoger Get those claws back in Rog! 😂

Started Last of Us Factions tonight, I figured now is as good a time as any to try and get the MP trophies before they (eventually) launch Last of Us 2 Factions. I’m not that big into MP anyway and this seems a little more deep/strategic than most. Still, think I started to get the drift by the end of the session.

Just gonna chip away at it with an hour here and an hour there for the next couple of months. Ideal world, I’ll get the Mp trophies out of the way and then try and plat TLoU before playing TLoU2 in November.

@Jimmer-jammer started Ashen this morning, lovely little game fair play. It’s obviously not as in depth and polished as Dark Souls etc but plays well and is beautiful to look at and listen to.

Tagging @TheBrandedSwordsman @Th3solution you guys too as TBS I know you love the Souls games and I figured you may well enjoy this the next time you’re hankering after some souls-like goodness... and Sol, I know you’re always on the verge of dipping your toe... this could be a great entry point back into the genre. I wouldn’t say it’s ‘particularly’ easier, shorter by all accounts but still poses a decent challenge. It is considerably more serene and chilled though, something I think is quite the opposite to the feel of the Souls games.

@colonelkilgore Thanks for the recommendation and I’ll keep it in mind. I have noticed the game on the storefronts and thought it looked compelling. Good to know it holds up, perhaps as a miniature Souls experience.

It’s ironic because I decided to continue on with Control and play the DLC, which is not usually my style. I typically don’t indulge in the expansion stuff and feel pressed to move on for most games. But I just can’t pull myself away from this game! But I did almost rage quit at the final boss for the AWE storyline. Oh man, did I get frustrated!
I’ll spoiler tag my method just in case you haven’t done that yet, not that it’s really a spoiler, mind. I can’t remember if you said you did the DLC or not.
Finally beat him but I had to go and do a side quest to obtain the infinite ammo mod for the Grip and then it became pretty straightforward to just constantly pummel him so he couldn’t heal.
Anyways, my thoughts during the umteenth respawn to try to beat him was that I felt a little of that familiar feeling of banging my head against the wall of a Soulsborne boss. 😂 And it didn’t feel good! But yes, I did get a rush when he finally went down. Not sure I’m ready for the frustration, but I’ll see. My plan had been to use Demon’s Souls as the gateway back into it, but I’m waiting on a price drop. Looks like maybe Days of Play could offer that.

@Th3solution you remember correctly, I haven’t played the dlc... I will do though eventually. It’s just one of those ‘worlds’ where it it’s clicked with you, you want to know everything. I’d be interested to hear how you rate Control against the other games you’ve played lately. I think I put it in my top 5 games that I played last year.

Yeah, now I remember you saying that Demons Souls Remaster would probably be the next Souls-like you try out... can’t argue with that either tbh. I’ll be playing it later in the year myself as it goes.

@Jimmer-jammer lol I’m finding that out, Seat of the Matriarch is a legit dungeon... quite the difficulty spike 🤣

@colonelkilgore No GS or UGS, thumbs down from me. All I have to say about Ashen. Thanks for thinking of me, though.

Playing through Resident Evil Village now, making progress. At Castle Dimitrescu now.

@TheBrandedSwordsman 🤣 fair enough dude... I’m generally an Ultra Great Sword weirder myself though as it goes.

@Jimmer-jammer not gonna lie (& allowing for recency bias of course) but Seat of the Matriarch is up there for me in Souls-like’s toughest areas. It might just be at what level you are when you take it on... but that was a genuine struggle.

I’m through it now though so on to the next one...

@Jimmer-jammer I’ll keep that in mind about the relics, I’ve had three so far... currently using Gefn’s Blessing. I did like the one which shot energy bolts every time you hit an enemy though. Might end up going back to that one.

@colonelkilgore Ya know, I have been trying to think about where Control fits in to the pantheon of Sol’s favorite games and I reckon it’s pretty high. I have a list of top PS4 games that I’ve put together and have reported on one or more threads on here with that topic. I’d dig up the thread and modify it to include Control — likely would be in my top 10, probably top 5 — but technically speaking, I’m playing it on PS5 and so I don’t think I can fairly put it on my PS4 list because part of the enjoyment has been the ray tracing, smooth frame rate, haptic triggers, and blistering fast load times. So... I don’t know. It’s my favorite PS5 game, but that’s a short list. However beating out Astrobot’s Playroom for that crown is no small feat because that game is utterly brilliant too.

So I’m not sure where it fits all time for me. As for what I’ve played over the last year, it’s top 5, but wow... I forgot how many awesome games I played in the last 12 months. It would probably go something like this:

1. Death Stranding (exactly one year ago)
2. God of War
3. Control
4. Resident Evil 2 Remake
5. Ghost of Tsushima
6. Astrobot’s Playroom
7. Persona 5
8. Danganronpa V3
9. Bloodstained Ritual of the Night
10. Resident Evil 1 Remake

That’s some quality titles within the last year. And that’s not even counting really great games like Valiant Hearts, Doom 2016, Hitman, and Uncharted: Drakes Fortune remaster. 😄

@Th3solution some great titles to be sure, I have only played around 6 or 7 but heard some good stuff about the others too.

Two things stood out to me... first is, it fills my heart with joy to see Death Stranding at the top. We've obviously chatted before about how much we both enjoyed it but it's actually surprising how often my mind drifts back to it. It probably drifts in at least once a day and the affection I have for it only grows.

