Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@Th3solution @colonelkilgore I actually like Maneater quite a bit. It's the sort of game I'm glad I don't have to review because how much I like it is probably not aligned with how good it actually is. Because it's clearly rubbish. But it's entertaining rubbish. It's like trying to review Commando starring Arnold Schwarzenegger or something. It's a mindless shark chomping game that requires no real skill and I don't have to think about at all but will amuse me for a short amount of time.

@Th3solution @colonelkilgore @johncalmc Nice, I thought it was just me being underwhelmed when I booted up Maneater

@colonelkilgore Yeah, in my (admittedly very limited) time with it, the dissonance of the comedy and the flesh-eating maiming violent horror was kind of off-putting. People screaming in sheer terror as you rip their limbs off, juxtaposed with goofy attempts at humor in the story dialogue.

And to be fair, I’ve never been particularly fond of underwater swimming in games in general - it always feels too floaty and imprecise. So a whole game playing as a shark is probably not for me anyways, even though it controls about as well as can be expected. And yes, it does just look like a PS4 game to me and the haptics are half-baked. Of course I could have been spoiled by Astrobot. In fact, I’m fairly certain Astrobot set the bar so high that it might have done a disservice to PS5 games. Here’s hoping 🤞🏼 that Returnal makes good use of the DualSense haptics and the SSD. Also Demon’s Souls is apparently really good with it too. Gotta get around to both of those.

@TraCuz- Yeah, did the colors and graphics look kinda weird to you? The people’s skin tone all looked really red and the color saturation was awful. I’m still new to my PS5 so I’m not sure I have the settings done very well.

Over the last 2 weeks or so I've gotten into FF14 so I was happy to be able to see the changes first hand in the PS5 beta that released this week. The resolution and performance upgrades are very nice and welcomed. One of my favorite changes being the load times! Significantly reduced, makes the experience really seamless. One of the reasons I think this game clicked with me is the immersion and they improved it with the Dualsense implementation. I don't think they implemented the adaptive triggers but the subtle use of haptic feedback is great. The haptics are mainly used for traversal as that is a core aspect of the game. Each surface you walk on feels different, each mount feels different while running or flying, and haptic feedback when crafting/gathering all really add up to increasing the immersion. Another nice little thing I noticed was while I was in menus sorting out some gear another player ran by me and I felt their footsteps in the haptics. It was stronger the closer they were and as they gained distance the haptics felt weaker. Once again these are subtle uses but add to the experience and gets me excited for future Dualsense implementation.

@johncalmc @Th3solution @colonelkilgore Yeah I really enjoyed my time with Maneater. It did take me a while to get used to the controls though. I loved the humour and all the Easter eggs throughout the game. It probably came at an ideal time for, as I had just suck 140 odd hours into Cyberpunk, so was a nice palette cleanser. It is a mid budget game so people should set their expectations accordingly, but at the same can see why people didn't like it.

Trying to figure out some Noob Saibot combos without looking anything up on the interwebz (because it's fun).
This is the best I got so far:

@Voltan ...juicy.

Started up Control Ultimate Edition this weekend and ... wow, I’m actually liking this game. I was a little wary since there was the mentions of it being really weird and abstract. And, to be honest, it is a little strange and the story telling leaves something to be desired. But I’m warming up to the oddity of the situation. If I have a complaint so far (only about 2-3 hours in) I am highly annoyed at the ambient sounds - mostly staticky voices mumbling and chanting like some kind of seance. The sounds are very grating on the ears. I guess that’s by design, but it’s reaching levels of high annoyance and I just hope the background voices calm down soon when I learn more about what’s going on here and in Jesse’s head. It’s a little bit reminiscent of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, but in Control the voices are just purposefully harsh like nails on a chalkboard as opposed to the quiet whispers of Senua’s delusionary mind.

Anyways, besides the voices and sounds, I just really am impressed with the game. I’m playing in graphics mode, since I figured I’m used to 30 fps and it’s just gorgeous the way the ray tracing and 4K look with all the windows and reflective surfaces in the building. It’s so great to look at that I haven’t even tried switching over to performance mode for the 60fps experience. I figured I’d wait until I got further in and the graphics on screen became really busy and chaotic before I tried to prioritize frame rate. I just recently got the point where I obtained the launch ability and can start throwing things around - a la The Force Unleashed so I’ll probably try the performance mode soon. I just love how this looks though!

And the gunplay and combat so far is really fun. I hear it gets difficult, but so far, so good. It seems to be just the right level of difficulty for me right now.

@Th3solution Glad you are enjoying Control sir. In regards to the voices, not sure if I just got used to it or whether they calm down, but I found it eventually didn't bother me. At first it was really weird, but that is kinda the point I felt.

One tip with the combat, is always be on the move. Hiding behind the environment will only help you so much, especially as you progress through the game and the enemies get harder. But at the same you are gaining more powers and growing more familiar with the game.

