Yeah I'd say calling it a graveyard is too cynical, but it is a bit of a bummer seeing as how 90% of these cool and iconic characters are from a bygone era that modern day Sony is completely removed from. Say what you will about all their modern game's individual qualities - there's some good and some bad - but it's indisputable that there is staggeringly less variety in their catalog now compared to previous generations. They've found a moneymaking formula that they mold all their huge games after, and whenever they try to do something "new" it's typically a hollow copy of someone else's big hit that flounders out of the gate. Ironically Astro Bot is like the only modern Sony game off the top of my head that is distinctly unique from the others. Returnal comes to mind as well, but compare that to the massive library of cool and unique games they were publishing / developing right at the start with the PS1. It's just disappointing to think about.
Been watching a playthrough of the game and from what I've seen about 15 hours into it I think the reviewers weren't harsh enough. You can slap a Star Wars skin on some of the most basic, half-baked mechanics done better by all its contemporaries, accompanied by a disjointed hollow shell of a story, and Star Wars fans will gobble it right up. Y'all need higher standards. But then, what else should I expect from Ubisoft.
Lol nope. Give it a few more weeks and it will be forgotten about, until the game awards come around and people briefly remember it for being a failure before returning to the void indefinitely.
I could be wrong but the author seems to think that detractors of this game have some sort of vendetta against it and that's partly the reason why it's failed as hard as it has. But the writing was on the table as soon as it was announced, it's general reception has been a collective groan the entire time, and the player numbers reflect that. It's unprecedented for such a gigantic name backing it but that doesn't change the fact that nobody wanted this, and Sony and Firewalk are just gonna have to take the loss here and try a different strategy.
I didn't play the demo myself but saw about an hour of it. Looks fine but the combat didn't look like anything special and my god these inane characters do not take a single second to shut the hell up. It's still on my radar but now I'll be picking SteamWorld Heist II over Mana for my August RPG.
@BeerIsAwesome Okay I think you're either not getting my point or willfully ignoring it to win a semantics argument. The reason you brought this up in the first place is to imply that people who want Sony to make something different are lying or at least ignorantly obstinate because they don't accept their Overwatch clone. It's not even an implication anymore, you said it yourself a couple of replies back.
I'm saying that's BS. We can want a more diverse library from Sony and simultaneously reject cynical slop when it's brought to the table.
@BeerIsAwesome No I understood what you said, I just don't agree with your premise. And your 'sarcastic list' doesn't mean anything when most of the games you used as examples aren't remotely comparable to each other outside of superficial similarities.
Sony used to publish a much wider and diverse library of games. This got reduced significantly in the PS4 era when budgets started to inflate on big blockbuster games in order to keep up with the ever growing rise in graphical fidelity and industry trends. Japan Studio got dissolved in 2021 my dude, and they were responsible for some of the most unique games available across all generations since the PS1. When people say they want 'something different' they typically mean (typically smaller budget) titles that have their own creative identity given time to shine in the long wait times between the next trillion dollar adventure game. They make these kinds of games periodically, there's just MUCH less of them now.
So no, Sony making a big budget live service Overwatch clone is not 'something different'. It's exactly the kind of thing you'd expect them to do nowadays.
@BeerIsAwesome Glennthefrog already touched on it, but my comment has less to do with the quality of Concord. I'm just not willing to call Sony copying Blizzard and Disney-Marvel's homework something different.
I played the hell out of Street V3 so this is going on the radar. Character designs are goofy but that's coming from someone who regularly played as the Beastie Boys and the Mario Bros., so not much room to talk lol
7 for what's in the game now. It left a bad impression the first time I played it, but after the prologue everything clicked for me and I've been obsessed with it. Solid combat with a bunch of cool characters, the world and story are surprisingly intriguing in how the fantasy elements take a backseat to more grounded plots that fit the urban setting. The game looks and sounds great, everyone agrees on that.
The biggest issue is basically just the resource grind that comes with F2P games. I seriously think this game could be an 8 as it is now if it came as a full priced release with no daily limits or gacha included.
@nessisonett It absolutely was, Square Enix always takes their budget titles out to the pasture, it's very frustrating lol. I don't even like NEO TWEWY and I think it should have done better than it did.
@Absymbel Yeah, I initially wasn't planning on doing the endgame grind but the game got its hooks in me. That's where the bulk of the content is, but it's mostly just fighting the same bosses over and over again and making your characters progressively stronger.
