ilyn

The story of Uncharted was the story of Nathan Drake, and that story has been told. I have no issue with them returning to established IP's but it has to make sense. You need a compelling reason to return and for me that is not a spin off about Chloe, his kid or Sully.

The Lost Legacy was alright, but it was also not Uncharted 5 and I don't think I would want a series run fronted by Chloe. I have nothing against playing as a female character, she just lacked Nathan's mannerisms / charm that made the originals. If they are to return to the series it has be when its right and when the studio wants to, if its forced it will be a bad experience.

Have the rumours said if it would be available for all platforms? I imagine I might give it a go, but I also would not be surprised to see something like this end up as PC only.

A poor month for me with nothing there that appeal, but you can't win them all and I have loads to play anyway.

I tried MH ages ago but I didn't really get it. The combat felt slow and the hunts took ages, and the mechanics just didn't land for me at all.

Tried ESO years back on the PC and the world is nice, but it never scratched that MMO itch in the same way that WoW did. It felt more like a single player adventure with a sprinkling of group play, and a cash shop that is truly awful.

Finished Nioh 3 and that was one hell of a game, already looking forward to the DLC later in the year. Im not a trophy hunter, but I will say thats a great platinum to get. I got all but 2 trophies by just playing the game, and the two I missed took me 10m to go back and grab.

Now what to start next...

@Gemini53 I know you can, I used to have my desk next to the TV in the second lounge at my old place so I could stick PC games on the bigger screen.

In my new place I didn't because of space and also it's just much easier to not a console in the front room with the faff of a wireless m/kb. The console does everything I need in this room and it's discreet. While the PC does everything I need in another room. It probably helps that I have set genres for set machines.

@Gemini53 I'm right there with you on the PC /PS combo and have been for years. It also made sense and felt like you had almost all basis covered for big ticket games. The only thing you really miss out on is Nintendo games and for me that's only really Zelda.

I currently have a 4070 roof so it's not mega, but it's still very competent and I find the gap between that and the PS5 Pro is small, and set to become smaller with PSSR2.

I also think people often forget that while PCs are great they are also often tied to a desk with a smaller monitor. They work brilliantly for FPS, CRPGs, MMOs etc. However if I'm playing something like The Last of Us or Resident Evil I want to be on the sofa with a big OLEd and sound system really adding to the immersion.

As you say choice is king

@Gemini53 strap in for a long ride with Witcher 3. My playthrough with all the DLC was around 170h and it''s amazing. Blood and Wine is especially good, that DLC alone is better than most full games.

Not sure if you use mods but auto weapon oil mod is great and removes all the menu busy work. I think I also used weightless inventory because I like hoarding swords.

I'm just finishing off Nioh 3 this weekend. I'm at the final area of Bakmatsu and act 3 is good fun, if a little too easy. I got the build fully online at the end of act 2 and have one or two shot every box in act 3 so far.

Lighting spear is deadly

I've been playing guitar hero again recently and it's still just as good as ever. It's about time it made a proper return as it was a brilliant franchise.

It's great because it's a bit silly whilst the gameplay looked to be serious. It's nice to see some light hearted fun rather than the standard action hero

This announcement was likely moved up to divert away from previous bad press and give people something to be excited for. I imagine we will get another SoP around the start of April which will deep dive into the gameplay 6m before launch.

@SMJ I don't want them to vanish but I do have an issue with them being funded by MS mega money propping up the gaming side of the business. I know all companies will prop up different areas of the business with funds from other areas, but with MS its exponentially worse due to the scale of Azure and Windows licencing.

It gives them to much power when they can spend close to 100 billion on various publishers and studios over the last decade, and a desire to keep going. Its not good for the industry and I think they should be forced to stand on their own merits. The concern is that they are allowed to keep acquiring whilst promising to stay multiplatform, and then just revoke it once they have a stranglehold on the market. This applies for all companies in general also as we shouldn't want the industry being gobbled up by 2 or 3 megacorps.

