Topic: Playstation 5 Recommendation Thread

@Th3solution I'm not a huge JRPG and don't play a great deal of them. I really enjoyed Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age and Final Fantasy 7 Remake but didn't like Dragon Quest XI from last gen. I was into watching Manga (stuff like Akira) in my late teens as one of my friends use to collect them and I do like most of Studio Ghibli's films. So there is a inner weeb in there somewhere. 😂

@JudgeDredd My similar example - BioShock and BioShock Infinite. They’re amongst my all-time favorites, but are the dreaded first person shooter. But yeah, it’s good to leave the comfort zone from time to time as you might find a favorite laying there hidden in the weeds.

Another prejudice for me has been horror games. I really don’t care for the genre. But after pressing on with Resident Evil, I’ve actually found that I really like the series. I don’t think it will prompt me to start buying up every horror game now, but at least I am open to them a little more.

@JohnnyShoulder Embrace your inner-weeb! Your assignment is to play Persona 4 & 5 this weekend, followed by the Danganronpa series. 😜

@Th3solution I couldn't think of anything worse.

@nomither6 Moved the discussion here to avoid further derailing the Atomic Heart article.

Like I say, I’ll agree that multiplayer online competitive shooters, live service games, FPS in general, and I guess I could add fighting games (as I’m not sure we’ve seen a good first or second party fighter), are some of the voids in the Sony catalogue. But like I say, just like you’re giving Riot the benefit of the doubt for merely having a fighting game in development, give Sony a little leeway for at least trying their hand at online multiplayer, live service, and new FPS IPs that are currently in development at London studio, Firesprite, Haven, etc. There’s a good chance that Factions 2 will be high quality and will scratch your competitive online multiplayer itch, among others.

And I will have to disagree that there is much compelling about the microtransaction-ridden and heavy emphasis on F2P coming from Riot or Hi-Rez’s games, but that’s a personal choice. Maybe I need to try that Divine KnockOut since I have it from PS Plus but it didn’t seem worthwhile to me.

Have you tried Returnal? If you’re into kinetic bombastic shooters then it has some of the best gameplay out there. Stellar game (and many of the other games I listed on the article’s comment section are excellent but I can understand if you don’t care for slower paced artistic games or creative games.)

@Th3solution i haven’t played returnal it didn’t look interesting to me , especially since mass effect was free for a while , or is there something i’m missing and it’s a slept on gem ? does it do enough to distinguish itself from games similar to it , because the sci-fi shooter thing is another one that’s bloated as of late & there’s no multiplayer/co-op component to returnal either .

i mentioned riot and hi-rez for the simple fact of them dropping variety , the microtransactions and downsides of F2P wasn’t the point , but you’re right that i should give sony leeway and wait and see what they’re doing because something’s better then nothing

@nomither6 Oh yeah, buddy - Returnal is fantastic. I loved it, but it’s not going to be for everyone. I thought of it for you because it’s not narrative focused - I mean, there is a cool story, but it’s not very fleshed out and much less front-and-center compared to most Sony first party games. The real highlight of the game is the gameplay. It’s fast paced and can be pretty chaotic at times, kinda like DOOM or an MP arena shooter would be, with regard to the rapid pacing. Very little time with cutscenes or doing stuff you probably hate like crafting or messing with menus or skill trees. It’s just much more like a game where you’ll get straight into the action and start shooting enemies. It’s almost nothing like Mass Effect, despite it being Sci-Fi themed and both have some 3rd person shooting. Like I say, it feels closer to DOOM imo, but still quite different from that.

In fact the only precaution I’d have for you is that it’s a Rogue-like and so that may not click with some players. But I’m not really a fan of the Rogue-like genre and I grew to love Returnal. It can be quite a difficult game though, but I’m a very average player and probably even below average with shooters and I was able to beat the game and get the true ending.

Also some of the best DualSense features out there and stunning visuals and absolutely fantastic 3D audio.

And yes, it has a co-op mode now (added in a free DLC patch). Apparently when played in co-op it’s a bit easier.

It’s included in the PS+ Extra catalogue if you have that.

Regarding the variety of Riot and Hi-Rez, I do agree that these studios seem to really stretch their wings more than average, and do a large variety from FPS to card games to fighters, etc. It’s quite overwhelming though since almost everything from Riot has a League of Legends tie in.

@Th3solution well damn , thats good news and bad news! the good news is it sounds like everything i like ! the bad news is that its on a BIG sale for a whole 20 dollars off temporarily, but i just recently dropped around $70-80 on some steam games to fill my library on my steam account, aah!! on the flipside when it goes back to $70 , its cheaper on steam for $60, but i want it on playstation for obvious reasons. i have until march 2nd so ill see, it really does sound great. doom is another game i actually been dying to play but never bit the bullet to purchase so that all ties into me wanting to play returnal even more!

i also love games that challenge you so none of that difficult stuff bothers me, thats gaming at its best! dualsense features sound great too, and thats exciting that it has co-op, i really gotta check it out.

