Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

I was one step ahead of you @colonelkilgore and had already chosen it as my backup weapon skill alongside a sword and the fire wolf spirit 😄

Did end up deciding to play Nioh last night though and ended going through the first proper mission and boss.

I did use the Kusarigama quite extensively (That low stance combo against the enemies that crawl along the floor!) but I give pretty much every weapon type a shot during this aside from Axes and Spears (Which I'd already used in the Tower Of London).

I defeated the Onryoki on my... 4th attempt I wanna say? Fought him with a simple Katana and just played it safe til his second phase, whipped out living weapon and then decimated the rest of his health bar. Did seem quite a big tanky though for a second boss.

Completely forgot that the game had a mission based structure til I'd wrapped that up.

Not sure how I feel about that yet and having to presumably re-open shortcuts and the like if I decide to replay a mission or have to return to a certain area.

... Like having to go back and collect all the Kodama's. Or "The little green ba*tards" as I kept calling them when I found one

I've not touched the high stance much at all... It feels way too sluggish to be of any use to me, especially as I like to be a bit more nimble and agile @Thrillho. Low stance has been fine enough but I've mainly stuck to using the mid stance seeing as it's the "balanced" one.

The fishing village area wasn't too impressive but hopefully there's some nice looking areas further down the line!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy It’s been a long time since I played but I think I mainly used medium and low stance. But as you can quickly change between them, you can sometimes get some heavy high stance hits in.

I seem to remember using the dual swords to start and later the spear more but think I got full proficiency on all weapon types (maybe that was trophy related?).

I didn’t mind the mission based structure as it gave variety to the levels but there were plenty of cliche levels (sewer levels 🤮) and the side missions used small areas of those maps quite well. It was the lack of enemy types I found most frustrating.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy yeah the mission-based structure of Nioh is a little strange for the genre. It becomes fairly natural the more you play though. I guess it was to fit the narrative around the actual historical events of the period.

I actually can't remember who/what the second boss is... is it the beast with ball and Chains on each hand whom you fight on a ship?

@TraCuz- Just dragging this topic back a couple pages to say a belated thanks for the avatar praise!

Yeah I wasn't keen on the mission structure either @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy. Or the countless amount of crappy dropped, or the way the story was presented in between missions. 😆 The combat was killer though, I'll give it that.

@RogerRoger Anytime Rog!

Phew, I'm finally onto act 3 in Ghost of Tsushima.

A pretty intense end to act 2 but poor Nobu! It wasn't quite as much of a gut punch as losing your horse in RDR2 but did they have to do that to my buddy?

Yeah that's the guy @colonelkilgore. Not too bad of a fight personally but I can certainly see him being a cut off point for a lot of players.

Hopefully I'll get the hang of changing staces a bit more @Thrillho as it is pretty snappy (and a lot of upgrades seem to make use of doing that). I keep forgetting to use the Ki pulse mechanic too.

Yeah the amount of loot (Not to mention the excessive amount of effects on 'em too) was a bit much to start with @JohnnyShoulder. But I'll get used to it and the mission structure eventually!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy yeah I think it was the confined space more than the actual boss himself which contributed to the difficulty of that encounter. I think you fight a version of that enemy a good few times throughout the game… and in an open space he’s pretty harmless.

About the stance changes… I found that initially I would set my stance depending on the situation I was about to enter into but once you get comfortable you’ll be changing stance mid-combo. Nioh’s combat system is as good as any melee combat I’ve played tbh. The only thing I wasn’t that fond of was the attack actions being mapped to the face buttons… I’ve got so used to R1 and R2 for light and strong attacks that it felt like a step backwards in that one regard.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Cheers! Fingers crossed. Hope all's good with you too.

S&S is excellent and yeah, 2D Souls is exactly what it is. Even the menus and item descriptions are similar. I'm three bosses in now and I've reached that point where I can't wait for the next session.

When Elden Ring finally lands, I'll be there and if I still haven't bought a PS5 by that point, then that'll be the day I do. I've not properly watched the trailer, just long enough to get a sniff of the combat feel. Looks good.

Played some co-op on Watch Dogs 2 today… it’s a good co-op system to be fair, a few hours flew by in no time.