It's one of those games that's just satisfying to play despite the repetition, I still need to return to it to take on the DLC superboss.
Unicorn Overlord (I give a 9) is my game of the year thus far and it's going to take a lot to top it. Stellar Blade and Granblue Fantasy Relink (I give both a 7) are also very good, high recommendations for all three.
Crazy amounts of style and slick animations but the combat has been pretty braindead. Also the mountain of tutorial boxes and cutscenes spewing fantasy lingo within the opening hours does NOT help immersing you into the gameplay and world.
I watched RoboCop 1 & 2 for the first time in anticipation for this game. The first RoboCop movie is now one of my all-time favorites and the video game is pretty damn good too. Wish Teyon had a crack at an Indiana Jones game but I suppose we'll have to settle for the Machine Games dice roll.
Judging by the initial reaction I predict its release playerbase will be a combination of the most die hard of the sony fans and the kind of players who just bounce around to the next new thing.
So maybe an adequate amount of players on release, but I don't see it retaining a healthy number within the first six months. We have like ten trillion other games exactly like this we can use as an example to tell where this is going to go. Nowhere.
@TheAmbienWalrus I'm with you there. Despite not being a huge fan of World & Rise, the core gameplay of Monster Hunter is so fun it's basically a guaranteed get everytime.
That's pretty sick if true. Zero and Code: Veronica are the two that could really benefit from a second chance. Just hope they got the 2 and 4 remake team working on them and not the guys who made the 3 remake or Village.
Would also be interested in seeing the Spencer Mansion in the remake style, but the 2002 RE1 would be hard to top.
I remember getting characters in the original was an insufferable grind. Plus the local multiplayer options were incredibly limited. If that's all the same in the new version it'll definitely be something I bounce off of fast, and I feel like I'm not alone on that. I really want to like this game but when all the live service dreck drives it down it's pretty hard to not just default back to Smash Bros.
Also, one thing that really pisses me off is that the completion bar is almost never accurate. I'll beat a game and it'll tell me I'm only 40% through it and my next activity is like a level in the game from 10-20 hours ago. The menu art is permanently changed to some low resolution jpeg of where the console thinks I am in the game, and of course Sony gives you no option to disable it. Such *****.
Funniest inconsistency on my console: I played Little Goody Two Shoes twice, adding up to over 20 hours of gameplay, but my playstation says I've only played it for 8 minutes lol. World record holder right here!
NG+ definitely surprised me with all the new unlockables, makes the world still worth fully exploring even if you get everything in a base playthrough. More games should do their NG+ modes in similar ways.
I am disappointed by hard mode though, you only take slightly more damage and all the bosses (including the mini-bosses) are now extremely spongey. It's the boring kind of 'hard mode' where the difficulty comes from the sheer attrition rather than any improvement of skill. Still a fun game nonetheless.
@Uromastryx Oh yeah, unironically one of my favorites because of the white and blue (and all the... "backstory" lmao)
As an update to my last post: Finished the game last night and I haven't moved much on my thoughts on it. There are some really awesome bosses in the last couple of areas, but also all the same frustrations I mentioned before plus I noticed that enemies were just getting spongier, which is just a really boring way to increase difficulty. As I predicted the story did not improve and in fact got worse lol, which isn't a huge deal as you can just skip the cutscenes (mostly) and dialogue for subsequent playthroughs - which is what I've been doing for the NG+ run. The only difference I've noticed from hard mode is that enemies do more damage and bosses take much less damage, so not really any game-changing differences that improves the combat (though NG+ gives you some neat skill upgrades so that's a plus) So all in all I'm sticking to that solid 7, I think just about anyone will enjoy this game, so give it a go if you haven't.
The menu says I'm a little over halfway through the game now and I need to finish it to give it a definitive score (am also considering a NG+ run on a hard mode) but for the time being I'd place it at a higher 7.
When this game hits its groove, by which I mean the combat and character customization, it is extremely good *****. The enemy designs are creative and most of them are satisfying to hack apart, and you get a lot of options for fine tuning the way you want to go about fighting. And Eve gets like a thousand unlockable outfits which is always a big plus.
Everything else outside of that though can be a janky or lacking. The exploration has been overall nice, with plenty of secrets littered all over the area maps, but there's a lot of little annoyances that add up and bring it down.
