mcdreamer

More RE4 Remake mostly for me, though I've not played in several days. Getting towards the back half of the game now but I'm taking a surprisingly long time over it. Even though it's a lot less scary than 2 and 3, in fact it's not really scary at all on the whole, I still find it quite intense so struggle a bit with longer sessions. Ideally I'd wrap it up before the HFW DLC drops but I doubt that's feasible.

This is the first time I've experienced a new mainline Final Fantasy release as a fan of the series. I've played a lot of the games over the last few years so I've been following along with FFXVI with a lot of interest. I was really hoping they'd go for a battle system like that of FF7R for XVI. The way that game melds something of the old turn based combat with real time action is really clever. The fact that XVI is going full action combat is the wrong direction for me.

I'm sure this game will be very polished and fun to play, but is it really Final Fantasy? Yes there are Chocobos and Moogles around the place, but is that enough? To me it looks like it could have been a new IP but they've chosen the FF name for the marketing bump.

I'm very excited about this!

This song does not fit the game at all. Fingers crossed it only appears in game during the final credits. It doesn't help that I'm not a Yonezu Kenshi fan at all.

Hard to tell if this theme song or the action combat is more out of place. Thank goodness we've got the pixel remasters in the next few days.

Switching between RE4 Remake and Forsaken. RE4 is brilliant, but even though it's less scary than 2 and 3 I can still only handle the tension for so long!

As for Forspoken, I can see the issues reviewers pointed out but I do think it holds its own. Sure there are some questionable choices, such as the fades to black, the inconsistent graphical quality and some of the more ponderous pieces of dialogue to name a few. However, the story and world are quite intriguing, I like Frey and Cuff and the combat and movement out in the world are pretty solid. Is is a masterpiece? No. It is however a very solid, "good" game. It has some great music too.

This has been one of my most anticipated games since it was announced. After the 2 and 3 remakes I never doubted it would be just as good - and it looks like it will deliver!

I’m finally making a start on this series with cold steel 1. I have zero too but I think CS is going to serve me better as an entry point.

@NEStalgia Yeah, that's it. I think if this was called anything other than Final Fantasy I'd be somewhat more interested in it. The name sets a tone as you say and not what some long time fans are expecting.

I actually started 13 again before Christmas and I managed to get quite a few hours in before I got distracted. It's still going to have the corridor problem and all but without the weight of expectations on it now it sort of seems OK. It also looks surprisingly good on the Series X. I'd like to go back to it eventually. 15 I could never quite get into but will try again one day for sure.

As for 14, I'm pretty sure I'll never play that one. Online games aren't my thing, especially one which is so massive now, but I too only hear good things.

SMT V was one of my top games of 2021. It was a bit of a shame that there were some resolution issues in the overworked, but otherwise it was a very beautiful title. Not sure if a graphics and performance bump would be enough for me to play it again but I'd certainly be tempted.

@NEStalgia Yeah, I agree with all of what you're saying here too. I especially like your point about a great set of ingredients not necessarily creating something greater than their sum.

I also worry about this style of combat not working well over a longer game. I really enjoyed Bayonetta 3 last year, so much so that I went back and played 2, but I was also glad the games are short. Whilst they have deep combo systems, in practice I learn and few and make it through the games with them alone. And certainly "deep combo systems" are not what I'm looking for when it comes to any RPG. I really love the From games and prefer that style of combat, but again I'm not sure I'm looking for that in a more traditional RPG. Like FF.

I guess in the end, as you say, we will see. I'm 100% certain I'll be playing the game. I just hope we start hearing stuff which makes it more exciting rather than less.

I'm pretty sure this has already been said countless times above, but none of this looks or sounds promising. For a start, why they chose such a dark and muddy looking area for this demo is a mystery. I can believe the game looks great overall but this section doesn't appear to illustrate this at all (even if it probably does look better when you see it running on the hardware).

And look, I really need to admit upfront that I want Final Fantasy to remain turn based, but the combat sounds awful. I could have bought action combat if it was like FF7R, where there was an element of turn based menu selection involved, but Final Fantasy should not be DMC or Bayonetta (as much as I like the latter). And big boss battles stuff with QTEs? Awful.

On top of all of that, the last thing they should be doing is going down the western style RPG route. I'm sure games like The Witcher and Skyrim are fine for some people, but I play Japanese RPGs for a reason. They shouldn't be selling out FF to what presumably is a bigger market. I don't think they need to.