Nioh 3 here, currently in the second zone just working my way round exploring all the areas. Really enjoying the game so far playing my spear build. I would say my only minor gripe so far is the removal of some item sets which is a shame. I miss the red demon armour set

@Kraven that boss was a huge step up compared to anything before it. His speed, huge AOE and status effects was a bit much, and the room felt too small for the fight. I also found I died a few times because if he knocks you down he will attack again faster than you can get back up, and that felt a bit cheap. Its also got the issue that Nioh 1 has where living weapon is so strong that attemps without it just feel like your headbutting a wall. Still its a great game and boy was I glad when I got him.

Its not surprising since Nioh 1 and NIoh 2 only released on PS and then released on PC later. This was always set to have a better opening week as it launched everywhere on the same date.

Utterly gutted to hear that they have been shuttered as they put out some great remakes. Sadly we will also likely never get to hear the reasons behind it all. Bad day all round.

At this point I am not holding out hope for it being a great game anyway. Imo Bethesda started believing their own hype and it led to a downturn in quality. Maybe they can turn it around with ES6, but I imagine it will be another example of them focussing on overblown physics at the expense of story and gameplay.

7/10 is still a good game and as usual people are getting salty over the fact that a very small team, spent a small amount of time creating a passion project on the side of the studio's regular work. They are the dev's and its the creators prerogative to make the game they want to make. If you don't like the game just don't buy it, no need to cry about it. I have never been bothered by the GTA franchise, or anything rockstar tbh, so I just ignore it and play something I do like.

Yes because the old games are still perfectly playable as they are. If I'm going to replay them I need a good reason to, not just slightly better graphics and same old button bashing combat

I think you answered your own question in the article the other day Sammy. You are more bothered because from a business perspective its better for you to have a steady stream of news to talk about, and the seven year cycle works well for that.

For users however we only care about the end result and know that the PS6 imrovements will be marginal, more so if you own a Pro. I can't think what feature is realy missing from the PS5 Pro, so what do I really need in a PS6?

Also I fail to see how any console improvements would result in shorter dev time. I think the dev time is just what it is for games these days and no amount of console development is going to take us back to 2-3 year cycles.

Excellent game 9/10.

I really like how they have given complete freedom in regards to how you build your character and what parts of the system you choose to interact with. When you add into that the new weapon scaling and how you can reassign a weapon to use which ever stats you prefer it means you can play anything and it will be optimal.

The only slight downside to this is that it does make the game easier that Nioh 2. Whilst this may upset some people, I think its probably better for the genre overall as it allows more players to give it a try. Similar to how Elden Ring was easier than DS3 but it allowed more people to experience the game.

The engine they use might be a bit dated but personally I think the game still looks great, and you could throw the exact same criticism at Fromsoft games which also have barely evolved in graphics. Its a case of Gameplay trumps graphics when you nail a formula that just works.

Having recently upgraded to a Pro I would be more than happy to wait a few more years. With diminishing returns we are not likely to see huge visual increases anyway, so they can stretch the generations out longer if needed.

@themightyant The difficulty spikes really caught me off guard. The cutesy nature of the game is in sharp contrast to the combat which for boss fights could be really challenging.

Did some more on Nioh 3 as planned and its such a good game so far. My only comment is that its a touch on the easier side due to the new mechanics such as jumping, open world exploring, weapon reforging. It all allows you to build the exact character you want, and if you do everything does have you a higher level than the games expects you to be.

That said I dont think its bad being easier as it will allow more people to play the game as the skill ceiling is much lower than Nioh 2 which had a few really tough moments, especially early game. Its very much like Elden Ring in how the added customisations made it easier than DS3 in a lot of ways as you could be anything.

My Copy of Nioh 3 finally arrived this morning so I shall be playing that until its finished now. I had started Dark Souls 3 last sunday whilst I was waiting for it to arrive and made it all the way to Pontiff which I was happy with in a week.

I also got the replacement PS3 set up so had a quick blast on Time Crisis 4 with the light gun. Also need to get some batteries and set up Guitar Hero again.

