Topic: Push Square Game Club Spooktacular: Resident Evil 4

Quick question — do the different weapons all come naturally or are there some that are hidden off the beaten path.

I’m having trouble with the labyrinthine maps and muted environments so far. The maps are about as good as they can be for the 3 dimensional layers and pathways involved (reminds me of the holomap from Jedi Fallen Order) but it still makes it hard to plan a path. So far I haven’t got completely lost (still in the second level) but I’m pretty sure I’m missing parts of the map as I travel through and don’t want to miss out on a major weapon that I might only have one chance to obtain.

The environments have a lot of items (computer consoles, dead bodies, boxes and canisters, etc) and pick ups and collectibles have that glow but it’s subtle enough that I’ve walked right past things not realizing they can be interacted with.

@Th3solution You can get some weapons early through exploration but I think most weapons you’ll come across eventually.

@Th3solution

I know weapons are located in multiple places in this game in case you miss them on your first go. With that said, it's worth exploring as much as possible.

Also, there's a suit upgrade path that will, when maxed out, reveal every secret on the map. I HIGHLY recommend prioritizing that upgrade path for your praetor suit.

@nessisonett @Ralizah Thanks! I’m such a noob with this game, I appreciate the help.

So I’ve made it through the 4th level now in DOOM. It’s starting to come much easier for me, after a steep learning curve of reacquaintance with FPS controls and training myself to move and strafe better.

The game has become pretty fun in the process. At first I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through this one, but I have like 5 different weapon options now, several mods, and have upgraded my ammo capacity and health.

I’ve had the most difficulty with the shield enemies. Any tricks on how to bring them down more easily? I’m using grenades and the grenade launching mod to the shotgun, but it still seems to take several hits to take his shield down and he’s only exposed for a second and then regenerates the shield again. I’ve had more luck just shooting and darting past him in hopes he’s stunned for a sec. so I can get one or two open shots at his back. That works mostly, so long as I don’t get swarmed by enemies in the process.

And any clues on doing the Master level upgrading to the weapon mods? I fully upgraded my launcher on the shotgun and it says something like get 20 direct hits to Imps for the Master upgrade - and I feel like I’ve hit tons of Imps with it and I’ve yet to register a single kill toward the upgrade. Is there something I’m not doing right?

@Th3solution on Eternal, plasma weapons eat through the shields. You can probably still use the chainsaw on them too. Alternatively, explosives from behind like grenades or the remote detonation mod on the rocket launcher (I’m sure that was in 2016..) and then hit them hard and fast when stunned.

@Th3solution Possessed Security demons are a right pain in the tush. A charged Gauss Cannon shot is the best way to deal with them, but, assuming you don't have that weapon yet, I think your current strategy will probably be on point. Direct an explosion near them to make them flinch/stumble, switch to the super shotgun, then flank them and shoot them at point blank range.

And yeah, like Foxy said, you want to get direct hits on the imps. If you're killing one and not getting credit, then it means you're killing them with splash damage.

Glad to hear you're starting to get on better with the game. DOOM games really do play nothing like other modern shooters, so, yeah, I imagine it requires some re-learning of habits forged by cover shooters at the like. Hesitation only leads to death, especially since you primarily regain health by killing demons.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy You could say that.

I figured I'd probably enjoy it, but it really is a masterful action game that maintains almost every good aspect of previous DOOM games while fixing their problems. I would have appreciated some of DOOM 64's puzzle-y level design, I think, but the multi-layered levels filled with secrets and collectibles mostly make up for the lack of puzzles. As does the sheer, balletic grace of the platforming and action. I think the glory kill mechanic was a welcome addition; the battles get so hectic in this game that I appreciate having a second to figure out what I'm going to do as the animation briefly plays out.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy @Ralizah @Thrillho
Thanks for the advice. I’m just glad to know I’m not doing something wrong. I haven’t upgraded the rocket launcher for remote detonation yet. Perhaps I need to try that.