So, I will buy the game on release day, and I'll probably enjoy it for what it is. But will it really be Final Fantasy in anything but name? It doesn't sound like it at all.

At this price I might finally bite on Ghost Of Tsushima! I’m pretty sure it’ll be something I only really play the first few hours of before getting bored, but I’d still love to check it out!

This will pretty much be my first AC game too - can't wait! I did pick up one of the Vita titles when 6 was announced but found it quite difficult to play due to the mechanics of the controls. I'm imagining the new one will feel much better!

Still all in on Fire Emblem Engage so not much on the PS5 this weekend. Planning to go back to Crisis Core once I've finished FE though Dead Space is tempting me...

Reading down the comments this week, just want to send my best wishes to everybody having a hard time with their health.

@KaijuKaiser @JP80 I also have to agree when it comes to Zelda - the only good game in the series is BoTW and that's just "good" rather than any of the other accolades people give it. I think people will be very disappointed with the new game as expectations seem to be unrealistic all round.

I do love Pokemon, Fire Emblem, Metroid and most other Nintendo franchises though. The truth is that without either Sony or Nintendo the gaming world would be losing something very special (and I have a soft spot for the Xbox too of course ).

More on topic - it's great to see the PS5 doing so well.

I'm currently in Japan and have seen FF16 marketing like this in quite a few places now. Starting to get quite excited about the release!

This is indeed high on the list of my most anticipated upcoming games - definitely beyond Spiderman 2 for me (which I imagine I won't play). I'll be surprised if this really does come out in 2023 but that's fine given we'll be getting FFXVI.

My main hope is this next game isn't so padded out with filler. FF7R was very good, but there were some awful sections which felt thrown in just to extend the run time. The part in the warehouse especially springs to mind.

Like others here I've just started Crisis Core. Felt like there was a bit of a slow start but getting into it now. Still not sure I really understand how the DWM works but I don't think you really need to!

I've been on a bit of a spending spree in the recent sales, picking up Cyberpunk, Death Stranding and Scarlet Nexus. I have Star Ocean The Divine Force and Crisis Core waiting for me to unwrap and dive into this evening. No shortage of games!

I've never played an AC game before, but this trailer got be interested enough to pick one out. I bought Last Raven on the Vita as that was the simplest to get hold of and seems to be well liked.

So far it seems quite impenetrable, probably like Elden Ring would have felt if you'd not played all the Souls games before. As a result, I can't really tell whether I like it or not yet. It is certainly very different to Souls as I suspected it would be. One issue might be the controls given it's a PSP game, but I am finding it very challenging.

In any case, I'm not normally one for cinematic trailers, however this one has still got me pretty excited. I can see the bones of something promising in LR. Excited to see it get a modern treatment.

Spreading myself quite thin at the moment. Main game is Pokemon Scarlett though I've got FFXIII, RE7 and more on the go.

Watching the Armoured Core 6 trailer, I've dived back into the history of the game and picked up AC3 LR on the Vita as it was pretty much the only digital option. Will be interesting to see what I think and whether it gets me more excited for the new game.

I've also been very tempted to pick up both Cyberpunk and Death Stranding in the current sale. Good prices on both though I know it'll be a while until I can really start them properly.

This looks so good. I just wish it was turn based! The blend of action and commands in FFVII Remake worked quite well though, so I'd be happy with a similar system.

Finished Bayonetta 3 last night. The ending was, let's say, was something else. Will dive into Sonic Frontiers now on PS5. Hoping to get most of it wrapped up before Pokemon next weekend.

Looks good. This would have been an instant buy for me if it ever happened! Dark Souls 3 is easily my favourite, though Elden Ring gives it some close competition! I quite often boot up a new game and beat Iudex, just to remind myself the first time around he took me 5 hours!

RE7 on PS5. Made it into the second house, so still relatively early on, but I'm glad I pushed myself through the first section. It always feels like the scariest part of the RE games is the first part. Perhaps you get more used to it as you play, and of course you get better weapons, but they beginning sections always seem to be so dark and terrifying.

Very tempted to get Trails of Cold Steel IV even though it'll be years until I get to it.

Having originally been a PC gamer since well, before the 90s, 60FPS seems very old hat to me. One of the things which kept me away from consoles in those days was how poorly they performed by comparison and how primitive the early 3D console graphics were (we already had Quake in 1996).

