Topic: PlayStation 5 --OT--

@MaulTsir Hey, buddy! So great to see you post again! I’ve been wondering how you’re getting along.

And the update of your recent games played is so interesting! Mainly because several of the titles you’ve played are either in my backlog, or ones that I’ve been thinking and/or talking about lately.

@Tjuz and I were just discussing the Final Fantasy series recently and I’m trying to convert TJ into a FF fan. I said that I think although FFX is a good jumping in point, I was concerned that it hasn’t stood the test of time since it was such an early attempt at the modern open world. I’m glad to hear that I’ve underestimated its longevity.

Also interesting to read about the disappointment for Rebirth. Some of what you mentioned about it sounds familiar with other criticisms I’ve seen. I plan to hopefully get to it this year. I enjoyed Remake, although it sounds as though I liked it less than you did. I do hope Rebirth clicks with me, as I’ve been looking forward to it.

A couple other notable games on that list are on my ‘To Play’ list for 2026 — Clair Obscur and Witcher 3. Both earning 10/10’s on the Maul scale is really making me excited to get them. I’m reading The Witcher books now to get myself accustomed to the world and characters because the first time I tried W3 it didn’t really gel with me and I think I didn’t understand the character Geralt at the time.

Death Stranding is an all-time favorite of mine, so I hope it’s been enjoyable for you. I want to try to get to the sequel this year as well.

If I get through Rebirth, Witcher 3, CO: E33, and DS2 by end of year than I’ll be quite happy.

@Th3solution hey mate, its good to post again. It's nice to be back! Hope everything's good with you!

Story wise for FF X it's brilliant, like I say when I first ever played it, I didn't Gel but maybe age was a factor. I couldn't say as an entry point which FF is best, I guess it depends on the individuals taste and gameplay style but I did feel X held up really well. It does have a very FF feel but at the same time feels completely different to 7, 8 and 9 If that makes sense. I think FF fans and JRPG fans in general would appreciate a playthrough of X though.

Yeah I feel like I should of loved Rebirth, but I don't know, it just didn't hit me the same as remake. The story is fine, I'm actually happy with this version, I feel like I get what their trying to do. And the combat is brilliant, improved on Remake and switching party members was a genius stroke, even though I still near enough always had Cloud in my party because it feels more right lol but the game felt "childish" for want of a better word. I still enjoyed it and would recommend anyone who's played remake to play it but yeah overall disappointed, left alot to be desired and I now worry for the 3rd installment.

Expedition 33 is truly something special. I won't go on to much about it as I'd like not to spoil anything for you but I absolutely loved it. There's been few games that have earned multiple playthroughs from me, Mass Effect series, Red Dead Redemption 1, God of War 2018, Bloodbourne, Ghost of Tsushima, Last of Us 1&2 and The Witcher 3. E33 will certainly join this list, that's how highly I regard it

Speaking of The Witcher 3 I very similar to you tried multiple times to get into it when it first came out. Then I read a few of the books and loved the game, but I couldn't do the DLC's at the time. I'm so glad I did, honestly Blood and Wine is basically another game in it self, unbelievable the amount of content on that DLC. Hopefully you get to enjoy them as I did this time.

@MaulTsir @Th3solution aha, I told you, Sol, it is quite common for even massive fans of The Witcher 3 to have struggled initially (took me a few years and a few starts to get into it for various reasons, one being I didn't play any fantasy games and as my first massive fantasy rpg I had no idea what I was doing with all the swords and magic and game systems and inventories. Then I got stuck in a cave with all broken equipment and I hate going back hours in a playthrough just to redo everything again, so I packed it in. Because of this I learned to "save before cave" in all games. And not just rely on autosaves that get overwritten after x amount of time, meaning you don't have a hard save to back out to if you make an error on a quest where you're locked in to a location or chain of events)

Hopefully, knowing how common this is means you can be welcomed into our club sooner rather than later. I'd also say it might be best to start it after you finish Sword of Destiny, otherwise you may have to lock in and read the entire set of novels which may take a while to get through, because the really good stuff starts part way through Baptism of Fire, i'd say. These are the parts of the journey I could read over and over again, anyway. It is obviously different first time through, as everything is new to you, and it is all good.

