Topic: Games you've recently beat

@JohnnyShoulder Aww, that's a neat little touch! Sounds pretty cool (performance hits aside)!

@LtSarge Thanks for the thoughts on P5DiS. I’ve had it in the backlog for a while now and it just took me a long time to finally finish the base game P5 that the dance rhythm game has become a orphan in my library. I enjoyed the P4 and P3 dance games and like you say, I appreciated the attempts at an actual legit storyline in P4DAN, but I thought the rationale and narrative concept was a little flakey. It was mindless fun though and kept me entertained, even though I had to just kind of roll with it on the core ideas and logic of the narrative.

The P3 version - Dancing in Moonlight, was also enjoyable, but had a much shallower storyline and sounds like is probably on par with Dancing in Starlight.

If nothing else, this has reminded me I need to wipe the dust off the Vita and play DiS because there are a scarcity of compelling rhythm games in my library and they serve as fantastic relaxing palate cleanser games.

Edit: Btw, you being a Persona and Jrpg fan, have you played Persona 5 Strikers? I’ve heard good things and it also is supposedly a great way to extend the P5 vibe and spend more time with the characters as another sort of sequel to the base game.
I’ve not played it yet. It’s on a list of possible plays down the road.

Just finished the ‘story’ and liberated every location on Just Cause 3… I might have to write a review on this one (which’ll be my first) as it just does so much right but it remains so underrated and under-played.

Anyway, on to the collectibles and the challenges… and then, maybe I’ll try do the game justice in written form. Just the ultimate playground of destruction!

@Th3solution I agree that the story in P4DAN felt a bit weird and tacked on whenever they tried to connect it with the rhythm game portions. But the thing that I really liked about it is that we got an actual sequel to Persona 4. Not like the Persona 4 Arena games where the story was severely lacking, but an actual story with character development and new characters like Kanami Mashita (who gets referenced in multiple games). It just felt nice revisiting the Persona 4 universe and seeing the Investigation Team once more.

Which is actually a good segue to the next part of your post regarding Persona 5 Strikers. That game is also an actual sequel to Persona 5, just like P4DAN was to P4. I haven't played through that game yet, but I did buy it on the Switch and have played the first 10 minutes just to see what it's like. And yeah, it has the exact same feel of a regular Persona game with the difference being that the combat is mostly real-time. I probably won't play it anytime soon since I've just finished two Persona games, but from what I've seen and heard, it's absolutely worth getting.

Have you already played Persona 3 btw? I've still got a couple of more side games to play in the Persona series, but I'm mostly looking forward to playing a potential remaster/remake of Persona 3. I feel like there's no optimal way of playing that game now. You either have the PS2 version that comes with extra content and a 3D overworld to move around in, or the PSP version which is mostly a visual novel. I don't like playing Persona games on the TV (hence why I bought Persona 5 Strikers on Switch) but the PSP version is too dumbed down from the PS2 one for me to want to play it. The optimal solution would be a remaster/remake of Persona 3: FES on Switch and I really hope Atlus makes it happen.

Finished Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PS5 over last weekend. It was my second time playing the game and I loved it all over again. Really looking forward to playing Part 2 if it comes out before PS6.

Wasn't a big fan of the Yuffie DLC when I tried it, so I stopped playing it for now and moved on. I'll go back to it at some point and see if I like it better then, but most of the side stuff annoyed me (unlike the main game's side quests). Trying to beat Chadley in the board game was impossible for me, and I'm guessing you have to wait to beat the VR challenge to get the summon since I died really quick most every attempt. I guess it didn't help that I'm not a fan of how different her combat is compared to the main game, which allows you to play however you want, but it seems like you can only play defensive with Yuffie.

@LtSarge Yea, I played P3 on PS2 and remember liking it, but I don’t remember a lot of details. If a remaster came out it would be tempting to play it again since it’s often felt to be the best of the bunch by enthusiasts. Honestly I remember the setting and visuals to be really bland, certainly in comparison to P5 which has the best art style of almost any PS4 game IMO. It might be worth my getting a Switch if that P3 remaster drops!

