16BitHero

@Kraven thanks for the reply, I'll definitely check it out soon enough. The reviews were very strong even with the initial performance issues so I figured there there must be a great game here.

@Kraven How does the world building and dialogue compare to say Witcher 3? (Still my action RPG standard bearer after all these years despite some aged aspects). I'm really tempted by DD2 once they fix the performance issues across the board. Tried the demo this past weekend and wanted more from a current gen title re frame rate and fidelity.

I was excited to try the demo this past weekend. Turned off VRR to get rid of the flickering some of us were experiencing. It's so poorly optimized on console and PC. Strange considering it's not particularly impressive graphically or technically. The game itself seems like fun so hopefully they continue to patch or maybe it's another Cyberpunk and the next console will run it better. My PS5 and RTX 3070 sure as hell can't satisfactorily.

My backlog has seen me have maybe four larger/longer games on the go simultaneously for the first time which isn't as bad as I thought providing I can keep up with characters and story in each. This weekend however I'm committing to one, Wasteland 3 on Gamepass. Another gem I somehow overlooked until I watched the SkillUp video and decided to give it a go. Recommended!

@Decoy_Snake another comment that desperately needed 'imo'

@Platinum-Bucket I do agree with this well articulated opinion, but it makes my comment above it look like a cop out. Which I suppose is true. As a fantasy fan I'd love to experience less punishing versions of From games but hey.

I'm all for the developers creative vision to be realized in the way they see fit. That's art. It's not going to cater to everyone and that's ok. While I understand the need for accessibility - I personally love the art style and atmosphere of From Software games but after trying Bloodborne and Elden Ring several times, I simply realized they weren't for me - we all have access to YouTube and Twitch where we can watch a playthrough with no commentary. I think this is the next best thing for these scenarios and also a great way to 'try before you buy' or revisit great games you may no longer own or currently have downloaded.

We said 'completed' games when I was younger. I always thought 'beaten' was an Americanism that got adopted by the gaming community elsewhere. It sounds like too much of an achievement when we're talking about video games but I suppose some are deserving of the term (Ghouls n Ghosts back in the day, Souls games today).

@Mustoe Every gaming site has what some may perceive as clickbait articles, Push Square and Pure Xbox as many as anyone else. It's a crowded space with a real decline in good journalism and more of a focus on baiting opinion pieces (see PC Gamer). I still appreciate the news and reviews but Eurogamer is one of the few remaining to have really decent articles as infrequent as they may be.

@Malaise @lindos To be fair, with games like this you really have to buy into the world they've created. Even if you're ok with zero combat yet fabulous RPG elements; if the world building itself doesn't grab you then you won't (and shouldn't) continue playing. There are after all, plenty of other great games out there for every taste/interest.

@Batesy125s Agreed. I really didn't think this game would be for me nor did I previously consider Kojima until a friend persuaded me to give them a try. I count Disco and Death Stranding as two of my favourite games of all time now. I think the description 'pretentious' will become more commonplace as video games evolve into a much more varied art form. The other thing to consider is that we, as humans, have very much entered the early to mid stages of 'Idiocracy'. That film has gone from enjoyable comedy to depressing prophecy. Nowhere in the world is untouched seemingly. Thank goodness we can escape into great games occasionally! (This is in no way meant to be an affront to other genuinely informed opinions).

@nessisonett Hopefully the 2K/FIFA rumours are true, not that I have any love for either of those but competition is important regardless.

@themightyant Ooof! It's a bonafide 9. A brilliant sequel, updated just enough but not too much with a fresh art style and once again and most importantly, an incredible original soundtrack.

Both games are brilliant and the sequel introduces enough new mechanics and some great philosophical interactions with your robot buddies to keep things fresh. The biggest surprise however is how visually stunning the second game is, even at 60fps, it's utterly gorgeous and what I'm hoping future RPG open worlds aspire to. Considering it's a small indie team that accomplished these graphics, I'd imagine we're in for a real treat with forthcoming AAA games.

If the combat is as good or even better than Asgards Wrath 2 then it could be brilliant.

Spider-Man and Batman are the only comic book heroes I pay attention to in film or gaming - they've always been my favourite but I've been waiting for a decent sale price for Spidey 2 forever. I made the mistake of buying Ragnarok at full price while I had (an ongoing) backlog of great games and have only just started that adventure. First world problems. One thing I dislike about sequels in the action game genre is having to upgrade abilities all over again - this is often explained with a story element like the Fimbulvetr winter in Ragnarok. I understand why but grrrrr.

