Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

@johncalmc It's difficult. There's an artistic value to something like the dramatic alteration in tone DDLC enjoys as the true nature of the character relationships and narrative emerge not being spoiled. The surprising nature of that game is arguably what made it such a sensation in the first place. With that said, there's also a humanitarian value in not springing extreme content on people who could become seriously triggered by exposure to it.

I do think explicitly spoiling the in-game content is the wrong approach, though. In terms of a game like this, I'd say it'd probably be better to warn that the game is rated M (or whatever the equivalent of an adult rating is where you live), features "extreme content," and refer players to an external source if they wish to learn more. If someone with sensitivities can't be bothered to do that amount of research, then, IMO, that's on them. I do also like your proposed method of 'opting-in' to content warnings, in the case of something interactive like a video game.

Still need to play it myself. Even being mostly spoiled on it, I'm curious to experience it.

@Ralizah @RogerRoger Maybe I'll contact Jim Ryan and tell him about my plan. I think he's from up here. We'll get on.

Yes, balancing this one is really tough, I think. And while I personally don't need any trigger warnings of any kind, I'm not the sort of person who thinks that people who do are lol snowflakes or being dramatic or anything. You can go out of your way to avoid things that you know you find offensive or upsetting, but if a game springs it on you - especially when it presents itself as something else entirely - then perhaps some kind of warning - however artless that may be - is the best option.

I just don't like it when the trigger warning is thrust upon me. I like going into things totally blind and not knowing anything.

I would defo recommend Doki Doki though. Even if you're not a fan of visual novels (I am) or dating sims (I'm not) I think the game is short enough and inventive enough that anyone can enjoy it or at least appreciate what it does.

@RogerRoger Out of interest, what was the TV show?

@johncalmc It's one of those games I've intended to play for years but... just never seem to get around to. I'm sure everyone probably has games like that. You're not even disinterested in them, but something else always seems to take priority.

I'm going to sit down and just blow through this one of these days.

Just... not today. lol

@Ralizah My list of games that I've intended to play for years but never seem to get round to gives me anxiety. It's huge. I can't tell you how many times I've downloaded Hellblade and then deleted it without playing it. There's others. Steins;Gate 0, Titanfall 2... Doom Eternal! How have I not started Doom Eternal yet? So many games I need to get around to starting.

@RogerRoger @johncalmc Oh gosh, games I have planned to play and just left on the shelf for some inexplicable reason…. I have oodles of those. Notable games like Spider-Man Miles Morales, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Life is Strange 2. These are a few of the many backlog games that are near guarantees to be games I adore. It’s almost like I’m afraid to play them and then lose the anticipation of playing them. It’s weird. So I often pull out more experimental games from the backlog; somehow prioritizing games that I’m taking more of a chance on. Perhaps there’s some joy in the excitement of the hunt and discovery of new things. I don’t know.

And yes, John — get on Hellblade ASAP. That games a friggin’ tour de force. And Titanfall 2 ain’t half bad either.

Poor Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.

Purchased at launch and, six years on, still have not played a single minute of it.

@Th3solution @Ralizah @johncalmc @RogerRoger At last count I had about 90 games I've purchased and not played. That includes PS Plus mind, but I don't claim every game however only the ones that I have an interest in. I'm not near my console at the moment, but one game that sticks out is one of thr earlier Madden games for PS4 which I've not even booted up once.

I've tried to stay away from doing that recently though, and only buying games when I know I will be playing them pretty soon. And certainly all the games I've bought on or near day one I will play immediately. Otherwise I'll wait until I'm ready play them to purchase them.

@JohnnyShoulder I'm terrible for it. I spy a sale and have a look and then pick up four or five things that look interesting that I probably would never have bought if they weren't on sale and then I never play them. I have an astonishing backlog. Actually absurd. One day I might write them all out into some sort of spreadsheet or something. I probably won't.

I'm actually on the store now going through the sale. Got Outer Wilds and Pyre in my basket. Why? I don't know. Loads of pages left to go.

@johncalmc When I do that I just browse through my library of games and see if there is anything in my library that is similar or just fancy playing. Half the the time a game sparks an interest that I already have which I've long forgotten about.

I'm still going through the store deals now and I just saw a game which apparently I have purchased and I didn't even know what it was. It's insane. I've got some games where I can't remember if I actually own them or not. I always get confused about which one of The Messenger or Dead Cells I have. I've got one of them but never started it.

On the forgotten games topic, I’ve mentioned before that I’d like to have the ability to customize the digital game library - both on the console and on the app. The app is especially lacking in that department, having no filtering options at all and only will display owned games in alphabetical order, starting with numbers. So I have to stare at 10 second Ninja X, 2064 Read Only Memories, and 99 Vidas every time I pull up my library. It would be nice to be able to move around the games and order them how you like, so that the ones you want to prioritize are front-and-center and less likely to be lost and forgotten in the sea of other clutter.

The workaround is doing the spreadsheet thing of course, but it would be nice for the UI to have that functionality. I guess folders is the way PS4 did it, but even that limits things to just what you’ve downloaded. We all have digital libraries in the hundreds (if not thousands) now and so we need to be able to organize it better.

@Th3solution The filters on the console seem do a decent job of helping to sort the games in the library, for me anyway. I only have a library of mainly PS4 and PS5 games, with a couple of PS3 titles when I've dabbled with them on PS NOW, so what is there now is good enough. You can also hide games now, which may also help with what you are after.

@JohnnyShoulder Good point — I need to utilize the ‘hide’ feature more to pare things down to the high priority games.

@RogerRoger No way, I'm going to make a backlog list tomorrow. It's going to be a hellish undertaking and I am excited for it.

@RogerRoger Yeah I have enough games that I'm sorta interested in without adding yet more games that I have zero interest in.

@JohnnyShoulder If I include every Steam and subscription (PS+) game I haven't played, my backlog is... staggering.

I don't even bother keeping track of it anymore. I know what I own. And if I continually play more games than I buy, the backlog issue will work itself out over time.

@Ralizah I stopped caring about it so much a while ago, as it used do my head in a bit.

@RogerRoger Shame to hear Shinobi Striker ended up being thin on content and mediocre. Especially considering the combat and presentation are excellent. The worst sorts of mediocre-to-bad games are the ones that are just good enough in some respects to make you wonder what could have been if the developers had made different choices.

Unfortunately, a lack of an engaging gameplay loop will kill a multiplayer/service game, and it sounds like the content in this doesn't remain especially compelling once it starts aggressively recycling itself.

And the monetization practices... yeah.

Good review.

@RR529 Nice review. So this is your first PC/Steam game?

Sometimes the simple, arcade-like experiences are exactly what are needed to clean the palette after getting bogged down in difficult RPGs or narrative-heavy games. I assume this is similar to something like Ace Combat? Never played a game like this (unless you count Jungle/Desert Strike on the Genesis, lol), but they've always looked like fun.

Sorry to hear about the performance issues. 80fps is pretty much slideshow territory, innit?

What other PC games are you looking at playing?