ErrantRob

Played the demo for Promise Mascot Agency and I’m in love. It’s so whacky and dumb and right up my alley with the Japanese humor.

Otherwise I just started Iron Meat and it is excellent. If you love Contra this is modern Contra head to toe.

Otherwise I’ll wrap up Mafia Definitive Edition collectibles for the platinum

I also need to get back into Zenless Zen Zero and Infinity Nikki as well.

@rjejr while I agree I also tend to see (on a semester system) 150 students or more a semester, so 300 a year over years adds up. And while they are only a small segment of a larger population their interests tend to align with the PS charts every month as well. There is a more hardcore gaming audience out there for sure, but they aren’t in high school. For every 10 kids playing 2K I get one or two playing Undertale, which I still think tracks when magnified to millions. So while I do only hear things I engage a lot and none of them have heard of games like Persona 5 or Kingdom Come, but they all know about Elden Ring or Black Myth, which they do talk about.

Again I’m aware of who my audience is and how small of a sample they are but I also know these are future audience of PlayStation as we age up and even with a full digital storefront, they stick to AAA games because they don’t care for much else. That may change as they age (it did for me) but that won’t help the current state of the AA space now (so maybe a renaissance will be in order).

Indie games and AA games are mostly gamers over a certain age. 25-30 or so I’d say. I teach in high school and every year I hear about students playing Spider Man 2 or NBA 2k or Genshin Impact. I never hear about indies or smaller titles. Maybe I get one student every 3 years who knows what something like Persona is, and I’d argue that is more AAA than any other title I could mention that isn’t AAA. So you have a generation who aged out or kept playing but is replaced by a generation that is only aware of the biggest titles.

This feels like a nothing burger to me. Even in games where you can create your build and character aka Souls games, there is an established amount of canon. Sure you have different ending choices but no one complains there. Besides, when did we start caring so much about the story of AC anyway 😂

@Gremio108 this sounds like an amazing build to mess with and has me intrigued to go back and try it!

Mafia Definitive Edition. Going for the platinum!

On top of that I’ll get lost in High on life and maybe Infinity Nikki or Wuthering Waves or Zenless Zen Zero

Truthfully I’m all over the place with my backlog right now trying to avoid buying Kingdom Come 2 since I didn’t get into the first but I really feel like I might be able to the second one.

@BearsEatBeets high school kids love it. It’s massive where I live every year.

I teach high school seniors and every year for the last five years the moment they find out I’m a gamer at least 10 of them inevitably ask me if I play FNAF. To which I have to disappoint and say no. So I’m not shocked at all.

@RaZieLDaNtE was your NG2B hard run on hard or the hardest difficulty? I tried path of the Master Ninja? I believe and got wrecked so my hat is off to you sir because it feels like a very different game of block and go at that level.

Currently working my way through Mafia since I’ve never played any of these games. Great acting and storytelling so far!

Finished Ninja Gaiden 2 Black this week and loved that as well.

It’s a good time to do the backlog. I’ll get back to Silent Hill 2 and Wuthering Waves at some point as well.

Lastly, I’m contemplating Turbo Kill as that demo impressed me and Iron Meat as I hear good things.

I recognize you always have a new generation of gamers coming up (a 17 year old was 6 when it first arrived on consoles), but I really cannot believe people are still buying it. When you think of the entire ecosystem of how many PS4, PS5, Xbox and PC gamers are out there, it has to be something like 80% or more of gamers who own a copy.

@KyushuTrail I have many hours in Dicey Dungeons, and I have family, who are not "hardcore gamers" who went down the rabbit hole with that one for many more than me. It's a fantastic rogue like with charm.

Little surprised at the low score. Read like an 8 based on the review. I’ve seen higher scores for more egregious problems. To each their own, but might be worth a calibration check on this one; not for the writing or problems, just the final number.

Well well I am all in on Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and also working slowly though Silent Hill 2

I’ve also got Sonic Frontiers on the side which is frustrating at times. I may need to solve some of those island pieces with a guide.

Lastly I am jumping in and out of The Ascent which I started on GamePass but never finished. So now it’s on Premium I plan on not making the same mistake and playing it through even if slowly.

Fantastic game. Cannot believe I somehow missed the series in the past. But I was always a PS guy, so when they were only on Xbox I never bothered and then the older ones I missed because I was a wee lad during Nintendo and Genesis days.

I bought it to support them, but then never got around to it. It'll be one I tackle this year after I finish Silent Hill 2 and NG2 Black.

Very excited for this one. I have a weird fond memory of the first, as I got the platinum while at home with Covid. So while I won't be able to replicate the fever dream experience of the first, I look forward to supporting the dev who has created one of my favorite metroidvania style games of the past 5 years.

@amatmulisha it’s very well done for a remake and makes me hopeful Silent Hill can be a meaningful franchise again. The loneliness and haunting feeling is so well done here.

Time to buy the dip!

Several things:

Sonic Frontiers which is a good popcorn-flick game, or whatever the gaming equivalent is, perhaps Doritos and Mt. Dew?

Silent Hill 2 is another great game, but also makes me feel drained from the tension after each session.

Lastly, I’ve thrown The Ascent into the mix to relax and shoot some cyberpunk dystopian beings in as well.

I’m sure I’ll find something else to mix in as Ninja Gaiden’s stealth drop has me real tempted.

Finished Metaphor. Great game and deserves the praise until the last boss. Seriously, that spike in difficulty. Now I’ve moved onto Silent Hill and found myself engrossed in Resistance Retribution as I missed the whole series back in the day.

Lastly, I’m hitting up Infinity Nikki when I can and want to get back to ZZZ

@Steeleye50 I really dug Bright Memory Infinite for as short as it was. Had some cool ideas and ultimately is a joy if you get it for a few bucks to kill a few hours.

