ilyn

Genuinely cannot wait, I know it won't be game of the year but I imagine it could be mine based on the demo

Did everything on the demo and utterly loved it. From the moment we saw the trailer it was the game I was most excited for in the immediate future, and it did not disapoint. It felt like the difficulty was taken down a touch from the Alpha demo which I am fine with, the Bloodedge demon especially seemed to be more manageable.

One change I really like from N2 is how weapons now have three reference stats and simply scale (High, Mid, Low) based on which stat you have the most, second and least points in. Plus having the blacksmith able to change the reference stats is great as you can make any weapon work with any build.

I also like how they have made the respec system completely free and easy to use at any point. That mixed in with the gear sets will make a nice difference for people who like different builds.

@SterlingEyes the best advice I can give is toggle the option that forces style shift when shift countering. That way you don't get forced into a mid combat weapon swap which is horrible. I find it allows you to get to grips with the two modes, or just play the one you prefer.

The pro is up and running so I decided to start Silent Hilll 2. I am just up to the Apartments and its already ticking some big nostalgia vibes.

I played the Nioh 3 Demo yesterday and that was every bit as good as I hoped it would be. I was not sure on the Samurai vs Ninja in the alpha, but I like how you can basically just stay one or the other if you prefer and its just two different play styles. The little tweaks and changes from the Alpha seem decent and its good to see the full weapon roster returned. Finished everything the Demo had to offer including killing the Bloodedge Demon as the final fight since that guy is on meth. Overall really impressed with what they have done and can't wait for the full release.

At present I am not playing anything as I treated myself to a Pro which arrived this morning, so its currently transferring data. Picked up the Pro + Drive bundle from Very and used their 20% very pay discount to get the price down to £606. Also stuck it through Top Cashback so I should get roughly another £45 back from that, plus what ever I get for trading in the old PS5 and PS4.

Nice little bit of a saving there

Going to have to check this out as its probably my most hyped game for 2026.. I was not entirely convinced on the Ninja / Samurai modes but if I can play the whole game as a tanky spear bro I am happy.

@ECharles More likely he doesnt care one way or the other. All that matters is that they paid him a few million to have the final trailer spot.

@Rich33 If they cancel it without showing anything they get grief for being incompetant and not explaining. If they showed footage of a complete failure, they get grief for incompetant management of a project, and laying the blame at the devs feet. Honestly they would be getting grief either way so best just show nothing and at least handle it as professionally as possible.

I feel this will be a classic mileage may vary title where its reviewed down just because it not the classic FS clone. I play most souls likes and in fairness very few of them have stellar narritive or interesting dialogue, because it not the focus of that type of games.

As for the visuals its very much a case of do you like the anime style or not. Looks like the main concern is the frame drops.

For my money FFXII still holds the top spot for the worst final fantasy game. The gameplay, story and characters just did nothing for me at all compared to the other titles in the series.

@Toot1st Steam also has achievments, unless you meant you want them to keep increasing your gamerscore. Granted that might appeal to some, but I imagine its the minority.

@BleedingDreamer If the next Xbox is just a PC with access to multiple storefronts including Steam then Play Anywhere becomes redundant for any future purchases as you can just buy on Steam and have access on PC / console PC. Its a niche feature that may at present have some limited value to users, but these rumoured changes would reduce that value.

I ended up finishing Call of Cthulhu yesterday and it was a pretty good fun little story that really amped up the madness towards the end. It was fairly short and in fairness the gameplay was not great, but I still enjoyed it as the story held its own.

Started Disney Epic Mickey Rebrushed as I wanted something nice and simple before I start another bigger game.

I finished Lies of P which was alright but I felt the grinder mechanic was garbage. No idea who felt that adding combat durability would be a good concept. Also felt it dropped off a little towards the end as the last three bosses were a bit overtuned compared to the rest of the game. Overall I would say it was 7.5/10

Now started Call of Cthulhu which is middling but I'm a sucker for anything Mythos related so I'm still enjoying it.

Fable was the only game of the showcase that held any interest, but I not completely sold on it until I see more, as I felt they were very light on showing real detail.

• Combat looked pretty basic and whilst it may pass in a shorter linear game, I want more if its a longer open world.
• The open world looked very nice visually, but it also was just screens of empty vistas. A huge world is pointless if it ends up just being empty.
• Despite the new studio the whole presentation had a ring of Peter Molynuex promises about it. Does the giant rot over time if you kill him and does that decomposition affect the flora and fauna of the are, or is it just a body that stays on the screen and has very minor effects. Again I just want to know more as fable has a long history of over bluster when promoting the series.

It looks mostly positive, I just need to know more before I jump in and get excited.

I was interested in the original Boardgame for this as the theme looked of grim dark arthurian legends is great and the minis looked pretty decent also, but it was bloody expensive as all Boardgames are now. Never really followed the game much but may check it out at some point if it looks promising.

@SteveJaye I think they could potentially rework OG classic for consoles but it would require a lot of work, and likely to much to make it worthwhile. The biggest issue is the GCD in WoW which results in gameplay thats far to fast unless using m/kb with mods, addons and macros.