I'm talking invisible walls everywhere and in places that make absolutely no sense, incredibly sensitive platforming where Eve will readily hurl herself off small objects to her death. ***** stop everything to climb the yellow paint ledges that have infected every AAA game. And if enemies have aggroed you, you can forget about interacting with anything within a two mile radius until their dead or give up the chase.
I also don't like how often Adam just gives you the answer to an environmental puzzle, sometimes before I even knew there was one. That always sucks.
The story is also nothing to write home about. None of the characters are particularly compelling and their dialogue is incredibly awkward (made worse by the English dub which I fortunately knew about before playing so I switched to Korean).
I'd obviously have more to say about this section but I haven't finished the game so for all I know the back half may have some god-tier writing (but I doubt it).
But I do enjoy how aloof Eve to all the NPCs, like she barely has any social skills and is just tolerating these freaks lol.
Finally, I find the game a bit too easy and wish hard mode were available from the start.
But as of now I'd say it's sitting pretty at 7 and I can see it ranking up to an 8 if it keeps up the momentum.
Oh, and a 7 on my ranking does NOT equate to mediocre for anyone wondering. 5 is mediocre, 7 is as good as good can get before becoming great, which is 8.
As a side, I just caught every fish in the game and it physically hurt doing it lol.
Good timing I've been listening to this game's unbelievably wonderful soundtrack. I beat the post game super boss once before putting Relink down. I'm still tossed up about whether I'll be tackling these updates as they come or waiting until it's all out and give the main story a full replay on the hardest difficulty.
Reverse covers usually have the better art, unfortunately they almost never include the game's title on the spine so there's no point in swapping it... Unless idk, you want to identify the game on your shelf by an inch of ambient background.
Better than before but man, the original is tough to beat. It's hard to read a definitive expression off the PS2 James in that scene, which I think was intentional. It's a bit sinister. But props to the updated face for the remake, he doesn't look like a crying wojak anymore.
I don't play many multi-player focused games nowadays because I've always preferred the RPG and Adventure stuff. But of the ones I have played they tend to be incredibly shallow experiences. Not for lack of design mind you, a lot of the ones I've played have strong core mechanics, but typically these multi-player games are so gung-ho about milking every dollar you have out of you that they strip that experience down into what feels like just the bones of a game. Different strokes and all that I guess.
The skin suit makes the game harder on account of you now playing one-handed
Watched a live-stream of the demo, it looked fun and I've been convinced to get it. And since the skin suit makes the game more difficult I foresee some awkward explanations to my family in the future lol
Finished the game yesterday clocking in just under 110 hours. This game hooked me as soon as I started, and I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone who's into strategy RPGs. I will say though, it is on the easy side, I played on expert difficulty, and while the challenge definitely ramped up (mostly due to me going to areas earlier than I was meant to) at times, I found myself often steamrolling the enemies more often than not. Keep in mind, there were also several multi-hour long gaps that I spent building my units up in creative ways to combat weaknesses, so your mileage may vary depending on how much you'd like to delve into the unit AI (I didn't play with it much myself until I left Cornia, the first area).
The coolest thing about this game is just how much freedom you have in playing with its mechanics and how hands off it is on the world map. After a certain point you can practically go anywhere and that will lead to harder challenges but greater rewards in terms of new characters and equipment. The story probably isn't anything you haven't seen before but it's got a charming revolving door of side characters to keep it interesting and some solid world building to boot. And there's some satisfying twists at the end if you're that invested (not to mention a big ass glossary that has the backstory on like, every single facet of the world).
The game looks great, it's got those classic Vanillaware designs with plenty of cool, cutesy, and sexy characters abound, though they are a touch less flamboyant and exaggerated than games like Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown. (Even still, I think the elves in this game would make the Digital Foundry guys melt lol) It's also got a great soundtrack, though no song too stand out in my opinion, just generally pleasant to listen to and matches the areas well. Oh! And the localization isn't half bad. I noticed 8-4 in the credits, and they're responsible for localizing my favorite Fire Emblem game (Shadows of Valentia), which is written very similarly to this. I will say some of the dialogue is a little too flowery, even for me, but overall it's a great fit for the world and a disagree with other's assessment that the localization ruins the game (which I understand is a claim thrown out for just about every JRPG).
TLDR, this one's special. I don't give games 9s often, this one is a 9. Play it.
@Ryu_Niiyama How did you find the game's difficulty on your end? I'm curious what exactly changes between options.
