Kraven

I’m not playing the game yet, but it is most definitely on my list of upcoming games. XCX released today, so that’s going to be my primary focus for the foreseeable future.

I’m sold already. It looks so good.

I was planning on skipping this entry — I’m kind of over open-world AC games and the franchise in general — but I’ll probably pick this up in a couple of months once it’s on sale. There seem to be a few cool game mechanics that interest me, particularly the seasonal aspect. I also like the setting. The length of the game is somewhat a turn off because I’ll more than likely platinum it, but I wish it didn’t take as long as it will, but if I’m enjoying the game I won’t care too much.

I don’t buy physical games anymore, and when I do it’s for the Switch, but that’s rare; however, this looks freaking awesome.

This weekend I can officially say I’m playing something different other than Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. I finally beat the game and managed to obtain the platinum trophy. This is easily one of my all time favorite RPGs. It’s hard to see what game(s) come out this year that can reach this level of quality, from its writing, characters, immersion, and world building. Maybe Death Stranding 2 can stand toe to toe with KCD2, but we shall see.

What I’m playing in earnest now is Suikoden 1. This is an exceptional JRPG. I love how the mechanics of the game take centerfold, creating a world that reacts to your choices in meaningful ways. When you get to name a castle you have seized and getting to name it, in this case FARTNUGT, it feels like it is yours. Subsequently, the more characters you recruit - optional or otherwise - your castle begins to expand with different rooms and layers, so it feels like a living and breathing world tailored to your decisions.

Then there are full scaled wars that take place, and this is where the characters you have recruited along the way come into factor. If you take the time to put these characters in your party and level them up, the stronger your army will be. And you feel the weight of your decisions in battle because some characters can die depending on the options to choose from - attack, defend, or using bows and magic.

The entire game feels like a personal journey, which many games cannot evoke those types of feelings out of me. What’s even more shocking is that Suikoden 2 is considered to be better in every facet, and one of the best games of all time. I can’t wait to experience that next.

Resistance is what I would want more than any other franchise. I have a hard time seeing Killzone being made, especially if Halo comes to PlayStation.

This is one of the rare RPG franchises I haven’t played. After reading the review, I might just pick this one up. It sounds really great, and I’m glad it’s a good jumping in point for newcomers like me.

Hell yeah; this is awesome news. Space Marine 2 was fantastic, and I can’t wait to see how they outdo themselves in the third game.

My goodness, if this is true then this summer is going to be strangely stacked. Oblivion and Death Stranding 2, followed by MGS 3 Remake? What year am I even living in right now?

Well deserved! It’s an incredible game. In fact, I just wrapped up the platinum trophy for KCD2 this morning.

I hope this turns out well. I’d like to see this game succeed. I’ll probably pick it up on a sale even if the game isn’t well received, but I have a feeling it’ll be a solid game.

Not a bad month, but there isn’t anything on the list that I want to play. I’ve already beaten Prince of Persia and got the platinum, and I strongly urge anyone who is interested in the franchise and Metroidvania’s to give it a try. It’s really excellent.

This is a day one purchase for me. The real question is, PS5 or Nintendo Switch (2)? We shall see. But man, it’s great to see my boy, Agate Crosner.

I can see Solid Snake, but I see more Biggs from FF7 than I do Metal Gear Solid.

I’m quite skeptical with this, but I’m hoping it turns out great. Silent Hill 2 Remake did a great job introducing newcomers to the franchise, so right now the series is sitting in a positive light. Hopefully this will continue to trend in the same direction!

I’ll definitely be playing this. I completed it on my Series X and was only one trophy away from getting 100%, but it was bugged. Hopefully with the PS5 release, all of the updates and patches will be included. It also feels like a good Spring game.

This looks absolutely sensational. I mean, the cinematography alone, and the amount of things happening on screen is insane. And the headband? Is this somehow connected to Metal Gear Solid? It sure as heck looked like it. Regardless, I can’t wait for this, and the release date is perfect.

Another weekend here and I’m still playing Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 on the PS5. 250 hours later, I’m wrapping up the game. I’ve obtained every trophy and should get the platinum within the next couple of days — a feat I’ll be very proud of. I know it’s early in the year but this will be in contention for my GOTY, and possibly even decade.

I’m also playing Suikoden 1 & 2 on the Nintendo Switch — a perfect place to play these old-school JRPGs. This is a flagpole series I wasn’t fortunate enough to play when I had my original PlayStation growing up as a kid, despite hearing about it from various social circles. In fact, I remember going to Blockbuster (yeah, I am that old!) and it never being available to rent or buy. I’m glad I get to experience it now. So far, it’s been great.

