NieR_Dark

Sailing the skies with Granblue Fantasy Relink this weekend. Managed to briefly dip in yesterday and already loving it.

After Lords Of The Fallen (which I really enjoyed as well!), having a bright, colourful and surprisingly cheery world on the screen is a nice change, and so far the combat has been a joy.

With Final Fantasy Rebirth and Unicorn Overlord both pencilled in for next… now begins the JRPG-a-thon!

So excited by this one. 13 Sentinels genuinely rocked my world, and this has the potential to be for me one of the games of the year, without a doubt.

I so wish I was good at these games. Really want to play both this and SF6 and almost caved once or twice… but I’m rubbish, can never master the blocking. And the idea of playing strangers online stresses me out just thinking about it 😂

@Korgon ah gotch’ya. I’ve never been great at PVP games… I can be great at the game solo, but the second I’m playing agains randoms it’s like I get stage fright 😂

@viktorcode I never realised you could play solo! Might be curious to check it out now.

I never really play co-op or team online games in general… purely because still after all these years I never feel natural talking to strangers over the mic. That and most of my friends are rubbish and out there living lives rather than playing videogames with me… losers 😄.

@Korgon Did you try Aliens Fireteam? I only played it briefly, but kinda had fun with it. The OG Ghost Recon will always be my favourite, especially its Island Thunder add-on. I have many fond teenage memories playing that with a friend in couch co-op while we blasted out the latest System Of A Down album. Haha.

Hoping to pick this up at the weekend, so one million and one copies!

Really looking forward to venturing into this one!

I don’t think it can be blamed on being a single player game, we’ve had some major single player games released recently which have been very successful, and on the flipside, big online games like Babylon’s Fall which have failed miserably.

Even though they admittedly tried something different, from what I’ve seen (I’ve not actually played it so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong), it reeked of blandness, almost like they were too afraid to commit to their own idea. Possibly interference with people at the top too afraid to take risks. Forespoken looked the same.

I could be wildly off the mark here, so feel free to call me an idiot if so 😄

I still think we’ll get some kind of reveal on the two year anniversary, even if it’s just another teaser image.

Also banking on this being FromSofts biggest DLC yet, and that the size and scope of it will blow everyone away, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking 😄

It all sounds like a personal passion project, and he’s clearly doing what he wants to so all power to him. I genuinely am glad he gets to do his thing, but as I’ve said before I just wish what he was doing was something I was into.

In all honesty, the way he tells stories, no big studio in the world would ever let him release a big budget blockbuster movie in that style, not these days, so games are probably the only way he can tell a story the way he really wants.

I love movies, maybe more so than games. But when I’m playing a game, I don’t want it to be a movie. I settle down on my PlayStation to play a game… so unfortunately this is sounding less and less like something I’m going to be interested in.

I find it kind of frustrating in a way, because Kojima is, clearly, a one of a kind and when he’s making actual games I really do think there’s nothing else quite like it. But he’s certainly earned his chance to do things the way he wants. Hopefully he’ll prove me wrong and it’ll be incredible!

@gaston I think that might have to be the way forward. I feel a bit dirty doing it… but knowing others have done the same mildly softens the blow 😄

Honestly, the difficulty spikes in that game really do come out of nowhere.

@gaston I was breezing through Vertigo 2, but got to a part two days ago where it just feels like it’s insanely hard section after another. And now I’m stuck in a part involving waves of enemies with no health regens… not sure if I’ve missed something, but seriously considering lowering the difficulty. Had to take a break from it yesterday… shame, because as a whole I’m loving the game.

@BranJ0 That is such an amazing game, and it looks absolutely stunning. Insanely underrated… I’ve tried to get people to play it but it’s such a hard one to explain. My best effort is it’s like if Christopher Nolan directed and anime. Not sure that quite works! Haha

@TheArt PS5 being my first PS console (spent years on the other side), I finally played Bloodborne last year and had such a great time. Might be my proudest platinum! Haha

Was going to start my Granblue Fantasy: Relink adventure, but popped into GAME at lunch yesterday and they didn’t have a copy (despite having a stack of random Barbie Blu-rays, seriously, what happened to GAME? 😄)

So, instead I shall be continuing my journey in Vertigo 2, which has reached some major difficulty spikes. That or I’m just rubbish at the game… probably the latter.

Have fun everyone!

Loved Dead Cells, and it played so well on the Switch. Amazing the support they’ve shown this title over the years.

Was the first roguelike I ever played, and still probably my favourite. I’ve struggled with other roguelike’s over the years, but still occasionally dip back into this every now and then.

People need to realise when they “own” digital content… they only own it while the company they purchased it from keeps the license… once that expires, if they don’t renew it, it’s game over for the customer.

I’ve always favoured physical over digital media, be it movies, games, books and music. Personally I just like to rummage through my collection and I like something I can actually hold.

I totally get the want / need for digital, but what with the Discovery debacle last year and now this, Sony are certainly inadvertently waving the flag for why we should all stick with physical.

@ShogunRok Ah that sounds good to me! Although even in the first FF7 remake I still somehow ended up stuck in a cycle constantly pausing and replenishing MP / HP toward the end game.

I’m just clearly not very good at point management in these games 😄

What a time to be a fan of Japanese games!

Now where’s my new NieR game….?

Who would have thought that mobile game developers would be the ones to swoop in and save us from micro transactions… definitely a certain irony there.

