Media Videogame thread

[Oglemi]

Skyward Sword HD:

Ok so I never played this one on the wii so I was excited to play this one with the remaster on switch, especially sans the motion controls.

On the whole it's still a zelda game so it's automatically excellent. Having said that, it is easily the worst mainline 3D one that I've played (I absolutely hate majoras mask too but wouldn't rank it lower here because I feel without the time loop aspect it would be on the same level as ocarina so meh).

The problem here is they traded out the motion controls for clunky ones, and while I appreciate the change overall since it is nice to play while handheld, it cannot be denied that needing to take frickin 4 or 5 steps just to throw a bomb is irritating, especially when fighting a boss that requires it.

Needing to swing in certain swipes is actually a neat mechanic, but the chess-like combat (as opposed to botw's freeform combos) is hampered by the fact you need to manually block after every swing. Unlike in botw you do not auto put your shield up while targeting the opp. This was so frustrating when fighting enemies like lizalfos which require you to swing and block attacks in succession, and it's like, I already have my shield out and blocked, please just re-block after I swing...

The other major issue I had with the game was the amount of empty space on the bird you're forced to travel through repeatedly, like Hyrule Field but 1000x worse. Ya flying was cool but not if that's all I'm doing.

And finally Fi is easily the worst companion in the series, like way way worse than Navi or Tattle. Like way worse. And she's like 90% of your interaction in the game. The other 10% is taken up by the Gaston-esque Groose and the homeliest Zelda in the series. Just horrendous.

Overall the bulk of the gameplay is great, the exploration and puzzles are fantastic, and the characters that aren't humans or Fi are charming, especially Machi. Still would recommend for hardcore zelda fans, but for casual fans you're really not missing anything here.

 

[StarKirb94]

I've very recently finished Sonic Heroes for the first time, this one used to be one of my least favorites in the series due to failed attempts at a full playthrough, but now that I played the entire thing (up to Last Story) I... think I like it a lot more?

I used to find the stages way too long (and I still do to be honest) but learning how the game's mechanics work along the way helped making them feel more fun. Rail Canyon isn't as much of a pain now. I think the multi-character mechanics are interesting, the early stages make them feel a bit too scripted but later ones show their versatility. One thing I was surprised about was on how different the stages felt between each team, they didn't feel like completely different experiences but they did feel different enough to make the experience still feel interesting with another team. I'm still not sure if beating all of the stories should've been a requirement for the true ending, but doing so wasn't too bad.

Of course, this game still is FAR from perfect, it is incredibly jank, the controls aren't great and, even if it's a small thing, I find the story really disappointing considering some of its concepts. All in all, it's a really fun Sonic game even if not really one of my favorites, I'm glad I gave it a proper try.

...oh yeah, and the soundtrack slaps. Shoutout to Bullet Station, Egg Fleet and Egg Emperor, not to mention some other popular ones like Team Chaotix's theme or What I'm Made Of.

 

[Mova]

Have you tried a playthrough through Sonic Heroes using the Flight and Power characters as little as possible, mostly going through the game with the Speed teammate? People have pulled this off with using mostly or only Sonic, and some of the earlier stages don't require glitches for this.

 

[Zantropez]

Still extremely hyped for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, I look forward to be accidentally teetering monkeys off the stage again. The first two games in the series I still hold very dear to my heart, I really hope the remakes hold up to the originals when they come out in October. Speaking of, I'm very much looking forward to Metroid Dread coming out the same month. October's gonna be so good

 

[Mova]

Zantropez I really like how that game is going back to SMB's roots of being difficult but fair. October also has Monster Crown coming up as well, which is an indie title I've been looking forward to for a year.

 

[Zantropez]

Zantropez I really like how that game is going back to SMB's roots of being difficult but fair.

That's what I meant yeah, the high difficulty factor and great stage design is what made those first two games as great as they are. I forgot about Monster Crown though, that's another cool game in the already awesome October lineup.

 

[May]

So I've recently gone and bought new chargers for my old PSP and PS Vita. As my profile picture probably implies, I also started reliving some old games I really liked on the systems. Let me tell ya, it feels weird seeing old PS Store purchases from 2011-2015 on my Vita. It's a real shame from a nostalgia and game preservation standpoint that PSP/Vita purchases are going to be cut off soon...I should get some large memory cards to store all my old stuff.

I've also been trying to find those little niche Discord servers and stuff for these games after finding out there's a big Patapon one, so feel free to shoot me whatever you have if you're around...