One of the best things about this new generation has been how almost all games are finally playable on consoles at 60FPS. My biggest concern has been that would only remain true in the era of PS5 patched older games or cross generation games. I hope we're not seeing the first signs of a reversion back to 30FPS as the standard.

As a side note, one reason I loved gaming back then was to see the leaps in graphical fidelity. So I do get the desired for prettier visuals. I just never wanted to sacrifice performance as a result (which was of course expensive). Games like HFW look so good on PS5, even in the 60FPS mode, it would seem a shame to take a backwards step at the same time as developers get more experience optimising for the hardware.

@PenguinLtd Outside of the secret boss, Pontiff Sylyvahn is the hardest in the game I find!

I finally finished Soul Hackers 2 this week. By the time I saw the ending (not the true ending, though I watched that on YouTube) I'd settled that on a solid 6/10 for the game. It's SMT so there are lots of great elements, but there's just so much holding the game back. I like the characters, the music is good even if the track list is too short, but those dungeons are just absolutely terrible. What makes it even worse is that the final dungeon actually breaks away from the simplistic grid layout of all of the others, has its own music and an interesting setting. I guess they just didn't have the budget to apply that to the rest of the game. I'm glad I saw it through but I'll happily never play it again.

Not really sure what's up next on PS5 for me. I have a few games in the backlog I'd like to start/finish. I still have TLOU Part 1 to continue, but I'm pretty sure 30% or so in that game isn't for me. I might start RE7 instead. Is the PS5 version worth picking up or is it essentially indistinguishable from the PS4 version?

(Reading this back, I think we were really spoiled by Elden Ring, HFW and Xenoblade 3 this year - everything else seems lacklustre by comparison!)

@Kingleo31 I sort of warmed to it more than I expected after 10 hours or so, but after 20 I'm kind of back where I started. It's an SMT game, just easily the worst I've played. The dungeon layouts and designs are just so drab, especially as there's very little variation in the music too. I think they were kind of going for the grid based feel of the original. It just doesn't translate well to a full 3D game.

I'm going to be diving into wave 2 of the Xenoblade 3 DLC later.

Will also slog through some more of Soul Hackers 2. It's not terrible but I'm ready for it to be over now. Might finish off the last part of the game on easy just to get it done.

I too sadly did not get into the SF6 beta It has been a joy diving into Overwatch 2 however. I started playing last night and haven't hit any server issues so far. I played the original on PC and it's kind of strange playing the new one on a console. However, it feels surprisingly familiar and quite nostalgic playing again for the first time in years. Will continue to dip in and out of this for a while (only Deathmatch FFA I suspect).

Besides that I've really been jumping around a lot. With so many good games in the first half of the year I've found it trickier to stick with anything lately. Soul Hackers 2 is a very good, "good" game. Taking my time but will finish it. TLOU Part 1 didn't grab me after about 7 hours or so. Will be a while until I go back. Trails From Zero is great but feels like it needs my full dedication. And finally, I picked up Sophie 2.

Was hoping there might be a sale on Sophie 2 this week but it appears not (unless these sales are yet to go live in the UK). Will wait it out again!

I'm continuing on with Soul Hackers 2. I've really warmed to the game after accepting it for what it is. Whilst it misses that special something the SMT and Persona games have, it still features a lot of the elements which make the games great. Yes, the dungeon designs are unbelievably boring but the combat and demons are still great. Originally I thought I wouldn't finish it but I suspect I will now.

I have also been playing The Last Of Us Part 1 on and off. First time playing the game. It's good but hasn't exactly sucked me in.

I finished Xenoblade 3 earlier in the week. That was so much faster than I expected but I couldn't put it down. I've started some of the post game content but really need to give it a bit of a break now. I really enjoyed the game, though whilst the story is interesting, it doesn't quite hit the heights of the first two games for me. It's still impossible for my to really pick a favourite though - they're all equally excellent in their own ways.

I managed to finish off a lot of stuff before Xenoblade 3 so I ended up jumping on Soul Hackers 2 on release day. Even though the reviews are somewhat mediocre, as a big Persona and SMT fan I'm going in knowing what to expect from a slightly more lightweight experience in these universes. So far so good, but we'll see if it holds my attention. I really wish it was possible to play 4K/60Hz. It really feels like that could have been possible given the relatively simplistic environments. Opting for 4K at the moment as frame rate is somewhat less important in games like this (even if it would be nice to have both!).