Comments 242
Re: Soapbox: Astro Bot PS5 Is Not a Graveyard, It's a Joyful Demonstration of Sony's Unique Ability to Reinvent Itself
Yeah I'd say calling it a graveyard is too cynical, but it is a bit of a bummer seeing as how 90% of these cool and iconic characters are from a bygone era that modern day Sony is completely removed from.
Say what you will about all their modern game's individual qualities - there's some good and some bad - but it's indisputable that there is staggeringly less variety in their catalog now compared to previous generations.
They've found a moneymaking formula that they mold all their huge games after, and whenever they try to do something "new" it's typically a hollow copy of someone else's big hit that flounders out of the gate.
Ironically Astro Bot is like the only modern Sony game off the top of my head that is distinctly unique from the others. Returnal comes to mind as well, but compare that to the massive library of cool and unique games they were publishing / developing right at the start with the PS1.
It's just disappointing to think about.
Re: Star Wars Outlaws Director a 'Little Disappointed' with Critical Reception
Been watching a playthrough of the game and from what I've seen about 15 hours into it I think the reviewers weren't harsh enough.
You can slap a Star Wars skin on some of the most basic, half-baked mechanics done better by all its contemporaries, accompanied by a disjointed hollow shell of a story, and Star Wars fans will gobble it right up. Y'all need higher standards.
But then, what else should I expect from Ubisoft.
Re: Poll: Are You Playing Visions of Mana?
Demo definitely did it no favors but I will give a whirl whenever I jump into my Squaresoft / Enix arc.
Re: Talking Point: Can PS5, PC Shooter Concord Be Saved?
Lol nope. Give it a few more weeks and it will be forgotten about, until the game awards come around and people briefly remember it for being a failure before returning to the void indefinitely.
I could be wrong but the author seems to think that detractors of this game have some sort of vendetta against it and that's partly the reason why it's failed as hard as it has.
But the writing was on the table as soon as it was announced, it's general reception has been a collective groan the entire time, and the player numbers reflect that.
It's unprecedented for such a gigantic name backing it but that doesn't change the fact that nobody wanted this, and Sony and Firewalk are just gonna have to take the loss here and try a different strategy.
Re: Two New Waifus, Selfies, and a Ton of Events Front Zenless Zone Zero's First PS5 Update
Some real fun looking characters coming back to back to back, the urge to whale is getting more and more tempting lol
Re: Hands On: Visions of Mana Is Far From Revolutionary, But It Should Still Be a Rock Solid Action RPG
I didn't play the demo myself but saw about an hour of it. Looks fine but the combat didn't look like anything special and my god these inane characters do not take a single second to shut the hell up.
It's still on my radar but now I'll be picking SteamWorld Heist II over Mana for my August RPG.
Re: Panned PS5 Survival Horror Silent Hill: The Short Message Has Topped 3 Million Downloads
On the bright side there are three million people who can make fun of this POS game lol
Re: Dragon Quest Creator Says Silent Protagonists Look Like Idiots
Personally I'd say there's an increasing number of game protagonists nowadays who could stand to STOP talking but I understand the sentiment.
Re: Concord's Seemingly Unlimited Promo Budget Now Includes Animated Shorts
@BeerIsAwesome Okay I think you're either not getting my point or willfully ignoring it to win a semantics argument.
The reason you brought this up in the first place is to imply that people who want Sony to make something different are lying or at least ignorantly obstinate because they don't accept their Overwatch clone.
It's not even an implication anymore, you said it yourself a couple of replies back.
I'm saying that's BS. We can want a more diverse library from Sony and simultaneously reject cynical slop when it's brought to the table.
Re: Concord's Seemingly Unlimited Promo Budget Now Includes Animated Shorts
@BeerIsAwesome No I understood what you said, I just don't agree with your premise. And your 'sarcastic list' doesn't mean anything when most of the games you used as examples aren't remotely comparable to each other outside of superficial similarities.
Sony used to publish a much wider and diverse library of games. This got reduced significantly in the PS4 era when budgets started to inflate on big blockbuster games in order to keep up with the ever growing rise in graphical fidelity and industry trends. Japan Studio got dissolved in 2021 my dude, and they were responsible for some of the most unique games available across all generations since the PS1. When people say they want 'something different' they typically mean (typically smaller budget) titles that have their own creative identity given time to shine in the long wait times between the next trillion dollar adventure game. They make these kinds of games periodically, there's just MUCH less of them now.