Starting off with what is probably my all-time favourite game series on the PSP, No Heroes Allowed / What Did I Do to Deserve This, my Lord? / Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! / some other wack ass name. This series is marred by a major title identity crisis, plus confusion with "No More Heroes", but my goodness is the gameplay really fun. I feel like it peaked with "No Heroes Allowed", but it was my introductory game, so I am probably biased! Essentially, you go around making dungeons to trap heroes and protect your evil overlord as he gains the power to take over the kingdom. Each hero has their own directional preferences, and each monster you create from the walls you break have their own diets. Thus, you have to control an ecosystem while simultaneously ensuring that you have the best matchup against each class. There are even advanced mutations and secret minions you can get through doing various specific things, so no playthrough can really be the same. All of this is amazingly rewarding, I remember really shooting to get the Supremanoid and it just decimated whatever tried to fight it. It's one of the most unique real-time strategy games I have ever played and it's a shame it didn't take off more. Also, the soundtrack is really, really, really good. If anyone likes strategy or "god games", by all means try these games out while you can...physical releases are quite rare.

There's since been a weird F2P Vita release, and a VR thing on the PS4 if I recall correctly, but I despised the prior on principle while the latter hasn't exactly made me want to purchase due to the art style shift from pixels. I'll prolly try the VR thing eventually.

Because of how relatively unknown these games are, I don't know anyone else who's actually played these blessed titles. If you have, let me know if there are any community servers or just talk shit with me...I must vent my obsession.

Oh yeah, and if you're interested, there is this VERY VERY VERY good video on the franchise that I implore you view.

I'm currently replaying the Patapon series, starting with the first game, but my favourite has to be 3. Again, introductory game, but I was hopelessly addicted to its gameplay and DEMAND a remaster considering 1 and 2 got their own. The Patapon series features some of the most loveable little eyeball critters with unique rhythm-based combat...army...mechanic things. It's hard to explain, I recommend watching some footage to grasp it. Anyway, Patapon 3 built upon a "Hero Patapon" concept from Patapon 2, removed the annoying chant music when he's triggered, and turned it into an advanced "Uberhero" class system that I absolutely adore. I know I've not explained this well but if you have some spare cash, cop it when you can. Physical releases of Patapon 1 and 2 tend to be inexpensive, but have fun getting 3...it's one of the rarer games on the system and tends to ask prices of like £70 GBP.

Those who know me well may know my relationship with the Corpse Party series: it's something I've got a soft spot for as a lover of horror. I originally got into the series through a video PewDiePie did a long time ago, specifically this one, and that led me to get the download version on the PSP. That fateful day led me to getting Book of Shadows a week later, and later a few of the obscure fan translations via PC emulation. While I can't get into Blood Drive for the life of me and Dead Patient seems to just not exist, I'm still holding out hope for the series continuing, y'know?

If you're into those RPG Maker-type games that put a massive spin on things, try out the 3DS port of Corpse Party BloodCovered; while it's VERY expensive on a physical release due to XSEED understocking their shit, there's a download version on the European and Japanese eShops that won't burn a hole in your wallet. If it strikes your fancy, the point and click stuff from Book of Shadows is underrated, in my opinion.

That's all I've got for now, but man, the past week has just been a fantastic nostalgia trip...I may post more later or whatever.

 

[Ophion]

The Sony showcase today was pretty solid overall. Looking forward to Spiderman 2 (wish it wasn't dropping in 2023 though) , Wolverine, and God of War (the latter dropping in 2022). Also nice to see Drake's Fortune come to PC officially and get a 60fps patch on PS5. Haven't played Nights of the Old Republic but it's a pretty beloved game and it getting a remake is really dope stuff. Feel the same way for the sequal to Rainbow Six Seige (at least, I think it's a sequal)? Didn't really care much for the rest of the event though, ngl. The GTA 5 thing imo was a real slap in the face, since it's not changing anything other than adding 60 fps for $70. For me, it's a new game since I don't own GTA 5 but still majorly disappointing. Also, I'm really sick of seeing Deathloop lmao, it looks so average and they constantly flaunt it.

 

[Dorron]

Hey! I am willing to buy Splatoon for my Switch, as I tried it in a videogame festival a few years ago and really liked it, but I heard that Splatoon 2 isn't that great. Could any of you who have the game give me your feedback?

 

[Martin]

Hey! I am willing to buy Splatoon for my Switch, as I tried it in a videogame festival a few years ago and really liked it, but I heard that Splatoon 2 isn't that great. Could any of you who have the game give me your feedback?

Splatoon 2 is fun imo, but with the final Splatfest of Splatoon 2 being over and Splatoon 3 slated to come out in 2022, it may be worth waiting for that to come out before plunging. I don’t know how active ranked is in Splatoon 2 nowadays outside of the upper echelons that have likely been playing since Splatoon 1, so someone else will need to comment on that—that is the game’s main appeal, after all.

 

[May]

So recently I've been playing old RPG Maker games I used to enjoy, mainly Super Mario RPG The Seven Sages. However, I decided to look into another game that I used to love: Super Pokemon Eevee Edition (SPEE). To my utter shock and disbelief, it's still actively being developed and receives roughly yearly updates. This game is, by and large, one of my favourite Pokemon fan games. Being originally released over a decade ago, as you would expect, it features a ton of early-2010s internet humour and the like (challenge accepted!!). I truly thought this game was lost to time...I think the last time I played it, it was v.0.74 or something??