Definitely interested! Hard to tell if the combat is turn based or not? Definitely looks like it’s in mini arena’s at least as in Tales Of Arise etc. it’s funny, despite having really got into the JRPG sub genre the past few years, turn-based combat still doesn’t really do it for me. I know that’s sacrilege!

Love the general look of this though!

The more I see about this game the more I like it, and the fact they’re so passionate about this being a full-blown single player experience without parts locked behind an extra paywall automatically makes makes me route for them.

Really hope it lives up to the hype and does well.

Could this even be the beginning of a new big franchise?

@Kidfunkadelic83 Ha! Well that’s one thing Stellar Blade has definitely taken inspiration from!

@Th3solution I’ve got to admit I don’t mind the second section, but poor 9S is my favourite character, so it kinda works for me 😂

@Kidfunkadelic83 Stop whatever you’re doing immediately and boot up Automata! Haha. You have no idea what you’re missing out on.

@Th3solution The fact so many people never play past the first ending drives me insane… the game is just getting started! 😂

I could honestly ramble all day about Automata, be it themes it addresses, the mix in gameplay styles, the music etc… but I don’t want to derail things too much! Haha

If the combat in Stellar Blade has a NieR tinge then that’s all good in my book. But, big if, it takes further inspiration from NieR in the way it presents itself and plays out, then agreed, that’ll be a huge bonus.

For obvious reasons this all got me pretty excited for this game way back.

It sounds corny, but NieR:Automata was such a game changer for me, and I’ve genuinely been chasing that feeling I had when I first finished my complete play-through ever since.

Combat wise, this definitely checks out from what we’ve seen… but what made Automata so special were all those little moments (if you know you know), and without a madman genius like Yoko Taro at the helm I’m not sure anyone else will be able to match that. But you never know I guess!

Still genuinely excited for this one.

@DonkeyFantasy Well you tried! Haha. Next time it’s in the sale I’ll do it. Then PS plus here it comes!

I really want to try this game and have hovered over the buy button many a time, but I know the second I buy it, it’ll be announced as a PS Plus game.

Had my eyes on Rollerdrome for a while but could never quite bring myself to take the plunge, and Steel Rising looks half decent, so all in all not a bad month really!

Don’t tarnish Elden Ring’s reputation with this gacha nonsense…

…I’ll get my coat.

I really wanted to love Death Stranding and was semi-enjoying it. But after getting to the chapter covered in snow slowly trudging up a mountain I took a breather, and just never went back.

I love the fact Kojima is able to do his thing… I just wish the games he had lined up actually excited me.

As a side note, also kind of wish he’d stop with the celebrity names involved. I can’t quite describe why, but it’s just starting to wind me up 😂

I always set out to get the Platinum, but usually give up hope around the 30 hour mark.

Crisis Core was going so well until I missed the barrels at the waterfall and somehow missed unlocking some of the missions… then all hope was lost.

@DonkeyFantasy I’m sure you’ll be fine, I have faith! Haha. From what I can remember I didn’t struggle too much until they popped up, and they’re very much in the late game, but they can be beat!

Still would like a sequel to Code Vein, but can’t see it happening unfortunately.

@DonkeyFantasy I really liked Code Vein, had a way better time with it than I thought I would. Just brace yourself for Cannoneer & Blade Bearer. Even though they’re very similar to a certain Dark Souls boss… I still had to put the game down for a day or two and come back to them less angry. Haha

Should be clearing up Lords Of The Fallen in the next few days, providing the end game bosses don’t provide too much of a challenge 😂

All while dipping into Vertigo 2 which is a lot of fun!

Someone needs to come up with a name for gaming Karen’s… I’m going to go with something like Garret (no offence to any actual Garret’s out there 😂)

But in all seriousness, you’ve got to be pretty low to resorting to violent threats and leaving creepy voice messages over a videogame… what a Garret.

Well I’ll probably grab it if there’s some in game rewards.

I’m still hoping we’re going to get the next Yoko Taro game announcement next week… hey… lemme dream! Haha

So tempted to pick this up tomorrow. I’m still finishing up Lords Of The Fallen, but this could be a nice one to counteract that with.

I know this probably will be FF Rebirth exclusive and all which will obviously be great, but since it’s Square Enix, that new Yoko Taro game they teased would have info released early this year wouldn’t go amiss either 😉

Since it’s first person, shame this didn’t get the PSVR2 treatment as well. Looks like it would really work in that environment and would have been a nice little free scary demo to bump people in as a showcase.

But obviously that’s not knowing the gameplay etc… that doesn’t take away from this still being exciting 😀

I’m wondering if a certain pyramid shaped headed villain is going to chase you around certain points of the game at random rather than scripted events like the original.

Still cautiously optimistic about this one.

@Nowings Did the WoLong demo drop after a SOP last time?

Tempted with the Metal Gear collection. I’ve managed to wrack up £10 in points, so with the sale I could get it for £27 which doesn’t seem too bad…

…but, having only played the first and second when they were released and never Snake Eater, I genuinely don’t know if it’s best to wait for the new version.

FF Rebirth dropping on a day that only comes around once every four years for maximum epic points!

Totally slipped me by that Rise Of The Ronin was so close as well.

Luckily my backlog isn’t that big… oh wait…

@ShogunRok Great news! I think I got confused because in the demo they’re split up for obvious reasons, but that makes much more sense. Hopefully will get the chance to jump into this tomorrow.

Great review! Really looking forward to this one!

@ShogunRok if you jump into the side quests / missions while playing through the story campaign, do level upgrades and equipment etc carry over into both modes?