Kraven

@Oram77 What do you mean? They have released several trailers and a handful of gameplay demos in the past couple of months. I think they are doing a great job promoting the game.

I’m glad to see this got a good review — I was expecting it would. This month is so stacked for games. I’ve been enamored with Silksong, so much so that I haven’t even started MGS Delta, Hell Is Us, Cronos, Silent Hill F, and Shinobi. And I mistakingly thought I’d play at least one of those games. Now, there is this and it will be added to my backlog. We are eating good this month, and next month looks to be following the same trend.

@LiamCroft Cmon, you know how it is, they read the header and ignore everything else 😅

I can’t wait to see what Saros is, but I’ll be there day one regardless. Housemarque always delivers the goods. I honestly don’t care if they announce any other exclusive—I’m drowning in games as it is, so I have plenty to keep me busy for the very foreseeable future.

@StitchJones Okie dokie, cya later!

@Yusuo You’re right. I just think they are leaning too heavily in the numerous of trailers. I mean, I appreciate the marketing and building hype, but sometimes too much can be a bad thing.

@StitchJones Why not? It’s the reviewer’s opinion, after all. The game is sitting at an 87 on OpenCritic with 76 reviews. Clearly the game is above average, and even great. I don’t see why some outlets giving it a 10/10 is them being paid when it’s obvious numerous outlets feel close to the same.

Maybe it’s just me, but the over saturation of this game has actually dampened my hype. I feel as if I’ve seen more of this game than the games I’ve played at this point.

@StitchJones Ah, the classic “reviewers were paid to score it high” excuse. That is not a thing, and feel free to find me one credible source that says that not only happens, but happens often. We are talking Silent Hill—not some new TLOU/Uncharted game, or God of War. It’s a niche series, and aside from these “no name sites”, there are also many mainstream outlets that are ranking it quite high. Your argument is very flawed.

God forbid the reviewer has a different opinion regarding what the score of a game should be. If a 7 rather than an 8 is all that bothersome, perhaps you should do some self reflecting. Regardless, other outlets are scoring this game very highly - on par with the Silent Hill 2 Remake. It seems to me this is another great game for 2025.

I’m still early on, but it feels excellent, and possibly has the best combat system in the entire franchise. I’m happy this series is getting the recognition it deserves. Let’s hope the Ys franchise also gets the same treatment.

Well, I beat Hollow Knight Silksong finally. It took me approximately 50 hours. It is without doubt a modern masterpiece that will continue to surprise you up until the very end, and then go even farther once you think you are done.

Throughout my personal journey in Pharloom, I’ve heard the discourse online about how difficult the game is. Honestly, I don’t understand this sentiment. This is coming from someone who typically dislikes the Metroidvania genre and am mildly decent, if not bad at Souls-likes. As long as you put in the work it will be a fair experience, albeit challenging, but manageable nonetheless.

To contradict myself, there was a moment in the High Halls where I thought I was going to give up the game entirely. It was an absolute grueling experience that changed my outlook on the game itself. I stopped having fun.

It was that moment when I had an epiphany: this entire time I stupidly hadn’t upgraded my weapon (needle). After retracing my steps and upgrading it to level 3, I beat the section where I struggled for hours on my second attempt. I had another revelation—I’ve been fighting every boss up until that point without upgrades. I could have made the majority of my play-through easier, but in a way I’m glad I didn’t because I felt as if I got more of a raw pure experience. From then onward, I felt like Silksong was literally perfect.

For the first time in a long time I genuinely considered this medium an art-form, particularly with the boss fights. In fact, some confrontations felt like peak cinema, from the cinematography, music, and combat that pushed you to your limits. It’s exhilarating—you feel like a gymnast on a stage meant for ballerinas, and in some instances you are.

I’m now revisiting the game and cleaning up optional side quests and areas that I didn’t fully explore. I don’t often do this. Once I see the credits roll I am typically satiated with my experience; however, Silksong is just fun to play, and I’m still uncovering secrets in the most unique of ways.

Now onto Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter.

This franchise is weird for me, and yet other people share the same sentiment - I loved the first game (got the platinum), but for some reason this sequel does nothing for me whatsoever. I know it will be good, but I’m not excited about it. Those feelings aren’t stemmed from the recent political controversy, or the over saturated gameplay trailers in the last few weeks; it just hasn’t captured my attention. I will still buy it and play it, of course, but I’m not chomping at the bit for it.

Oh, my! I can’t wait for this! I’ll probably get it on the Switch because these games are made for handheld, and I’ll be doing a lot of traveling in the coming weeks. I’m glad this turned out to be as good as I hoped it would.

