Comments 4,040

Re: Poll: Vote for Your PS5 Game of the Month (August 2025)

somnambulance

For me, I’ve not yet gotten to Sword of the Sea, but I have a feeling it’ll be that one, so I voted for it.

Shinobi is quite good, but I dunno. Maybe I already got my ninja fill with Ragebound, but it just hasn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would. I can’t say anything bad about it. I’m just not going crazy for it.

MGS Delta’s probably the best game on the list as it’s a remake of MGS3 though. I haven’t played it yet though because, I mean, do I really need to spend $70 to play a game I’ve played several times again with better visuals?

Re: Metal Gear Solid Delta Sneaks Past the One Million Sales Milestone in First 24 Hours

somnambulance

@Lowdefal Hey now, say what you will, but Metal Gear Survive is much better than anyone gives it credit for! That’s not to say it’s a classic, just that it’s a good game if you remove the weight of expectations from it.

@Thelegend159 @Dragoon1994 I wonder if Konami would think about Portable Ops nowadays. I mean, Kojima outright said it wasn’t canon at one point, but I’m not sure how much Konami values his input, nor do I know if Konami’s going to place value on the portable games at all. I’d be down for it though. I liked Portable Ops a lot. I have this weird feeling they’ll hop over to MGS1 though, but I hope I’m wrong. I’d love to see a remake of the NES games too, if they’re going to really go full force with it.

And, yes, I believe we have debated over it. I’ve debated MGSV many times over the years on this site, among other Kojima meta-ness. The guy is so intentional with what he does and there’s just so many threads to show that he was in a place where he was having fun with smokescreens that I think it feels like MGSV being “incomplete” was his biggest stunt yet. Who knows? The stunt may not even be over, knowing Kojima, as he still makes reference to things that he has to know will get the Ruse Cruise fired up all over again.

Re: Metal Gear Solid Delta Sneaks Past the One Million Sales Milestone in First 24 Hours

somnambulance

I’m curious what impact these strong sales will have on the series going forward. Peace Walker would probably chronologically be the next game to remake if that’s the vision Konami has. I wonder if Konami will test the waters with a new game and see what happens if they license out the series, as they’ve done for Silent Hill.

@Thelegend159 MGSV IS finished. The whole missing chapter thing is part of the game. It’s thematically in-line with the feelings the game is supposed to evoke. You can’t play a Kojima game at face value. I firmly believe Kojima cut the final chapter as another “phantom pain” for his fanbase.

Re: Poll: Are You Playing Hollow Knight: Silksong?

somnambulance

Absolutely going to play it today at some point.

Hollow Knight may be my favorite indie game of all time and I’m someone that wrote an article of my top 50 indie titles back yonder in ye olden early 2020’s. Absolutely love the first game. That said, I’m not sure what to expect out of Silksong, as it has been quite some time since the last one. I’m hoping that I get a feeling as I did playing the second Ori game also way back yonder in ye olden days in the second golden era of Metroidvanias.

Re: Square Enix Is Taking All Its Big Guns to TGS This Month

somnambulance

Man, I miss Square from earlier this generation. Feels like Square went from the the riskiest AAA developer to the safest over the course of the last five years. I know the whole industry is doing a little bit of that, but, to me, it’s most noticeable from them.

I can’t say I’m looking forward to much from Square’s current slate. I’ll grab Tactics once it’s on sale since I love the game, but been there, done that, you know?

Re: Poll: What Are Your Thoughts on Metal Gear Solid 5, 10 Years Later?

somnambulance

@UnlimitedSevens I can’t say these ideas are fully my own, but here’s a couple things:

In Russian, the word fox is pronounced Lisa, which is the name of the ghost in PT. Venom Snake has long been rumored to be Gray Fox before becoming the Cyborg Ninja. This goes further as both games have a fixation on language, where MGSV has weaponized language and PT has several puzzles solved by decoded language that has been manipulated in various ways.

In the Silent Hills trailer, Chico’s head is found on the ground before worms spill out of it, indicating the trailer is a follow up from Chico’s death in Ground Zeroes. The worms infect the setting in that trailer. Parasites are prominent themes in both games.

Photos of Lisa are found in MGSV.

Radio broadcasts from PT are found in MGSV.

Both games contain references to fathers butchering their families.

7780s the “studio that made PT” is a reference to Shizuoka prefecture, known as Quiet Hills in Japan. MGSV has a prominent character named Quiet. In PT, there are singed petals on a nightstand that match the singed petals that fall from the sky during Quiet’s introduction.

Doors with horizontal lights above them are featured in both games and both games feature mirrors that obfuscate the reflections of the characters.

Both games feel incomplete and utilize repetition as a gameplay mechanic.

Both games feature hallucinations and unreliable narration. Both games are about a character with fragmented memories trying to remember what exactly happened.

To go further, Death Stranding is a game where you basically reconnect a world that was disconnected by mass death, infection, and spectral influence after AI programs very similar to the Patriots had failed across the world. In DS, you play as a father that had lost his pregnant wife, believing that his death and subsequent resurrection had accidentally been what caused his family to die (Sam has a condition that basically means he cannot physically die, except by old age. When he resurrects it is called “repatriation,” which read into that word how you will), which mirrors PT. Death Stranding is almost a redemption arc for fathers trying to mend the pain of their past due to absence from their family whereas MGSV and PT are a descent into madness caused by the family’s destruction. It’s cyclical.

