@Northern_munkey in my humble opinion the first one is a masterpiece. The story is dense and complex, and the gameplay is quite confusing and slow paced, honestly. You need to be patient and it's not a game for people that want non stop action.
But at some point it all comes together and makes complete sense. The delivery gameplay loop feels really rewarding, it's lovely to play a game about giving people hope rather than just killing everything. Also, building your transport network is such fun.
My second favourite game of the last generation after Red Dead 2.
Can't wait to play this sequel, sounds every bit as good as I had hoped.
They already give you a discount for paying annually. The 33% is an incentive for new subscribers. Yeah lower fees would be nice, but this is pretty normal.
Recently completed Eternal and simply loved it. Other than a couple of highly annoying platforming sequences, it was the perfect video game to me. Addictive, satisfying,sometimes funny, gory, difficult but rewarding, and just the right length.
It's interesting how polarising Eternal is. It does take a couple of hours to "click", the early parts when you are underpowered are a bit of a slog, to be fair.
Am well up for Dark Ages but I do wonder if the new style is going to feel too jarring.
I recently managed to beat the Doom Eternal end boss thanks to the almost infinite armour they give you if you can't stop dying. Sometimes you just want to get through it.
@Rodimusprime13 gotcha, you're in the US I take it. In the UK eBay has dropped all private seller fees, they have been losing too much business to Vinted and Facebook.
There are loads available around the original RRP on eBay. The fact that some a**holes are listing something on eBay for silly money isn't really news.
@gollumb82 this isn't why they are publishing PS5 Pro articles. It's because of search engine optimization- there is hype and it drives traffic. and in simple terms because people read and comment on them.
In the grand scheme of things it's not that big an investment and he's generated some internet attention and chat. Fair play to him.
But in no sane world is it a sensible way of "saving" money. It's far too long and there are far too many unknowns. For all we know Sony could withdraw from consoles within 5 years. Or next year he could lose his job, desperately need $1000 for food and rent, and instead has a useless 24 years of PS Plus to his name 🤣.
@nocdaes yeah retro games can be crazy expensive, but those prices aren't really about playing video games though. Most old games can be emulated or played for free-ish via ROMs, or have been ported. They also hold or even appreciate in value so it's a different proposition.
They are collectibles and should be compared to comics, trading cards, coins, stamps, antique pants... Whatever floats your boat.
Strange things happen in charts during a shrinking market. What are Hogwarts and MK11 doing up there? Are they on sale?
Reminds me of the dying days of the Saturn in 1998. Ceefax still showed the charts and you'd get whatever junk EB and Game were selling at 2 for £20, usually Andretti Racing and out of date FIFA and Madden.
@colonelkilgore the future of gaming isn't going to be dominated by PC. A lot of people can't be bothered with that. It'll remain a platform for enthusiasts.
The future, unfortunately, will be streaming.
And in the meantime consoles have plenty of years ahead.
It's not about console power, if it was nobody would make Switch games. And solving the type of development niggles Microsoft will identify through this type of research will be little more than a rounding error in total sales. The PS3 was a ball ache to produce games for, but Playstation is so popular that the games got made regardless.
It's purely about the (reduced) money to be made on Xbox.
Same reason people stopped making Saturn and Dreamcast games.
The market for this is PC gamers and new PS5 owners. Us who've already played it aren't the main targets.
It's an excellent game, I much preferred it to the sequel in fact- which was excessively convoluted in terms of combat and gear, and had a story that was nothing but mcguffin-chasing, padded out and forgettable. Looked gorgeous of course, and still fun.
Performance every time if there's a need for the choice.
On the rare occasions I can notice any difference with fidelity mode, the marginal impact wears off after a few minutes as you get used to it. A high frame rate always feels good.
Also, maybe it's my TV, but fidelity modes always look a bit blurry in motion.
The price has shocked a lot of people. And it's probably not worth it for most.
But Google is casually selling the fancy new Pixel phones for £1,750 and I don't see any uproar. As the article says, it's probably about the expected price.
If it was £649 with the disc drive, it'd be a pretty decent deal.
I think Sony is missing a trick not offering monthly payments like Xbox do (did?).
@bindiana yes I've realised the same thing. I genuinely can't see any benefit from Fidelity mode on my relatively cheap 4K Samsung in most games, in fact fidelity mode tends to be blurrier with the lower frame rate.
So I do doubt it'll do justice to the PS5 Pro.
Will just stick with normal PS5 in performance mode.