@colonelkilgore You enjoyed it then? Do you have to drive alongside your co-op buddy or what? how does it work? I played some more Control today and completed the Directorial Override chapter, now back to speaking with Emily some more to trigger the next mission the gunplay is somewhat limited as there is a lack of enemy variety, as I've said before, but the way the story is advanced and being able to obtain all the informative collectibles is great. I'll keep you @Jimmer-jammer and @Th3solution posted like with this post as I progress through the game, I'm especially looking foward to fighting
Hiss-infected Tomassi again as that was a great boss fight, first time I encountered a flying Hiss enemy. It's just a shame there hasn't been much Hiss variety thus far.

@TheBrandedSwordsman I think the enemy variety does vary a little more the further you progress but I do know what you mean.

In regards to WD2 co-op there are quite a few options tbh… you and a friend can hunt other players who have a wanted status, or conversely you and a friend can be the target of both the police and other players. You can play missions together and also random events like armoured cars and the like. I just popped the last of the co-op trophies now so just a bit of mopping up collectibles and such and I should have the platinum sewn up tomorrow evening after work.

@colonelkilgore Excellent, best of luck with the platinum!

@TheBrandedSwordsman I’m looking forward to hearing it! I finally wrapped up Biomutant. The amount of content in the game is staggering for such a small team. When I went to fire up a new game, Returnal was calling out to me for some reason, so I’ve started that before Demon’s Souls. It’s fantastic so far. Made it to the first boss and died in the third phase. Got a second chance somehow and died with a sliver of his health left. It was at once disappointing but also reassuring. The concept of repeating the cycle, slowly making more progress each time and finally breaking free from it just feels like the right gaming experience for me right now, so I’m running with that. How do you feel about the hotel segments in Control?

@colonelkilgore I saw you picked up Ghostrunner. I’m curious to eventually know your thoughts on it. It kind of blew me away but man, it’s a hardcore experience to be sure. As a platinum hunter who enjoys a challenge, I think you’ll be satisfied. I haven’t seen a game do parkour better, and the soundtrack just kept me trying and trying again.

@Jimmer-jammer cool, we seem to have pretty similar tastes so knowing how you feel about it makes me even more confident that I’ll enjoy it. I’m hoping that I’ll get ahead of schedule at some point in the second half of 2021 and I’ll be able to fit it in somewhere. Apparently it’s around a 10 hour plat (depending on skill) and I’ll be sure to tag you with how I get on.

Congrats on finishing Biomutant btw, sounds like it was a good decision to see beyond all those reviews and see for yourself. Hopefully the PS5 version will be unveiled soon and I’ll get to check it out myself. Enjoy Returnal, another one I can not wait to get around to.

@TheBrandedSwordsman Sounds like you’re still having a good time with it, so glad to hear it. Like @colonelkilgore says, the enemy variety is never exceptional, but it does get better, as does the availability to all the service weapon forms. The real depth comes in the added abilities actually. I don’t think it’s spoiling anything since you’ve probably seen it but levitation adds a new wrinkle to your combat and exploration. And like you’ve seen - levitating and flying enemies also makes things quite interesting.

@Jimmer-jammer You and I are in a similar place, although I’m a little further along in Returnal, having finally bested the first boss after several attempts. Feel free to join in on the games dedicated thread because I’d love to hear your impressions and experiences as you go through. The game is quite fantastic, despite its many moments of frustration.

@colonelkilgore 10 hour plat!? Wow, I need to re-evaluate my gaming skills haha It took me over 20 hours just to get through the game. Biomutant is good fun. It’s a strange one and definitely not for everyone, and also has some issues, but i sunk about 50 hours into it and had a great time.
@Th3solution sounds good! I was surprised to make it as far as I did (after many failed attempts, there’s quite a bit of a learning curve) on my first session, but boy does it ever feel good to play.

@Jimmer-jammer The hotel segments were very David Lynchian, very Twin Peaksian, if you will. I think that the supernatural elements are the real selling-point of this game, I'm looking forward to learning how to levitate in the game as @Th3solution told me I will be able to do eventually.

@Jimmer-jammer how did you find the hotel segments?