Topic: Push Square Game Club Spooktacular: Resident Evil 4

A month late, but I finally finished Doom Eternal, yay! I enjoyed a lot, but not quite as much as Doom 2016, which I found to be a tighter experience. The combat is excellent and arguably the highlight, presenting a challenge for me even on the easiest difficulty. It's fast, visceral and satisfying, and you absolutely cannot stay still. The arsenal at your disposal and large number of options in combat helps keep it interesting. It's a real visual treat on the PS5, too. I enjoyed the game more with headphones off, as the music was starting to do my head in with them on, but I actually liked hearing the sounds and dialogue from the controller.

I found I grasped the story much more towards the end, but the way it was presented made it far more complicated than it needed to be. The large amounts of lore found in almost impenetrable text logs gave context to some of the cutscenes, but why not just have the plot clearer in the first place? The platforming is a bit unnecessary, although I rather enjoyed climbing up walls. By far my biggest criticism is the absolutely minuscule text. Subtitles can be increased, but everything else on the UI and info pop-ups is tiny. Oh, and the penultimate boss fight against Khan Maykr got on my nerves because she was frequently too high in the air to use the meat hook.

Now that's complete, I'll start Streets of Rage 4. I've only played a bit of the second one, and am not too familiar with side-scrolling beat-em-ups.

@mookysam Hooray, you got there in the end! I pretty much agree with everything you’ve said there, especially the tiny UI and the game actually being better without headphones. VEGA speaking out the controller never got old, the audio quality is so much better than the Dualshock 4.

@nessisonett ahh interest, I'll have to see how it goes after my first run. Im a stickler for unlockables but I normally can't stand replaying a game over and over again. We shall see!

@mookysam ahh nice one, well done!! I was wondering when we might hear your final thoughts on it! I think I agree that Doom 16 had tighter combat but then I think that Doom Eternal got pretty tight toward the end, maybe it just took me longer to adjust to it. I think I preferred Doom Eternal in the end, it was just far more barmy and I am a sucker for expanded universes/multiverses 😅

I'm working my way through SoR 4 at the moment. I'm on like level 4 or 5 I think. Just about to use my second continue 😭. Playing as Blaze and I've yet to add any assists.

I managed to find one retro boss so far. I didn't know how to activate the arcade machine on the first one but I did it on the second one I found. You have to hit the arcade machine with a dropped taser, which means not picking it up during the fight and accidentally using it because it breaks after one use.

I do very much like the game so far. I love the music and I actually really love the art style. I wasn't sold when it was first announced but I guess I grew accustomed to it in the year or so between release and me actually playing the game.

Just playing it on Switch with a pro controller at the moment. I might try it with a Bluetooth Saturn or Mega Drive controller if I do a second run. Just wanted to suss out the buttons first.

I think I felt a bit down about this game for a while because I bought the LRG classic edition. I held on to my pre order despite a local retail release being announced because I thought the mega drive case looked cool. It doesn't, it's huge and way bigger than a normal mega drive case so it's just a bit pointless really. I guess the reversible mega drive art is cool but it comes with a cardboard sleeve so it's not like you can see the mega drive art on your shelf anyway. Unless you took the sleeve off but where the hell would you store it

Have we done The Frozen Wilds dlc for Horizon Zero Dawn yet? With release date of the sequel confirmed and the 60fps patch on PS5, I thought it would be a good time to jump in. I just hope my game saves can be carried over from the regular edition. Sorry if I **** the bed on this! 😂

@JohnnyShoulder While you can't carry over your game saves from PS4 to PS5 for Mass Effect Legendary Edition for no good reason since it's just a PS4 collection, I don't see why you couldn't for Horizon Zero Dawn since it's still the PS4 version with the frame rate unlocked.

@KilloWertz Yeah I believe it is different for each one. Don't think you could with The Witcher 3 regular edition and the GOTY edition. Actually might try the DLC for that too when the PS5 version is out.

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, we did it like two months ago 😂😂

@JohnnyShoulder I enjoyed it though, it's more of the same but in a good way! Bet you it looks great in 60 fps. My save carried over so you should be fine

@nessisonett Awww nuts!

@R1spam Ah cool, that's good to know. Cheers!

Oh and I just sent you a friend request on PSN..

