Comments 1,554

Re: The Witcher, Kingdom Come Vibes in Blood of Dawnwalker Gameplay

Kraven

I think it looked good - it’s basically started out the same way as The Witcher 3 in terms of setting. I’m one of the rare people who enjoyed the combat in TW3, so I think it looks solid here. It’s awesome that the devs showed such lengthy footage of the game; that tells me it’s cooking right along just fine, and I don’t see any prominent delays in its future.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 586

Kraven

I’m still questing, exploring caves, tackling dungeons, killing trolls, and making my way to the platinum trophy in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Hopefully, I’ll have it wrapped up in time for Death Stranding 2, but I doubt it, and that’s okay because I love this world of Cyrodiil.

Re: Blood Message Is Uncharted Meets Ancient China, and It Looks Phenomenal

Kraven

Wow - I am impressed! This looks fantastic. It’s been a long while since we had a game that has the Uncharted spirit, but this game seems to be channeling it quite wonderfully. Hopefully, the set pieces don’t become repetitive; the trailer did have several repeated instances of falling/sliding down something. Regardless, I’m sold and will be keeping a keen eye on this one.

Re: Talking Point: What's Your PS5 Game of the Year for 2025 So Far?

Kraven

Hands down, it’s Clair Obscur. In fact, it’s probably my favorite game this entire generation. I’m thrilled to have gotten the platinum, and my wife even got me a t-shirt of the game because she knew how much I talked about it. Runner up is Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 - another game I got the platinum for. I’m very much looking forward to where Death Stranding 2 and Ninja Gaiden Ragebound (and the 4th installment) rank on my list at the end of the year.

Re: The Next Xbox Is a PC, So What Does That Mean for PS6?

Kraven

I said this over at Pure Xbox, but I’ll say it here as well:

It’s hard for me to get excited about any kind of new console from Xbox. I personally do not care about how much of a leap next gen will be, and the power of the console - we hear that every time from Microsoft. To me, it’s all about games. Are you going to have a steady cadence of AAA games, interspersed with AA/indie games? If so, what is separating you from PS since those games will ultimately be on that console? If it’s Game Pass, and having that subscription across multiple devices - Play Anywhere - how confident are they that developers will want to release their games on that platform?

At the end of the day, GP is great for the consumer, but a detriment to the studios. I guarantee if you ask them, they would all say that they would prefer to make $60-80.00 per game rather than $20.00 or whatever the price is for the subscription service, and not have a guarantee it will find an audience. Look at PS - people are still happy paying for games, and owning them. Look at Clair Obscur, with 3.3 million copies sold (probably more at this point). How many of those copies do you think were on Xbox? Not many, I assume. Moreover, how many people subscribed to the service for Clair Obscur, or were they already existing members? That is ultimately money lost.

I don’t want to speak poorly on Xbox/Microsoft - I love my Series X and it’s a great consumer product if you have GP, but there is a reason why they are releasing their games on PS. If they had a strong AAA exclusive library of games that sold well, I highly doubt Microsoft would be in the situation that they are in now. But truly, it’s evident - console exclusives, particularly in the AAA space - keep the consoles going. Nintendo and Sony aren’t in the position Microsoft is because they have a huge portfolio of exclusive games that people are willing to buy. I can name probably 15-20 Sony exclusives off the top of my head, and can barely think of 10 from Microsoft that has any form of relevance. Microsoft screwed up substantially on the Xbox One era, and they said so themselves (due to a lack of games), and have been playing catch-up ever since, but they can never catch-up because Sony and Nintendo continue moving forward.

Re: Bungie Delays Marathon Indefinitely, No New PS5, PC Release Date Given

Kraven

I hope Bungie will manage to bounce back from these horrendous last few years because they are a great studio underneath all of this. That said, this acquisition from Sony has turned out to be awful - not only for other studios and their live service games - but as a whole, particularly from a money standpoint and time wasted.

Another problem is that making a successful live service game is damn near impossible in this climate, and part of that is on the studios, but also us as gamers. We don’t have a lot of faith in these types of games anymore, and even if a game does look good, this culture of gaming is so negative and toxic that it becomes an immediate hatefest. I simply can’t see any future live service game being successful like Fortnite. That “era” of new and revolutionary is gone.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 585

Kraven

I haven’t had much time to play games this week, let alone this weekend. Whatever free time I do have I will be spending it in the world of Cyrodiil in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

I always find Bethesda RPGs interesting because I tend to forget how they are meant to be played, and it’s incredibly easy to become overwhelmed. I never know if I should immediately set out and explore, or start the main quest. And yet, the result is always the same - I wander aimlessly and complete dungeons I’m not a high enough level for, pick locks and break into homes, read random notes and journals that lead me down an interesting quest line, and stealth my way through enemies with my bow and arrow.