Essentially, you're the hero of Gen 2 fighting against the third generation, as for it to be made your world has to be destroyed. Because of your universe being gradually decomissioned, there are no Poke Balls and some Pokemon are becoming corrupted; think Shadow Pokemon, but to snag them you have to KO them. Also, you have a super Eevee that can change Eeveelutions at will, kinda like the manga, which serves as your partner throughout the game. You also get a Final Fantasy-like mish mash battle system: you have your usual Pokemon moves, but the moveslots are "infinite", PP is all in one slot like Mana, and so on. It's really, really cool.

This is my current lineup. I've been streaming a lot in my personal Discord server, having friends name whatever corrupted Pokemon I catch.

Breloom and Kadabra are really cool, though the latter struggles a bit upon capture because Abra has no moves at all without TMs and there's quite a few Steel-types. Trapinch is unforgiveably slow and you'll need to land surprise battles like a pro + use TM Dig to use it reliably. May be a good option for the Team Switch system as they still gain Exp when not in use.

I strongly recommend this to any Pokemon fan game enjoyer out there, it's got a decade's worth of passion put into it and it's generally just really cool.

Grab it here!

 

[May]

snip

I finished this up on stream with my friends, here's the final team for the demo. Oh, and I encountered a couple of Shiny Pokemon, so I was able to spice up my Flareon, Vaporeon, and Breloom.

The game is finished to just before the final boss, which is really impressive for something that almost only one guy worked on for the past decade. It's way longer than I ever could have imagined as well, just oozing with content everywhere and featuring some classic Final Fantasy beats to keep you going.

Breloom turned out to be even more ridiculous than I imagined, because after Chuck you get a 75% accurate Dynamic Punch that deals like 650 damage a time without any buffs. Also, for some reason, it can learn all the status moves when you get into Necro's area. Because the TMs are so cheap, in my infinite wisdom, I dumped all of them on it. Absolutely class.

Also, if you don't mind spoilers...

boink

There's some Spaceworld 1997 Pokemon in Necro's area, which fit right in with the game's aesthetic thanks to some sprite upgrades. I don't know if there are any corrupted ones you can catch - I didn't see any - but it's generally a super nice touch considering how his chamber works. Basically, you have this area which is the game's interpretation of Glitch City, where all of the first generation's data went when it went to the second. It's really, really, really cool.

 

[May]

Yesterday I was streaming a bunch of games in Discord VC cus it was my birthday, but I really wanna talk about Deltarune Chapter 2. Any story spoilers are gonna be kept in that lil tag thing, don't worry! I found this to be super, super enjoyable. I think it built upon what Chapter 1 did perfectly, and solved a large majority of my issues with the first. The first chapter had really big inventory issues for me, and I also disliked how ambiguous the mercy thing could be at times, most notably with the secret boss. I've noticed that games Toby Fox makes tend to be a bit too close to Earthbound in that sometimes, the problems the games have transfer over, which is definitely where the inventory thing manifests. Just good to see it shifting over.

Anyway, onto the spoilery things, note that I did both the normal and weird routes.

spoilers, don't say mama may didn't warn ya

I absolutely adored Spamton, his whole arc is just everything I wanted from a secret boss. He's quirky, has an intriguing speech pattern (YOU'VE BEEN MAKING [[HYPERLINK BLOCKED]]!), a banger soundtrack, and both fights are just fantastic. His lore is kept at juuust enough of an arm's length to prompt theorycrafting, and his design is enough to that you can draw your own detailed versions in your head while not losing any identity. He's masterfully crafted and I think he may be my fixation for the month.

I don't think I like Noelle or Berdley, though. Both of them seem to be kind of...creepy. Not as in scary or anything, just the "eughhhhh you make my skin crawl" type deal. The way Noelle acts around Susie aims to be "obvious crush" but just ends up being kind of unnerving. I think when she walks with the party in the normal route they have her look down out of embarassment but even that makes her look like she's staring in an, umm, bad direction. It's probably not come across that way for many other people, it's just how it wound up for me, and I've had some pretty shit experiences in my life to say nothing else. Is it ridiculous? Probably. Is it how I feel? Yeah. Berdley, on the other hand, uh...I just don't like em. He's really funny at times but in most other instances it's just "oh god why".

Noelle's dad is the best thing ever btw

 

[vonFiedler]

I think the only issue with the inventory is that Deltarune gives you so much crap all the time. It's not overly easy, but just stuffs your inventory. I remember in Undertale Genocide run you had to be incredibly purposeful with how you managed items, but here its just full revives and ample heals for days and no other variety. (PS Consumables suck in all non-survival games, can we just do away with them?)