I’ve yet to play Astro Bot, but it’s good to see The Order 1886 get some recognition. I thought it was a solid game, and had the potential to build off its wonderful foundation in terms of story and characters. It’s a shame we will never see a sequel.

I’m fine with there not being a third game. The two games itself are some of my all time favorite games, particularly the first one, which I doubt any game will dismantle as #1 for me. However, I just don’t see where the story could go from the ending of TLoU2, featuring the same characters, without losing the emotional aspect. I feel as if we got everything we needed from an emotion standpoint—everything came full circle, and was handled as best as it could. Now, I wouldn’t mind seeing a prequel to the first game, with Joel and Tess, since 20 years passed by before really introducing us to the game. I think that would be a great story to tell because of how Tommy talks about Joel’s ruthlessness and what they did to survive. It would make an excellent re-introduction to some beloved characters. But hey, if not, I’m not excited that Naughty Dog is moving on to other projects.

I can’t wait for this! Friday is my day off, so I’ll be playing for sure. I have yet to decide whether it’ll be on PS5 or Switch. Also, the game sounds great, and I’m glad the narrative and gameplay hold up after all these years and a couple of QoL improvements.

I voted for KCD2 and it’s not even close, just as I’m not even close to beating the game after 250 hours. That said, I haven’t played Wilds yet. I’m tempted too. I’ve never been a big Monster Hunter person, but I did spend about 80 hours with Rise and really enjoyed it. This new entry looks really cool.

Man, this game looks and sounds fantastic. I don’t need to read or see any more news about it—I want to go in somewhat blind. What a great year for games so far, and we just hit March.

I doubt I’ll play Hardcore mode. I’ve yet to finish default mode and I’m 200+ hours in the game. I was planning on finishing it by next weekend, but that doesn’t seem plausible with my work schedule. Maybe when Xenoblade Chronicles X releases on the 20th I’ll be done, but we will see.

I will definitely sport a mullet if I do a hardcore mode.

I don’t care too much for live service games. I haven’t played one in many years. With that said, out of all the recent games touted as live service (and shouldn’t have) such as God of War, Twisted Metal is the one that makes sense to be live service. It’s a shame it was cancelled, but that’s just how the industry goes nowadays.

The only games I am interested in for next week are Suikoden 1 & 2 Remastered. That will definitely be a day one purchase. With that said, I’m debating myself on whether I want to get it on PS5 or on the Nintendo Switch. Maybe both? Ha.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

I have racked up 200 hours in this game - an amount of time I’ve never spent on a single game in a continual manner without getting burned out. In terms of story, I’m roughly fifty percent through the main campaign. My goal is to have every side quest and trophy mopped up that doesn’t relate to main missions before I push onward to the end of the game.

In the last ten hours, my Henry has crawled in manure to search for a man, has built pyramids out of human remains, been so drunk that someone stole his shoes in the middle of the town square, helped a young man from being bullied by villagers, and went down to the depths of hell (almost literally) to stop demons from coming out of the pitts and killing livestock. It resulted in me in losing my entire clothing and weapons, and killing a man who lost his mind to darkness and his mission.

If that doesn’t sound appealing to you, just know that I’m considered to be the Dark Lord who has the nickname Sourdough. I’m quite literally the epitome of a Jack of all Trades. I’m not to be trifled with.

The trailer ruled. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this one.

March is looking stacked with games. This is a definite play for me. I love everything Rebellion puts out, and this looks like a unique twist for them. And the setting is gorgeous.

This is sad but expected. We really wish Warner Bros. would let go of their patented Nemesis system. It’s such a great mechanic that should be able to be utilized by more developers. In fact, I remember when it was considered the true next gen concept during the start of the PS4 era.

I’m been playing as honorably as I can — I always do with RPGs — but I have done some deplorable stuff that I’m not proud of. With that said, I did a side quest last night that had me rescuing someone’s brother from a band of Cumens. After butchering my way through them and reuniting the brothers, I learned that one of their housemaid’s left and never came back after catching one of them “tugging their tugbone”. It was hilarious, and of course I couldn’t reply with any serious answers during dialogue choices.

I’m still working my way through Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and going for the plat. I went from convincing passerby’s I’m the Dark Lord to being nicknamed Sourdough. That isn’t a joke and I love it.

