What are you playing right now? (2 Viewers)

[Steve Y]

I can vouch for a few of the titles above. Cruisin' Blast is definitely a blast. It's an arcade racer that has no interest in sending you through a track at anything other than extremely high speeds. It's also well-optimized for the Switch, with smooth animation and responsive controls. My one complaint is the game can go a little overboard with the neon day-glo colors.

For those of you who like fast action and tile-based puzzle games, I recommend Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon. Each level has you moving around a square dungeon as tiles (representing obstacles, enemies, and items) fall from above. You can grab items and attack enemies while maintaining your health bar. Every time you move, the blocks around you move, but they also fall on their own if you wait, so it's an interesting blend of strategy and action. The learning curve is steep, so early play sessions can be frustrating, but after a while it clicks and becomes the perfect game for "just one more run."

 

[DaveF]

Donut County was a super short (2 hrs?) game, which I appreciate. I’m very fine with a $5 game that I can complete in a couple of hours for a total experience.

Cruisin’ Blast, my only complaint so far is I can’t replay individual tracks to try and improve my ranking. I have to repeat an entire four-course tour. Fortunately, within a tour, you can retry an individual course until you’re ready to go to the next course in the tour.

Slay The Spire is good. Worthwhile if you’re into Deck Building Card Games and Rogue-like games. The graphics and sounds are amateurish. But the core card game mechanics are excellent.

 

[Steve Y]

Anyone else playing Dying Light 2? So far I'm actually enjoying it more than the first game. It's the game equivalent of a big-budget B-movie. I'm a few hours into the launch day (patched) version on Xbox Series X and have experienced only a few cosmetic bugs. Some people are upset about the game's optimization (1080p Performance mode and 30 fps Fidelity modes). However, it looks great. The lighting, textures, and character models are all a step up from the previous game.

There's a lot of content. I'd say "too much" if I was cramming a review copy for a media outlet, but this is the kind of game you play over several months, not several days. In my experience, plowing through a massive open world game in a week or two is a reliably bad experience, especially if you're sick of these kinds of games.

If you're on the fence, it's still worth waiting for a sale. The developers have been very reliable about supporting and patching the first game, so they'll likely be fixing bugs and adding content for at least a few years.

 

[Ruz-El]

I feel like I'm going to be playing Breath of the Wild forever. Not really a complaint. Is it weird that the least entertaining aspect is the combat?

 

[Steve Y]

Is it weird that the least entertaining aspect is the combat?

Not weird at all. Far and away the most common complaint about BoTW is its combat, specifically the weapon degradation system.

My problem with BoTW is I bought it on Wii U and Switch, and now I can't decide which version to play. Also, sometimes after a long work day I just want to play a game that gives me a little dotted line to follow to the next goal.

 

[Ruz-El]

Not weird at all. Far and away the most common complaint about BoTW is its combat, specifically the weapon degradation system.

My problem with BoTW is I bought it on Wii U and Switch, and now I can't decide which version to play. Also, sometimes after a long work day I just want to play a game that gives me a little dotted line to follow to the next goal.

I'm not a fan of the degrading weapons but I'm used to it. What I'm not used to is not being able to grind into superhuman levels of power so that I can walk through all the enemies with easy like I usually do haha. Not being able to bulldoze and no easy mode is making it a little bit of a chore with the respawning enemies but not enough that I don't want to explore. Attempting to clear off some side quests and what not before getting to the guardians. I did the elephant one already super early in the game not fully realizing I was, which was the absolute the right choice since it's power is really handy when you can't get a handle on the blocking/dodging of the combat system lol.

I'd play it on the switch myself. I never thought I'd use the handheld mode when I got one, but man, I play the heck out of it in handheld.

 

[Steve Y]

Anyone else playing Elden Ring?

I'm terrible at these games (after several years I've only defeated three Bloodborne bosses), but I find them a lot of fun. This is the most accessible FromSoftware game yet. It sucks that so many people are struggling with performance issues. (On PS5 it plays better than Bloodborne on PS4, though.)

Transplanting the Souls design into an open world (with easy fast travel) was a brilliant move. It means players of all skill levels have things to do if they find themselves stuck. For Souls amateurs like me, it's much more fun to grind when you don't have to replay the same corridors a hundred times.

They've also revamped the checkpoint system. No more mindless, boring, and easy backtracking to bosses after a defeat. Keeps the momentum up.

 

[Bryan^H]

Anyone else playing Elden Ring?

I'm terrible at these games (after several years I've only defeated three Bloodborne bosses), but I find them a lot of fun. This is the most accessible FromSoftware game yet. It sucks that so many people are struggling with performance issues. (On PS5 it plays better than Bloodborne on PS4, though.)

