Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@colonelkilgore @Jimmer-jammer KoA:R-R is an enjoyable but very easy romp, I wouldn't recommend it if you are looking for Souls-like gameplay - you can't even fall off the edge of cliffs in this game, the game just prevents that from happenning! Combat is simplistic - like Fable, even, if either of you have played that, but there's plenty of loot and it definitely is fun, just depends on what you're looking for from your gaming experience. How are your games going?

I’ve finished Tales of Arise and I’m now playing through Lost Judgment and Kena: Bridge of Spirits. I was a bit concerned how the PS4 version of Kena would turn out, but it looks and plays great.

@Bentleyma- Looks good! My understanding is that other than resolution/framerate, the PS4 version also limits how many of the rot creatures are displayed simultaneously - but it looks like they handled the port well. I haven't seen anyone talk about any bugs/issues yet either.

@TheBrandedSwordsman yeah I'm not sure what I'm expecting from KoA really. I do love fantasy RPG's though, so I'm hoping I connect with it (when I eventually play it).

I'm still playing MGS2. I finished my first playthrough yesterday but I'll need at least another 4 (maybe more depending on how I do in terms of collectibles etc). Then there's 10 snake-tales, 150 alternate missions and 350 VR missions... Good job that I'm really enjoying it I guess 😅

@colonelkilgore Hahaha, good job indeed!

@Voltan You spoke too soon about there being no glitches! I’ve encountered the game breaking bug that leaves a mask stuck to Kena’s face!

@Bentleyma- Yup, apparently that one's PS4 only. Hopefully they can fix it quickly.

@TheBrandedSwordsman @Jimmer-jammer @colonelkilgore It’s been a while, but I recall the KoA:R combat to feel a little bit like old-school God of War, although with more ranged and magic options. It’s pretty kinetic, but there is a ton of weapon and armor options. I quite liked the game and spent a lot of time in it. It scratches the fantasy itch but is more action oriented than a lot of fantasy RPGs, at least compared to its contemporaries. The story was okay. I think it was written by R.A. Salvatore. I’ve not read any of his novels, but he’s a well-published fantasy author.

@Th3solution I like the fact that you’ve said it’s more action-oriented than a lot of fantasy RPG’s. I do love fantasy RPG’s but I think the Dark Souls series has kind of scratched that itch for the last generation or so (albeit in a slightly skewed ‘style’).

As a result I have KoA, Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen, Dragon Age: Inquisition and the three Darksiders games (though not quite sure if they qualify as fantasy RPG’s or not) in the backlog to clear. I also want to playthrough (& finish this time) The Witcher 3. My usual plan of one per year probably ain’t gonna cut it if I’m honest 😅.

@colonelkilgore Haven’t played the Darksiders games. I guess they look like a type of dark fantasy rpg. I’ve heard them described as 3D Metroidvania and Zelda-like before. KoA, DD, and DA:I are all open world time sinks. Also all three start off with a character creator and a ‘blank slate’ type of protagonist. All three are also heavy on the weapon and equipment modification and stat management. KoA is probably the most whimsical of the bunch, per my recollection of playing them all. It’s more colorful and the characters more… not sure the best way to describe, but ‘cartoony’ is all that comes to mind, but makes it sound juvenile, which it’s not. It’s a great art style and it has an edge to it if it’s own, but DD is more grim and DA:I is more grounded and epic feeling. All three have extensive lore and world building, like any good fantasy rpg. I like them each in their own way. KoA is probably the most iterative in its gameplay though, and feels more quick paced because of the GoW inspired combat. It’s been a few years for each of them though, so my memory could be cloudy.

@Th3solution I’m sure I’ll enjoy them all in their own way. As you implied though… pretty much all of them are major time-sinks, so there is no way im gonna play them all consecutively just to clear them from the backlog.

@RogerRoger I think Uncharted 3 suffers from Dark Knight Rises syndrome to be fair. On it's own it's an awesome game and better than most games but because it didn't quite reach the heights of Uncharted 2 (and while U2 hype was still big) for some reason some people deemed it disappointing.

@colonelkilgore Ya know as I was thinking about these 3 games and describing them, I guess I came to a conclusion that I must like the ‘blank slate’ protagonist better than the concrete character in most rpg cases. For some reason when I spend the time creating my character and making him or her look just the way I want and in some cases choosing their background, race, gender, and personality in addition to their physical features, it makes me more invested in their plight.