EDIT: oh thats right ! i can buy ps plus for cheaper than both steam and the retail price ! ok , yea i definitely will check it out

@nomither6 Yeah, I was about to suggest doing the PS+ Extra route. It would be $15 for a month, $40 for 3 months, or $100 for a year. If you’re a fast gamer you could finish Returnal in a month. I’m really slow and it took me two months and I didn’t even play the expansion yet (called “Tower of Sisyphus”) which is a endless tower ascension mode. Probably about 40-50 hrs to get to the full ending, but highly skilled people were getting through it as fast as 20 hrs I think.

If you subscribe then you can try some of the other games too as a bonus. Too bad DOOM isn’t on there but it’s often on sale for like $10 so an easy one to pick up for cheap some day. DOOM Eternal is also supposedly great but I’ve not played it.

Phew, I was a bit worried that there wasn't a recommendations thread for PS5 games!

So I'm considering buying Deathloop and The Callisto Protocol. Are these games worth buying?

I'm also looking for more horror games to play on PS5 (which is one of the reasons why I'm interested in The Callisto Protocol). I've also heard about Martha is Dead and Madison in terms of indie horror games but I don't know much about them other than Madison being compared to Visage (which I sadly didn't enjoy, I just don't like games with a "sanity" system).

I also know that the PS1 version of the first Resident Evil is on PS5, which I adore. Hopefully Sony will add the Dino Crisis games on PS5 soon as we don't have access to them on the PS3/Vita stores in EU.

Dead Space and RE4 remakes are a given, but I'm going to wait until I find them at a good price before getting them.

If you want to give some girlie horse riding games for your kids, this is one of my recommendation.

I think I can recommend Octopath Traveller 2 - I was really not excited to play this as I didn’t enjoy the first overall, but I’ve put 20 or so hours into the sequel and it’s a lot more engaging. I am glad I took a chance on it.

I basically like all the characters I have met (6) - I’ve not rolled my eyes once at the dialogue! I can only say I enjoyed 1 story of the 8 from the first game (Primrose, obviously!)

Between story chapters there’s plenty to discover, and I was laughing with joy when I unlocked the boat. Lovely music, looks great..

I will reserve final judgment until I have played it for longer, as to be fair I think I put more time into the first game and I may yet bounce off this one after another 20 hours. But certainly I am happy to say I was never as excited to play more of the first game, nor did I feel compelled to play it for such long periods at once so they have done something right with the sequel.

I’ll post my reply here rather than the chit chat thread @Th3solution but Kentucky Route Zero is amazing although definitely not for everyone! I replayed it not long after getting my PS5 to get the platinum and I enjoyed it just as much second time around.

It really is a hard game to describe though. It has so many elements of other games but is still really unique. I guess at heart it is a story driven role player but where “it’s about the journey and not the destination” man.

Your choices make next to no difference to the story but really mould it to an experience for you. It’s hard to describe but for instance a character might ask you if you have any siblings and you could respond with;

“No, my parents never wanted more”
“Yeah, an older brother but we don’t talk”
“A younger sister but she died a while back”

None of them affect the game but kind of make the character yours and unique to your game.

The art style is really cool too and the music is amazing and incredibly poignant at times, with one scene blowing me away with the music they used.

Basically, I loved it for being so different to anything I had played before. It’s not for everyone and certainly stretches the definition of being a “game” but it really is a great experience.

@Th3solution @Thrillho @AgentCooper Yeah, I'll echo the "not for everyone" sentiment about Kentucky Route Zero. It's the kind of game that defies definition, similar to The Stanley Parable (although also nothing at all like The Stanley Parable, which you'd expect from something that defies definition). It reminds me of how I've felt about other indie games with soft-touch storylines; the experience's end result depends on what you, the player, brings along for the journey. If you just wanna vent some aggression, or you've got a fish phobia, then don't play ABZÛ. That kinda thing.

But, if you're prepared to let your curiosity and imagination do a lil' heavy lifting, then it's a blast. I will say that, despite "getting" most of its moments, its pacing is all over the freakin' place, and there are times that it'll test your patience, no matter how engaged you are.

I also know that @Kidfried is a fan, and wrote a great review in the review topic!

