Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

Sure, but there is a certain minimal satisfactory length that I want from a game For me personally that would probably be around 10 hours (I usually play for 2 hours a day, so that would give me a week's worth of fun, excluding weekends). I also get tired with most 100+ hour titles and 20-30 hours seems to be a perfect length for me. But 4-5 hours just seems a bit disappointing. I recently played Dave the Diver and it was a rare indie title that was actually around 20 hours in length. I loved e.g. Planet of Lana but I felt I'd gladly spend more time in that world.

Started my first foray into playing The Last of Us (Remake Part One) and I don't think Sarah is really grasping the seriousness of what is happening right now 😛

I'm not sure I'll play much before the 'Pro' comes, or maybe I will. What I will say the Performance mode in TLoUp1 is the best performance mode I've ever seen, it is in no way is off putting like some performance modes are to me, in terms of looking fake and having a sped up quality, and is really nice with unlocked fr + VRR. I was surprised that a fully cinematic game nailed a performance mode so well when most of the time they can annoy me. Bravo, ND.

Maybe my eyesight isn't what it used to be or maybe it's a result of me playing on a relatively small screen (27' gaming monitor) but I'd say in a vast majority of games I played performance mode for me was almost indistinguishable from fidelity mode in terms of image quality. GoW: Ragnarok, the Spider-man games, Ratchet&Clank, The Last of Us, GTA5, Cyberpunk 2077, Horizon FW... All of them looked absolutely fine in performance. Actually the only games I remember looking bad in performance mode were Hogwart's Legacy and Jedi Survivor. (Yes, I know about Final Fantasy but I haven't played it ;P)

@lotan666 yeah, a smaller screen will probably help with that with much more densly packed pixels for starters.

But I'm talking about the actual implementation of the motion im games in this instance and how it feels to me to play in those modes. The game still looks great, no doubt, although resolution mode did look even better/crisper, despite me deciding to stick with Performance mode this time as it was clearly a good choice for this game.

But a lot of games I try in performance mode just really mess with my eyes, it's a combination of their motion, cutscenes being completely ruined, strange motion of objects, and the characters acting and moving in a totally fake and exaggerated way, stuff like that makes a lot of games feel less realistic than in their standard 30fps resolution modes, to me. Like a Michael Bay/transformers movie, that'd be a good example from other media 🤮🤮🤮 and I have also tried plenty that look noticably much worse image quality wise too, to be fair.

I will have a good idea of what improvements come via the Pro when that arrives though, but tbh the Pro for me is more a third party saviour for now, and i will still assess modes on a game by game basos for what looks and feels right for me, but current and future SIE titles being pushed further will be a nice cherry on top. And if I get a TLoUp1 performance mode this well done in even higher fidelity on the big screen, then i'm all for that, too, as it is technically pretty darn good as is.

@PorkChopExpress I haven’t played Gotham Knights yet but I’ve enjoyed a load of games that were supposedly terrible according to the general media consensus. Probably comes down to the appeal of any one game to the individual, serving to counteract its inadequacies. That and how inconsistent games journalism can be lately (these last 5 years or so). It does seem like it can be very unfashionable to like a certain type of game within review circles or in some cases even an individual game. With every negative poured over while any positive is minimised to almost nothing.

Games reviews have put me off a fair few games over the years, games that I have subsequently heard enough positivity elsewhere (from gamers) that I’ll eventually pick up it up and have a great time with it. One of the many reasons forums like this are so important.

@colonelkilgore True say, old chap. I think that the problem for me is not having enough upcoming Soulslikes/quality ARPGs(not involvg guns/ being sci-fi themed) that haven't been spoiled for me by the quality of FromSoftware's output and Survival Horrors that fail to match Silent Hill 2's level of excellence to play. Maybe I just have niche taste but I can't help but feel that there must be other gamers in my position, waiting 'till next year or even 2026 for games that can reach the seemingly unparalleled heights of Demon's Souls (2020) or Elden Ring

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN yeah I do think it comes down to your taste being very niche tbh… which is absolutely fine, we all game very differently and by the sheer nature of entertainment the consumer consumes as they so wish. The problem arises though as the industry has to cast a wide net to capture as much of the market as possible, meaning that each specific genre can only be catered to, to a finite degree. Your situation is further exacerbated by From’s games being of such a high quality, that you struggle to connect with other souls-likes produced by other dev teams.

I used to be a very closed-minded gamer… I’d play GTA, Elder Scrolls, Fallout and then be willing to try games that were similar to those and that was it. It meant that I’d go months where I wouldn’t have anything to play… which was fine at the time as I was in my 20’s/early 30’s and was busy doing ‘other’ things but I always looked forward to the next game release that would fit my very narrow wheel house. Funnily enough it was Demons Souls that widened my gaming horizons, as it was so different from my usual fare… but it was ticking boxes I never knew I had.

I subsequently went on a From-only diet… playing through all the Souls, Bloodborne; Sekiro when it eventually released. And as I started getting towards the end of From’s output I did start to feel a bit anxious. Where was I gonna get my fix etc? So I started giving things like Nioh a try… and The Surge, Lords of the Fallen, Code Vein. Sure they didn’t hit in exactly the same way as what you’re getting from… erm From… but they provided as similar an experience as was necessary while also offering cool new takes on the genre.

