Topic: Games you've recently beat

@Th3solution Hey I don't blame you I keep having this internal conflict with myself where I love it to pieces and I don't want it to end but also I'm a bit exhausted on it and want to get rid of the colossal weight of completing it. Right now I'm on this tiring battle with an S rank Mementos target and I shudder at the thought of booting up the game.. But I'm right there at the end. Might just skip the target and continue with the Royal story content. I really wanna get it out the way so I can focus on Returnal, Mass Effect, and FF14. Looking forward to the discussion, because the ending is so good with some nice twists.

@RogerRoger 🍺

@colonelkilgore You are in a similar place to me with the Uncharted series, I've played the first 3 games but yet to start the 4th game. I've owned it for years and it is still in its cellophane, but I always find an excuse not to play the game. The latest is that I'm waiting for a PS5 update lol. I enjoyed the games but they are nowhere near my favourites or anything, and I much prefer the recent Tomb Raider games.

@JohnnyShoulder yeah very similar. I’ve only played the first of the new Tomb Raider Games (I have Rise and Shadow... as well as U4 and U:LL waiting on the shelf) and I did enjoy it. From the little experience I’ve had the new Tomb Raider games feel a little less linear to the Uncharted games, although I’ve heard that U4 and LL have more of an open-world(ish) format than the original trilogy so maybe they’ll be more to my taste. I do like Drake and Sully more than Lara as characters though.

@colonelkilgore I've always said (along with others) that Uncharted does characters and story better, whilst Tomb Raider does exploration and combat better. Which is probably why I prefer the Tomb Raider games, as like yourself I'm more of a gameplay guy.

@JohnnyShoulder cheers to that JS

@Kidfried yeah don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy them... and I enjoyed the Last of Us too but I just don’t hold them quite as highly as most do. Having said that, when that Uncharted music kicks in during an action set-piece, it certainly hits the spot.

@RogerRoger once Indy is released I think with three series’ we can actually call it a subgenre... ‘action-archeology’?

@colonelkilgore Lol, so for unofficial sub genres that were inspired by a game or group of games— we’ll have Souls-like, Metroidvania, Rogue-like, Ubisoft towers, Arkham-style combat, ... trying to think of some others... 🤔
And now soon to be ‘action-archaeology’ or ‘Indy-likes’ 😂

@Th3solution 🤣 I actually like Indy-likes more... yeah let’s go with that.

@Th3solution @colonelkilgore I'm gonna be really boring and say there are just action adventures games. I get a bit sick of all the genres we pigeon hole games into, it gets a bit ridiculous at time.

@JohnnyShoulder yeah it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek in fairness. Action-adventure is exactly what they are (well I’m assuming that’s what the Indy game will be too).

@Arugula yeah, think it was a wee while after... definitely around that time though.

@JohnnyShoulder Although we were being a bit facetious, it’s an interesting discussion and to your point - in reality, the vast majority of games lately are mixtures of elements inspired by multiple types and subgenres; meaning broad categories really are the simplest way to truly classify them. Things like RPG mechanics, puzzle platforming, cover shooting, survival, bullet hell, sandbox, simulation, etc., etc. Most games have more than one thing going on. Even game labels like horror, or sports, or even action are often inadequate to communicate a game’s real DNA.
Like, in a word, what type of game is Death Stranding, or Shadow of the Colossus or What Remains of Edith Finch or Nier Automata? In an effort to be granular about describing what type of game something is, we do often undersell what it really is.

For example, I just finished Persona 5 (I’ll devote a separate post to my full impressions - I’ll probably put it in the game’s proper thread) and I guess we’d call it a turn-based JRPG. But the game is so much more than that. I’ve heard it called a visual novel, a social sim, and a dungeon crawler. It certainly has all of those elements too. I would even say the persona fusion parts and aspects of some palaces are very much puzzle games. (I’d also call it an endurance marathon, but that’s another topic entirely)
I’ve mentioned it before, but I had to scoff initially when I heard it but Madden is actually a turn based RPG; when you think about it, it’s true.
Games are really complex now. And I love that about modern gaming.

@Th3solution There are RPG elements in most games these days, that does not mean they should be classed as one though. Final Fantasy X
had you partaking in blitzball. Does that means it is a sports game? No, of course not, it is a JRPG. Like I say, it is getting a bit ridiculous these days. Especially when an annual sports game is being classed as turn based RPG. I've heard that before elsewhere, and I thought is was nonsense then and I think it is still nonsense now.

@JohnnyShoulder Calling Madden a turn based RPG is a stretch, and going with a technical definition rather than the overall feel and setting of the game, which is sports sim.

But how to class Rocket League? Tony Hawks Pro Skater? I mean, I guess these are sports games, kind of, but Tony Hawk is almost as much a rhythm game as a sports game.

RPG is the toughest genre to define for me. Push Square has a list “Best RPGs” and it has games like Bloodborne in it. I guess technically it is an RPG but I never think of it that way. To me RPGs have a lot of character interactions and story, along with the required elements of building up of a character, gathering XP, and leveling up. Yeah, almost every game is an RPG.

@RogerRoger I really like that observation about a given property carrying a genre or game style that we otherwise wouldn’t care for. The value and importance of the art direction, setting, characters, story, intellectual property, and other intangibles cannot be understated. A recent example for me would be Astrobot’s Playroom. I absolutely adored that game. And I don’t really care for mascot platformers. Was it the pretty graphics, the zippy reload times, and the fancy haptic feedback? Well, sure that’s part of it, but I just love the PlayStation ecosystem and the absolutely fabulous labor of love the game is toward the legacy Sony products. I was so excited to uncover the artifacts and puzzle pieces and to see if I could identify the different classic PS games that the bots were pantomiming. When I played a bit of Mario Odyssey on a friends Switch a few months ago, I felt nothing — no nostalgic grab, no intangible dopamine surge. All this and with really the same (or similar at least) core gameplay. I mean Mario Odyssey was okay I guess, I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m sure the Nintendo fans out there might have the same response to Astrobot’s Playroom.

If they made a high quality Tomb Raider RTS, I’d probably play it 😅, even though I’ve never touched one of those strategy games. Heck, I’ve come close several times to buying Avengers, just because I like the property, even though the online style GAAS approach is a definite turn-off for me usually.

@RogerRoger Good to know it’s not just me.

And yeah, I saw Avengers was going to $20, which is fair I think, even if it’s just to play the short but supposedly decent single player campaign. I’m wondering if it will eventually make the jump to F2P or PS Plus though. It’s already gone to PS Now, so maybe Plus is coming soon. 😄

@RogerRoger Haha! My wallet is a little on the light side too. 😂

I was deliberating over posting a summary impression piece on here or on the game’s thread, and decided to do it there, but if anyone’s interested in my thoughts after finishing Persona 5, I left them over on the Persona 5 thread. Not a full review, just some thoughts.

In a nutshell — I’m glad it’s over, but I think I’ll miss it too. 🤔