jolteon23

I'm well aware that AI will not disappear and we will not be able to stop that. What we can do however, is making a lot of noise and showing companies how we would and wouldn't like AI to be used. Personally, I draw the line at the creation of artwork. Any artwork should never be created by a computer alone, there should always be human brain involved.

The amount of people that are defeatist about it is alarming to me. We can very well do something about it; we are the market and there's power in that.

I have said it before and I will say it again: We need to protest this by publicly talking about it, online and offline, and stop spending money on games, studios and publishers that promote and implement the use of AI to generate artwork.

We, as hardcore players, have to vehemently protest against this. I don't think people grasp the gravity of the situation. If this is allowed by us, AI will make most games (the ones made by greedy corporations) look identical, soulless and drab. Publishers and developers will become void of creativity and refuse to pay their employees (artists, sound designers, etc.) a decent amount of money, because everything can be generated by a robot.

There is no excuse for a company like Epic Games to use AI. They make money by the boat loads and should just pay an actual artist for their music, instead of this kpop imitation crap. Epic Games wants to cut corners to increase profit margins for their board members. This is not about saving time for "actual development"; they employ 4000+ people.

We need to protest this by publicly talking about it, online and offline, and stop spending money on games, studios and publishers that promote and implement the use of AI.

@RBMango I read your comment thinking, ah so I wouldn't have come across it. Then I realized you said 40h. Do we have the same amount of hours in our days? Holy cow that's impressive for just one weekend. When you answer the feature "What are you Playing this Weekend?", the question should be, "What is Playing you this Weekend?"

[Read this as jealousy and admiration.]

Thank you for sharing this list, I finally bought Dragon's Crown Pro after absolutely loving Vanillaware's last outings. I know it's a very different game, but the artwork is just sublime and so appealing to me.

I'm really hoping for another look at Intergalactic, but I also know Sony won't be talking about too many games of theirs at the same time. So, in that case, I'll be totally satisfied with new Stellar Blade DLC

This was one of my favorite games last year. Happy to see they continue to sell well. I hope Stellar Blade grows into a Playstation staple and continues to grow the franchise.

Last night I started my playthrough of The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy. Is it smart to start a huge new game this close to a new console launch? Probably not, but I'm doing it anyway because I felt like it.
Elsewhere I'll be continuing my obsession with Expedition 33.
Bon Gaming everyone!

Having finished Chapter 12 of Xenoblade Chrobicles X and seen the credits roll made me feel kind of burned out on the game. I think I will treat chapter 13 as DLC amd hold off playing it until I have renewed motivation.
In feeling so I have tried a new game through GamePass after hearing so much about it: Clair Obscur. And it has immediately sunk its french hooks in me. I can't get the song out of my head. So, that will be a large chunk of my weekend. Tonight I'm meeting with friends and that often means Mario Party is a given.

Happy gaming everyone! For those who come after.

@Nepp67 Perfect World Games is the developer and while the part of the original Persona 5 team (P-studio) has supported them on artwork, it is unlikely they spent a lot of time and recourses on Phantom X. Meaning, P-studio is most likely still working on the next Persona installment and this rumored Phantom X release will not interfere too much.

Is using a PS5 controller also an option?

How is Sega/Atlus doing compared to the top 5? I feel like they have also been doing very solid.

Which game is the image on the right side of the header from?

Having finished TLoZ Echoes of Wisdom on Tuesday, now it's time to continue my playthrough of Eiyuden Chronicle, so my backlog run of unfinished games continues. I'm actually further into the game than I remembered, currently in Norristar. Hope to finish it before Xenoblade Chronicles X releases.
Happy gaming everyone!

@Silenos I would like to know this as well.

I do not approve, and I feel it is sickening and dehumanizing to discuss whether it is okay for a game to directly use imagery of a bombing that (possibly) killed actual living people. Especially one as recent, unfair and disputed as this one.

I will absolutely pick this up, although I might wait for a small sale since I have plenty to play still currently.

I'm still working on my playthrough of Metaphor on PS5, that game is amazing and my GOTY, but it is massive as well! All these goty lists have gotten me back into Balatro on Switch and I have continued Emio. I'm now at chapter 5 and really need some twists to keep me hooked this time, so I'm hoping for that this weekend.
Happy gaming everyone!

My game of the year is Metaphor: Refantazio hands down. If the societal commentary, well written characters and dialogue didn't draw me in, the addictive combat, engaging missions and imaginative worlds would have. It is one of the best JRPGs I have ever played and will cherish it and its characters for years to come.

I might finally purchase Granblue Fantasy: Relink, but then again I'm already set with a huge jrpg the coming months (Metaphor). So, I might save it for a later time and hopefully an even better discount.

I was really looking forward to this game, but I'm also happy to wait for a more complete experience. There's plenty of RPGs to sink my teeth into still coming.

I am absolutely obsessed with this series, so might give this a try if it gets decent reviews.

@MikeOrator I have the same weird excitement, even though I should have had my fill playing, and finishing, all these Persona type games last year.

Good to see some moderate success for the developers. Ubisoft deserved a bit of a break. I really don't want to see any more lay-offs within the industry

I wish we could give Adam that endgame outfit. iykyk.