@Zemo55 Asda was an anomaly then, I don't think anywhere else was selling it, outside of eBay and Facebook, since hours after the announcement day. Asda have taken it off sale now anyway.
I ordered it at Shopto and Hit on the 5th Sept as an experiment and they cancelled the orders.
Concord is a special case- Sony issued an order to remove all copies from sale. We're not talking normal dead servers here, with games that still kinda work offline, like with Worms and half of everything Ubisoft's ever sold.
I genuinely struggle to see the benefit of Fidelity mode. Maybe it's my eyes or my TV. So while this would be nice for the fancy lighting and stuff, I just can't justify £700 for such minor improvement.
Comments 396
Re: Death Stranding 2 (PS5) - A Masterpiece in Every Sense
@Northern_munkey in my humble opinion the first one is a masterpiece. The story is dense and complex, and the gameplay is quite confusing and slow paced, honestly. You need to be patient and it's not a game for people that want non stop action.
But at some point it all comes together and makes complete sense. The delivery gameplay loop feels really rewarding, it's lovely to play a game about giving people hope rather than just killing everything. Also, building your transport network is such fun.
My second favourite game of the last generation after Red Dead 2.
Can't wait to play this sequel, sounds every bit as good as I had hoped.
Re: Rumour: Red Dead Redemption 2 PS5 Version Is Real, Out This Year
@TheArt it's not sad until they actually reveal the pricing is it. Worse is them not releasing an upgrade.
Re: Rumour: Red Dead Redemption 2 PS5 Version Is Real, Out This Year
60fps and picking up stuff quickly= instant buy and replay. The GOAT of the PS4 generation.
Re: PS Plus Subscription Sale Takes 33% Off, But There's a Big Catch
They already give you a discount for paying annually. The 33% is an incentive for new subscribers. Yeah lower fees would be nice, but this is pretty normal.
Re: Video: DOOM Gameplay Comparison Shows Decades of Evolution
Recently completed Eternal and simply loved it. Other than a couple of highly annoying platforming sequences, it was the perfect video game to me. Addictive, satisfying,sometimes funny, gory, difficult but rewarding, and just the right length.
It's interesting how polarising Eternal is. It does take a couple of hours to "click", the early parts when you are underpowered are a bit of a slog, to be fair.
Am well up for Dark Ages but I do wonder if the new style is going to feel too jarring.
Re: Round Up: Death Stranding 2 PS5 Previews Describe a Metal Gear Glow Up for Kojima Sequel
Thanks for this guys.
Can't wait to play it. My most anticipated game by far.
Re: PS5's Death Stranding 2 Will Become a Visual Novel to Get You Through Its Most Difficult Parts
I recently managed to beat the Doom Eternal end boss thanks to the almost infinite armour they give you if you can't stop dying. Sometimes you just want to get through it.
Re: PS5's Death Stranding 2 Will Become a Visual Novel to Get You Through Its Most Difficult Parts
Sounds a good solution.
Re: Of Course Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Has Been Delayed Again
Why does it have approx 3 names in one?
Re: PS5 Mega-Flop Concord Is Reaching Absurdly High Prices on eBay
@Rodimusprime13 gotcha, you're in the US I take it. In the UK eBay has dropped all private seller fees, they have been losing too much business to Vinted and Facebook.
Re: PS5 Mega-Flop Concord Is Reaching Absurdly High Prices on eBay
@Rodimusprime13 yeah that's not true for private sellers at all. Maybe you're refering to business sellers, but the fees are pretty transparent.
Re: PS5 Mega-Flop Concord Is Reaching Absurdly High Prices on eBay
@Rodimusprime13 eBay don't charge commissions anymore. They do add a few % onto the bill for the buyer though. Similar end result.
Re: PS5 Mega-Flop Concord Is Reaching Absurdly High Prices on eBay
There are loads available around the original RRP on eBay. The fact that some a**holes are listing something on eBay for silly money isn't really news.
Re: PS2, the Most Popular Console Ever, Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
Never played one!
Was too busy having fun to bother at the time.
Re: Sony Makes Push for Cloud Gaming Crown with Almost 400 More Games Whitelisted for PS Plus Premium
Well that makes the Portal a seriously useful device. Really glad to have got one.
Re: Spider-Man 2's Looking Like Another PC Own Goal from Sony
Guys you ARE familiar with what 'sloppy seconds' actually means, right?!
