Topic: What PS4 Games Are You Currently Playing?

Started The Order 1886 this morning and it’s great. Although I’m only like an hour or so in, this world and the aesthetic is just so appealing. I’ve heard it’s short and shallow, so maybe my expectations were set in the right place for me to get the most from what’s available. 🤔

@Ralizah I’ll probably land just shy of considering Hellblade 2 as a personal system seller. I’ll have to see how the reviews pan out. So far I don’t have much confidence in MS’s production management competence, to be honest. I know that sounds fan-boyish and I don’t intend it to be, but there’s an unfortunate track record with the Xbox first party output’s inconsistency that seems pretty glaring.

The Hellblade 2 trailer from a few months ago seemed to suggest a larger more open type of game, bigger in scope, which would answer to some of the first game’s shortcomings, but it’s hard to tell much from a trailer void of gameplay. And it looked like it was teetering on making it into a God of War clone with the bigger enemies and set pieces. My own version of Hell will have it end up being a microtransaction-ridden live-service game where players can invade other peoples games and whisper in their ears or some such nonsense.

But in seriousness, I do agree, the original Hellblade feels designed to be a standalone. They run the risk of trivializing Senua’s journey if they just hammer the same messages again in a sequel. Part of what I appreciate about it is the rare incidence of a game protagonist feeling truly vulnerable. We have plenty of Kratos, Spider-Man, Commander Shepherd, and Cloud Stife’s out there with superhuman skills and/or unnatural talents or abilities. Games try to make them feel broken, susceptible, and relatable, but at the end of the day they have some extraordinary personality traits that give the player a power buzz, which is totally fine and we all want to have that feeling too. But it’s nice to have different types of protagonists from time to time. It’s debatable whether Ninja Theory accomplished what they set out to do with the character Senua (she does after all have some uncanny skills of her own) but I enjoyed the attempt.

I also recognize my own propensity to give these AA games a bump from subconscious positive bias because I just like seeing smaller studio attempts at breaking through on their smaller budgets by virtue of new ideas. And in the end, a sequel very likely will dampen some of that feeling of fresh innovation.

Either way, I’m interested in your thoughts since it’s a good level-set to see how the experience translates from different perspectives.

@colonelkilgore I had a similar positive experience with The Order 1886, and I think having appropriate expectations makes for a good outcome with the game. Knowing up front it’s short and has limited scope help make it enjoyable for what it is.

Be careful though — it has an easy platinum and I’d hate for you to accidentally get #100 and ruin your master plan! 😂

Cheers for the heads up 😅. Yeah, I’m hoping to leave a collectible unfound, or one of the kill-specific trophies unpopped 🤞

@colonelkilgore I need to go through it again for the platinum but I enjoyed it for what it was.

Just rolled credits in God of War, glad I decided to play through the game again as not only is it a banger, but I have the story fresh in my mind and can't wait to see what SM have got in store for us next week when it releases 😃

@colonelkilgore No problemo. There is a small amount of required extra effort for the platinum, so you’re probably safe. It’s not like a Telltale platinum. Seems I had to really concentrate and even follow a guide to get all the collectibles. But if memory serves, there’s no way to go back for stuff, so you have to either get all the collectibles in one run or do a second playthrough. I might be misremembering though.

@Kairu yeah I’d play a sequel in a heart beat for sure. It’s such a rich and beautiful world.

@MightyDemon82 yeah I did consider going back for another God of War run… I was a bit worried that I might’ve ended up a bit burned-out part way through Ragnarok though. Hopefully you won’t suffer that and still enjoy the hell out of it though.

@Th3solution so… ‘apparently’ you can mop up collectibles in chapter select, I never count my chickens though… so I’ll be more than prepared to do a collectible specific run if needs be.

Back to The Order as an ip… I know that Ready at Dawn are off doing other things now (with other people) but I’d get one of the other first parties on a sequel to this right away if I were Sony. Imagine if Sony Bend, or Bluepoint… or Sony London were given a serious budget to make The Order 1887. An open-world steampunk Victorian London with a longer playtime and more varied gameplay options… it would honestly be up there with my most anticipated projects.

@colonelkilgore Really agree that the IP has potential. The faux knights of the round table and alternate historical setting with the fantastical creatures and all — it’s quite ripe for exploration. And when you see the end, you’ll probably feel even more hopeful for a sequel.

@colonelkilgore I started Tales of Arise and will probably take a break from it or play it side by side with Ragnarok.

Can't see myself getting burnt out to be honest, after the reviews I'm even more excited to get my hands on it.

Doing a replay was great, forgot about a lot of little details. Can't wait to find out who called the world serpent, If Mimir gets a new body from Brok and Sindri (they took his measurements 🤷🏻‍♂️) Will Kratos acquire Mjolnir and just want to see more of the world serpent and other fantastical beasties.

Started playing a game called ‘Telling Lies’ on PS Plus Extra. It’s one of those FMV mystery games. Enjoying it so far, and the acting is great. Something a bit different.

So, still playing Hellblade. I managed to gain access to some sort of magic sword in a tree after stumbling around completing visions accessed through a bunch of crystals.

Definitely the strongest part of the game so far. Some interesting Zelda-style puzzles and a few engaging setpieces. Although that one with the fire monster chasing you was frustrating. I hadn't properly died until this bit, but burned through three lives trying to find the runes and escape the monster through the maze.

I actually really liked the one where you're stumbling around in the darkness and have to rely on rumble and audio to guide you. And that last stretch with the barely visible shadow monsters was some Silent Hill-tier freakiness.

The game isn't bad when it's being creative.

@Ralizah I played the entirety of Hellblade in one sitting and that was quite the experience

I also got a long way through the game before realising that the focus skill to slow time in combat was a thing..

@Thrillho One sitting?! Geez. This is like an eight hour game.

I actually do think this would've been a good 'one sitting' experience if it had been shorter, though. Could've cut a LOT of fat from those early chapters of the game.

It actually took me a while before I realized my full moveset as well. The combat system is better than I thought initially. Parrying makes battles way more dynamic.

@Ralizah Yeah, when I worked night shifts I used to prepare by staying up all night beforehand and it was a perfect length to play in one session like that.

@Thrillho We do our Christmas food shop at about 5AM on Christmas Eve as we have a 24 hour Tesco nearby so I normally pull an all-nighter for that. Which is how I ended up playing God of War all night and having the bloody thing come off PS Now before getting the platinum 😂

@nessisonett I found it much harder to do with big games that I wouldn’t be able to finish in one go like that as it’s nice to know there’ll be an end point.

I think Observation was the only other game I played in one pre-nights sitting.

Hey there mate, yeah still playing. Making slow but steady progress, as per the norm with me! Still loving it, although there have been a few platforming sections which have almost been the end of me! I'm currently at the Crystal Peaks, after getting through the City of Tears.

Moving Out
Doraemon Story of Seasons

@Kairu So I've made my way through Crystal Peaks. Man, the combo of those insects that shoot crystals at you, ledges that spin with crystals on them and generally harmful crystals everywhere, made the area a real challenge!

You get some really cool powers though. I love using the crystal heart in the designated areas. I even made my way back to starting area and beyond quite by accident when I used it.

And I've got the dream nail too. Really like the story beats here, felt like some of the missing pieces fell into place. Bit of a mind fudge though! 😂

It ... is ... done!

Elden Ring is conquered! At least the story

For now, this is the game of the year, but I have not played God of War Ragnarok.

Amazing experience and another great addition to the Soulsborne series!!!