I feel they could mitigate this in classic as the game was pretty basic back then but each expansion pushed harder content which would limit it long term, without huge changes. The difference in difficulty from Classic > TBC > WotLK > Cata > MoP is really noticeable when you play it again and you can really see how the game evolved at pace to keep up with the addons like boss mods etc.

It will release when its ready, but I don't have confidence in Bethesda to actually make great games any more. They had a good run but would need to really improve on the genre in a way I don't think they are able to.

Controller looks great but I have no real interest in shooters in general.

@WolfyTn Probably due to the games inclusion on PS+

@GirlVersusGame I used to work at a pipe fitters years back and occassionally they would have to test hoses / pipes to destruction to see at what pressure the seals would blow. One of these tests was seeing how much pressure a hose could take that was designed to pump snow for ski resort. The pipe never actually blew as the end blank came out first and took out a block wall as the pressure turned it into a cannon round. Pressue can be seriously scary at high levels.

Started Lies of P this weekend on the PS5 and on PC I keep trying to get into Divinity Original Sin. I want to like it but it's clunky as hell and just not that great. I did hear the sequel is much better but kind of want to force myself to finish this first.

@SMJ So you acknowledge that Sony makes all its money from Games, DLC microtransactions and subscriptions via PSN... And you think their golden play would be to stop making the hardware that channels people directly into that eco system.

You are being purposefully obtuse, and honestly its just making you look ignorant and embarrasing at this point.

@SMJ Selling hardware does make Sony money as the hardware is what leads users to PSN which generates the bulk of their revenue, the two things work hand in hand.

Also someone still has to make the "plastic boxes" as you refer to them, so who exactly does that if no one should be making them?

@Logonogo Not really as the issue here is online only vs offline play. Regardless of Physical or Digital the game is simply unplayable without the servers.

Not been doing much gaming since last weekend at all as I had been under the weather. What little time I had was spent on Guardians of the Galaxy which I am still enjoying, but the combat really starts to drag as the game just throws wave of enemies at you that have no real challenge other that just being longer.

I had zero interest in the game but I also think that the idea that the final trailer should be the biggest ever is kind of silly. From a hype factor the show is over, the main award is done and they people are switching off. I get why the bigger trailers all seemed to be in the first hour because that's when they will be adding traction online and helping to grab more people to tune in. It's bookending the event with trailer hype early doors and the big award to close.

In general however the amount of hate games of all stripes get now before they are released is awful. You can pick any generic reason and it's enough for people to call for it to be cancelled based on one trailer. Why can't people just say, not my thing and move along

@11001100110zero They did it for the play anywhere. That's the only way I buy games for my Xbox now. Single purchase, and get 2 copies. 1 on Xbox, one on PC.

I do get the appeal of play anywhere with buying once and getting it twice, but I would be genuinely curious how many people actually fully utilise it. For example how many will say jump on D4 on PC and then play on Console for what would be a worse controller experience. Its always felt like a nice on paper bonus, but I don't think it would be missed if it went away. Its a bit like how BC is a deal beaker for everyone on paper, but is then not widely used.

I also think Gamepass is TOO bloated. $30 bucks gets you many things, but allows access to 896? Games. Gut that, and make it cheap again.

The problem is that the cost is not due to the amount of games on the service as PS+ has more and is cheaper. The cost rose because offering day 1 games for $10 was always going to backfire. They planned for subs growing at unprecedented levels to offest the loss in Day 1 sales and that simply did not happen because they don't have a great market share, and the world is not interested in their all streaming app based future.

@Ooccoo_Jr I quite like the idea here that even a MS employee would use ChatGPT rather than Copilot

@Raccoonius Yeah it seems like a decent enough short gamethat you could see off pretty quickly. I have done a bit more and the story, characters, visuals are all decent but the combat is a bit janky. Its servicable, but all just a bit to busy as you have to control 5 characters abilities whilst playing an action game and it gets messy.

Still seems well worth a blast tho with it being PS+

Not surprised by Wolverine topping the list after the trailer showed them going fully down the mega violence route. I am a bit surprised that Nioh 3 was so far down however as I expect great things from it.

Finished Alan Wake 2 which was entertaining enough but the ending frustrated me because it tries to match the original but doesn't really land the same. Also I can't stand this trend of making you replay a 30+ hour game for the "true" ending which is just a few extra minutes of cutscenes. It just feels lazy and doesn't respect a players time. Either make the new game majorly different or tell the whole story in one.

Started Guardians of the Galaxy now which is pretty fun so far. They seem to have got the characters down pretty well with the insane chatter and constant bickering.

Been playing Alan Wake 2 which is a bit of a mixed bag. The story is brilliant, easily 10/10 and really keeps you invested but the combat is stil a very basic and sluggish 4/10 with no real improvement from the original game. Im enjoying it overall, and would certainly recommend it, but its one of those games you stick on story as the action gameplay is not the focus at all.

@Rich33 Another thing that needs consideration when legislating is that massive job redundancy caused by AI will eventually crash entire economies if let get out of hand.

