IntrepidWombat

Jeez Sony, you shouldn't have made such a solid machine. What were you guys thinking making a console that could be relevant 12+ years into the future?

These kinds of homemade portables are so neat. In particular, the one where guys were cutting down Wii motherboards to create portable Gamecubes. Love to see this.

Remember when game companies could release 3 or 4 high quality games in a single console gen? Man, those were really the best years.

If I'm reading the article correctly, it seems like his work on this was recent. I wonder how far along they are if MoCap is still in production / recently wrapped.

Day off is already booked. The store opens up at 11, so I'll plan to be there when they're open, run over to my favorite BBQ place for lunch, and eat while it installs. I'm an early riser, so I'll use my morning hours to knock out some laundry and get some grocery shopping done. I'm ready.

Resigned? Redundant? Repugnant?

Forgive me, I'm feeling rather recalcitrant.

Let's hope this is the team that brought us RE2:R and RE4:R. This one has the potential to be the best of the bunch.

@ErrantRob I am indeed. We usually only get one big snow a year, so hopefully this is the one.

I'll be snowed in this weekend - as long as power holds up, gaming is what I'll be doing. I mean, even if it doesn't, I'll still be gaming, just on a handheld probably.

I'm nearing the end of Final Fantasy VI. There will be some catharsis there - I dropped it mid way through in a strange time of my life, and it'll be cool to get it finished.

After that, I'd like to dip back into Control, Fallout 4, and Tormented Souls II. If I'm still feeling some old school RPGs, I have the whole rest of the Pixel Remaster collection.

Have a great weekend everybody, and stay warm out there.

@Dimey DD/MM/YYYY for life!

Final Fantasy VI and Fallout 4. I've got myself in a pickle on the former, so I need to grind some levels and gil or contemplate loading an earlier save. About 10 hours into the latter, and the open world fatigue is creeping in. I may hop back over to Tormented Souls II.

Beyond that, playoff football and normal weekend chores await.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Hopefully the game store has extra copies of the steel book. I waited too long to preorder it.

I may buy the Switch 2 controller just for giggles and grins. I have no intention of ever buying a Switch 2, but it's cool and can sit next to my unopened PS2 Chainsaw controller.

I could see myself using this if I was on backup power and trying to trim power consumption, but the lack of support is a little silly. I'll stick with low power handhelds and board games if the grid is down and we're running the generator.

@Korgon I started Cold Steel for the same exact reason and devoured them all in one summer. The Crossbell games are some of my favorite RPGs ever.

Pre ordered mine last month, and it hasn't shipped yet. I'm not broken up about it - still so behind playing these. Haven't even started Calvard yet.

I'm about half way through Control and like it a lot. Real fun to just pick up and play for a little bit. I liked Alan Wake a lot, though Alan Wake II isn't grabbing me (the mind mapping thing is weird, does it get deemphasized later on?) - this looks really cool. Definitely looking forward to it.

@Kraven FFT is a game that I've been playing every couple of years for (nearly) the last 30 years - this iteration is outstanding. I always manage to find something new to appreciate in each run or a new build that's hilariously effective. Have fun!!

Started Fallout 4 for the first time. It's very much a Bethesda game. It's fine, but I don't know that I will stick with it for long. I do imagine that I'll get my $5 out of it, but it's the type of game that gets boring to me rather quickly.

I'm also rolling on Final Fantasy VI pixel remaster. I was playing the GBA version 17 years ago when life went nuts and never got back to it. Finally ready to beat this one.

That'll just be in my limited free time - I have a plumbing project that needs finishing, playoff football to watch with my son, and nieces and nephews (with spouses) coming over for a late Christmas gathering.

Have a great weekend everybody.

Fallout 4 is $5. I haven't played a Fallout game in years, so why not? I started it last night, and it's neat.

Incidentally, it's fun to juxtapose the "War never changes" line with the one from Metal Gear Solid 4, "War has changed."

I enjoy a good Resi knockoff. Fobia St. Dinfna Hotel was one that I played last year that had a couple of neat twists to it. I don't really have a problem with it.

It's neat so far. It is very much a Parasite Eve clone in some ways - tool items to move weapon traits from one to the other, BP to upgrade weapon stats, the menu flow to reload a weapon - all basically the same. It is interesting that the action bar has two sections - you can melee with one section or shoot with two sections.

I didn't finish the demo as I got pulled in other directions last night, but it's definitely going to be worth keeping an eye on for PE fans.

I have no expectations. It makes things a lot easier.

These are niche games in niche genres. Accessibility is great, I like seeing those options - but changing the core gameplay of an established franchise makes it something else entirely. It's possible - Resident Evil has reinvented itself several times. It's gone off the tracks a time or three, but I think most fans of the franchise like where it is today.

Falcom handled this very gracefully with their recent Trails titles - action combat in the field that feels a bit like Ys with a quick swap into the turn based system that fans of the franchise expect. I just don't know if I trust anybody else to do it as well as they did with RPGs.