@itsfoz This is still THE current gen game in my opinion. Microsoft should definitely share it with PlayStation gamers. That could be a nice little boost for PSVR 2 also. Get yourself a Thrustmaster T Flight Hotas X (or something more expensive) for it.

@Vivisapprentice The Ori games are two of the best platformers of all time for me. Microsoft have nothing to lose by sharing them with PlayStation gamers.

Thus why COD is such a financial behemoth. In 2024 they are still cynically charging $70 for an (admittedly addictive and mechanically sound) game that also has among the most lucrative micro transactions in the industry. The campaigns while visually bombastic, have been fairly shallow 4-6 hour afterthoughts for a long time now so I don't think they justify the cost of entry.

Helldivers 2 is an exemplary example of a live service game in my opinion.

@playstation1995 Love the classic TV comedies. Let's go Knicks tomorrow! Celtics v Knicks could be an epic series.

I'm trying out Fallout 4 on PS5 for the first time. I've never finished a Bethesda RPG (I got bored of Starfield) plus...

Asgards Wrath 2 on Quest 3

Helldivers 2 on PC

Let's Cook Together/Don't Starve Together with wifey on Series X

Paused: Baldurs Gate 3, Talos Principle 2, Deliver Us Mars

The backlog is real: GOW Ragnarok, Jedi Survivor.

@Kevw2006 Fair point, it'll be interesting to see how it all pans out. This is a very 'disruptive' period on the history of video games!

As Microsoft owns COD now, PS5, PC, Mobile etc - all equal revenue (*some PC players will likely opt for Gamepass). My guess is that Gamepass will see a new subscriber spike that will last many months with most COD players buying the game for multiplayer.

@The_Pixel_King Coincidentally I also couldn't care less about trophies and achievements in games but I definitely wanted to 100% GOT.

My favourite exclusive of the last gen. Stunningly beautiful art style, very accessible and just deep enough combat without the Souls like precision in every encounter. It has a good story and despite having a typical open world quest format, it does enough to differentiate itself and never becomes dull or boring. If you can read quickly, I recommend Japanese dialogue with English subtitles. The online stuff was pretty fun too. I'm glad PC players get to experience this magnificent game!

I'll give this a go because...I grew up with 16 bit American Football games but always liked Mutant League Football the best (being a White Dwarf/Warhammer kid). After moving to NYC I still couldn't really get into the NFL but then I had a stint in Tallahassee. Wow, college football is BIG. With multiple stadiums seating over 100,000 and entire towns' economies reliant on just 7 home games per season, the atmosphere is infectious. You could argue the games are more entertaining than pro football too as they take more risks and make more mistakes at college level. I'm glad the players will finally be compensated as they are risking a lot considering the billions TV networks make airing college sports.

Disrupting the established live service games takes some doing. In recent times only Helldivers 2 has managed to do that as far as I can tell. It's bringing something new to the table with third person co-op plus the devs made the most fun multiplayer game in a long long time in my opinion. To be fair I'm more of a single player gamer and fell off Fortnite after a week although I put several years into Warzone. The market is saturated at this point so introducing something new is very risky indeed.

I'm finally playing through Deliver Us Mars which I recommend for anyone who enjoyed Deliver Us The Moon. Baldurs Gate 3 will be continued when I'm ready for a longer play session as will Asgards Wrath 2. Happy weekend y'all!

@somnambulance Edit: I see someone else already made this point so feel free to disregard the following...GTA V is like a Disney film. There are always more young people and when 'coming of age', allowed by their parents to buy it. There ain't no GTA 6 yet and 5 is always on sale. That's my two pence anyway!

@Balosi I second this. I'd contribute to a Kickstarter.

The motor cycle worked well for Days Gone, if we get a modest sized map like that filled with temples, tombs and ruins then consider me interested.

It's the most fun multiplayer games of all time in my opinion (plus thirty five years of gaming experience).. Sure there are deeper multiplayer games and pvp can be particularly engrossing if done well but HD2 just ticks so many boxes and importantly, it's evolving.

I returned both PSVR 1+2 after a two week trial period. Decent hardware but lacking support overall. Quest 3 is an excellent bit of hardware, standalone or paired with a decent PC. Sales are impressive and the VR market is really picking up after serious stagnation during and after the pandemic. I was a VR sceptic but games like Half Life Alyx, Asgards Wrath 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator really show what it's capable of, not to mention all the fun/unique/quirky games which are priced accordingly. I wish Sony and Microsoft somehow allowed third party headsets to cater to a VR ecosystem on their consoles - maybe in a future gen. I'm not generally a fan of exclusives.