I could keep going! lol. The rabbit hole is deep with Kojima if you want it to be.

Re: Poll: What Are Your Thoughts on Metal Gear Solid 5, 10 Years Later?

somnambulance

@UnlimitedSevens Whether the absence was intentional or not, MGSV, PT, and Death Stranding all have such thematic overlap that there is a subconscious narrative that develops over the course of the three games and it’s all a theme of absence. There’s a reason why there’s a subset of Kojima fans that believe he’s still associated with Konami in some capacity. You can even add MGS Survive into the mix, as it shares concepts with Death Stranding, believe it or not. I do think the overlap is intentional though because Kojima is the master of meta commentary. I mean, he announced a KojiPro showcase for later this month… and announced it the day of MGSV’s 10th anniversary. He knows what he’s doing. He knows his fanbase, betrays them, and they celebrate it. I would not be surprised if Kojima cut a third of the game with regards to MGSV. This is a guy who said Metal Gear Solid 5 would be the last Metal Gear game, but intentionally said in another interview that the V in MGSV is the letter V, purposefully complicating the truth of things. This is a guy that also adjusted Death Stranding 2 after internal reviews suggested the game might score above 95 on Metacritic because Kojima thought the game might be too palatable. This is why MGS2 is my favorite Metal Gear game. It’s like a thesis for all the Kojima-isms to come.

By the way, if these ideas interest you, I highly recommend Death Stranding 2. The last four hours or so of the game is so self-referential of Kojima with his own work and video games in general. It makes me genuinely curious where he’s going next, as the game sort of closes a circle in a way.

Re: PS5's High Price Becoming a Serious Headache for Publishers

somnambulance

If we take a look at attachment rate, I do think there’s something worth commenting on here. While the PS5 is a highly selling console, the software attachment rate for big releases is noticeably lower than attachment rates in previous generations when we’re talking about successful franchises and IP.

Didn’t Matt Piscatella report that the average console gamer is only purchasing 1-2 games a year right now on PlayStation 5 or something along those lines? If this is the case, it’s no wonder why big publishers would be getting frustrated with the platform five years in. We already know that Square also said there’s no reason for a PlayStation 6 right now too. I mean, if gamers are only purchasing two games a year, that doesn’t leave a lot of space, which is probably why we’re seeing 2026 look like a ghost town with GTA6 looming on the horizon. 2025 looked like one too until GTA got delayed.

Re: Physint, OD Are Potential Reveals at Kojima Productions 10th Anniversary Show

somnambulance

Can’t wait for an update on whatever else is going on at Kojima Productions. Finally finished Death Stranding 2 last night, so perfect timing to be hyped about the future of the studio.

Since Death Stranding is PS, OD is Xbox, am I delusional in hoping for a Nintendo-based project as well? I just want more Kojima-based gaming, honestly. Hope he keeps on keeping on for a long time!

Re: Sony's Troubled Live Service Game Fairgames Just Can't Catch a Break

somnambulance

I mean, if Sega cancelled Hyenas, Sony can certainly cancel Fairgame$. Hyenas was Sega’s biggest budget game of all time when they had cancelled it and it was previewed well, but they knew they’d struggle to support it properly to sustain the budget and player count required to continue it and cancelled it then to mitigate damage. Sega realized how treacherous live service could be before Sony even announced Fairgame$ or Concord. It’s wiser to course correct than crash. I think now may be the time for Sony to admit it failed and show a pivot to its base.

I don’t know about everyone else, but the PS5 has been a huge failure for Sony when it comes to games. Most exclusives are now multi-plat and the first party games just haven’t been hitting.

Astro Bot and Death Stranding 2 are both 10/10 for me, but rather than feeling like continuations of a stellar library as the previous entries in both franchises did, both games felt like, “It’s been a while since we’ve seen some like THIS from Sony!” It feels like, outside Yotei, there’s no momentum for the future on PlayStation right now. They beat Xbox, but it feels like they did that because Xbox did worse rather than PlayStation doing better. Things like Concord hammer that point. I think Marathon deserves to release. Whether that one fails or not, it has a chance based on Bungie’s fanbase, but I don’t know anyone that’s interested in Fairgame$ in the slightest. I could see it topping Concord’s record as the hugest flop of all time in gaming if they don’t cut their losses with it.

Re: Expect to Pay $20 for Hollow Knight: Silksong on PS5, PS4

somnambulance

Glad to see a sequel that hasn’t gone and doubled the price of the original these days. It feels like indies have gone from $15 to $30, AAs went from $30 to $50, and AAAs went from $60 to $70 and above now. The last five or so years have been rough for the price hikes.

It’s wonderful to see a decision on pricing that seems cheaper now than the industry standard, especially from a game that could’ve easily sold itself at a much higher cost. I reckon Silksong could’ve sold itself at full AAA cost if they wanted to do that. Really looking forward to supporting Team Cherry on this!

