JohnnyShoulder

FromSoftware games should never have difficulty settings. People who reject this argument don’t seem to understand it’s not about elitism or even a general position taken on difficulty settings. It’s specifically about From games, where the fundamentals of the games – your stats, inventory, weapons, clothes, even your location – are inextricably informed and given meaning by the challenge. If you add an easy mode (beyond the difficulty-easing measures already there) you risk making any of these elements trivial. I’ve lost count of the number of games where the decisions you make in respect of any of the above lack weight or meaning. A game shouldn’t be forced to compromise on its fundamental principles in the hope of a bigger audience when thousands of games out there already do.

Also I think some are lumping accessibility and difficulty together, but they are different things people.

30 hours in and am about level 25ish. Beat Margit earlier today and explored Stormveil Castle, upto just after the second Banished Knight. Who I think are the Elden Ring version of Black Knights. Think I've done most of the NPC side quests in Limgrave and beaten a few of the underground dungeons. Loving the exploration, sense of discovery and the emergent gameplay in the open world, and not having a gazillion map markers pop up.

Did I miss something, when did the native PS5 version drop? Or is it only available digitally on PS5?

Can't say I pay much attention to the story in racing games and I always end playing Spotify. Aslong as the racing is fun, that is good enough for me.

I will probably be classed as a heathen for saying so, but I would pick this up over Gran Turismo 7 any day. I don't play that many racers any way, and the ones I do tend to be the more arcadier ones.

Will check this out at some point, maybe after Elden Ring. Still have the disk.

Samurai most likely. I do like using bow and arrows as a secondary weapon to thin out the herd from a distance.

@CJD87 You can turn auto updates off in the console settings, but not on a individual game by game basis. You can also play your console offline.

Really enjoyed the first game, but having just completed it, it will awhile until get round to it.

Defo one to get sooner rather than later for me.

@BritneyfR_ee That is a good point about the story. I thought it was serviceable but totally forgettable at the same time.

I really enjoyed the first game, but this was released too close to Elden Ring for my liking. Will defo pick it up at some point in the year though.

@LiamCroft Ah cool, that does not sound as bad now. Cheers for the reply!

Hmmmm, not sure i like the sound having to be in the sun to keep you immunity up. @LiamCroft How bearable does that get the more you upgrade? Things like that always do my head in. Kinda reminds me having to keep popping pills for Malaria in Far Cry 2. This is still in my radar, but I was always gonna get it a later in the year. Hopefully most of the bugs would have been squashed by then.

I'm a bit torn on this one. This acquisition is a lot better than MS buying up whole publishers with a load of developers with them, and keeping the games mulitplatform is a good, very un-Sony like move. I also like that the messaging has been very clear.

Just not sure with there being more acquisitions down the line and what that will mean for the industry going forward. It was pretty inevitable in all honesty though. Not to say all acquisitions are bad, and I prefer to judge each one on their own. Guess we will have to wait and see on that one, but it feels like it's gonna a bit a dog eat dog world for video games.

It also one of the first times Sony has gone down the shortcut route, having not worked that closely with Bungie previously. I totally understand the reasons why and no doubt Sony and their first party studios will gain a lot from Bungie's experience with FPS games and GaaS.

Yeah I think I'll be giving this one a hard pass.

It is one of the reasons I'm thinking of cancelling my PS Now sub, due to not being able to upgrade to the PS5 versions most of the time. Will wait until we see what Project Spartacus before deciding though.

Sure, nothing is off the table at this point. But the more I've thought about it the less I think it will happen. Sony will probably just double down on their third party exclusives and first party output.

These have never worked correctly for me in the past, but will give it another go later.

As long as Sekiro 2 isn't announced, I'm think I will be ok over it.

I can see only 2 viable options for Sony.
Try and compete and buy a publisher also. But I don't think they can afford to do that
Or Gamepass to be on PlayStation.

It all depends on the game for me. Journey was an enjoyable experience at only a few hours long but I also enjoyed sinking 180 hours into Returnal. So I don't think there is an ideal game length for me. I have a bigger issue when a game starts to feel repetitive and I become bored with the game, but that could be after 5 hours or fifty.

Have zero interest in Persona 5 but may add Strikers to my library if I ever fancy something a bit buttons mashy. Will defo add Dirt 5 as that has been on wish list since it was released.

I wonder if a key plot point for the TV show will be hidden away in the game?

As someone else that broke through the 100 hour mark with the game, I agree with giving it the number 1 slot.

Apparently it won't be at The Game Awards and it is more likely to be at E3 next year. That is what they said on Sacred Symbols anyway.

I would still take this with a pinch of salt. After all, they (along with others) got the Switch Pro stuff wrong, so I wouldn't take everything that comes out from Bloomberg as gospel.

Generally a bit fed up of all these shared/connected universes which are popular in media in recent times.

Can't say this news tempts me to try out the latest Battlefield game any time soon.

The nature docs available in UHD are absolutely stunning and well worth a watch.

Don't call me Shirley.

Returnal
Demon's Souls
Astro's Playroom

Sweet, good to know they found a workaround.

Performance all the way for me, which will be the norm for me going forward.

I've been holding out for this since the release date got announced and I've just snagged the collector's edition from Amazon. First time I've got one of these super expensive editions as they've always been sold out by the time I've decided I've wanted one.

It is between Vice City and V for me. 3 blew my mind when it came out but Vice City improves on it in almost every way. Never completed San Andrea as I found it a bit bloated and wasn't keen on the lifestyle stuff in it. IV was alright but didn't like the protagonist or how relationships were handled. I did play the PS1 games but I don't remember enough about them.

@nessisonett I 'bought' Avengers and Borderlands 3 2nd hand on PS4 and get the free upgrade rather than try them on NOW. The service is in a much need of a revamp, as much as I like using the service.

Played the demo earlier in the year on Switch and thought it was pretty decent when I played it. Quite like Bithell so am keen to support this with a purchase.

@LiamCroft Happy Birthday!

@Th3solution It had a spike in player engagement when it went on gamepass, but that was before this happened.

Streaming from the service has always been a bit spotty for me, but I've yet to try it since I've moved and upgraded my internet. It has improved over the last couple of years, and it has usually been good enough to try out a game.

@KilloWertz "PS fans are complaining about the number of articles on PS fan site Push Square complaining about PS"

I expect to receive royalties if that gets used. Cos we all know that it is how it works.

Kinda scrapping the bottom of the barrel with things to complain about now. What next, the name of the updates? Oh, wait... 🙄 😉

@SplooshDmg @Weebleman Wow, they really are trolling us now! 😂

At this stage it wouldn't surprise me if Rick Astley appears at 4K 60fps when you open it up.

Cool will get the PS5 version when it drops. Quite like to support the developer seeing as I enjoyed the first game so much.

I've heard of rubber banding in games, but this stretches things to a whole new level.

Loved the first and like that the dev is putting some effort into adding some features for the DualSense controller in the sequel.

Good month for me as I've not played any of em!

Cool. Always thought 3D audio was a bit of a gimmick, and then Returnal happened and must have unlocked something in my brain as I've noticed it more since playing that game. See also: 60fps.