Final Fantasy XVI resembles Devil May Cry more than it does Final Fantasy X. It wasn't a bad game necessarily, but you can see the trend chasing in the writing and in the combat style - it just didn't feel like a Final Fantasy game.

My first is to just have fun. Stop stressing about what I "need" to play or what I "need" to finish - I don't need to play or finish anything. It's a hobby, and I'm supposed to enjoy it. If I want to play Resident Evil 2 for the 57th time, that's what I'm going to do. If I'm not feeling it after 30 minutes, that's alright too. No more guilt about other newer games that are sitting there.

The second goes along with the first - keep branching out. Last year, I played and completed Axiom Verge and Dispatch, games from genres that I do not typically play. I had a blast with both of them. Maybe I explore more Metroidvanias (like maybe finally playing through Super Metroid or finishing the inverted castle in Symphony of the Night), or maybe I go nuts and get a racing game for the first time since Burnout 3.

Last is to not feel compelled to play games in my down time. I have other hobbies that I've neglected - an ATV that really needs some wrenching, a new-ish rifled shotgun build that absolutely should be harvesting deer meat, a good amount of fishing and camping gear - I need to have less FOMO when it comes to games, bottom line.

Have a great year, PS.

Since last we shared, I bought Dispatch and played it twice. I'm letting it cool off for a bit before I go for the platinum.

This weekend should be Tormented Souls II, Control, and maybe something else. I bought a Wingman XE2 last weekend and cycled 5 or 6 different games on the PS3 - its really nice to have full, home button functionality with a modern controller. Shoot, maybe I'll see if I can jump back into Final Fantasy XIII.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Code Violet needs a demo badly! I love the lower quality Resi knockoffs. If this one is at least in the same league as Tormented Souls, it should be a fun one.

Saros and Phantom Blade 0 are going to be on my "wait until they're $30" list. They both look great, but there's already a lot competing with my backlog. Everything Capcom looks great - even Pragmata. The demo really got me interested in that one.

I'm sure there will be others that pop off. Dispatch wasn't even on my radar (or Sonar?), and I blitzed through it twice in three days. I think I can plat it in one more, which is wild because I don't play for trophies.

@D6rkLordS6t6n I don't think you're missing anything, it's just a matter of preference.

I like chocolate a lot. I don't like it to be too sweet though - standard Hershey's bars are not my ja.. I appreciate a soft chew but not fudgy. If I find chocolate that I like, I'm going to keep going back. Sometimes it's cool if it has something neat like peppermint or citrus flavoring, but I just really like a good dark chocolate.

It's the same with turn based combat. I enjoy a system that's well-implemented. For me, this was one of them with some active defense sprinkled in and some neat mechanics that changed with each character.

I agree that some of the level design was pretty straightforward. I didn't care for the Ancient Sanctuary for example (the combat music there is a banger thougb), but there were some other levels that made some really neat use of verticality. The overworld + dungeon + turn based combat is not something we really even get with realistic character models and this kind of tone. Lovers of turn based combat typically have to settle on anime-like art styles, which isn't a problem for many, but can be a turn-off for others.

It's something that a lot of people have wanted for a long time. Lost Odyssey was really the last time we had something that approached this game type, and that was released nearly 18 years ago.

Sorry for the rambling essay. You're not obligated to like a game that the majority of people love. I have zero interest in Yōtei, and I strongly dislike FF7: Rebirth after sinking 36 hours into it. It sucks to think you're missing out on something, but hey, we like what we like.

@Shokwave2 Awesome! Ys VIII was a lot of fun, but like you, I didn't 100% it.

@Shokwave2 Have you played any Ys games? I wonder if they'd be up your alley.

Happy New Year, PS. I am fully prepared to be a Capcom shill this year. RE: Requiem, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and Pragmata will all be day one purchases for me. Falcom will have a few too, but I'm still stacking Trails games in wrappers until I get back to playing JRPGs again.

The last thing I need to buy is more games, but I'm going to be eating great this year for new releases. How exciting!

@Fluberuper That's a great point. If anything, it should help everybody see eye-to-eye.

I liked this game a lot. I do think it's in the right spot, but for my tastes, it wasn't an amazing year or anything. E33, Sky FC (only a few hours in), Dispatch, and Tormented Souls 2 were the only ones to land with me. It certainly wasn't the best game that I played in 2025, but it may be the most impressive.

I like the Clair soundtrack a lot. It was my third favorite soundtrack of the games I played this year, with Unicorn Overlord and Soul Hackers II on top (if you played the latter, don't act like you didn't linger in the COMP Smith shop just to jam).

Nihon Falcom getting flowers? That's amazing! I'm on a Trails break, but they're so darn good.

I just grabbed Dispatch last night. These games aren't usually my jam, but I'm really enjoying it. I'm definitely going to have to set aside a few hours to see what Wuthering Waves is all about.