So no, Sony making a big budget live service Overwatch clone is not 'something different'. It's exactly the kind of thing you'd expect them to do nowadays.
Re: Concord's Seemingly Unlimited Promo Budget Now Includes Animated Shorts
@BeerIsAwesome Glennthefrog already touched on it, but my comment has less to do with the quality of Concord. I'm just not willing to call Sony copying Blizzard and Disney-Marvel's homework something different.
Re: Concord's Seemingly Unlimited Promo Budget Now Includes Animated Shorts
@BeerIsAwesome And we're still waiting.
Re: The Spirit of NBA Street Lives on in The Run: Got Next on PS5
I played the hell out of Street V3 so this is going on the radar. Character designs are goofy but that's coming from someone who regularly played as the Beastie Boys and the Mario Bros., so not much room to talk lol
Re: Poll: Are You Playing the Concord Open Beta?
@GamingFan4Lyf
Seriously. And this being a Sony focused site this is essentially the target audience.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Zenless Zone Zero?
7 for what's in the game now. It left a bad impression the first time I played it, but after the prologue everything clicked for me and I've been obsessed with it.
Solid combat with a bunch of cool characters, the world and story are surprisingly intriguing in how the fantasy elements take a backseat to more grounded plots that fit the urban setting.
The game looks and sounds great, everyone agrees on that.
The biggest issue is basically just the resource grind that comes with F2P games. I seriously think this game could be an 8 as it is now if it came as a full priced release with no daily limits or gacha included.
Re: Poll: Are You Playing Zenless Zone Zero?
@nessisonett It absolutely was, Square Enix always takes their budget titles out to the pasture, it's very frustrating lol.
I don't even like NEO TWEWY and I think it should have done better than it did.
Re: Talking Point: What's Your PS5 Game of the Year for 2024 So Far?
@Absymbel Yeah, I initially wasn't planning on doing the endgame grind but the game got its hooks in me. That's where the bulk of the content is, but it's mostly just fighting the same bosses over and over again and making your characters progressively stronger.
It's one of those games that's just satisfying to play despite the repetition, I still need to return to it to take on the DLC superboss.
Re: Talking Point: What's Your PS5 Game of the Year for 2024 So Far?
Unicorn Overlord (I give a 9) is my game of the year thus far and it's going to take a lot to top it.
Stellar Blade and Granblue Fantasy Relink (I give both a 7) are also very good, high recommendations for all three.
Re: Poll: Are You Playing Zenless Zone Zero?
Crazy amounts of style and slick animations but the combat has been pretty braindead. Also the mountain of tutorial boxes and cutscenes spewing fantasy lingo within the opening hours does NOT help immersing you into the gameplay and world.
Re: RoboCop: Rogue City Dev Recruiting for Unannounced Action RPG Project
I watched RoboCop 1 & 2 for the first time in anticipation for this game. The first RoboCop movie is now one of my all-time favorites and the video game is pretty damn good too.
Wish Teyon had a crack at an Indiana Jones game but I suppose we'll have to settle for the Machine Games dice roll.
Re: Video: Is Concord Destined to Fail?
Judging by the initial reaction I predict its release playerbase will be a combination of the most die hard of the sony fans and the kind of players who just bounce around to the next new thing.
So maybe an adequate amount of players on release, but I don't see it retaining a healthy number within the first six months. We have like ten trillion other games exactly like this we can use as an example to tell where this is going to go. Nowhere.
Re: Monster Hunter Wilds Is Making Some Big Changes as Capcom Drops First Gameplay Details
@TheAmbienWalrus I'm with you there. Despite not being a huge fan of World & Rise, the core gameplay of Monster Hunter is so fun it's basically a guaranteed get everytime.
Re: Capcom Making Resident Evil 0, Code Veronica Remakes Next, Reports Say
That's pretty sick if true. Zero and Code: Veronica are the two that could really benefit from a second chance. Just hope they got the 2 and 4 remake team working on them and not the guys who made the 3 remake or Village.
Would also be interested in seeing the Spencer Mansion in the remake style, but the 2002 RE1 would be hard to top.
Re: PS5, PS4 Mascot Brawler MultiVersus Is Completely Reinventing Its Monetisation
I remember getting characters in the original was an insufferable grind. Plus the local multiplayer options were incredibly limited. If that's all the same in the new version it'll definitely be something I bounce off of fast, and I feel like I'm not alone on that.
