Topic: Your Latest PlayStation 5 Purchase

Got black faceplates for my PS5. Think it looks SO much better now.

@JohnnyShoulder Thanks! It’s great to be back. Hope you’ve been keeping well.

@Jimmer-jammer @KilloWertz I definitely want to play it at some point - it certainly looks like an extremely well polished, highly refined product (what "FF" gane isn't?) but I have to confess that the reports that the game emphatically isn't an RPG and has more in common with say a "DMC" or a "Bayonetta" (love those games, by the way) makes me even less inclined to pay full price for it when considering the high volume of cinematics. I think £30 or thereabouts is probably my ballpark for this - that SkillUp review really did a number on me, I'm afraid!

@LN78 Fair enough! I felt the game actually hit its stride about the 30 hour mark. There is a definitive moment where it opens up. Here it kind of settles into an actual ‘loop’, so to speak. For what it’s worth, there is a lot more to the game than what the general discourse I’ve seen around here implies (I haven’t seen the skillup review), but it’s all very basic. For example, there is a system with side quests and hunts where completing them earns you “renown” for rewards but so little is done with this, I do question why it exists at all. Anyway, I look forward to hearing your eventual thoughts on it whenever you get to it!

@Jimmer-jammer Oh my goodness - if a game (an action title, no less) takes thirty hours to hit its stride then (to my thinking, at least) something has probably gone wrong somewhere. I'll see where the prices are at Christmas, I reckon.

@Jimmer-jammer I’d agree with that mark being when the game gets a bit better. Taking my disappointment with the plot and general writing aside, the gameplay loop gets a bit more satisfying once you get past the linear opening hours. It’s actually very similar to XIII in the sense that game got a lot better once it opened up rather late on.

@Th3solution I do remember somebody mentioning that it has a light connection to the previous games. I keep forgetting about the game honestly, as I have played some other short games as pallet cleansers. Since it's on Extra, maybe at some point after I'm done with Final Fantasy XVI since I don't think I have anything new coming out until Phantom Liberty in late September and then Spider-Man 2 in late October.

@LN78 There's absolutely nothing wrong with waiting. It was a game I was anticipating enough that I was willing to pay full price for it and play it right away, but I actually buy far more games well after they come out (PlayStation exclusives being the most common exceptions). My main issue was the surprisingly off base reviews from SkillUp and whoever the other one was. They don't have to like the game obviously, but the exaggeration was absurd.

Also, sometimes waiting to play a game until the hype and such dies down nicely can be a good thing. While it didn't work for me when I waited multiple years to play God of War (2018) to get away from the hype, it did for another game where I waited to get away from the hype and it paid off. I just somehow don't remember which game it was right now sadly.

@nessisonett Totally. Despite my personal overall positive thoughts on the game, the way it slowly rolls out its systems is a bit ‘How to Play a Videogame For Dummies’ (hope that doesn’t get taken the wrong way), which I think was intentional anyway. This is mechanically a very slow burn but also a very accessible game. Probably the only reason it has resonated with me much more than XIII ever has is its content simply plays more to my personal tastes. I should really go back to that one as I never did play any of the sequels.

Final Fantasy XVI and I'm now utterly blown away by it. I've gone from really enjoying it, to thinking it's my game of the year for sure. And that's with me also loving Zelda this year too 😬

It's honestly as good as God of War, and because it's also bats*** crazy, I'm pondering whether it may actually be even better than God of War, somehow.

People seem to be wary of the cutscenes, and well let's just say there is some, yes, especially at the start, but they are really well done, good voice acting, characters grow on you more and more and they look absolutely phenomenal and tell a good story and build the world nicely. But "the game is all cutscenes"??? People are mad. I've just played for a good few hours, and although there are some cutscenes, about 60% of my gameplay tonight has been... not just combat... but epic, EPIC and EPIIIIIIICCC!!! boss fight combat. on top of 30% regular combat, and maybe 10% cutscenes. I'm in game heaven right now, honestly. So many battles 😁😁😁

If you like games then just get this and play it, it's a stonking great game, it's been well worth full price for me, already.

Not a purchase [yet!] but LIVE A LIVE just went on sale and I’m incredibly tempted as it looks brilliant. Anyone played it? Thoughts?

@KAIRU There is a demo you can try. I wasn’t really a fan of what I played. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t impress me either.

@Bentleyma Totally forgot there was a demo for it. Might be worth checking out then!

High on Life was released out of nowhere! I bought it straight away!

Just pre-ordered Armored Core 6… never played any of the earlier ones but all the previews that came out this week just sealed the deal for me.

Bought Gylt. I had £10 in my PlayStation Wallet that I got from PlayStation Stars, so it only cost me about £5.

@colonelkilgore What is the first rule of Preorder club?
That's right, no one is allowed to join preorder club. 😜

Actually From Software is one of the very few developers I trust enough to preorder.
Be sure to give us your thoughts on the game...it does look pretty good even though I really don't get the whole Mech scene.

@CaptD I’ve actually preordered a few games this year tbh (which is unlike me). Same though… ‘in from we trust” and all that 😎. Not sure if I’ll be playing it straight away… you know how my schedule is and all… but if the urge to play it takes over I’ll be sure to tag you with my thoughts 👍

Hmmm, is Assassins Creed Valhalla free? I'm downloading it and from what I can tell it's the full game.

I’ve just pre-ordered Immortals of Aveum. Figured I’d take a chance with it.

Hey everyone

I've really got no one to share this with, apart from my wife (who is really happy), I've finally managed to upgrade to the PS5!

There was a great special here where I live at an online retailer. I managed to purchase a standard PS5 (Disc Drive version), along with an official charging dock for the DualSense controller. I also bought Hogwarts Legacy (massive Pothead, currently re-reading Order of the Phoenix at the moment) and Hot Wheels Unleashed.

I'm hoping to sell my PS4 Pro for a good price, so that I can recover, at most, nearly 50% of the money I spent on the PS5, accessories and the 2 games.

I'll only be able to try the PS5 out after the 2nd of September, as I have a hectic schedule at University for the next 2 weeks, but I'm really looking forward to experiencing what the current generation is like.