@RogerRoger @Thrillho Thanks for the information and also thanks to @Kidfried because yes, I did go back to read the review posted in 2020. And honestly, there’s a good chance I read the review 2.5 years ago and have just forgotten some of the detail. My memory isn’t always sharp so I’m grateful to have had a reminder. (and incidentally, thanks as well @Ralizah and Rog for their continued dedication to keeping the review thread organized and catalogued so that finding a review written in 2020 was a snap!).
One line from Kid’s review struck me:
“The game is definitely for those who like to think about [various subjects] and where society, philosophy and art intertwine.”
And that line alone sold me on it. I’m definitely more apt to pick it up now.

That said, when I checked psprices.com, it drops to its current sale price quite commonly, so I might wait on it. I’m also staring Jedi Survivor right in the face soon, among others. I am encouraged by KR0’s 10 hour limited runtime through, as that’s a great sweet-spot to throw in between longer AAA releases.

Reading about the game also has reminded me to play Disco Elysium, which is another point-and-clicky (maybe, kind of?) philosophical game I have sitting in my backlog.

I’m starting to really worry about drowning in so many wonderful games that I having trouble finding time to get around to. The image of sinking slowly into quicksand comes to mind. The more I struggle, the deeper I get trapped… 😅 Someone send help.

There are no words to describe the pride and gratefulness I felt hearing that someone, years later, has read something that I once wrote! Thanks for that.

@Th3solution The game is about giving meaning to the lifes of the characters in this game, and through it you'll be giving meaning to the game and... maybe even find some meaning in your own life.

The game is like looking at a beautiful painting. Like maybe a Marc Chagall:

Some things from the painting are very clear: the painter is the main character, and behind him are all kinds of persons in their life. They're probably not here, but rather in the mind of the artist, he's thinking about them.

Now looking at this painting, we will all have a different idea about who these people might be, and what their appearance means. Are they people the artist cares about or worried about? Maybe they are people the artist feesl guilt towards, because of something they did? Maybe they are memories of a life flown by?

Whatever you will see in this picture, it'll tell you more about who you are than what is actually depicted.

... I should just stop writing here, I'm probably making less sense as I go on.

By the way. The game kind of makes you do that. The game was released in an episodic format and you can really play a chapter, put the game down for a month and then play the next. If that is any help to know!

@Kidfried You should definitely give 2020 version of Kidfried a nice pat on the back because most certainly the review turned out to be an enjoyable and helpful read in 2023 and is much appreciated by yours truly.

And your expansive Art analogy makes perfect sense! The game does sound right up my street. I adore games as art and when some personal interpretation can be gleaned, especially if it teaches me something about myself.

@Th3solution That makes me feel so disconnected from my previous self. Like, was that even me? Three years ago, especially with COVID, feels like ancient history. Thanks for the pat on the back all the same, though.

@Kidfried I enjoyed the painting comparison there

And @Th3solution Disco Elysium should definitely be on your list to play. A magnificent game that I really want to find time to replay again.

Unlike KR0 it’s one where your actions very much do affect the game and it’s another true role playing game where you can make the character be whatever you want. I especially like the fact the game almost ridicules you for playing it too boringly.

Honestly, @Th3solution I can’t really add much, having also read the review by @Kidfried which is par excellence! Really wonderful write up.

As they were alluding to, the game definitely benefits from surrendering to it in a way, perhaps not viewing from the usual perspective. Truly wonderful game and one I’ll be picking up on PS too to bag that shiny shiny platinum 👍

@Kidfried Yeah, I’ve felt like the pandemic did some kind of bizarre time-warp on the world where it just feels like a whole generation passed when in actuality it’s only been a couple years. Pre-COVID and early COVID life is like some kind of dream that never happened.
Anyways, apologies if I prompted any feeling of dissection from your prior self. 😅 You’re still very much consistently perpetual, it’s the world around us which has changed!

@AgentCooper I’ll definitely drop a note somewhere when I get around to KR0. I thank you for bringing it back to my awareness. It’s on my PSN wishlist, but that pesky thing is getting so long that it’s easy for games to get buried at the bottom.

@Thrillho Disco will be on deck hopefully sooner rather than later. This year, I suspect. Of course I say that and I see Jedi Survivor and FF16 coming quickly and I know that I’ll get lulled by the siren song of one or both of those. And FF16 is likely to be massive, time commitment-wise (Hopefully Jedi is a manageable 30-40 hour jaunt). And that’s to say nothing of Spider-Man 2 and all the rest. But back on the subject of Disco Elysium, I’m ironically grateful that the recurring controversy of the development team keeps the game popping back up in the public consciousness. 😅 It’s free (or not so free) advertising because each time an article with another lawsuit comes up I’m reminded that I need to check it out. Morbid curiosity notwithstanding! 😄