And i'm glad @MaulTsir has experienced Blood & Wine. A fitting end to the witcher 3 as a complete package. My consensus has always been it's basically better than a lot of full game releases these days, and it's 'just a DLC' and it was really this DLC that took me from, I love this game, to I need more Witcher content and will binge read all the books, and those in turn made me appreciate everything even more.

Also, great write ups on everything else. I really need to play E33, but I think I slowly became put off by the hype rather than drawn into it. But I do love a cinematic game, and this all sounds very promising.

Hopefully you enjoy Death Stranding, it is a very unique game, but one that I feel everyone should play at least once.

Now, based on the games you love, i'm pondering whether to attempt to sell you on KCD, as well 🤔 as, for me, it was the game that gave me hope that other games can still be good after playing RDR2 and The Witcher 3 one after the other, and thinking "well, what now? Is there even any point in other games? 😅"

And the fact I always go back to the quote I read "it's like the Witcher, but without Witcher Senses to help you" as being a great description of how the game is designed, makes me think it may appeal to you. You get the classic voiced protagonist with multiple ways to talk to people and solve quests, you go out in to the world and do side quests that matter a lot more than most games, and you have a very questionable horse companion 😁

@MaulTsir Ravix already Witchered you up but those DLCs are good enough to be stand-alone games. It must have been great to experience them for the first time on PS5, they ran fine on PS4 but feel more polished on PS5. My technique with the remaster was to get straight to the DLCs for the Gwent cards and then start to play Gwent in the main game. That was a lot of coin for my Witcher (it's not cheating Ravix) It was rough with the difficulty spike, fun too. I was surprised how good Blood and Wine was. I haven't gotten around to Chiaroscuro Expedition 33 and it's been sitting there since launch. Final Fantasy Rebirth is on my list for the open-world.

@Ravix “…it might be best to start it after you finish Sword of Destiny, otherwise you may have to lock in and read the entire set of novels which may take a while to get through…”

Oh yeah… about that — too late. 😅
Finished SoD and started Blood of Elves already. I might have to put my actual book impressions in the relevant thread, but I’m looking forward to Blood of Elves so much I went ahead and just kept going. The way SoD ends it’s almost impossible not to want to know what is next.

@Th3solution fair! 😁 I'll catch you in the other thread when you post your final SoD thoughts, and I suppose, your first BoE thoughts. Enjoy!

@Ravix @GirlVersusGame The Witcher 3 on PS5 is magnificent, and experiencing the DLC's for the first time was truly perfect. I had no major issues at all that I can remember and the game qaulity was better than a lot of games that have released recently.

Both DLC's are truly worth playing but where as HoS feels like an extension of the main game B&W feels like a whole extra game in itself.

I do really think @Th3solution giving our similar tastes in the past would really enjoy the game. But maybe after a few shorter games, I know your currently undertaking BG3 and I know thats a mammoth game, sometimes too many long games at a time is the reason we don't quite click and The Witcher 3 without the DLC's is quite the undertaking.

I will say I've spoke to a few people who say the same thing about it, first time they tried they fell off, me included.

@Ravix funnily enough I have KCD 1 lined up for some point this year, I have the ultimate edition picked up in the PS store sale awhile ago, for £4 it seemed like a no brainer. I've been interested in this game for a while and after seeing the praise for no.2 I will hopefully become a fan on the franchise myself. And now I'm definitely intrigued to see this very questionable horse companion!

I am enjoying Death Stranding, I posted my very brief up to date thoughts on the DS thread but then realised it was over on the ps4 forum 🤦‍♂️

Ravix and GirlVersusGame in terms of E33 I like you Rav was very much so "put off" by the hype from the main stream, I for some reason felt a little annoyed that everyone seemed to be jumping on the bandwagon of a game I very much knew little about before hand but was very much looking forward too. In fairness I think gamers really do glaze anything they can these days but I think its more of an attack on the industry itself than an actual over achievement of these games. Gamers are starting to finally show these companies and developers what types of games they want and it's hurt some of the big AAA developers who've believed there names will see them through the generic slop they’ve put out for far to long. Anyway I digress and start on one of my little sideways rants!