What is more shocking is how I’ve put 85 hours in the game and just now reached the second region. It feels like an entirely fresh play-through due to the variety of locales, side quests, and story beats.

I also decided to boot up my Nintendo Switch. Admittedly, it has been a while. I’ve been on a nostalgic kick and want to get lost in an (J)RPG of a lighter scale, so I purchased Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana and The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. I’m looking forward to starting at least one of those games in earnest in the next couple of days.

I don’t really have any friends on PS - they are mainly on Xbox - but it’s definitely a game worth gifting. It’s an incredible experience, and is going to go down in my top 5 of all time.

I’ve heard nothing but great things about this game, particularly from Dustin on Sacred Symbols. I am looking forward to trying it out once it releases!

I’ll be honest, there are several games in this list that I most certainly wasn’t expecting. And even with the cheap price, I still may not pick some of them up. I’ll read Steam reviews on a few and see if that encourages me or not.

@DarkTron Thank you for saying this. I was honestly confused when I read the headline. On a related note - the game looks cool. I’ll buy it digitally, but I’m happy for those who prefer physical media.

I’m playing it and absolutely loving it. I’m about 65 hours in, and I just now started the main quest for getting to the wedding. I’ve done every side quest so far. My goal is to get the platinum trophy on a single playthrough. This is going to go down as one of my all time favorite RPGs.

The three games I voted for is as followed: Shinobi: Art of Vengeance (I mean, wow, it looks sensational); Saros; and Tides of Annihilation.

With that said, Hell Is Us, the Stellar Blade DLC, and MGS Delta: Snake Eater are also high on my list. I would have also voted for Lies of P Overture. The base game is in my top 10 of all time. However, I wasn’t entirely sold on the DLC, from a narrative standpoint and an environmental one. But it’s also Lies of P, so it should have excellent combat.

@Odium I’ve never heard of that game before, but I checked out the trailer after your write-up and it looks awesome. I’ll probably buy it and check it out! Thanks for the recommendation.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

I’m 50+ hours deep, haven’t even touched a single main quest, and yet I’ve become Henry the Lion-Heart, traveling the country side, speaking the language of dog, convincing villagers on the road that I’m the Dark Lord, getting drunk while saving drunks that have climbed up trees, sleeping in beds that aren’t mine, and stealing wreath’s from an opposing village up in qualms with another. I’m dirty, I’m clean, but I’m reliable and charismatic either way.

I love this game.

I really love this new feature. I’d have to agree - Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is well deserving of the GoTM. I will definitely be continuing my playthrough once I can pull myself away from KCD2.

This makes my pizzle happy!

With this and Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, my 2D nostalgia hits will be covered for the year. This looks absolutely phenomenal.

I would have to rate this State of Play a B+ or an A-. It completely subverted all of my expectations. I fully expected Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei to be the primary focus at the end, but instead we were treated to a ton of new games. And cmon, anything from Housemarque is a blessing.

Let’s also keep in mind one thing: these showcases aren’t meant to tailor to a certain type of audience - they are meant to present a plethora of games, from all different genres. And on that front it delivered. I thought it was wonderful.

Highlights for me: Shinobi, Lies of P DLC, and Saros.

I can’t wait for this. I bought a PS2 for Max Payne specifically when I was younger. I haven’t played the series since Max Payne 3 first released, which was a phenomenal game, so I’m excited to jump back into this (connected) world Remedy has masterfully created.

This is great. I almost started the game last night on my PS5 before this patch dropped. So this is a welcome addition, particularly NG+, and especially with trophies tied to multiple playthroughs on higher difficulties. It should make things easier, or harder, depending on how you look at it!

I bet it’s going to be shadow dropped tomorrow. I enjoyed the first game, so I’ll definitely jump into the sequel. My expectations will be low considering its reception, but I have no doubt this will be a graphical powerhouse.

@Ravix Thanks for the heads up!

On a side note, I decided to start a fresh play through. I’m very happy that I did. Although I lost a lot of progress, I ultimately discovered more than I did the first time around. In fact, just starting out, I discovered an entire marksman outfit with a crossbow. And a dagger. So that’s going to help me exponentially. I’m excited.

@lazarus11 Is there an easier way to get Mutt? There is a trophy for not killing any animals, which I’m trying to do, and I can’t get the wolves away from the guy in the tree, other than being unarmed and fighting them.

@Logonogo I think this is what I need to do. I did a few of the combat training, but in order to learn the master strike, I have to challenge Tom Cat to a duel, but he requires you to have actual armor. I do not have this yet, and it’s quite frustrating.