@JohnnyShoulder good stuff mate just accepted. The dlc was trickier than the main game (added to the fact I had forgotten all the controls) so maybe worth getting up to speed with the base game for 10-15 before jumping into the dlc if its been a while since you played

@R1spam Good shout, I've not played it since I completed the story when it came out.

I'm just on level 9 at the moment. I think I'm going to call it a night as I'm quite tired and my skills are lacking. I can't believe this is going to take me at least 3 sittings to beat when Ness beat it in a single sitting!

I think level 5 (I think) was the hardest level so far, the one where you fight the dude in the motorcycle yard at the end. Level 9 with the elevator seems quite tough too. It's hard to know when you've been playing for a while whether the game is getting harder or you are getting worse from fatigue.

But yeah, still loving it. Not sure I'll love playing it multiple times with different characters. I'm keen to experience the replay value but I'm never usually a fan of playing the same game over and over again in quick succession.

I've seen the third retro level with the wrestler (my second retro level) and I missed the fourth because the taser was on the previous screen to the arcade cabinet.

Still loving Blaze, still loving the music. Erm not sure what else to say really! Just wanted to give a quick update in the spirit of Game Club!

Actually, I think the boss fights in levels 6, 7 and 8 were quite easy in comparison to the motorcycle man and his gang. Shiva was particularly easy which I was surprised about. Also not sure what, why or how his relationship changed with the SoR gang since SoR 3 (I think it was 3, could be 2) because they seemed quite pally in this game.

@ralphdibny Level 9 is an absolute killer! The elevator just destroyed me since I kept getting whacked out the window. It took me a while for sure. Story mode is honestly harder than arcade mode in some respects since you will only have two extra lives at the start, instead of being able to hoard them.

@nessisonett oh really! Hopefully I will have more of my wits about me tomorrow and try and get through it then!

Normally I turn off controller sounds because the tinny, crappy sound is usually offputting, but the DualSense is a pretty big upgrade in that department. It made the game more immersive, for sure and when VEGA started speaking I actually jumped because I wasn't expecting it! Through headphones it was just too much sound all at once.

@ralphdibny I got really into the combat after struggling for the first few chapters, but man some of the later encounters went on a bit. There were a few with totems where it took me ages to find them! I was away for most of August, so that was why it took me so long, but got heavily into it last week and played it all day several days in a row. I haven't had a chance to start Streets of Rage 4 yet, but should (hopefully) catch up! 😂

I've been completely sucked into red dead online, psychonauts 2 and hades but have managed to make a start! I've got some history with the series, streets of rage was the first game I ever completed! I didnt own it, I rented it from blockbuster and completed it with a mate when he came over for a sleep over when I was like 9 or 10 in almost one sitting. Then I remember getting streets of rage 2 and being so hyped for it coming out! At the time, the graphics really felt a step up from a lot of what had come before along with a step up of gameplay. I never played 3 and with 4 on gamepass, I couldn't resist a bit of nostalgia! I've only played a couple of stages so far but it really is true to what I remember. I like the art style and music, I think they have nailed the feel of this is how you remember it looking but it looks so much better than those older games (as evidenced by the one retro boss I've beaten). I don't remember these games being tricky but either this one is harder or my skills ain't what they used to be! I've found it a bit tricky at first but started to get the hang of it now. I like the special moves and getting some combos together. I'm not sure I'll finish the game but I think I'll still try a couple more stages. I should say I tried the touch controls on android for xcloud and it was pretty horrific!!

@R1spam At least you’ve given it a go anyway! The game can get pretty difficult but it gets easier when you start to get a handle on your combos. Double tapping forward and punching does a move that’s great for ending combos for example. I’ve almost finished my second playthrough now and honestly, Cherry is a million times better than Axel. I’ve only found one area harder than previously and that’s just due to the boss being a bit of a tank.

Woah Streets of Rage 4. What a game. It is harder than 1+2 but once you get the hang of combos you can ratchet up the DPS. I finished it with most of the characters.

Big issue I have had is S ranking levels at a high difficulty. I think a patch has made the combos last a bit longer as it was heartbreaking getting a B after running the level of your life. Play it with a friend and it's even better.

Finished the game now with Cherry as well. Kinda crushed it tbh, got much better ranks this time round because her extra speed helps you rack up way more combos!