Topic: Games you've recently beat

@KilloWertz Just to add to what the others have said already, but you have it as difficult as you want. There are 4 difficulty’s that are reflected by parry timing, incoming damage & enemy aggression. If irc you can even fine tune it in the options to have a better experience.

The one thing to remember is that it’s sort of a metroidvania. You’ll gain abilities to reach previously unreachable areas & you’ll return to planets a few times. if you can’t beat a certain enemy just yet it’s because you’re not meant to (unless your grinding).

@KilloWertz As a fellow fan of easygoing games (and a huge Star Wars fan, despite Disney's recent efforts) I'd be real interested in your Fallen Order thoughts, as and when. Hope you enjoy!

I’ve always been on the outside looking in when it comes to Star Wars. Jedi Fallen Order is the first Star Wars media I’ve interacted with that I feel I truly connected with. I still remember at some point in my play through excitedly thinking, “I get it! I finally get it!” Really excited for Survivor.

Just finished Grid (2019) on Series X after 25 hours of playtime. Got gold trophy in all events in career mode and it was so much fun. This is definitely one of the best racing games I've played along with Forza. My only gripe with it is that it lacked different locations. It definitely needed more variety in that regard.

But yeah, I got 25 hours of playtime for only €4 for one month of EA Play, so it was definitely money well spent. Not to mention that I still got a few weeks left of my subscription. I'm considering playing through the campaign of Battlefield V and Unravel Two. Hopefully I'll be able to finish both of them before my subscription runs out.

@Fight_Teza_Fight Good to know, thanks.

@RogerRoger I guarantee you'll be waiting a while. There's a long list counting recent and upcoming releases. One could say I would move it way up the list to play it before Survivor comes out, but it's release is amongst that very crowded period, so I doubt I'll be getting Survivor when it releases. I will make sure to post my thoughts whenever that does happen though like I did with Mass Effect 3 when I finally got around to that.

@KilloWertz It doesn’t sound like you need convincing on Fallen Order now but I really enjoyed my time with it too.

There’s a bit of fan service in the game (even for someone like me who really isn’t that much into the series) but it does a great job of being accessible to all comers.

I played it across PS4 and PS5 and it was great on both consoles. There is a PS5 upgrade now which I didn’t try but I seem to remember @RogerRoger saying it was a bit ropey.

@Thrillho Yeah, if I remember correctly, I don't think the PS5 upgrade was supposed to be anything special. That's obviously the version I will play regardless though since it's still the best version either way, and it appears that it will be one of the PS Plus Essential games next month.

I was about to buy it digitally since the Deluxe Edition is on sale for $7.99 right now, and could have still just to get the 90+ minute behind the scenes video, but I can just get watch that on YouTube. Good timing for it to probably be one of the free games next month.

@KilloWertz I'd argue that playing the PS4 version on a PS5 is the best way to experience Jedi: Fallen Order but honestly, since the PS5 version is gonna be "free" soon, it'll do. It really does depend on how you're engaging with the game, though. For example, the most obvious problem with the PS5 version is that its Photo Mode is utterly broken and borderline un-usable, but you won't notice that particular shortcoming if you're not somebody who takes lots of artsy screenshots. See how you fare.

@RogerRoger Thanks for the heads up, but I don't use Photo Mode in games very often. I'll take a picture here and there depending on the game, but I think the PS5 versions of Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy were the only two where I actually used the Photo Mode since getting a PS5 over a year and a half ago (Horizon Forbidden West possibly as well, I don't remember). I mainly just use the built in feature on the PS5 to take photos.

Sniper Elite 5 done and dusted, and on Authentic difficulty. That means I’ve beaten the series on the hardest difficulty, which is no mean feat! Really enjoyed this one, the missions are sprawling to the point of being overwhelming at first, but there’s a whole heap of routes to learn and little secret spots to find. Up there with V2 for my favourite entry in the series!

@KilloWertz Yeah, I figured, so I think you'll do fine. It's still a little rough, but then so was the PS4 version on original hardware, and everybody still loved it there. As and when, I hope you enjoy!

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@nessisonett Knowing that you're also a fan of the recent Hitman games, how would you say the Sniper Elite series compares? I've seen a few folks draw favourable comparisons, but I'd still be curious to read your take. Only if you've got the time to reply, of course.

And congratulations on beating the game's Authentic difficulty, by the way! Sounds tough!

@RogerRoger Wierdly my Dad loves the Sniper Elite games but couldn't get into Hitman on PS4. I think it is too open ended for him and he never knew what to do. He does love the first World War and World War II setting though, so that is something in favor for the Sniper Elite games.

@RogerRoger Hitman is definitely a bit more open ended but the latest Sniper Elite games, 4 and 5, push the series closer to that level of stealth. Obviously it’s not the same social stealth sort of game as the Nazis take one look at you and open fire but the maps encourage similar levels of exploration. Sniper Elite 5 also includes a kill list optional objective in every level which just has a target to kill, usually in some sort of fortified area and that’s a lot closer to Hitman than the more traditional third-person shooter objectives that involve things like getting to a specific area or sabotaging some sort of weapon.

@nessisonett @RogerRoger Plus in the Sniper Elite games you get zoom up x-ray shots when you shoot enemies in the gonads. Other body parts are available.

@JohnnyShoulder Bonus points for the Hitler DLC!

Finished up Samurai Maiden today! I think it's more Ninja Gaiden/DMC with some Warriors elements than a Warriors clone (granted, it's more clunky than NG/DMC would be), and surprisingly challenging as it goes on. I think I may finish maxing out all the girls' affinities as I'm already pretty close to doing so, but I doubt I'm going to try & finish it on the higher difficulties as I think the only real reward will probably be extra concept art, which while neat isn't a huge motivator.

Oh, and for what it's worth it was patched last week (at least on Steam) to remove some of the wonky localization (or "censorship", depending on who you ask). When it launched all instances of "High School" or "High School Girl" were changed to "Gen Z" in the English subtitles which made some dialogue clunky as sometimes she was clearly describing a place (in one egregious instance, an explanation of how modern education goes from Elementary, to Middle, to High School, and University was changed to describing the differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, & Boomers), however all High School references have been restored.

@JohnnyShoulder @nessisonett Thanks for the feedback, folks! Much appreciated. Sounds like the series has been influenced by the best bits of the Hitman formula whilst still managing to retain the most important parts of its historical USP which is great. It's not like WW2 games are ten-a-penny like they were during previous generations, so it's nice to know that a history buff enjoyed that aspect, too. The optional extra objectives in Sniper Elite 5 also sound awesome, and make me wanna lean towards that game in particular. Is there an ongoing story in the series, or can you jump aboard wherever?

@RogerRoger I think there’s a semblance of a timeline but they keep jumping around to make it possible for the guy to be in several countries during the war! In 5, they mention your exploits from 3 and 4 briefly but that’s about it so you’ll be fine.

Just finished Unravel 2 on Series X. Beautiful and fun game! I liked the first one but I think this one was a more consistent and fun experience overall. I rarely got stuck with the puzzles this time around and the game didn't take that long to complete. It probably only took me 4-5 hours, which is a decent length. It was also a treat to see environments and areas of Sweden in-game. I definitely recommend giving this game a go!

@nessisonett Sweet, good to know. Definitely sounds more accessible than I feared, thanks!