@djlard In a perfect world ID software would make that game!

@ROTTIEMAN16 Asgards Wrath 2 proves that scope shouldn't be an issue. I just hope the Quest 3, Steam VR and PSVR 2 have the best possible visuals based on their specs.

'By Aliens fans for Aliens fans' has me hopeful. Alien Isolation and Aliens Dark Descent were fantastic for this reason among others.

@UltimateOtaku91 Yup, legions of younger gamers coming of age dramatically affects this ranking. They're playing what their peers are playing and as soon as you're old enough for GTA V, well VI isn't here yet so... I think older generations are generally playing a wider variety of games and when you're as old as me, mostly solitary single player games (with the odd Helldivers 2 dance here and there).

There is so much potential for this game. There are plenty of folks who haven't even seen Starship Troopers and don't necessarily know HD 2's influences but it doesn't matter. The Dev's knew what would be fun and made in my opinion, the best live service game (of which I'm not generally a fan) to date. They introduced Mechs already, natural hazards and have plans for other enemy types going forward. The planetary liberation method is a fun reason to keep players engaged but at the end of the day it's just a well executed game that's immensely fun, spectacularly dramatic, hilarious and hugely satisfying, especially on higher difficulties with a full squad. Other developers should take notice of this exceptional and somewhat surprise success.

@Kiefer-Sutherland It's like Disney films before streaming, they sell consistently because they're are always more kids coming into the world. Every year more young people come of age and buy GTA. It's the only reason I can think of!

Not a great trailer and what a terrible song. Terminator Resistance and DLC was amazing for fans of the first two films in my opinion. This has an interesting idea but just looks poorly executed from the trailer. Early days so I'll keep an eye on the early access reviews on Steam.

Promising and capable tech but poorly supported and implemented for example the OLED lenses with their rather small sweet spot. I returned mine and now have the mighty Quest 3 which is just an outstanding piece of hardware for the price, very well supported and compatible with PCVR too.

An incredible game - my personal game of the decade. I didn't think it would be my thing and then it was which in turn
led me to buy Baldurs Gate 3 and Planetscape Torment as I searched for equally enthralling dialogue options and choice outcomes.

MSFS is still my game of the current generation. It's simply a staggering achievement. Not for everyone but anyone with an interest in geography, travel and/or aviation will find plenty to like. If the devs can optimize it for PlayStation like they have for the Series X then I think they should also look at utilizing PSVR as it's just wonderful on PCVR.

9... for the amount of times I got terminated by Automatons in a single deployment.

This game has been a revelation in what is quite the co op shooter drought. Halo, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas, and many more proved to be a golden age in my opinion before PVP took over. Warzone with friends is the closest it's come for me in recent times. As a big fan of the source material, Alien Isolation, Aliens Dark Descent, Terminator Resistance w/dlc, Robocop Rogue City and now Helldivers 2 (if you love Starship Troopers, Aliens and Terminator) have made the last few years in gaming truly memorable. If you are still on the fence, jump down, squish some bugs and bring democracy to the galaxy!

Yikes, people really aren't keen on this potential move but while I can't say I've played MW3, I am hopeful this could work for several reasons. Warzone with three mates is still one of the best online experiences in my opinion - it got us through the pandemic lockdowns. If a whole campaign could utilize a large map without the Ubisoft filler then I'd be onboard. While COD campaigns always look nice, they're essentially quite basic interactive films not to mention the paltry 4-6 hour runtimes. I know most people get COD for multiplayer but I think an evolution of a military campaign in video games is long overdue and a well executed non linear experience could and should be something to look forward to. Do I have faith in these devs? Hmmm.

I've seen the films once, never read a book in the series but the game was one of my favourite gaming experiences of 2023. Simply great fun on a well realized world. I don't agree with the authors views but I want going to punish a development team but not buying this excellent game. How refreshing to not have a ten year old GTA or annual shooter generate the most sales for once.

@Robocod knowing Microsoft, we'll be lucky if we see two COD games per generation. Joking aside, I hope they reign in this crunch practice as promised.

I've developed more sympathy for the industry in recent times. As a European living in the rather backward US of A, I can understand how terrifying it must be to lose your job AND your health insurance which might also cover your partner and children. Sure there are some safety nets in those circumstances but they are very expensive, especially when you're out of work.

Ah jeez, DT might be president again by the time this releases but I guess we'll all need the escapism. One wacky reality to another. I'm just glad I don't live in that freak show of a state anymore.