Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@GirlVersusGame Yeah, I'm well, thank you. And yourself? You make a lot of valid points, there, GVG, but I would just say that I see that I see the rare gems of video games as an interactive art form that you participate in when you play them, and if you stick to your niche' then you won't come away dissatisfied, hopefully. Thanks for responding, despite leaving the site, by the way, apologies for interrupting your break. I'll look out for an official announcement in The Goodbye/Vacation Thread in case you decide to return before I mention you again.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN You didn't interrupt anything so it's fine. I'll still Minecraft because that is an art form to me and there's nothing there unless you create it first yourself. I'm still around, just not involving myself in situations that are kind of pointless. It's a catch 22, it's not my place to try to change someones mind/wait for them to see sense nor is it my (or anyone else's) burden to have to suffer it. All you can do is distance yourself from it and get on with your day. It's not even gamers who are doing it, so many seem to be throw away accounts that try to spread some nonsense and waste the time of the people who have to moderate what's being said. Being completely honest my mood picked right up as soon as I stopped looking at the comments section, the same thing happened when I deleted apps like Twitter and stopped watching the news. I don't stumble upon racism/bigotry etc in my daily life, I can't justify putting myself through it online either. They say ignorance is bliss? they might be right, I've never felt happier.

@Herculean Thank you, and sorry for the belated reply, I thought I had already responded. It was much harder than the Souls games, but I'm glad I persevered in the end. Good luck with Death Stranding! It's a game I played briefly before, but fell off from.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Harder than the souls games, oof! It looks amazing, but that might be too much for me.

I love love love Death Stranding. In general I think I have a positive bias to games in which you try to precent combat. So this game seems geared towards me. It has its share of problems, but ultimately I just like bringing stuff from A to B I guess!

For every brilliant thing this Tony Hawk 3+4 remake does, there’s something that pisses me off. It’s so frustrating, you’ve taken two 10/10 games and turned them into 8/10 games. Don’t get me wrong, I love the levels and they’ve made a good game, there’s just so many cut corners. Take even just the Pro Challenge system, in 4 you got a special goal for every skater which was incredible. With the addition of new skaters, they had the opportunity to really push that but clearly they didn’t have the time. Even just the 1+2 remakes had a set of challenges for each skater, but this one only has 1 challenge for each skater - do a 250000 combo including their signature trick. Maybe if I was still bad at the games it would be a challenge but those sorts of combos I could do with my eyes closed. You start off with every single piece of clothing for the pro skaters and doing their challenge unlocks the rest of their decks and trick slots, not one at a time, organic unlocks. Plus barely any music tracks return from the originals! I do like the new songs though, it’s a brilliant mix of older punk, new punk and assorted hip-hop. It’s a good game, just feels like a big missed opportunity full of open goals.

I started Nine Sols today, love the art style and direction, definitely scratching that Sekiro-itch.

Edit: Played a bit more today. Shaping up nicely.

All that I have been playing recently is Avatar frontiers of Pandora.

Finished the main campaign, for the second time.
I have now also completed the storyline of both sets of DLC.

Gone back to the main map, now doing open-world stuff. Trying to go for the Platinum trophy. Only three other ultra rare trophies to go.

Going to be a bit of a slog, I think.

@nessisonett VGC had a mildly interesting article on artists’ feelings on having their music included.

It’s a tricky balance as THPS2 was a bit of a musical epiphany for me and I own the albums featured by 8/15 songs on there. But it’s cool to allow newer artists to have their moment to be recognised like that (even if the whole landscape of discovering music is completely different to when these games came out).

@Thrillho It’s an interesting one because the ‘new’ artists included, a lot of them are already what I’d call big, Wavves have a song on there I was listening to almost 15 years ago at this point, Fontaines DC’s sound is very different now to the song in the game for example. It’s a great soundtrack but I’m just not sure it succeeds at pushing new artists in the way that it could have, while having a real lack of the older tracks from 4’s soundtrack specifically. I think the newer fans honestly would have discovered more artists from the original soundtrack!

@nessisonett Have the THPS games ever really showcased new bands though? Again, using THPS2 as an example, Bad Religion, Millencolin, Lagwagon, Public Enemy all had multiple albums out before that game but it was a way of exposing bands you might not have known about. I get what you mean though.

