Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

I am now at the last point of no return in Final Fantasy XVI, believing to be close to the end. I'm level 50 with all monster contracts and side quests completed. Now the dilemma is of course: do I go for the DLC while I still can?
Maybe some people here with tips. I'm in the middle of the move, so going quite slow, so the timing might be perfect for me, first beating the first DLC and then immediately the second one.

Or... do I say screw that and save up my money for a new game?

@Kidfried Hey Kiddo, how you doing?

How do you feel about the game? Are you itching for more or do you feel ready to move on to another game?

@Th3solution

@Jimmer-jammer

@Pizzamorg

I've decided to break my rule about not posting about DeS until I complete my so-desired 'max' build. Just to say that I am reflecting upon my time with the game, and FromSoftware's Souls games in general. The journey to completing this game has become somewhat emotional as I am now 2/3 of the way towards completing a build that should trivialize the remainder of the game for me. And I am reflecting upon all the good times I had in Dark Souls, Dark Souls III and Bloodborne, I realised that Dark Souls II wasn't a game I was particularly interested in playing, I tried it, didn't like it, and Sekiro and Elden Ring are beyond my skills/interest.

Plus, given the direction that FromSoftware has been going in since Bloodborne, i.e, making the solo campaigns (if you don't summon, have trouble traversing gargantuan open worlds or decide to use minimal summons) much harder than they did in previous iterations of their tried and true formula, I have lost interest in playing anything else they produce. Therefore, if you like their early games with the exception of DS2, then it is all about Dark Souls, Dark Souls III, Bloodborne,(the FromSoft games I have completed, two of them twice) and of course, my current game, the legendary Demon's Souls.

So ,yes it is getting quite emotional as once I have completed this game I will be done with FromSoftware Souls games, and onto Soulslikes and other RPGs/other video games. It is the closing of a chapter, but the birth of a new one.

@Black_Swordsman Often when I finish a really epic and enjoyable gaming experience I will have a strange mix of emotions, not unlike what you describe. Those impactful moments are part of why I love gaming so much. Other forms of entertainment like movies or books can also leave me feeling satisfied and emotional, but it’s not quite the same as what it feels like coming to the end of a long gaming journey.

Part of the complex emotional response is both simultaneously wanting the enjoyable experience to continue and yet wanting the contentment and gratification that comes with completion and victory over the game’s conclusion. Some of the discontent that comes at the end of a game is assuaged by knowing there’s a sequel or similar game around the corner. So I can see how you’re even more emotional with no From games on the horizon that you can pivot to for displacement of your appetite for these experiences.

I think you have a good response though — knowing that there are still a number of Souls-likes as well as a sea of RPGs and other gaming options that will likely scratch that itch eventually.

I have Dark Souls 2 on deck, as we discussed earlier and I will definitely come with lots of impressions to share. I’ll admit that part of my desire to play it before DS3 comes from my want for delaying that inevitable time when I run out of From games to play 😄. Of course the rate I play them, there will likely be no end in sight.

But yes, with Lords of the Fallen, Lies of P, and others like Wukong coming, there are still lots of options. Also, there’s always the option to continue to replay your favorites because there’s so many ways the From games can be played, like doing magic based playthroughs and experimentation with different weapons, etc.

@Th3solution There can also be the odd combination of loving a really long game, but at the same time getting thoughts of what your next game will be when you've played a game for dozens of hours. Not that I really want to stop playing something I'm loving, but that feeling can still crop up at times no matter what if it's a really long game.

@Black_Swordsman “The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable.” -Nietzche

@Jimmer-jammer Profound.

Playing Rise Of Ronin and South Park Snow Day.

Quite the combo lol.

After finishing both Rise of the Ronin and South Park: Snow Day! my plan was to go back to Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, but after getting my butt handed to me during a boss fight I figured I'd concentrate on other games and then go back to it in a couple of weeks when I have 9 days off work to just focus on grinding. Chose to play Hi-Fi Rush instead and it's such a feel good game. Definitely one of my favourite looking games.