Played through all of the FF7R Yuffie DLC last week and really enjoyed it. Yuffie is such a fun character to play as, hoping she'll be available as a party member in Rebirth.

After finishing that I was considering trying to fit in FF15 before Xenoblade 3 comes out. I played the first couple of hours again and felt much like I did last time. There's just something about the game which leaves me cold. So instead, I'm now finally making my way through RE3 Remake.

Debating whether to spend the cash to upgrade to Extra or Premium. Certainly lots on the Extra tier I'd like to play. Less so for Premium but the price difference isn't huge and I suspect it will become more compelling over time.

Besides that nearing the end of FF7R now. There's a lot to like about the game, but the movement is quite clunky - especially when trying to line up with a switch or what have you. There's also a crazy amount of filler. The characters and combat really pull you through though. Also been playing FF6 on my Vita.

I just finished Village and haven't actually played 7. Really want to go back and try it but from what I can tell it's way more terrifying than 8.

In a bit of a gaming lull at the moment now that Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West are done. There are two months until Xenoblade 3 comes out and I have quite a few half finished games I'd like to wrap up including FF7R, RE2, 3, 8 and more. Some of these got pushed aside by ER, others like FF7R I dropped off of. Really not sure which one to pick up and play as I've sort of mentally moved on from all of them, so just been bouncing around. And there are lots of other backlog games I really want to play which I could start instead! Not really a problem but just shows how good we had it at the start of this year!

Finished Elden Ring last weekend and since then I've been back playing HFW. I only managed about 15 hours before Elden Ring completely took over, but have got back into it now (even if I am still thinking about ER). I will probably rush through the back half of the story as the set up so far makes me want to know what happens at the end.

Really been thinking about starting Trails properly too, with Cold Steel 1. Seeing the banner image for the article reminds me I have Tokyo Xanadu eX+ and Ys 8 half finished already though! Not sure I'll have time for all of this before Xenoblade 3 drops!

Finally finished Elden Ring last night. What an incredible game. Whilst I was very glad to get to the end, I immediately wanted to carry on playing. I will put the game down for now though and carry on HFW. About 15 hours in and very excited to resume and see where the story goes. Will also pick up Kirby again and finish off the final few levels of that.

I really want to get into this series, and in fact own ToCS 1, 2 and 3, but it just never seems to be the right moment. I'm still very interested in picking this game up though, and as the last paragraph suggests, I may end up diving in with this one first.

I'm knee deep in both Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West, but am still contemplating GT7... I'm sure I must be wrong, and that YouTube footage is a bad yardstick, but the graphics look kind of basic to me? When playing directly on a PS5 presumably it looks really impressive?

I'm sure this question is going to be asked here at some point, so I might as well get it over with. Can you start with this game? I know it feeds into some of the later ones, but I get the sense you can play this without knowledge of any of the Sky or Cold Steel games?

Very exciting indeed. Won't be watching the trailer though as I want to go in almost completely blind!

Horizon turned up yesterday lunch time, so I've been able to play about an hour so far. The game controls feel nice and familiar and the graphics are very impressive. Keep switching between the performance and resolution modes as there's no clear winner. I will most likely stick to performance mode though as ultimately frame rate is more important for me. Excited to continue playing today.

I will no doubt also play more KOF XV. Still at the stage of relearning the mechanics and picking up a few characters to play.

My PS5 special edition didn't show up yesterday due to the storm but I've just been notified it'll be with me within a couple of hours. Exciting! Somewhat to my surprise I might end up playing Elden Ring post release whilst I'm working my way through HFW. I expected it to be the other way around!

I'm not sure if he's exactly my favourite, but I'd probably pick Iudex Gundyr. Dark Souls 3 was my first Souls game and I'd never played anything which throws you in at the deep end so quickly like that before. It was a real trial for me getting past him that first time. It probably took around 5 hours. The elation was overwhelming.

Dark Souls 3 is now one of my favourite games of all time, having completed a few play throughs in the years since that first one. Every so often I boot up the game just to prove to myself I can beat old Iudex on the first go. Sometimes it's the second

This is absolutely nuts. Saying that, I've got the special edition pre-ordered anyway, so perhaps I'm part of the problem

@Daleaf I sit right next to a plug socket whilst I play, but that said, I like your thinking!

I really want the purple one but I have literally no need for a second controller. I might convince myself I do have a need within days