Re: Preview: The Outer Worlds 2 Doubles Down on RPG Gameplay to Great Effect

somnambulance

Yes, just what I need: another game to be interested in that releases in the insanely stuffed month of October.

I’ll be totally honest: I liked the first game. Actually, I loved it when I played it at launch, but my opinion shifted a bit once the dust settled. The first game is one of the only games in my true adult life I’ve ever crunched because it launched between other releases that I cared more about. I mean, between Control and Death Stranding with Pokemon too? I’m sure there were other games too. Man, 2019 was a crazy year.

Anyway, I crunched the game, finished the game in about a week, and my memory of the game was fuzzy then and it’s super fuzzy now. I tried to replay I after DLC launched, but that time I sort of struggled with focusing on the game for some me reason. Given that, I’ve been lukewarm on the new game.

But I gotta say: the previews are piquing my interest and the lack of a solid Bethesda-esque champion of a game for a while has left a hole in the industry to the point where it may be the right time for Outer Worlds 2 to exceed any expectations. I mean, after Starfield felt like a bigger, blander Outer Worlds, now Outer Worlds 2 could really shine by comparison, even if Avowed was a misstep by the same studio earlier in the year.

Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Finally Out on 4th September

somnambulance

@JB_Whiting I’m sure they outsourced some help with it, but yeah Team Cherry’s employee roster is a three person team. It’s really incredible they made Hollow Knight mostly by themselves. Also, Kickstarter backers from Hollow Knight are getting Silksong codes for free since it was promised that the backers would get the Hollow Knight DLC included with their backing… only the DLC turned into a full game. Honestly, I can’t think of a more positive story in the industry than if Silksong has a victory lap.

Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Finally Out on 4th September

somnambulance

@darylb24 I thought Clair Obscur was a good game, but nowhere near as good as the internet has made it sound. In my opinion, I do believe the game received a decent amount of grace for being $50, just as I feel reviews were harsher for Mario Kart World because it was $80.

And I’ll agree. The latter portion of the game especially had balance issues.

Re: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (PS5) - The Best Version of an Undisputed Classic

somnambulance

@Oram77 I mean, I suppose, but too faithful a remake and it’s sort of like… I know this already. I’ve already been here. I dunno. I don’t have a huge amount of time for gaming in my late 30’s, so I sort of want fresher experiences. I got my fill with Oblivion, for instance, after about 4 hours. I just felt like I’d already done everything I needed to do in the game, outside sightseeing the visuals.

Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Finally Out on 4th September

somnambulance

@JB_Whiting I loved the first one. It’s one of my favorite games I’ve played, second only to Metroid and Castlevania in the genre for me.

Death Stranding 2 is my GotY. There’s nothing that could beat it for me. If Silksong lives up to expectation though, it’s certainly going to be a top 5 title this year for me. I don’t expect DS2 to have a chance for the mainstream award though. The nomination is enough for Kojima, I expect.

With regards to KCD2, I didn’t like the game. I liked CO more, personally, but I’d be more supportive of KCD2 winning, as I do think it’s an objectively better game. KCD2’s GotY wave sort of died when CO released though, it feels like. Reminds me of when Tears of the Kingdom felt like the obvious choice until Baldur’s Gate 3 came out and the internet rallied towards it… though that may also happen to CO when Silksong releases. Not to hate on CO, but Silksong winning would be much cooler to see. After all, CO’s team is full of industry vets from big studios, and Silksong’s team is just three highly talented guys. Would be incredible to see such a small team get such a big award. That’d be a bigger victory for the indie community, I feel.

Re: Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Finally Out on 4th September

somnambulance

@Balie3000 No joke. This is the game that could end the “Clair Obscur is GotY” wave if it delivers. Given the current release schedule, this and Yotei are basically the only games that realistically might disrupt the current mainstream narrative on GotY, and I see Silksong having more success in doing that due to it being indie.

I say that knowing my GotY won’t be either of them and wishing that Mina the Hollower also had that level of hype, but knowing full well these two games aren’t competing with Silksong on the whole of the industry.

Re: Preview: Capcom's Onimusha: Way of the Sword Seems Steeled for Success

somnambulance

I’m so glad this isn’t Souls-inspired. These days, I get a bit worried every time an action game comes out that things will feel Soulsy. And even better, there’s difficulty options?

While it doesn’t sound like a GoTY candidate so far, it sounds like a straight up solid action game that is just trying to be a solid action game and that’s a welcome thing. Part of the success in older games when Onimusha was previously a thing is that games then were ok being a solid experience first and foremost.

Re: 'Maybe a PS Showcase, Probably a State of Play': Sony Plotting PS5 Livestream for Late September

somnambulance

To be honest, with Death Stranding 2 being out and Yotei on the horizon, I can’t think of anything first party that I feel like I need to buy until Intergalactic.

Sort of weird to say, but I’m sort of ambivalent towards the first party output from Sony right now. I’ve no real interest in Fairgames, Marathon, Saros, Wolverine, Tokon Souls, etc. It’d be good news to see something that jolts a bit of excitement for me for my PS5.