I really want to like this game but when all the live service dreck drives it down it's pretty hard to not just default back to Smash Bros.
Re: Sony Seems to Have Broken the PS5's Game Time Tracker, Again
Also, one thing that really pisses me off is that the completion bar is almost never accurate. I'll beat a game and it'll tell me I'm only 40% through it and my next activity is like a level in the game from 10-20 hours ago. The menu art is permanently changed to some low resolution jpeg of where the console thinks I am in the game, and of course Sony gives you no option to disable it. Such *****.
Re: Sony Seems to Have Broken the PS5's Game Time Tracker, Again
Funniest inconsistency on my console: I played Little Goody Two Shoes twice, adding up to over 20 hours of gameplay, but my playstation says I've only played it for 8 minutes lol. World record holder right here!
Re: Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE Gets an Updated 'Plus' Version on PS5 in October
Glad I waited on this one then, I assumed it was already on PS5.
Re: Hands On: Stellar Blade Does PS5 New Game + the Right Way
NG+ definitely surprised me with all the new unlockables, makes the world still worth fully exploring even if you get everything in a base playthrough. More games should do their NG+ modes in similar ways.
I am disappointed by hard mode though, you only take slightly more damage and all the bosses (including the mini-bosses) are now extremely spongey. It's the boring kind of 'hard mode' where the difficulty comes from the sheer attrition rather than any improvement of skill. Still a fun game nonetheless.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Stellar Blade?
@Uromastryx Oh yeah, unironically one of my favorites because of the white and blue (and all the... "backstory" lmao)
As an update to my last post: Finished the game last night and I haven't moved much on my thoughts on it. There are some really awesome bosses in the last couple of areas, but also all the same frustrations I mentioned before plus I noticed that enemies were just getting spongier, which is just a really boring way to increase difficulty.
As I predicted the story did not improve and in fact got worse lol, which isn't a huge deal as you can just skip the cutscenes (mostly) and dialogue for subsequent playthroughs - which is what I've been doing for the NG+ run.
The only difference I've noticed from hard mode is that enemies do more damage and bosses take much less damage, so not really any game-changing differences that improves the combat (though NG+ gives you some neat skill upgrades so that's a plus)
So all in all I'm sticking to that solid 7, I think just about anyone will enjoy this game, so give it a go if you haven't.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Stellar Blade?
The menu says I'm a little over halfway through the game now and I need to finish it to give it a definitive score (am also considering a NG+ run on a hard mode) but for the time being I'd place it at a higher 7.
When this game hits its groove, by which I mean the combat and character customization, it is extremely good *****. The enemy designs are creative and most of them are satisfying to hack apart, and you get a lot of options for fine tuning the way you want to go about fighting. And Eve gets like a thousand unlockable outfits which is always a big plus.
Everything else outside of that though can be a janky or lacking. The exploration has been overall nice, with plenty of secrets littered all over the area maps, but there's a lot of little annoyances that add up and bring it down.
I'm talking invisible walls everywhere and in places that make absolutely no sense, incredibly sensitive platforming where Eve will readily hurl herself off small objects to her death. ***** stop everything to climb the yellow paint ledges that have infected every AAA game. And if enemies have aggroed you, you can forget about interacting with anything within a two mile radius until their dead or give up the chase.
I also don't like how often Adam just gives you the answer to an environmental puzzle, sometimes before I even knew there was one. That always sucks.
The story is also nothing to write home about. None of the characters are particularly compelling and their dialogue is incredibly awkward (made worse by the English dub which I fortunately knew about before playing so I switched to Korean).
I'd obviously have more to say about this section but I haven't finished the game so for all I know the back half may have some god-tier writing (but I doubt it).
But I do enjoy how aloof Eve to all the NPCs, like she barely has any social skills and is just tolerating these freaks lol.
Finally, I find the game a bit too easy and wish hard mode were available from the start.
But as of now I'd say it's sitting pretty at 7 and I can see it ranking up to an 8 if it keeps up the momentum.
Oh, and a 7 on my ranking does NOT equate to mediocre for anyone wondering. 5 is mediocre, 7 is as good as good can get before becoming great, which is 8.
As a side, I just caught every fish in the game and it physically hurt doing it lol.