Berdly is fucking amazing. The one thing Deltarune does best is the number of really good characters (as opposed to 1 or 2 per game segment). You already noted Spamton, but I also loved Berdly and Queen. I love characters that completely lack self-awareness compared to the audience, and Berdly has that in spades. His "character arc" is probably the most subversive aspect to Deltarune so far and the nipple joke was my most laugh out loud moment of chapter 2. Queen is just so funny in a strange way. Her sense of humor is almost indescribable, but feels really autistic to me (as an autist myself). I like Noelle enough. Frankly, I prefer her over Ralsei. Ralsei is strangely dull, but that's probably because he hasn't heel-turned yet.

Deltarune Chapter 2 is the best new game I played all year, and last year. But it's also kind of disappointing, because Chapter 1 was so steeped in "this isn't another Undertale!", and Chapter 2 just felt like more Undertale in more ways than one. Like, who the fuck played through the original Genocide route and said, "yep, I want to do that again"? I don't even play evil routes in other video games if given the choice after playing Undertale.

 

[MZ]

Deltarune Chapter 2 is the best new game I played all year, and last year. But it's also kind of disappointing, because Chapter 1 was so steeped in "this isn't another Undertale!", and Chapter 2 just felt like more Undertale in more ways than one. Like, who the fuck played through the original Genocide route and said, "yep, I want to do that again"? I don't even play evil routes in other video games if given the choice after playing Undertale.

I had this feeling too and came out a little let down initially, but after ruminating a bit and watching a bit of stuff I did not do I think it's heading in a place decidedly more interesting than just the same Undertale stuff. Big text dump because I wanted to write thoughts about Deltarune and this seemed like a good excuse.

Hide

So I hadn't seen any of the Spammington Neo stuff and watching his fights helped me work through where I think Deltarune chapter 2 is taking the game thematically. Undertale was all about morality and choice in games and I think Deltarune wants to be a thematic sequel that talks more about agency. There's a lot there with Queen taking over others and Spammington's puppet thing (also Chapter 1 really beats you over the head about agency and choice as a theme), but wrt the theme of agency and Snowgrave I think "feeling like Undertale again" is the point for a good reason. If you go through with the Snowgrave route Kris is described as seeming really off and disturbed a few times. Even if you just go fight Spammington without manipulating Noelle into freezing everyone Kris is extremely shaken up and iirc shouting at Ralsei and Suzie in one dialogue branch about how they're definitely feeling fine. In Undertale the game beat you over the head with "this is super evil and actively fun stop what you're doing please", Deltarune is doing similar but by demonstrating the agency you've taken away from not just Noelle but also Kris. They don't wanna do what you're doing. I find that an interesting enough angle to take vs. Undertale where Frisk has no agency whatsoever, but the kicker is that no matter what route you do Kris is still violently ripping out their soul - the manifestation of the player's power in the game and over Kris - in what seems like an act to free themself of your influence. Why they use their limited time to slash tires and create more dark worlds isn't something I think can be answered yet, but the point is that even if you have a fully pacifist runthrough and never go near Spammington Neo, Kris is still under your control and has a few moments of other characters realizing something is wrong albeit in a less dramatic fashion. Kris might not be manipulating their childhood friend or fighting nightmare bosses but they're still your puppet and they want out. The ending of the game is always the same because, even if Snowgrave is a vastly more fucked up story, playing a pacifist run isn't necessarily "good" or "moral". I think this is leading to a thematic discussion about the morality of playing games where you control characters who have their own personalities and desires, or something along those lines anyway.

Anyway you're still not meant to do or like Snowgrave, even more than Genocide arguably since it doesn't have anything nearly on the level of the Sans or Undyne fights. I think it's largely there to highlight the flaw in the "pacifist" run, highlighting the one character who isn't having a good time or getting a good ending as long as you're in control of them.

 

[Morkal]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but PGA 2K21 is actually really damn fun. I love the course creator and the character creator, and I've been having an absolute blast playing golf. I've also been on a visual novel kick as of late.

 

[Fishin]

Sekiro:
I came away liking this more than I was expecting. I'm not huge on parry-heavy combat but once I found my groove midway into the game I started enjoying the combat quite a bit; it definitely encourages more aggressive play than Souls or Bloodborne does, which I like. Some bosses (or even regular enemies) still toe the line between stimulating challenge and frustrating bullshit, except for the final boss who dives gleefully into the latter category. The stealth is a bit on the janky side but overall works and adds a different flavor to the exploration, as does the grapple and increased verticality.

Some parts of the game feel a bit underdeveloped. I had difficulty finding better Prosthetics or Combat Arts than some of the earliest ones (namely Firecracker and Whirlwind Slash) in most situations. The "lose money/exp on death" system is implemented worse than the one in Soulsborne games too, and some of the minibosses are needlessly obnoxious to fight because they start surrounded by goons that you need to kill first. Could've used a bit more of the world to explore too, recycling an existing area with new enemies/items isn't the worst idea but it's not a substitute for the real thing.