@clvr Stylistically, he's not wrong. Instead of being condescending and talking down to people when you don't understand the point they're trying to make, try asking questions and having a discussion. It doesn't make you look smart or funny, it only makes me think you got lost on the way to Reddit.

@Max_the_German I think there's enough for Clair to be distinct.

Mario RPG had a timing input during attack to do bonus damage (or to continue certain attacks) - I can't think of another turn-based game in which attacks have button prompts in addition to active parries and dodges. Each character has a different combat mechanic as if he or she is from a completely different game. There aren't a lot of other turn based games that allow for the depth of character build customization. The only ones that I can think of that come close are the Trails games (which itself looks to be inspired by FFVII), but the picto/lumina system is still more complex than the quartz setup.

Just like Souls wasn't the first to do difficult third person character action, Clair obviously wasn't the first to do a lot of the things that it did, but it was the way Sandfall implemented those things together that stands out. If there's such thing is a Clair-like, then you're talking about a turn-based RPG with tight parry/dodge timings, incredibly deep character customization, and maybe some flashy menus in combat.

The series is anything but back. SH: Short Message, SH: Ascension, and SH: f were all pretty poor showings. I feel like I can trust Bloober now, but the releases that continue to fall below expectations will only dilute the brand. I'm usually a wait and see kind of guy, but this strategy of throwing out as many games as they can from different devs to see what sticks didn't work in the 7th gen, and it hasn't been working the last few years either.

This past week, I started and finished Tormented Souls. Kicking myself for not playing it sooner. The second one is on the way. This was the kind of game I needed. RE9 can't come soon enough.

Right now, I'm playing Control on PS5. This is by far Remedy's best game.

I may punctuate it with whatever half-finished RPG tickles my fancy. The stack of those keeps growing. Romancing Saga 2, Trails into Reverie, Trails in the Sky FC, Metaphor ReFantazio, Octopath Traveler, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Fire Emblem Three Houses, Xenoblade Chronicles.... one of those should stick for at least a few hours.

We'll round it out with some Monopoly on PS4 with my wife and son - I may even join them for a game or two of Fortnite, though they have to carry me any time I play with them.

Have an amazing last weekend of 2025, everybody.

It's 4:30 AM on a Saturday. I have no reason to be awake besides a needy cat. Ugggh.

Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven has been fun - I will likely continue through that. I am off work for the rest of the year, so I may take some time to finish a game or two that I've left unfinished for the year.

Edit: I played the Pragmata demo - it's actually a whole lot of fun. And it even ran beautifully on my dumpy little PC, so that's a win in two ways. I'll be getting it on PS5 for sure.

Have a great weekend.

I'm so behind on Trails.... I'll have to binge like I did in 2022 when I did the four Cold Steel games back to back. I'll buy this day one like I do all Trails games now, but it's going to be in the wrapper for a while.

I grabbed the deluxe edition for $12 last week. I've barely started the game, but it seems like it's going to be very hand-holdy. I hate having a yellow marker floating in the middle of the screen telling me where to go all the time. Let me explore, darn it! I'll have to dive into the settings and see if it can be disabled.

Resident Evil
Onimusha
Trails Beyond the Horizon
Trails in the Sky SC
Tomb Raider

I grabbed Hogwarts Legacy on PS5 for $11.99 a day before it was free on Epic. My cope is that it will probably run better on my PS5, and it's only $12. Any gaming time I have will be split between that and the Romancing Saga 2: Revenge of the Seven remake. I see that being touted as a "hidden gem" in a few years.

Today is my wife's birthday - she's a self employed salon owner, sets her own work schedule, and is somehow still putting in 11 hours today. Not because we need the money, but because she was originally going to be off at 1, but decided to take care of nieces and nephews since she's booked until July and couldn't get them in otherwise. She has the best heart.

Lots to do prepping for our combined birthday get together tomorrow. I'm making carnitas in the slow cooker. Have a great weekend, everybody.

@havoc33 If only I was as responsible as you are! In five years, I'd be like, "Hey guys, has anyone tried that new Ghostwire Tokyo game?"

Expedition 33
Final Fantasy Tactics
Trails in the Sky FC

That's all I played off this list.

With basically perfect backwards compatibility, there's no reason not to release less-demanding games like this on PS4. They still get access to the considerable number of people who still haven't upgraded in addition to everyone with a PS5. It's a no-lose situation. I hope that developers continue to release games like this and even remasters of older games (like the recent Lunar remaster for example) for PS4.

I liked it quite a lot.

One thing that stuck with me was the duality of Tomb Raider. The remake of the first one looks incredible - I love the vibrant colors and how it looks to capture the feel of the first game. Lara looks and sounds fantastic. What puzzled me was Catalyst. Lara is a plucky adventurer who explores ruins and carries guns to defend against tigers and freaking dinosaurs. Now she's dropping into a room of people and playing Rambo? Not a big fan of that.

I don't know if this game will be for me or not, but that's one of the best reveal trailers I've ever seen.

I guess I should buckle down and finish the first one. This looks great.

Loved this trailer. Looks great.