Hyena_socks

20th Century: The Robots will take over the world, they’ll take over nuclear sites, rise up in self awareness and kill us all
21st Century AI: Can’t count r’s in strawberry. Robs artists and creatives of their livelihoods. Plays games for us.

This is not as exciting as we were led to believe.

@ShogunRok great review, thank you, exciting to see it back!

I was just wondering if you can customise your character at all, or are you stuck with generic Musou Man?

Depending on practicalities, this is great and should be standard across developers/publishers. The sort of harassment and/or bullying that can be levelled at individuals can destroy their lives, for no reason other than doing their job.

How’s the haptic feedback? Are the brakes intelligent? I want to feel like I’m rocketing to the moon as I gently break for the zebra crossing

@Illyrian me trying to shorten it too much - Fascistic Militarism. the two concepts of fascism and militarism that often go hand in hand. The idea of expansion through military means, for a shared ideal that your nation is the superior while denoting your areas of ambition as inferior and/or in need of rescue, with the aim to bring them under the same ideals.

@Illyrian I dunno, looking online it seems like an open and direct parody of militaristic fascism. That’s the impression I got too from what ive seen. What makes you say it’s not?

Tone is lost in text, but just to clarify I’m not being smug, I’m genuinely interested in the debate.

@Illyrian I’ve not played the games so I could be wrong - but aren’t people being made to fight The Other in the name of ‘democracy’, as they pose the only threat and obstacle to a better life, fuelled by propaganda that hides the truth from the masses?

I’m genuinely asking as my only knowledge is from what I’ve read online, so I could have completely the wrong impression.

Really not sure how this will work, a big part of the game is the vast, empty expanses, the guilt it makes you feel as you kill the colossi even though you feel compelled to progress.
I don’t think a film can capture that - the Last Guardian might work better

@nessisonett my thoughts exactly. It is absolutely bonkers. It’s purposefully cheesy in its classic set up.

I think it got a bit unfairly battered by reviews, and it’s hard to take a beloved character and fill the game with other new characters. I haven’t finished it, maybe it tapers off, but I loved what I played so far - they captured Max’s personality well, and her dealing with grief.

I think the only real criticism I have is the limited environments, which lacked the charm of other games’ locations. A generic university with a generic LGBTQ+ bar. Some larger locations with more to explore, or more characters to get to know may have given it a bit more life.

Are ‘rowdy’ people mad about it being a woman, or wasn’t there something about pubic hair in the sequel that enraged the vocal minority? It just feels like there’s some silly insecure man things bubbling underneath all this

Always shut down, I imagine it saves energy. The only time I use rest mode is if I’m downloading a large update or new game overnight on my glacial internet connection.

Imagine if it’s a serious story, hailing fascism as the only way forward for mankind and something to be honoured. Bring the whole thing full circle with the starship trooper book to film journey

An excellent idea by Localthunk - making use of the Indy fame! Indy games have really taken off the last few years, in terms of reaching the mainstream.

I’m sorry I can’t read 70+ comments - but are there some babies in the comments crying because a studio is making a game including women with muscles?

Absolute turnips going on the attack on a brilliant studio for such a pathetic reason.

Never mind that, what can you Torgal in? He DESERVES a tutu

Still a completely absurd game in concept, a game that doesn’t really get going story-wise until you complete the 40-ish hour prologue twice and opens with an hour long boss rush without a save point.
But that third playthrough puts everything into focus, and then pummels you relentlessly with spellbinding drama, tragedy and existential ideas.
Plus you get to run around as a maid and a bishi twink in a great fun action RPG in between, and occasionally a mech suit

Like Kubrick and the lot, it may get great results but I wonder how many people’s mental well-being were sacrificed to the alter of perfection. But the results are undeniable!

@Logonogo not a fan of the game then, I take it?

No love for ‘Life is Strange: Double Exposure’? It’s broader themes of trauma and recovery are well told, with a wonderful return to an excellent character in Max. Not as good as the original, but little is story-wise

I really enjoyed plowing about 40 hours into Unicorn Overlord, but then suddenly just got really bored with it. Yes, you get different units, but the stories rubbish, the characters are dull as dishwater and it’s basically the same thing over and over. Still, it itched an itch at the time!

How’s the action/combat? It looked incredibly rough and dull in the early access, is if more exciting then running in circles shooting glowy balls at enemies that soak it up until they die?

The organic bond you build with your bunch of weird pawns, ambling around before pliéing through complete carnage really makes this game. I completely understand why it’s not for everyone, but I fell in love with it. Then I got distracted and now it’s been 5 months. I’ll have to dip back in in the new year

I wonder if you’ll hear his mate screaming from within the walled up tunnel as you rattle past.

DD2 is wonderful, really feels like a proper adventure fantasy game. The story is rubbish, and it’s quirky as anything in pretty much all respects, but the combat and sense of adventure getting from point A to Point B is superb. The Pawn system is excellent too.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 all the way. The gloriously bombastic random nature of wondering around is unparalleled. I stumbled into a three-way battle after bringing down a gryphon I’d ended up clinging to as it took flight, somehow we both survived but ended up fighting the dragon we’d almost collided with before bandits for some reason joined the fray. How many games have that kind of unscripted carnage?