This is music to my ears. I’m glad these games are finally getting remade, and getting more exposure. I can’t wait for Friday so I can jump into the first remake.

This will be welcomed. It’s the perfect time to build more hype for GoY and bring news of other notable games that may release before Christmas. I think we will get Saros gameplay, and a release date plus new gameplay trailer for Wolverine.

Incredible game and well deserved money for the studio. I have got the platinum for it and still want to replay the game which is rare for me. I listen to the OST at least once a week.

The only games I’m interested in are Trails in the Sky and Dying Light The Beast. The latter I’m going to hold out until reviews, and the former will be a day one purchase.

This weekend I am playing Hollow Knight Silksong. There are so many wondrous things I can say about the game, but I want to use one word to describe my experience: exhilarating.

I could also discuss how incredible the world design is, from its atmosphere, intertwining levels that connect together, the music by Christopher Larkin, but I won’t. What I will talk about is how the game makes me feel, and how this culminates.

I’ve reached Act 2 and I’ve realized how brilliantly paced it is, particularly with its difficulty. It’s been challenging, yet fair. There were a few boss fights that had me stuck for an hour or two, but I eventually overcame my adversity.

Silksong gradually introduces you to new mechanics (obviously, it’s a Metroidvania), but also enemies and bosses. It will start you off with enemies that will take three hits to finish; a boss encounter with one phase; or a region that has more traps than the previous area. This happens just when you, the player, begin to feel like you’re getting comfortable with its design, and subsequently makes you uncomfortable momentarily. The crescendo is the boss fights that make you remember everything you have learned up until that point. And then you discover a second phase, and then a third.

It is at this moment your skills and reflexes take over. When they do, my goodness - you feel like a God. It reminds me of the movie Dodgeball, with the quote, Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge! You begin to realize you are memorizing enemy patterns. Muscle memory starts to take over, and suddenly you are jumping, dashing, dodging, and parrying attacks all at once and in between multiple enemies. It is utterly satisfying.

I haven’t felt this type of emotion since Bloodborne. I have fond memories of fighting bosses, dying repeatedly, but inching my way closer to victory each time. And when I knew I had the enemy on the cusp of defeat my adrenaline would start pumping, my hands got sweaty, my arms got shaky, and I entered the zone. It’s been 11 years since I’ve experienced those same dopamine spikes, and I didn’t think I’d ever have that again from a video game. Thank goodness, I was wrong. As I said in the beginning: it is exhilarating.

P.S. Screw Sinner’s Road and its bench!

I’m looking forward to this, although I’m not entirely sold on the art-style. I’m sure it will grow on me with time, though.

Maybe it is a little premature of me, but I’m giving it a 10/10. My opinion could change the more I progress, but as it stands I find it to be masterful. The map is fun to explore and not overly complicated, combat is crunchy and versatile, with new abilities that really expand how you approach traps and enemies, the sound design and audio is sublime, and the game is the right amount of difficult. It’s crazy that I feel this way about the game considering I didn’t enjoy Hollow Knight at all.

That’s a pretty solid month overall! There are a lot of great games in this list.

I can’t wait for this one. I’ve been fascinated by it ever since I saw it for the first time years ago. I’d like to go for the platinum; I have it for Shovel Knight and want to continue the trend.

I’m not finding the game all that difficult. It can be tough in a few areas, but it’s not halting my progress whatsoever. That said, the game does feel unbalanced overall, so I’m welcome for the update. As others mentioned, I wish there would be a difficulty option—but I’ll take whatever is given to me.

What am I playing this weekend? What do you think - Baldur’s Gate 3, of course. As I sit by the campfire playing fetch with my dog Scratch, I can’t help but reflect what one day can do to a man, or in this case, a Dwarf monk.

My journey in the Shadow Lands has been quite an adventure. I messed around and found out because I’m somehow the savior of this disastrous locale. Throughout my time, I’ve told Marcus Falgor, this bulking man with childish harpy wings, to scram. He didn’t, but I made him, y’know? Afterwards, to celebrate my victory, I shared a few drinks with Thisobald. I used my monk’s willpower to stay sober while we swapped stories. I can’t say the same for him. Who knew beer could cause spontaneous combustion? It was a darn shame - I was enjoying his company. Oh, well; things happen.

Subsequently, upon leaving the tavern I got stopped by this gold blob - a toll collector by the name of Gerringothe Thorm. I didn’t like the cut of her gib, not one bit. She was too damn shiny. I convinced her to see the error of her ways and she responded by giving me all of her coin, including herself. It was just another day in the Forgotten Realms … so I thought.