Somehow, after discovering towns and stumbling my way through tons of side quests, I always manage to organically start the main narrative, unsure of how I did so. I think this is the brilliance that modern Bethesda games are missing — Fallout 4 (I really enjoyed that game; got the platinum for it) and Starfield particularly. There is a certain magic to the art of discovery that will eventually lead you to where you’re meant to go even if it doesn’t appear that way initially.

With that said, there is one issue I have with the game design, albeit it’s a product of 2006. Exploring caves and dungeons are great, but it can be disheartening when at the end of the area there isn’t an exit — you have to backtrack to leave. This isn’t with every area, mind you, but it’s incredibly noticeable. Thankfully, Skyrim fixed this problem.

Other than that minor quibble, Oblivion is sublime. When it first released in 2006, I did not like the game whatsoever. My best friend was obsessed with it, and watching him play it I thought, ”Man, this looks so cool”, but it was never fun to play for me. I had the same reaction to Fallout 3. It wasn’t until Skyrim that these types of games clicked with me. Fast forward 19-years, and it has become my favorite genre. And when Bethesda does make a good game, you know it, and there is no other feeling like it.

Re: 'We Won't Make the Same Mistakes Again': Sony Reflects on PS5's Catastrophic Concord

Kraven

I, just like many people here, want Sony to focus on single player games, particularly from their most prestigious studios. With that said, they would be stupid to not invest in live service games. That is a market they have to pursue because of the amount of money that can be raked in. All they need is one good hit — similar to Helldivers 2 — to make a difference in this medium. Unfortunately, that is where a lot of money is being made in gaming nowadays, and where a lot of players are at. It’s ultimately a business.

Re: 9 PS Plus Extra, Premium Games for June 2025 Announced

Kraven

This is a solid list of games. I wish some people would understand that just because some of the games may not suit their tastes doesn’t mean it’s a bad month of offerings. There are some great games on this list regardless of it appeals to you or not.

Re: Hands On: MindsEye Is a Boring Mess

Kraven

I’ve played about two hours so far and it’s solid. It isn’t going to blow anyone’s mind, and it has its technical issues: lip synching, and some stuttering, but the driving is great. The gunplay is okay, but the sound design is off. The story actually seems pretty cool, and the voice acting, animations, and cutscenes are good. It’s probably a 6.5/10 or a 7/10 kind of game, and I’m okay with that. It was what I was expecting and I’m content.

Re: Site News: Where's Our MindsEye PS5 Review?

Kraven

Regardless of reviews, I’m quite interested in this game. I’m honestly ignoring all the negativity because I think it looks like a solid, PS3-era romp. If the driving mechanics and gunplay feel good, that’s all I’m really looking for.

Re: Indiana Jones DLC Order of Giants Out in September on PS5

Kraven

I played the base game on my X and loved it. I was kind of bummed because two achievements were bugged, or I should say the collectibles themselves were bugged, otherwise I would have gotten all the achievements. I bought the game for PS5 to support the developers, so I’ll probably just do a replay later this year when the DLC drops. Surely all of the updates and patches will help me get the platinum trophy this go around.

Re: Blighted Is a Metroidvania Action Game from the Makers of Guacamelee

Kraven

Day one for sure. Severed is one of my favorite games - a really fun platinum too, and the Guacamole games are sublime. I didn’t care too much for Nobody Saves The World, but that’s only because it didn’t seem too single player focused, and incentivized cooperative play, which I don’t do. It was fun, however. I’ll eagerly pick this new title up.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 584

Kraven

This week I managed to finish Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo. It is a game that never outstayed its welcome, and its Metroidvania and Zelda-like qualities were incredibly well done. It took me about 17 hours, with completion rate of 78%. I feel quite satiated with my experience.

Subsequently, I was perusing my back catalog of games and saw Sea of Stars. I then realized Sabotage Studios released their hefty free expansion/DLC, Throes of the Watchmaker a week or so ago, and I decided to redownload the game.

