Topic: Games you've recently beat

@Draco_V_Ecliptic I dunno if I believe the leaks but if the landscape is truly based off Scotland I’ll be happy. You should definitely complete (or at least attempt) The Old Hunters because it makes the rest of the game look bad in comparison and contains the tightest level design. Unfortunately if you’ve beat the game then you’ll need to start again/go through NG+ to access it again. An annoying quirk the SB games have.

@nessisonett I think you are being a bit harsh on the main game of Bloodborne. The main game is excellent and so is the DLC. There are quite similar in how they play and presentation wise. It is a bit of a head scratcher that you like one but not the other.

@JohnnyShoulder My main problem with Bloodborne is that the areas just weren’t fun. There are a few great bosses but the rest are few and far between. What made The Old Hunters stand out was that the areas didn’t feel as much of a slog and all but one of the bosses were superb. It took everything that was good about the game and streamlined it into a smaller, more coherent area. I genuinely struggle to name a single area of the base game I’d say I enjoyed but I could in the other Souls games.

@nessisonett @JohnnyShoulder I remember hating some of Bloodborne's areas while I was in them, but afterwards thinking "that was incredible game design"

I've heard it said that women's minds block out the pain of childbirth so as not to put them off repeating the process. Sometimes I think the same might be true of Soulsborne games

@nessisonett Not played the game in a couple of years but Nightmare frontier was pretty memorable. The place with bug people and that huge centepede thing before you fight Vom. After the moon turns red and those huge skeleton things. That is just off the top of my head. There must have been something there for you to keep playing.

@Gremio108 Yeah it's more like a love/hate relationship. Even when i face a difficult section I'm still enjoying it.

@JohnnyShoulder What kept me going was the idea of finishing the game. There’s a certain level of satisfaction to be had from completing these games and after The Old Hunters, the final two bosses were rather trivial so it wasn’t much trouble.

There we go, polished off the Resi 7 DLC. They really delivered, with small, contained but new areas. Overall they provided some much needed closure to the story and both new characters were fun to play as. I have to say that Joe’s combat was proper good fun and suitably silly. The final boss of End of Zoe totally alleviated my concerns about the final boss of the game being a bit meh. The DLC final boss was the real final boss in my opinion as it was a test of the skills learned as Joe and just pure simple fun. It’s a shame that original players didn’t get to experience that without a paywall and having to wait as it is truly essential.

@Kidfried Have this on my wishlist for quite a while now but wasn’t planning on getting it this sale in favour of some other games. You changed my mind!

The current price seems fair for the invested time, would be a perfect fit for the Vita, though. Thanks (or should I say damn you )

@Arugula I had a similar experience with Transistor. The constant narration of the guy is unsettling. I’m not sure if it was the voice actor’s strange whispery out-of-place tone, the fact that there wasn’t any verbal responses or anyone for him to talk to, or just the sheer constancy of his commentary, or a combination of all three, but I agree that I just never got used to the dialog. It’s an interesting game otherwise and worth experiencing, but a little bit overrated, imo.

I finally finished the main story of Yakuza 3 last night. I really enjoyed it again and I’m surprised to hear that in the past it was thought of as the weakest of the series and one you could skip, although it sounds like lots of stuff was cut from the PS3 localisation and is back in the game now.

I still have a few bits to do (and some new game modes to try after completing the game) but will probably write a bit more about it at some point.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Bravo! I’ve enjoyed reading your snippets about DOS2 and glad to see it kept you engaged right up to the end. It is a long game! Do you think your playtime would be considered average? It’s more toward the ‘completionist’ estimates on howlongtobeat, so I figure you took your time doing quite a bit of extra side activities.

@Thrillho I’m glad it’s seemingly as good as the rest then because the original reviews weren’t that kind. Now for the decision of whether to buy the collection now or wait for that sweet sweet physical edition with the PS3 box...

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy As long as the game is, I imagine it is a lot to take in, but I look forward to a review if you ever feel inclined to write one. Your early “mini-review” impressions really gave me a good feel for the game and I watched some of the gameplay posted. One of these days I’ll get to it. As a teaser, would you say the game builds and crescendos toward the end, or did you feel it a slog to push through. In games that long it usually ends up being the latter — you know the: “I’ve invested 80 hours into this game, with the time commitment so far I’ve got to endure to the end now, even though this no longer feels fresh anymore” type of monologue we have in our heads.

@nessisonett There are certainly things I didn’t like about the game and the story is a bit weird (it’s all relative in the Yakuza games) and it is certainly more of the same for the most part. But I still had fun.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy That’s very true — some games I remember for the journey (Spider-Man, TR games, Bloodborne), some I remember for the conclusion (NieR Automata, TLoU, TWD). Some I cherish both (RDR 1 & 2, HZD).

But that’s a sign of a great gaming experience, when you don’t want it to end. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve had that for a long time — when you are so smitten with spending time in the game that you don’t even care to see the end because you want it to keep going. Probably the closest recent example I had that with is Bloodborne. The end was really good and I made sure to see all the different versions, but compared to the journey, it just was a tiny bit disappointing, because of the moment-by-moment emotional investment and adrenaline highs you’ve received from the game for the 40-50 hours leading up to it. Only other recent example of a game I wanted to keep going longer than the game design dictated is Uncharted: Lost Legacy, but that’s probably because the excellent experience and interesting characters were only there for 10 hours and I knew this was possibly the last I’d ever see of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted universe, and that made me sad to see it end.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Nice. Always satisfying to successfully come to the other end of a deep, massive experience like this must have been. Although, if it was good enough, I can sometimes feel a bit hollow for a day or two after finishing a game like that.

Looking forward to the review!

Anything less than 3000 words @Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy and I think we will all be disappointed!

@RogerRoger That would be funny! And totally out of character!

That's me polished off the Tomb Raider reboot. Overall, I enjoyed it, solid 7/10. It's aged alright but it does come off sometimes as slightly uninspired. I've heard Rise improves in almost every aspect so looking forward to playing that at some point!

@KratosMD I have to say after playing Uncharted 2 last month that Tomb Raider’s gunplay is far, far better. It might be because of the fact I was playing on PC with a mouse but the bow felt suitably satisfying to use and the combat was generally OK.