Transplanting the Souls design into an open world (with easy fast travel) was a brilliant move. It means players of all skill levels have things to do if they find themselves stuck. For Souls amateurs like me, it's much more fun to grind when you don't have to replay the same corridors a hundred times.

They've also revamped the checkpoint system. No more mindless, boring, and easy backtracking to bosses after a defeat. Keeps the momentum up.

I'm a huge fan of the "Souls Games". I beat three of them and plan on playing the others. Unfortunately, I don't want to touch this until I get a PS5. Which has been a problem for a long time now without paying scalper prices.

 

[Sam Posten]

I too am terrible at Souls games and got sucked in to buying this based on the hype.
FYI:


AND!

Elden Ring has an accidental hard mode if you miss this very early NPC

Missing this one witch sucks, so make sure to find her.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Carlo_M]

Destiny 2 just had a content drop (paid expansion) that has the best campaign Bungie has made since...maybe ever. I was taking long breaks from D2 regularly due to staleness, but hot dang it's on like Donkey Kong right now.

 

[Steve Y]

I played an hour or two of Weird West yesterday. It's out on Xbox and PC Game Pass, for those of you who subscribe. It's a top-down / isometric action game (not turn based) with a supernatural wild west theme. You can deploy items in the environment in the manner of an emergent sim, such as knocking over poison barrels and setting them on fire, crawling out a window and stealing a horse instead of engaging the enemy, or stealthing your way through a camp. Apparently some of the developers who worked on some of the Arkane games (Dishonored) worked on this, so they've had experience with these designs.

The game consists of self-contained areas, grouped into "levels" on an overhead map. You can go where you want, but it's not a big open world or anything. (The frayed edges of a map are even visible in-game when you reach the border of a level.) This makes it manageable in shorter bursts. There seem consequences to your actions - for example, you can kill anyone and it can affect the plot - so replay value seems high.

The hassles so far are inventory management (a lot of juggling). There are also timed missions, which can be obnoxious. The enemy AI can also be a little spastic and buggy. It's basically a twin-stick shooter when you engage in gun combat, so if you prefer something strategic, that's not what this is. But if this sounds interesting and you have Game Pass, I recommend giving it a go.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I plowed through a bunch of games this year (I keep a running list and I'm at 14 completed since January 1st). I just started 13 Sentinels on PS4 (playing on PS5) and its really good, but you need to have a high tolerance for anime cliches.

 

[Ruz-El]

I accidently "finished" Zelda Breth of the Wild while exploring a place on a sidequest so I'm moving on. I'm sure there's a lot to still discover, and I'm sure I'll putter around with it again until the new one comes out.

Picked up Mario Cart deluxe 8 on the switch and been enjoying it for little bursts of play.

Started the first HORIZON ZERO DAWN on the PS4/5 this weekend. I like it, but I find it kind of hard to play due to the really small text involved that doesn't really work with my going eyesight and current display. I'm sticking with it, but I'm not quite in love with it yet. The world and story are intriguing, I just need to get better at stealth gameplay but again, the presentation doesn't work with bad eyes/current display.

 

[Steve Y]

Picked up Mario Cart deluxe 8 on the switch and been enjoying it for little bursts of play.

Started the first HORIZON ZERO DAWN on the PS4/5 this weekend. I like it, but I find it kind of hard to play due to the really small text involved that doesn't really work with my going eyesight and current display. I'm sticking with it, but I'm not quite in love with it yet. The world and story are intriguing, I just need to get better at stealth gameplay but again, the presentation doesn't work with bad eyes/current display.

I also picked up Mario Kart Deluxe 8 recently! I had it (and all DLC) on the Wii U, but the announcement of more tracks compelled me to buy it again. Nice job, Nintendo.

HZD was a VERY slow start for me. It took me a couple of years to finish, on and off. You start off very underpowered and combat takes a while to get used to. By the end of the game, I was really enjoying the story and the combat. Pulling armor off robots and targeting weak points becomes incredibly satisfying with the right weapon combinations, even if much of the quest design stays in that standard open-world mode. By far the most difficult sections of that game for me were in the middle. After that it was mostly smooth sailing.

 

[Ruz-El]

HZD was a VERY slow start for me. It took me a couple of years to finish, on and off. You start off very underpowered and combat takes a while to get used to. By the end of the game, I was really enjoying the story and the combat. Pulling armor off robots and targeting weak points becomes incredibly satisfying with the right weapon combinations, even if much of the quest design stays in that standard open-world mode. By far the most difficult sections of that game for me were in the middle. After that it was mostly smooth sailing.

