Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

@LtSarge Interesting. I've avoided these games like the plague (heh) because of how regimented and walking sim-y they look in the footage I've seen, but mentions of gameplay diversity, more open environments, etc. make it seem... a little more interesting. The visuals are certainly very impressive considering this is coming from, I believe, a smaller developer? Kind of reminds me of Hellblade, in that respect, which also felt very AAA for what it was.

Glad to hear you enjoyed your time with it.

@Ralizah I know what you mean. The parts where the game becomes a walking sim are basically the breaks from all the previous action, which is a nice breath of fresh air as doing the same thing over and over would just be repetitive. At that point I'd rather just relax and enjoy the story for a while before moving on to more action.

I also think it's fair to say that the first game plays it more safe by just having the same kind of levels while the sequel makes sure to mix things up more. It definitely leans more towards action, which is nice because this series isn't really known for having the most exciting combat system lol.

But yeah, this game is just so wholesome. Even though there are some sad moments, for the majority of the playthrough you'll just be stupidly grinning as you listen to the sibling protagonists' interactions with each other. It's quite funny actually, even though I was so relieved to be done with this game, I'm missing these characters a lot now. You start to form an emotional attachment to them after a while, which tends to be rare for me when it comes to these relatively shorter experiences (when compared to longer ones like JRPGs, visual novels, etc. that is).

I beat God of War.

Not entirely sure how I feel about it!

@LtSarge If I don't get frustrated with anything late in the game, I should still highly enjoy the game. As long as the latter part of the game doesn't feel like it just keeps going and going, I should be ok. Right around 20 hours is fine for length of most games, as long as there's story to tell. It's all a matter of content.

The only game I can remember that really felt like it just kept on going and going when it could have easily just ended was Shadow of the Tomb Raider. That feeling might have been magnified by the fact that I was looking forward to playing another game right after it, so I look forward to revisiting that one on PlayStation (I originally played it on my Xbox One X) and seeing if it is another one I enjoy more a second time around. Kind of off topic, but oh well.

@KilloWertz The award for “game that kept going way past the time you feel like it should have ended” goes to Red Dead Redemption II, for sure. Although I still consider it one of the best games from last generation, that ending dragged. Perhaps like you it was mind mindset at the time being ready to move to the next game.

@LtSarge I enjoyed reading your review of APT Requiem. It has me excited to play it! Question — you mention the passive-aggressive discouragement of killing enemies, but does the game reward you for taking a stealth, no-kill approach? (Even if it’s just a trophy or something)

It’s great to hear that the game compares favorably to the similar Sony narrative third person games. Hopefully Hugo is less annoying this time around? 😅

@johncalmc I’ll take the bait 😅… You don’t agree with the 9’s and 10’s? I’m scared.

@Th3solution I dunno! I actually don't really know how I feel about it. I think it's great mostly. There are definitely a couple of bits that don't land right, and one section in particular - which I'm sure everyone will moan about - goes on a bit too long and feels kinda pointless, but whatever. Most 10s and 9s aren't twenty hours of non-stop, all at the same level of quality, moment to moment bangers. The best games of all time have bits that aren't as good as the rest.

I think when it ended I was just a bit like, "Oh... it's over." Like I was expecting one more big, colossal thing to happen. Which might be more on me than the game. So that's why I kinda don't know how I feel about it. I guess I mean that it was 95% of the way there and then when it was over I was a little bit deflated, but not massively.

I will say it's surprising though, I think. It doesn't always take the easy way. I can't say what it is so it doesn't spoil anything, but prior to playing the game I had one thing in my mind that I thought was going to happen. And I'm not much for predictions but I was like near certain it would happen. I would have put money on it because it seemed so obvious. But it didn't happen. And then as I was playing it really felt like the story was heading in a certain way and I thought I knew what was going to happen and that didn't either.

This is all pretty vague :') the point is that it's great, but I just finished it and wished it had been a tiny bit greater.

@Kairu I think I rate it more highly than that because the highs of the game are better than the highs of 2018s God of War for me. It has better bosses, a better cast of characters - some really fantastic characters. There's some interesting twists. Yeah, I like it.

@RogerRoger I should probably clarify that I don't think this thing has a bad ending per se. I think it's just my own expectation was that something else was coming and it didn't which left me feeling a bit oh. I mean, it pretty much delivers on most fronts. The last couple of hours are really exciting as it builds to the finale and I do think that's a triumph.

@Th3solution Thank you!

That's actually something that I should've mentioned in my first post as it's a new feature for the series, which is that you're rewarded no matter which play style you utilise. There are three styles: stealth, aggressive and opportunistic (using your environment to your advantage). The more you play in a certain way, the more points you'll get and after reaching a certain threshold, you unlock a new ability. For example, if you play stealthily, you'll unlock an ability that makes your footsteps less audible or one that makes you crouch walk faster. Most abilities are rather useful, so it's nice that the game gives you incentives to play in a certain way.

I honestly didn't think Hugo was annoying at all in this game! Like I mentioned to @Ralizah, this game is just so wholesome and that's mostly due to Hugo's interactions with Amicia but also other characters. It's just a good time all around with these guys.

