@Arkantos2990

What?!? I never knew that, thanks for sharing! I just hope I don't forget about it the next time I need to do so.

I'm thoroughly enjoying Ghostwire Tokyo, far more than expected. It's actually kept me from finishing Horizon: Forbidden West. I'm also just a tad burned out with open world games at the moment, and while GWT is technically open world, it's not feeling like the usual open world games that can grow boring by being overly filled with content.

It's not without its faults though. The skill tree is pretty bland, the powers are mostly lackluster, and all the upgrades are about as bad as a skill tree can be. That said, the atmosphere, bright and colorful visuals, and decent story are really capturing my attention. I also really enjoy exploring this version of Tokyo. The traversal mechanics are not entirely unique, but they are a ton of fun. Making a game fun to traverse through is one of the highlights of gaming for me.

@get2sammyb

Well, they could make all the older games downloadable. Too bad Sony botched the PS3 with the cell processor. Between the price, telling people to get a 2nd job to afford one, the cell making it difficult to develop games for, and the cell being the reason PS3 backwards compatibility isn't available, Sony's decision to be different really backfired on them for gamers like me.

This looks really good! Unfortunately, I feel FarCry 6 is a step backwards in the series. The lack of a skill tree, making enemies bullet sponges, the totally broken and unnecessary ammo system, and on and on.

I'm done with the series until they make a big change.

Run, run as far as you can!

@PhhhCough

I was wondering about that. I am not a fan of Soulslike games at all. I rented it for PS5 and it...seemed like a Souls game. 🤷‍♂️

I sent it back but will try renting it again on Series X since that's the console my brother has it on. I'm hoping co-op and perhaps a mage build could at least increase my interest in the game. I'm generally the type that likes in your face melee combat in action games with a focus on melee. I typically leave my ranged playstyle for shooters.

I do wish the combat was more like Sekiro though. I was surprisingly, really enjoying that game, up until the first boss fight.

Impressive, is this considered Fromsoft's biggest success at reaching a wider audience?

On a side note, its a good thing Square Enix wasn't the publisher. They'd consider those sales to be a massive disappointment. 🙄🤦‍♂️

I bet Babylon's Fall is just killing it for them though. 🤣

@lolwhatno

Oh, the series definitely needed a shakeup. I'm glad it got one.

I didn't play Unity at launch, I played it about a year after when I finally bought a PS4. By then I had very few issues and I really enjoyed it.

One thing I loved in Unity and I really want to see return is the co-op mode. PvP was unique, but I had lost interest in most PvP games by that point, but co-op was a blast.

Sadly Ubisofts decision to focus on single player only and stop working on PvP led to a stop to co-op as well. It's a shame.

@GalacticBreakdown

I get that, but I can love a game, but still heavily criticize it's faults. Just because I love a game doesn't mean I'll overlook it's faults.

Remedy's Control for example. I adore the game, but it was a long time before it was considered to have acceptable performance.

Why would I give a game a perfect score for what it **could** be, after months of fixes? A game should be reviewed for what it **is** on release.

I'm not saying it's not an amazing game, but faults shouldn't be overlooked because we're enamored with a game.

@lolwhatno

It's Evie, she's one of the playable siblings from Assassin's Creed Syndicate.

I kind of miss the cinematic Batman style combat of the older AC games.

Oh dang, it comes with Tournament Fighters?!!?

YES!!!

Save states and rewind functionality too? Haha, now I can finally beat that annoying dam stage with the electric seaweed!

https://youtu.be/DqfRus5ePmI

So it's Earth Defense Force, with a decent budget, while taking the Javelins from Anthem but omitting the best part about them...the flying and Iron Man simulation.

The industry is feeling so homogenized and seemingly running out of unique or good ideas.

Maybe I've just become jaded, but I'm starting to lose more and more interest in this hobby as the industry heads in a direction I don't like.

🤷‍♂️

Maybe I should focus on my music again, at least then my wife will stop complaining I'm wasting a talent. 😄

"See, regardless of the effort that’s gone into the visuals here, Wonderlands is very much Borderlands 3, re-skinned. That was to be expected and is not any kind of surprise, really, but it’s so close to its predecessor that it all feels a touch redundant."