@Duck_Farmer Just wait till you hit FFVI as thats probably the best of the SNES era.

@MrPeanutbutterz How far into DS3 are you, I just reached Pontiff and I forgot how much I hate that guy, and Irithyll in general. Fume was bad enough but Fume on Crack is vile.

@Fiendish-Beaver How does it compare to the original Code Vein? I enjoyed the original despite it being a more basic souls like. I played with the 100% block greatsword in the original as I to suck at parries.

I might give this a go as the visuals style is really good and does set it apart from anything else on the market currently. Its not my sort of game but who knows it may convince me.

If its a full remake with more modern gameplay like GoW and Ragnarok then I am interested. If its just a graphical reskin then much less so as the PS3 versions still hold up.

I liked the trailer from what I saw but it will be a long time before I look to pick it up as I have to much to play. Visual style is also a plus as it addresses my number one annoyance with modern sidescrollers. I find they are normally to busy with effects and its distacting where as this looks very clean in comparison.

Very good State of Play with lots of games that stood out.

Kena looks visually stunning and an overall improvment from the first game.
LoK Defiance should be fun but its cruel torture giving us the demo for the unreleased sequel.
Control Resonant should be good but I wasn't convinced by the amount of fog in that showing. It just made everything look blurry, especially in the boss fight.
Project Windless Mega Chicken thing, just take my money!
007 First Light The game looks good and the trailers all really feel like a classic bond adventure. The only thing I am not sold on is Bond as the character just doesn't seem quite right. He just feels like he has American mannerisms rather than the more dry British personality.
SH Townfall looks good, the scottish fishing village is really helping add to the creepy nature.

Other games that are caught my eye 4Loop, Brigandine Abyss, Galactic Racers, Rev Noir, Marathon all look like they have potential even if they are not all my sort of game.

I just bought Spider-Man 2 but I'm okay with that as it supports a studio that's worth the spend.

Looking forward to the full state of play tomorrow.

I have no idea if this is correct as I haven't done maths since college and that was a long time ago... but according to Ai the amount of unique combinations for 4 players picked out of a roster if 20 is 4,845. If it was a roster of 20 and 2v2 then there would only be 190 unique combinations for each side.

Not my sort of game but I think its fair to say there is lots of combinations available and thats before they add more characters.

Sadly my copy of Nioh 3 didn't arrive so I finished Silent Hill 2 and then had a bit more of a play on Townsmen VR before starting a Sellsword twinblade run on DS3 for a challenge. I usually play shield builds as I suck at dodging and parrying, so this certainly added a challenge.

Played the demo and it doesn't work at all for me, i felt the shooting was pretty generic and the the hacking only took away from the gameplay and didn't really add anything at all.

It's one to cross off the wishlist.

I've just reached the Labyrinth on Silent Hill 2 so I hope to finish that this weekend. Overall its a brilliant title and I would fully trust Bloober to do 1 and 3. Its another case where the OLED has really helped elevate the game. Dark parts like the prison are very tense when you can't see anything outside of your torch beam. The dual sense static sounds also really helps to ramp that tension up more as it layers quite loudly over the other audio.

Aside from that I picked up loads of games this weekend from trading my PS4 and PS5. Grabbed Astro Bot, Silent Hill F, Ghost of Yotei, Armoured Core 6, Rise of the Ronin, Nioh 3 and Stellar Blade. I will start with Nioh 3 I think as I can't wait to get going with it.

I also picked up a PS3 Superslim as my old PS3 broke years back so I might treat myself to some Guitar Hero for old times sake

EDIT: I may also take a look at the Pragmata demo as its on my wishlist

@PuppetMaster Vagrant Story was such a great game. Its the game I really want them to remaster or fully remake as it was the peak of Square on PS1 imo. The weapon / armour crafting system alone was huge for a game of its time.

It will be interesting to see how far GTA propels these numbers. I've never been interested in the series personally but it's mental how many non gamers has asked when it's out as they will buy a console to play one game.