I won't spend a couple of years on this one. I'm struggling with the combat and honestly, I really think my eyes are the problem more than anything. I guess modern gaming is designed for 60-100" screens or something now. I'm more likely to miss the machines wandering around than actually stealthily plotting their demise. I haven't done the proving stuff yet, I think that's next for me main story wise (last main quest was going out the gate and Rost making me solo kill a sawtooth for the first time. I managed it pretty well with some traps!) I'm wandering around instead trying to get my head around combat, dodging, that kind of thing. I do like the game, I just wish I didn't have so much problem finding things. :S

If it becomes to much of a struggle I might bail and play Final Fantasy Legend on the switch lol. I never imagined in a million year when I bought my Switch I'd play it in handheld mode but here I am. I play Mario Kart nightly after supper "watching" the news that way. It's easily my favourite console right now.

 

[Steve Y]

I've been playing LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga on the Xbox Series X. There are some performance issues and menu bugs, but it's a fast-paced and fun, with a lot to explore and discover. Multiplayer is local only... no online. This doesn't matter to me, but it will be disappointing for some.

• Pro: Minifig character personalities are handled better than in previous games. (Walking around as Captain Panaka and listening to his pessimistic dialogue is hilarious.)
• Pro: It's fun to explore the large game worlds and the graphics are impressive for a Lego game. There's a lot of content here, apparently 20-30 hours to 100% everything.
• Pro: You get more freedom about whether you want to pursue open world exploration / brick collection or story advancement at any moment. There's more variety in terms of the kind of missions and challenges you can attempt. It's overwhelming, in a good way.
• Pro: The combat and action is improved from previous games, with a rudimentary combo system and the nice cover shooting system carried over from Lego: TFA. On next-gen systems, most of the game is a stable 60 fps, so it controls really well.
• Con: The story puzzles have been stripped down from previous Lego installments, with less building and very little puzzle complexity. For example, the arena from Episode II is basically "attack this post to get free, then button mash for a few minutes until the cutscene." Also, the open world is nice-looking, but sprinkled with simplistic, isolated puzzles and not worth exploring after you've collected the bricks.
• Con: Many scenes from the movies have been stripped out in favor of small, concentrated action sequences focusing on one PART of a scene... run from point A to point B. Destroy groups of enemies on foot or in a vehicle. Platform over here and open a door with a droid. Repeat. It hits some high points, but you can completely turn off your brain. It's too simple.
• Con: The menus are a mess. They're chaotic and tough to navigate, with constant notifications of unread items that can't be dismissed.

 

[Ruz-El]

I have to admit, Horizon Zero Dawn got it's hooks in me. the missions are pretty fun, very WITCHER 3 like which I don't mind since I loved that game. I actually enjoy the between mission stuff of poking around and hunting for resources to refill my gear. Maybe I played too much ANIMAL CROSSING when I got my Switch.

 

[Jason Goodmanson]

I've never been much of a gamer, but have always enjoyed video games.

I think the most fun I had was on the OG Xbox with my now ex-wife because we loved playing Halo on Xbox Live.

After having the Xbox 360 for a little before (before my life blew up,) I never gamed much, but right as the world began to end in 2020, I picked up an Xbox One. Now the most fun I have is playing the various Lego games with my wife. Couch co-op wasn't a term back then, but that's what I like.

The Lego games aren't overly complicated and there's no feeling of dread when you "die" which is great.

We picked up the Start Wars Skywalker Saga Lego game and have been playing that pretty steadily. I agree with the pros and cons above, but have also noticed that we experience on multiple occasions that our Lego avatar will freeze when switching characters It's maddening.

 

[Ruz-El]

I'm still banging on Horizon Zero Dawn. I'm at DEEP SERCRETS OF THE EARTH on the main quest, which is nearing the end so now I'm worried I missed a bunch of side quests so I may make a list and check them off over the weekend. That said, I'm skipping the harder hunting trials. Their races, this isn't a racing game. The combat is based on planning and and being efficient, not scrambling and rushing. Piss on these hunting trials.

Been also grinding out FINAL FANTASY LEGEND, the old gameboy game that's available on the switch in a legacy collection. It's got your ELDIN RING hanging in regards to being a challenge. Just a merciless RPG. I'm getting near the end of it.

Also on the switch I tried a demo/trial of the new Fire Emblem game and as neat as it is I don't think it's for me. I did the presentation and game play but I feel like I'm missing out and doing things wrong that are going to screw me later. Much like the only other Emblem game I've played, the original 8bit one that they put on the Switch for a limited time and felt more like chess than an action game, and also merciless.

ALSO on the switch, I tried the trial of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, a game that did not look like it was my kind of thing that ended up being totally my kind of thing. Ended up buying it since it was on sale cheap and will give it more attention once I wrap up HZD and that Final Fantasy Ballache. I really like the turn based mechanics and exploration in this one.

During the summer sale I also picked up Super Mario 3D World, Link's Awakening and Mario Odyssey. Who knows when I'll play those?

 

[Edwin-S]

I finished up playing STRAY. Not bad. A good change from shooting and blowing shit up. Mainly a puzzle game. Missed 4 of the memories in the level with Clementine.