Overall though it was fun and has more of a unique gameplay identity than Bloodborne, I'd like to see it refined and polished and expanded in a sequel or spinoff.

13 Sentinels:
Was expecting this to be a game with great story and mediocre gameplay but it ended up being kind of average all around. The story simply has way too much going on, some of the later plot twists cause the existing plot twists to make less sense and it feels like the writers wanted to throw too many sci-fi tropes into the same story. The characters are fine and it comes together reasonably well by the end but it never really impressed me in terms of writing. The 2D visuals for the story scenes are great but it does suffer from all of the protagonists being variations on "Japanese teenager in a school uniform".

The gameplay on the other hand is surprisingly solid. There's not much effort put into the presentation, but the "real-time but pauses when you can make a move" works well. Your mechs and upgrades have enough variation to keep things interesting for awhile too, as do the enemies and stage objectives. It's not terribly well integrated into the story, but oh well.


Breath of the Wild:
BOTW is...fun but a bit on the janky side. Horse training didn't seem to work, the combat has that typical open world issue where enemies oftentimes feel either really weak or really strong, cooking is horribly clunky, and did each shrine really need a separate scene of Link opening the shrine, plus an introduction, and then an animation when you finish? When the skip button pops up 4 times in a sequence that you are going to be doing 40+ times over the course of the game you know you have a problem.

I do like the way that Shrines and Towers stand out from the background with their neon colors and how you're encouraged to mark them from a distance, and the combat is kind of a mess but feels pretty open ended for the most part which is neat. Shrines being both a fast-travel point and sort of a reward in and of themselves (since they provide the material for hearts/stamina) works really well. The way that Towers are harder to get to the further away you get from the start is pretty cool too, I like that the exploration starts to feel more challenging.

Some parts of it are pretty poorly explained, like how Korok Seed puzzles work, and parts of the map have very little of interest, but ultimately it's a quality package overall and I look forward to seeing what they can do with the sequel.


Sonic Mania:
Got this one for free and decided to give it a try. It has the strengths and weaknesses of the old Sonic games, but a bunch of new issues slapped on top, namely longer levels that make the 10-minute time limit more of a problem than it should be and some poorly designed/slow boss fights that are crowbared into every stage for some reason. Level design isn't the most consistent either. There's fun to be had but overall not great.

 

[Oglemi]

Metroid Dread:
Had a lot of fun with this one and I was excited to see the OG back in form. Overall it's an excellent game, if you like metroidvanias this an easy recommend.

Compared to the recent games of the genre I've played however, I don't know that I'd rank it higher. It's pretty short on the whole, I cleared it in 10 hours and that was even with backtracking a bit and exploring. The amount of powerups you get is almost too much, to the point of being almost ridiculous, and there are way too many boss fights that take way too many hits. Like you get all of these powerups, but then they immediately mean nothing because the overworld enemies and bosses all just get a health boost anyway. So that was annoying.

My biggest gripe apart from the power creep were the EMMI interactions. They were cool in concept but bad in execution. The AI always knew where you were, which was not the point of the lore? In the lore they have this huge area to patrol and literally can't detect you when using the Phantom Cloak, but in gameplay they were always at the door you entered their zone at, and even going invis they'd hang out where you were and even look at you until your timer ran out. A frustrating experience to say the least, and their boss fights weren't very interesting after the first time. Idk, I wasn't a fan.

On the whole I feel like this entry could have stood to be bigger in scale to better make use of the multitude of power ups you get and spread out the bosses a bit more, but I still enjoyed it. An easy 8/10 for me

 

[Candy Corn]

I'm gonna hop on the train of writing mini reviews!

Neo: The World Ends With You:
First off, this game is a sequel to the ds game, "The World Ends With You." I strongly recommend playing the original beforehand if you haven't already. You can find it on the ds, on your phone, or play an hd remaster on the switch. From my experience I feel that the game just doesn't function good on anything but the ds as combat was designed with the ds touch screen in mind so if you have the ability, play the ds one.

Okay, so now onto the actual game I'm writing about lol This game is made with the fans in mind. So many fun references to the first game that creates tons of smiles. It does a great job of mixing the old with the new, and it's not just a fan service game. I wouldn't say that the story is as intriguing as the first game but that's simply because a lot of the mystery of the original is known to us this time around. However it does throw in plot twists that keep you engaged and wanting to know what happens next. I'd have to say my favorite part of this game, just like with the original is the interactions between the characters. All of them are incredibly charming in their own way, and having reoccurring characters interact with the new ones is super fun.