Going into Borderlands 3, all I wanted was more Borderlands, I didn't need a shakeup. Considering my brother and I never finished Borderlands 3, it turns out I do think I wanted a shakeup.

Borderlands 3 wasn't a big enough improvement gameplay-wise. I won't bother going on about the downgrades in writing, characters, and most of all the main villains.

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands looks to be too much of the same. Not enough of a shakeup for me to care. As someone who absolutely loved the first 2 in the series, I think I may just be done with it. A shame really.

@WallyWest

There is no perfect game, but to the masses, a 10 would likely be perceived as just that, a perfect game. I do get that, and I know games are difficult to make. BotW, performance aside, is limited by hardware and it was a first of its kind for the series. I'm not even blindly praising BotW, it has tons of issues for me.

However, this happens with every Fromsoft game, and it's not a hardware limitation. It's a developer issue. So why do they get a free pass?

If any other developer constantly released games with performance issues, they'd be heavily criticized.

Now Elden Ring clearly isn't a disaster like Cyberpunk, and it's not even as bad as Remedy's Control was on consoles for a long time, but it still seems so many reviewers choose to ignore the performance issues.

I cant think of any games out there that people vehemently defend more than a Fromsoft game or BotW. It's as if people are personally insulted when those games get criticized. It's just absurd.

@GalacticBreakdown

It bothers me because Fromsoft and Nintendo often get free passes on problems while reviewers and gamers will ream other games for it.

I will criticize any game, whether I love it or not or even if it's my favorite game ever. I'm not trying to hate on the game or developer, I know they make great games. Even though they're not for me.

I'm just critical of everything and when it happens to be something I don't often enjoy, people just usually give me a response like yours.

I dont want to diminish anyone's enjoyment of a game, but if a game is going to be praised as one of the best games ever, it should be as close to perfect as any game can be. Obviously performance issues should detract from a score. The whole, "well its a Fromsoft game, so we expect this" is a poor excuse.

Another problem is scores in and of themselves. People put too much value in a number. Oh, if it's not an 8 or above it's garbage and I won't play it. That's stupid.

I guess I just get more critical when games with issues get near unanimous praise while ignoring the issues. Not many reviews I've read for the game even mention performance issues.

I'm actually highly interested in Elden Ring, a first for me in regards to Fromsoft. Well, aside from Sekiro which I did enjoy, but found it too difficult. So it's a great game, just not for me.

@Medic_Alert

I was listening to that podcast earlier today, I still need to finish it. However, one cast member even mention the game hitching on him mid swing during a boss fight resulting in his death.

It's clear a lot of people just overlook a games performance in their review scores. I feel performance issues should lower a score, no matter how good a game is. I'm not saying drop it from a 10 to a 7 or anything that drastic, bit it's enough to where it should keep it away from perfect 10's. Of which I feel no game released to date should even have a perfect 10.

@KundaliniRising333

Exactly!

I haven't played it, but is the Demon Souls remake the only game of Fromsoft's that actually runs well? But it's not actually made by Fromsoft.

The least Fromsoft could do is hire the necessary talent to ensure their game is optimized properly and runs smooth.

But too many gamers give them a pass, so they can get away with it. 🙄

@WallyWest

But it should matter. I don't get the rationale that it's ok because..."it's a Fromsoft game, they're all like that."

I was listening to Podcast Beyond today and one cast member mentioned how the game hitched on him mid swing and resulted in him dying during a boss fight.

I'm not trying to just talk s**t about the game. I'll admit Fromsoft games aren't for me, but im actually interested in a Fromsoft game for the first time.

If a game can't hit its targeted framerate regularly, than that should knock down it's score.

I'm critical of all games, even ones I love. For example, Control was an absolute mess on base PS4/XB1, to the point it would become a stop motion game. Yet the game still received tons of praise and that didn't reflect on its score for most reviewers. I loved the game, but it was a mess and it was unacceptable.

I actually think Elden Ring may help reinvent the open world game genre, and I'm happy for it because it needs it.

Right now PC players are saying it's a mess on PC, bit why should that be acceptable and the game still given perfect 10's?

If it takes multiple patches and weeks or months to fix, if at all, a game shouldn't get a free pass and still receive a perfect score. I still think no game has ever deserved a perfect 10.

