Topic: Push Square Game Club Spooktacular: Resident Evil 4

@Ralizah Good point. I’d say that we’re probably looking at 3-4 levels a week. There are 13 levels so depending on your availability and speed, we should be 4 weeks at the latest. 4 weeks from Saturday is Halloween and honestly, the opening hours of RE2 are perfect for that, meaning we can get into the meat of the game during the start of November.

I'll skip DOOM as I've already played it. Absolutely ace game though, so I hope that everyone who's new to it enjoys it.

Depending on what else I'm playing at the end of the month, I'll join in for Resident Evil 2. Mr X looks terrifying so it'll be perfect for Halloween gaming!

I tried Doom when it first came out, but I found the frantic pace a little too difficult to manage thanks to my ageing eyes and arthritic fingers. However, I’m nothing if not a glutton for punishment so you can count me in, at least until my eyes bleed or my hands seize.

DOOM starts today (despite me being about 20 minutes away from finishing Hollow Knight) so everybody feel free to start playing!

Our target for the first week is at least the first 3 levels and onto the 4th if you have enough time!

Thanks for the tag, but I'll be skipping DOOM. Not my kind of game! I'll definitely keep an eye on joining Resident Evil if that's still on for Halloween.

I beat the first two levels of DOOM tonight and honestly, it’s ok. I’m not getting that satisfaction from killing demons I thought I would to be honest. I might just not be in the right mood!

@nessisonett
Maybe try Nightmare difficulty instead.

I'm really enjoying DOOM. I've actually played way further into it than I originally intended to by this point.

I will say, it's a little surreal advancing further into the game. I've played that initial outside Mars area in the demo SO many times that I know its layout like the back of my hand.

I love the feel of platforming and jumping in general in this game. It feels like ultraviolent Metroid Prime. That sense is further reinforced by the large, complex, and multilayered environments, and the suitably complex 3D maps that go along with them.

I'm mixed on mission challenges being a thing: on one hand, they give me a goal when entering combat beyond just killing stuff. On the other hand, I feel like the combat challenges are making me play the game in ways I don't really intend to, versus just killing demons without a care in the world as in previous games.

I love the area layouts, but I kind of miss the puzzle elements from DOOM 64. The closest thing this game has is collectibles hidden in secret areas, although that's really more about observation and experimentation.

Oh, and on that note: I really, really like how they turned DOOM into a collectathon. It feels like there's something to find in every cranny, which really makes exploration feel rewarding.

Combat is awesome as well. I know the "glory kill" system rubs some people the wrong way, but I feel like it adds a satisfying rhythm to combat. Although trying to activate particular glory kills for mission challenges can be a bit of a pain.

Difficulty-wise, I feel like "Hurt Me Plenty" is satisfying enough, considering how tough a lot of these enemies are, and the game likes to swamp you with tons of these things in large arenas. The Hell Knight has taken some getting used to. I died to the first one probably five times before I figured out a good rhythm for killing him, but everytime I see one now, it still send me into a panic.

@Ralizah Ah, I’m playing on Ultra-Violence and I feel it more accurately recreates the difficulty of the original! Mission challenges can be a bit annoying to be honest, it took me so long to get two kills with 1 shotgun blast. Also, just a heads up that you can change the camera in the settings so that your gun is centred like classic DOOM.

@nessisonett Oh, that's cool. Although, given the free 3D aiming and presence of crosshairs/aiming reticle, I don't really feel the need to center my gun.

I'll probably play on a higher difficulty in the future if I end up liking it enough, like I did with DOOM 64 (and like I did with the DLC for DOOM 3).

Those shield enemies are pretty annoying. I'm pretty much reserving my grenades just for them now. Also finding myself using grenades a LOT more in this game than DOOM 3. Not sure why id thought introducing grenades in a game where you're creeping through claustrophobic corridors 90% of the time was a good idea. They're a great fit for the huge environments in this game, though.

@Ralizah I haven’t actually worked out how to throw grenades on PS4, I end up forgetting to press random buttons while I’m surrounded by enemies 😂

@nessisonett I'm playing Eternal and there are so many things you can do that it can get a bit overwhelming when you're mid battle. When it all clicks though, it feels so good.

I hope people are still finishing Hollow Knight though as I'd like to hear more thoughts on it.

@Thrillho I literally just have a few DLC things and the final boss left in Hollow Knight, I explored way more than I did the first time I completed the game. I’ve played like 40 hours of it so I’ll finish it soon!

Doom 2016 is such a great game. I semi-remembered to use the grenades in Doom. I definitely found moments though. Some of those sponges needed it. I found that certain areas have a little trouble on standard difficulty, but I could totally see playing it on a higher one and needing more diligence with using all your abilities.
I think the biggest upgrade for me was the double barrel getting two shots per reload instead of one. It felt like a different game at that point. The speed and ferocity you had just upped notably. And you already have a lot.

I’ve just finished the first 4 levels. I don’t know if I just rushed considering I did find rather a few secrets but I thought it would take longer! I guess I should go and finish Hollow Knight now but if other people catch up, we could always get the game done in 3 weeks instead of 4.

@nessisonett Yeah, exploration is what makes the levels take so long. Eternal has a fast travel mechanism which only unlocks right at the end of the level to allow you to go back and pick things up which works well.

I look forward to your final thoughts on Hollow Knight. Fingers crossed for a good ending!

I'm still trundling on with hollow knight and stopped my me andromeda playthrough to concentrate on hollow knight. Will probably have to give doom a miss just for time constraints but will try join in for re2.

That’s me got all grubs and soul fragments in Hollow Knight. I’ll dip into Godseeker and beat Nightmare Grimm and then probably head for the final boss.

@nessisonett Of all the DLC, Godmaster is probably the least necessary. If you’re a huge fan of the combat and an absolute pro, then go for the pantheons.

I did one or two of them but couldn’t do the others. Fair play to those who can as I thought I was pretty good at the game having beaten Nightmare King Grimm and all the coliseum levels.

There is an additional ending if you complete them all but I was more than happy to watch that one on YouTube.

Wow, the Revenant got nerfed big time. Those things were a total pain in DOOM 3, but they're one of the easier enemies in this game.

I've gotta say, I think DOOM 2016 is the one to find a good balance of narrative and gameplay pacing. I've had to stop a few times to watch holograms or listen to Samuel Hayden, but NOTHING like DOOM 3's constant interruptions. Like Metroid Prime, most of the lore and backstory and whatnot is relegated to optional text files in the menu. But I still always have a sense of what I'm supposed to be doing, whereas older DOOM games just feel like random levels scattered about as opposed to a journey or story or something.

I also like how EVERY weapon in this game is satisfying to use.

Also: the Summoner feels like a boss the first time you fight it. And it's always the first demon I target if I'm surrounded by them. It's pretty much the Arch-Vile on steroids.

The Baron of Hell feels like a bit of an HP sponge at times, but it's functionally very similar to the Hell Knight, so I managed to deal with it pretty efficiently .

The game feels great with double jump boots now. All these flying jumps and mid-air shootouts are a lot of fun.

I actually like the Berserk power-up now, where it makes every attack into an automatic glory kill. And more brutal ones than usual: Doom Slayer actually ripped a Revenant in half!

The level design is interesting, too. Very layered, with shortcuts, tons of verticality, etc. I got knocked off a platform one point and was sent flying back half a level, but I discovered a shortcut that allowed me to quickly regain my lost progress.

My one big gripe so far is the lack of quicksaving. I HATE checkpoint systems in games.