Re: Sony to Mostly Drop PS4 Games from PS Plus Starting January 2026
Seems fine really. You'll still have access to potentially hundreds of PS Plus Essential PS4 games depending on when you started.
The pipeline of PS4 games is already starting to gradually dry up and PS4 owners will still have billions of very cheap titles to buy and play.
Re: Reaction: Sony's Live Service Push Has Been a Disaster of Utterly Insane Proportions
And to think, they could've made Days Gone 2 instead ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Re: The State of the UK's Physical Games Market Might Explain PS5 Pro's Lack of Disc Drive
@JonnyAces yes definitely fewer options these days. Luckily my town has an independent competitor to CEX still.
Re: The State of the UK's Physical Games Market Might Explain PS5 Pro's Lack of Disc Drive
@JonnyAces buying and trading in hasn't died out at all yet, there's still a CEX on every high street.
Re: Poll: Are You Happy with Your PS Plus Essential Games for January 2025?
I played Stanley Parable and thought it was a load of pretentious rubbish.
Re: Foamstars Support Ends in January as Square Enix Drops Soapy Live Service Shooter
@Enigk all we hear is, radio gaga?
Re: The Last of Us 2 PS5 Pro Is Yet Another Version of a Great Game
Meh, it was technically excellent already on normal PS4.
Think I've played it through 3 times already, no more for me.
Re: Hands On: PS Plus Cloud Streaming Is a Game Changer for PS Portal
Long story short, you can now play PS5 games on a £200 handheld without needing a console. A very interesting proposition!
Re: Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii on PS5, PS4 Looks Mad, Dog
So, this is real time combat again instead of turn based? Nice!
Re: PS5 Pro Has a Remarkable Impact on Unpatched Games
@Cerny 30fps x145% is about 44fps, so it stands to reason
Re: PS5 Pro Actually Gives You Almost All Its 2TB of Storage to use
@themightyant imagine the social media meltdowns at that price, though
Re: PS5 Pro Actually Gives You Almost All Its 2TB of Storage to use
There seem to be a lot of people that don't realise you can just delete games and then reinstall them if you need them 😄!
(Yes I know CoD takes up a trillion TB)
Re: In the UK, You Can't Buy a PS5 Pro Disc Drive without Paying a Premium
The highest priced SOLD listing on eBay is £229, and most are below £200.
Re: PS5 Pro Packaging Flaunts Its Disc-Free Nature
@gollumb82 this isn't why they are publishing PS5 Pro articles. It's because of search engine optimization- there is hype and it drives traffic. and in simple terms because people read and comment on them.
Re: Random: Forward-Thinking PlayStation Gamer Spends $2,000 on 24 Years of PS Plus
@EfYI
In the grand scheme of things it's not that big an investment and he's generated some internet attention and chat. Fair play to him.
But in no sane world is it a sensible way of "saving" money. It's far too long and there are far too many unknowns. For all we know Sony could withdraw from consoles within 5 years. Or next year he could lose his job, desperately need $1000 for food and rent, and instead has a useless 24 years of PS Plus to his name 🤣.
Re: Random: Forward-Thinking PlayStation Gamer Spends $2,000 on 24 Years of PS Plus
I suppose this is mostly an attention seeking thing, and fair enough.
But this chap clearly doesn't understand opportunity cost (1) and risk (2).
1. He could probably have gained more value investing it elsewhere or might need it in an emergency
2. Sony could pull it at any point in the future.
Re: Opinion: The Price of Playing PS5 Games Day One Is Getting Higher and Higher
@nocdaes yeah retro games can be crazy expensive, but those prices aren't really about playing video games though. Most old games can be emulated or played for free-ish via ROMs, or have been ported. They also hold or even appreciate in value so it's a different proposition.
They are collectibles and should be compared to comics, trading cards, coins, stamps, antique pants... Whatever floats your boat.
Re: Opinion: The Price of Playing PS5 Games Day One Is Getting Higher and Higher
Nah. I'm months or years behind normally, and proud.
Re: UK Sales Charts: Lara Croft's Remastered Trilogy Raids New Release Jamboree
Strange things happen in charts during a shrinking market. What are Hogwarts and MK11 doing up there? Are they on sale?
Reminds me of the dying days of the Saturn in 1998. Ceefax still showed the charts and you'd get whatever junk EB and Game were selling at 2 for £20, usually Andretti Racing and out of date FIFA and Madden.
Re: Some Marvel's Spider-Man 2 PS5 Fans Are Furious It's Not Getting DLC
It must be nice to have so few problems in your life to be "furious" about not getting some Spider-Man DLC.