@RogerRoger You would definitely love this series Rog. If you ever get the opportunity to play the first game, give it a go! I think you'd be pleasantly surprised, especially if you love historical settings (14th century France is an absolute delight).

@Th3solution I might have felt the same, but I didn't play Red Dead Redemption 2 for very long. Too many mundane things you had to do. Maybe it was a bit too realistic. I may give it another shot someday, as I tried it on Xbox but I do own the PS4 version too. I loved the original.

RDR2 totally fell through the cracks for me.

I really struggle to get into open world titles on home console/PC. It's amazing I spent as much time with Elden Ring as I did!

@KilloWertz @Ralizah I would never discourage anyone from playing RDR2 even though it overstays it’s welcome. The final 10-15 hours is unnecessary I felt, but in retrospect it was just a phenomenal game as a whole and an amazing achievement. But if you don’t really like open world games its definitely not for you. It’s very open and can be slow-paced at times. The story is fantastic and the voice acting is second to none.

@johncalmc Okay, that’s fair. I think I know what you mean. I like surprise endings, so maybe the subversion of expectation will sit well with me.

@LtSarge Nice review. I also felt a little annoyed by Lucas chastising Amicia whenever she killed people so in new game plus I purposely chose to stealth through sections and was loving it when Lucas started praising Amicia for not hurting a soul. Great little touch that.
I agree that the music and VA's were fantastic. I'd really love it if Asobo won some awards for this fantastic game.

@Th3solution Nothing you said would have discouraged me. I had already stopped playing it after several hours years ago because of the mundane things and how long it takes to travel around before getting fast travel "unlocked". I'm all for realistic games obviously. Otherwise I wouldn't be a PlayStation fan, but it felt maybe they tried to be a little too realistic. Having to worry about your weight, your horse, and other things I don't remember at the moment were a bit much.

Like I also said, I wouldn't mind giving it a second chance with the PS4 version (played it on Xbox the first time) that I also own. It's not incredibly likely, but I do have it installed if I ever have the time and the desire to.

@KilloWertz No problem. It’s a beast of a game and a huge time commitment. I think I spent around 80 hours and left a lot of side content undone. For example I completely ignored all the hunting and fishing aspects (outside of the few times it was part of the storyline). I didn’t dig for fossils, or recover all the stashes, or complete all the Stranger missions, or track down all the camp companion items, or… a million other things. It’s a lot. And kudos to Rockstar for giving us all this content, including Red Dead Online, for one price with no DLC charges or extra cost. I respect that.

But overall, I think it was best said by someone that it’s a game you have to approach in a very particular way, as a cowboy, slow and steady, mosey about through the game, and embrace what it is. The life sim aspects are very immersive, but also very different from what games usually are. And honestly a lot of them (like weight management) are not really all that important. Arthur isn’t going to starve and die if you don’t eat and although he’ll have slightly less HP, he’ll also be a little quicker when he’s thin. Stuff like that.
But like I say, no pressure! We have to play what we want to play.
You have to finish Mass Effect 3 first anyways! 😛

@Th3solution Maybe I could shrug off the life sim aspects of the game. I never did get that far in the game where they came into play. I did love the first one, but that was also a simpler game in a sense. The one problem that I think is legit with the sequel was the traversal. It took me forever to get to certain places, especially if they were that far off where I was. I know you get a form of fast travel at some point, but that was definitely getting really close to making the game too realistic.

I'm just short of the midway point in the final act of Mass Effect 3, so I should finish that at some point this weekend, and then I'll go with God of War Ragnarok. Whatever is after that depends on when I get done with Ragnarok, and if I decide to buy any of the new releases coming before Crisis Core in mid-December. I did get the PS5 version of Ys VIII today, but who knows when that will fit in. In other words, I wasn't exaggerating that it would be well into next year before I'd consider giving RDR2 another shot.

@KilloWertz I feel your backlog pain. I’m deep into a couple games and there’s a dozen bangers on deck waiting to be played. And I haven’t even bought GoWR yet. 😅

@Th3solution That's what you get for being so secretive with your PSN name.

Obviously I'm glad so many (hopefully) good games are coming out, but the delays bunching these releases together has caused an automatic backlog even just for current gen games as it's impossible to be able to play them all.

Random, but I didn't have to ask what your avatar is from this time since I've been watching The Rings of Power. Taking it slow by watching one episode at a time though.

@RogerRoger Awesome review! As I said earlier, I’m glad for you (and other Sonic fans) to have a game to cheer about. Your description of how the game moved you emotionally was a nice touch. The best games do that. Im impressed that Frontiers accomplishes both modern day and nostalgic gaming highs. Reading it really makes me want to play it! 😄 But I appreciate your disclosure of the game’s weak points and especially the couple of intense frustrations it contains. Giving the game a try will be something to mull over, since my brain doesn’t process Sonic gameplay well (which in fairness is based on limited attempts). I’m not sure why games feel the need to make final bosses or sequences so incredibly difficult. I know people will complain if the last boss is too easy, but personally I don’t feel like a game needs to do that if it has a strong enough narrative conclusion. I don’t know, it’s a challenging balance for developers. Nevertheless, congratulations on getting the platinum and for a transcendent Sonic adventure!