My biggest issue with the game comes with the combat system. This game is on the PS4, and Nintendo Switch. That being said it has to make a battle system that works for both consoles. I think the battle system on its own is actually amazing. If you've played action rpgs you'll feel at home with it. The unique thing about it is that you have control over every single person in your party, with each character assigned to a button. Attacks are made up by pins, which have to recharge after using them. So you can't get away with just spamming your attacks. You want to be in a position where you aren't letting up on offense or the enemies will overwhelm you. I think it's a fresh and fun take. However, my problem with the battle system relates to the pins. There are over 300 unique pins, and each pin can be leveled up and "Mastered." This is done by simply using them in battle. However, most of them take forever to max out. This becomes a problem when paired with other mechanics the game has, as certain things only dropping on hard difficulties. If you want to max out and obtain everything, you'll have to be playing on hard mode. You'll also want to string together multiple fights to get any sort of progress on your pins made. By the end of the game though, then enemy design becomes annoying. So many enemies try to avoid you. Combine all the factors I just mentioned and you'll be spending close to 15 minutes per fight just to make mediocre progress on leveling up your stuff. Grinding isn't something that really bothers me in games, but when the process of grinding is annoying because of a games mechanics, then I find it a flaw. Grinding shouldn't be a pain in the butt.


So, would I recommend this game to anyone? If you're a fan of the original game, then yes. It's a fun experience that you won't want to miss. However, I would recommend that on your first play through that you just stick to playing with the best pin setup. You can breeze through on hard mode if you use the best stuff at certain points in the game, and by doing this you will get a good mixture of challenging battles, but you will have more time going through the story.

At the end of the day I'd rate the game at an 8/10. It's a fun game, just a pain in the butt if you're a completionist.

 

[bdt2002]

I promise this is my last post before I go to bed tonight. I briefly touched on this in another thread, but I've actually been accepting recommendations for new racing/driving genre games to purchase and hopefully enjoy. It only took me until 2021 to realize that it was probably my favorite genre all along due to the surprisingly long list of games I played growing up. In a day and age where it's been harder and harder for me to enjoy newer video games as I grow up, I figured that one of the possible remedies was to go back to my roots, if you will. Any and all recommendations are appreciated :D

Game systems whose games I can play: PS2, GBA, DS. Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, PS4, Switch

As a thank-you for your help, here's a list of all of the racing (or driving, really) games I've played. Every. Last. One of them.

1. Every main series Mario Kart game except for Double Dash (thank the Wii U's Virtual Console for that)
-DS, Wii, 7, both versions of 8, and technically Tour are all on original hardware
2. A selection of four different games based off the "Cars" movies for the Wii, as well as one DS game
3. A Wii game based off of the modern remake of the movie "Speed Racer" (this one is actually goated, holy crap)
4. "Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition" on the PS2
5. A "Nascar Thunder" game on the PS2 that I unfortunately no longer own
6. "MX Unleashed" on the PS2 (noticing a pattern yet?)
7. "ATV Off-Road Fury"... was it 2 or 3? I can't remember, on- you guessed it- my brother's PS2
8. I promise this is the last PS2 game on the list, but we also had one based off of "Corvette" cars
9. This is more for the driving part than racing obviously, but I'm gonna give PS4 Rocket League a shoutout too

 

[aVocado]

I promise this is my last post before I go to bed tonight. I briefly touched on this in another thread, but I've actually been accepting recommendations for new racing/driving genre games to purchase and hopefully enjoy. It only took me until 2021 to realize that it was probably my favorite genre all along due to the surprisingly long list of games I played growing up. In a day and age where it's been harder and harder for me to enjoy newer video games as I grow up, I figured that one of the possible remedies was to go back to my roots, if you will. Any and all recommendations are appreciated :D

Game systems whose games I can play: PS2, GBA, DS. Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, PS4, Switch

As a thank-you for your help, here's a list of all of the racing (or driving, really) games I've played. Every. Last. One of them.

1. Every main series Mario Kart game except for Double Dash (thank the Wii U's Virtual Console for that)
-DS, Wii, 7, both versions of 8, and technically Tour are all on original hardware
2. A selection of four different games based off the "Cars" movies for the Wii, as well as one DS game
3. A Wii game based off of the modern remake of the movie "Speed Racer" (this one is actually goated, holy crap)
4. "Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition" on the PS2
5. A "Nascar Thunder" game on the PS2 that I unfortunately no longer own
6. "MX Unleashed" on the PS2 (noticing a pattern yet?)
7. "ATV Off-Road Fury"... was it 2 or 3? I can't remember, on- you guessed it- my brother's PS2
8. I promise this is the last PS2 game on the list, but we also had one based off of "Corvette" cars
9. This is more for the driving part than racing obviously, but I'm gonna give PS4 Rocket League a shoutout too

Need for Speed Payback and Heat are both pretty fun (i personally find payback better than heat)

forza horizon 5 looks absolutely phenomenal but unfortunately it's an xbox exclusive and i don't have a good enough pc to run it :(

maybe you could check some of the older forza games, though i haven't personally played them but they always looked like a good time