Re: Until Dawn Is One of Sony's Worst Performing PC Ports to Date
@colonelkilgore the future of gaming isn't going to be dominated by PC. A lot of people can't be bothered with that. It'll remain a platform for enthusiasts.
The future, unfortunately, will be streaming.
And in the meantime consoles have plenty of years ahead.
Re: Until Dawn Is One of Sony's Worst Performing PC Ports to Date
Now imagine if they Remastered and ported Bloodborne
Re: Microsoft Is Investigating Why Devs Are Prioritising PS5 Over Xbox
It's not about console power, if it was nobody would make Switch games. And solving the type of development niggles Microsoft will identify through this type of research will be little more than a rounding error in total sales. The PS3 was a ball ache to produce games for, but Playstation is so popular that the games got made regardless.
It's purely about the (reduced) money to be made on Xbox.
Same reason people stopped making Saturn and Dreamcast games.
Re: Death Stranding 2 PS5 Will 'Come Out Next Year', Crazy Photo Mode Revealed
As long as this has road building and ziplines, a very rare day one purchase for me
Re: Horizon Zero Dawn PS4's Price Doubles After PS5 Remaster Announcement
Will my Horizon zero Dawn launch disc be eligible, or will you need the Complete Edition?
Re: Horizon Zero Dawn's PS5, PC Remaster Is Very Much the Real Deal
The market for this is PC gamers and new PS5 owners. Us who've already played it aren't the main targets.
It's an excellent game, I much preferred it to the sequel in fact- which was excessively convoluted in terms of combat and gear, and had a story that was nothing but mcguffin-chasing, padded out and forgettable. Looked gorgeous of course, and still fun.
Re: PS5 Players Choose Performance Mode 75% of the Time
Performance every time if there's a need for the choice.
On the rare occasions I can notice any difference with fidelity mode, the marginal impact wears off after a few minutes as you get used to it. A high frame rate always feels good.
Also, maybe it's my TV, but fidelity modes always look a bit blurry in motion.
Re: 'It Makes Sense Why the PS5 Pro Price Is So High,' Say Tech Experts
@sanderson72 yes phones aren't a perfect comparison and there's much more competition in that market.
But then again, you can easily buy a tidy PS4 slim and a pile of games for £200 and have 90%* of the fun of a brand new PS5 Pro.
The new game console market is very price sensitive when compared to most others.
(* Not a scientific study.)
Re: 'It Makes Sense Why the PS5 Pro Price Is So High,' Say Tech Experts
The price has shocked a lot of people. And it's probably not worth it for most.
But Google is casually selling the fancy new Pixel phones for £1,750 and I don't see any uproar. As the article says, it's probably about the expected price.
If it was £649 with the disc drive, it'd be a pretty decent deal.
I think Sony is missing a trick not offering monthly payments like Xbox do (did?).
Re: 'It Makes Sense Why the PS5 Pro Price Is So High,' Say Tech Experts
@bindiana yes I've realised the same thing. I genuinely can't see any benefit from Fidelity mode on my relatively cheap 4K Samsung in most games, in fact fidelity mode tends to be blurrier with the lower frame rate.
So I do doubt it'll do justice to the PS5 Pro.
Will just stick with normal PS5 in performance mode.
Re: Concord PS5, PC Scalpers Attempt to Cash In on 'Rare Collector's Item'
@Zemo55 haha ok that's taking liberties!
Re: Concord PS5, PC Scalpers Attempt to Cash In on 'Rare Collector's Item'
@Zemo55 Asda was an anomaly then, I don't think anywhere else was selling it, outside of eBay and Facebook, since hours after the announcement day. Asda have taken it off sale now anyway.
I ordered it at Shopto and Hit on the 5th Sept as an experiment and they cancelled the orders.
Concord is a special case- Sony issued an order to remove all copies from sale. We're not talking normal dead servers here, with games that still kinda work offline, like with Worms and half of everything Ubisoft's ever sold.
Re: PS5 Pro Announced, Costs $700 and Out in November
I genuinely struggle to see the benefit of Fidelity mode. Maybe it's my eyes or my TV. So while this would be nice for the fancy lighting and stuff, I just can't justify £700 for such minor improvement.
Re: Concord PS5, PC Scalpers Attempt to Cash In on 'Rare Collector's Item'
@Zemo55 nah, not online, unless you can convince someone in the store to sell you one.