I feel like you can replace AI in that sentance with any other technical innovation in the last 50 years and it would still hold true. AI is just the latest development that allows companies to streamline and become more efficient in the endless quest of more for less. In that regard I see it no worse than advancements to ERP systems which have allowed businesses to downsize admin and office teams because you can automate or forecast without having to work everything out manually.

Job losses are never great, but unfortunately they are a natural side effect of advances in technology, and at what point do you say stop.

@DonkeyFantasy I don't think people have really twigged just how much RAM has increased in cost. A digital console on black friday was cheaper than than RAM on its own before you even start to factor in Mobo, CPU, GPU, PSU, M.2 plus what ever peripherals you need to buy. Its not a good time to be getting into PC's.

@Ainu20 your answer is the closest to summing up my own feelings here. Self publishing should not matter as long as the publisher is not a mega publisher. If I recall correctly Valhiem was made by four people and published by a tiny publisher. That' game was pure indie despite not being self published.

As for budget and team size it's all about scale, 10m is a big budget compared to games like vampire survivors, but a tiny budget compared to bigger games. It feels wrong to gauge it by budget because more ambitious design will always cost more. Which also ties in to the vibe factor, where I think the real truth lies for a lot of people. Its budget graphics or pixel styling that people equate as indie in their mind.

@get2sammyb I also find it a bit confusing the way he's saying it's not really useful but at the same time saying they need to use it.

In this regard its no different than many forms at technology which at a time will also have been viewed as not really useful. Bookkeepers probably had the exact same view when computers started replacing physical ledgers. You have to use the technology to stay current and then work out how and where it can be applied to save time, or you become irrelevant in a few years.

@HonestHick Blizz have always been the gold standard for trailers, I don't think they have ever had a bad one tbh

Total War getting the Warhammer IP has been very good for them and is a guarenteed money spinner due to the amount of fans Warhammer has. Old world did well, but this will have people throwing money at it as they unlock factions.

Great Game! Night City was really well done and they made traversal fun to the point that I rarely ever bothered with fast travel. Keanu also elevated the game far more than I expected as he had plenty of screen time with amusing dialogue which led to him being a fleshed out character.

@BearsEatBeets If they are using the same engine and just iterating on what they already made for BG3 then I imagine that would help them speed up dev time by a decent amount. Then throw in 12m of early access for act 1 and it could be about right.

@theSpectre Yeah its a standard Team Ninja games with all the weapons / item sets, at different rarities, that can be upgraded at the Blacksmith with it being gated so you pretty much hit +9 items by end game. Then you can upgrade them further if you go into NG+ where there are also new much better item sets. The main annoyance is the DLC really ramps it up by assuming you have the 5* NG+ gear.

The main difference is that there are only 5 stats you put points into, but you still mainline one stat to 50 and put minor investment in one or two others. As I mentioned above its similar to Nioh, just not as good in any area.

Wo Long is a decent grab for anyone who has not yet played it. It never managed to reach the same level as Nioh for quality but was enjoyable in its own right.

My only issues with the game was the final boss in the final DLC is overtuned to hell as its designed assuming you are on NG2 with the equivalent gear.

@Oram77 It is but I imagine that it will do less numbers than nightreign as a Switch 2 only release. I wouldn#t be surprised if they have another project in the works as these all feel very much like side projects.

@CielloArc My original bet was D4 and I am still not ruling that ou because every company will deny its them until the show. That said POE2 was my potential second as the eye / tentacles has a vaal feel to it. I just don't know if GGG would go the statue route just to announce it coming out of pre release.

@Chip-Douglas Not a chance of that happening, ER sold 30m and Nightreign 5m. Its had a great return for them but they ain't giving up the single player stuff for it.

@Shinnok789 The story and Lore of SR2 was better but in other ways it felt like a real backslide as the combat and general gameplay was worse, plus the elemental forges all felt samey.

I still love the entire series tho and wish it was brought back as the world of Nosgoth was great.

Shogun was incredible but I wish they were doing more of that rather than GoW as there is not a chance it will measure up.

@StitchJones I do think its slightly different when talking about a live service game as their DLC's are not a one and done and instead the start of 12-18m of content. MS have also changed it up for Blizz and are pushing their games a lot more outside of just Blizzcon.

@Dogbreath You are not that much older than myself and I find I am regularly having this discussion with lots of people as to the real increase of costs. Back in the late 90's the other difference is that people didn't pay for Netflix, Prime, Disney+. Spotify and everyother subscription under the sun. In the UK you had a single TV licence and a few families had cable or sky. We also didn't pay for a mobile phone contract at £30+ a month or pricy full fibre broadband, or take lots of holidays abroad.

In reality whilst everything as gone up the issue now is people don't want to compromise and live within their means. They want all the latest devices, with the latest cars, expensive holidays and experiencs and then moan about consoles which have not really increased much at all.

It more a state of detachment from what is a neccessity vs luxury, and what are people willing to sacrifice as you can't realistically expect to have everything.