E33 is as far as my opinion goes well worthy of its praise. I really have no interest in Game of the Year, I have never and will never be bothered by it, so what people class as game of the year material I have no idea. But it's fantastic, it's truly a wonderful game to play and I would highly regard it as one of the best narrative games I've ever played. If narrative games are your thing or even something you enjoy or don't mind then I'd be pretty confident you be coming away pleased you played it. E33 is not the best game ever made, it's probably not going to be the game people have the most fun playing but it is a generational game in my opinion and should be celebrated as BG3 was. The fact this game was made by a small pocket of people is unreal. The fact it's like a by gone era where developers made a game they wanted to play and it doesn't matter about sales or deadlines or investors tick boxes is refreshing - I know sales and finances matter I'm not that nieve but what I'm getting at is the game comes as if it was made from love, by gamers for gamers and it's a piece of art because of it. Its mechanics are a amalgamation of old mechanics put into this game and work tremendously well, its graphic are wonderful, it's world interesting, a fantasy setting with characters that seem so grounded in human flaws, beliefs and personalities. Not some people that we make up in our head as perfect in every sense but the people who we would really see in the real world with real stories of pain, suffering, hurt, love, happiness, hope. All the things that link us that we can all relate too, the human condition. Anyway let me know if you guys ever get around to it, I'm always interested to hear people's takes on games

@Ravix What does --OT-- mean?

@Th3solution @MaulTsir Since there's some Final Fantasy X talk here... I gotta ask you, Maul. We'd been talking about how different X-2 is and how some of the fans are not appreciative of the difference in its tone and characters. Are you planning to play X-2 or will you be skipping it for whatever reason?

@MaulTsir I am excited to retry Witcher 3, indeed. But like you say, I’m reluctant to commit to a 100+ hour game, especially with a fantasy setting right after BG3. I don’t what to run the risk of burning out on these huge epic narrative games and so I’ll probably take a small break, finish The Invincible (which shouldn’t take long, probably only a couple more hours now) and then maybe jump into something smaller, or at least something different in tone. My next big game was going to be Forbidden West, which is no small game but still about 1/4 as long as what I just spent on BG3. I don’t know. I also was thinking about Silent Hill 2. Maybe GoW Ragnarok. Alan Wake. Ugh, so many choices. 😅 I’ll have to see what the mood is this weekend when I have the time to start. I feel like I need something action-y though, after playing a methodical, tactical turn-based game for so long, so I’m going to wait on E33 until later this year. And I feel like Rebirth, W3, and Death Stranding 2 are going to be longer games to get lost in when the time comes and I’m ready for full immersion. I need something a little more… casual, maybe that’s the word. I don’t know. Something like a junk food snack that will give short term satisfaction quickly and that I don’t have to think too much about.

But yes, I have now finally finished BG3 this last week by the way and absolutely loved it. Sad to see it over but it wrapped up nicely and I am going to be alright moving on now. Incidentally, there’s very few games I’ve played where I can say that I felt totally immersed to the point that I didn’t feel any pressure to “move on” and get to the next game in my list. Most of the time when I’m playing a game, especially a longer one, I reach a point where my mind starts to wander onto what to play next and I start to get fidgety to get my current game wrapped up and the next one started. BG3 is one of the few times I really never felt pressure to finish it and move in. Another game that fit that category for me was Death Stranding. I’m pleased to see that you’re liking it so far, because it is a hard one to recommend and it won’t click with everyone. But I was really, really engrossed with it from start to finish. I’ll drop more thoughts over on the thread but I think back fondly on that one and it kept me engaged the whole time.

@Tjuz I haven't gotten around to X-2 yet, not for not wanting to but just more out of the fact I haven't ever really put it high on the list. After completing X last year I did think about jumping straight in to X-2 but for what ever reason I decided against it.

I do want to play it though and will eventually. I'm well aware of the public opinion on it and the difference in tone, something I remember being a big point when the game first came out. But ultimately I will like to get to it and see if I enjoy it or not. I enjoyed X way more this time than I did as a teenager. I remember at the time thinking this final fantasy feels like it's more for girls. Stupid I know but the average teenage boy wants big monsters, explosions and lots of fighting. Emotional stories have a lot less impact on most teenage boys, especially at that time when competing against the likes of halo, call of duty and gears of war. So alot of that opinion will come from a time when gaming's biggest demographic was a lot of teenagers who wanted more of that stuff. You get my drift.

With all things appreciation seems to grow with time and I see a lot of games getting more love now than they did when they were released.

But I really connected with the characters this playthrough of X, enjoyed the story much more. Infact it moved up my list of favourite FF games, so with that in mind I'm going it to X-2 with a very positive mindset for the game. I will let you know when I do eventually get there.