In comes this googly-eyed weirdo; Malus Thorm is his name. What are with these Thorm people, anyway? Lady Shar Almighty. Anyway, I just wanted a touch-up to survive the evening. Instead, I walked into a hospital filled with undead nurses performing surgery on some poor man screaming in agony. Malus had a brilliant idea: having his nurses perform surgery on me. Are you a jester? We just met, you clown. I told him I don’t float that boat because I don’t let people under my skin until people are properly trained. He understood and told his staff to practice on each other. Let me tell you - they did an excellent job. Too good, in fact. That wasn’t enough, though. I told him practice makes perfect. He was confused, so I urged him to see how surgery feels on himself. That was the end of that.

So yeah, long story short, my playthrough is going better than expected. Me and Scratch are hanging out, playing fetch, and just mingling by the campfire before I see what shenanigans I can get up to at the Moonrise Towers.

@Dalamar I think it’s more of a balancing issue rather than a skill check. I’d rather have boss fights be more difficult as you progress through the game - not immediately starting out where it may hinder your motivation to persevere. If Malenia was the first boss fight in Elden Ring I would have turned it off and never played it again. However, since it was near the tail end and I had a good grasp on the mechanics and my skill(s), I managed to beat her. There has to be a fine balance between the two.

@Balaam_ Do you ever just say to yourself, “Alright, trophies aren’t that important. I should just play games for fun.”? I love getting platinums and I also dislike how my trophy list is sometimes incomplete, but it will never stop me from playing a great game. I can’t even imagine the amount of awesome games you’ve missed out on simply because the difficulty for the platinum isn’t up to your standards, as if game developers should focus primarily on trophy hunters rather than the general audience.

Just a heads up, the game is back on the PS Store. I just bought it.

PS Store is working and I can bring up the page, but there isn’t an option to buy. No big deal, I’m at work anyway. I’m sure it’ll be available later this evening.

@themightyant In the video they discuss how you can complete missions in different ways, similar to the Hitman games.

I just got around to watching the preview this morning. I have to say, it looks fantastic. Yes, it looks and feels like an Uncharted game, but we haven’t had one of those in years and I’m all for it. It has the perfect blend of Uncharted and Hitman, and that plane sequence was awesome considering you’re controlling it whilst simultaneously running and gunning. There were a few frame rate drops, but the developers have plenty of time to iron out the kinks before release date. I can’t wait.

I’m glad this game turned out well! And the negatives aren’t that much of a downfall at all. I’m happy to see Bloober Team show their true talent. I’ll definitely be picking this up soon!

@ErrantRob After reading other reviews, I decided to do the same thing. I’m looking forward to playing once I get off work this evening.

This sounds like an awesome game, but I’ll wait for a sale before I pick it up. There are too many games right now that have my interest. Also, I’m torn on whether or not I want to suffer through puzzles—-I’m awful at them in video games. Everything else sounds right up my alley.

Last week I talked about how I’m playing Baldur’s Gate 3 - taking my time, playing in spurts, and eventually completing it after reaching the end of Act 2. It would be at this point where fatigue settles in and I would ultimately shelve the game for months, only to come back, forget the mechanics, and create a new character. This process would be repeated over and over.

Meanwhile, my initial goal was to play BG3 between other games: Metal Gear Solid Delta, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, and Hollow Knight Silksong. Let me state for the record - those goals have gone to hell in a hand basket. I am in DEEEEEEP waters on my trek to reach the pinnacle of Act 3. I genuinely can’t get enough of it, and I’m about to wrap up the second act with a newfound sense of energy.

What blows my mind is how different this playthrough is compared to my previous ones. I have this awful habit in RPGs where I tend to choose the “good guy” route whenever there is dialogue choices. Moreover, I play the same type of character if I can - a high-elf, rogue assassin. And when I get a bad roll of the dice I reload my save until I get the outcome I wanted. This time, however, I’m a Dwarf monk and it has been awesome. I’m letting the rolls dictate the story, good or bad - a true RPG experience. What I wasn’t expecting is how unsatisfying rolls can actually create better moments throughout side quests and main campaign.

Simply put, there is a lot of game here. You never feel as if you missed out on something special regardless of your good or bad choices because the writing is so top notch that every thread is meticulously fleshed out so you can get the ultimate experience. My actions are generally good, but also morally grey. I tend to find the root of the problem and rip it out, but if I can use it to my advantage then I will. I’m living my best life in BG3 and wouldn’t have it any other way.

