Topic: What PS5 Games Are You Currently Playing?

@LordDieALot

I held myself from playing it to savour RE9 in full. But I keep playing Chainsaw demo to keep that feeling at bay.

@Ravix I have spoken to everyone I can, the only thing I haven't done that doesn't have a marker is the bailiff is going on about more unmarked graves somewhere that I might have to look into, otherwise I have literally nothing else to do other than the wedding now!

Hardcore mode does not sound appealing though. I get why some people would enjoy that sort of thing but not for me. The "search the area" type missions can get a bit annoying, especially the poacher ones where it felt like you were just hoping to stumble on them more than anything but the flip side is that I do hate games holding your hand too much and pointing exactly where to go.

That said, I didn't realise you had to choose which activities you wanted to have map markers for so I did make some missions harder for myself trying to follow the exact directions given by NPCs...

@Thrillho
Hardcore doesn’t sound appealing, what about if you switch on all the negative ‘perks’ (for another trophy). One of the such highlights is sleepwalking, that coupled with no marker on the map will reward you with hours of fun.

And no you don’t see yourself walking in the middle of the night, you just wake up in some random ditch without knowing where the hell you are and Henry forever moaning that he is hungry.

Thankfully the hardcore trophies are all DLC ones.

And that's the last of the first Spiderman game. The DLC was pretty good but some of those Screwball Challenges were a little annoying.

@GirlVersusGame

My ranking goes 3rd>1st>2nd. I genuinely enjoyed the last one. Both the "buddy cop" dynamic between Silver Sable and Spidey and the boss fight was great. Also I liked all 3 DLCs telling one continous story.

@Th3solution I intend to level my character and my spirit summon a bit more and then do the "Critical Path" (only the Mandatory Story Bosses - of which I think there are 4 or 5) and then move on. So I don't think I am that far away from the end now. It is only "meaty" if you do a lot of wandering off the beaten path, so to speak. And then after that's done I intend to focus on my own Game Design ideas and take a break from gaming for a while.

I mean, it's still a good quality game, a very good one in fact, and it does really give me those "Big Dark Souls 4" vibes, but at the same time I feel like almost exclusively playing these games for a while has meant that some over-familiarity has occurred, as, whilst, as you say, numerous evolutions and changes to the formula have taken place over the course of FromSoft's story, the core game loop remains essentially the same, and many of the environments have similar tropes etc. ,which can be both a good and a bad thing. Anyway, should I return to gaming any time soon, it'll probably be once/if the "fatigue" wears off and for a Dark Souls 3/DS3 DLC playthrough with a character inspired by a manga or anime protagonist. But I'm just spitballin' here, to use an expression from across your side of the pond, and who knows what will happen three or four months down the line.

N.B. I defeated another boss after the skill-check one yesterday ,and after upgrading my spirit summon by two or three levels (almost will be at the max level by then) and my character by one more level, will take on the first major story boss.

@Scottyy I think mine goes first, second then third. Or first, third, second. When I first saw The Maggia I thought oh brilliant some focus on a traditional Family with structure/rules and less crazy technology based enemies. I'd had my fill of guys with jet-packs and then The Maggia decided to boost Sable's technology so jet-packs were back. It seemed a little lazy to do it that way but it does make sense, the alternative would be to have squishy enemies. I liked the hospital set-piece, the museum and the lairs for supplies were better designed than the bases in the main game. Hammerhead grew on me too, he really went all the way with his transformation, by the end he was basically just a head. I really hope Screwball isn't in Miles Morales, I muted the sound whenever she showed up and just blasted music instead. I know she's written to be annoying, but at three in the AM when she's all that's keeping you from one hundred percent, I wanted to web her and throw her off the Empire State Building.

After all of that Marvel I caught up on some DC earlier today. Batman versus Predator is probably one of the best Batman cross-overs ever and due to licensing it's now extinct. When Disney acquired the rights from Fox, Dark Horse lost their old publishing rights, which made the regular novels extinct too. If they did a reprint it would have to go through Disney/Marvel Comics/DC and Warner Brothers, it will never happen and it's a shame too. Combined all three volumes run from 1995 to 1998, the earlier one is the best. Predator beats batman within an inch of his life, maybe even into a coma, he looks like a mummy from all the bandages, then he recovers and uses an improved suit to get back into the fight. Eventually he wins and the rest of the Predator Clan show up and do the whole 'well done take this item' then zoom off back to space but it's written and drawn so well. I prefer the artwork from the first volume, it reminds me of Frank Miller's Robocop graphic novel, I only know licensed/cross-over type graphic novels and mainly Batman so Batman versus Predator/versus Aliens, versus Judge Dredd, versus anyone with a movie license. That way there's some familiarity with the material. There is a Predator versus Spiderman from last year too, that's a maybe. I'll probably start Miles Morales later today or tonight.

