Topic: Games you've recently beat

Returnal. Finished the story today, won't be doing platinum as I don't like going for 100%.

Great game, very fun, controls extremely well. Visuals and level setting are also very good. Can be tough and can frustrate you at times, but that does add to it as well!

Anybody looking for a decent challenge on PS5 should really consider it.

@JohnnyShoulder I've been considering the pathless for a while as a nice small indie game. What sort of game is it? And is it the sort you can just drop in, spend 30-60 minutes on and feel like you've progressed?

The bulk of the game is exploration and puzzle solving, and the only combat in the game is when you face the bosses. There is also no in-game map so you have to use a spirit mask to highlight areas of interest.

Traversal feels quite unique as you shoot these talismans which are everywhere to boost your speed and keep your stamina up. You also have a pet Eagle which can carry you and glide you to places, and you can make it stronger by collecting crystals so that it can carry you higher and further.

EDIT: And yes you can absolutely play if for a short while and it feels like you are progressing, even if you only manage a few puzzles it all adds to the overall progression.

Probably sounds a bit rubbish me explaining it, but I have found it a nice change from killing everything every 5 minutes.

Hitman Go. Gameplay is completely different to regular Hitman games, but it was a fun little puzzle game. I liked how it's good at teaching the player how to play without any words of explanation. For instance, whenever a new mechanic is introduced, it be in a level that heavily showcases that feature or lets the player play around with it.

@JohnnyShoulder Missed this yesterday. Thanks, sounds like a nice game to play, I enjoy games with puzzles as well as shooting all the aliens. I'll pick it up when it has a decent sale!

@NedStarksGhost @LtSarge As it is a mid-budget title, at full price it is only £30. But I did get in sale at £20 for the disk version.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm

I know these kind of games aren't for everybody, but I highly enjoyed it. It's been years since I played the first one, so I'm not 100% certain, but I think I might have liked this even better than the first one.

It was a nice change of pace from all the mainstream games. It also made me start to really look forward to Life is Strange: True Colors.

@KilloWertz I started the first one a few years back but ditched it before even getting into episode 2. Was only thinking the other day that I should give it another go.

I beat Mafia 2 there. It’s a lot worse than the remake of the first one but it’s alright I guess. Very immature in comparison but the story’s a bit more political in the dealings with other families. The ties to the first game are cool too. I dunno, it’s an OK game.

@nessisonett Did you know that you kill the main character from the first game , in the second game , in a cutscene ?

Thought that was really cool . I enjoyed Mafia 2 a lot , but it hasn't aged well unfortunately , so i can't put it over GTA4 .

@nomither6 Yeah, the same scene’s at the end of the remake of the first game, just with a lot better graphics 😂

@colonelkilgore I hope you enjoy it whenever you give it another chance. Like I said in my other post, I understand these kind of games aren't for everybody though.

@RogerRoger I need to go back and play the original again someday. Maybe when the remastered release for it and Before the Storm comes out next year. I say that because I want to make sure I remember correctly as I have a feeling one reason I liked Before the Storm better is because I liked Chloe in this better than Max in the original. She was a pretty good character in Before the Storm, even without Ashley Burch doing the voice for her (not counting her return for the Bonus Episode "Farewell").

@RogerRoger @KilloWertz yeah I got a few of these narrative games in the backlog… I have to be in the right mood for them I think. I’ll save it to play after something particularly stressful 👍

@nessisonett Did you get a craving for ham and cheese sarnies from playing it? 😂

@KilloWertz I also liked Before the Storm a little better than the first game. I think it had a little more polish. It reminds me that I really need to play LiS2. Have it sitting in the backlog.

@Th3solution I haven't played it yet either. The fact that it has no connection to the original kept me from rushing to play it. Not saying it has to obviously, but I guess it didn't help that I didn't play Before the Storm up until recently. Someday I'll play it, as I like that kind of game of course.

@RogerRoger I definitely have you in mind for when I do play it because I distinctly remember your review when you played it and I know you had a reasonable amount of praise for the characters and the story.

Lately I’ve slowed down even more than my usual snail’s pace at completing games so it might be a while before I get to it. I need @colonelkilgore to draw me up a schedule to keep me on track

@KilloWertz I played the demo, The Adventures of Captain Spirit (or some name like that) and came away feeling ‘meh’. But people have told me the actual game isn’t at all as dull as that was.

@Th3solution under construction 😉

Just finished The Division 2, not gonna lie... it definitely grew on me but is still something I consider incredibly repetitive. I'm gonna try for the Platinum but it seems like a lot of work left tbh... gotta complete 3 or 4 stronghold invasions, play the whole thing through again on hard and then some multiplayer... we'll see how it goes 😅.

@colonelkilgore I really like what happens with all the end game stuff. But by then I was a beginning to burn out and only managed a few evenings of playtime before putting it to bed. I looked after it though and made sure I gave it a cup of of hot chocolate and read a bedtime story.