@themightyant Thanks, that's such an interesting and clever approach, albeit to get us to spend more money. but I can imagine it also expands the brand and makes their overall roster more iconic in a sense. I can easily see myself spending money on similar characters across multiple games once I have some favorites.

@colonelkilgore I think it also depends on budget, DD2 reportedly had a budget of $50m while games like FFVII R get 5 times that. So then I can understand that some are counted as a succes and some not quite so much while selling similar numbers.
(These numbers are really just estimates I found online)

@FanCFeast I have only played Genshin impact briefly during lockdown, so I know nothing and now I wonder; With all these Hoyoverse games, is there some overlap in characters or overarching lore shared between the games? Or do they completely stand alone?

I finally got myself a physical copy of Sea of Stars, so I'm stoked to try that one out finally! Happy gaming everyone!

So long as the romance options are not entirely open I will not miss their absence. It feels so archaic and yester-year to only be able to romance your opposite-sex NPC friends.

This is indeed an absolute looker. That's one thing Atlus always just does right

I love playing Sabacc with my friends, so its presence in-game is a huge win to me. Did not expect this, nice.

@Carck I agree, I view myself left as they come, but this game just looks dope to me and can't wait to play it.
I haven't seen these comments myself, but I kind of get where they're coming from. But then again, there is other games for you if this is not your cup of tea. This is obivously a design choice, it's nothing more than that.

@Rhaoulos Because of someone's comment which has since been deleted. People who view "woke" solely as a collective noun and the bringer of all that is evil, love to use it to praise (in its deemed absence) or denounce (when "woke" is deemed present) games. In this case the game was deemed anti-woke because of the titillitating presence of the female body.

@DennisReynolds Thank you for being the voice of reason

@add286 I agree, I'm not done but past the midway point (chapter 9 and I go for 100% completion) and I also think it's one of the best exclusives on PS5. I've also played a bit of Dragon's Dogma over the last week and FF is just so much more enjoyable in my opinion. It has better personality, charm, engaging story, characters and overall gameplay than DD2. I have decided to drop DD2 for now and solely focus on finishing FF Rebirth.

I'll probably get it, though I still haven't finished Unicorn Overlord, Persona 3 Reload and FF Rebirth. So yes, the onslaught of quality RPGs is taking it's toll on my ability to play it all crying emoji

@Jayslow The fact that it switched to 3rd person is actually the sole reason me and my friends got interested. So, I can see it influence their success. Then again, I'm in a very "dislike all 1st person games" gamer bubble.

I like the premise, but the artstyle kind of throws me off. I've had this with 3D pixelated games before. If this was in 2D I would have probably ate it up.

I am so happy to finally be able to say I will be playing Univorn Overlord this weekend! As a strategy RPG fan, this game has it all for me!
Of course I'll also continue my playthrough of FF rebirth as I'll be diving into Chapter 5. Another great game! 2024 is shaping up to be absolutely amazing.
Happy gaming everyone!

If the limited edition with vinyl would come to Europe, I would definitely pre-order it.

I have one honest question that I can't seem to find the answer to. How come most Japanese developers and publishers, Capcom, Nintendo, Atlus, etc, been mostly left untouched by this wave of mass lay-offs this past year? Did they simply not hire many new employees during the Covid period? Are said employees better protected than U.S. based companies? Or is the answer more complicated than this?

@Nepp67 Ah yes, good point. Thanks, I wasn't aware of this! Makes sense they would solely market the gameplay then.

So what gives me caution is the little knowledge we have about Dragon's Dogma 2's story, different environments, NPCs and towns/cities. We've been spoiled with vocation spotlights and gameplay videos, but the game feels scarily thin on story and worldbuilding so far. Does anyone else have similar fears or did I miss something?
I feel reluctant to just beat big trolls, dragons and other fiends around the same forest/cliff situation for 50 + hours.

"Are you happy to spend hours blissfully drilling, optimizing, and leading your forces in battle?"

YES

@ear_wig Thanks for the tip, I will check this out!

I bought mine last month and I could not have been happier. Any worries my internet wasn't stable enough were quickly diminished and it has proven an irreplaceable gadget in just a few weeks. It's absolutely perfect for JRPGs and indie games. I played most of Persona 5 on the Portal and it was a great fit. One downside is that it runs empty pretty quickly when you eave it in sleep mode and unplugged. Hope there will eventually be an Oled upgrade in the future.

Got this pre-ordered, I am very excited to play this!

I'll probably watch this over breakfast since the start time (in the Netherlands) is just a bit too late (I feel old typing this). Nevertheless, I am extremely excited to see even more and raise those hype levels through the roof.

Whenever I'm not studying this weekend, I'll be playing AA: Apollo Justice or Persona 5R. A nice surprise: Shadow Tactics have launched on PS Plus Extra and I've been having a lot of fun with the top down tactical game! There are so many creative ideas tucked away in that title. Anyways, happy gaming everyone!

Very excited to hear this. I mean, AA7 must be in the pipeline! But I get that they want to let Apollo Justice have it's moment first before announcing anything new. I suspect AJ will sufficiently scratch my AA itch for the coming months.