And I’m glad I’m not the only one who sometimes uses glory kills to take a split second breather during the pandemonium of a large fight. 😅

And I’ll try for more point blank shots on the imps and see if I can get that Master Level mod. I could’ve sworn I shot some straight in the chest, but maybe I was mistaken.

On a side note, I am surprised at the actual inclusion of a reasonably decent storyline. It’s not the deepest narrative in the world, but it has kept my attention and given me motivation to progress, which is all you really need to supplement the addictive gunplay.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I tried a few of the snapmaps when I played it before. It was a bit limited for me because I didn't have ps plus at the time but I do remember one that was like a room with instruments all around it and you could make songs...well at least noise...with them!

@Th3solution When it comes to the challenges, I don’t remember if 2016 lets you do this, but in Eternal I cheesed a few by finding spots with the necessary enemy type/numbers needed, killing them in the manner required, and then saving and quitting to the main menu.

The game would save the progress but reload from the nearest checkpoint so the enemies would be there again. It’s a bit of a pain but gets you the weapon bonuses quicker.

@Thrillho Challenge progress is definitely carried between deaths, so I assume the game remembers where you were in a challenge if you exit a level as well.

One thing I really, really like is that the game autosaves as soon as you pick up a collectible. No having to finish a level, like you would in many other games. Once you collect the thing, you're done. Although I've been finishing levels anyway, since this game is just so much fun.

I just finished the first trip to Hell. I think I prefer those levels and the outside Mars ones to the facility levels, the traversal feels a lot more open. I’m enjoying myself though, the combat’s great and I love hunting around for collectibles. I’m just annoyed I missed one of the runes!

I've just started Doom and finished the first level. It's weird playing it straight after doom 3, I keep going for my flashlight but not being able to light up the areas. Also when you first go out into Mars I was looking around for an oxygen meter only to realise the rest of the level was set outside with no oxygen limit.

I've tried going off the beaten path a bit but apart from a map and a weapon upgrade and a PDA, I haven't really found any collectibles but I guess it's just because it's the first level. I thought I was gonna go for all the collectibles this time around but I might just see how it goes and how the game flows.

I'm also playing it on Xbox this time because I lent my PS4 copy to a friend who moved to another country and I never got it back so I bought it on Xbox for a fiver a while ago. It's definitely weird for me to play a shooter on the Xbox controller without symmetrical sticks, it just feels a bit off

In other news I got the doom eternal deluxe edition that includes the season pass from Amazon in the post today because of the prime day deal so now I'm Doomed up to my eyeballs and will hopefully finish the series by the end of the year! (Except the second dlc obvs)

@ralphdibny I'd be interested to see how you think Eternal compares to 2016 if you play them close together. I want to put my thoughts together on Eternal at some point but there's a few places where it feels like it took a step backwards but it's been a few years since I played the previous game.

@Thrillho I'll be sure to tag you when I post my thoughts in whatever turns out to be the relevant thread at the time! I plan to play Doom vfr in between though if I can stomach using the VR for a while!

I’m now onto Titan’s Realm after beating the first boss. I kinda shredded the boss to pieces since I have the mastery upgrade for remote detonation! I really like the Hell levels, the setting is a lot more interesting than the facility and it leans more into the maze-like levels of the original games.

Making slow and steady progress - Finished up level 6 at Kadingir and now working back through the facility on level 7. It’s really fun. I found it challenging on the last level with fighting on floating platforms - I died just as often from falling off a platform while trying to strafe as I did from taking enemy damage. But overall I did like the Hell level more than the Mars ones. I liked the openness and the environments better, as well as the new enemies. I’m still not very skilled at the game, but the gameplay is addictive and satisfying.

I also spent some time trying the SnapMap mode. Just like in Dreams, my interest was just to play other users’ maps rather than to create my own. I quite liked one of the maps I played and there seems to be a lot of content there if one were to want more DOOM after the campaign is done.