@Matroska

Oh, I hear you, and I agree. I'm not a fan of BotW. It does some great things, and I give credit where it is due, but it is far from the greatest game ever made that so many claim it is.

While I'm not a soulslike fan, I am rather interested in Elden Ring. My brother is a souls fan and has tried to get me into them. Sekiro almost did as I was highly enjoying it, but then I came up against the first boss and said, no, still not for me. I have up playing games that cause stress and frustration.

I definitely feel like Nintendo above all others get the free pass treatment, it rrally bothers me too. Even something as common as accessibility options in games today, and for as much as Nintendo likes to brag its games are for all, they're probably the worst offender of giving gamers the most bare bones options to play a game ever.

@huyi

I think that was the whole point of the game. Enemies die in one hit, but so do you.

I've only tried the demo on Switch for a bit as it was the only place I'm aware of that has/had a demo. Not sure if it's still on there.

It would be great if there was a setting without the OHK mechanic.

I'm a big fan of Mirrors Edge, so I had hoped this was just a more action packed take on the idea.

**Edit**

I just discovered the devs added an accessibility mode. It's not an easy mode or anything, but it could help make the game less frustrating.

I may give it a go now. As I've gotten older, I no longer care about the whole 'Git Gud' fad in gaming. I don't mind a challenge, but im just not a fan of roguelike mechanics or die once and it's back to the start. That's archaic game design to me and should have been left in the early days of the hobby. 🤷‍♂️

How is it getting such great review scores if the game has issues like this?

Other games would get reamed for this. 🙄

@WallyWest

But why is it accepted?

@daveofduncan

Ghostrunner looked great, until I read about the one hit death design choice. I tried the demo on Switch, no thanks, it's a mechanic I knew I would hate and trying it for myself confirmed it.

Oh well, another crappy month. 🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

@Voltan

Awesome! That's even better! I really need to get back to playing Sackboy.

@Voltan

I've not seen this, is this part of the LBP collaboration or something in HFW? (Spoiler free please)

You know what, I would definitely play through a Horizon game with those character models. 😁

It'd be great to see then in HFW as well. Perhaps if and when it eventually releases on PC in 3-5 years.

@twitchtvpat

Indeed! I do hope this doesn't mean we'd ever not get a sequel. Instead of treating it like Destiny 2 and just constantly adding to it where it becomes overly bloated.

@RevGaming

**EDIT** **I misread your comment as you "can't" understand, not "can". But I'll leave my original comment below regardless.**

At least in the case of Visceral, I'd leave too after EA ruined a good thing with Dead Space 3, and then shutting down their Star Wars game while simultaneously merging a large portion of thwir atudio into a Battlefield support studio. Particularly Battlefield Hardline, probably the worst in the series.

Between all that, and the tension behind the scenes, I don't blame them for leaving.

https://www.usgamer.net/articles/ex-visceral-developer-on-ea-closing-the-studio-it-was-a-mercy-killing

As for everyone else, it was likely lots of behind the scenes BS they grew tired of. Some probably wanted a change. Being in the AAA space for long periods of time, while working on similar games and all, sometimes a break out is needed.

Gamers can blame themselves for the state of the industry. We let these companies get away with so much BS.

"Vote with your wallet!"

Yeah, clearly gamers are, and they're saying..."you want to screw us over? Sure, why not, here...have my money!" 🤦‍♂️

Considering this will most assuredly be a paid upgrade, and likely not cheap, I'll pass.

Rockstar got enough money out of me when I repurchased GTA5 for PS4. I don't care how significant the upgrades will be.

If Sony's planned live service games will go the Destiny route...none. Bungie turned Destiny into a money milking, grind fest, second job machine.

I am so done with this type of game.

@LiamCroft

Thanks for the responses!

@LiamCroft

First off, thanks for the review!

1) How are the changes to the grappling hook? I read somewhere previously Techland changed it. It's supposedly less like Batman's, and more in line with how one would really work. Have we lost our ability to zip to the top of a building via grapple? (Please...no! 😔)

2) How is the stamina in the game? I read stamina works with the Paraglider. Hopefully we can hang on for a decent amount of time.

I was kind of hoping the Dying Light 1 grapple and the new paraglider would work somewhat like they do in the Just Cause series. 😁
Doubtful though.