The second is, that Ghost of Tsushima is only at 5. I am yet to play it (I have a week off at the start of July just for that) but with how gushing the reaction has generally been, the fact that it 'only' comes in at 5 on your best games of the last 12 months is a bit of an eye-opener (but in a good way). I'm actually a little concerned all of the unbridled positivity might have set my expectations a little high, so you may have levelled that out a little there.

And obviously Control at number 3, considering it did end up winning a few GotY gongs it still seems a little underrated/under-the-radar for a lot of people. Not a lot I could fault it on to be fair.

I'am Currently Rotating Between Icewind Dale Dreamfall Chapters And Resident Evil Zero.

@colonelkilgore I’ve actually felt a very similar vibe as Death Stranding while I’ve played Control. From the wacky storyline to the light horror elements, and although the gameplay is completely different they each have an element unique from the standard fare out there. And I guess Kojima and Sam Lake both have a mad-scientist auteur vibe to their creative approach that draws comparisons.
I was actually surprised that it has only been a year since I played Death Stranding. I checked and a clocked my last trophy in June of 2020, but it seems like the last year has been an eternity. I do recall feeling an eerie irony during the largest lockdown of our lifetime, playing a game centered around all the NPC’s being holed up in their shelters cut off from society.

As for Ghost of Tsushima, I honestly loved the game wholeheartedly. But when you start making comparisons it just isn’t quite as transcendent as the titles above it, despite it being a more approachable type of game with the open world to get lost in. It’s probably pretty neck-and-neck with RE2 on that list so I could easily switch the two positions and feel good having it at #4. But I edged RE2 slightly because of how pleasantly surprised I was at how the experience absorbed me. Like you were saying, expectations do color how you might end up feeling about a game, and since my expectations were so high with Ghost, it might subconsciously pull it down a wee bit in the end accounting. Fair or not to Sucker Punch, it’s human nature to have such prejudice I think. So it’s good that you’ll go into it more grounded in that regard, and realize that you’ll probably love it, but that it may not permeate your mind for months afterward like, say, a Death Stranding would. There’s not a prettier game on PS4, and the gameplay is rock solid, but I think the shortcomings are more in the narrative area. Which, again, is still fabulous, but doesn’t press the medium forward quite as much as the other titles mentioned. But it’s great comfort food for a rainy day when you need to wander an open world and collect things and do side quests while gradually revealing a story.

@RogerRoger Gaming-wise, last 12 months have been stellar, for sure. I think the end stage of PS4’s life cycle contributed to the quality of what I’ve played over the last year. The system being at full maturation leads itself to a huge library of top-shelf games to pull from. And I still have so many highly regarded PS4 games yet to play. Thank goodness that PS5 is backward compatible! 😄

@RogerRoger If they were more easier to get hold of, I would genuinely be tempted to get a PS5 for my Dad. The difference was like night and day when I last played on his non-pro PS4.

Ha well I hope you end up enjoying it whenever you get round to watching them @RogerRoger! 😄

I forgot to ask last time but the star trek board game thing you mentioned... Was it an assortment of the various Stark trek cast's or were they all from one specific series? And what board game?

If it's Patrick Stewart pkaying Buckaroo or something I'm in lol

As for the Troy Baker voicework... I totally get where you're coming from after having seen some of Retro Replay. Though I can thankfully still seperate the art from artist so to speak.

His work as Kanji Tatsumi from Persona 4 (The original game only I think?) is pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Definitely not the kinda role of what he's known for now.

It is from 2008/2009 so it's not quite as deftly done as it could/would be now (Trying to be vague here)... But he's honestly one of my favourite character's of the cast.

@TheBrandedSwordsman
Finished Witcher 3 last night, found it to be an amazing game. Probably the best game I've ever played.
I'd never played an RPG before I played FF7 last year, as my "return to gaming" game, never thought they'd be my thing but now they are my 2 favourite games.
Started playing RE remastered today. I'm making my way through the years, so still on 2015.

@bluedex Excellent, congrats on beating the game. What did you think of the ending? I am considering playing RE4 again but I keep changing my mind. Have you played that one?

I had a hankering for a little indie time today, so finally booted up Bound, aka “Cirque Du Soleil: The Game”.

I only have about 2 hours invested, but I’m quite impressed. I just love the movement and artistic feel. Such a wonderful unique move set. I’m not a dancer or an acrobat, but I’ve always been in awe of what they can do. The mesmerizing marriage of athleticism and grace; there’s nothing more enchanting than a professional ballet performance and I’d never considered what it might be like to play as a ballerina. Playing video games is all about playing as a character who can do things you could never do in real life. Whether it be shooting webs from your wrist and swinging across a skyscraper, slaying aliens as a space marine, or wielding a lightsaber as a Jedi — we love this hobby because of how we can be something or someone that we can’t be in the flesh. I never would have known how satisfying it would be to be a dancer and platforming my way around an abstract environment, avoiding an evil monster.

The game has its issues, sure. Most have to do with the rather mundane scenery and lack of gameplay variety. Like other ‘artistic’ games (aren’t all games though?) such as Flower, Abzu, or Journey, the game won’t be for everyone. If you don’t appreciate the fine art of dance or acrobatics, then it will likely be boring for you.

Other complaints might be the difficulty of the trophies. It’s crazy that the platinum is at 0.1%. So probably just a handful of people in the world even have it. It looks to require multiple playthroughs and includes speed runs, which I hate anyways.

I am probably only about half way through, so I’ll post more if my thoughts change or evolve. But so far so good. I know it’s really intended to be played in one sitting, but I had to step away mid game.

Tagging @Rudy_Manchego and @Thrillho .... because I can’t remember who I was talking to about this game a few weeks ago but maybe one of you guys? Was it one of you who had it in your top 5 games on PS4?