I love that LiS: Double Exposure made it, it’s a wonderful game I’m eeking out, enjoying each chapter between breaks. I forgot entirely about Zau, those responses sound great so I’m definitely intrigued now!

I’d very much enjoy jumping back in, the guild quest lines were all fantastic, but I really hope they’d fix a few things:

• make the Oblivion gates less annoying, either more fun to close or less persistent (I know it’s the main threat, but they were annoying af)

That’s it. The rest I’m happy with just a spruce up. Hopefully any remake still lets you climb up paintbrushes

Very excited to see what this studio puts out, and Okami 2 is an absolute dream of an announcement. The original game is incredibly special and holds a big space in my heart. I still have a page cut out of the original when it was first announced in PlayStation magazine.

Not sure about the VA work, sounds a bit flat. But anything that lets you smack a bear in the face with a pulse rifle, while controlling time, in space, is going to be a novel experience.

We’ll be playing as CJ with our faithful mutt Thomas the Tank Engine in no time

Translation: “No, we’ll make more money if three people have to buy it.”

Pathetic people stirring up nonsense because of misogyny on 4Chan? Why is it always the worst things that never change?

It really is sad how women with muscles triggers these losers so much.

As long as it fits the character that sounds great - I’ll miss Geralt’s iconic voice, but from the trailer seems like a strong performance.

Stellar Blade: Making Men Playing Barbie socially acceptable since 04/2024

Okami 2, new Onimusha and Project Robot have made me more hyped for gaming than the last, like, 5 years. Hopefully the hype will carry across the next 5 years until they’re all out.

To their credit, they’re not critiquing Bag3 for being ‘too woke’ - this is more the sort of silly pettiness we used to have, it’s almost nostalgic.

One of the most exciting game announcements in, like, a decade for me. I really can’t wait to see what a more powerful system offers in a sequel. As soon as the trailer started I cocked a leg and peed, before rolling a bomb into a cliff in excitement.

Absolutely adored the first couple games, wasn’t too sure on the third and never played the fourth, but very excited to see this return - the atmosphere is truly special across the games, and looks like it’s intact here!

@springer17 words to live by…or, I fear, die by.

@ChimpMasta I agree 100% about Veilguard, it’s great it wanted to raise subjects not often handled in video games, but it was poorly written and soulless in it all. It felt more a corporate exercise than anything genuine.

I don’t think the same can be said of Life is Strange. Perhaps we should agree it’s possible they’re all just very close friends.

I just feel a friendship that intense, the way each one idolises the other, and the intensity of the feelings - is more typically found in more than friends.

@ChimpMasta as normal a friendship as jumping through parallel dimensions affords.

But I think it’s pretty obviously intended, the first game has one romance option, the future games and comics lean into it, it’s clear Chloe had feelings beyond friendship for Rachel.

I would ask you to reframe how you’re seeing it though - queer people have by necessity hidden their feelings, in person, in media etc. for generations out of very justified fear - someone who is queer, or has queer friends, is going to better recognise those cloaking methods. These days, incredibly, people have a bit more freedom to be open - so they don’t need to hide it so much.

That’s what you’ve been seeing. Life is Strange isn’t quite strikingly queer. It’s a bit sad you’d never explore that path in the game, it adds a lot more weight to the game’s narrative. Otherwise, what, they’d sacrifice a town to flat-share for a bit and share the odd pint?

Also, just have to say, it’s not a case of ‘belief’, it’s there whether you like it or not - it’s a case of tolerance. much like that Kenyan official trying to banish gay lions, denying it doesn’t make it not exist.

@Jdubz I felt the same - I was rubbish at the combat, I tried eating and ended up poisoned, I was bleeding and I think unwashed, so just an absolute state. And then there were the game’s mechanics to contend with.

Maybe that was him testing the waters and seeing if he would be involved - now he has his answer!

@ChimpMasta I thought that was it, but it’s a bizarre argument dude.

From the first game throughout they’ve all been super queer-friendly, the romance between Chloe & Max is pretty much cannon in the first game.

And I see you’re talking about the Nazi symbols - they noticed the ‘88’ first, true, but they also noticed the hagal rune, and clear signs of memes often used by the far right. It sounds like a 4Chan-affiliate messing around tbh, but weird they felt the need to undermine the game’s themes.

I do get not wanting things rammed down your throat, and things are more front and centre these days. But it’s always been there, people were just under more threat by being more open before, I see it as a plus we have media representing a large number of people out there myself.

Will definitely pick this up, just wanted to hear it wasn’t a GTA Trilogy botch-job, janky dated gameplay is charming these days - and would love to relive the story and atmosphere!

@ChimpMasta I’m not being sly, but what do you mean niche political beliefs and pushing conspiracy theories related to numbers? Not sure what Double Exposure had that the original or other games didn’t.

@somnambulance I agree with you completely. The game is emotionally on point, some of the best graphics in the series, they did an excellent job portraying an older Max.
The only way I can really understand the low scores is that, as you said, someone reviewed it who just isn’t a narrative led game, centred on relationships and trauma.
Hopefully this won’t be the death knell of the studio.

Looks interesting, particularly if they can nail down a good narrative with characters you care about. I’m all down for crying into the teas of whacky characters for cold, hard earned virtual dollars

@nessisonett absolutely no link at all. I can’t wait to shoot fascists and not miss, truly something to be celebrated.