Could easily be mistaken for a cartoon. It's quite satisfying when you start to get good at timing your attacks with the beat. At first I had to have the on screen help turned on, but now I'm attacking on the beat like a pro!

@DoomGuy_117 How are you liking South Park: Snow Day!? It's definitely not as good as the previous two RPG's, but I enjoyed my time with it. I think playing it in co-op elevated it.

Just played the demo of Stella Blade. Yeah I enjoyed it and will definitely pick it up at some point. I didn't find it too difficult on normal but I did die a few times. The parry and dodge windows seem to be quite reasonable. One recommendation is to switch on auto loot, unless you enjoy repeatedly tapping R2 to pick up everything.

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah I had to switch on auto loot. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't tell you what you're picking up until you grab it anyway, so having it off by default is bizarre to me.

@Bentleyma If it does, the text is so tiny it is really difficult to read.

@JohnnyShoulder this is true, and the items dropped by baddies are easy to miss (showing up when you do the scan pulse helps though)

Started up Control: Ultimate Edition today. It looks and plays absolutely amazing on PS5. I've only played an hour so far but I can already tell I'm in for a wild ride. Remedy just makes bonkers games and I love it. Control feels like a mix between Alan Wake storytelling and Kojima insanity (Death Stranding comes to mind). Definitely looking forward to playing more soon.

@LtSarge I really liked Control on PS4, I hadn't gotten a PS5 yet so I didn't have a chance to play the most recent version of the game, which I'm sure is arguably the best as well. I still really enjoyed it though, and discussed my experiences with others on here who had played it, so be sure to keep me updated on your playthrough ,I'd love to hear more about how it goes for you.

I agree with your comments on the game, although it felt quite Lynchian to me, as well.

@Th3solution Yeah, I often favor a Greatsword build for these games though, but as I have said elsewhere on the site, I am opting for a more cinematic type of game for the foreseeable after I finish up with Demon's Souls, i.e Resident Evil 2 Remake , Resident Evil 4 Remake , Death Stranding . And then I will be semi-returning to the Souls/Soulslike action with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor but that to me, appears to be a game that is also quite cinematic.

Edit: I think I mentioned playing Death Stranding on here before but I made some noob mistakes which spoiled the experience for me, but having done a bit of research ,I am now able to remedy those issues and enjoy the game properly, plus I plan on getting The Director's Cut version for the extra content.

Edit II : All the best with Dark Souls 2 , look forward to hearing your impressions.

Finally cracked open Granblue Fantasy Relink. Played for a couple of hours so far. It might be the single most overwhelming onboarding I have ever experienced in a game. Feeling both like a JRPG built by AI, and also like you've been dropped into an anime series that is midway through its sixth major story arc.

It is like this from a gameplay perspective too. Most of its menus, systems and towns feel like a JRPG as constructed by AI but it is then combined with a sort of fighting game like roster system. Your party all have their own unique playstyles, move sets, abilities, function, roles and skill trees.

It seems like missions from the vendor require you to pick a character from the roster to control and then three are populated with AI, whereas in the story it seems like you are more free to jump around. It thankfully so far doesn't seem to be like a Tales game where the expectation is you micromanage everything, it seems very much like you are expected to pick and focus on one, while the AI focuses on the others. Thank goodness for that.

So far combat is fast and spectacular, but it also feels like so much is happening all the time and like am I contributing here or just pushing buttons? I have no idea. It also seems dauntingly deep if you take the time to look at the various info screens for the characters. It feels like some of the characters you might get away with if you try a bit of a mindless mash, but it seems like most require some dedication and a level of mastery to use at their most basic functional level. Maybe I'll leave those ones to the AI...