@Th3solution Those voices were my first thought when I was trying to pin down why Control gave me a thumping headache. It turned out not to be them but they were a bit of an annoyance to start with!

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, I’ll play around a little bit today. So far the enemies’ aim is enough to rival your average stormtrooper for ineptitude, but I know it’ll likely get harder. The most difficult part is just the sheer number of enemies sometimes. I’m not good at the ‘constant movement and simultaneous shooting’ skills, but I made it through DOOM, so this should be fine. Especially since, if memory of watching gameplay clips is correct, I suspect I’m getting some movement upgrades at some point like double jump or dash and hopefully that helps with dodging.

I have learned that what y’all say is true — the map is fairly worthless and serves only to give a rough idea what part of the house you’re in. It’s better to follow the in game signs pointing to different departments, kinda like being in a real office building. Also, the blue hue / spiritual voice in Jesse’s head can sometimes help out to highlight the next area to explore.

@nessisonett Yeah, I’m playing with headphones and I had to take them off a couple times because it hurt my ears. Well... not “hurt” like physical pain, but just grated.

@Th3solution I quite liked the sound design for Control. The voices didn't really disturb me, they felt like echoes of all the people working in the house, there was something soothing about it for me. The voices in Hellblade though, those made me... not feel good.

I really love how each of the guns feel and shoot in this game.

PS I found this game to be very easy, actually...

Had a few more entertaining hours with Control today and I’m just so enamored with this game right now. I’m still pretty early on but I like the combination of exploration, combat, and story. Granted the story is bonkers, but it’s kept me engaged.

I tried switching over to performance (60fps at the sacrifice of Ray tracing) and it still looks great, but honestly, I missed the RT so much that I switched back. So far I haven’t run into an area where the frame rate seemed to need the extra bump. I might eat my words later, but 30 fps seems fine right now - it’s very stable. The RT though ... 🤩. I had no idea I was going to like RT this much. This is my first game to play that actually has it and I didn’t know I like reflections so much. I wonder what I’ll prefer on Miles Morales when I eventually get to that. It’s a much more kinetic game, so the 60 fps is going to be more tempting. Returnal looks to also be really frenetic and fast so I might go the performance route there, we’ll see.

I’m so glad I waited to play Control on PS5, it’s just so smooth. The quick load times are a godsend too.
This has convinced me even more to wait for the PS5 versions of some of the games in my PS4 backlog like FF7R. Absolutely waiting until Intergrade releases to play the upgraded version. Same for TLoU2, Cyberpunk, etc., when those PS5 versions inevitably release.

@Th3solution yeah Control struck a load of chords with me too.Found it super playable... and it only becomes more playable the more monkey-**** your powers become. I loved the 70’s-nouveau aesthetic and the themes of apparently government/federal institutions corrupted by occult power and now running dangerously on autonomy.

Glad to here that the PS5 is enhancing it too, I’m looking forward to getting another plat on it at some point... it was a pleasure on every level.

@Th3solution When I went from performance to Cinematic in Demon's Souls, it actually made me a bit queasy, so I won't be doing that again in hurry!

With the games you listed i reckon TLOU2 will be ok with the ps4 version, as it already looked and performed really well, and the load times were quite short too.

I only have an “old” HDTV so I’ve assumed that ray tracing won’t really make much of a difference to me? Is that right?

@velio84 Spider-Man has ray-traced reflections and it makes a huge difference IMO. The skyscrapers look simply amazing with it.
Even more so in Miles Morales, which clearly has some environments designed specifically to showcase the tech.

@Thrillho I guess ray tracing doesn’t really depend on being 4K or HDR. I actually haven’t thought about it, but it does make sense that it would be independent of all that and something you’d notice on a 1080p TV. I know they talk about if/when Sony supports 1440p, then it’ll be possible to do both RT and 60 fps both in 1440p. I’m just not sure my TV can do 1440.
But if you play Control, you can tell pretty quickly because there’s a lot of glass in the building. The moment that I just had to switch RT back on was where (and I don’t think I’m spoiling anything here) you’re in a room hovering that has glass walls on all four sides and you see your reflection when you walk in all around you, whereas in performance mode the glass is just a muted generic dark look to it with virtually no reflective sheen. It was a pretty stark contrast.

I think the optimal thing would be if a game like this could have the ability to automatically switch between graphics and fidelity. When I’m exploring I don’t really need the fast frame rate; when I’m in a combat scenario I don’t really need ray tracing. It would be nice if the game was programmed to switch back and forth automatically, but I guess it sounds like that nauseates some gamers.

@velio84 You might be right about Returnal, as the art style doesn’t look to have a lot of natural light and seems pretty dark, and the gameplay is sure to benefit from optimal performance.

@JohnnyShoulder Demon’s Souls is one that I suspect I’d also choose the frame rate. So much of that style of game is dependent on precision with timing.