My biggest complaint especially with SnapMap mode, but really with the game in general is the endless loading screens. There’s loading screens for the loading screens! Sit and wait for this screen to load so that you can press X and then wait through another loading screen. In the base game its particularly problematic at the Rune challenges where I tend to die or fail a lot and it’s fairly frustrating waiting for a 20 second reload screen, followed by a button prompt, followed by a 3 second countdown before I can start and sometimes I fail the challenge within the first 5 seconds; so 5 seconds of gameplay, then 20-30 seconds of waiting repeated over and over until I get the challenge down. As an isolated event I don’t mind waiting a few minutes for a game to boot up, but when it’s repeated several times again and again in a single play session, well it gets annoying. Opening up SnapMap mode was absolutely the worst. From the title screen it took several minutes to load. It was the longest loading screen I’ve had this generation, and I realize this is largely because it’s pulling the data off the online servers, but I have a really fast stable internet connection now so it’s not on my end. Besides, Dreams has an even more complex user generated library to pull from the servers and it’s nowhere near this cumbersome. I’m definitely going to think twice before trying SnapMap mode again because of it. I had that weird uncomfortable inner monologue of: “This progress bar hasn’t moved at all in a few minutes. I think it might be frozen. Do I dare do a hard shutdown of the game and hope that it doesn’t corrupt my save file or something?”

Sorry to rant, but perhaps it really sticks out having just finished Ghost of Tsushima with its really quick 2-5 second loads.

But honestly it’s not ruining the base game experience for me. The positives far outweigh that one negative. I’m having a really good time with it. I might just play DOOM Eternal one day. We’ll see how the latter half of the game goes.

Also, every time I start the game and the Zenimax and Bethesda splash screen comes on, I die a little bit inside.

I’ve beaten the Hell Guards now, I must be nearing the end. I’ve definitely got into the groove now, there’s something proper rhythmic in the way you blast demons apart. I do wish you could explore maps to your heart’s content before you finish the level, it’s a bit annoying when you miss a couple of collectibles and you can’t go back for them. Still, I’m definitely enjoying it! And just a heads up for people, if all of us finish DOOM early then we can make a start on Resident Evil 2 as soon as we’re all done.

@nessisonett I’ve got through Mission 7 and probably halfway through 8, have met with Samuel Hayden and supposed to be making my way to the Lazarus Lab and some kind of weapon depot
I’m not sure what kind of week I’m going to have but I’m usually able to finish a level per gameplay session, so it’s pretty reasonable that I’ll be able to complete the game by week’s end. Of course the wheels may come off at any moment, the way my life has been going. So I wouldn’t want to hold back the group if it comes to it, so feel free to move on but I think I’ll be pretty close.

As far as recent impressions - the more I play this game, the more I am impressed with what it does as far as just keeping things fun, lively, and smooth. I’ve appreciated the lower difficulty setting for me as a novice, because I rarely feel frustrated, except trying to figure out where to go next and getting disoriented at times. The Rune trials are the most frustrating part, and I have finally had to give up on one of them, but all the others I’ve eventually completed so far (although I may have missed one or two hidden ones along the way).

I’ve mastered four weapon mods so far (Plasma Gun heat-release shot thingy, the aforementioned Shotgun explosive rounds as well as the Shotgun Burst shot, and the Rifle’s micro missiles). I’m working on the Rocket launcher lock-on mastery. I usually don’t stress about getting all the challenges in a level, but I’ve gotten all of them two or three times so far, mostly by chance and sheer luck.

My favorite gun so far is the Plasma gun for its quick rate of fire, it’s generous hit radius coupled with good mid and far range effectiveness. I just wish it packed a little more punch and had bigger ammo capacity because I have to constantly ration my ammo with it because it will burn through ammo supplies pretty fast. But it reminds me of some of the Borderlands weapons I liked in that game and feels kind of like it would fit in on a Ratchet & Clank game.

@Th3solution well done on sticking it out! I hope you're ok though with whatevers been going on with you. Glad your enjoying the game!

I've only done 2 levels so far. Between my insistence on finishing doom 3 first and having an ear infection I haven't managed play much. Thankfully I'm over the worse of the pain so I think I'll be booting up the game today. Also being woken up in the night has reset my body clock so I now have a full 8 hours of day to play! I was waking up at like 1 in the afternoon for the last few weeks so its been hard to find time.