Comments 1,752

Re: Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2 Punching PS5 in the Mouth from 8th December

Czar_Khastik

Just imagine paying again for a game you already own and you already can play as intended. These lazy remasters, so-called upgrades and bundles exist solely because there is enough people who would give away their hard earned money to greedy companies. Does anyone know where the 0 and kiwami bundle can be preordered and does it come with a steelbook?

Re: GOTY Frontrunner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Just Keeps Selling, Cracks 4.4 Million Copies

Czar_Khastik

@DETfaninATL This is a post I made for a fellow commenter who asked if he should play the game if he likes the souls-like genre:

The battles are focused on preparing a character's next turn by doing something with your previous character (e.g. Maelle will do more damage to an enemy if Gustav "marks" it). This reminded me of Slay the Spire for a bit, where you build up for a couple of turns with buffs and specific attacks in order to deliver a coupe de grace.

The defending is very similar to the soulsbourne genre where you can dodge or parry the attacks (and I mean almost every attack in the game). The dodge is a bit more forgiving regarding its timing but a parry requires very precise timing (but if you lower the difficulty you'll get a longer parry window).

The game itself is difficult (but it can also be very easy if you excel at dodging and if you apply a lot of passive skills to your characters). I'm an avid turn based player but I got annihilated at least 50 times during my playthrough.

Regarding the exploration, it is very similar to Elden Ring. The story is linear, but you can explore other dungeons and regions if you want to, especially later when the world map opens up. The thing is that you'll die in one place only to discover that you could maybe beat the boss in another dungeon and then return to the one where you were defeated.

The story is great, it kept me on my toes the whole time wanting to learn more about the world, the characters and the whole "why is the paintress here killing people once every year". And the story delivered, it didn't fail at any point.

The music is awesome. When you're in battle, the key to parrying are the visual cues but also the audio cues. What I would find difficult are the audio cues because I was much more concentrated on the battle music (especially some later boss themes).

The level design is grandiose. If you stop in place and look around at almost any point in the game, you'll see big landscapes in the distance, some monumental scenery above you, etc. So basically you could be in photo mode the entire game just trying to capture the environments. The only downside is that there is no minimap in dungeons, but I found it to be better this way so I explored more.

The atmosphere is like in the soulsborne games but not that dark and bleak. This is not a lighthearted game, sometimes it's really sad, sometimes it's just melancholic but at all times it is hopeful because your crew carries on no matter what.

There is a lot of lore scattered around, but it's not as cryptic as in Bloodborne where item descriptions are part of the story. Here you'll have journals from other expeditioners which ties greatly with the plot. It will keep you guessing what the problem really as and what the solution is at all times.

So there you have it, if you like soulsborne games, this is the perfect turn based game for you. The difficulty, the atmosphere, the story, the world, the exploration: all of this reminded me of Elden Ring (which I admit I didn't play, but I played a bit of Bloodborne and I watched a lot of videos about these games. My mates are also big soulsborne fans, so I know enough)

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 598

Czar_Khastik

@skud I would say that you're the perfect candidate for trying out the turn based genre by playing Clair Obscur.

The battles are focused on preparing a character's next turn by doing something with your previous character (e.g. Maelle will do more damage to an enemy if Gustav "marks" it). This reminded me of Slay the Spire for a bit, where you build up for a couple of turns with buffs and specific attacks in order to deliver a coupe de grace.

The defending is very similar to the soulsbourne genre where you can dodge or parry the attacks (and I mean almost every attack in the game). The dodge is a bit more forgiving regarding its timing but a parry requires very precise timing (but if you lower the difficulty you'll get a longer parry window).

The game itself is difficult (but it can also be very easy if you excel at dodging and if you apply a lot of passive skills to your characters). I'm an avid turn based player but I got annihilated at least 50 times during my playthrough.

Regarding the exploration, it is very similar to Elden Ring. The story is linear, but you can explore other dungeons and regions if you want to, especially later when the world map opens up. The thing is that you'll die in one place only to discover that you could maybe beat the boss in another dungeon and then return to the one where you were defeated.

The story is great, it kept me on my toes the whole time wanting to learn more about the world, the characters and the whole "why is the paintress here killing people once every year". And the story delivered, it didn't fail at any point.

The music is awesome. When you're in battle, the key to parrying are the visual cues but also the audio cues. What I would find difficult are the audio cues because I was much more concentrated on the battle music (especially some later boss themes).

The level design is grandiose. If you stop in place and look around at almost any point in the game, you'll see big landscapes in the distance, some monumental scenery above you, etc. So basically you could be in photo mode the entire game just trying to capture the environments. The only downside is that there is no minimap in dungeons, but I found it to be better this way so I explored more.

The atmosphere is like in the soulsborne games but not that dark and bleak. This is not a lighthearted game, sometimes it's really sad, sometimes it's just melancholic but at all times it is hopeful because your crew carries on no matter what.

There is a lot of lore scattered around, but it's not as cryptic as in Bloodborne where item descriptions are part of the story. Here you'll have journals from other expeditioners which ties greatly with the plot. It will keep you guessing what the problem really as and what the solution is at all times.

So there you have it, if you like soulsborne games, this is the perfect turn based game for you. The difficulty, the atmosphere, the story, the world, the exploration: all of this reminded me of Elden Ring (which I admit I didn't play, but I played a bit of Bloodborne and I watched a lot of videos about these games. My mates are also big soulsborne fans, so I know enough)

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 598

Czar_Khastik

Taking my time to obtain the platinum trophy in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 after dealing with the superboss.

This is my GOTY and I would even say the Game of this generation. If anyone is having any kind of doubts regarding playing this, just try it for 1 hour and notice how every frame of the game has some sort of unique and enormous scenery in the background for you to absorb in awe while the music perfectly blends with it. And that stays true until the game's very end which is absolutely mind boggling.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 597

Czar_Khastik

Preparing for the superboss in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

I can't stress this enough so I'll say it again: if anyone is on the fence with this game, I urge you to try it! Even if you're not a turn based rpg fan, you will find something you'll love: the story, the characters, the art style, the world exploration or the fantastic music. I usually don't persuade people to play games, but you will surely find something that will stick with you after you try this piece of art.

Re: No Man's Sky Voyagers Reinvents Player Ships in Latest Free Mega-Update on PS5, PS4

Czar_Khastik

I received a lot of responses so thanks for that! This just shows if the developer/publisher listen to the community and provide better experiences while maintaining an agile developer team, things can work out really well for them as well as us.

I own a steelbook PS4 version of the game since I'm a physical collector, but if they ever release another deluxe/collector's edition I will be more than happy to support the studio.