I have beaten it before, but I noticed I missed a ton of optional content. Once I booted the game back up, I was immediately drawn back into this gorgeous world, almost without missing a beat. Within a couple of hours I mopped up all side bosses and collectibles, and even got the platinum trophy for it.

It is truly an outstanding retro-inspired JRPG. And, having not played it since release, all of the patches and updates have made it an even more enjoyable experience; it is more streamlined, in a positive way. As of right now, I’m a couple of hours in the DLC and it’s been sublime. I’m really looking forward to the new classes, abilities, and story.

I’m not sure what I want to play next. I have my eye on two games: MindsEye (I honestly think it looks solid despite the hooblah) and Blades of Fire. I’m not looking for anything special - just a simple spray and pray or hack and slash. Really, I’m just biding my time until Death Stranding 2 releases.

Re: Lies of P: Overture DLC Out Now, Costs $30 on PS5, PS4

Kraven

I actually booted my NG+++ save this morning after a couple of years, and I was a little midway through. I had no idea what I was doing, haha. This is one of my favorite games, but I don’t know if I have the energy to replay it up until near the end to unlock the DLC. I might eventually, though!

Re: Poll: How Would You Rate State of Play for June 2025?

Kraven

A- for me. It started off very strong, and had a lot of PS3 energy (that’s a good thing). It actually never slowed down; but the latter half of the games didn’t appeal to my tastes personally. Overall, it was a fantastic showing — new games, reappearances, and seemingly a renewed focus.

Re: Poll: Vote for Your PS5 Game of the Month (May 2025)

Kraven

Doom The Dark Ages is my pick. I got the platinum for it and it was a sublime experience. With that said, I also purchased Fantasy Life I: The Girl Who Steals Time, but I’ve only played two hours of it. It is good, but I haven’t sunk enough time in it to make a pure judgment.

Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue 583

Kraven

This week(end) I got the platinum trophy for Doom: The Dark Ages. It’s truly an extraordinary FPS. My initial impression was lukewarm. I felt the essence of DOOM was absent, but the more I played the more I became enamored with what it was trying to do mechanically.

Once you get past its lengthy tutorial stages the game ramps up the significantly. You are provided a plethora of weapons and upgrades that all feel unique and fun to use. Meanwhile, exploration is rewarding and feels more confident than its predecessors.

Overall, The Dark Ages is probably my favorite out of the trilogy. With that said, I could go back and forth any day of the week because each game does something unique that makes it stand out in ways that suit my play-style. Either way, these are a fantastic set of games that are worth adding to your catalogue.

In the last two weeks, I have obtained the platinum for Doom and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which is my personal GOTY. Both games are emotionally draining in their own way, so I needed to change up the pace.

That brings me to Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo (Nintendo Switch). This game rules. If you are a fan of top down Zelda-like with a dab of Metroidvania elements, this game is a must play.

As the title suggests, your main weapon is a yoyo. It’s such a great weapon that intertwines real life tricks such as Walk the Dog as learned abilities that really expand how you interact with exploration and combat. There are many variants, with a large amount of abilities I’ve yet to find, so I’m curious how the game evolves.

There are also upgrades, but they are handled in a way that is a challenge in and of itself. You’re essentially renting them until you can pay off the loan. While you are doing that, certain upgrades may take a life point away from you until you pay back the money whilst learning the skill. It’s a keen balance.

You can see the developers were inspired by classic Zelda games. There are numerous secrets to uncover, one of which is heart petals. Once you find enough of them, you gain an extra life. There are also main dungeons to progress through. They all have a unique locale, and are really fun and clever, making you utilize what an actual yoyo can do. The way these dungeons are set up, and how you’re able to interact with the environment via the yoyo, it’s fun manipulating how to dispatch your enemies.

Speaking of enemies, this game is genuinely challenging. It plays like your typical 2D action platformers, but in a top down view. Moreover, it’s not just the enemies you have to worry about, it’s the levels themselves. The game is constantly moving, making the environment just as much as a threat as the bad guys. I’ve died numerous times, but it always feels like my fault. Thankfully, the game is generous and saves your progress every new room you enter, which is often.

I’m about eight hours in total, and I’ve completed two main dungeons out of four (I believe), along with a ton of optional content. I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of this game because looking at my upgrades and abilities that I’ve yet to find, I see nothing but endless possibilities. This game is going to be special, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.