3) My biggest concern with the game are little design annoyances. Are there a lot of them in the game, or anything in particular off the top of your head?

For example, I've read about a constant meter ticking before you turn into a zombie, with varying degrees of speed. I believe it was something like your chance at turning becomes slower during the day but faster at night. Something of that nature.

I honestly find mechanics like this highly annoying. If it's obtrusive enough, it would turn me off the game entirely.

Thanks

@OmegaStriver

Well that would totally screw over Mario + Rabbids, and I dont want that.

That's the last thing I want, especially if Bungie is hoping out. They've totally botched D2, and their pricing structure is abhorrent.

Pass!

What's the point of spending all that money and buying Bungie then?

Listen, I do not want more of all this console exclusive BS, but this seems like a waste.

Unless I missed this part somewhere. Bungie will still independently develop and can still self publish, but does Sony own the rights to whatever they create or publish?

This is cool for fans of the game, but I really wish Sony would make their State of Play presentations about more than one game. Or at least have more frequent presentations.

If this means I no longer have to see CoD ads on my Playstation, I guess it was worth it. 🤣

You know what would be nicer? Letting us choose to ONLY insall one or the other. So we could save precious PS5 HDD space by only installing the one being played.

This is something I think all game 'collections' need to allow. Same if I only want to install the single player portion and not the multi-player of a game if I have no desire to play it, or vice versa.

Well a nice compromise would be having it powered down in the beginning of HFW, or not usable at all. Geurilla could have us quest for a replacement power source, one that we wouldn't get until the end game, basically making it a new game plus piece of equipment.

I only really used it in the Frozen Wilds DLC , the Frostclaw/Fireclaw enemy types were a bit of a pain in the butt when first encountered.

Honestly, I'm ok with it not being in the game as long as we get some cool new armor sets. Most of the sets in HZD were lackluster in both usage and looks.

I just want better perks on armors, and better designs. I'd also love a transmog system.

@naruball

I haven't paid more than $40/year for PS+ in a long time. I'm also set for years. I'll still mildly complain at times because I don't want a bed trend to continue. I'm mostly satisfied with the service.

Oftentimes I don't care about any of the games. I often own the good ones already due to PS+ discounts and sales. So it's partly my own fault for being displeased. There are very few games left I even want.

@naruball

Sorry, I'm not sure which of my comments your referring to, but im going to guess the one about a Last of Us remake.

I have no idea if it's true, as of now it's just a rumor, but if it is true it's a vast waste of time and resources.

@Rob_230

Thanks for the response.

@commentlife

Well, Sony was riding high at the end of the PS2 era, and look what happened with the PS3. History repeats itself.

We can only hope Sony realizes this before its too late.

I switched from the 360 to the PS4, I have no problem going from the PS4 to the Series X.

@nessisonett

Agreed! We currently have the return of PS3 launch era arrogant Sony. They are going to screw things up for themselves again. It's like every generation these companies go from being on the top, to being on the bottom, and vice versa.

@Sixth-Samurai

It's just the Borderlands 2 DLC in a standalone edition.

Any Borderlands fan will have likely played it, years ago considering it released on June 25th, 2013.

This is super old content, just recently released as a standalone option by Gearbox. This is a horrible choice for a PS+ game.

Wow! Starting the year off right in the gutter!

Sony better hit it out of the park with whatever changes they're planning, because right now, PS+ hasn't been worth the price of admission for about at least the past 6 months.

@Korgon

Yeah, just when I thought tying trophies to difficulty settings was bad enough, even worse when the hardest difficulties are sometimes locked to 2nd playthrough.

But a speed run trophy? Where I can play for 4 hours and 1 minute, botch the trophy, and have to start over again? No thanks!

The other major annoying type of trophy is one that requires multiple playthroughs to get. Prey for example would need at least 4 playthroughs to get the platinum. Get that crap outta here.

@Jayslow

Next up, The last of Us remake. Totally unnecessary and a waste of time and resources. 🤦‍♂️

Ok, so let me see if i have this right in regards to upgrading digital versions.

If I don't upgrade and leave my games as two seperate releases, I will still have two separate trophy lists as they are two separate games.

But if I do upgrade, they get bunched into a new list with one platinum? Or do I still have two separate trophy lists?