Topic: Games you've recently beat

@colonelkilgore I tried Far Cry 6 many months back, but ended up moving on to something else. I do plan on going back to it and giving it a second chance at some point though, as in all fairness to it, it was one of several games I tried and dropped in a row in a rough patch for gaming with me. The only real glaring negative I remember off hand was the horrible handling while trying to drive or fly vehicles. It was my first Far Cry game, but I love the Assassin's Creed open world games, so it's not like I hate the Ubisoft formula.

@oliverp yeah, will deffo be trying to chase down that platinum tbh… only about 50% of the trophies are done so far though, so still have some work left to do.

@KilloWertz I do agree about the vehicles tbh… think it might just be first person driving/piloting in general though. I found myself fast travelling a fair bit as a result. The positives vastly outweighed that negative for me at least though… those being the map design, the base design and variety and the solid FPS mechanics (those silenced head shots are just so satisfying).

@colonelkilgore Viva la revolution. I thought FC6 improved quite significantly over the course of the game and the character Dani (I played the female version) was very well voiced.
I enjoyed all the vehicles in the game and generally thought the handling was pretty good except for the tank, I just couldn't control that thing. Of course I did mostly fly everywhere with that gyrocopter/hover/whatever vehicle.
I quite liked the whole outfit perk system but didn't really like the armour/soft target bullet system too much, but then again I didn't really deal too much with that and just stuck to one or two weapons and only changed the ammo type (to EMP) when dealing with choppers and tanks.
PS. The Insurgency operations change on Tuesday I think so you want to whack one of the leaders before then.

@CaptD viva la revolution indeed. I did my first insurgency straight away tbh… was a bit annoying as I hadn’t done a spec op until that time and then had to do my first one (while in a bit of a rush as I wanted to spend the afternoon with the missus) and struggled a bit to get the gist of what I had to do. Managed it in the end though and then went on to take out the insurgency leader. I’m guessing that the next insurgency will start a week after I took care of this one… but not entirely sure?

@colonelkilgore Yeah the new one will start on Tuesday and there will also be a shop refresh then as well. I don't like the spec ops, only because I hate that overheating mechanic it is cheap and a bit sheet tbh, a shame really because I think they could have done something a bit more engaging. I think it is probably more enjoyable in coop but solo it is simply not fun.

@colonelkilgore I have a feeling I'll like it much better the second time around. When I played this during the rough patch I had with gaming a while back, I probably should have just taken a break rather than push through it with game after game since it obviously didn't work until I just said screw it and played a game I knew would be a surefire hit with me (Mass Effect 3). I doubt I'll ever bother with the DLC, as I didn't realize it was crap until after I bought it, but I'll definitely return to Far Cry 6 at some point. I like open world games and I like FPS games, so it should work out in the end.

So I’ve beat a few games over the last few weeks….

Inscryption! Seriously what a game. Would probably have been my GOTY if I had played it last year.
The game has 3 acts & I probably spent more than half of my playtime on just the 1st act.
I really thought it was impossible, but eventually after sleeping on it I got to the end boss & beat him on my first try (If it wasn’t for my items I’d have lost for sure). After that I didn’t have any problems gameplay wise. It even has its own MGS, Nier Automato & Yu-Gi-Oh! moments.

It’s such an incredible game & the less said about it is better. The deck building is not even the draw here (excuse the pun😅)- it’s everything else.
Would love a physical copy…preferably on a floppy disk😉.

Far Cry New Dawn. I do like the check box nature of Ubi games. There’s something just mindless- stick on a podcast, feel about them.
The narrative is whatever. It’s ultimately a continuation of FC5. The twins were effectively just mid-bosses. I did hate how bullet spongy some of the bosses were towards the end.
Reckon I probably spent 15mins on the final boss & of course took out Joseph Seed.

Tacoma. Got the platinum as it’s pretty straight forward. Just need to interact with everything. I beat it in one sitting & found it interesting. I like the setting, but I found the experience to not be as tight as Gone Home.

I beat Etrian Odyssey. Really good actually, and the first is considered the worst one. After a brutal early game, it gets a bit easier as it goes on. Genuinely did not see the twist of the 5th stratum coming at all, it was cool actually. There’s postgame to do so I might mess around in that but after that undertaking I’ll probably put off the second game.

Just completed my first ever playthrough of the original Devil May Cry and really enjoyed it! While the early 2000's jank that was persistent throughout my entire playthrough (such as the utterly abysmal camera) did bog down the experience a noticeable amount, I still really jived with the snappy combat, eerie aesthetic and classic Capcom cheesiness. It ain't a perfect game, but one that I'd definitely recommend people to give a go at least once in their life; a very respectable 8/10 and I can't wait to start my New Game Plus run tomorrow!

@Fight_Teza_Fight Glad you enjoyed Inscryption too! It took me a few goes for it to click also. I agree with you in that it is so much more than just a deck building game, and that it was such a better experience knowing very little about the game.

