Kraven

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.

I can’t really judge it yet. I’m only a few hours after the prologue and I’m struggling quite a bit with the game and progressing in a meaningful way. With that said, I know once I get my bearings and a grasp on how the mechanics of the game works, this game will shape up to be one of my all time favorites. As of now, an 8/10 will have to suffice, but it can easily become a 10/10.

Let’s keep this comment section going! Let’s try to reach a 1000 by the end of the day. I’m sure we can find 300 more people to celebrate PSN coming back online! Haha.

This is such a real shame. Resistance was an incredible series, and I remember the first game being incredibly impressive and a must own for PS3 consoles at the time. I also thought R3 was the best in the franchise and told an interesting narrative, with great levels. I might be mistaken on the name, but the “Chicago” level was absolutely phenomenal in tone, atmosphere, and pacing.

This weekend I’ll mainly be focusing on Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. I never played the first entry, but Warhorse posted a ten minute summary on their YouTube channel and it really helped me get a grasp on the story.

So far, I’m a couple of hours in, but I’m very impressed. The writing is absolutely top-notch, with incredible voice acting and animations that bring the characters to life. The cutscenes themselves are high quality. I don’t think I’ve ever said this about a video game before, but it has a movie-ish quality to it, from its cinematography and direction.

It might be the most immersive game I’ve ever played, with incredible RPG mechanics and dialogue choices that genuinely make me pause and think about my responses. I really can’t wait to dive deeper into this medieval adventure.

On a side note, earlier this week I finished Unicorn Overlord and got the platinum trophy. What a fantastic game, and easily my favorite Vanillaware title to date. I can’t wait to see what kind of game they follow up with.

I’ve also been on an independent horror kick. I saw through Steam that a game called Fears to Fathom: Ironbark Lookout got positive reviews. The trailer seemed interesting so I picked it up. In my opinion, it was quite mediocre. Tonally, the game was great, and it featured great atmosphere, but everything else was subpar. And the way the narrative unfolds seems to be directly ripped out of a “Let’s Not Meet” Reddit story. Nonetheless, I got the platinum and immediately uninstalled it.

I’ll also be chipping away at the Mafia Definitive Edition platinum. I’m playing on classic difficulty and currently on chapter 12/20. It’s been fantastic, but I strongly dislike the collectible system in the game. Technically, the game is considered “open world”, but you are never incentivized to explore your surroundings because the main story is structured very linearly. A lot of collectibles are story related and hard to miss, but some are inexplicably in obscure places that don’t make sense in its design, while subsequently having a “free roam” mode to have more hidden collectibles. I think it’s poorly designed and not implemented in a way that is logically sound.

@Alecs_god It’s not working for me, unfortunately. I just got off work and was looking forward to playing KCD2 before an early day tomorrow morning. Bummer!

Hopefully they will come to the US. I’d love to go see one of these concerts! My wife knows a Final Fantasy live orchestra or something similar to this tour is on my bucket list.

This is awesome news. I played several hours on the Series X but got distracted by other games and never went back to it. This will definitely be on my radar to play when it releases. Also, I think it would be a perfect pair with my PlayStation Portal.

@PeaceSalad I will take one or two rest days, but I typically plan my runs first thing in the morning after I take my daughter to school. Other than that, there isn’t much I do to prevent injuries — I try not to think that way, honestly. I do a lot of stretching and I eat relatively healthy. I also get some decent sleep. Aside from those three things, I don’t do anything other than hope for the best lol.

I’m so stoked. Death Stranded was an unexpected masterpiece to me, and I think we will see it at the next State of Play.

It takes me weeks. Shockingly, even though I have a wife and kid, my work schedule provides me a lot of flexibility. I’m able to play for several hours every morning and still spend quality time with the family once my wife clocks off for the day. I also manage to run five or six miles daily to stay in shape. The only downfall is that I typically work every weekend. All of that said, I more or less play close to four hours a day.

I know I should probably play the first game, but I have time constraints. I watched the ten minute story recap from Warhorse’s YouTube channel, and I somewhat have an idea of the story that unfolded. For veterans, do you think I’ll be fine if I jump into KCD2 considering I watched the recap and apparently there is a lengthy background in the intro of the sequel to bring you up to speed.