Just finished Remember Me on PS3. What a wild ride this game has been! But this really is a weird one for me, it's one of the few (if not the only) games that has made me feel different about it each session I played it. At first I really liked the game because the gameplay is a mix between Batman Arkham combat and Uncharted platforming where you climb on buildings, which is really cool. But after an hour in the combat started getting really stale and it took until a couple of hours in before it became interesting again. Then I enjoyed it for a while before it became annoying again, and then it became fun once more, lol. The issue that keeps coming back is the game's "gimmick". You can customise what the buttons in combos do. For example, you have a combo of square, square, square, so you can assign the second square to give you health back and the third one to do more damage. It was hard for me to figure out the best way to assign the buttons because as you progressed through the game, it started introducing more difficult opponents and longer combo strings, which required different solutions. As a result, I would either find myself in a tough situation because I didn't have the appropriate buttons for the combos, or in a good situation because I finally unlocked the necessary buttons. While this mechanic sounds cool on paper, it just felt unnecessary. But I have to give the developer props for at least trying out new ideas.

To give some background about the game, the story takes place in 2084 "Neo-Paris" where humans have started harvesting memories from people rebelling against the government that they then sell to others. Memories are essentially a drug now where you want to be injected with good memories in order to get a high. I find this premise to be very fascinating and later on in the game, you can even enter others' memories and "remix" them in order to turn who were once your enemies into your allies. All of this honestly doesn't surprise me because Dontnod is the developer and anyone who's played Life is Strange and Tell Me Why will know that those games have rather interesting concepts as well.

But yeah, it's still crazy to me that Dontnod made a third-person beat 'em up game with Batman Arkham combat and Uncharted platforming. I think it's worth experiencing this game just for that alone. Even if the combat can get frustrating at times, the setting and the story are just so good. We simply don't get that many new IPs that deliver experimental AAA experiences anymore. So definitely check this one out if you have the chance.

@LtSarge I remember seeing a vid on this years ago… I could never remember what it was called though and therefore could never identify what it actually was I was looking for. I’m not ‘really’ a fan of Arkham combat but something about it appeals to me.

@colonelkilgore It's a very unique game considering there aren't that many that focus on the theme of memories in a futuristic setting. I honestly just wanted to see more of the world and the story, it's a very detailed game. But yeah, the gameplay isn't anything to write home about.

@LtSarge @colonelkilgore Yeah, a very accurate description of Remember Me. I quite liked it and I think it’s an under appreciated hidden gem, but I’m not sure everyone would like it and find it hard to recommend wholeheartedly. I think since I like third person action stealth so much that I tolerated the repetitiveness and the bland environments. But the game does some things that are unique and the core principles of memory stealing and sharing is a neat concept that would be nice to see done more. I’m glad there are others who have experienced the game because I think a lot of people wrote it off because of the lackluster reviews.

Just finished the PS5 version of A Plague Tale: Innocence. A very good PS5 upgrade, with some of the best usage of the DualSense features I've experienced so far by not using the adaptive triggers to create resistance. You end up feeling the haptic feedback in the RT. It basically pulsates whenever you hold it down to run or if you hold it down to fire whatever from your sling.

With that said, while it was a solid game through 15 of it's 16 story chapters (17 is a post-story chapter), the 16th chapter nearly ruined the game for me with an absurd difficulty/frustration spike. I hope they learned to keep it more balanced for the sequel.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is done and dusted.

A much improved sequel that easily blew the first out the water.

As I said before in the PS4 games thread the plot was better with the mystery/treasure being more facinating, the set pieces were a tonne more interesting and bombastic (The tank sequence in particular was a highlight), the villains were much more intimidating, Chloë was better (then dull as dishwater Elana). Hell I even enjoyed the combat a bit more then I did the first.

Was some pacing issues though that hampered the experience sonewhat with the last couple of chapters being far too long (Looking at you Monstary chapter) and didn't advance the plot much at all. Some of the combat encounters got rather annoying as well in the later chapters.