Re: Stellar Blade Dev Is Plotting Boss Rush Mode for PS5 Smash Hit
This game's bosses kick my ass. Can't wait lol
Re: Granblue Fantasy: Relink Patch 1.2.0 Arrives This Week, with New Characters, Quests, and More
Good timing I've been listening to this game's unbelievably wonderful soundtrack. I beat the post game super boss once before putting Relink down. I'm still tossed up about whether I'll be tackling these updates as they come or waiting until it's all out and give the main story a full replay on the hardest difficulty.
Re: ShiftUp Reveals 'Secrets' of Stellar Blade's Physical PS5 Packaging
Reverse covers usually have the better art, unfortunately they almost never include the game's title on the spine so there's no point in swapping it...
Unless idk, you want to identify the game on your shelf by an inch of ambient background.
Re: Silent Hill 2 Remake Protagonist James Seemingly Got a Quiet Makeover
Better than before but man, the original is tough to beat. It's hard to read a definitive expression off the PS2 James in that scene, which I think was intentional. It's a bit sinister. But props to the updated face for the remake, he doesn't look like a crying wojak anymore.
Re: Fear Not, PS5 Exclusive Stellar Blade Remains Uncensored in All Regions
This is my April game. Everything I've seen of it looks promising.
Re: Stellar Blade Director Emphasises Importance of 'Single-Player Games with an Ending'
I don't play many multi-player focused games nowadays because I've always preferred the RPG and Adventure stuff. But of the ones I have played they tend to be incredibly shallow experiences.
Not for lack of design mind you, a lot of the ones I've played have strong core mechanics, but typically these multi-player games are so gung-ho about milking every dollar you have out of you that they strip that experience down into what feels like just the bones of a game.
Different strokes and all that I guess.
Re: Yuji Naka Surfaces to Accuse Recently Ousted Dragon Quest Producer of 'Lying in Court'
Nothing like a bit of libel to improve your presently rocky reputation, am I right guys
Re: Video: Our Favourite PS5 Games of 2024 So Far
Removed
Re: Stellar Blade Director Recommends Players Wear Clothes, Where Possible
The skin suit makes the game harder on account of you now playing one-handed
Watched a live-stream of the demo, it looked fun and I've been convinced to get it. And since the skin suit makes the game more difficult I foresee some awkward explanations to my family in the future lol
Re: Unicorn Overlord Sales Top Half a Million, Could Be Vanillaware's Fastest Selling Game
Easily my favorite VanillaWare game and my favorite 2024 game thus far, gonna be hard to top too.
Re: PS5's Stellar Blade Isn't Out Yet, But There's Already Talk of a Sequel
I love how unhinged people get talking about this game.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Unicorn Overlord?
Finished the game yesterday clocking in just under 110 hours. This game hooked me as soon as I started, and I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone who's into strategy RPGs. I will say though, it is on the easy side, I played on expert difficulty, and while the challenge definitely ramped up (mostly due to me going to areas earlier than I was meant to) at times, I found myself often steamrolling the enemies more often than not.
Keep in mind, there were also several multi-hour long gaps that I spent building my units up in creative ways to combat weaknesses, so your mileage may vary depending on how much you'd like to delve into the unit AI (I didn't play with it much myself until I left Cornia, the first area).
The coolest thing about this game is just how much freedom you have in playing with its mechanics and how hands off it is on the world map. After a certain point you can practically go anywhere and that will lead to harder challenges but greater rewards in terms of new characters and equipment.
The story probably isn't anything you haven't seen before but it's got a charming revolving door of side characters to keep it interesting and some solid world building to boot. And there's some satisfying twists at the end if you're that invested (not to mention a big ass glossary that has the backstory on like, every single facet of the world).
The game looks great, it's got those classic Vanillaware designs with plenty of cool, cutesy, and sexy characters abound, though they are a touch less flamboyant and exaggerated than games like Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown. (Even still, I think the elves in this game would make the Digital Foundry guys melt lol)
It's also got a great soundtrack, though no song too stand out in my opinion, just generally pleasant to listen to and matches the areas well.
Oh! And the localization isn't half bad. I noticed 8-4 in the credits, and they're responsible for localizing my favorite Fire Emblem game (Shadows of Valentia), which is written very similarly to this. I will say some of the dialogue is a little too flowery, even for me, but overall it's a great fit for the world and a disagree with other's assessment that the localization ruins the game (which I understand is a claim thrown out for just about every JRPG).
TLDR, this one's special. I don't give games 9s often, this one is a 9. Play it.
@Ryu_Niiyama How did you find the game's difficulty on your end? I'm curious what exactly changes between options.