And another interesting piece from the same site on Bam Margera and what the games mean to him.

Defeated the first boss in Nine Sols today, and got the corresponding trophy, should be between 10-19 hours remaining to complete it.

EDIT: Defeated the first REAL boss in Nine Sols this morning, the centaur one, and got my first 'Sol Seal' , Google A.I. tells me I am about 25% done with the game now. Man ,that was that ever a fun boss fight! .

Defeated the next boss in Nine Sols, what a rush! That one gave me definite 'Poison Ivy' from Batman, vibes, if you've played the game you'll know the boss I mean.

Just playing more of Death Stranding. This game is incredibly big. I like how there's a kind of rhythm to the game, but every step feels like it's progressing something.

I try not to get too sidetracked, because I don't want to have that feeling the game's overstaying its welcome. We'll see how that goes.

Alright, here’s where I’m at. I’ve been completely sucked into Demon's Souls. People keep saying it’s the "easiest" Souls game. Sure, if you like running in circles for twenty minutes because you refuse to look up a guide (been there). The graphics on PS5? Wild. The sound design - sometimes it feels like there’s a monster in the next room. Not always great for the nerves, but hey.

When I need a break from all the dying, I switch over to Mortal Kombat 11. Getting the platinum trophy is like a never-ending marathon. Every time I think I’m almost done, another stupid challenge pops up. And online? Some of these players are just not human. Fifteen-hit combos, endless pressure. Usually, I just stand there and admire the chaos.

If my brain needs to switch off completely, I play Maneater. Never thought I’d enjoy being a shark this much. You just eat everything, water turns red, zero responsibilities, zero stress. Sometimes that’s all you want after a long day - ultimate anti-stress therapy.

Picked up Control from PS Plus recently - no idea why I ignored it before. The whole vibe is weird in the best possible way. Feels like someone mashed up The X-Files with old-school horror. Gets under your skin, but you can’t stop playing.

@Bolarg Demons Souls and Control are both incredible games, good choices! Welcome aboard btw 😉

Been playing Dragons Dogma 2 and a throwback nhl22... both great and very satisfying to play

yeah, so i started final fantasy 7 remake and i had an enjoyable adventure until i hit chapther 14 or 15 and just couldnt continue the voyage. I dont know, but it grew a bit stale. Combat, characters and story is fun but the linear world is a bit boring after a while. (or maybe the problem was my new obsession Marvel Rivals)
So i discontinued the experience and marched on to Sifu which is a bloody good game with a lot of action and KungFu. I am still playing this game, but i also decided to start Last Guardian which is a game that iam really enjoying at the moment. This voyage is epic and iam in love with the world, we need a new game and i need to play ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.
yeah, and i also started playing rocket league again, just cant get enough of the pain

Diablo 4, MLB The Show and Clair Obscure: Expedition 33.

Gotta get back onto Death Stranding 2. Last time I played, I fell and all my packages floated away down river.

Been playing Two Point Hosiptal recently, as i fancied something a bit different and not an action focused game in the hotter weather. Really good, and i think it works well with a game pad. The game does a nice job of teaching you the ropes, I've rarely been in a situiation when I don't how to resolve when things go a bit pear shaped.

However, the weather has cooled slightly (and i think will stay like that for the next week or so), so I fired up Hades. Liking it so far, but early days, just unlocked the summon ability. I tend to fall of these types of games eventually, hopefully this one sticks. Combat and movment feels slick and has been a smooth experience so far.

@Th3solution I'm on my way to starting "Big Dark Souls 4" aka SOTE, which I recently downloaded, ahead of the rumoured rerelease of Dark Souls 3 or new Armored Core game (the latter of which I won't be playing, as I'm not really an AC kinda guy, and I probably won't play the former either, as I've already played through OG DS3 twice) by playing through most of ELDEN RING again with a Sekiro build, it decimated the tutorial boss, thus far, as I did enough damage to it to trigger the cut-scene without dying, I was pleased with that, compared to my previous progress.

What are you playing at the moment? And how is it going?

In addition to that I'm peppering my playthrough with segmentary viewings of Shogun Assassin (a Samurai Film from the 1980s) and perusals of the Times Literary Supplement in order to discover new literary paraphrenalia.