Also the lack of Victor Goddamn Sullivan was frankly criminal

Was good though and definitely a step up over the first by a decent margin.

Still has that summer blockbuster sorta vibe going for it for me. Nothing mind blowing but fun enough amd unlike the first I'll look at it a lot more fondly and maybe even replay at some point down the line 😄

Also the casting gag with the Dragon Age Va's with Morrigan (Claudia Black) as Chloë & Alistair (Steve Valentine) as Harry Flynn was cute.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Congrats! Sounds like you had a great time with Uncharted 2. Will you be playing Uncharted 3 next or are you taking a break from the series now?

Just finished Journey on PS4 after 1.5 hours of playtime. Even though the game has been out for almost a decade now, I never played it until now despite hearing nothing but great things about the game. And it was an absolutely magical experience! At first it felt kinda slow but the pacing increased by a lot after a while. Not to mention that when I discovered another player in my game, I was so surprised. They hid from me for some reason, so I was thinking my eyes played a trick on me or something because I had no idea this game had multiplayer. But then I saw him and it was so cool to be sharing the "journey" with another person. I think this coupled with the amazing soundtrack made for an excellent experience.

I have to be honest though, I wasn't even sure if the second player was real or not. I don't have PS+ so I genuinely believed that the other player was a bot because it wouldn't make sense to let me play online for free. Not to mention that in the paintings that they show in between levels, there was a depiction of two red figures, so I thought this has to be a bot if they're even showing it in the cutscenes. But at the same time, the second person moved around sporadically and seemingly already knew what to do e.g. in the stealth sections. So throughout the entire playthrough, I was so confused as to whether it was a real person or not, lol. But it turned out to be a real person because you get their PSN name after the credits.

All in all, phenomenal game and I'm so glad that I finally decided to play it after so many years.

Wow. I just beat Bloodborne. Admittedly it was probably the worst ending but as didn't think I'd be able to do it and after drifting away from it many times i am pretty happy to see the credits. Had been stuck on a particular boss the last time I gave up on it a few months back but after checking a guide it turns out they were only optional boss anyhow. So to finish I only had the two bosses to beat and did so this afternoon. Now I am a happy Dan.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I still think the scene where you jump from vehicle to vehicle in the convoy is one of my favourite set pieces in the series as it feels like you’re in complete control but when you look back it’s completely linear. Cleverly done.

@LtSarge I had the exact same feelings when I played Journey with regards to the “multiplayer” experience as do most people who aren’t aware about it. It’s very cleverly done and only enhances the overall experience.

@LtSarge If you enjoyed Journey, I can highly reccomend Abzu and The Pathless. Although a different developer in Giant Squid, a lot of people from thatgamecompany formed the company, including the composer Austin Wintory.

@Sorteddan well done mate, hope you enjoyed the masterpiece that is Bloodborne.

@JohnnyShoulder I actually have Abzu, I think I got it through the Play At Home initiative from earlier this year. Never thought much about it but now that you've brought it to my attention, I might just have to play it one of these days.

Never heard about The Pathless. Is it a PS5 or PS4 game?

@LtSarge The Pathless is available on both PS4 and PS5… runs pretty similarly on both but I’ve heard it makes use of the dual-sense’s adaptive triggers etc. so the PS5 is the better experience. It released to positive reviews but was overshadowed in the public perception by Demons Souls, Spider-man: Miles Morales and Astrobot.

I picked a copy up the other day as @Jimmer-jammer was very positive about it. Check out this review from Skill-up for more info:

Oh yeah that convoy was really fun sequence too @Thrillho, definitely a highlight as you say it's cleverly presented to you.

I did end up dying the first time round on it though as I think the car with the turret didn't spawn on me or something as I was just left stranded with nowhere to go before I got blown up

I wasn't planning on starting Uncharted 3 as I really need to make more headway in Pathfinder Kingmaker whilst I still have the time @LtSarge ... But then I ended up playing about 6 chapters of UC3 yesterday 😂

I probably will space playing the third one out a bit more though as it's easy to dip into for a chapter or two thabks to it's short length.