 

[Mr. Uncompetitive]

I promise this is my last post before I go to bed tonight. I briefly touched on this in another thread, but I've actually been accepting recommendations for new racing/driving genre games to purchase and hopefully enjoy. It only took me until 2021 to realize that it was probably my favorite genre all along due to the surprisingly long list of games I played growing up. In a day and age where it's been harder and harder for me to enjoy newer video games as I grow up, I figured that one of the possible remedies was to go back to my roots, if you will. Any and all recommendations are appreciated :D

Game systems whose games I can play: PS2, GBA, DS. Xbox 360, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, PS4, Switch

As a thank-you for your help, here's a list of all of the racing (or driving, really) games I've played. Every. Last. One of them.

1. Every main series Mario Kart game except for Double Dash (thank the Wii U's Virtual Console for that)
-DS, Wii, 7, both versions of 8, and technically Tour are all on original hardware
2. A selection of four different games based off the "Cars" movies for the Wii, as well as one DS game
3. A Wii game based off of the modern remake of the movie "Speed Racer" (this one is actually goated, holy crap)
4. "Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition" on the PS2
5. A "Nascar Thunder" game on the PS2 that I unfortunately no longer own
6. "MX Unleashed" on the PS2 (noticing a pattern yet?)
7. "ATV Off-Road Fury"... was it 2 or 3? I can't remember, on- you guessed it- my brother's PS2
8. I promise this is the last PS2 game on the list, but we also had one based off of "Corvette" cars
9. This is more for the driving part than racing obviously, but I'm gonna give PS4 Rocket League a shoutout too

(unfortunately these are both Gamecube games but I'll shout them out anyways)

Check out F-Zero GX. Game's super hard, but a ton of adrenaline-pumping fun even when you suck at it (like me!). Also got a banging soundtrack

Kirby Air Ride's City Trial mode is also a ridiculously fun multiplayer experience that involves vehicles and racing. The core racing component of the game is actually super deep and technical from what I've heard, but there isn't much in the way of content, so it really just comes down to your interest in speedrunning

 

[Light Sanctity]

Yep ^ have to agree with Mr. U; finding a genre of games you enjoy is a big factor but also you'd have to understand that a lot of dumb things will happen that you would never see. You also learn a lot about the game you play :)

 

[brightobject]

Recently had the pleasure of playing through Pixel's Cave Story (finished Wind Sanctuary + Boss Rush in addition to the main story) and Kero Blaster (played up through Omake, and am still grinding some achievements). Both are really excellent games--Cave Story is one of the tightest-designed adventure games I have played in a long time, and Kero Blaster is like a further compressed, more arcade-y distillation of the core of what made Cave Story so fun to play. (note: spoilers for Cave Story!)

Cave Story in particular is just ahead of the curve, especially in how it eases the player into difficulty. The leveling system feels almost souls-like in the way it creates risk and reward as you carve a path through a dungeon. I love how the game is satisfyingly short for a single playthrough, but is filled with so many clues hinting at different paths to take over the course of one that it begs you to play a second time. I unfortunately got spoiled on the Booster skip, but was able to find the rest of the secrets the game had to offer using the Steam achievements as hints, and found it really rewarding!

Over the course of the game there are increasingly lengthy and treacherous runbacks to bosses (e.g., the Labyrinth runback to Monster X compared to the much more arduous runback to the Sisters in Egg Corridor, and finally the three/four boss gauntlet blocking the Normal Ending), which prepare you for the insane trek that is the Bloodstained Sanctuary. The True Ending path even sets up for BSS via a much more difficult Final Cave, showing the game was designed for an experience spanning multiple playthroughs.

The levels also have a nice mix of appearing organic while being very smart about the way in which obstacles are introduced and thrown at the player--a great example would be the Rollers appearing early on in BSS in a relatively safe setting in order to foreshadow their appearance in the Heavy Press boss-fight, or the Deletes starting out in innocuous corridors before quickly blocking key escape routes.

I do think the game holds back from reaching maximum difficulty (this is something present in Kero Blaster too--the lack of infinitely respawning enemies makes hit-and-run tactics really viable even in BSS), which is where I guess time attack comes in and challenge mode. I found Boss Attack a bit boring (and had no desire to revisit Bloodstained Sanctuary lol), but Wind Fortress was surprisingly fun and tested booster skills in ways not present in the main game. All in all, a phenomenal game--at the very least try out the freeware version! could not recommend more!


Kero Blaster is a great dessert after pushing my way through the Cave Story's main course, since it's inherited a ton of the run and gun gameplay from the latter. It sheds any pretense of being an exploration game (Cave Story is surprisingly linear, and better for it I think) and is a simple linear arcade platformer. It's just honest, good fun--one playthrough is even shorter than Cave Story's, but like Cave Story it's designed around multiple playthroughs with a MUCH more punishing second campaign and a refurbished new game+ after that for a victory lap.