@GirlVersusGame

Yeah for a set of DLCs it was good. I also didn't like what they did in "Turf Wars".

@CaptD The negative perks do sound quite comical to be fair and it's not like Henry is useless enough when you start the game...

I'm also pretty sure me getting "better" at combat is more to do with the fact I now have actual armour rather than going into a sword fight wearing a sack.

I just turned on Miles Morales, great opening score and he controls really. I was swinging by the Citigroup Center building on my way to Midtown and as soon as I cleared it I noticed something. The Chrysler Building has been replaced with this awful slab of a building (on the left) It must have been related to the last owners getting into legal trouble, they weren't paying their rent and got kicked out. I noticed a couple missing in Spiderman too but The Chrysler building is a big part of the New York skyline. It might be copyright too, similar to The Eiffel Tower at night, it's illegal to photograph it etc at night and then sell the images for commercial use. They could have at least tried to put something more interesting there. The city looks so strange without it.

Oh but venom punch seems like a nice twist/bio-electricity and the opening was definitely more technical than the first game, obviously to showcase the power of the PS5.

Awesome set-pieces are coming and I always love snow in video games. Neon colored enemies with ray tracing lights on ice was just great for a launch game.

@BeyondKnight Sounds very promising then! I need to continue this series soon.

@Thrillho That's great to hear about the well-written content. I've become more picky in recent years with regards to what game is worth my time, so hearing this about KCD has definitely made me more interested in it.

It's interesting that you mention that last part. Whenever I buy DLC, I feel like I need to experience it during my playthrough of the base game. Otherwise, if I finish the main story, then I'm less inclined to play the DLC as I feel done with the game. Of course this doesn't apply to DLC that is its own contained story. But it's interesting hearing somebody else feel like this as well.

Started playing GOW Ragnarok after finishing Dragon Quest 3. Currently in the dwarf mines near beginning of the game. I feel like Mimir and Atreus are being obnoxious with the environmental problems. "Maybe you can use the water to move the wheel."

I don't remember them being this intrusive in GOW 2018. Have I accidentally enabled a setting or something?

Otherwise, so far, I am liking it. Looking forward to playing more.

@LtSarge I've bought so many DLCs which I've not played! Like you say, unless it is baked into the main game I'm usually less inclined to try it.

I liked how Alan Wake 2 gave you the option to play them either in the game or separately from the menu.

@MS7000 yeah just go to the Accessibility menu snd select reduced puzzle hints.

@Th3solution HFW does do a good job of sending you to most of the area's through quests or side quests, but like you I would normally run ahead and then have to re-visit after which would prolong my overall playing time. The new skills and mechanics where quite good but I remember that you could basically go through with almost the same play style as the last game, like a comforter I fell into that trap and ended up using the same traps, mines and bombs through most of the game. I can't remember any time thinking the game was particularly hard or challenging but always enjoyed the combat of these games. Forbidden Dawn was an absolute gem for me, because I remember for 2 years I was completely put off by the robot dinosaurs, just didn't seem to appeal to me but when I played it I loved the game so much and Aloy was fantastic. I feel similar to HFW how I do Ragnarok, it's a brilliantly made game and improves in a lot of ways on the first game but didn't make me feel how the first one did.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has picked up on Aloys slight "personality" shift. Got to be careful with this one because Aloy has become an almost untouchable character at this point and I've seen a few things online where people have been scolded for having a bit of a discussion in terms of her development in the 2nd game but for me even when you do try to do the more empathetic answers, which I would say is pretty cannon to the first game Aloy, the main story beats and even side quest cut scenes have her coming across quite arrogant at times.

I haven't played Burning Shores, simply because I was all Aloy'd out at that point. I played the first game DLC pretty much straight away but with BS I thought i might come back to it. But in truth I don't think i will. I have heard it is a really good DLC though. Be interested in your thoughts if you do manage it.

I've played an hour of SH2 last night, so not very far into it, although it says 8% on the home screen lol

I will say the atmosphere and environment is brilliant. I'm not one to normally get scared or uncomfortable playing games or watching movies but it does a really good job in making it eerie.

@MaulTsir My apathy toward DLC in general is well documented, so it may be no surprise that I actually never even played HZD’s DLC, Frozen Wilds I think it was called. I intended to go back but never have. But I played HZD close to its launch before Frozen Wilds came out, so with Burning Shores it’s available to me from the jump here, so maybe I’ll feel differently when I get to the point I can play it (which I assume is toward the game’s end, or after the end). I’m playing HFW on disc and it doesn’t include Burning Shores, so I’d have to actually buy it, which is probably just enough of an obstacle to deter me. You never know though, perhaps I’ll want to stick around in post-apocalyptic America when the time comes.