@JohnnyShoulder It really is. Even the PushSquare review gave nothing away. It’s basically ‘the card mechanics are solid, we’re not telling you anything else- just play it’.

I was going to buy a physical copy either for switch or PS after I beat the game, but they’re all seemingly sold out (limited release).
Had some performance issues, but what a ride!

@Fight_Teza_Fight I think I might freak out if I were to find a floppy disk version kf the game! 😂

@Fight_Teza_Fight

I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed this! I played it very early this year, and it absolutely blew me away.

In the UK, there is a Gaming podcast "WhatCulture Gaming" - featuring 2 great lads from Newcastle, who have really great taste in games. One of the guys, (Josh Brown?), was talking up Inscryption massively.... but explained that listeners need to take a 'leap of faith' as it is nearly impossible to recommend in details without risking spoilers!

I adored the 'meta' elements of the story and all acts were great, but especially Act 1. The puzzle and horror elements are so excellently implemented, and it achieves a near-impossible art of genre-blending without compromising its identity.

A nice tight 12-ish hour experience, and beating the game then gives access to an end-game of such.

Really brilliant, and got me into deck-games...

If you liked Inscryption, I would highly highly recommend 'Slay The Spire'. Pure deck-builder, but fiendishly addictive. Probably a 'better' deck game than Inscrpytion, but not as good an overall experience.

On a separate note - last night I (finally!) beat Blasphemous.

Really enjoyed this, although I did this initial playthrough 'blind' - so was likely quite underpowered by the time I landed at the final boss. (Sub-quests seem fairly 'obtuse' like FromSoftware's output, ie near impossible to complete without Fextralife open alongside your play session )

I'm not hugely big on Metroidvanias, as sometimes I find the backtracking a bit obnoxious, but Blasphemous was a strong mix of exploration / platforming / action.

I felt the boss battles were the strongest elements, although I must ashamedly admit the final boss took me >50 tries.... couldn't believe how much I struggled. 2nd only to Ishin the Sword Saint (Sekiro) this is probably the toughest boss I've struggled with, worse than Malenia / Fire Giant ha

I did feel like it was lacking some depth in regards to stat-allocation and builds, but equally appreciate that this diversity was not what the devs were aiming for. Seems like this will be addressed somewhat in the sequel with different weapons?

Really enjoyed it though, and the boss battles were top tier. It didn't quite reach the highs of Salt and Sanctuary though! (for me anyway)

Next backlog game = Disco Elysium, will start tonight

@CJD87 Another good recommendation on Inscryption. The recs are starting to add up and move it gradually higher and higher on the backlog list. 😄 The way my mood has been lately, I might just have to take a fly on it because I’ve become slightly burned-out with AAA games atm.

Edit — I went to the game’s PSN page to mull it over and read the game description which includes:

“Acquire a deck of woodland creature cards by draft, surgery, and self-mutilation.”

Wha…⁉️ I’ll definitely need to be in the right frame of mind if I play this one! 😅

————

Speaking of, Disco Elysium is on the upper part of my backlog so let us know how that goes for you. I’ve read many, many strong recommendations for it as well, so I just need to leap into the breach and play it.

@CJD87 I bounced off Slay the Spire pretty quickly, it didn't gel with me at all. I may give it another a go at some point to see if it was just the state of mind I was in at the time.

And Blasphemous was great too! Really liked the setting and the enemy designs. I don't recall it being too difficult though, and I wouldn't put it anywhere near any of FromSoftware's games. The last boss was tough though!

If you liked that, I highly recommend Salt & Sanctuary. Graphically it is not all that, but the combat is top knotch and the RPG mechanics are a lot deeper.

@Th3solution Haha PSN description of Inscryption is absolutely perfect... if that doesn't pique your interest I don't know what will! It really is a great experience, and a short investment of time to boot.

@JohnnyShoulder Salt and Sanctuary is my favorite 'Non-FromSoftware' souls experience. Absolutely immaculate, and quite superior to Blasphemous (I did enjoy Blas. though, just not to same level as S&S!)

Shame about the sequel though (S& Sacrifice) which I actually put down after a few hours, found it to be a real step back

@CJD87 Yeah you just have to jump in. I really thought I’d never get past Act 1. The final battle ended up in a stall as he played his god card lol. I had the moon down to 3hp, but no cards left to draw & just a handful of unkillable squirrels. Luckily I still had all my items & just added weight to his scale & won lol.

I have Slay of Spire downloaded through extra, so I’ll give it a go before it leaves the service.

@Th3solution just that description is kind of spoilery….👀.
Hope you like it when you get to it. Act 1 is difficult, but once you get past it, you shouldn’t find it too difficult. Well worth it for the experience alone. Never played anything like it.
Liam’s review sums it up perfectly https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps5/inscryption

@Th3solution Would be a good game for Game Club...

@JohnnyShoulder I can second that as I've never played Inscryption, but probably would if it was the game of the month since I have nothing new coming out until late September.