The 3 games mentioned all had some character creator of varying degrees of intricacy; I contrast it with Witcher 3 which by all accounts should be a vastly superior version of the open world fantasy genre these belong to, and yet I had trouble sticking with it past the opening few hours. Now some of that has to do with the gargantuan number of question marks dotting the land and the sheer overwhelming nature of that, but some of it has to do with just not caring for Geralt very much. I hadn’t played the first two games nor read the books (nor watched the TV series which didn’t exist at the time but I still haven’t watched anyways) so to me he was just a grumpy guy with laryngitis and cat eyes. 😅 I’m certain if I stuck with it long enough then Geralt would grow on me. But as of yet I can’t bring myself to go back. Like you say, maybe the PS5 port will lure me to try again, because I like the fantasy rpg genre, clearly, as evidenced by my having played all these other games.

Anyways, sorry for the monologue there, but it became clear to me something about myself I hadn’t fully realized. But I’m still not sure how I feel fully, as somehow I really love open world games like Red Dead Redemption 1/2, Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, etc where the main character is a very specific person.

I recall there was a discussion at some point in the last few years on the forums about this topic and I can’t remember what my thoughts were at the time, but maybe they’ve changed.

Ah well, I don’t know but I’m just rambling at this point. 😅

@Th3solution I think I'm much the same mate. It shouldn't really mean anything but when thinking back on games, the ones where you create your own character do seem to have that extra resonance. Strange but true 😉

I've played around 4.5 hrs of nier automata and I think I might be done with it. The sound track is phenomenal and I can see the promise of the story but the bit I'm struggling with is the gameplay, quest design and world navigation. I'm surprised as I've played a couple of platinum games (bayonetta 1 and 2, decent chunck of the wonderful 101) and they are normally right up my street. I know this is a jrpg and not a character action game and they are a genre known for their grindy nature. Without spoilers, has anyone who has played it found that there are big changes in the action and is there a lot of traditional mmo-esque jrpg quests that are needed to progress through the main story?

@R1spam from my perspective, it did take a wee while to click but once it did I thought the action was very good. I remember feeling withdrawal symptoms once I was done with it and trying to find something to play next. I'd stick with it a bit... coz if it clicks you'll love it.

@R1spam The world navigation is probably the part that won’t get much better for you, although I do remember that early 5-6 hour mark when traversal opens up are when things feel the most tedious. The world feels kind of bare for a lot of the early game. For some reason it seems to flow better later, and maybe it’s just that one acclimates to it, but it’s also because you do get a little variety in scenery eventually. It’s not the most compelling open world ever made. The quest design likewise improves and becomes a bit more varied, but for me, I never felt put off by the quests and even did all the side content and so maybe I’m a poor judge of how they either do or don’t evolve.

The combat really does become better over time, as you acquire skills and weapons to add variance. But the big attraction (in addition to the music as you mentioned) for me was the story. It’s a bit of a slow burn in the early part then really picks up at the end of the first run, then levels off for another stretch until you really hit a series of great narrative moments, the likes of which I’ve not experienced in any other games that I can remember. It takes some commitment, but getting to the ‘true ending’ is really a special experience, imho.

That said, if the gameplay, characters, and futuristic setting and conflict aren’t clicking with you, then you may not ever grow to enjoy it, especially the relatively slower slog in the middle where even I had a few moments where I was sorta going through the motions to get through to the next big reveal. But over the course of a roughly 40-50 hour experience, I’d say a 10-15 hour section in the middle was the only part that I’d would say was tough to push through.

@R1spam Have you unlocked the fast travel yet? I spent ages traipsing back and forward across the map for side quests and should have done a bit more of the main story to unlock fast travel and make life easier.

@Thrillho I have not and I think that would help a lot!! I can only go back to the bunker at the minute.
@Th3solution @colnelkilgore thanks for the responses and interesting to hear you both allude to the story really going places. Will give it a couple of more hours to see if things open up and maybe buy a new weapon set to see if that spices things up, as I've got plenty currency.

@Th3solution You'll be pleased to know I've started FFVIIR after losing interest in KoA:R-R, I'm an hour or so in, on chapter 3, and man, that Scorpion Sentinel boss was a bit of a challenge, and the Huntsman, with his shield etc. was just annoying, plus I found Barrett a bit preposterous with his tough guy accent, saying things like "while the flowahs dahie" lol, you would have thought someone like him would have been all for eating cheeseburgers and hitting the gym while the planet goes to its demise, but yeah, I get it, they are all meant to be Eco-warriors, and Cloud's a hired merc whose being paid to help them the premise is ok, but I really just like whacking stuff about with the Greatsword and enjoying the boss battles, does the game get much harder as it goes along? Potions seem to be in abundant supply throughout the world, which is a good thing.