@Black_Swordsman All your planned games are fantastic. Well, I can’t speak to Resident Evil 4 Remake yet though. I had a failed attempt to play the original (actually the PS4 port of the original, to be accurate) and I didn’t really click with the dated controls and lack of options. Given the Remake has an updated modern control scheme and a difficulty slider, I’m going to eventually try it instead. I only made it through the first 4-5 hours of the original.

Otherwise, RE2 and RE3 Remake are great. Death Stranding is a favorite of mine. And Jedi Survivor is a really good game, especially if you’re a Star Wars fan. And it scratches a Souls itch too, although is not fully committed to FromSoft’s full punishing vision of unyielding adhesion to the combat-level grinding-bonfire-punishing boss game loop. It has a difficulty slider too, as well as accessibility options that slow down combat, so a combination of putting the game in padawan mode and slowing combat and extended dodge and parry windows and it becomes almost laughably easy. I played most of it on normal Jedi Knight mode but cranked it down a few times when I hit a tough boss or encounter. I can’t remember if you played Jedi Fallen Order. If memory serves, I think you did try it. If so, you know mostly what to expect. Survivor leans more into an open world setup, rather than a Metroidvania series of corridors. Although there’s some of that Metroidvania stuff too. And if you didn’t play and complete Fallen Order, you may want to watch a YouTube recap of the story because survivor picks right up where that left off with many of the same characters and arcs.

I do remember you tried Death Stranding. It’s definitely a different type of game. Much more stealth at its gameplay core rather than combat, along with the main loop of carrying packages and strategizing how best to traverse the terrain. I loved it for its uniqueness. But it’s absolutely true — you have to approach it in the right mindset and expectations.

I’ll definitely be pouring out info on Dark Souls 2 as soon as I get to it. I started another game, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, so it might get delayed a little bit. But I’ve started my DS2 character build plans already and have been researching what kind of character and weapon I want to use. I read that the rapier is quite overpowered, so I might go with that and a Dex build, since I’ve never done Dex focus before. And I only tried the rapier briefly in Demon’s Souls and didn’t like the moveset at the time. But I’m open to trying new things. I might try to hybrid with a Hex focus for secondary attack options.

@Th3solution I've heard, and I think you were the one who told me, that the RE3 Remake is not as good as the RE2 Remake, and I decided to go with the Deluxe Edition of the RE2 Remake instead of the Deluxe Edition of the RE3 Remake, because the former comes with the option of swapping to the original RE2 soundtrack, allegedly, and has the RE2 DLC pack as well with alternate costumes and whatnot, seemed like a wiser investment, to me.

Yes, I did play and complete Jedi: Fallen Order, I remember corresponding with you about it actually. It's one of the few games out of the many that I have played that I have actually completed - I had a blast with it. I hear the gameplay in Survivor is superior to FO but FO's story is stronger.

Yeah, with regard to Death Stranding, I kept getting detected by the BTs, but have more knowledge of how to avoid them for a future playthrough now.

Good luck with Dark Souls 2, I'm not really a rapier kind of guy myself, and less open to trying new things🤣 , than you, I am loving the Dragon Bone Smasher in Demon's Souls though! Greatswords all the way!

N.B If I remember correctly the Greatsword in Dark Souls 2 isn't too hard to obtain, so that might also be a viable option.

@Black_Swordsman I hope I didn’t lead you astray about RE2, but I feel confident that the consensus is that it is indeed overall better. Still, RE3 has its perks. I’ll be curious how you get along with it.

And ah yes, sorry I’d forgotten the details of our prior discussion, but knowing you have Fallen Order under your belt, then indeed you will enjoy Survivor assuredly. If nothing else for the reason that there’s a lightsaber stance that handles closer to a greatsword weapon! 😄 Slower moveset but more powerful when it connects. Unfortunately (and hopefully this isn’t too much of a spoiler) you don’t unlock it until you’re deep into the game, but once I unlocked it I spent the majority of my time using it. So maybe I would gel with a Greatsword in Dark Souls 2. 😅