Not got me but I liked the visual style and understand why you would pick a stripped back style for this sorry of game. The animation trailer was also really good.

@Northern_munkey Just watching the Fextralife review and they tested it on both PC (3090) and PS5. They found the performance on PS5 to be a stable 60, but on PC they had to dial the setting down to reach 60 and it was less stable.

@Northern_munkey I didn't notice anything major during the demo. There was only one issue similar was in the town area where I could see a large enemy who was a long distance away from a rooftop and his movements where laggy, but everything close up was normal and working fine. So I didn't put it down to FPS as much as coding for something that probably should not of rendered from that distance.

Edit: I should mention I tried it on Performance mode on the PS5 and then also Quality mode when my Pro arrived last Saturday.

Genuinely cannot wait, I know it won't be game of the year but I imagine it could be mine based on the demo

Did everything on the demo and utterly loved it. From the moment we saw the trailer it was the game I was most excited for in the immediate future, and it did not disapoint. It felt like the difficulty was taken down a touch from the Alpha demo which I am fine with, the Bloodedge demon especially seemed to be more manageable.

One change I really like from N2 is how weapons now have three reference stats and simply scale (High, Mid, Low) based on which stat you have the most, second and least points in. Plus having the blacksmith able to change the reference stats is great as you can make any weapon work with any build.

I also like how they have made the respec system completely free and easy to use at any point. That mixed in with the gear sets will make a nice difference for people who like different builds.

@SterlingEyes the best advice I can give is toggle the option that forces style shift when shift countering. That way you don't get forced into a mid combat weapon swap which is horrible. I find it allows you to get to grips with the two modes, or just play the one you prefer.

The pro is up and running so I decided to start Silent Hilll 2. I am just up to the Apartments and its already ticking some big nostalgia vibes.

I played the Nioh 3 Demo yesterday and that was every bit as good as I hoped it would be. I was not sure on the Samurai vs Ninja in the alpha, but I like how you can basically just stay one or the other if you prefer and its just two different play styles. The little tweaks and changes from the Alpha seem decent and its good to see the full weapon roster returned. Finished everything the Demo had to offer including killing the Bloodedge Demon as the final fight since that guy is on meth. Overall really impressed with what they have done and can't wait for the full release.

At present I am not playing anything as I treated myself to a Pro which arrived this morning, so its currently transferring data. Picked up the Pro + Drive bundle from Very and used their 20% very pay discount to get the price down to £606. Also stuck it through Top Cashback so I should get roughly another £45 back from that, plus what ever I get for trading in the old PS5 and PS4.

Nice little bit of a saving there

Going to have to check this out as its probably my most hyped game for 2026.. I was not entirely convinced on the Ninja / Samurai modes but if I can play the whole game as a tanky spear bro I am happy.

@ECharles More likely he doesnt care one way or the other. All that matters is that they paid him a few million to have the final trailer spot.

@Rich33 If they cancel it without showing anything they get grief for being incompetant and not explaining. If they showed footage of a complete failure, they get grief for incompetant management of a project, and laying the blame at the devs feet. Honestly they would be getting grief either way so best just show nothing and at least handle it as professionally as possible.

I feel this will be a classic mileage may vary title where its reviewed down just because it not the classic FS clone. I play most souls likes and in fairness very few of them have stellar narritive or interesting dialogue, because it not the focus of that type of games.

As for the visuals its very much a case of do you like the anime style or not. Looks like the main concern is the frame drops.

For my money FFXII still holds the top spot for the worst final fantasy game. The gameplay, story and characters just did nothing for me at all compared to the other titles in the series.

@Toot1st Steam also has achievments, unless you meant you want them to keep increasing your gamerscore. Granted that might appeal to some, but I imagine its the minority.

@BleedingDreamer If the next Xbox is just a PC with access to multiple storefronts including Steam then Play Anywhere becomes redundant for any future purchases as you can just buy on Steam and have access on PC / console PC. Its a niche feature that may at present have some limited value to users, but these rumoured changes would reduce that value.