Finally wrapping up Metaphor. Great game but could we stop having 3 endings before the actual ending?

Beyond that I may move into Silent Hill 2 and something with a shooter spin to it. Thinking The Ascent looks real appealing on Premium.

Finally finished Slitterhead. Almost finished with Metaphor ReFantazio; it feels like it goes on forever.

So I’m ready to move on to Silent Hill 2 or most likely I’ll get lost in Infinity Nikki some more. I’ve also considered diving back into Night City and finally helping the president.

@Toadie Today I learned about the Facebook posts. Headed there now!

I feel like this could very closely mirror my own top 5 this year. I never got to Infinite Wealth, but the rest are up there for me as well.

@breakneck same. About 45 hours in I lose my tolerance for them. I’ll never understand it either because so can spend 130 in Elden Ring and 80 in FF7 Rebirth among others. I think it’s just the overwhelming amount of dialogue. If I wanted to read a book I’d be happy to go do so like I often do, but I need a game that doesn’t force me to be “social” with comrades for 85 of its 100 hours.

Still on Metaphor. While I really enjoy it I also can’t help but realize that Atlus games are too long for me. I never finished Persona 4 or 5 and I’m trying to finish Metaphor but golly it really does go on forever.

Beyond that I’m enjoying Infinity Nikki way more than I thought, still working on Nine Sols and Slitterhead and I’d really like to play something new.

So I may start Mouthwashing on PC or find something like System Shock to play for the first time.

I’m in kinda of a gaming I want to play but nothing is sticking out slump.

Edit. Forgot POE2 is also brilliant at the moment.

Hands down best gaming site out there. Thank you all for what you do!

Working on Nine Sols and deep into Metaphor Refantazio.

However having watched Secret Level I feel like Space Marines 2 is back on the menu, along with the new HellDivers 2 update (which is very good by the way).

Edit. Forgot to add in POE 2 as an absolute gem of ARPG goodness.

Glad to see more people trying it out. Have about 13 hours in it so far and it is a nice change of pace from triple A games lately.

Still stuck on Metaphor. Stuck meaning my limited time to play as father of 3 dictates I get through maybe 3 calendar days a session or one dungeon if it’s short enough!

Other than that I’m also balancing Nine Sols and Path of Exile 2. I love both so far and really am glad I did early access for POE2.

I may get back to Slitterhead. I really enjoyed my 10 hours with it I just haven’t felt the mood for that or Silent Hill 2 lately.

I’m tempted. I’ve got a lot to play but I really got into D4 upon release and that has shown me I’m a sucker for these games. Combine that with the souls like challenge I keep hearing about and I’ll pony up the money to support them.

Infinity Nikki, Nine Sols, and Metaphor for me. I’m really tempted to join EA for POE2 but the unexpected server overload has me waiting to purchase and dive in until that is sorted.

Enjoy your weekend everyone and may it be blessed!

I am pretty excited about this one. Whether it winds up janky or not, I will play it, as Wanted: Dead did a great job with gun fu. Highly underrated game that wanted a certain playstyle from people, and I think when most couldn't solve it, they wrote it off as poorly designed. I think this will risk the same trappings, but I will be there to play it Day 1.

Need to get back to the first one, started with the story mode, and then realized how closely it followed the arcs and just was not in the mood at the time. I will dive back in at some point next year I am sure.

As a full time employee, married, father of 3, yea I watch more than I play, but only because it is way easier to put on a video while I work or to put on a video while holding a kid for a nap than it is to play. And I follow a handful of creators who I enjoy the commentary more than the game.

Having played the beta it felt like it would be easy to spend 50-60 hours with this and no even consider a mtx or battlepass. And I say that as someone who stuck 60 hours in Genshin before even considering any mtx and has spent 20 with ZZZ without spending a dime too.

Still crawling through a trio of games:
Slitterhead
Metaphor Refantazio

And I was working on Prodeus but have since picked up Nine Sols and now I am itching to keep diving deeper into that.

@Rich33 I would hope that swap you are talking about is saved for a more expansive sequel. I’d love to see P along with a cast of characters you bc a swap between. Expand the universe so to speak.

Played the beta this month on PS5 and have to admit, it’s up there with games like Snowrunner or Stardew Valley. And by that I mean it’s nice to plop on a podcast, chill, and not stress over anything but very lite combat, collecting stars and materials and crafting new dresses. Could be a nice complement to play alongside something more sweaty like Souls games or MP fair.

I have been interested in this one all year and am happy it is finally on consoles. I need a smaller game to play alongside Metaphor, and this will fit the bill nicely.

The very 2000’s Slitterhead. I can’t stop.

Also deeply ingrained with Metaphor Refantazio and loving it.

Beyond that may get back into Prodeus before it leaves Premium and dip into Blood Omen.

@Enuo Came here to say the same thing!

I did my part. Bought smaller games this year. Including Slitterhead

Finally on Chapter 6 of Wukong. So wrapping that up sometime soon.

Beyond that it’ll be plenty of Metaphor and Slitterhead. Loving both.

Started Superliminal and got sidetracked. Time to wrap that one up!

@Lyedecker I’m still in disbelief how much I’m enjoying Infinity Nikki. It’s so…..chill.

I went from rolling my eyes on this to signing and playing the beta and I’m really enjoying it. I have one issue and that’s what feels like stuttering framerates here and there. Even for a chill game it really rips me out of the experience.

@Daleaf Stellar Blade is my GOTY so far. The combat is a blast and I loved the boss fights so much I regularly dip back into boss rush mode to play it again.

I’m on Chapter 5 of Black Myth Wukong and it too feels like it has no business being the first AAA game from a studio. It’s long and is more a boss rush game than anything with areas to explore and cannon fodder between.