Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@Kraven nice! Glad your enjoying it. It is on my to play list, but probably after a small sale as I have many on the docket.

@Elodin how is questing in the game? Is it more like the free form of an Elden Ring, or the more traditional RPG quest giver that gets you to go somewhere and do some stuff after having a nice long chat with what was, at first, a total stranger? Or is it more of a loot/craft/fight without any significant questing?

@Elodin @AgentCooper @Ravix @graymamba

Just played the demo of Tainted Grail, I deleted it after 30 minutes.

Not for a bad reason, but because this feels special, Skyrim special, it just feels like this will scratch that itch that no game has since 11/11/2011.

Bring on the full release!

@Ravix it’s certainly seems more traditional

@nitraM cool. I'll add it to my wishlist, I think. I missed out on stuff like the OG Dragon's Dogma, Fable, Skyrim and games of that era, But I've had itches scratched by the TW3's, KCD'S, Elden Ring's, Baldur's Gate 3's of the world, and I don't mind janky jank if it does indeed scratch the RPG/exploration/fantasy itch.

As an appendendum to what we were discussing elsewhere, @Th3solution ,I am three mandatory bosses away from completing the game with the easiest, (my chosen path), 'bad' ending, I think it's the only way I can get through the game I think. So that's just a brief update on my progress, I have two main bosses/areas left before the main , allegedly "easier" final boss, I just defeated a miniboss in one of those areas recently, and got the first phase of the first of those two, prior to the final one, boss fights down, so hopefully that can be regarded as good progress since I last updated you.

How is Outlaws going?

Edit: I also observed, whilst playing, that, like Dark Souls, the second half of the game becomes a bit more non-linear, in terms of the path you can take to progress, but, again, like Dark Souls, and to a certain extent Demon's Souls as well, you still have to explore all the optional paths eventually, but the order is up to you! Thought that little nugget of information might be worth something to you.

I tried the demo for Tainted Grail: Fall Of Avalon

... I found it rather crap to be honest. Janky, the menu/inventory is kinda awful. Buggy (It wouldn't let me change the difficulty at all the first time I booted it up).

Also just an observation that even on normal difficulty the enemies can nearly knock off a quarter of your health in one swing and when starting off in the prison you only have a couple of healing potions (if you even find them) and some REALLY slow heal over time food items. So... Might be a bit more difficult then you imagine for something being touted as a "Skyrim" like game.

Yeah not impressed at all.

I just beat the fourth boss, Volbaino, in The First Berserker. It was an excellent boss fight, and much easier than the previous boss. With that said, I really enjoyed how you had to use the environment to your advantage. I’m now doing a few side quests, finding collectibles, and moving on to the next chapter. I think this game rules.

@HallowMoonshadow you might want to dodge or block those attacks then 😛😛

Ah, I haven't tried it yet, but what you've done is make it seem like it has a little KCDspirit in it, too. Although, thinking about it, making a game with a Skyrim-type 'hands permanently out in front of you' combat style harder does seem a little mean, as Skyrim was never nuanced enough to warrant increasing the difficulty 😅 games kind of have to earn their difficulty, if that makes sense, so it seems like maybe this one didnt earn it? 🤷‍♂️

Defeated another miniboss in Sekiro. On my way to the Corrupted Monk, now.

Edit: Defeated Snake Eyes Shirahagi as well, used the cheese strategy for this particular miniboss as I found both the Snake Eyes minibosses particularly hard in this game.

I'll be perfectly honest I lasted about maybe an hour at most (Including restarting after it bugged out and wouldn't let me change the difficulty) before deleting it so I can't give a very nuanced or detailed take on it @Ravix

It plays VERY much like an Elder Scrolls title with you even starting in a jail cell. Though unlike the modern ES games you can only play Tainted Grail in first person (I think? Maybe? I dunno and I don't really care to find out to be honest).

There was a dash move felt rather awkward to use for me as well in the first person perspective. There's also a push move which... Didn't seem terribly useful.

So yeah I dunno... Maybe you and others will really enjoy it but it's not for me in the slightest.

Playing Hitman in VR which is just brilliant, sure it has a little jank but nothing that can’t be fixed with patches (ie adding a holster position offset etc..).
I haven’t played any of the trilogy except for a little of Paris (first real level of Hitman 1) in PSVR1 but have just finished level 20 Paris mastery.

They have done a great job with this port and I just hope they add Freelancer support at some point.

Defeated Corrupted Monk in Sekiro. Quite the hard boss fight, but appreciated getting the victory, at last.

@Kraven How does the gameplay of The First Berseker: Khazan compare to Sekiro? Would you say it's similar mechanically? Is it harder or about on the same level? Thanks in advance, man.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Glad that you’re continuing to make good progress. Do you know how close you are to the end?

@Th3solution Two bosses away from the ending I am going for. I took the easy option ending-wise, there are more/harder bosses for the other endings, I can give you some tips on making your own playthrough easier if you ask me at the time/I remember how I did it by the time you get round to it. 😅😉

How is your playthrough of Outlaws going?

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Yeah, it’ll be a while but I do sometimes consider the easy road in these games, depending.

Are you interested in trying Lies of P by any chance? Since you’ve learned (mastered?) the parrying in Sekiro, perhaps you’d try your luck with it? I have heard more than once that it’s the closest to a From game of all the imitators.

By the way - So far Outlaws is going well. The game hasn’t risen to elite level or anything, but it’s a decent game. There’s a lot more stealth in it than I prefer. The game is balanced such that stealth is the way it’s designed for encounters to be handled. It’s fine, but sometimes I grow weary of the slow and calculated sneaking around and decide to just start shooting. The problem is that it gets out of control pretty quickly when you do that in the wrong spot.

@Th3solution I am not very keen on Lies of P, I must be honest, although my interest may change, right now I think it looks too similar to Bloodborne in terms of the level design, but if you are interested in it feel free to go ahead and potentially prove me wrong! I've heard the gameplay, is, as you say, a mix of Bloodborne and Sekiro.

It's a shame that there's more stealth in Outlaws than you prefer, and all the slow and calculated encounters are trying your patience, but it's good that you are persevering with it, shows a level of commitment in your personality, perhaps. Is that generally how you approach games? Even if they're not perfect, if you're enjoying them, to a certain extent, you're keen on seeing them through to the end?

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN I think that I waver in my commitment with a game, but in general I try to persevere. I’ve abandoned many games over the years, but I either try to revisit them later, or if there’s an inkling of interest I give them plenty of chance to win me over. I’m better about finishing games now than I used to be, being more patient as I get older. Also, it’s a lot easier to know what you’re getting into before playing a game now, with all the reviews and YouTube playthroughs that can be consulted before starting a game. I glanced through my list of the last 20 games I’ve played, there’s only 3 that I didn’t finish and don’t have plans to go back to them.

When I look back on my favorite gaming experiences, many of them were with games that didn’t click for me right away. And I feel like a really solid ending does a lot to elevate a games overall effect. The games that stick with you usually have some dramatic narrative conclusion or an epic boss fight or other gameplay element, so I do try to make it to that point. Usually the payoff is worth it, but not always.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN It plays really similar to Sekiro in terms of parrying and blocking, but it flows like Bloodborne and NiOh in terms of movement and dodging. For me personally, I found Sekiro to be much more difficult, but that isn’t saying much - both games I’d say are equal in difficulty.