I want to conclude my rant by making a bold proclamation: from a video game perspective, BG3 might be the greatest of all time. That’s not to say it’s my favorite, but in totality I think it measures up to that threshold. To me, it’s the epitome of what I have always envisioned games to be ever since I could comprehend the basics in 1994.

A rich, lush world beckoning to be explored, filled with many secrets to uncover? Check. Freedom and allows for player expression? Double check. An incredible cast of characters with unique personalities, deep history to learn about, fully fleshed out, and having an experience tailor made to each individual and play-style? Triple check. Writing that is on another level, to the point where each interaction with any character or NPC feels meaningful? Quadruple check. Every facet of this game is seamlessly woven together, and I don’t understand it. I don’t want to, either. I’m just happy it exists.

This game never appealed to me for some reason. I’ve thought it looked generic from day one despite the kinetic gameplay. It’s a shame the story and characters aren’t up to snuff — that may have swayed me to checking out the game, if they were good, that is. Oh, well; maybe when the game goes on a deep sale I will check it out.

I will be ready whenever the game releases - it looks incredible, and sounds superb.

I can’t wait for this game. The first game is my favorite Obsidian RPG and I often replay it. The sequel looks to reach those same heights for me personally.

Good selection of games! Psychonauts 2 is a great addition. I’m looking forward to trying it out whenever I find the time.

@dgfdytry I preordered the deluxe edition and it was available to download Monday and be played yesterday. If you are just going to buy it without preordering it should be available tomorrow night at 11:00pm.

I’ll be picking this up on a sale, but it’s crazy to actually see the game on a PlayStation console. I remember getting all of the achievements for it on the Xbox 360 - yes, even all multiplayer ones, including the 10k kills - and still wanting more. I doubt I’ll go for the multiplayer trophies now, but I do love the campaign.

This is a bummer - Demonschool has been one of my most anticipated games for a long time. With that said, it’s a smart move. It’s also going to free up my wallet and give me time to play the numerous amount of games releasing in just days and weeks ahead.

@Northern_munkey If you pre order the deluxe edition you can play the game today. I caved and did that lol.

@Northern_munkey I figured it was haha.

@Northern_munkey It is not. You can check my comments if you’d like - I address his statements on trophies. For me, I like trophies and will go for the platinum if I can. If not, no big deal, I just wanna play good games.

@Quintumply That sounds like a proper good time and challenge. Thanks for answering my question!

I forgot to ask - how are the trophies? Is the platinum very difficult? I’m looking forward to the challenge if it is.

Looks like another day one purchase for me. This year has been a banger for games and we still have plenty more to go.

@Balaam_ You make it sound like gaming is a chore rather than a hobby. These kind of trophy lists should be what you want to have - a challenge that could be worth undertaking, giving you a real sense of accomplishment. It honestly seems like you’re fishing for trophies for a weird sense of self pride that nobody else cares about other than yourself.

This weekend I’m not playing anything. My wife and I surprised our daughter with her first ever tickets to a concert in Chicago, so that’s where we will be for the next couple of days. It will be our first time there, so we are going to do all of the touristy things. To say I’m excited to finally try Chicago deep dish pizza for the first time is an understatement.

However, throughout the week I decided to start a fresh playthrough in Baldur’s Gate 3. I’ve done this twice - both times reaching the end of Act 2, but getting fatigued and putting the game down for a long while. It’s truly a special game, but I have a tendency to implement the same style of play each time - a high elf, rogue assassin that focuses on stealth and archery. I do this with The Elder Scrolls, too.

This time I’m making a devoted effort to play in different ways. For starters, I’m a Dwarf with the subclass of Paladin. Secondly, I have a terrible habit of save scumming and being a good guy. While I will still be good, I’m going to choose dialogue options that are appropriate rather than solely choosing the “right” response, and whatever the dice rolls I am going to allow myself to accept the decision, good or bad. And lastly, I’m going to try new character abilities during combat. I generally play it safe and focus on raw strength and advantages rather than coming up with unique methods to approach combat, or not at all.

So far, my experimentation has turned out quite well. Who knew using magic was so fun? I’m throughly enjoying how I approach every situation and living with the results. Moreover, by doing so, I’m discovering unexpected side quests that I never found in my first two endeavors, and branching narratives that I can tell will have an impact later on. I’m really curious to see how things evolve.

The one thing that will never change: romancing Shadowheart. That will remain a constant until Gale decides to end us all with an explosion of jealousy and addiction. And on an unrelated side note - I’m praying for a Nintendo Switch 2 port because I’ll be doing a lot of traveling this upcoming year and it would be the perfect companion piece.