In my case at lease, expectations going into a game are vitally important. If I go in expecting a perfect 10, I’m in for a world of disappointment, while if I go in simply hoping that a game will scratch my itch… it invariably exceeds my presuppositions. I’d recommend giving Nioh in particular a go, just approach it with the understanding that it isnt Dark Souls ie.the lore and level design are of a noticeably inferior quality… but you’ll go on to find that the things it does well (combat in particular) are arguably better.

After I played through the vast majority of souls-likes available at the time, I decided that I would start rationing my self to 2 souls-likes per year moving forwards. That way, i’ll never be left with zero souls-likes remaining (at least not for the next 5 years) and then by the time I get to play a souls-like, I’m itching to play one, which helps to supersede any inadequacies the souls-like that I end up playing may have in comparison to From’s masterpieces.

I then fill in the gaps of my gaming year with every other genre available. It turned out I was missing out on all sorts of awesome games that… may not appeal specifically to my wants and needs (ie killing fantasy beasts with an ultra great sword 😉) but undoubtedly provides entertainment on their own merits. The best advice I could give you is try everything with an open mind buddy, not everything will hit but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of stuff that will.

@colonelkilgore Thanks man, very sage advice - I will definitely put greater emphasis on my time with SH2 Remake Deluxe Edition , RE4 REmake , Death Stranding: Director's Cut Digital Deluxe Edition and GTA V in that case!

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I managed to coax the missus into starting Silent Hill 2 Remake today. Don’t think she’s enjoying it all that much as she wants everything to be like Skyrim - ie be able to interact with everything. I’m hoping it’ll start to click for her with a bit more time.

@colonelkilgore Fingers crossed for missus kilgore!

Edit: And, yes, Nioh 2 Complete Edition is also on my list. I loved Rise of the Ronin and apparently the former game is something of an oft-overlooked masterpiece, in and of itself.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN we’ve just finished our first session and I think it started to grow on her after we solved a few puzzles and started to make some clear progress, so🤞

@colonelkilgore Oh, good, I'm glad she's enjoying it so far. 🤞

I’m currently halfway through my NG+ playthrough in Silent Hill 2 Remake. I should be wrapping up the platinum trophy in a couple of days! And then my main focus will be Metaphor Refantazio.

So I just Platinumed Dragon Age Inquisition - 10 days before the Veilguard - It was fun. Now I've 10 days to kill so I think of playing the DLCs again (I finished them 9 years ago on my Xbox One) and maybe some Astro Bot in between.

glances over at profile picture
The audacity!

But in all seriousness, enjoy the ride. It is still my favourite gaming experience of all-time.

@HallowMoonshadow I’m glad to see your enjoying ME. It’s a real classic. As you’re aware, it really benefits from the ‘sequel improvement’ phenomenon (at least in my opinion). ME2 is usually felt to be much better, and ME3 is controversial but most people agree the gameplay is an improvement.

I forget, are you playing it through the Legendary Edition? Are you going Renegade or Paragon? Is Garrus going to end up being your sweetheart? 😄

@HallowMoonshadow In my experience, playing it on PS5 did give it a boost. FR felt like 60 and in PS4 it felt like 30 (just my eyes interpretation, not official measurements) and the loading is quite a bit quicker. It takes forever to load from that main menu on PS4.

Paragon choices are probably the best route for your initial experience and do feel like the default canon Shepherd responses, sort of like doing a good run vs an evil run in other binary choice RPGs. But the renegade options often are more entertaining for the sheer craziness of the dialogue when Shep puts someone in their place. Anyway, mixing it up is certainly fine too.

And the romance really doesn’t become all that intricate until ME2. I’m partial to Liara, but mostly because Ashley is so insufferable. 😂 But yeah, if you don’t like any of the options in ME1, then you might find the options in ME2 more to your liking.

I’ll be interested to read your thoughts as you progress and whether you decide to stick with the series. I’ve said this before when talking to
Yousef about the game, but they really don’t make games quite like Mass Effect anymore where your choices carry over to the next game. At least not to the extent that ME does it. It’s too risky nowadays to have a sequel too closely tied to its predecessor and with the cost of development and time involved, companies are risk averse to limiting their potential audience by making the games too dependent on one another. Certainly one could play ME3 in isolation without playing their others, but why would you? 😅 Anyway, don’t expect huge game changing carryover aspects from your playthrough, but there’s enough of your decisions that you’ll see pop up in the next game to make it feel more fleshed out than other sequels and series out there.

I got the platinum trophy for Silent Hill 2 Remake. It was such an incredible game, start to finish. It was my first time ever playing a game in this storied franchise, and now I can’t wait to see what unfolds next.

I might take a short reprieve from gaming (a day or two), but my next main focus will be Metaphor Refantazio.

@HallowMoonshadow Surprised by your comment on Dragon Age as it's my favorite series of all time but glad that you liked Mass Effect which is my 3rd favorite series

You'll have a lot of fun in the Trilogy. Andromeda wasn't as good as the original trilogy but I thought it was fun in the end.

@Kraven Congrats on beating Silent Hill 2 Remake. How difficult was the Platinum?

@Khwarezm89 The platinum was fairly easy. It requires two playthroughs, and you just have to collect everything and get all endings. It’s pretty simple though!