trymer89

Hogwarts Legacy: I've only just begun the dive but am quite impressed with the graphical fidelity and the faithfulness to the source material. It's great fun wrapping your head around the history of Hogwarts while still running into the occasional familiar face.

I've longed for a new Harry Potter game since the Lego versions and this is proving to be a great one so far.

Hogwarts Legacy (PS5): As a big fan of Harry Potter (books more so than movies, but still) I have heard nothing but great reviews of this game, so I am very much looking forward to this.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was a fun JRPG that I ended up sinking 125 hours into across three weeks; I still may do its DLC Future Redeemed concurrent with Hogwarts.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: I'm 65 hours in and greatly enjoying the story, class systems, Interlinks, and entertaining cast of side characters (Ashera being my personal favorite).

It's proving to be a strong finish to an excellent JRPG trilogy.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: I thoroughly enjoyed the first two entries and this is no different. Interlink is very interesting, as is the change into Ouroboros and the lore surrounding that, along with impressive visuals, affinity charts, and a new class system involving rotating heroes.

I'm only about twenty hours in, but I can confidently say this is one of the best JRPGs I have ever played.

Star Wars Jedi Survivor: Finishing up bounties, the last plant for my garden, and rounding out my time with Cal and BD-1. It's been a lot of fun, and I particularly enjoyed the different combat forms as well as building up the saloon.

Assuming that I finish the game by tomorrow, it's on to Xenoblade Chronicles 3, as I am finally caught up with the story and have heard nothing but praise regarding it. Can't wait!

@colonelkilgore A very underrated entry. Sure Connor isn't as charismatic as Ezio, but the combat is arguably the best of the series. It's brutal, and Connor is a beast. Plus, Haytham Kenway adds a whole other level of cool factor.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: Been wanting to play this ever since it was announced, and so far it does not disappoint. The graphics, the facial animations, the world and lore, fast traveling (I know this is more of a "D'oh!" but it wasn't in its predecessor), the new abilities and stances... it all meshes together wonderfully in a cohesive whole, with an appropriately epic (and somber) story to match.

Cal and BD, here's to many more hours with you.

@CJD87 Hey, I like easy. New Super Mario Bros U was so tough I quit after World 1; I'm on World 3 and this is decidedly easier. I don't mind some challenge, but it should be gradual, not immediate.

Super Mario Bros Wonder: I gotta say, I'm pleasantly surprised. I thought this would be quite difficult (given that I have struggled with 2D Mario's in the past) but it's not so bad and really is very inventive. The Wonder Flowers have zany and wacky effects that keep you on your toes, and the Badges provide a nice little boost if you're struggling.

It might be the best Mario I've played since Odyssey.

Finishing Horizon Forbidden West: One more Tallneck, the last of the collectibles, all but one Hunting Ground (I've been slacking on those) and only two more machine entries. It's been a fun ride, massive in scope and graphically stupendous with lots to do packed in.

If I finish in the next couple days, I will be doing something completely different: Detective Pikachu Returns. I've heard good things about it and its prequel, and this is a different style Pokémon than the mainline games. Should be interesting.

Horizon Forbidden West: I've got the POSEIDON, AETHER, and MINERVA subfunctions in the main story which, while not as good as its predecessor, is still full of twists and turns. The rebreather, firegleam, and pullcaster are all fun tools (the last making you feel a bit like Batman from the Arkham series).

The visuals are gorgeous and a definite upgrade. Some of the side quests are also more engaging and less rote. The map is a lot bigger, and I'm still a little less than halfway through the game overall. I keep running into melee pits, vista points, salvage collections, gauntlet runs, and all manner of distraction from the main story.

In other words, it's a cracking good time.

Horizon Forbidden West: Having just finished the prequel, I'm pretty excited to jump into this. About eight hours later, I'm quite impressed: little touches like follow road for mount or highlighted climbing tracks, vastly improved visuals (especially cutscene) and an intriguing premise all indicate an excellent follow-up to the banger that was Horizon Zero Dawn.

@freddquadros I've a while yet to go before the sequel, but am very much looking forward to it! (Luckily, I bought both at the same time.😎)

@Kyushutrail I can definitely comment on the Hunting Challenges, as they are what I am in the process of completing right now.

They can be.

I won't pretend that I got Blazing Suns on first crack for all of them; the Ravager Control (where you have to override two Ravagers and then kill a Thunderjaw in 2:40) and Tie Down (where you must ground and then keep grounded three Glinthawks with ropecasters before delivering a critical hit in 1:30) were a particular pain to get Gold on. For the Tie Down, there are Tramplers that I was unfortunate enough to down a hawk right in the middle of, and boy are they difficult to avoid while also trying to not let your prey get away. As for the Control, it was a matter of timing; I got 2:45 at best before opting to shoot the disc launcher off the Thunderjaw to use against it, at which point I got it in 2:10.

Ironically, having slacked off until I am now Level 43, the game put me (presumably based on my proximity to the nearest challenge) at the highest level Hunting Grounds first, so that I only have the two low levels left. Shrugs Here's hoping these will be easier.

Horizon Zero Dawn: Getting close with just a couple Hunting Grounds, Corrupted Zones, and Side Quests left. I do need to make progress on the main storyline though.

It's proven to be a very enjoyable experience. I really like the vast assortment of bow ammunition at your disposal, and the variety on offer of machines to figure out how to kill or convert. The cauldrons and main story provide neat little glimpses of how the world went to hell.

Looking forward to the Frozen Wilds DLC and, of course, its sequel.

Horizon Zero Dawn: A pretty great combo of survival and RPG with stealth mixed in for good measure, and one that I can tell will take a while. Aloy is an interesting character study, and I'm sorry I didn't play this sooner.

@Olmaz It's true, the story doesn't actually reinvent the wheel. Your mileage will vary with the characters being somewhat lackluster and the plot following a relatively standard AC format and as such your enjoyment will invariably be determined by how interested you are in seeing Basim's gradual development to that of the character we met in Valhalla.

The gameplay, on the other hand, for me at least is great. Actual investigation of targets, a good-sized city to freerun across, and combat that is at the series' most difficult since Unity (as opposed to the ultra-easy combat of the RPGs) all hearken back to earlier entries and make it a solid, if not easy, recommendation for me.

Assassin's Creed Mirage: As is obvious by my profile picture, I'm a big AC fan, particularly old school, and the series has fallen off the wagon a bit lately.

This seems to be a return to form so far though, with impressive improvements in the right places and a great locale. Here's hoping.