What's your opinion on X-2? Is it a game you would recommend? Especially to someone who is a big fan of all things Final Fantasy

@Th3solution Oh yes, I can totally understand your reluctance to start another 100+ hour journey so soon, it is always a big time commitment and your right the frame of mind has to be right, otherwise I don't think we sometimes give these games the fair crack they deserve.

Taking small breaks is definitely the right thing to do and it's something that has helped me massively. This last year I've got so much better at managing my self gaming, the dread backlog anxiety and the speed new games came out was absolutely pulling down for far too long. Like you mentioned about thinking about what to play next before even finishing a game, I was like that constantly, even trying to work out the hours and list what I could get through before starting a game. But I've took a step back and a new approach now which has really helped me this year and I feel like nearly every game I've played since I've just enjoyed it so much more than I would have previously. I'm a relaxed gamer now rather than a stressed one 😂.

Big congrats on finishing BG3 that's no mean feet! What are you're overall feelings on the game?
I admittedly got to Act 2 and gave up. I think it was the dread of making the wrong choice all the time that stopped me and then I put it down and never picked it back up again. But I will be hoping to get back to it one day. I'll probably start again in all honesty because I couldn't even remember where I was up to, I just remember I made alot of terrible choices and felt like I was going to be missing alot of stuff because of it lol.

You have a lot of good games to choose from by the looks of it, I have never played the silent hill games, was always a Resident Evil guy but I do really want to play Silent Hill 2 its looks so good. The Resident Evils are always good pallet cleaners because RE2 and 3 Remakes you can get through a single playthrough in 8 to 10 hours and feel like you've accomplished something.

I enjoyed Forbidden West, not as much as Horizon Zero Dawn but it's still a really good game to play. 50+ hours easily though and knowing your like me you could easily stretch that to 70 with exploring and getting lost in the world 😂

Ragnarok is another game that's a 40 to 50 hour journey, I was at 70 but 20 hours where for plat clean up.

If your looking for a fast paced action-y type game then I couldn't recommend Stellar Blade enough, it's not as highly narrative as GOW or Horizon but it's combat, style and world is fantastic. A playthrough is about 30 hours so really that sweet spot of not to long but not to short, I was at 50 but I did all ending and enjoyed the combat that much I played the combat simulator to redo boss battles.

The new Horizon game is so weird. I get the co-op and live service and all that, but I don't get...

• It looks like the game is now losing its most distinguishing feature gameplay wise, and that is shooting parts off of robots
• It's not clear to me why they do not reuse the assets from Horizon 2. That game looks amazing. Nightreign just reused its assets, even though having a completely different energy from Elden Ring. Everybody loved that.
• I don't really understand the trailer. They present Varl and Erend as if people care about them, but I don't know they do.

What I'm basically saying is, I have a hard time seeing why Horizon fans should be excited about this. Could still be a great game, but as a Horizon spin-off it makes limited sense.

@Herculean
It doesn’t interest me but then nor does Fortnite so perhaps it isn’t aimed at me despite me enjoying the recent Horizon games although I do think it is time to give the franchise a rest.
Anyway just reading the comments on the video on PlayStation YouTube channel and the top comment is “Horizon : Zero Interest” which I thought was very witty.

I do wonder if this game will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back with the camel being Hermen Hulst, but again the game isn’t aimed at me so time will tell whether it is a success.

EDIT Quick edit before people say “but but it wasn’t greenlit by Hermen”, possibly but I don’t think that changes much.

@CaptD I don't know if they need to give the franchise a rest, but their output after Horizon Zero Dawn just never felt inspiring to me. Instead of sticking to Altaïr, Ubisoft switched to Ezio for Assassin's Creed II. Not saying they need to invent a more charismatic Aloy, but you need to constantly think about moving a franchise forward to prevent it from going stale.

...wait, Varl was in the trailer? Where?! I immediately recognised that Erend has a new voice actor, that's not John Hopkins (or if it is, he's going in a whole new direction) but didn't spot Varl anywhere.

@Werehog No sign of him. I must have imagined him! Anyway, good to know there are Varl and Erend stans like you out there!

@Werehog Also, the voice acting bit is interesting. Like: why didn't Aloy have a voice? Why did they change Erend's voice actor? You don't have to use those characters for a game like this, and without their voice actors, what's the point of including them? And moreso: why didn't these actors lend their voices for this game?

We need a journalist on this!