Speaking of… why does the apocalypse always happen over here? Death Stranding, The Last of Us, Horizon, Fallout, Days Gone…
When are we going to see the UK after the apocalypse? 😅 Maybe I’m forgetting games that have gone there, or at least Europe for when civilization has been wrecked. I think Death Stranding 2 actually takes place somewhere different from the first game, if I understand correctly. I’ve avoided spoilers for the most part but I think the new setting was fairly well advertised.

As for Silent Hill 2, I left a few extended thoughts over in the game’s thread, so feel free to check those out at your leisure. The game is so good. I’d heard it was but it’s really gone beyond my expectations. I’m not very far along either — my Home Screen says I’m at 22%, although sometimes that completion estimate is misleading. With Baldur’s Gate 3 the completion percentage number jump every so often and then sit there for dozens of hours. I was at 75% completion for like 100+ hours and the number never changed. 😅

I played a couple more hours of Miles Morales after I got back in last night and I have to say that I do prefer him to Peter Parker for a number of reasons. Game-wise he controls even better, his combat is more interesting and those gadgets offer a little more ingenuity in your approach. That crime App makes events a lot more interesting and worthwhile. I also appreciate the focus on Family and on his neighborhood, it does a very good job of really introducing the player to the character. With Spiderman it was just 'you are Spiderman go straight to doing Spider things'. There was a not so subtle requirement of having watched all of the movies before picking the controller up and next to no effort in catching a player up. With this game it feels like being there at the ground level which creates less of a disconnect. The winter setting helps too, it feels a lot like home even-though it's obviously not.

Also whoever decided to implement cats in back-packs need a raise, I took so many pictures with them and can't share even one because of spoilers. It's definitely a shorter game like people said, I played for maybe three hours before bed and I'm already forty percent through the story. That includes already zooming across the city and collecting any collectables on the map.

@GirlVersusGame Happy to read of your enjoyment with Miles Morales. A lot of people think it’s the best game of the three, for many of the reasons you’ve mentioned. If you like the character Miles then you’ll probably also still enjoy Spider-Man 2 because he’s prominent and playable in that game as well.

I might have missed it elsewhere, so apologies if you’ve already mentioned this, but how many of the Spidey movies have you watched? I went into the games having already watched all the ‘modern’ MCU movies (Homecoming, Far From Home, No Way Home) as well as having seen the first two Toby Maguire movies years ago, as well as the new animated shows - Into the Spiderverse and then Across the Spiderverse. So I had the film foundation to fall back on. The games differ from the films on many things, and the film series differ from each other too, and then the comics even more so. I saw that you’ve done some reading of the graphical books and comics but can’t remember if you said you’ve watched the movies. If not, I highly recommend the two ‘Spiderverse’ animated movies. They’re outstanding in my opinion. If you’ve not checked those out then consider them if/when you’re not too ‘Spidey fatigued’, as I know you might want a break from the IP after your recent gaming and reading. But when you’re ready, those two movies are easily my favorite Spider-Man shows.

@GirlVersusGame That's the game, yup! I didn't even make the connection that there's a character called Kat as well, haha. She's my favourite so far for what it's worth, so you're in luck. It does have some Stranger Things vibes as you correctly surmised, and it is indeed an analog VHS-type recorder! There's always an old-timey filter over the footage. If you enjoyed Life is Strange, it's certainly worth a shot if it appeals to you at all. Maybe you'll connect with this all the same if not more than myself. I hope the Spider-Man DLC treats you well! I remember enjoying it back when I played it. It's the only game I've fully platinum'ed as well (if we're not counting the Telltale games that just gift you platinums for no effort at all).

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@Th3solution I haven't made much progress on Lost Records these last few days as I've been finishing up Star Ocean, but decent sounds as right a description as any thus far. I suppose I'll temper my expectations that it goes any wild and better places from here and just enjoy it for what it offers. I have enjoyed the choice and consequence bits they've offered so far as well as the general dialogue options. I hope that I'll have the same experience where Swann will grow on me eventually! I'm excited to see more of the present-day stuff and see more of the old gang show up at the bar.

Glad to see you're enjoying the Silent Hill 2 Remake so far as well! It's a very well made game that I'd say (mostly) lives up to the hype. I've read your post on it on the other thread as well... and I will simply refrain from making any comments on it to preserve your fresh experience! It's on the longer side for a survival horror, so I expect you'll take a little bit to get through it still. Either way, I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts when you get around to finishing it. I wonder with how impressed you've been with this one whether you'll enjoy the Silent Hill 1 Remake more than you remember liking the original as well. I have no doubt you'll get to it eventually with how much this one's impressed you.