Kero Blaster being linear and more retro-arcadey also means Pixel gets to be more open about levels being levels-if that makes sense. This means the platforming is much more concentrated than in Cave Story most times. The bosses are just as good as Cave Story (I feel like Pixel is really good at creating very simple patterns that are still satisfying to navigate around). Overall, a fantastic game. It also has some meta elements with the story seemingly referencing Pixel's time working with Nicalis and general themes of work culture.

My one major gripe with this game is the life system. I guess its inclusion feels like a no-brainer given the game's retro vibe, but it really just feels like an artificial way to inflate the difficulty of the game. I think Kero Blaster does achieve a balance here by having levels be so short that it's not that difficult to return to where u were after a game over, but something feels wanting here. Not sure what the alternative would be, but 1ups felt pretty valueless in the game.The player character's hit-box is also kind of hard to gauge when it's basically a huge mound of pixels, which can lead to some frustrating hits and deaths when close-quarters dodging. But all things considered--great value for the ridiculously low price.


Both games also have an amazing sense of humor, not just narratively or artwise but also in terms of design--one particularly trolly jump lin Cave Story comes to mind, where an absent block is hidden by background tiles. I was only be fooled by it once and got a good laugh out of it since I respawned in the previous room--it was a great moment of feeling connected to the developer. There's some of that in Kero Blaster too, but a bit--I hesitate to say meaner, but the game's life system and other caveats definitely change the tone of such moments.

tl;dr both of these games own. Highly recommend playing Kero Blaster after trying out Cave Story!

Also sidenote but I can't be the only one seeing the amount of design influence BSS and Ballos must have had on the Sans fight, right? The battle-by-attrition style of difficulty, unforgiving "runback," and lore drops throughout both fights make me think Toby Fox must have had Ballos on his mind when building Genocide route. Maybe it's just me though.

 

[Rugi]

I started playing Genshin and I want to talk about it now.

Genshin Impressions

Due to Righteous Moral Opposition to the concept of gacha I swore to myself I would never play genshin impact.

Unfortunately I began playing it anyways. Whenever the game isnt annoying me with dogshit mobile game esque grinding and gacha screw I am shocked at how good it is. I am now several hundreds of hours in and its safe to say that the 祖国 has me by the balls.

The story is cheesy-as but enjoyable in a way that only the most earnest of weeby anime crap can be.

The world and soundtrack are gorgeous. First time in years I have played a game where I have to put down my controller and stare at the monitor in awe. Not only is the world absolutely massive but it is filled with the kind of detail that makes you feel you're walking around a gallery. Qingyun peaks might be my favourite location in any video game ever.
Constant chests, quest pop-ups, interesting geography, and NPCs means you can be anywhere on the map and immediately see something to do.

Combat is very simple but has loads of skill expression. The game is easy but good timing, good builds and elemental combos can shorten a fight that might take minutes into seconds.

I can't recommend child-friendly gambling in good conscious. You can consume all the content entirely as a free-2-play (f2P) but this game will do everything in its power to convince you to gamble your hard-earned rent money. If you know you have a problem with gambling or other vices, don't play Genshin. If you do play Genshin, don't ever spend. Not even once. This is an Asian market gacha game meaning you can spend hundreds of dollars and still not get shit.

I'm playing the game in Japanese (both text and voice) but I re-watched a lot of the story content in English. Holy fuck is the translation all over the place. It's usually passable but many scenes are made significantly more awkward and unclear from the localisation.
Chinese speaking friends have also confirmed that English Genshin is pretty woeful compared to the original Chinese. Voice acting also takes a noticeable hit in the English translation but luckily you can just change the voice acting language without changing the text language.

The game's systems feel like they encourage playing Genshin the wrong way. This is the kind of game where I'd prefer to spend 9 hours a day binging it and then forget it exists for a month until the next patch. However, dailies, and a bunch of other grindy shit means that the developer sanctioned "optimum way" to play the game is to just login for 20 minutes every day, do menial tasks, and then leave. The rewards should be much bigger but occur much less often (though that wont happen because Genshin's monetisation system benefits from daily players)

Genshin is an absolutely spectacular one-of-a-kind game with crap gambling and mobile-game esque padding in every corner. I'm not sure a game on the massive scale of genshin could exist without gacha shit attached, but I still wish it didn't have it. As much as I'm opposed to gacha it's on legislators to stop it from getting to out of hand. Not consumers and companies.

Anyway the OST is absolutely fucking top. Some of my favourites:
Liyue's 1st battle theme
Qingyun Peak
Guyun Stone Forest
Rex Incognito

Also Albedo's theme sounds exactly like a Pokemon battle theme it is uncanny